wordless wednesday {have you seen this child?}

A day in the life

This picture isn't from today, but it could be. Anyone who knows Jboy knows his love for cars. He can spend hours laying in the floor rolling them, lining them up, crashing them and anything else he can think of. I don't think I've ever known another child who loves one type of toy more than he does. Oh, he'll play with other things, but cars hold the most special place in his heart. I love that about him.



I love the frame on this picture. What I love more is that I made it myself! Thanks to this tutorial on Cathy Zielske's blog I now have one more trick up my Photoshop sleeve. There are so many great techniques out there and I can't wait to learn more!

Until next time...

come out, come out, whoever you are!

Obviously now that I've finished my {so stinkin' fun} class I've resumed my non-blogging ways. Sorry about that. For the past few days I've had some post ideas zooming around my head, but I {obviously} haven't put them up. Why? What comes next is a blatant plea for comments. I've been feeling lately like there's not much point in posting, as I feel like everyone who reads this is someone I talk to on a regular basis and therefore already knows everything I've said. Does that make sense? I guess I'm feeling a little insecure. Other than our parents coming to see pictures of Jonathan, does anyone really care? Wow, I sound melodramatic. I really don't mean it that way. So, basically I'm asking... if you're out there... leave me a comment & let me know! All you have to do is say, hi! I won't bite, I promise!

I'd better post a couple of pictures lest my mother disown me.

Last week Jboy & I went to a playdate at Stars & Strikes, a bowling alley/arcade. He's become quite good at bowling on the Wii (for an almost 3 year old), but I wasn't sure how he'd do with a real ball. Other than a major meltdown when his turn didn't come around fast enough, he had a great time. I love that you can have the bumpers come up automatically for the players that need them. On our lane we had three children, two 3 year olds & Jboy, and myself & Rachael (one of the other kids' mom). It was great fun as you can see from the pics!

Day 13

This was our final lesson. I'm so sad this class is over; I've learned so much! In this lesson we learned how to create at 9 photo grid. At first I wasn't sure I had 9 pictures that would work, but I came across these from May 2008 and knew they'd be perfect.

Lesson 13



Jessica Sprague announced some new classes that will be starting soon. Hopefully I can find a way to take one or two. You can never learn too much!

friends are always worth the trouble

Since taking this fun class I've been thinking about trying my hand at creating a digital scrapbook page. Well, earlier this week I won a giveaway on Amanda's blog where the prize was the entire July 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson! I LOVE this collection! What a perfect opportunity to do my first "real" digital layout.

Last week Laurel, Rebecca & Lisa (who really needs a blog!) took me out to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant for my birthday. Lisa's hubby, Michael, snapped this picture of us before we left, and I love it. My only regret is that our friend, Pam (who also needs a blog!) wasn't able to join us. It would've been nice to have all of my besties in one picture.

I like how it turned out. It's nice to be able to add an element, and then remove it if you don't like how it looks. In paper scrapping that can be difficult, especially if you've already glued it down. Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely keep paper scrapping, I love the feel of the paper & pictures, but this is something fun to do on the side.



Well, it sounds like Jboy is about to wake up from his nap so I'd better run. Until next time!

Day 12

I'm really excited about today's lesson. I hadn't ever thought about doing a storyboard before, but I like it! Searching for photos to use on this project made me realize that I need to do a better job of taking pictures in different directions. This particular lesson called for 3 photos in portrait "orientation". I have way more pictures in landscape. Anyhoo, I found these three pics from Christmas 2007 that I love & thought they'd look cute... and they do! ;o) I should probably have edited the pics a bit for lighting, color, etc. before I did this, but I can always go back & do it later.

Lesson 12
After:


I think you could make really cute gifts doing this. What do you think?

Day 11

Today's lesson was on Selective Recoloring. I've often wondered how to do this, and have tried a few times in the past, but I think her method was easier. It appears that I'm now obsessed with adding text to my pictures but, hey, it adds a little something, don't you think?


Lesson 11
Before:


After:


I think we only have 3 more days of class and I really don't want it to end. I've learned so many fun tricks. Hopefully I can take another class soon, there's so much more to learn!

Day 10

I don't know if I'm 100% happy with it, but here's what I have so far. Today's lesson was putting several steps together to create a project from start to finish.

Lesson 10
Before:


After:

one more...

then I really need to get off here & go to bed.

Before:


After:


I love how this one turned out. It will definitely be printed & put somewhere. Who knows, it may even wind up in more than one place as I can see it in the living room & think it would be super cute in Jboy's big boy room. Whenever we get around to that.

messing around

Just messing around a little more & had to share.

Before:


After:

Day 9

Here's the picture from today's lesson. The difference is subtle, but if you look closely, you can see that the edges are a bit darker in the "after" photo. And I added text. ;o) I'll probably try this on another picture & see if I can get a more dramatic result.

Lesson 9
Before:


After:


What do you think? Can you tell a difference?

Day 8

Today we learned about using word art in our photos. I pretty much already knew how to do that, but I did learn a couple of things. No matter what, I still loved playing around. I think I might print this one & put it up somewhere.

Lesson 8
Before:


After:

Day 6

I don't really know how to describe what we learned in today's lesson. There is a type of photography out there right now called TTV (through the viewfinder) where you use a digital camera to take a photo through the viewfinder of an old camera to get a vintage look. You can get overlays for your photos that mimic this look. Essentially that's what I did here. I changed the photo's color to a more sepia look, added the TTV overlay, then "stamped" the flourishy image on the side. I really like the way it turned out. Now I'm on the hunt for more photos to do this to!

Lesson 6
Before:


After:

somebody stop me

Seriously, I can't stop doing this! LOL This is a picture of my great (great?) grandmother's schoolhouse that I took a couple of years ago in Missouri.

Before:


After:


Now it looks like it was taken when she could've been a student, don't you think?

okay, now I'm obsessed

I could spend all day doing this! I haven't really mentioned what we've been learning in these classes, but today we learned about applying textures to our photos. So. Much. Fun! I haven't tried printing one yet, but that will come soon. I can see how this would add a whole new dimension to your scrapbooking!

Before:


After:


Oh, the possibilities!

Day 5

I just finished my Day 5 project. Can I just say how much I'm loving this class! It's amazing the things you can do to your photos if you only know how!

Lesson 5
Before:


After, pt. 1:



After, pt. 2:


So, what do you think?

Day 4

Here's my before & after from Day 4's lesson. I just love this picture of Elizabeth from the 4th of July. (Yes, I know I haven't posted any pics from then yet, but I will. I promise.)

Lesson 4
Before:


After:

learnin' part 3

Lesson 3
Before:


After:


I'm really enjoying this class & I can't wait to see what we'll learn over the next week and a half. Stay tuned!