Herein I share with the members some concepts that took me a very long time to understand. I do believe that, if the concepts had been explained the way I explain them here, the "learning curve" would have been ever so much shorter. As you view each image, look in the Layers Palette/Panel to see what is highlighted.
Note: Although I created this post with PS CS5, one may accomplish the same effect with PSE, albeit the available Styles may differ. PSE9 and 7 have a very large number of Filters and Styles (on the Effects and Content tabs and also for the Type tool).
Additional note: Be sure to save any and all changes to your original Background image as Save As -- NOT Save -- so as Not to overwrite your original image. If you leave Save in Version Set checked with PSE, your original will be saved at the bottom of the Stack, untouched.