I used the gradient tool on a layer mask to blend the photo with the page. I used the Underlying Layer slider on a light colored paper to add a painted look to the page.
Created for the October Double Scraplift Challenge.
The background is consists of two layers. The bottom layer is a brown paper from Palvinka and top paper is a blue paper from et designs with a blend mode of Darker Color.
The mask needed to be resized to fit the large photo. To get the opacity of the mask a little more, I duplicated the mask layer, then merged them before I clipped my photo to it.