Fotolia stock picture fun

I had the opportunity to try fotolia and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.

At first I thought I really wouldn't use "stock photos" but figured I would

go look around and at least see what it was all about. Now call me hooked!

Now for BNP&LG I obviously use my own pictures and the same for Evil Shades, but after checking out

fotolia I found a great use that I hadn't thought of....Banners, Header, Backgrounds and buttons!

Here is the first use I made of a stock photo from the site

I used a stock picture (the background with the picture frame) and added the wording,

pictures of some of their jewelry and some tweaks in Gimp and made a fancy banner for Whimsy Beading to add to my sidebar. (You can see it on the left sidebar)

I think it turned out very nice for my being far from a pro & just starting to

figure out Gimp. I will definitely be using more from fotolia for a new header here and maybe a link button.

I have a few 2 week free trial codes if anyone wants to give it a whirl, just email me and I'll send you one.

(First come first served on the codes, I will add a note when they are gone)

There are so many pictures and useful backgrounds etc that I think I will have to become a paying member!