Okay, so school last semester didn't go as well as planned, so my blogging time got all messed up. Things are back to an even keel now, I think.
I thought I would post a link to a program that I found for people who like to do graphics, but don't need an application like GIMP or Photoshop (which costs beaucoup bucks). It's called Paint.net. It's like Paint on steroids! My students can do quite a lot with it. It supports layers and has special effects, and alot of the goodies that people often turn to Adobe Photoshop for... and best of all, it's FREE! It is, sadly, a Windows only program. You can download it here: http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html
If you are on a mac, GIMP is your best free option for making those blends and avatars!