the most perfect family photo (and a very merry christmas to you).

 

(card credits:  main card background: Purdue Avenue Etsy shop; frame: kitschy digitals; leaves and red gems: design by dani.)

almost a month ago, before sickness and the hecticness of the holiday season bombarded our home, we sat down one sunday afternoon to take a candid family photo.

how did I do it?

well, for starters, I begged my family.  told them it was all that I wanted for christmas.

then I told them that they could wear whatever they wanted.

then I told them to bring something to do.  bring a book to read, a toy to play with, or a doll to hold.

I wanted candid…

then I set up my tripod, put my remote on my camera, checked the settings, then had to add my bounce flash to get the lighting just right.

then we were in business.

106 pictures later…

we got it.

and by “it”, I mean four that I could stitch together to make my perfectly candid family photo.

took merrill from here:

took lynn from here:

(the peyton + me combo here was a close second for the final cut..)

took ashley from here:

(for the record, this is the most pleasant expression I got out of ashley the whole 10 minute ordeal.)

and, well, peyton and I were perfect together here:

and we got this masterpiece:

(you know, after photoshop magic…)

and for your enjoyment, consider it a christmas gift from me to you, a couple of outtakes:

because sitting on the couch is SO overrated.

from my family to yours:

Merry Christmas!!!

Costuming.

(Is that even a word?  Well, it is now!)

This year for Halloween, I had two little girls who wanted to be something that was going to stretch the creativity that lives in this house.

Peyton said over and over that she wanted to be “Bo”.  For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about.  At first, I thought she was saying, “Boo” because she had been watching Monsters Inc., but that wasn’t it.

It wasn’t until I put Toy Story 2 on for the bazillionth time that it clicked.

She wanted to be “Bo-Peep”.  In the movie, Woody calls her “Bo”.

I based my sketch of this off of pics of her online, but couldn’t find the exact anything as far as material went.

 

I made everything totally on my own.

If I had to do it all over again, I would most definitely find a pattern.

(That and a more cooperative model.)

I even made her staff.

(It was impossible to find one of those, let alone a blue one.)

I made her bloomers out of blue flannel (can you say warm?) and also lined the top with it.

She loved it, and she did look cute!

Lynn was having trouble with deciding on something fun to be.  I showed her a book that my mom gave me, one that I used to look through when I was little, dreaming of the day I would be a mom, and she fell in love with the jar of jelly beans.

I knew that if I were going to make this, it was gonna have to be good.  It would also have to be reusable.  So I started off with a sketch.  I was pretty happy with just the sketch!

And here’s the finished product.

The details are my favorite part!

 

I created labels in Photoshop using Crystal Wilkerson’s Playful Font, and editing that just a bit (I had to erase the centers of the letters “a” and “e”).  I also used her Artisan label templates No. 1 and lobster font on the “Pitcher Brand” label.  I mirrored them, printed them out on iron-on transfer paper, and ironed that onto my fabric.  The “a fat free treat” got cut down into a circle and put through the Xyron and stuck to the vinyl “package”.

 

I even created a “Nutrition Facts” label, and ingredient list in Photoshop for the back.

  

For the “jelly beans” letters, I used the same font, “Playful”, and didn’t mirror it, printed it out, ironed it on the wrong side of my fabric, peeled off the backing, then ironed on my heat and bond.  I peeled off the paper backing from that, and then cut out my letters and ironed them on.

 

We spent one evening, watching scary movies and blowing up a bunch of water balloons. 

(Okay, Merrill inflated, I mostly tied.)

It was all worth it!  A fun, unique costume that we can use over and over again!

(She just wished the kids at school hadn’t chased her and popped her “jellybeans”.)

More homework..

But it's sooo fun!
I should probably be doing something more productive during nap time, but I love playing with my new-learned tricks.
Today's lesson is a more subtle technique, so there are befores and afters..


Okay.. they didn't turn out as large as I would have liked side-by-side.. but you can click on them.
I hope you get the idea!! :)

So, you wanna talk..

This is mostly for Ally..
You said you want to talk :)
It's soooooo easy.. I promise!!
First of all, go to Adobe. Download PhotoShop Elements 7 (free for 30 days).
Then go here. Mrs. Sprague is an awesome teacher..
Take this tutorial first, then this one.. and end with this one.
Then go to this amazing woman.. she'll do a lot of footwork for you.
Then, just play.
That's how I have learned most of what I have done.. a few friends (thanks gals!!) have helped when I have had some questions, and of course YouTube.. really..
I hope you try it, like it, and feel comfortable doing it!

Digital..

I got my PhotoShop the other day in the mail..
I have been dying to try it out.
The more I thought about it, the more freaked-out I got..
So, I hunted..
Bought some traditional scrappy stuff online..
Looked at a few digital blogs.. thought about buying some kits.. felt overwhelmed, again.. and remembered this e-mail from a wonderful woman, laying, un-opened in my inbox..
Thanks to her tutorial, quick page, and awesomeness, here's my result:Fun thing to do late at night when the kiddos are in bed and the hubbs is down at work with a FULL HOUSE (yeah!!)
Happy National Scrapbooking Day tomorrow!!!
I hope to get a lot done...

Smile Pey...

Four-score and over a week ago, I downloaded the 30 day trial of Photoshop Elements 7... I was so excited to learn how to "stitch together" images when you scan them in, perfect to post my layouts with (when I get to scrap:)...) my computer doesn't have enough memory to support the running of the program, and even though I am sooo excited to learn the program (been trying for over a week now...) and maybe even one day buy it... I'm just gonna have to live with my ghetto "take a pic of my layout" picture taking skills.
Ah, that's okay, my scanner isn't a true 12 incher, which doesn't help with Photoshop, and it isn't a flat bed either... not a plus... one day...
P.S. I almost forgot to post the inspiration for my layout!!! I scraplifted many of the ideas on this page from Jennifer McGuire's layout featured in the June 2008 CK... I hate to not give credit where credit is due;)

A PAGE?!?

I actually scrapped today.
Even though I had a million and one things to do today, I needed to do this for ME... wasn't as easy or as fast as it should have been with a crummy-feeling Pey helping out.. but oh-well. I got to scrap!
I am hunting for a copy of Photoshop Elements (hopefully), on eBay. Thanks to the November issue of CK, I now know how to scan in a 12x12 layout with my scanner, which is not 12x12, so I don't have to take pics, and have it look crummy... if you have experience, let me know what to look for, which is most user-friendly... I'd sure appreciate it!
Tomorrow, photo blocks...