Comfort Cottage

Sweet Dreams

Today is Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen Cafe.  I happened to catch my sweet Molly girl snoozing on the love seat.  This little golden knows how to relax.

 

 

My recipe:

I worked in Photoshop CS5

Layer 1:  photograph

Layer 2:  Photoshop brushes - Stars and Gorguss Clouds (free downloads-I can't remember the source!); both set to Screen

Layer 3:  Kim Klassen's Phoebe texture, set to screen at 51% opacity

Layer 4:  Another layer of Phoebe set to Color Burn at 100% opacity

Layer 5:  Font - Splendid 66; size: 48pts with drop shadow set to 52% opacity

 

You can see all of the Texture Tuesday entries at Kim Klassen Cafe.  Have a wonderful day!

 

Until next time,

 

A Never Ending Story

Hello there!  How are you today?  I hope you'll drop me a comment today and tell me what you're up to.  I'm looking forward to a day at home.  Yesterday started with a bang.  My nineteen year old college sophomore son was diagnosed with pneumonia.  Of course, I spent the day running him to the doctor, whose appointment secretary insisted that there was no record of him having ever been a patient there.  It turns out that she looked up the wrong name.  That'll do it every time :)

I'm so happy you are joining me for Texture Tuesday.  To find out what it's all about, and to see many wonderful examples of digital art, please pay Kim a visit at Kim Klassen Cafe. Thank you, Kim, for providing us with such wonderful photoshop textures and inspiration!

This week's theme is Love.  It took me awhile to figure out how to approach this.  I went through my photos and finally, this one jumped out at me.  It is yet another one I took in Maine.  The lovely pair of flowers reminds me of the beauty of two hearts joined in love.  Not even when parted in death does their story end.  It lives on in the hearts and souls of all who loved and were loved by them.  It's effects spread out like ripples on the water.

 

 

I used one layer of Kim's Scripted Edges texture set to Linear Dodge over the photo.  I added a layer mask to the texture layer and brushed the texture away from just the pink blossoms.  It seemed to help bring them forward.  The font for the word "love" is Felt Pen.  The layer is set to Screen at 73 percent opacity.  The font for the rest of the text is Porcelain, set to Normal.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Until next time,

 

Vintage Maine

I'm a little late with my Texture Tuesday project, but better late than never!  By now, you all know of my passion for all things Maine.  I took three of my photographs and turned them into vintage, well-worn postcards.

 

The first one is the marsh across from Seawall on Mount Desert Island.  I used two layers of Kim's Nature's Beauty texture over the photo.  Both layers were set to Soft Light at about 70 percent opacity.  I used the Vintage Companion texture over top of a layer of off-white for the border.  The texture layer was set to Multiply at 80 percent opacity.  I applied a brown photo filter the Vintage Companion texture at about 80 percent.  The font is Cygnet Round set to Bevel and Emboss down.  I reduced the 0pacity to fade it.  To give the photo that grainy look that vintage images have, I added added CS5's noise filter and checked the Monochromatic and Uniform boxes.  To imitate the look of worn-off color, I used the Eraser tool with various grunge brushes on the photo.  I also reduce the saturation of the photo.

 

 

My method for the second one is the same. 

 

 

I took this photo at Stonington Harbor on Deer Isle.  My method was a little different.  I only used one layer of texture over the photo - Bent Edges, set on Linear Burn at 21 percent.  I reduced the saturation of the photo and set the opacity to 94 percent.

 

 

If you would like to enjoy all of the beautiful work of Texture Tuesday's participants, head on over to Kim Klassen Cafe.  Kim offers free textures if you sign up and wonderful tutorials to get you up to speed in the wonderful world of digital artistry.

 

Until next time,

 

Solitude

I hope all of you had a fabulous Labor Day weekend!  I spent most of it dabbling in my studio, of course.  Today is Texture Tuesday over at Kim Klassen Cafe.  I used one of my photos from Schoodic Peninsula for the challenge.  I love the idea of a story board, so I combined that with two of Kim's incredible textures for this week's challenge.  I created the composition with Photoshop CS5.  I've included a description of techniques, so if you're not a Photoshop or Photoshop Elements user, feel free to ignore it!

