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 Friday, December 21, 2007
Photo Fix: Step by Step
I absolutely love the photos that I took of my daughter this fall. Everything about them is great—the look on her face, the outfit, the poses—everything but the lighting. Augh! It just wasn't the right time of day when I took the shots. I really wanted to use one of the shots to frame and give as gifts to the Grandparents this year, so I worked on "fixing" my favorite shot to make it work. The original (the background turned out grey/blue and my daughter is too dark):  How I fixed this photo (in Photoshop CS): 1. Convert to grayscale: Image/Mode/Grayscale, then convert back to RGB: Image/Mode/RGB. 2. Adjust levels: Image/Adjustments/Levels (adjust sliders to get desired contrast).  3. Duplicate background image. Set layer to Overlay and adjust Opacity (I like the look of this, makes the whites and little brighter and the blacks a little darker).  4. Flatten image. 5. Adjust contrast in face by making a selection of the desired area and giving that selection a Feather of 20: Select/Feather/20. Then adjust levels: Image/Adjustments/Levels (adjust sliders to get desired contrast).  6. In a new layer and make a selection of the skirt and give the selection a Feather of 20. Fill the selection with desired color: Edit/Fill/Foreground Color. Set layer to Overlay and adjust Opacity.  7. In a new layer, use Brush tool in Airbrush mode to airbrush blush onto cheeks. I used an opacity of 10%.  8. Sit back and enjoy your Photo Fix! This was my final image after doing a little more tweaking in some of the above steps. What do you think? Do you think the Grandparents will like it?  Amy
Friday, December 21, 2007 5:02:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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sooooo far behind.... sigh
I feel like I am so far behind this year! However, today is my day to "let go". Today is the official start of our Christmas with my parents' arrival this afternoon. Whatever isn't done, just isn't going to get done... so I might as well just enjoy what I did get accomplished! Speaking of what I did get accomplished.... I actually got cards done this year! (last year we moved over Christmas so I didn't get them done) Here are our cards.... front:  inside left:  So I don't take up too much more room... the inside right is some wordart with our Christmas greeting and our names. The back has our new contact information. The card was made with the Merry and Bright Collab kit at Scrapartist and Lauren Reid's Wonky Templates at Oscraps.com. Happy Holidays!!! Tracie
Friday, December 21, 2007 12:15:22 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, December 20, 2007
Prepping for the holidays...
Its been a flurry of holiday preparations around here. From putting the tree up (late b/c I was unsuccessful in my search for a turquoise tinsel tree & had to go with our usual traditional tree), to tons of crafts with the kids, and having a blast with several new recipes. Mixed in with all that, I made some little card sets for token gifts for a few friends, teachers, etc. Super quick and easy and hopefully everyone will like them in their stockings! ;)
The first set is a little hedgehog that I drew based off another cartoon drawing. :)
The second set is a hand-drawn tree. Each card has a little word below the white block (protect, life, grow, save, appreciate).
The third set is a cute smilie. Heidi Swapp dot mask, Autumn Leaves journaling stamp, BamPop smilie stamp.
So what cute little gifties have you done for family & friends? Or what have you received that was a favorite little token? I'd love to see! ...Staci :)
Thursday, December 20, 2007 11:19:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Custom Glittered Stickers
Thanks to Lisa Pace...I have been inducted into a glitter addiction. Every surface in my office (not to mention the cat, the kids, the husband) has the added bonus of a glittery hue now:S Lovely;) Being new to glitter mania...this might be old news to you lot...but to me, this is a new technique (I can't help but to dream up new ways to use glitter):D So...I share it with those of you, like me, that have yet to discover the versatility of glitter.
Glittery stickers how-to:
1. Cut out the letters for your title:
(Note: You will want to cut close to the letter so as to not waste glitter nor adhesive. You need the backing to the sticker for the Xyron machine, hence why you will be cutting out the sticker.)
2. Send through your Xyron machine UPSIDE DOWN:
(You're applying adhesive to the front of the sticker.)
3. Burnish the adhesive to the sticker by running your fingernail over the back and edges of the sticker:
4. Cover the sticker surface with a generous amount of glitter:
(Cover the letters with another sheet of paper and give a good rubbing to get the glitter to stick well.)
