1/31/2011

Shoot and Edit: Red

Saturday I pulled out the paints so we could make a handprint heart plaque (yes, I'm officially addicted to handprint & footprint art while Dylan is still small).  Dylan was sooo excited and very patient with Trent & I as we helped him.  Afterward, I handed him the paper plate I had squirted red paint on and the foam brush so he could "free paint."  He had a blast.  And I got several shots.  My favorite for the Shoot...

1/28/2011

Shoot and Edit: Good Night edit

When I went to edit my Good Night photo, I was momentarily stumped.  It was one of my first in manual mode (trying hard to learn and become more comfortable with that over auto) and truthfully, I liked the softness.  That said, I forged on ahead and started working on adjustments beginning with the duplicate layer, high pass filter that Ashley has mentioned in the previous weeks.  From there, I started following along with the first...

1/26/2011

Shoot and Edit: Good Night

This week's prompt for Shoot and Edit is what says "Good Night" to you. I had an idea for my photo almost immediately, but kept getting wrapped up in our evening rituals and forgetting!  Finally, last night I remembered and snapped a few shots.  "Good night" to me is cuddling with my sleepy boy just before his bedtime and reading books.  ISO 3200, ss 1/500, f4.5 His lovey and Soothie (pacifier) are restricted to bedtime only so...

1/25/2011

card: Happy Healing

I actually made this card several months ago and forgot to share.  It's a lift of Get Well Card by KristiRae at Two Peas. Supplies: Stampin' Up Kiwi Kiss cardstock; miscellaneous white, blue & ivory cardstocks; A2Z Essentials & We R Memory Keepers patterned papers; black stamp ink; Making Memories letter stickers; Band-Ai...

1/24/2011

December Daily 2010: Final Pages

The final pages in our December Daily album.  I decided to continue it through January 1st since that was the last day of our Christmas celebrations with family ... And I created a page for November 30th to start the album since that marked the start of our Christmas (how could I leave out that memorable moment with Santa?) ... All that is left is to create the title page and cover then have it printed at Shutterfly! Supplies: Ali...

1/20/2011

Shoot and Edit: Good Morning edit

Confession, I'm really wishing I had one of these on hand at the moment.  The edit is making me hungry! No Camera Raw.  I did try opening it as a raw image in PS and all I got was a grainy gray nothingness so I skipped that.  I opened the original image (on the right) as a .jpeg in PS and started with adjusting the levels.  I used the picker to set my white and black points.  Then I selected "enhance monochromatic contrast"...

1/19/2011

Cars Blanket

Yesterday Dylan and I went fabric shopping for a couple of gifts I am working on.  While browsing, we came across flannel with Disney's Cars characters Lightning McQueen and Mater.  Cars is a favorite of Dylan's right now and he was very excited.  I set the bolt across the cart in front of him.  He kept pointing at the cars saying, "ca, ca."  How could I not buy a little bit? After he went to bed last night, I referenced...

1/18/2011

December Daily 2010: Days 21-25

Nearing the end of our December Daily pages, here are days 21 - 25: Supplies: Ali Edwards's December Daily Layered Template Package Vol 3 and 31 Days Overlays; Miss Mint's Winter Sparkle kit; Tia Bennett's Juicy Accents; Vinnie Pearce's Punch Elements; Betsy Tuma's Snow Kissed Christmas kit; Deena Rutter's Happy Christmas kit; Robyn Meierotto's Holly Jolly kit; Amienne, Impact Label and 2Peas Old Type fon...

1/17/2011

Shoot and Edit: Good Morning

Technically, I picked up this delicious donut muffin from a local bakery during lunch last Thursday.  But having a made from scratch chocolate donut muffin earlier in the day would definitely be a good morning, thus, it's my SOOC shot for this week's Shoot and Edit. Join in the fun with Forever'n Ever'n Always Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

1/14/2011

Making Playdough

Dylan and I have been trying to keep occupied indoors as much as possible recently.  Even on the sunniest of days since the ice storm, it's been bitterly cold with a nasty wind.  We ventured out yesterday morning for fun with our playgroup, but after naptime needed something to do.  I finally got around to one idea that had been on my list all week - making playdough. I used a recipe from my aunt... Mix 1 cup of flour, half a cup...

1/13/2011

Shoot and Edit: Winter edit

I liked my SOOC shot I shared earlier in the week.  Knew it needed a bit of editing.  Played with it some, but waited until today to really edit it and follow Ashley's tutorial.  Can I just say, "WOW!"  This is why I have an old version of Photoshop (using CS) and never worried about upgrading - I acknowledge that I've probably never used even 2% of what the program can do.  Since I don't own Adobe Camera Raw, I did a few...

1/12/2011

December Daily 2010: Days 16-20

Lots of celebrating (playgroup, holiday party, Dylan - 17 months!) and two special messages from Santa (a letter and a video message) rounded out days 16-20 in December ... Supplies: Ali Edwards's December Daily Layered Template Package Vol 3 and 31 Days Overlays; Miss Mint's Winter Sparkle and Craft Jar kits; Tia Bennett's Fit 2b Tied kit; Karla Dudley's Holiday '10 - Word Art; Denna Rutter's Happy Christmas kit; Robyn Meierotto's Holly Jolly...

1/11/2011

Shoot and Edit: Winter

Yesterday while reading Jill's blog, I discovered the Shoot and Edit weekly challenge.  Since I'm trying to improve both my photography and editing skills, it seemed like a natural fit so I'm jumping right in with this week's challenge - winter.  It was a perfect fit with our forecast of snow and then, well, the snow never materialized so I dug back into photos from last month for an icy shot of the plum tree in our front yard.  Here...

1/10/2011

Weekend Full of DIY Projects

We were busy around here over the weekend tackling and completing several in progress and new projects... Trent installed our new storm door:  Loving it.  Next I want repaint the front door (it's in desperate need of fresh paint after 8 years), remove the kickplate (it's also seen better days and not as visible now anyhow), replace the knocker (again, looking rough, but I love the general look and it's built-in viewer so I'm searching...