This weekend, I found myself with a new lens; a birthday gift from my husband. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to get outside and play with it! Then, all of this play reminded me just how important it is to experiment, try new things, make mistakes, and play.

Of course, this reminded me of the various ways in which you can play in Photoshop Elements, too. And, I thought a post with links to some fun tutorials would be just the thing.

So today, my wish for you is to play, have fun, and discover a bunch of great techniques in the process!

• In Creating a “Happy Accident” through Experimentation, Dave Cross sheds some insight into the things he does when he isn’t sure exactly what he wants to do with a photo, but he knows he wants to transform it into something unique.
• In Hue Adjustment for Black & White? You Bet! I share a technique that arrived during one of my own Photoshop Elements play dates.
• Matt Kloskowski’s Adding Whimsical Scribbles to a Photo encourages playful doodle art.
• Making a Catman by Wendy Williams is just plain fun!
• How about some fun frames? Corey Barker shares a creative way to use a brush to paint borders around your images in Painting Frames Around Your Images.
• In Turn a Dull Shot into a “Moody” Masterpiece, Mike Rodriguez illustrates a technique to add a little bit of “mood” to your photographs — it’s a fun technique, leading to all sorts of discoveries!

Happy creating and have fun!