Happy Saturday! Playing With My Canon RP.

It is Saturday and a gorgeous morning. The boys are working on school (we take Sunday/Monday off) but I hope to get in a walk today. After lunch we are headed to my parent's house so the boys can drive my dad out to his land while I visit with mom. My dad has a wildlife-exemption on his property, so the boys help him collect the cards from his cameras out there. It is really fun to see what he has captured. Usually it is squirrels, deer, wild hogs, and raccoons. But occasionally we see a bobcat.

This photo of my guys was shot with my iPhone last week. I was going through my images and trying to delete ones I don't want to keep and I just loved this photo so much I had to share it. Look how tall Isaac is  now! He is still growing (he is only 14) so I expect him to shoot up a few more inches. Like his brother he is all skinny legs right now. 

Hoover's tongue hanging out, just too cute. He actually likes to pose for photos as long as he is standing with someone. I love this dog so much, he is such a good boy.

I spent quite a bit of time setting up my new Canon RP yesterday, so I didn't have much time to shoot anything. However, I wanted to post a few snapshots. These were shot as JPGs and uploaded here in small resolution. 

I tried the special macro function on this shell using the kit lens (shoot in manual and you can go as close as 1 inch to your subject).  it is center-focusing so everything else is blurred, but I like the effect. 

This kit zoom lens actually shoots great macro images zoomed completely out. I tested it on some weeds and one flower (hard to find many flowers outside this time of year) and I was impressed. 

Luke asked me why I was taking photos of weeds. I actually like weeds as long as they aren't in my yard.

I ended up mostly shooting in Program mode, just so I could get used to using this camera. Pretty sky photo. When I zoomed in I was impressed with the resolution. I had taken the same photo with my iPhone and obviously there was a huge difference. 

I really love how my JPGs in the RP weren't getting blown-out in the highlights like my iPhone. 

It was really windy yesterday afternoon so it was difficult photographing this tiny flower waving in the wind, but I am happy how it turned out. 

Isaac told me not to eat the flower or the plant attached to it as they are poisonous. This is good to know because as soon as I took the photo I was going to have a snack. Hee hee! Actually, it is always fun walking with him because he knows many of the edible plants in our region is constantly giving me things to nibble on. 

 The bokeh on this lens is nice. I shot this in Aperture-priority mode, 100 ISO, f7.1. I often shoot in Aperture-priority. This camera has 3 settings on the main dial where you can program in common set-ups. I haven't done this yet, but I will have one for closeups, one for landscapes, and one for portraits (or maybe fast moving kids/dogs). 

So far I am very impressed. My favorite things so far:

1. Camera is so small and lightweight.

2. I can tap anywhere on the screen to autofocus exactly where I want. 

3. When I shoot manual I can see the actually changes live as I adjust the settings. This is amazing!

I plan on posting a real review after I spend more time with this baby. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Do you want to download all of my favorite professional CoffeeShop PSE/Photoshop actions (including exclusive ones not found anywhere for free), textures, papers, clip art/design elements, storyboards, and Lightroom presets in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? 

Just click here for my CoffeeShop Mega Download Pack!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful day planned with loved ones. It is going to be pretty quiet here as both of my sisters are out-of-town this year. Heather not by choice, her entire family is sick with a cold. But I get to spend the day with Paul, the boys, and my parents so it is going to be nice.

My action and design packs are on sale this weekend, check them out! These packs allow me to post freebies on my blog, so thank you for supporting a small woman-own business. 

I haven't been around much since we have been trying to stay caught up with school before Christmas and we took a little trip to Fredericksburg, TX.  My mom traveled with us and Paul met us for two days. It is a four hour drive to get there, but worth it since it is such a beautiful part of Texas.

We hiked at Pedernales Falls.

The boys had a blast climbing all of the rocks and skipping stones in the water.

It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.

We went to a Pacific War re-enactment. This is the flamethrower guy.

And yes, his flamethrower is real! If you ever get a chance to go to Fredericksburg, be sure to also check out the Pacific War museum, it is incredible. 

I had a romantic date with Paul at Signor Vineyards. 

