Lovely Day with Black Walnuts

I'm working on another of my drawings, but this one is larger and taking more time. I did a pair of pages (a before and after) for a challenge to use the High Pass Sharpen tool. I had not used it before and am finding it very helpful after reducing the size of a page for the web. I think I should have tried a different photo than this sunny back-lit black walnut in Oklahoma. I'm going to put the "before" here as I like it better. Why? Because the sharpening reduced the color in the picture. (After HERE.) This is a very pleasant memory of the light under these trees.

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Designer Credits:
-background, brads, confetti: The Gift by Fei-fei's Stuff
-pale paper, photo mask, tree stamp (recolored): Family Ties by Fei-fei's Stuff
-journaling block, word art: Sketchbook Artistry No. 1 by Sue Cummings
font: Catriel

Look out for winter?

We have a challenge based on a curious sort of Christmas card. I stayed with the basic theme of a tree image and the original colors of grays with a touch of red. I used a photo at my sister's from last Dec. 9th and did an edge effect (Find All in PSP). It really made me think of Ezra Pound's irreverent poem, "Winter Is Icumen In" and so it is titled. I am so NOT ready for this to happen and am really glad we missed the big storm on the east coast. Nevertheless, I like my result.

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Designer Credits:
-background: Photographed in Black and White by Sue Cummings
-border: Slightly Edged 1 by Merkeley Designs
-notepaper, postcard: Recollection by Joanne Brisebois
-overlay: Shimmer by Kitty Designs
-leaves: MultiMedia Leaves No. 2 by Anna Aspnes
-bird brush, bead: ArtPlay Palette Barren Sunrise by Anna Aspnes
-frame: ArtPlay Palette Encapsulate by Anna Aspnes
my photo altered with an Edge Effect
fonts: Cardinal, Catriel