My First Photoshop Background!!!

OK, that's really a little white lie.....It's really my third. But the first two were so Darn Ugly I had to delete them. They are only an ugly memory now. As are the clumps of hair I tore out trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. That's ok, though, more hair will pop up on my chin to replace it, darn it....teehee. Anyway, here it is in all it's humble glory.

What I have finally understood is that Photoshop brushes are not really "brushes" at all. That confused the hell out of me. I was thinking of traditional artists brushes. They are actually shapes, textures, patterns. Gail at Creative Workshops has opened my eyes to The Truth!! She also sent me to Obsidian Dawn, where I proceeded to download textures, swirls, grunge, lace, glitter, nature, handwriting and more brushes. (If you download READ the Terms Of Use and BEHAVE Accordingly!!) I think of them more like virtual Rubber Stamps, cuz that's what I feel like I am doing!! There are so many filters and gradient options, I am Addicted with a Capital A! It took me about 2 hours to figure out how to unzip and add the brush files to my Photoshop program. I probably shouldn't admit that, but we're all friends here, right?? On another note, did you realize that even FONTS you download have Terms of Use? Careful, kids, some are not for commercial use, or offer commercial use for donations or a set fee. Egads, who can keep up??? Well, that's all I have to show for about 2 hours worth of trial and error. Thank Goodness, work closed at 6 today. Aren't I lucky that on Labor Day I only had to labor for 9 hours instead of the usual 10 1/2? And yes, that was sarcasm. Hope your Labor Day, lacked well, Labor!!! xoSusan