"H" Girls....

I had the best time shooting these girls! I've known them for almost five years now, you might recognize the one girl from my LIFE conference pictures. Anyways, these pics are a surprise for their dad.

This is the original picture.... taken 10 years ago or so by another photographer. They have this huge 13x20 (or whatever the size is, LOL!) hanging in their house.


Their mother wanted to recreate the scene and capture the girls as they are today. So here is what I came up with.... complete with smaller picture in the photo.


But of course I couldn't stop there, LOL! My family gallery on my website is lacking, so I took the girls and did a few pics my own way.....

This one below is my favorite!

And of course this is the pic (below) I took moments after Seth finally wandered out of the scene.


The oldest is off to college... she's in the Gifted Pre-Med track program and already has her Winter semester abroad in London!

No Mojo.....

I am frustrated with my scrapping lately. I just don't seem to have any mojo. I am so behind on Lucas' album, and Seth's is neglected too. I've been so busy with the boys lately, and life in general, and all I want to do is create a page.... or 10, LOL! So I scheduled yesterday afternoon as Scrap day.

I sat down. I opened pictures and scrap supplies.

I started 4 or 5 pages. I deleted them.

(sigh)

I just couldn't get going, couldn't "feel" the pages. So I did some shopping.... the new Shabby Princess stuff and some TDC stuff. Hopefully I can get some scrapping done this week. Its my goal. TWO pages. I promise!

Its funny though... the pages I have created in the last couple months.... they've been requested for publishing. I just had another request, from Digital Scrapbook Magazine, over the weekend for another layout of Lucas.

I also started designing a couple small things yesterday.... I'm just on a small roll there, LOL! I am so excited about the things I am releasing this coming Thursday!

Speaking of..... I'm actually pretty ticked... I found out that someone either a) hacked into my private online folder or b) shared the new links and people downloaded a bunch of my not-yet-released scrap designs.... Over $100 worth!

Hey People! If you didn't buy it, and I didn't personally give it to you, it's called stealing.

I've since deleted files and changed passwords and am now more aware.

***************

On a lighter note.... Want a giggle? I came across this last night as I was surfing through JC Penney's....

Suspend Hers

BWAHAHAHA! Who invented THIS? And seriously.... does someone really wear their pants that high? And don't even get me started on the unflattering lines it must make the waistband leave under a shirt.....

****No offense to those who really do wear Suspend Hers. ;)

Photo Tip Friday~ Find Beautiful Light

Photography: The study of light.

The greatest painters knew where to find great light. They'd position their subjects by North-facing windows. Light shouldn't be too harsh- natural, indirect light works well. Natural light creates beautiful highlights and dramatic effects on your subject's face. Light, either flat, or bright, at different times of day or year, creates a difference in skin tones and shadows. A porch or doorway, window or garage entry are great places for portraits. (Turn off your flash and use a higher speed ISO to get the full effect of natural light.)

Notice in this first picture, the light is coming from behind Seth... it gives the picture visual interest, because his face is highlighted from the left side, and gradually grows darker. Notice the beautiful catchlights in his eyes as well. That highlight helps to create depth and contrast.

In this second picture... there's nothing like a beautiful sunset. In a setting like this you want to fix your exposure on the subject, so as to get the deepest colors. I my case, I over-exposed.

In this last picture... LOL, its just lil' ole me. But it is an example of a natural light portrait taken on a front porch. The porch roof filtered the light, so as to not make it too harsh. Again, notice the range of highlights and catchlights.

One of my personal Photo goals this year is to catch what is called a "Sunflare." This is usually done when the sun is setting and you actually capture the beams of light. I LOVE this effect!

The Photographer Detra is a master of capturing beautiful light. Check out her galleries for some inspiration!

Photography by Detra

The first photo in her maternity gallery is a prime example of a sunflare.

I absolutely believe that light makes or breaks the photo. Experiment with different lightings and positions.

Random Thoughts....

So my toddler is the only child in the world who does not like to hear his mama sing. LOL! When I sing to the radio in the car he yells "That's BE-nough!" or "Stop it Mama!" Isn't that terrible? And I'm telling you... its not because I'm bad or anything! I actually sing in church and do special solos and stuff every once in a while. I think that's why it makes me crack up.

