A friend just pointed me toward this post to learn some basics on mapping. I joined CG specifically so I could share what came out of reading through your instructions. Here's my attempt at part 1 of your tutorial. Not bad for a first attempt, and all thanks to excellent instructions. Thank you!!! (FYI, I used GIMP for this image.)

I'll have to poke around here and see what else I can learn, and hopefully even contribute back at some point down the road.