Well, my mother and boys were there also. I LOVE this photo! We were playing gin and my mom is happy as always, Paul is hilarious and a complete hottie, Duke is embarrassed, and Imp is trying not to laugh. Every time we go out we try to pack some cards or dominoes. 

I can't believe how many wineries are in this area.  There are over 50, many built just the last few years. Every time we go there we see several new ones. We are light-weights so we can only go to one winery a weekend. ;-) 

Our hotel, the Inn at Barron's Creek, has a parking lot where the wine buses shuttle people to the wineries. I was thinking this was such a great idea so no one drinks and drives, until I saw them drop all of the inebriated people off in the evening and the ones not staying locally stumbled off to their cars to drive home. People, don't drink and drive!!!

Of course we went hiking at my favorite park, Enchanted Rock.

Imp was having a blast, but for some reason his photo-face always looks constipated.

It was cool and the fall colors were spectacular. And we didn't see one snake, so Paul was happy.

And we took our traditional Turkey Pass Trail photo. For some reason Paul loves to have his photo taken here, go figure. 

I didn't want to leave! But no worries, I am sure we will go back soon. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and long weekend!!!

Do you want to download my favorite CoffeeShop PSE/Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets or Design Elements in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for all the actions/presets and professional design elements, storyboards, and textures.

For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

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Update on Rita's Teaching Writing to Boys and IEW's "12 Day of Free Gifts"!

Note: I have some affiliate links in this post, and IEW sent me some of their curriculum to review. All comments in this blog post are my own and completely honest as I LOVE IEW! Read all about my experiences using IEW's writing and spelling curriculum on my own boys in this post and register for the "Twelve Days of Free Gifts"starting Dec. 26th from IEW here or below.

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I love homeschooling Imp (11, 6th grade) and Duke (14, 8th grade). We have an eclectic homeschooling method and we don't use many official curriculum. However, not using curriculum can take us down many crazy internet wormholes.

For example, I usually have one book I read aloud to the boys each day. Our book of the month is Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything.

Chris wrote about his experiences recording a music video of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on the ISS. So we googled his video and it was really good!

Then I had to show the boys the original David Bowie music video from 1969. It was both amazing and hilarious and reminded me of the movie Tron.

Am I dating myself? And yes, learning can involve watching classic 1960's rock music videos. ;-)

Anyway, this happens all of the time when we are learning. We  usually "school" via books, internet,  and documentaries. There is so much out there, and much of it is free.

However, sometimes you get what you pay for, and there are times that I prefer using a "real curriculum". Especially in the two subjects I get overwhelmed teaching like math and writing. We use the Life of Fred math books and the boys love them. And we use IEW's writing curriculum which ROCKS!

Years ago IEW contacted me and asked if I wanted to review some of their products and I immediately said yes, and we have been using IEW ever since. I believe that teaching the three "R's"(Reading, Writing, aRithmetic) well are essential, and IEW has made it easy for me to teach writing.

IEW isn't only for homeschoolers, it can be used on any student who wants to write better.

I know it is overwhelming when you first visit their site, but the Decision Tree really helps, and if you call or email them they have excellent customer service and walk you through everything. They are truly amazing.

I started Duke on Student Writing Intensive Level A a few years ago (5th grade), and Imp on the Student Writing Intensive Level B this year in 6th grade. Since then, Duke has also done the Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course Level B and Elegant Essays.  This summer Duke will start Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course Level C.

Neither of my boys loved to write. They love to read which I thought would mean they would naturally want to write, but reading apparently is much more fun (and much easier) than writing. But IEW has made it easy with video lessons and step-by-step curriculum (idiot-proof says this idiot!) and Duke's writing skills have improved greatly. He had to write a 5-paragraph essay on leadership for the Civil Air Patrol last summer and he wasn't overwhelmed, wrote it completely on his own, and it was very good. 

Imp has just started IEW few months ago and is excited about writing now. He even outlined a book (for fun) last month (using the IEW outline method) and he is working on the chapters.

I am a horrible speller and both of my boys aren't natural spellers either. I was worried about teaching them since memorizing long lists of words never worked for me. But then I started them on the Phonetic Zoo spelling program and they can spell! This method of teaching is brilliant. They listen to 15 words/lesson being spoken in sentences and then write them down. Here is a complete description of how it works. Since you repeat the same spelling rules three times with progressively more difficult words (A, B, C), it really sticks.

