I’m not a photographer. I just aim and shoot . . . the camera, that is. Sometimes I get it right, most of the time I don’t. But that’s okay, because I know how to make it work for me. It’s called, “Digital Design.” Using PaintShop Pro X6, I can take a ratty photo and turn it into a piece of art. Anyone can. Just try it and see for yourself. It’s fun!

I love impressionistic art and use that style in many of my photos. Anyone using PaintShop Pro X6 can download Harry’s Filters plugins. This tool is free and offers many special effects for photos as well as digital designs. Another great free plugin is Xero. That’s the one I use the most. It has many great special effects.

Below are the before and after photos that I had taken over the years and used in my digital designs.

In this design, I used a photo of my back porch. The teddy bear is a picture tube that I added for interest. That’s what I love about digital design. You can add or remove whatever you choose.

As you can see, I added several picture tubes in this design. With the right program you can turn your photo into a dreamland, and get lost in it!

My main focus was the Crepe Myrtle hanging over the Azalea’s and Heavenly Bamboo.

Now the photo gives a homy feel. That’s what I like; that homy, comfy, country feel. Nothing big. Nothing fancy. Just home.

This photo screams I don’t know what I’m doing! I had to do some cropping and enlarging to achieve the look I was after in this one.

So, I cheated a little. Okay, a lot. But it works. I took out a bunch of stuff I didn’t want and added things I enjoy: a hummingbird, bird nest and eggs, and a little note with a pretty bow. Now everyone’s happy.

What I like about digital design is I can fill in the bare spots of my flowerbed with beautiful flowers if I choose. Or I can leave it like it is and focus on the birdhouse as I did in the following design.

See how easy that was?

And last but not least, our first snow. Living in the south, we don’t get a lot of snow. But when we do, I love watching it come down. Sometimes my husband and I bundle up and sit on the back porch with a steaming cup of coffee, talking and giggling like a couple of kids. That’s what makes life worthwhile.

For several reasons, we don’t decorate the outside for Christmas. One year however, we went all out and strung garland and lights on the banisters, put a big red bow on the light post, and hung wreaths on every window. And that’s where everything stayed till the following Spring. When my husband finally got around to taking it all down, birds had built nests in the Christmas wreaths! So the decorations you see here are all picture tubes.