I think that the best gift is the fact that my family is happy, loving and supportive of each other... But getting more tangible THIS photo was a huge surprise... it is of my youngest son who visited earlier this month interacting with his big sisters family... I did not know this photo existed since I was not there that day, and the fact that my grand daughter had it framed just for me made it Very special... The photo consists of, from the left, Chris and his two , then Julia with her grandchildren on both sides of her, and their mom, MY grand daughter on the far right... her husband is standing behind....

The "blending" process...

I took the best parts of 2 photos and blended them together into one image...


Then I blended the photo into AASPN_ArtsyTransfersSage_1 using the gradient tool and also a soft brush.

Then I changed the blend mode on one of the Transfer layers

Next I placed AASPN_CoolGlows2_3 behind the transfer and set it to Linear Burn

I used AASPN_6X6ArtsyKardzAcrossTheMiles_1 for the backgroun dpaper stretched it to the 12 x 12 size

AASPN_LightLeaks1 blended with Hard Mix provided the very unexpected red and black accent! I love the surprise factor of blending modes... you never know what cool effect is going to magically appear!I applied one of my favorite actions to the text... It is a burn Style from Paula Kessering. I love how it melds text right into the page.

Finishing touches...
AASPN_ArtPlayPaletteFotographie_12X12DistressedOverlay

DD_boo_brush01 (the star sparkles)

and a stitched line border from my stash!