 

Techniques

I began by filling the bottom layer with a solid, weak gray.  I used two layers of Cracker Jack 2 under the photo layer.  I wanted the crackle to be well-defined without being overpowering, so I adjusted the opacity of the texture layers until I was satisfied.  I set the photo layer to multiply.  On top of the photo, I used two layers of Serious Magic set to screen.  I sized them to fit the photo.   To give the photo a more faded look, I reduced its saturation by about 10%.   The font is PegsannaHMK set to soft light. There are two layers and I used a drop shadow under one layer.  I reduced the opacity of the drop shadow by about 50%.  For the color chips, I used the rectangular mask tool to make a small square.  I then modified the mask to feather by 20 pixels.  I added the color using the pastel brush from CS5's dry media collection. I made four more copies of the color chip and used the eyedropper to select colors from the photo, adding a different color overlay to each chip.  I merged the color chip layers and set them to multiply.  Finally, I used the eraser tool and a grunge brush to get rid of the photo's hard edge.  I condensed the whole composition using the merge visible command.

 

If you would like to see how all of our digital artists used Kim's textures, just click on the Texture Tuesdays icon in my right sidebar and it will take you to Kim Klassen Cafe.  Thank you, Kim, for hosting the challenge and for your wonderful textures!

 

Until next time,

 

Pink Saturday Miracle Makeover

Today is a very special Pink Saturday.   Our hostess, Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound has invited us all to participate in the Design Gives Back Miracle Makeover.  Kelee Katillac of Design Gives Back and the Miracle Makeover team (pictured below) have done room makeovers for three very special kids this year.  Please view the wonderful video of the reveal.  Leaving a comment will earn $1 for Friends for Kids With Cancer and next year's Miracle Makeover.  Then, you can click on the Pink Saturday icon in my right sidebar to see all of today's Pink Saturday participants.  If you leave a comment at any of the following links, it will earn $1 for each of the links you visit.

 

               Pink Saturday @ at How Sweet the Sound/ Beverly 

                       Spiritual Sunday  @ Spiritual Sunday /Charlotte & Ginger

                                  Country Wings in Phoenix @ Country Wings in Phoenix/Sherry   

                   Metamorphosis Monday  comments on Monday Only   

 Please join us in making a child's dreams come true. 

 

As I thought of Kelee, the sponsors, and all of the blogs participating today, I was reminded that whatever we do for someone else, no matter how small the act, we do for the Lord Jesus.  Let us all be His hands and heart today.  You will be blessed in knowing that you are making a big difference in the lives of children with cancer and their families.  I created this piece of digital art in honor of the occasion.

 

 

 

 Thank you for taking the time to make a difference.

 

**Also linked to Texture Tuesdays at Kim Klassen Cafe.  Today, I used free Photoshop textures from Kim's collection:  Granny's Cupboard, Water-stained Frame, and Scratched Magic.  Thank you Kim!

 

Hugs,

 

The Littlest Teacher

As I look through my photographs from my recent trip out west, this little bird continues to call out to me.  Even the smallest,  seemingly insignificant things can be our teacher.  When I considered the vast, often inhospitable landscape of the Badlands, I was touched by the knowledge that God tenderly cares for all of his creatures, no matter where they are.

 

 

You probably recognize this photo from a previous post.  The textures I used are from the Kim Klassen Cafe.  Kim has a weekly group called Texture Tuesdays.  She offers all sorts of free Photoshop textures and recipes that you can use to create truly wonderful digital art.  You can then link up with her each week, and share your experiments and creations.  It is a wonderful place to learn and share.  She also has tutorials and special online classes to help you make the most of your photos.

I used Kim's Aurora and Stained Linen textures.  The flower swirls are free brush downloads from Obsidian Dawn.  The font for the brown text is Scriptina.  I forget which font I used for the word "all" (I need to keep better track of those things!)  The texture for the brown matte is sandstone, from CS5's texturizer filter.

 

Have fun with your photos!

 

Until next time,