Before and After...Big shoes to fill

Many moons ago, my mother-in-law asked if I would click a picture with the kids feet in big shoes and pair it with a favorite quote.


I never quite got around to capturing it until this past month...many moons later!


With Christmas breathing down our necks we found ourselves trying to think of the perfect gift for our mom.


Fortunately, I had some willing bodies, who actually enjoy walking around in shoes nine sizes too big!


Here is the before...


And After...

This was edited in Photoshop Elements and I used Coffeeshop's Color Block Action.

I plopped that baby into a hand painted frame by "moi" and had a real purdy little gift. In fact, I'm even gonna frame one for myself.

This is my beautiful Mother-in-law.
The word painted on the frame says "Inspire".

And now, because I want to inspire you...may I share an out-take?
I initially thought I'd only use S-girl for this photo.
I just couldn't get "Ole' thunder pants" to be still.


Before I share .... I must defend myself in a small way by saying that we rarely utilize our front door. Especially in the winter when D-man plows the top of our driveway and blocks the sidewalk leading to the front door with 5 feet of snow!


Hence, one can't be held responsible for not noticing the sorry condition of the pumpkins sitting on one's front porch.

Not really sure what I was thinking when I snapped this. 
Perhaps I was thinking I'd get real cozy with the crop tool in photoshop!

Really..a pumpkin should last for at least 2 months in the frigid North, shouldn't it?

Apparently...NOT!

I'm sorry you had to see this. 
Now run along and look at some more before and afters at Pixel Perfect.

Before and After...Well, Hello!

My goal for this edit was to K.I.S.S.
For those who just went, "HUH"...it's Keep It Simple Stupid.
Or "Smarty pants" for those who were offended by the word "stupid"!


I think this is the perfect "Fall" flower.


Ah, I am the Makeup artist
and Photoshop is my cosmetic of choice.
It is truly the Bare Minerals of the photography world.
Truly! (I like that word)




My secret
1. cropped picture
2. Sharpened using High pass filter
2. ajustment layer>desaturate
3. black/white gradient adjustment layer> soft light> opacity to taste
4. Kim Klassen texture >Blending mode>Hard Light> opacity to taste



See...only FOUR steps...perfect for my K.I.S.S slogan.
And that makes me a definite "Smarty Pants"!!

Before and After...Black eyed..

SUSAN!

Let's say it all together now...

This picture is muy feo!

Oh, you didn't know I spoke Spanish?

I don't.

I'm sorry Susan...but it's true.

You are not living up to your potential. 

May I recommend a little beauty shop down on the corner called

La Tienda de Fotografia?

They work wonders.

The recipe.

1. cropped the picture into oblivion.

2. Brightened by using a Level adjustment layer.

3. Desaturated using Hue/Saturation adjustment layer...I think I added a B/W gradient map and set it to soft light but one can not be sure of this.  My memory is failing me.

4. Applied a Kim Klausen texture called "break free" and set it to overlay and decreased the opacity to taste.

5. Flattened image.

6. But I was not happy.

7. I did not feel satisfied.

8. Therefore I added another layer of the same texture and set it to "lighten" and decreased the opacity to taste. I used a layer mask and painted off some of the texture.

9. I then made a duplicate copy of my flattened image from step 5 and put it on top of this second texture.  I set the blending mode to normal and reduced opacity to taste.

10.  I then flattened the image and sang the hallelujah chorus.

**Disclaimer**

There is no rhyme or reason as to why I do what I do.  I had 15 minutes to play with "Susan" and I just went with it.  

Check out more beautified wonders at Pixel Perfect.

Before and After...Because I like run down things.

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I posted on this little ole' blog! However, it is not because things are quiet here at the Peanut Gallery!


Nope, not quiet at all!


We are navigating un-chartered territories.


And me no likey.


I am very aware of my "earthen vessel" status. However, as uncomfortable as it may be,  I'm so grateful to be resting in the Potter's hand . So I say, squeeze away! It's good.
It's all good.


And wouldn't ya know, today's picture is right on topic.
When I'm not being random I enjoy a good "theme".


Today's theme....POTTERY.


On our recent Montana trip, I was compelled to stop and capture this Pottery shop. Isn't it just quaint? I would have loved to meander inside, but much to my disappointment, the Potter was nowhere to be found.
Dern it! 
Oh how I would have loved to partake in the Montana Pottery sale!
Sadly, I will never own a piece of Montana Earth Pottery.
Sigh.



