Playing With Mirrors and Vibrance

The other day, I decided to take photos of my niece on our massive mirror. I'm not a skilled photographer like my hubby, but I still think they turned out pretty cute.

Here's how I bumped up the "vibrance" in the pictures.

1. Open your picture in Photoshop

2.Go to "Image"

3. Select "Adjustments"

4. Click on "Vibrance"

5. Adjust your "Vibrance" and "Saturation" until you like how it looks.

That's it! Now you can turn a not so great image into something pretty cool!

 

 

 

A little dull... to FUN!

11.8%

11.8%  is the unemployment rate in California and my husband recently joined that percentage.

BUMMER.

I don't mean to drag all of you down, but I do want to share. I know we are among MANY and if you are in the same situation, I feel your pain!
So it's time for both of us to find work. The last time this happened it took 6 months for him to get a job.
To promote myself and hopefully drum up some clients we put together a little portfolio while at family camp (it was already paid for so we went on a little vacation despite our turn of events)
First I did hair and makeup for some fellow campers and Brett took pictures by the lake. Here's what we came up with:

Then we turned our cabin into a photography studio. I did the hair and makeup of this staff volunteer and Brett took these pictures. This is how they turned out:

 

I hope to get back into the salon world in the next couple weeks. I just can't decide if I want to do commission or booth rental. After a few meetings with a few key people those questions should be ironed out and I'll be able to make a decision. Either way, I won't be making a killing by any means. But every little bit helps right?
I plan on writing for my blog still. I need the distraction! So hang in there! My life has just received a little twist and I need to adapt. After all, it's the twists that make life interesting right?

And The Winner Is...

For the Pink Poodle Bows Giveaway my two participants obviously had pretty good odds of wining. :) But even still there could only be one winner and it is

Cameron!

I hope you enjoy you pattern! Thanks to both of you for participating!

Home Atmosphere

     We've had a few rough weeks. You know the kind. Something arises and you get stressed, cranky, and have zero patience for the kids or anyone else in your life. Insomnia strikes and now you're constantly tired as well. 

    What do you do? Fume? Throw a pity party? Get depressed and let the house go to pot?

     I contemplated my options. I didn't like what life looked like when I gave into the negativity. I refuse to let unkind people or unfortunate events steal my joy. So I accepted our circumstances. Life happens. Troubles come. It's inevitable. I want my kids to see grace under pressure. Experience patience and joy when the road is rocky. That seems so unnatural and can be really hard, but I want my home to be a place of peace and a haven of rest for my family. So I slowed down and wrote a list of how to stay calm and what my focus should be each week. My list will probably look different from another persons, but this made a huge difference in the atmosphere of our home.

1. Cuddle

2. Read to the kids during the day and read something fun for myself before bed.

3. Lavish extra love on my family.

4. Try to stay home as much as possible to simplify my week.

5. Play outside.

6. Be content.

7. Write down my blessings and what I'm thankful for.

8. Ask my kids what they are thankful for.

9. Make a special  meal.

10. See house work as a way of beautifying our home rather than a drudgery.

11. Avoid negative talk and complaining of any kind.

12. Have a movie night.

13. Stick to a schedule so the day goes smoothly and naps are taken on time.

14. Invite a friend over.

15. Pare down the to-do list.

16. Cuddle some more!

17. Read my Bible.
18. Pray.

What do you do when hard times come?

Pink Poodle Bows GIVEAWAY!!!!!

A few weeks ago I discovered Pink Poodle Bows on Etsy. 

Alisha has some seriously cute sewing patterns on there. I instantly fell in love with the 

Madison Dress with the ruffled bodice...

and made it for my daughter!

Her patterns are really simple and soooo sweet. There are skirts, tops, dresses,
rompers, pants and even diaper cover patterns.  She's a talented woman!
You can even check out her BLOG where she has other sewing tutorials.

Lucky for us Pink Poodle Bow is giving away ONE 

free PDF pattern!

Make sure you are a follower of my blog then head over to her shop to find which of her patterns is your favorite. Leave a comment at this post telling us which one you'd like and I'll draw a name on August 14th . I'll announce the winner August 15th 2011.

 

Good Luck!

New Life For Old Shoes

 I bought these shoes at a yard sale for my daughter a few months ago.

  Her favorite color is pink, so I decided to pretty them up for her.

First they needed a good cleaning so I threw the shoes into the washer 

then I scrubbed the toes with a magic eraser. 

The pink laces came from another pair of shoes 

which I brightened up with Oxi Clean. 

Now for the fun part!

I sewed on some felt flower buttons I purchased ($2.50), a little scrap of yellow ribbon

and some small round buttons I already had on hand.

Once sewed on, I applied a little glue to the underside of the petals 

 just to make sure they don't fall off.

A whole new look for just a couple bucks!