If you start with this set, you have everything you need for Level A, and you only need to get the audio part for Level B and C.

Imp just finished Level A and is starting Level B and Duke is almost done with Level B and will start Level C next semester. Did I mention this is also self-teaching which makes Mom really happy?

If you are a homeschooling parent or a parent who thinks your child needs writing reinforcement, please check out IEW. Writing is such an essential skill for college and life and IEW makes it easy to teach it yourself, even if you have no writing experience or skill. Heck, I am doing it!

CoffeeShop MegaPack!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! We are hanging out with family and maybe going hiking today, so all is good.

If you haven't checked it out, you can get hundreds of my favorite actions, presets, and digital designs in one download and help support this site if you purchase my CoffeeShop Mega Pack. You can read all about it below. I will also send free updates for up to two years after purchase, just email me when you want my newest pack.

COFFEESHOP MEGA PACK: $49  - (includes hundreds of my most popular actions for the English language version of Photoshop (CS-CC) and Photoshop Elements (10-15 & 2018)*, the exclusive "not found anywhere else" actions seen below, and all of my newest favorite Lightroom presets (4,5,6, and CC), the CoffeeShop Ultimate Watermarking Action Kit, plus the CoffeeShop Professional Photographer and Designer Design Pack,  and the Holiday Digital Design Pack), instant download of approximately 500 MB,  pay securely via Paypal or credit card




Due to the downloadable nature of this product, there are no refunds. All sales are final. Please do not share the download. By purchasing any download packs from this page you agree not to sell or distribute it in any way.

Click HERE for my Professional Photographer/Graphic Designer Digital Design Pack.

Included in the CoffeeShop Action/Preset Download Pack:

1. Exclusive Action Sets only found here and not on my blog or anywhere else for free! These sets come with full pdf printable instructions. You can see examples in the images posted below. These actions will run in the  English language version of Photoshop (CS-CC) and should run in Photoshop Elements (11-2018).

- CoffeeShop "Sunset Dreams Deluxe" Action: Automatically builds and adds a gorgeous setting-sun overlay and stunning late-afternoon light to your images.

 - CoffeeShop "Instant Sunbeams" Action: Automatically builds and adds a top, left, or right realistic sunbeam and stunning afternoon tint to your images.

 - CoffeeShop "Sanibel Beach Dreams" Action: This gorgeous action allows you to retouch and paint stunning colors on your beach portraits.

 - CoffeeShop "Magic Retouching  Set":  Includes 10 individual mini retouching actions (skin smooth, powder, eye bright, mascara, bright smile, cheek and lip blush, eye shadow, peachy, redness relief, and define) in one convenient group.

 - CoffeeShop "Ultimate Watermarking Action Kit": This kit makes it easy to resize, watermark and add borders, rounded corners, etc. and sharpen your images for the web. This set includes deluxe two kits.


 

2. Photoshop/PSE Actions from The CoffeeShop  Blog included in this download (photo samples here):

Magic Retouching Action Set (exclusive to this download, not found for free on my blog),  includes skin smooth, powder, eye bright, mascara, bright smile, cheek and lip blush, eye shadow, peachy, redness relief, and define in one convenient grouped set.