Lucas has popped out a tooth. One single, solitary tooth. Bottom left side. Joy.

I'd been in a design slump lately. If you came to my DST chat a couple weeks back, you may remember my mention of a new Boy's kit. Well, it was like I had just come to the top of a hill.... and I couldn't figure out what to do next.

Well, Tuesday night about 9:30 pm, I had a couple ideas. So, for the last 36 hours I have been busy. I've created not 1 item... not 2.... but 5 new items! I finally crested that hill on the boy's kit, finished it, along with a new Designer Sample kit, an element pack, and 2 alpha packs! I'm amazed at myself, LOL! Be on the lookout next week! I'm still putting together previews and handing them out to my CT.

There's not much else for me to talk about today... haha~ I've been a hermit this past week since Nate's been away. But he came home last night, and I feel some sanity sneaking back in.

Scene Stealer....

So..... any wild guesses as to whom kept trying to steal the show yesterday during my shoot?


What you can't really see in this small photo, is that he's losing his pants, and he has a purple mustache.... and he just finished yelling "I a Rhinoce-a-wurst! ROAAAAR!"

Serenity Now....

Happy 30th Anniversary to my parents today! Isn't that great?

Nate has been away at Camp this week.. but not me, I refused to go this year. It was just going to be way too hard with 2 little ones, porta potties, and nursing 6 times a day. And let me tell you, its been INSANE around here since Nate's been gone, LOL!

Starting Sat afternoon and ending last night, Seth had p.e.e.d on the couch twice, his bed once, and then when I stripped it, his mattress, and he has p.e.e.d all over himself 2 or 3 times. This is ALL due to his tantrums and being so MAD at stuff... like leaving the park or eating dinner. He also scratched the inside of his ear a couple days ago, and he's obsessed with putting medicine in it. Earlier I found that he had put some of the lavender bathroom sink soap into it... as "medicine."

(insert maniacal laughter and ripped out hair here)

Not to mention that Lucas is cutting teeth. I called Nate and informed him He Will Be Coming Home early, Wed or so.

In other news, Harry Potter arrived safe and sound at my house on Saturday. I've been reading a bit here and there when I can, and mostly before I turn in for bed, but I'm about 200 pages in, and already so engrossed. No worries, I will not post any spoilers, and I ask that there not be any posted, please!

I think that I am going to be running to the Outlets in a little bit. I'm going to see if I can't find any good Summer sales for clothes for next summer. I usually shop ahead like this... it saves money. I usually find great deals, Gap, Old Navy clothes for just a couple bucks each.

Tonight I am shooting 3 sisters, all the girls are in our youth group, and the oldest is headed off to college this fall. I can't wait! And not only them, I have planned 2 sisters and a brother (also older) this weekend.

Photo Tip Friday~ Drape The Background

Set up a plain background next to a window. Use an unpatterned, black or white sheet, blanket, or tablecloth and drape it over a sofa, ironing board, or like I've personally done, tack or nail it to the wall. This creates an instant backdrop. Make sure that your subject sits a couple feet away from the back of the drape, because you don't want harsh shadows cast, and the backdrop is not in focus. Keep the setting simple, just the backdrop, your subject, and maybe a prop. Have everything ready to go, especially when shooting kids. They tend to fidget when they have to wait.

Here are a couple before and afters.....

photo by Andrea Burns

photo by Molly H.

Once you have the photos taken you can open them in Photoshop and make them stunning. In both of these cases above, I used my Burn tool and burned the background to get it rich and deeply black. If you use a white background you can use the Dodge tool. I usually set it on a soft brush and about a 20% opacity and go over it several times. After that I use the Blur tool and blur the background to help lines blend together. In the case of the ballerina, I even used the Clone tool to fill in where the backdrop exposed floor.

**Weird with a Beard**

Isn't my title funny? My dear friend Kimberly used that term in a post to us, and it struck me as so darn funny. It still has me giggling!

Anyways!