The picture was screaming to be "molded and squeezed".
I obliged.
It may have even whispered a small "thank you"!

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

The Recipe.

In lightroom I used the "retro warmth" preset by Sarah Ji.(free from Pre-set Heaven)
Then I shuffled over to Photoshop Elements and ran a high pass filter on this. That extra sharpening gives the photo a grungy feel. And while I don't enjoy feeling grungy, I love a grungy picture!
I then added a texture called "extreme grunge" by Kim Klassen and set it to "hard light" and decreased the opacity. I added a layer mask and erased some of the texture off of the building.
And finally, I added a texture from flickr...one that looked like a ripped old piece of paper and set it to "lighten" and decreased the opacity to taste.

If you are like "What"?? "Huh"?? I wrote a very simple Texture Tutorial here.

Before and After...

I am finally participating in one of my favorite blog hops once again.
Ah, it feels so good.




I have mentioned before that L-boy is a difficult one to capture these days.
Well, he's taking it one step further now.
Not only does he look away when he sees my camera...he RUNS.
This makes for some lovely "action" shots.
Unfortunately that usually was not my intention and thus they are blurry.
Maybe I should just keep my camera shutter speed high when it comes to capturing the "running man".


On our recent vacation L-boy helped himself to this cute little daisy.
Of course, his cute little "daisy sniffs" prompted me to grab my camera.
L-boy was completely unaware of my sneaky little plan.
So when I slyly called his sweet little name...
HE LOOKED!!
Of course, he was in motion so the shot wasn't as clear as I would have hoped...that and I was walking backwards.
Or something like that.



I present to you the after effects of a little romp in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Take my hand and form a chain,
Down a magic Daisy lane.
Smile a friendly smile and say,
May I help someone today?


Ah...those were the days.
Any former Daisy scouts out there?
I never got to be a Daisy Scout.
I started in second grade and thus Brownie was my title.
Not nearly as cute if you ask me.
But I do love me some fudgy brownies fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream.

Now, take my hand and form a chain..
down a magic daisy lane...skip on over to Pixel Perfect blog for more fun and games.

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The recipe.
I actually edited this in photoshop elements first.
I initially used Coffeeshop Baby Powder Room action where I lightened the lil' pumpkins face, eyes, and did some smoothing of his rashy little cheeks.

Then I flattened and made a duplicate copy and set the blending mode to Soft Light and decreased the opacity to taste. That gave the picture more depth.

I made another duplicate copy and set it to screen and adjusted the opacity. The screen blending mode serves to lighten the picture.

Then I transferred the picture over to Lightroom and used the SarahJi preset called Gingko. (p.s. it was free from preset heaven) I then added a vignette.

That my friends, is that!

Before and After...Delicious Daisy

Daisies make my heart sing.
There is just something about a daisy.
It's so simple.
So clean.
Wholly serene.
Honest.
I'm quite sure a daisy would never tell a lie!


We went camping last weekend and these little darlings were everywhere.
Now, if you happen to be a botanist and are reading this blog, feel free to correct me if these are not, in fact, daisies.
But for now, lets just say they are in the daisy family.
Wild daisies.


I loved the way that these little ladies were growing up against this railroad tie retaining wall.
Such a lovely, rugged backdrop.
As I scanned the grouping, looking for the perfect daisy, I was a tad convicted.
Why is it that I always look for the "flawless" one in the bunch?
How shallow of me.


So, I decided to give this sweet thing a chance.
Yes, she looks as if she has been "snacked" on by some hungry insects.
But, that doesn't make her any less of a daisy.



I was a little self conscious as I clicked these.
Only because these were growing on the stairs to the camp host's R.V.
I didn't want to raise a ruckus.
I'm a shady looking character,  ya know!
Anyway...not that great of a shot.
But never fear, photoshop is near!

I thought I'd give it a square crop.
Only because I like to walk on the wild side occasionally.
I decided to not clone out the little bugs chillin' in the center.
I figured they were an integral part of the story!




Finally....because I.Must.Add.Texture.Always...I went ahead and added it!

Ah, and now all is well in the world.




I just found out that Monica at Pixel Perfect  is not hosting this blog hop today.  She is taking a moment of silence for baby Cohen today. Let's lift this dear family up today.

