One of my favorite budgeting tips was presented to me by my husband, who supports but certainly does not participate in my scrapbooking. He was looking around the net for more effective ways to store our photographs, and found this site: http://picasa.google.com. Check it out and I think you will agree with me that high-priced editing software is not really needed. This program is free, very user friendly and very versatile. I have taken very dark photos and lightened them using the fill light to such a degree they became scrapbookable. Wow, is that really a word?

I wanted to show you an example of changing a photo. I found this photo of my daughter several years ago. It is a photo of she and her dad on the stage at her first dance recital. Dad came out on the stage and swirled her. It was quite beat up and I desperately wanted to preserve it. I scanned it and went to work on it to make it usable. I was able to focus on the entire photo, fade out part, most; make it entirely black and white and antique it right on my home computer. I really liked the one where everything is fuzzy except the star of the stage. What you think?

I really think this is worth checking out. If you have money to spare, sure, buy the pricey stuff. If not, check out Picasa. I don't think you will regret it.

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