1. I began by scanning a collection of organic textures, an oak leaf and a few old photographs I purchased at an antique store. These images were scanned in at a higher resolution then my intended photoshop file. "That way I can focus in on a texture without degrading an image by enlarging it".

2. I decided to start with a close-up of my scanned leaf. In a separate photoshop file, I prepared the image by making it grayscale and chose Image> Adjust> Levels to create a punchy contrast. This became my first layer.

3. I created another layer, filled it with a brownish color and added an empty layer mask. I then chose Image> Apply Image to add the grayscale texture directly to the layer mask. This is achieved by choosing the textured layer in the layer pull down menu and selecting a channel source. This applies a grayscale directly to the layer mask which created the leaf pattern to the brown layer. A variation of the pattern was simply added by duplicating the layer(Command-J), changing the layer's color to green and flipping the mask image by choosing Edit> Transform> Flip Horizontal. ( Tip: Having the preview button chosen in the Apply Image's Dialogue Box, allows you to see first-hand, the results of different options. In my case, I have chosen to capture the grayscale image from the black channel, however you can select anyone of the channels as your source.)

To add to the complexity, I inserted another line texture on a layer and once again used it as a source of texture for a layer mask. Similar to step3, I created a new layer, chose white as my layer color and used the apply image technique to capture the texture to the layer's mask. This time I chose the "invert" option in the Apply Image's Dialogue Box which reversed the values of the image in the mask.

5. Smaller versions of the leaves were added for more color and a flat brown colored layer with "Multiply" as the layer mode made the background "recede".

6. Satisfied with the background, I decided to add more bolder and defining elements. This texture was created by scraping in lines with an utility knife on a piece of wood painted with india ink and white gouache. Once again I used the Apply Image technique. With this texture, I applied the image to the layer's mask that contained a dark-brown color. In order to make the lines more pronounced, I chose Image> Adjust> Levels to create more contrast. To let me view the changes first-hand, I first Option-Clicked the mask window on the layer, to give me an exclusive view of the image contained in the mask.

10. Other elements were added, which included a few old photographs, scribbled notes and a roughly drawn white shape for the bottom. Once I was satisfied with my collage I flattened the file and printed it out. I was pleased with what the monitor was showing me, however the print looked rather flat. I then went back to my flattened file and added a Brightness/Contrast and Levels Adjustment Layers to give the image more punch.