2 Minute Miracle, 2 Minute Miracle Plus, 1V1H Storyboard, 2V Storyboard, 3V Storyboard, 3x4 PhotoMaker Horizontal, 2020, Adjust the Light, Amethyst Luxe, Aphrodite, Aphrodite B&W, Aphrodite Luxe, Aphrodite Posh, Aphrodite Vivid, Art Gallery, Artistic Light Leak, Attic Vintage, Auburn Matte, Auto Blog Board 1, Auto Blog Board 2, Auto BlogBoard 4, AutoH ColorBlock, AutoH2 ColorBlock, AutoV ColorBlock, Auto Paper Frame, Autumn Luxe, Autumn Vintage, Autumn Pop, Baby Blanket Blur, Baby Miracle, Baby Peach, Baby Powder, Baby PowderRoom, Baby PowderRoom 2,  BackDrop Fix, Barista No Wait, Barista, Beach Dreams Water & Sky, Beach Dreams Rosy Sky, Before and After Storyboard, Beachy Luxe, Berry Luxe, Blog Diptych, Blissful Light, Blue Cashmere Matte, Blue Velvet Luxe, Bluebell Mist, Blushing Kisses, Bold Pop, Boost, Bright Smile, Burgundy Wine Matte, Burn, ButterCream B&W, ButterCream Velvet B&W, Buttercream Beauty, Buttercream Luxe, Buttercream Vintage, Buttered Toast, Butterscotch Vintage, Butterscotch Vintage Matte, B&W Intensity, Cabernet Afternoon, Caramel Dreams, Caramel Velvet Luxe, Caramel Velvet Luxe Mini, Carnival, Cashmere Rose, Cashmere Rose Mini, Chamomile Tea, Chamomile Tea B&W,Channels, Claret Blush, Classic B&W and BitterSweet Vintage, Classic Storybook "Pollyanna", Classic Storybook "Secret Garden", Classic Storybook "Velveteen Rabbit", Coffee With Cream, ColorBar Deluxe Square, ColorBar Deluxe Horizontal, Color Cast Killer, Color Tints, ColorPop 2, ColorPop 3, Confetti Lights, Creamy Chocolate B&W, Creamy Hazy Light, Creamy Luxe, Creamy Toffee Latte, CrossProcessing, Dandelion Wine, Dark-Eyed Beauty, Dark and Eerie Night, Dark and Stormy Night B&W, Define, Denim, Don't Lose the Freckles, Downtown, Dream Maker, Dreams of Neptune, Duotone Dreams, Enchanted Forest, Enchanted Woods, Enchantment, Enchantment B&W, Enduring Love, Enduring Love BW Tinted B&W, Express Eye Bright, Eye Bright, Fabric Maker, Facebook Cover 4 Photo, Facebook Fix, Faded DayDreams, Fall Frenzy, Fashionista Luxe, Fashionista Luxe Light, Fine Art, Firefly Nights Set, Flaxen Daydreams, Focal Zoom, French Blue Haze, Gentle Dove Gray B&W, Give it Texture, Glacier Ice Lights, Glacier Ice Lights B&W, Glamour Glow, Glitter Maker, Glorious Light, Golden Afternoon, Golden Afternoon Bliss, Golden Bliss, Golden Bokeh Kit, Golden Cashmere, Golden Enchantment, Golden Sun Rays, Golden Vintage, Gossamer Wings B&W, Gossamer Wings-Color, Graphic Art, Grainy B&W, Gray Velvet, Green Tea, Group It, Hazy Afternoon, Heavenly Butterscotch, Heavenly Light, Honey Lush, Honey Luxe Matte, Honey Retro, Honey Retro 2, Hot Cocoa 2, Hot Cocoa, Ice Pop, Indigo Ink, Instant ColorBar, Intensity, Irish Breakfast Tea, Jane Austen's Romance, Layer Mask (for PSE5-PSE8), Light Leak Magic Top, Lilac Frost,  Little Perk, Lomo, Lovely B&W, Lovely Blush B&W and Color, Lovely Light, Luminous, Luminous Color Burst, Lustrous Color, Lustrous Pop, Magic Light Overlay Creator, Magic Storyboard Creator 1V,2H, Magic Board 1 8x10, Magic Board 2, 4 Square, Magic Sunset, Magic Texture Pro (PS only!), Magical Forest Light, Matte B&W, Matte Mocha B&W, Matte Color, Matte Color Vintage, Matte Enchantment, Melancholy Matte, Mellow Yellow Sunlight, Meringue B&W, Merlot Luxe, Merlot Luxe B&W, Misty Lavender, Mocha Velvet B&W, Mood Vintage B&W, Moody Monday, Moody Pop, Moonlit Fairy Dust, Mulberry Luxe, Neptune Blush, No Cream or Sugar B&W, Once Upon a Time, Once Upon A Time-Custom, Orton 2009, Paint With Light, Paint-by-Number, Painted Borders, Peachy Glow, Peachy Matte, Perfect Matte B&W, Perfect Portrait, Perfect Portrait 2, Perfect Portrait 3, Perfect Portrait 3 Express, PhotoStrip, Pink Cashmere, Pink Glow, Pink Velvet Luxe, Pinot Noir Luxe, Polaroid Effect, Posy, Portrait Express, Portrait Luxe, Portrait Give It Texture, Portrait Texture Magic (PS only), Portrait ToolBox 1.0, Portrait ToolBox 2.0, PowderRoom, PowderRoom 2, PowderRoom After Dark, Pretty Makeup, Pretty in Pink, Pure B&W, Rainbow Dream (includes rainbow texture and sun flare brush!), Rainbow Velvet  Luxe, Raspberry Tea, Raspberry Tea 2, Rays of Light, Redness Relief, Retro Warm, Robin Egg Blue, Rose-Colored Glasses, Rosy Lights Effect, Rosy Vintage, Rounded Corners, Rounded Corners 2, Sanibel Beach Dreams, Sapphire Luxe, Save Face, Selective Color, Selective Color Pro, Shabby Chic Rose, Sharpen, Simply Vintage, Smoky Velvet, Snowy Day, Snowy Dreams, Soft Autumn Glow, Soft Dove B&W, Soft Gray Satin, Soft Hazy Blues, Soft Indigo B&W, Soft Lilac Matte B&W, Soft Velvet Matte, Splendor B&W, Spotlight Drama, StarStruck, Storyboard 1V+2S, Storybook Vintage, Summer Wine, Sun Bliss, Sun Kissed, SunKissed 2, Sun-Kissed Butter, Sunny Pop, Sunset Dreams, Sweet Bakery Glazes II, Sweet Bakery Hard Glazes, Sweet Baby Dreams B&W, Sweet Cupid, Sweet Dreams, Sweet Pastel, Sweet Pastel Baby, Sweet Vanilla Custard, Teeny Tiny World (auto and custom), Texture & Frame, Timeworn Treasure, Toasted Coconut B&W, Tree Carving Magic Set, Underwater Luxe, Urban Grit, Vanilla B&W, Vanilla Latte, Velvet Ash B&W, Velvet Berry Cake, Velvet Cream, Velvet Mocha Matte, Velvet Peach, Velvet Truffle, Vignette, Violet Dreams, Vintage Bliss, Vintage Blue Luxe, Vintage Blush, Vintage Honey, Vintage News, Vintage, Vintagram, Vintagram 2, Vivid 3, Vivid 2, Vivid No Wait, Wallets 2 (with and without frames), Web ColorBlock It, Web Diptych2, Web Drop Shadow, Web Frame It, Web Round It, Web Rounded Corners, Web Painted Corners, Web Simple Frame, Web Storyboard 1, Web Storyboard 5 pics, Web Triptych, WebBoards Rounded Corners 1, Warm Cider, Warm Beauty, White Chocolate, Winter Dreams, Winter  Dreams Extreme (includes snow texture!), Winter  Wonderland, Winter Portrait Luxe.

