Wonder what it would be like if parrots came alive in a painting?

This week's Photoshop assignment had us learning how to use quick masks and stored selections. The assignment was simple - using a mask create a new background for two parrots.

Now I'm not one to do anything "simply" and this assignment was no exception. We were provided an image for the foreground (an image of two parrots). I supplemented this image with two of my photographs - one of a closeup of a pair of flowers and one of a bed of tulips. My photographs were taken at the Elizabeth Gamble Gardens in Palo Alto, CA earlier this year. I've included the two original photographs. Can you guess how many clipping masks I used in this assignment? Hint... it wasn't one or even two.