5. Remove excess glitter by tapping on the edge on a piece of paper to then return excess to the container:
Tips:
-This works best if the sticker color is the same color of the glitter. White stickers do not work well for colored glitter unless the glitter color is very dark.
-To remove the sticker from the backing, bend the sticker backing back to pop out the glittered sticker. This makes for a clean separation for the sticker from the glittered backing.
-You will need some extra adhesive to get the letter stickers to stick. The glitter makes the adhesive backing nearly useless.
(Layout happily :D designed for LifetimeMoments.com)
Supplies:
Luxe Designs Color Me
Cardstock: Prismatics
Orchid: Prima
Pin: Fancy Pants Fashion Sense
Glitter: US ArtQuest
Stamp: Autumn Leaves
Letter stickers and label: Scrapworks
Happy glittery day to you:D
Love, Tracy Austin
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:27:35 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, December 17, 2007
Christmas Traditions
 My family has a few Christmas traditions we like to keep each year, like cutting our own Christmas tree (my husband refuses to buy one that is pre-cut) and taking a tag off an Angel Tree in our community and buying a gift for a child (we started this last year with our daughter). But, one tradition, is really only my tradition ... watching White Christmas. This is something that I have to do AT LEAST five times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I'm even happier if I can watch it more than that. I mean, who doesn't love the Sisters number? Or when Betty, Bob, Phil and Judy sing Snow on the train to Vermont? And my favorite line ... "Well isn't this cozy? Boy girl, boy girl." I watched this cheery movie for the 3rd time last night and I may need to pop it in again tonight while I work on some Christmas knitting. Any of you have any Christmas traditions that aren't necessarily family trations? Amy
Monday, December 17, 2007 9:35:01 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Sunday, December 16, 2007
Smile Mr. Snowman!
I just want to share a layout I had fun creating. This is my daughter Nicole telling Mr. Snowman to SMILE! LOL! I used Cosmo Cricket Be Good, A music sheet, Heidi Grace Flowers, MAMBI Rhinestones, Jenni Bowlin Journaling sticker, chipboard, and KI Lace Cardstock. (Cosmo Cricket papers courtesy of Scraplovers)
 Happy Holidays everyone! It's almost christmas!! :) Iris
Sunday, December 16, 2007 9:37:55 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
Star Tin Ornament
Stars seem to be the theme this year in our house. I created this so simple Star ornament using once again a page from a Maya Road Star Chipboard Album and an empty tin that once held Ribbon Slides.  Products Needed:Maya Road Star Chipboard AlbumTin Patterned Paper (I used Daisy D's) Maya Road Velvet Ric Rac4 Small Silver Jingle Bells 4 Silver Jump Rings 1 Silver Eyelet Vintage Mica Holly Leaves Vintage Mercury Glass Bead Star Dust SticklesTools Needed:Craft KnifeCrop-a-Dile Paper Piercer Pliers Hot Glue Gun Sanding Block Instructions:- Cover front and back of Star with Patterned Paper (I adhere one side of the star to the paper then use my craft knife to cut out the star, repeat the same process to the back of the star)
- Using a Sanding Block sand all the edges of your Star
- Using a crop-a-dile or other hole punch, punch a hole at the top of your star and set an eyelet
- Using a paper piercer place 4 small holes (one on each point) near the end of the four remaining star points
- Thread the jingle bells onto the jump rings and attach to the star points
- Place patterned paper inside of tin, accent using Star Dust Stickles
- Add a little Vintage Mica, place lid on tin
- Using a hot glue gun attach holly leaves and Vintage Mercury Glass Beads to tin
- Using a hot glue gun attach tin to front center of your Star Ornament
- Create the ornaments hanger using Maya Road Velvet Ric Rac
Happy Holidays, Lisa M. Pace
Saturday, December 15, 2007 5:15:51 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Yesterday To Liven Up Our Week My Sister And I Decided To Do A Funky Thursdaydressing Up Doing Our Hair All Weird
Yesterday, to liven up our week, my sister and I decided to do a "Funky Thursday"...dressing up, doing our hair all weird, etc. It was really fun, until we realized it was actually...well, uh. Friday. (oops.) LOL---I guess we'll have to call it Funky Friday now. More to the point...I was wearing a green combo and needed some hair accessories, so I decided to pull out some Prima flowers and make some. Here's how:  First, gather up some flowers that are small-ish and will fit on a bobby pin.  Next, layer the flowers until you're happy with 'em, and glue them together.  You could hot glue this together, but hot glue scares me. So I used wire. I just stuck it through the center of the flower where the little slit is, curled the end with the wire cutters, and used the other end to wrap around the bobby pin. (Am I explaining this well enough? LOL.)  And there are the finished bobby pins. Enjoy! :) Brittany
Saturday, December 15, 2007 12:32:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, December 14, 2007
Family Time
It's been a while since I have posted here. And I have not been able to visit other blogs too. That's because we just got home from a family vacation and I had to double up on work before leaving for our vacation. Now that I'm back, I have over 800 unopened emails in my inbox, about 14 layouts to finish before the year ends, projects to post, and 2 more events to finish. Yikes.