3. Lightroom Presets for LR4 and up included in the package (photo samples here):

Silver Lights B&W Set, Moody Blues, Beauty & and the Beast, Basic B&W Collection, Sapphire Lights, Alice in Wonderland, Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, Matte Color High, Matte Color Low, S-Curve Pop, Velvet Mocha Matte B&W, The Nightingale, Cinderella, Blue Sky Pop, Sweet Baby Dreams B&W, Beauty, Neptune, Princess and the Pea, Sweet Baby, Haze Off, Autumn Pop-Soft, Autumn Pop-Soft Matte, Autumn Pop-Super, Autumn Pop-Super Matte, Pretty in Pink, Pretty in Pink High Contrast, Velvet Butter, Matte Color Set (Blush, Burgundy Wine, Cool Breezes, Drama, Heavenly, and Reset it), Silver Violet Matte Set (Silver Violet, Silver Violet Haze), Everyday Matte Color, Everyday Matte B&W, Soft Dove B&W Set, Tinted B&W Set

Click here to see all of the Photoshop/PSE Actions and Lightroom Presets included in this Mega Download Pack. And you can see examples of what is included in the design pack below. Many of the design elements are layered .psd files, so you must have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to use them.  I have also included many .png and .jpg files that can be opened in most editing programs (such as the digital papers). Most of these designs will not work in Lightroom.