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These were edited in Photoshop elements.
For the first picture, here is a quick run down of the steps I took.
1. First I ran a high pass filter and then used a black layer mask.
2. Then I painted out only the daisy with a soft white brush...leaving only the daisy sharpened.
3. Added a color adjustment layer in orange and set it to exclusion and adjusted the opacity.
4. I then added a navy to gold gradient map layer and set it to soft light and adjusted opacity.

For the second picture I added two textures and a frame mask from Shadowhouse Creations.

Before and After...My Ballerina continued

Last week I shared a picture of my tiny ballerina's slippered feet.
And while they are deliciously cute...
I felt like I needed to present the other half this week.
The half that makes my heart sing.
The little girl with the face of an angel.
No bias here! wink wink


Here is the before.
Have I mentioned I can rarely delete a picture of my little girl.
She is so photogenic.
She rarely takes a bad picture.
And so they pile up on my hard drive.
I think we're up to 324,177.
My fingers are physically unable to press the delete button.
Is there a cure for that?


And here is the tiny ballerina after a little tweaking.
While I'm not happy about losing detail in her dress...
the results made my heart flutter.
And I was not in the mood to apply layer masks and paint.
So I clicked flatten and save and that's all she wrote.


For more before and after picture fun, visit Monica at Pixel Perfect.


***This was edited in Photoshop Elements.
1. I ran Coffeeshop Baby Powder Room action and adjusted to taste.
2. Then I added a duplicate layer and switched blending mode to overlay with opacity of 100%
3. Added another duplicate layer and set blending mode to screen at 50%
4..Yes I'm crazy..but then I added another duplicate layer and switched the blending mode to multiply at 30%...Why, you ask??  Because I just can't stop...it's an illness.
5. Then I ran Nelly Nero's Vintage Summer action and adjusted to taste.
6.  Finally I ran an unsharp mask.
7. The end 

Before and After...My Ballerina

If you haven't met Monica at Pixel Perfect...I think you should. She has this fun little Before and After blog hop. If you like photography..you'll love Pixel Perfect.

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The sweetest little girl in my life has been visiting a small dance studio on a weekly basis.
She can't wait to flit and float and fleetly flee and fly.
She is a natural.
Gazelle like.
This beautiful creature that emerges is completely opposite of the little "pirate/ninja" character which visits our home frequently.


Recently, while playing with her Gran, S-girl played the pirate and Gran was the princess.


Gran presented an idea to the little sword wielding pirate.


"Why don't you be the princess for awhile? In fact, we can both be princesses."


Adamantly, S-girl declined the offer.


"No way, princesses don't know how to fight with swords. Arghh."


Gran seized the opportunity to introduce her little pirate of a grand-daughter to Joan of Arc. Only then did S-girl warm to the idea of "playing" a girl. 


Have I mentioned she's "in like Flynn" with her brothers?
They truly are "thick as thieves"!


So, to see her gracefully float across the wooden floor, admiring herself ever so often in the mirror, warms and swells this mama's heart.
And despite the occasional Kung Fu like kick and karate chop through the air, her moves are smooth like butter.


Dare I believe a tiny ballerina is emerging?


Here is the photo before the bells and whistles were applied.



Here is the after...belled and whistled.
Ah, first position...the beauty of it.


Now..jate` on over to Pixel Perfect for more photo browsing fun.

I also wanted to mention that the Greensheen Blogger is holding a little photography competition for the month of June.  I told her I'd gladly pass along the info.  Go check it out. 


**I have been "grunging up" my pictures as of late. I desaturated the color with the levels using a levels adjustment layer and the hue/saturation adjustment layer..until it's just right.  I always add a high pass filter...with the grunge look...it needs to be sharpened  A LOT.  I bump the contrast way up by adding a "brightness/contrast" adjustment layer.  Finally I added a layer from Shadow House Creations called Aged Wood and set it to lighten...which helps brighten some of the darkness that the high contrast caused. Then I added a vignette and an edge burn.

This was edited in Photoshop Elements.

Before and After...

I'd like to introduce you to Miss Red. She's one of the swings on the swing set at my grandparent's farm.   She's as old as dirt. She's in perfect view from my grandma's kitchen window. 

I remember flying with her as a little girl.  She was definitely the best ride that  little old swing set had to offer.  The rings and the single swing didn't hold a candle to this baby.  She could fly like the wind.





Staying true to form, I decided to vintage-ify this little sweety-pie.
Ah,memories.

