Happy Halloween!

Saturday was our playgroup's 3rd annual Halloween party. Each family comes dressed in a theme. This year, our family chose Toy Story costumes. Jessie, Buzz Lightyear & Woody The boys' costumes were easy. Dylan's came from the Disney Store. Trent purchased his shirt online, already owned the handkerchief, and I found his cowboy hat (not pictured) at a kids' consignment sale for $1! My costume took a tad more work. I did buy the red hat at...

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Shoot and Edit: Memories edit

I used a couple of actions this week to brighten up my photo: Ran Ashley's Nice & Easy action. Adjusted layers to taste.  Merged all layers. Ran Gold Glory action from Momaziggy's Jewel Tone Wash Collection. Adjusted layers to taste. Merged all layers. Added vignette via steps in this video Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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Art Wall

I've been wanting a spot to display some of Dylan's artwork for a while now. A more defined spot than the front of the fridge. I started a board on Pinterest to "collect" the various ideas I liked to inspire my art wall. I chose the corner of our dining room where his little Ikea LÄTT table & chairs set sits as the wall space to use. With the limits of that space as my starting point, I narrowed down ideas to a simple frame & bulldog clip...

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Halloween Party 2010

Working on my costume for our playgroup's annual Halloween party this weekend had me inspired to finally complete a page about last year's fun. Each family comes dressed up in a theme. I know Trent & I don't look very costumed in the group photo but we were - we were zoo keepers to Dylan's monkey. ;) We stuck to simple polos and jeans with name badges. This year we're stepping it up a notch and doing Toy Story. Dylan as Buzz, Trent as Woody...

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Mr Potato Head Pirate Pumpkin

Last year after Halloween, I found a Mr Potato Head Pirate Pumpkin Kit in the clearance section at our grocery store. I thought Dylan might enjoy it this year (and hopefully future years too) so I tossed it into the cart. Fast forward to late September when I bought him a fake pumpkin from the craft store to decorate. Knowing my toddler, I knew he would want to pull the pieces in & out and play with it so I went with a fake pumpkin. During...

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Shoot and Edit: Memories

This week's prompt of "memories" inspired me to look back in my photo files. I decided upon this photo I took in May. Days warm enough for pool play in the backyard are definitely a memory at the moment. ISO 400, ss 1/250, f5.0 Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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Admit One

Our playgroup had a great time earlier this month attending a puppet show and having lunch at Mellow Mushroom. Dylan was even bold enough to climb on stage and participate - sort of. He mainly stood up there and watched the action. ;) Supplies: Simply Tiffany Studios Summer Template 1; Karen Funk's Giggles & Grins papers; Robyn Meierotto's Kraft FunDay elements; Audrey Neal's Everyday Celebrations Journaling Bits; Jen Allyson's Notions Pink...

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Shoot and Edit: Pumpkin edit

I kept my edit this week very simple. I used Ashley's Nice & Easy action. Tweaked the various layers. Then merged and cropped. That's it. Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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fall fun

A glimpse of the fun we had at a local farm earlier in the month: Supplies: Jen Papadimitriou's October Blueprint template; Sara Schmutz's Trick or Treat kit; Jen Lessinger's Fall In kit; Karla Dudley's Digi Essentials (stitches - recolored); Audacious Designs' Neutral Stock papers; Miss Mint's Fat Plastic Alphabet - Citron; Rhonna Farrer's Celebration kit; Janda Everyday Casual fo...

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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom fun

One of the books Dylan received for his birthday this year was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. He's been enjoying this book a lot recently - I think partly because he suddenly has more interest in letters. To help encourage this, I thought we could try acting out the book through art & magnets. I saw an idea on Pinterest to create a construction paper coconut tree, tape it to a cookie sheet and then use the magnets. I decided to try the idea but on...

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Shoot and Edit: Pumpkin

We visited the NC State Fair this past Saturday. With this week's theme in mind, I stopped by the pumpkin carving display to take a few photos. This particular face caught my attention: ISO 400, ss 1/80, f5.6 Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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Trick or Treat: hybrid cards

Sara Schmutz has a new release today - Trick or Treat - featuring 16 papers and 20 elements: I used the kit to create a couple of Halloween cards. If you haven't tried using digital kits to make cards, you should! It's such an easy way to get more use of a kit and make several of the same design with minimal effort (of course, don't tell any of my recipients that I said these were minimal effort!). To start, I created an 8.5x11 blank page in Photoshop...

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Tissue Paper Pumpkins

In March, our playgroup decorated shamrock outlines with tissue paper. It was such a fun and easy project, I decided to try it again yesterday with Dylan and my niece, Lily. Supplies - clear contact paper, pumpkin outline, bits of colored tissue paper I hand sketched pumpkins onto red-orange paper. Then used my x-acto to cut them out. I stuck the pumpkin outlines to clear contact paper and put one in front of each child along with a small pile...

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forward facing

Dylan taking in the view in August 2010 when he was finally big enough to face forward: Supplies: DHD Fall Blog Hop kit; Deena Rutter's Happier Frames; Sara Schmutz's ABC, Back to Basics, & Nursery Rhymes kits; Michelle Underwood's Best Days of Our Life extras; Pink Trike Design's Dated Monthly Worn Journaling Tags & Hip Holiday alpha; Just the Way You Are font. Inspired by Two Peas Weekly Challenge Sketch. ...

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Shoot & Edit: Orange edit

One of the things I disliked about my SOOC shot was how dark it was. I was able to fix it with a very quick & simple edit. I started with Ashey's Nice & Easy action then followed steps from Sarah at Naptime Momtog for the HDR action. Mouseover to see the difference. Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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Halloween Night 2010

Last Halloween we took Dylan trick or treating for the first time. Literally only went to 3 of our immediate neighbors. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. He did love getting candy handed to him and clinched it tightly in his fist (we had a few melted chocolate bars to say the least!). The photo below is one of my favorite from the night. We bumped into our neighbor's 2-1/2 year old son who "explained" to Dylan what was going on. Dylan...

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First Pediatrician Appointment

Dylan was only 3 days old when we took him to his first pediatrician's appointment. Love how peaceful he looks napping in his seat and clutching his Soothie (he still loves that!) as we waited to be called back. My inspiration for the page came from last month's Color Swatch Challenge at Design House Digital. I've had this photo pulled for sometime to scrap. The challenge colors were perfect & just the kick I needed to get the page completed....

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Shoot and Edit: Orange

Trent, Dylan and I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon at a nearby farm doing all sorts of fun fall things (hayride, pumpkin picking, etc). Our final 'big' activity was the corn maze. When we started off, Dylan was insistent upon carrying the flag all by himself. I positioned myself a bit ahead of him on the path to get a few shots. Perhaps not the best overall photo, but I love this shot regardless - the excitement of waving the flag in front...

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