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Unfortunately I can not provide one-on-one support on downloading, loading, or using these design elements on your computer and instructions are not included in the download, but I have full instructions posted here and I do have many detailed tutorials posted on my blog.  If you are new to using digital designs, papers, scrapbooking designs, etc. you might want to download a few free ones on my blog first!

Due to the downloadable nature of this product, there are no refunds. All sales are final. Please do not share the download. By purchasing any download packs from this page you agree not to sell or distribute it in any way. Please save a copy of the download somewhere safe in case your computer crashes. Once the 1 year from purchase free update time has expired you must repurchase the pack if you want a new download link. 

NOTE: You will be directed to the instant download site once you make your purchase and you will also receive an email with an additional download link. The zipped file is quite large (over 500 MB) so it might take some time to download if your internet is slow.  For help: Click here.   And thank you so much for making it possible for me to continue to create for The CoffeeShop Blog!

CoffeeShop "Vintage Photo Edit" Kit: Part 1, Worn Glass Plate Texture!

I am so excited to post my newest Fine Art editing kit for Photoshop/PSE! I call this one "Vintage Photo Edit" (clever and original, right?) and the entire kit will be posted over the next three days.  

The full kit includes the beautiful vintage glass plate texture you can download in this post, a fine art Photoshop/PSE B&W action, and a full-step-by-step tutorial. The tutorial will walk you through how I edited this flower image using the B&W action and this worn texture and added beautiful window light to an otherwise flat image.

The beauty of this type of editing is you can easily create gorgeous art to sell, print on cards, or hang on your own walls using an inexpensive editing program like (affiliate link) Photoshop Elements.

You can download this high-resolution Fine Art Flower Print I made for this tutorial by clicking on it.  You can also download the original image here.

(original image)

Download the CoffeeShop "Worn Glass Plate" Fine Art Texture! And be sure to come back later for the continuation of this editing kit.

Do you want to download my favorite CoffeeShop PSE/Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets or Design Elements in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures.

For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

More from Rita:
Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

CoffeeShop "Texture and Frame" Fine Art Photoshop/PSE Action!

We had such a great weekend. The weather was gorgeous and we were able to go on two adventures in the Gooney. I will blog about  them later.

But today I am "chained" to my computer (hee hee!) so that I can get this new action finished and posted for you.

I "cleverly" call this Photoshop/PSE action "Texture and Frame". This action automatically applies your favorite texture on your image and then adds two adjustable light/dark textured frames.  Pick your favorite and you are good to go, or don't add the frames and simply enjoy your pretty textured image.

You can check out all of my free Fine Art textures here, or grab my favorite textures plus hundreds of professional photo storyboards, actions, and Lightroom presets in my MegaDownload pack. If you purchase any of my easy download packs you can get exclusive actions not found for free anywhere else and free updates of the pack for up to two years.  I usually update the packs with new stuff weekly.

Original images used in my tutorials: (Bird, white flower, purple flower).

CoffeeShop "Texture & Frame" Photoshop/PSE Action Tutorial:

Open your image. You can download this flower image if you want to follow along with this tutorial.

Start the "Texture and Frame" action and when prompted, open your texture. I used my free "Kismet Pecan" texture on this image.

The action will prompt you to resize the texture to fit your image. If you can't see the transfer lines as seen in my screenshot above, click Ctrl(Cmd)-0 (zero) to zoom out and repeat to zoom back in. 

Once you are happy with the texture placement, click the checkmark to accept.

You will be prompted to adjust the frame placement. You can adjust it symmetrically or asymmetrically as I did above.

This is my image before any adjustments. You have to turn on the frames, they are optional. :-)

I turned on the second "Texture" layer and kept it in Soft Light Blending mode. You can adjust the Blending Modes and Opacity of either/both layers. I usually use Soft Light, Overlay, Screen, and/or Multiply.

I have two textured frame options, a light or a dark version. In this example above I turned on the "Light Frame". Grouped to this layer is a "Desaturate Light Frame" layer that removes any excess color from the frame. You can turn this off, adjust the opacity, or open it and adjust it to taste.

