Every month I challenge myself to learn or experience something I've never done before. This runs the gamut from the minor to the life changing. And on a weekly basis I strive to learn something minor.

This week it's how to create Web 2.0 style buttons. Thanks to this GIMP tutorial, it's very easy. The catalyst for this was a recent theme change on this Drupal powered site. The theme, Acquia Marina, threw in a small star icon in the top left of the box surrounding the menu/nav-bar. This had to be replaced since it had nothing to do with the site. It was a nice default, but not my cup of tea. So in an effort to keep up with the times, a Web 2.0 style icon had to be created.

Since I don't use Photoshop I found a tutorial for GIMP. The GIMP is a free and open source equivalent to Photoshop. Given that the majority of Photoshop users don't use 90% of what the product can do, I always recommend people use GIMP instead. Photoshop is best utilized by graphics professionals; not people looking to crop their vacation photos.

The end result can be seen above. Not great, but as always in life, it's the journey.