Memories . . . light the corners of my mind..

misty, water-colour, memories of the way we were.

Oh, pardon me...that was so off key!

Isn't she peachy?
So many memories on this little lady.
Including a few painful ones.



And wouldn't you know it.
She still flies like the wind.
Apparently, they don't make em' like they use to!


**These pictures were edited in Photoshop Elements and Lightroom 2 (my new love). Thanks you know who!!

Now "swing" on over to Monica's at Pixel Perfect.  She hosts this fun little Before and After Blog hop and it's just loads of fun.

Before and After...

Spring has finally sprung. Yes, I know many of you are already experiencing summer-like weather. But here in the bitter cold North..we like to take our time. Just sort of "ease" into things.

When we ventured out on our great adventure 2 weeks ago, my tulips were just beginning to open. Tulips are my all time favorite flower. They are such happy flowers. These tulips were particularly close to my heart, because J-boy was my gardening apprentice and helped to lay each one of these bulbs into their earthen beds. We both suffered a small case of frostbite in the process, but our fingers eventually thawed out. It was well worth the pain. These little lovelies make me smile every time I see them.

Here is the before shot.

I love it.

However, because I am Laura Ingalls Wilder.

And I live in the "little house in the big woods", I thought my tulips should match my heart.

O.K..that might have been a bit of an overstatement.

I am in NO way Laura Ingalls Wilder at heart.

Did I mention I just got my very first smart phone??

That being said, if I was Laura...these would be my tulips!

Now, if you'll excuse me...

I must go brush my long hair 100 times, don my nightgown, and cuddle up with my new phone. It's been calling my name all day and I haven't had a chance to answer!

Good night!

Now, hop on your horse and go out yonder and pay Monica, over at Pixel Perfect a visit. I'm sure she's got the coffee on the fire and some fresh bread in the oven.

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This picture was taken with a Nikon D5000 and edited in Photoshop Elements. My step by step procedure is as follows.
1.Created a duplicate copy
2.Added a gradient map in adjustment layer. I chose a dark brown to cream gradient and adjusted the     opacity to about 30%.
3. Added this texture from Boccaccino with a layer mask to brush out some of the texture. Then I set it to hard light with 60% opacity.
4. Duplicated the texture layer and set it to screen at 35% opacity.
5. And that's all, friends!

Before and After...Grand Canyon edition

It was noon when we arrived at the Grand Canyon.
The sun was a blazin' down.
I was sad.
I know it happens to be the worst time to take pictures.
Oh well, what can you do?
Nothing, but take pictures!
Here is my before.

Yes, I know...

S-girl's backside is cute as a button.

And yet, for me, it is a tad distracting.

Well, hello clone tool.

You are such a smart little thing!

Here's a post card just for you!

Greetings from the Grand Canyon.

We are having lots of fun and many adventures.

I puked all night, but look at me now.

I hope you have a really great day!

~Sincerely,

J-boy

Hike on over to Pixel Perfect for more before and after fun.

This picture was edited in Photoshop Elements.

Before and After...

Monica over at Pixel Perfect hosts a Before and After blog hop every week.
And since photo editing is one of my favorite things to do, I'm always up for the challenge!


Before...
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here 



After...
Here comes the sun, 
Here comes the sun

And I say it's all right!


p.s. this is not the last you've seen of my little "chick magnet"


Edited in Photoshop Elements.
*adjusted levels
*ran unsharp mask
*Used the lasso tool to select the iris and Ctrl J to move to a new layer
*then lightened his eyes a bit using Color variation
*Used Coffeeshop Baby Powder Room action
*For the sun, used Coffeeshop Sun Kissed action
*And, because I can't leave well enough alone, I added a screen layer and a multiply layer at 70% opacity.
*AMEN

Before and After...

It happens to be Thursday!
Already.
Time for another before and after photo party.

This week I thought I'd leave my textures in their file.
Shhh...don't tell them.
I sort of use them like a crutch.
Without them, just call me "limpy".
I don't do a lot of actual "editing" on the photos of my kids.
I usually just adjust levels, and do a little layer blending and sharpening.
I feel like their little faces just don't NEED a lot.
But I am a bit biased.
Portrait editing is just a tad time consuming.
So I don't do it a lot.
This week I thought I would give it a try.
I emphasize "try".
My favorite portrait model is S-girl.
She loves having her picture taken.
She is quite the "poser".


