Wordless Wednesday: Peanuts and Pajamas

Using Actions for Photoshop Elements to Edit Your Photos

I've had a DSLR camera for a few years now, and having a nicer camera {even though mine is the the bottom of the line Nikon D40} really has improved my photos. Besides the fact that the quality of the photo is better, having a DSLR makes me think out the composition and lighting of my photos a lot more than when I simply used a point and shoot digital camera. But having a good camera is only the first step in taking great photos...you also have to know how to edit pictures to get the most out of each shot!

There are more than a few editing programs out there, some are outrageously expensive and some {like the one I have} are more affordable. I use Photoshop Elements for all my editing. I bought it when we got our new laptop a few years ago, and I think it cost somewhere between $80 and $100. The only problem with photo editing programs is you really need to know how to use a them to get the most out of them...and it can be quite complicated to figure out!

My biggest help in using PSE to edit my photos was when I discovered Actions! And even better I found some really awesome FREE Actions! I've downloaded free Actions from two websites {and I'm sure there are lots more out there too} : The CoffeeShop Blog and The Pioneer Woman. Having these actions has really helped me improve my pictures! I love all the different options that both of these websites provide, and I love the different feel you can get just by clicking a few buttons!

Just to show you what Actions can do for your photos, here are a few straight out the camera shots along with some shot that I edited with the free PSE Actions that I downloaded. I am not an expert with these by any means, and I honestly can't remember the names of the Actions that I used for each picture. I usually just click an Action and see how I like it with the photo. If I don't like it, I just click undo and start over. These next three photos were all edited with The Pioneer Woman Actions, but you can see some photos that I edited with The CoffeeShop Blog Actions HERE.

                             SOOC                                                                              Edited with PSE Actions

{{Can you tell I like taking pictures in this spot!}}

I'm sure there are a few professional photographers cringing at my overeditednotverygood photos, but I think they look pretty great for a self taught phtotographer with SUPER squirmy kids! IF you are looking for a way to edit your photos without blowing the bank {or blowing your mind}, check out PSE. The abundance of free downloadable Actions totally make Photoshop Elements worth the initial cost.

{FYI I wasn't paid to share any of this with you even thought I know it sounds kind of like a sales pitch:) I really have been having a ton of fun editing my picture {including the photos that I used with my Thankful Photo Decor} with these free Actions lately and I thought you might want to know about them too!}

Friday Flashback: Craft Edition

**This is a re-post from last year. I have been looking for some great Thanksgiving shirt inspiration for this year, so I figured I would share one of my Thanksgiving shirts for last year in case anyone wants to attempt it for their kiddo!**

I have seen a ton of cute turkey shirts for Thanksgiving floating around the internet lately. I had intentions of making my boys a cute turkey shirt, but was really wishing I could make something a little different and a little more fun instead.

The Shirt of Plenty is what I ended up with after a TON of inspiration {and a template} from Family Fun magazine.

This is the original craft shared in the November issue of Family Fun...SUPER cute Thanksgiving themed felt food. I simply decided to turn my felt food into a shirt instead of making a toy:)

The first step in making this SUPER cute shirt is to print the templates and cut them out. Sometimes the template calls for two of each shape, but you usually only need one.

Use spray adhesive and stick the cut out shapes to different colors of felt. You can mix and match however you want, or follow the suggestions on the templates.

Then add iron-on adhesive to the backside of the felt following the directions on the package.

Cut out the shapes following the template, then remove the paper and the iron-on adhesive backing.

Lay out your design on the shirt and decide where you want each piece to be. Iron the pieces onto the shirt following the directions on your package of iron on adhesive.

The finally step to making The Shirt of Plenty is the most tedious and time consuming....but it also makes a big difference in the appearance of the shirt. Using coordinating colors of embroidery thread, go around the edges of each piece of felt with a running stitch. Make sure to tie off each end of the embroidery thread well, so that the felt pieces stay securely attached.

And that is how you make a SUPER cute Thanksgiving shirt!

Now if I can only find the time {and energy} to make two more:)

Organizing the Laundry

I know I'm not the only mom who despises laundry. I think between the monotony of folding and the fact that it's a never ending cycle of clean & dirty, most moms would love to have someone else take care of the laundry for their family! But like me, just because you hate to do it doesn't mean you can get way with not doing it! Sure if you're J. Lo or someotheroverpaidfamouspersonwhoneverhastodotheirownlaundry the laundry probably seems like a joy...drop it off and it comes back clean and folded and you didn't have to do any of the work! But in my house laundry is work, and the best way to make work easier is to be organized.

We've had the dirty clothes part organized for a while thanks to this lovely creation that I bought at Walmart a few years ago.

