Freebie background paper CU use OK

Here's another background paper I created for you CU use OK No credits needed but would be nice.
It's JPG 300 dpi

Click here to download file from 4 shared

Never mind Alice, I'm in wonderland

Don't you just love it when you learn something new?  It's probably common knowledge, but I had no idea that I could import my own textures into photoshop.  I've always like the texturize filter but dislike that the tiles repeat too often for my liking. Also the limited textures available seldom match what I'm trying to match up with. The image below is a classic example of this.  I purchased some Alice in Wonderland book illustrations at Nicerane designs.  I introduced my little grandson into the picture.  It was cute but he kinda stood out like a sore thumb against the noise filled background of old fashioned printing methods.  I tried the usual textures but they did not look right.  It was at this point that I discovered I could import textures.  I will be making a lot of use of this in the future.  I used the posterize filter to remove the photographed look.  Instead of returning to the filter, I decided to copy and paste a selection of the main picture and placed it over grandson image, reducing opacity and setting filter to overlay blend.  I repeated this with part of the mushroom.  I'm quite happy with the effects I achieved.  Much better than just plonking the photograph into the vintage image.  I think he blends in much better with that magical environment now.

CU freebie Background Paper

Here is the freebie I promised.  Hope you like it.  Please give credits and link back to me would be nice. Do not sell for money.  Thanks

Click here to download file at 4shared

Week two of Journal Magic Class - Marie Otero

When oh when is this illness going to depart? I'm still feeling wretched, but my partner is 10 times worse. Our ever failing NHS pawned him off with a doctor at the hospital because our local surgery decided to close for training.  Could this not be done in their own time?  £100000 a year for GP salaries and they are offering less of a service than ever before. Would be nice to have a fluent English speaking doctor too!  The substitute GP managed to mis-diagnose bronchitis, but did get the conjunctivitis correct. Thanks to that overpaid goon, he is now worse!  Anyway, enough politics. I'm just frustrated that I haven't had time to set up my political blog and neither have I been participating in the Digital Whispers challenges.  I have made time for the Marie Otero classes though. Who would have thought that tutorial could be so much fun?  For me they are normally just a means to an end, but Marie Otera makes the learning process fun.  I can now create patterns amongst other things, as well as my own brushes.  I'm going to put the paper I created up for a freebie.  I rather like it.  I'm still very much at the hit and miss stage with creating patterns.  You would be hard pushed to know that the overlay on my paper was a carefully constructed pattern of feathers.  No matter, I'm pleased with it and hope you will be too.
Here is what I created in week 2.  Can't wait for week 3

Digital Journal Magic taught by Marie Otero.

Aaaargh It never rains but it pours. No sooner is my father out of hospital, than my other half is off sick with a double virus. Conjunctivitis and laryngitis. I think the dreaded lurgy is visiting me now. I'm feeling wretched today.
So much for creating a new blog design.  I've been busy trying to retrieve lost files.  Got most of them from my emergency external hard drive so things could be a lot worse.

Started an online class with Marie Otero last week and learned so much.  I'm loving it.  It's unheard of for me to follow a tutorial so rigidly.  Well I changed the title, but not much else.  What usually happens is that I get bored or stuck partway through tutorials and just wander off and do my own thing.  The tutorials were so clear and easy to understand though.  I'm not too keen on the white outlining on the first image.  I'm a bit of a stickler for extracting images with a pen tool, and tend to use shadows rather than pen outlines.  I loved the doodling part and got quite carried away.  Was so pleased with my bird and crown that I re-used it in the second image that I just doodle, inspired by all the new techniques I've learned.
Not sure how I'm going to get on with masking.  I've never gotten to grips with it before so this will really be a challenge.
Anyway, enough of my prattling.  Here are the images I've created.

My little grandson

This was from a lovely kit at http://digi-loulous.blogspot.com. It's free if you sign up for her newsletter. I'm not happy with the shading on this one and the composition could have been a lot better, but I've been too busy to do much about it.  Besides, my tendency to overwork everything will likely just make things worse :-)