You can also adjust the lightness of the frame by moving the sliders on the Levels adjustment "Frame" layer.

If you want a dark textured frame, turn on the "Dark Frame" layer instead and adjust it as suggested above.

I hope you enjoy this new action! I would love to see your own edits using it over on my Facebook page.

Download the CoffeeShop "Texture & Frame" Fine Art Photoshop/PSE Action!

Do you want to download my favorite CoffeeShop PSE/Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets or Design Elements in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures.

For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

More from Rita:
Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

"This and That" from Rita of CoffeeShop and "Beautiful Heart Overlays" from Jill Wellington

Rita of CoffeeShop: Another rainy day today, which means I will have some time to work on my blog. I have several Valentine-inspired freebies coming out in the next days so be sure to stop by and check them out! You can see all of my Valentine-inspired designs here. I also have some gorgeous fine art textures and a new action coming out next week. Want to see something specific here, leave a comment!

First business of the day: I have been working on updating my blog so you can easily find all of my free professional products for photographer and graphic designers. If you are new to my blog I am so happy you found me! And if you are a regular reader, I thank you so much. This site is only possible because you come and visit.

The CoffeeShop Blog is a one-woman run show by me (Rita). I work at home running CoffeeShop and also homeschool my two boys (Duke, 13 and Imp, 10). This blog is my creative outlet and I create all of the freebies I post here myself. Almost all of my freebies come with free commercial terms-of-use, so use them any way you want. If you make money off of them, that is even better!!! Just don't sell them "as is" as I want to keep them free here on my blog. :-)

You can access my freebies from the top menubar or click on the links below. You can also grab all of my favorites in a convenient download pack and help support this site. These download packs are filled with hundreds and hundreds of goodies and also contain exclusive Photoshop/PSE actions not found anywhere else. Plus you get free updates up to two years after purchase. 

I also do custom work including photo-editing and graphic design (storyboards, actions, papers, etc.). If you need help editing your images or have something specific you would like for me to create, email me and I will send you a quote.

Click on the links below to see all of my freebies!

Photoshop/PSE Actions

Lightroom Presets

Textures/Overlays/Digital Papers

Storyboards/Frames

Digital Design/Scrapbooking 

Tutorials

Now on to the second business of the day. :-)

A week or so ago I posted a Facebook Valentine cover which featured some beautiful images by my friend Jill Wellington. I had a few questions from readers about where to get the really nice heart overlays used in her photos. Well, she creates them herself and sells them in her Etsy store! I asked her to put together a little post about them so you can check them out. 

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I will now introduce you to Jill Wellington (Etsy Shop, Facebook, Blog, YouTube Videos, Pixabay).

Jill Wellington: Since November here in Michigan means snow, white

and often gray skies, I love that we get to 

brighten things up for Valentine's Day!

It's fun to create special Valentine portraits to share with family

and friends on social media and I have some simple ideas and

products in my Etsy shop to help make that easy.

Try photographing your subject blowing towards the camera,

then add my "Blowing Hearts" overlay you can get HERE.

NOTE: To add my overlays, you will need to use an editing program

that supports the use of layers such as Photoshop or Elements.

Simply PLACE the overlay over your photo and use the MOVE tool to resize,

stretch or move the overlay to enhance your photo.

Erase or mask off any hearts you don't want.

I also offer a "Heart Glitter" overlay:

Or, you can play with my "Heart Frame"

Try photographing your subject in front of a white wall.

A garage is a GREAT place for this as most garage walls are white,

and the light is exquisite in an open garage. 

Just don't shoot in direct sunlight.

Then you can add one of my "Heart Bokeh Overlays".

The Heart Bokeh Overlays come in a set with four colors.

For a more dramatic background, check out my set of 

pink, red and gold "Valentine Bokeh Overlays".

To add my overlays, you will need to use an editing program

that supports the use of layers such as Photoshop or Elements.

Simply PLACE over your photo and use the MOVE tool to resize,

stretch or move the overlay to enhance your photo.

Erase or mask off any hearts you don't want.

Lots of love on Valentine's Day!

Do you want to download my favorite CoffeeShop PSE/Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets or Design Elements in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures.

For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

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