looking back and moving forward ...
>> Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Aged frame used is from Kim B's set of Framers #8
Photo actions used:
Hippy Dippy Trippy - Melody by My Four Hens Photography
Miracle Makeover - Get Rid of the Blues by Paint the Moon Photography
Photo texture used:
Free photo textures from Love that Shot when you sign up for their newsletter!
Fonts used are Lisa Script and Mom's Typewriter
I played with Blend If under Blending Options in Photoshop
to get a worn and aged effect to my journaling.
Yesterday was my firstborn's birthday! April is now a very young 33 years of age and it seems like "yesterday" that I was bundling her up in the Christmas quilt given to her by the Women's Auxiliary at the hospital!I played with Blend If under Blending Options in Photoshop
to get a worn and aged effect to my journaling.
While in the garage searching for a few missing Christmas items I use for decor, I came across a few Rubbermaid bins of my children's keepsakes and found a photo of April's first visit with Santa. She was just about a year old here.
I played. I played. I played some more! I just can't seem to get it to look the way I think it should, but am posting anyway because that was my goal before bedtime! LOL!
I think it started out as a bad scan and the original has some horrible blue casting to it making her naturally blond hair look very dark. Oh well, you get the picture. Ha, ha, HA! It's rum-dummy hour over here as I'm getting silly!
Robert thinks this Santa looks a bit strange. I agree. I think it's that he looks young and we all know that Santa is not young, right? He, he ...
I'm still a little under the weather and have, amazingly, just about caught up with everything outside of Photoshop!
Photo #2 - One of my favorite and oldest ornaments. Some 15+ years ago, I was into handmade/homemade crafts big time. My oldest and I made a lot of these type of ornaments in a variety of shapes to sell at various boutiques. April painted and glittered. I trimmed. They really look pretty against the white lights and give off quite a shimmer!
Photo #3 - Our bedroom is right off of the living room/great room and I really wanted a cohesive look this year so we could leave the double doors open during the day, allowing the two areas to flow into one another. My gift to us, Robert and I, was a new festive bed set, as the palm trees just were not flowing! LOL!
Oh, and these photos will give you an idea of how much I am really wishing for a new DSLR in the near future. Very grainy photos when used in manual mode, indoors with no flash. Still happy to have them however! *wink*
The house is clean, fully decorated, Christmas cards are in the mail and all of my pre-Christmas shopping is complete. I am happy to say that I did it all online this year! No crowds. No lines. No long trips. No gas money spent, which is quite a bit when you add it all up after the distances we would have to travel.
When all was said and done, shipping costs were far less than the gas it would have taken to either pick the items up at a, not so local store, or to make several trips to find everything on the list! Not to mention that I got some killer deals and could shop several stores at the same time!
Please understand, I might not be saying all of this if my children were still young and I was in my 30's or 40's! I loved going out shopping and I loved shopping on Christmas Eve!
Well, that was yesterday and I am moving forward y'all! Filing right in line with today's modern technology and capabilities. Know what? I rather fancy most of them! *big smile* Next post, I will share a few of the reasons I am thrilled that we have certain methods of technology available to us today!
Are y'all finished with your running around, shopping, wrapping and holiday preparations in general? Tell me something different that you have done this Christmas season, or what you'd like to change up next year. Has anyone else accomplished all of their gift buying online this year?
What are your favorite family traditions pre-Christmas? Things you do alone, as a couple, with your children, your grandchildren or the entire family!
Do you take in a performance of the Nutcracker? Watch special Christmas specials or movies? Is there a long-standing family recipe that you use every year? This inquiring mind would love to know and so would your family heritage albums!
Y'all know your answers to the above questions also make for some great prompts for some holiday scrapping, right?
Later today, I shall put on some of my favorite Christmas tunes and do a little Christmas wrappin' so we can mail off the last of our packages! He, he ... after which, I shall make my way back into the office to do some Christmas Photoshoppin' and see if I can't finish up your *Wintree Wishes* freebie!
Happy, happy y'all!
