Good to Wow: Good Morning Edition, Edited

First, I want to thank Jill and Ashley for the time they take to host this challenge and to teach! Ashley has not only given great tutorials, but she has been so patient with me asking her questions!

So this week we had to photograph what says "Good morning" to us. I am NOT a morning person, so I prefer that no one say "Good morning" to me too loudly until I've had my shower...and poured my first cup of tea.

A summary of this week for me: I am working with just RAW photos, which I love! And good thing because all of my photos were underexposed (my house is so dark!), so I was able to adjust the exposure. AND...I have figured out those crazy layer masks!

Here was my first SOOC:


And here is my new and improved teapot:

To begin with, I used all of Ashley's adjustments she suggested last week: the high pass filter and then setting the blend mode at soft light. I then ran Coffeeshop's Urban Grit action. Then I added a scratch texture I got from DeviantART; I brushed back on the teapot with a brush set at 75% opacity.

My second SOOC of my delicious tea:


My edit:

After I completed the adjustments Ashley suggested last week, I added a gradient black/white layer which I brought down to 25% opacity.

My SOOC shot of my favorite mug:


Minnie and Goofy now:

Yep - Ashley's edits. Then Coffeeshop's Soft and Dreamy action, painted it off the Disney mug, added a black/white gradient fill layer, adjusted opacity. Then I painted back the mug.

Last, the SOOC of my tea cups:


And my new tea cups:

High pass filter, set blend mode to soft light. Ran Coffeeshop's Johnna's Tea Party (appropriate, no?). Added Coffeeshop's Vintage Valentine texture. Brushed off the front cup with brush set at 50% opacity, brushed off back cup with brush set at 35% opacity. I then added a black/white gradient fill layer and adjusted the opacity appropriately.

And that is it! What a fun tea party!

Good to Wow: Good Morning Edition, SOOC

I don't like coffee. When I was a teacher, I tried my very best to acquire the bitter taste of coffee. I did it because the other teachers seemed to find so much purpose and calm in their daily routine which took them to the cafeteria to fill up their coffee mugs. Of course they always complained about the cafetera coffee, but yet they returned day after day. Despite my attempts at coffee acquisition, I still find the taste repugnant. The smell is delicious, though; it's just one of those strange enigmas of life.

What I do love first thing in the morning is a cup of delicious, aromatic hot tea. In fact, I have become quite a tea snob. My husband spoiled me with a beautiful cast iron tea pot from Teavana for Christmas.



My new dragonfly tea pot has a mesh infuser insert, and that is where the magic happens. Along with my tea pot, my husband presented me with a fragrant tea blend: Apple Lemon Pomegranate Rooibos. DELICIOUS!



Since then, I have made a couple of trips to the local Teavana to begin my collected assortment. All of my choices so far have been refreshing and soothing.

Besides collecting actual tea, I have quite a collection of mugs. I typically pick up a mug when I am traveling somewhere new. One of my favorites is one I picked up on one of our Disney trips. I love it because I'm a little bit of a Disney freak, and I have so many great memories of our times there. (Already counting the days 'til Disney 2011!!)



Besides mugs, I have an eclectic collection of tea cups and porcelain tea pots. Unfortunately, most of those are still packed away. I did leave out two cups, however, because my mother-in-law prefers tea cups over mugs when she visits.



If you aren't a tea drinker, why not give it a try? Tazo is a delicious brand of tea bags you can pick up at any grocery store. (It also happens to be Starbucks' brand!) Tea is not only enjoyable to drink, but it is very good for you too!