Hi Jallorn. By the looks of the image you posted, I'd guess that your problem is that when you applied the Gaussian blur to the Forest Frame layer, you applied it to the "Layer Mask" rather than the layer itself. It's an easy mistake to make. To make sure that you apply the Gaussian Blur to the layer, rather than its mask, in your layer dialogue make sure to click on the layer. You should see a white outline surrounding that layer (if the white outline is surrounding the mask, then any actions you take on that layer will apply to the mask rather than the layer). Hope that helps. If that wasn't the problem, let me know and I'll try re-diagnosing the problem.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh