easy way to blur part of a picture?

michaelw48390700  wrote i have a pc with windows 10 and photoshop elements 12. would someone please give me simple step by step instructions on how to blur a small part of a picture. i've tried everything i could think of but nothing seems to work. yes, i tried the blur tool, brush tool, etc. i must be missing something during the process. please help.

1. Open the picture file
2. Duplicate the background layer
3. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur or Surface blur. Use sliders to blur to the degree that you wish. This will blur everything, but not to worry.
4. Apply a mask to the Background copy layer which you blurred. Left click on the mask.
5. Activate the brush tool & set foreground color chip to black.
6. Paint with the black brush where you wish to retain the portion of the picture in focus. If you go too far, correct with a white brush.

Are you using a selection tool first to select the part of the picture you want to blur?