From the category archives:

cloth diapering

photo editing from a dummy

February 4, 2009

in cloth diapering,photoshop tutorials,pictures,project 365

images are not here due to a url change a while ago … will try to get these re-uploaded soon!

A week or so ago, Sarah asked me how I got this picture of Emma to look like that, so I thought I’d walk through a typical “photo editing” process for me.

Let me preface by saying that I am not very good at it. I am still learning every day. I am constantly Google’ing “blahblahblah tutorial” for whatever I’m trying to do. I read articles and books, and I still don’t “get it” most of the time. I am most definitely NOT a professional by any means. I just really enjoy taking pictures, and out of the hundreds I take, sometimes I get a half-decent one. And thank goodness for Photoshop Elements and Picnik for making them look pretty good.

This probably won’t be a regular segment of my blog, because I really just play around more than anything, and I have no idea what is going to look good until I’m done with it. I truly have no idea what I’m doing.

For today’s lesson (hee) I’m going to use my picture from today’s Project365 – the theme is “Bokeh Wednesday” {in layman’s terms, bokeh is the blurry background of a picture} – so I went outside while E was napping and snapped this picture of my neighbor’s tree with their green shrub in the background to give it that green bokeh.

This is SOOC (straight out of the camera)

Not horrible, but not wonderful, either.

So I opened it up in Photoshop Elements and did the following …

1. Created new levels adjustment layer – I just moved the little slider around until I was happy with the results.

2. Duplicate background layer – and put into Screen mode. Change the opacity to 35%.

3. Duplicate background layer again. Drag the Tint Blue on top of the new layer (it’s under Photo Effects)

4. Put into Overlay mode – change the opacity to 75%

5. Flatten image and save.

Now, I went ahead and uploaded it like it is for my Project 365 – you can see it here.

But then I played with it in Picnik – I applied cross-processing (my favorite!) and then rounded corners.

Now, if you don’t have Photoshop, don’t sweat it. Ignore this entire post and head on over to Picnik — it is a great GREAT photo editing website, it’s easy and fun, and you can do SO many things to your pictures.

xo

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Protected: how pink kitty rain boots saved the day

January 23, 2009

in cloth diapering,dogs,emma,house,pictures

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it’s been one of those days

October 23, 2008

in cloth diapering,emma,sewing

The cloth diapers hanging on the line that I took a picture of earlier today for Wordless Wednesday? Still hanging on the line at 1:03am.

It has just been one of those crazy days where I didn’t stop, and it seems like nothing went right. I ran some errands, but never found what I went out to get.

Then, I got home to realize that we forgot to pay ourselves from the business account this month. A day after all of our bills cleared. Thank goodness for an automatic credit line that kicks in.

Then supper (chicken fajitas) turned out kinda not that good … Emma didn’t like it at.all. She ate a banana instead.

So I’ve been working since she went to bed, but she keeps waking up. It’s just little whining spurts – I haven’t had to go in there, yet, but I’m just so sure she’ll for real wake up to eat in a minute. AND I need to go turn her ceiling fan off, but I’m afraid of waking her up.

[business talk]

The one great thing is that I just finished an absolutely ADORABLE top for a collab I’m doing with Little Bear Knitwear this Friday, but I still didn’t finish it in time to send to her so she could get pictures of the top and pants together. And I burnt my hand so bad on the iron that it made me sick to my stomach.

The part that I’m going to brag about for days? Handmade binding around the entire thing. Can you say HAND CRAMP??

[/business talk]

So I’m going to go out and get in the diapers, pop them in the dryer for a fluff cycle, try to turn E’s ceiling fan off without waking her up, charge my camera battery, wash my face, brush my teeth, pop an Advil for my aching back, change into pj’s and fall into bed.

See you all later this morning.

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wordless wednesday

October 22, 2008

in cloth diapering,pictures,wordless wednesday

diapers-on-the-line

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I shaved today!!

September 19, 2008

in cloth diapering

Not my legs, though. That’s what pants are for.

I shaved Emma’s knit wool. I have been scared to shave her wool for months — I’ve heard you could use a regular razor, but good grief, I can’t even shave my legs without cutting myself 492 times.

So my awesome friend Shah’ada told me about this sweater shaver at Walmart for $5.67, and after searching up and down the laundry aisles and calling her, I finally found it. Stuck WAY up in a corner next to the irons. Do people not wear sweaters anymore? Or do they just do what I do and give them to Goodwill when they look crappy?

So I came home, loaded it up with batteries, grabbed Emma’s worst pair of wool capris that another awesome friend, Robyn, knitted for her, and went to town. Shah’ada had told me to do small circles and then empty after each leg. But I don’t think she knew how bad they were — I had to empty after every few inches. *giggle*

Here they were before (I’m so ashamed)

And after

And our lovely wool hairball

These are a lot less pilly than the others, because they were Emma’s first pair of knit woolies, and they were worn when she wasn’t mobile. *love* Can you guess which leg I’ve already shaved?