Editing & Printing Tips

Here is my new favorite web find to help with scrapbooking. You will love it too, and MUST try it out! Picasa is a photo editing program that allows you to do all kinds of wonderful things to edit your photos, including fixing blemishes like the piece of food on Savannah's cheek shown below in the "before" images. Here are some of my first "edits" and a preview of Savannah's 3rd b-day photos. I tried to show a variety of things like cropping, b/w or sepia, sharpening/softening, color & contrast, etc. Thanks also to my friend Nicholai for helping take the pictures with me and telling me I HAD to get on Picasa. I finally listened.

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Once I have my photos edited, I prefer to order the prints through online photo centers like Walgreens or Wal-mart (you pick one that works for you). These are so great because I don't have to keep two children happy in a cart for 30 minutes while I try to go through my pictures on a machine in the middle of the store & try to figure out what I want. It's not fun, I promise. In addition to the convenience, it's also much cheaper to have the store mail them directly to your home. And, you can keep your photos organized in your secure account for free. So, what happens if your computer gets a virus, or dies, or whatever? You have a backup of every photo you've taken. It's also easy to email an "album" to friends or family so they have access to print them. So, get to work on your photos!

3 in 1 project

I made this fun project at my upline Deborah's meeting last month. Super cute, and it incorporates several simple techniques and materials. The bag holds a couple cards and the beaded pen as shown in the first picture. I was supposed to post this earlier but I forgot about it. Oops.

Blowing Bubbles

Wednesday morning in the mad rush of trying to get everything done that I needed to, Savannah kept pestering me to blow bubbles with her. I was busy though and kept saying "Not now." She eventually wore me down though, and I gave in and blew bubbles for her & Caleb. They both love watching the bubbles floating around and Savannah, of course, loves to chase and pop them. She was particularly determined to pop a bubble that was floating up higher and higher where she couldn't reach it. She became quite upset, but I pointed out to her that because she was so worried about reaching that bubble, she was missing out on all the other bubbles I was blowing. As soon as I said the words, I realized that my advice was meant for me. I am often so busy with some "bubble" or another, that I don't even see opportunities to play with my children and have meaningful experiences with them. So, here's to taking time to stop & blow the bubbles...and to journal about all the great memories. Did I mention how hard it is to take a good picture while blowing the bubbles?

Folded Basket

I love this beautiful pattern for a basket/box. It's easy and fun. I made this sample using a 12x12 sheet of navy cardstock and double sided decorative paper "Maine Blueberry" from Stampin' Up! and was tied with artichoke grosgrain ribbon. It can be made with any colors or in any square size. Now I just need to decide what to put in it! If you have any suggestions, let me know.