Here is the before.
Isn't she a doll?
Please, could someone get her some lotion?
Obviously her mother is oblivious to her dry skin issues!




Here is the after.
It is a tad dramatic for my taste.
In fact, it sort of scares me.
It looks as if she is not thrilled about the lack of lotion.
But there is another reason why it scares me.
We are not letting her out of our sight until she's 23!
Wowzers!

Visit Pixel Perfect for more before and after photos.

**This picture was edited in Photoshop Elements.
1. Adjusted levels to brighten the picture
2. Used a new sharpening technique that I learned from an Elements book I got from the library.
3. Cropped to straighten.
4. Used Coffeeshop's Baby powder room adjustments.
5. Then added a duplicate layer and changed the blending mode to screen and lowered the opacity to taste.
6. Converted to black and white and added a slight vignette.

And all of this only took about 20 minutes. Thanks to The Coffeeshop!

p.s. After visiting Monica's site today I was surprised to see that there had been a vote last week! Yes, I'm a real blonde. It was a crazy week/weekend for me. I had written my post the night before and quickly linked it up the next day. I am sorry to say, I didn't read Monica's post thoroughly. Yes...once again, bad blog manners! It was spring break and the day was so full! Anway, thanks so much for your votes. You all are too kind. I'm just learning like the rest of you!

Before and After...

Have you met Monica over at Pixel Perfect Blog?
She's a real photographer.
She's good! Real good!
Scurry on over to her blog to see more before and after pictures.

Well, I had no time this week to "play" with my pictures.
I don't know, it might have something to do with the four children living in my house.
The 9 loads of laundry I have done in the past two days.
Or possibly the snotty nosed baby boy who is still lingering in "sickville".
So I thought I would share this lovely barn picture again.
Only this time I will share the before picture with it.
Barn theme?
I know, you're shocked!
I'm sure no one has noticed my bent towards all things old and vintage.
I'm so sorry if it is becoming bothersome.
But I can't help myself.
I just can't.


The original is actually not that great.
I hate that I cropped out the top of the trees.
I'm not digging the composition. It's a little off.
But, being that I was on private property, within spitting distance of the NO TRESPASSING sign, I was feeling a little nervous.
Yep, I'm a law abiding citizen.
So when I noticed the sign I rolled down my window and used my zoom lens to quickly sneak a few shots.
Then I high-tailed it out of there.




But oh, doesn't this make everything so much better?
Hello Barn Baby.
May I rest in your shade for a bit?
May I linger in your presence for a moment longer?
I acknowledge and appreciate your existence.
You make me want to be a better person.
Thank-you and Good-bye.


Next week, I will bring back the "mini-tutorial" along with my before and after photo.

***this photo was edited with Photoshop Elements

Before and After...

Well, it's before and after Thursday.
What's that, you ask?
Well, Monica over at Pixel Perfect hosts a before and after blog hop.
And because I'm endlessly playing with my photos.
And doing absolutely nothing with them when I am finished.
This has given me an opportunity to actually give them a home!

A few weeks ago I went out to my grandparents farm.
It is a idealic spot on 20 acres.
The spot where they raised their 10 children.
For nostalgic reasons, I roamed the house the other day and clicked pictures of every room.
All the things that I remember as a girl are still there.
It is amazing.
I was tickled pink when I found these lovely little saddle shoes inside of this old rustic blue dresser.
I'm not sure who they belonged to.
Let's just pretend they were my mom's, when she was a little girl of about 6.
Let's just imagine that she walked to school in these shoes.
Aren't they sweet?



So, while playing "let's imagine".
This is what I came up with.
Can't you see her skipping down the dirt road in these little saddle shoes?

For some reason, these make me smile.


This picture was edited with Photoshop Elements 6. I found the nifty little photo corners at the Coffeeshop .

Before and After...

Ahhh, give me a little weed and some blue sky...
(hey, no pun intended!)



Then add a little crop, and some photoshop...


Isn't that purdee!

Head on over to Pixel Perfect for more loveliness.

**edited in Photoshop Elements 6. Here is what I did.
1. made a duplicate layer of original, set at hard light and messed with opacity until I liked it.
2. then added a hue/saturation adjustment layer and adjusted only the blue's and cyans. (hence the color change in my weed! I could have then gone to the layer mask and painted that weed with a soft black brush to get it back to the normal color...but who's got time for that!!")
3. Then added a slight vignette.
4. And that's all, folks!