I probably won't be able to get back to normal till the end of the year so I really appologize for my absence in the forums, egroups, and blogs.
Anyway, just want to share with you a picture from our trip to Hongkong Disneyland.
Iris
Friday, December 14, 2007 8:13:43 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
Growing up...
It happens.
Too fast. But it happens.
These kids are growing up! Declan has always had long hair. It suits him...his rocker-skater vibe. (Did I mention that he wants to skateboard to kindergarten next year?) But he recently asked to get a "short cut". So, I pulled a bunch of pics, let him choose a hair cut and off to the kiddie hair place we went.
He did great. Lots of grins for photographer mom, watched the cartoon, sat still. In the end, he loves it...got exactly what he wanted. As for me, I hate it. Hate that he already feels peer pressure to conform. But I respect his wish to be like his friends right now as he's forming all these ideals of what makes him Declan.
And of course, he's the most adorable little guy I've ever seen no matter what! :)
supplies: Adhesive (Adhesive Technologies, Provocraft), Buttons (Autumn Leaves), Cardstock (Bazzill), Chipboard (Heidi Swapp, Scenic Route), Diecuts (Scenic Route), Patterned paper (Love Elsie, Scenic Route), Stickers (Heidi Grace, Scenic Route)
Thursday, December 13, 2007 3:30:20 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Clear Ornament
Talk about cute and fun to make but a real bugger to photograph... sorry about the image. I did my best and this is as good as it gets. I plan on making lots of these ornaments using family photos and attaching them to gifts this holiday season. You should really give these a try. The hardest part is deciding which photo to use.  Supplies Needed:
Clear Ornaments
Transparency
Maya Road Rubons
Ribbon
Faux Snow
Tools Needed:
Coluzzle (circle)
Instructions:
- Print wallet sized photos in greyscale onto transparency
- Cut out photo using your Coluzzle or other form of circle cutter to appropriate size for your ornament
- Roll up transparency and place inside of ornament (you might need to flatten it out just a bit, I used the eraser on top of a pencil)
- Add Faux Snow to inside of ornament
- Using Rubons place a word or date along the front of the ornament
- Tie a bow to the hanger
Enjoy. You have an adorable personalized holiday ornament. Lisa M. Pace
Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:33:24 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Did you know that acrylic paint can serve as an adhesive?
Well...you do now;) Learned this little gem of a tidbit from, Franny Lesniak, a fellow designer at LifetimeMoments.com. She would paint the back of transparencies to adhere them to her layouts. I was in the mood to test acrylic paint's holding power with buttons...and happy to report that those little puppies are stuck for good!
Simply tilt your project so the surface is level, apply a generous amount of paint onto the surface, quickly slap on the buttons, sprinkle with glitter and leave to dry for about 15 minutes. (The generous amount of paint and working quickly ensures that the paint doesn't dry up on you.) How easy is that!? Happy creating!
Supplies:
Adhesives: Zip Dry, Mod Podge, and MM acrylic paint;)
Paper: Doodlebug
Ribbon: Strano
Pins: Fancy Pants
Buttons: Autumn Leaves and MME
Metal accents: MM
Glitter: Doodlebug
Love, Tracy Austin
Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:08:32 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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