Shoot and Edit: Laugh edit

My editing steps for this week's photo: Crop image Ran The CoffeeShop Blog's Perfect Portrait 3 action. Adjusted a number of layers and removed some. Added new solid fill layer over background image in a light tan color. Used masking to apply it to the sidewalk area only. Admittedly, no puddles on the sidewalk is a bit fake but ... I really disliked how distracting they were especially the larger one near Dylan's head.  Join in the fun with...

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Puddle Jumper

Last week before Dylan lost his fear of "big pools" (as he calls them), he refused to get into the infant floats we had. So, like good parents, we layered our kid in protection. Poor thing ... besides the standard swim diaper & trunks, he had on swim shoes, a rash guard, a swim vest (hand me down from friends that was a bit too large), water wings and a hat: Then he shocked us on Wednesday by not only jumping into the pool, but jumping in at...

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Guest Blogging

I was honored when Julie asked me to be one of her guest bloggers at her blog - Back to the Basics. Find me there today with a little giveaway....

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Shoot and Edit: Laughter

Apparently being 2 makes you brave. The day after his birthday, Dylan suddenly began jumping off the side of the pool. The day before he was still iffy about getting in the "big" pool. Captured this shot from across the pool (trying to keep my camera dry!) right after he jumped, went slightly under (about to his mouth), then popped up and began laughing so hard. He couldn't wait to do it again! :) ISO 100, ss 1/200, f7.1 Join in the fun with...

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frogs, books & friends

A local coffee shop has a weekly story & craft time each Monday. A few weeks ago, Dylan, my niece and I met friends there. The theme that day was frogs so after the story was over, the boys each got to make a frog puppet. Truthfully, I think they enjoyed the glue sticks the most. ;) Design a lift of NicoleLeBlanc's Sippy Cup layout at Two Peas. Supplies: Karen Funk's Claire & In Bloom kits, and Simplicity alpha (recolored); Design House...

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Shoot and Edit: Summer edit

I had fun editing this photo of Dylan & his buddy playing at the sprayground. I only had my point & shoot on me that day (way too much lugging kids, stuff & DSLR to the pool) and took the shot from the comfort of my chair under an umbrella. With the glare of the sun making it difficult to see the LCD screen, the shot was a bit tilted and dark. I corrected those and tightened up the focus a bit with my edit. Ran Gold Glory action from...

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Cars Birthday Party

Dylan has definitely had a love for cars (specifically Disney-Pixar Cars) for the last year. I joke my mom started it with the Lightning McQueen walk/ride toy she gave him for his first birthday. Maybe it was the light-up Lightning McQueen shoes Trent picked out for him in December. Or maybe just that boys & cars go hand-in-hand? Regardless the reason, my child loves all things Cars. Thus, it was pretty obvious the theme for his 2nd birthday...

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Things You Said ...

I loved this overlay & prompts from Paislee Press. Dylan cracks me up right now with funny things he says and his "sayings" for certain things (ie, "me me" = "excuse me"). Definitely everyday moments I wanted to capture for his album. Supplies: Paislee Press's Conversation Piece No 1; all patterned papers from Design House Digital's NSD 2011 Blog Hop kit; Rhonna Farrer's Celebration kit; Daily Birdie font. Layout included in School of Design...

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Look who's two!

Celebrating Dylan's 2nd birthday today - still hard for me to believe. From tiny newborn to fun, independent toddler. He's a happy boy with nearly a constant smile on his face. An infectious laugh. Sweet and loving to all. Enjoys playing with his friends. Loves cars (especially those Disney-Pixar ones), Tom & Jerry and, of course, his family. :) He gives his Dada & I the best hugs & kisses. We are so very grateful. Happy birthday, D...

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Shoot and Edit: Summer

Nothing says "summer" like fun splashing with your friends at the sprayground. :) ISO 200, ss 1/100, f11.0 Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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Cars Birthday Party Preview

I've been busy this week finalizing the details for Dylan's birthday party. Here are a few sneak peeks I've shared recently on Instagram: Creating a "Dinoco" oil can label as part of the decorations. More party decor - a real hub cap. (Great find at the Scrap Exchange.) Bean bags. The menu. (Inspired by this post at Mad in Crafts blog.) I'll share more photos & details after the event. In the meantime, I have some cupcakes that need...

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Birthday Banner

I've always loved seeing the fabric birthday banners other crafters have made and thought perhaps someday. Someday no more - Dylan's birthday is coming up next week so that seemed like the perfect excuse to take action on this project. I found a couple of great tutorials online (Audrey Pawdrey & See Mommy Sew) and used a mixture of fabrics from my stash to create a fun banner we could use for all our family birthday celebrations. Supplies:...

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first {full} haircut

At 20 months, Dylan finally got his first full haircut. My stepmother is a hair stylist so we went to visit her at her salon. This was also his first time in a salon as she had done his previous trims at their home. Dylan did a great job of sitting relatively still until we neared the end. At that point, I pulled up Curious George clips on my iPhone for him to watch so she could complete the cut. Then he had fun "helping" sweep up the mess. ;) Supplies:...

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The Cat Drawer

I'm constantly on a quest to better improve the use of space in our small home and am quite proud of this idea. Backing up to when we bought our house in March 2003, it was just me, Trent & our 2 cats. The cats' litter box tucked away perfectly into the "nook" in our then computer/scrap/miscellaneous room. After Dylan arrived and we decided to turn that room into his room, the computer/scrap stuff moved into the guest room and the cat litter...

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Shoot and Edit: Red, White & Blue edit

My original photo needed a little punch of color. Sounds funny, I know, but comparing the edit to the original I could really see how dull the SOOC shot was. I kept my edit simple again [it's my style clearly :) ]. Started with Ashley's Nice & Easy action and tweaked each layer. Merged. Then tried the step she taught this week about using the marquee tool & free transform. I had no idea! Love that. Along with a bit of cloning, I was able...

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