 My organizational issues with laundry start after the clean clothes come out of the dryer. We have spent the last few years with just two laundry baskets. You can do the math and probably figure out that two laundry baskets for five people just doesn't work very well. And most of the time the clean clothes end up piled on the couch {and the chair} kind of like this...except this is a much smaller pile than normal:)

 So I decided it was time to get my clean clothes organized by simply buying a few new laundry baskets. My original intentions were to find some fun colored baskets {ideally in blue, green, and orange to continue our tradition of color coding}, but Walmart and Target didn't seem to get the memo and only had either black or white baskets. I decided on black mostly because they seemed a little more sturdy, but also because they seemed a little more formal too...you know just in case I wanted to leave them sitting around full of laundry when we have guests over!

 Now I had three identical black baskets, and I knew that would be an issue. It is is a lot harder for my kiddos to find their clean {wrinkled} clothes if they don't know which basket is theirs. My simple solution was to cut a few pieces of ribbon {blue, green, and orange} and tie them to the handles of the laundry baskets. Now everyone knows which basket is theirs without digging through a basket for 10 minutes while looking for clean underwear!

Do you have any simple solutions for making the dreaded task of laundry easier? Please share them with me....I need all the help I can get when it comes to the laundry!

Wordless Wednesday: Having a Ball

My Very Own Mythbusters

My boys don't watch a whole lot of tv. Besides early morning preschool shows, the occasional DVR'd episode of Tom & Jerry, and a new AFV here and there, they would honestly rather be outside running around in the yard! The one exception to that rule is MythBusters...they would give up playtime outside to watch MythBusters with their daddy any day of the week. We usually watch as a family {since it is a more adult show and you have to be careful about commercials}, and I love how much they love a show that is teaching them stuff!

Henry came home last week asking about an experiment we saw on an episode of MythBusters years ago. They had apparently tried out this myth at school, and he was dying to try it at home!

Here's a clip just in case you haven't seen this fun Diet Coke and Mentos experiment: 

So last weekend, we picked up a few 2 liter Diet Cokes and a roll of Mentos at the store, and headed to the backyard to test out this myth!

The boys had so much fun doing this, and I think they may have learned a little something too...at least maybe Henry did, Grant was too worried about trying to drink the spray of Diet Coke:) This was a fun experiment that kept the kiddos entertained for the cost of a few bottles of soda and some candy! If you haven't ever done this experiment with your kiddos, you should try it sometime!

Thankful Photo Decor

I finally got around to changing out the three frames in my kitchen that I use for holiday decorations. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that the same finger-painted Christmas pictures stayed in the frames for a year or two before I changed it out a few weeks before Christmas last year for THIS. Then I put THIS Easter decor in the frames and it stayed there until now....yep, I had Easter decor in my house all the way through October. But I am making up for it now with this cute Thankful Photo Decor.

 I started out by opening up a file in Photoshop Elements. I made my page 8x10 so that it would fit in the frame {and also so I could print it out as at a photo center if I wanted to}. I chose the picture of each kid that I wanted to use and placed it on the right side of the 8 X10 page. Then I added in the words "I am thankful for:" using a mix of fun fonts that I downloaded from kevinandamanda.com

 I printed out the page at home {because I really didn't want to go to the store}, and I was pretty impressed with the quality of the picture that printed from my HP home printer.

 I test fit each page into the frame to make sure it fit well, then I gave the kiddos a Sharpie and a few instructions.
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Henry made a list along with a few numbered pictures....very analytic! You can tell he is the oldest for sure!

Grant was thankful for two things: his frend and toys....typical 6 year old boy I guess:)

Jason helped Eli who is apparently most thankful for pizza...I guess that explains why he wants to eat it 6 times a week!

I love seeing their cute faces along with the things that they are thankful for, but the best part of this project is that when Thanksgiving is over I will have something great to add to their memory books!

A Post About a Tweet

Earlier this week, I tweeted:

 Nature looking,

 leaf picking,

picture taking

 morning walk

with Eli.

Wordless Wednesday: Don't Cry Over Spilled Marshmallows

Two Pictures on Tuesday

I managed to get a few more than 50 pictures of all three of my costume clad children yesterday afternoon before trick or treating started.  Grant was feeling much better {thanks for all the get well wishes}, which I'm sure you can tell since he let me paint his nose with "sunscreen" and put his hair in a fauxhawk mohawk. Our little shark didn't quite understand that his fin was on his back so he needed to turn sideways for the pictures....otherwise he would just looked like a little boy in a gray sweatsuit! 

 We took the boys trick or treating to a few houses in my aunt's neighborhood...and Jason & I only had to carry the boys' surfboards about half of the time:) That is one major downfall of having big props that go along with your costume...but for some reason we seem to have props every year!

A Shark and Two Surfer Dudes:

I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween...now on to Thanksgiving!