gstettner:
a way around using layer masks (I don't think Elements supports them) is this... make a selection with the elliptical marquee so that it encompasses the focus of the picture and a little beyond. Put it about where you want the blur to be more obvious. Then go to select > feather and try 75 pixels or so. With your blur layer selected, hit backspace, then deselect (ctrl+d). If you don't like the way it looks, reposition your selection or deselect and try again.
hope that helps.