I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off today. I've been working hard on some new things, sadly all of them non-scrapbook related, LOL! We have dinner guests coming over tonight. Its my girlfriend Kiersten... I'm in her wedding party come this December. Actually, newsflash~ I've been upgraded to Matron of Honor, LOL! Anyhoo, her fiance is the son of a restaurateur.... so I've got to get my cooking game on, LOL! Can't just serve any old thing. I'm going with my tasty standby, Sweet and Sour Chicken Hawaiian. I'm already drooling on myself. They are in charge of desert, so tonight is a feast of calories!

*****************

I have just released the contents of my July Grab Bag!

Bring a sense of realism and depth to your layouts by embellishing your page with my new Felty Shapes. Layer them, or mix and match for an extra kick!

Felty Circles

Felty Flowers

Felty Hearts

Felty Stars

Normally $2 a pack, they are 20% OFF today.... you know you can't beat $1.60!!!

Enjoy!!

Also, I'm not sure if my BLISS Kit got lost in all the Digi Chick action, or what... but I did want to point out some GREAT layouts I've spotted using it!

Have you recently purchased my Color Pop & Black and White Photo Action?

If so... I really want to see your Befores and your Afters!!! Come on.... show me how you made your photos your own! You know you wanna!! Come and share the Before and Afters in THIS THREAD at TDC.

BTW~ this REALLY IS the process I use on my own photos!

Be back tomorrow for a Photo Tip Friday!

Two Toots!!

So guess who just recently started rolling? That's right, my Lil' Koala Bear. Did you know that we call Lucas that? Since he was born. He just likes to "climb up and hold on." LOL! Anyways, just very recently he started rolling from front to back. And THEN almost immediately he was rolling from back to front too! I can't leave Lucas alone on the couch anymore (sigh). We've also started feeding him rice cereal. The first night he ate it like candy. The last four nights he's struggled and fought it a bit. I haven't noticed him sleeping any longer... yet. Still up at 6 am for a feeding, but thankfully he's back to sleep right away.

We took Seth to see Ratatouille last Friday. It was his first time at the theater, and he LOVED the big screen. But most important to him was the "popcorns" he got to eat. He talked about that the whole weekend. He sat very well for the first hour or so, and then he got antsy. Nate walked him around a bit near the bottom of the screen, and we were all happy.

They are remodeling our WalMart here.... and its kind of a pain, and kind of humorous. You'll never know what item you'll see where. Yesterday they had one small isle of sewing items in the middle of the vitamins and medicines. They also moved the bedding to the middle of the men's department.

We tried a wonderful new recipe last night....mmmmm.... Pork Tenderloin with Peach Glaze, complete with grilled peach halves. It was very tasty!

I've really been rolling the idea around of creating a cookbook, complete with my photos of the food, and I think this made the cut, LOL!

Yesterday I had a paid shoot... kind of. I was hired to shoot 35mm slide film of oil impressionist paintings. LOL! It was kind of fun! I was also hired to shoot a boy in our church's Senior Pictures. So slowly but surely, stuff is coming in.

Oh! Almost forgot! I have TWO TOOTS!!

One: I have a full page layout in the Scrapbook Trends Babies Idea book. Page 10 is all mine!

Two: Somerset Magazine (formerly Legacy) requested a page of Lucas that I just love! I'm thrilled!

Happy Monday!

Over the weekend, Nate and I went to a wedding of some friends of ours, Tim & Sarah. It was beautiful! The wedding was held at our church, complete with a 2 year ring bearer in a top hat, LOL! Here's the wonderful couple during their Bridal Embrace.....


Afterwards, the reception was held at our town's Country Club. Actually, if you visit My Photog website and go to the wedding gallery, the last picture shows you the reception room. Just gorgeous. Here's Nate and I in the reception room....

I think its time to get Nate to trim back his soul patch. I hate it when it starts getting wide like that. And I think he looks a bit doofy in this pic, b/c he had just finished joking with our friend who took the picture.

Anyways! Last night after church we had a Snag with the Youth over at one of their houses with a pool. I think Seth overdid himself, as he is currently snuggled on the couch and sleeping. The mothers had a great time passing Lucas around last night while Nate enjoyed a noodle fight in the pool and I relaxed in the hot tub.

There is not much planned today. I do plan on getting a run in today, and there is some designing I need to finish. Sometimes I start a kit, and can pop out half of it in no time... then I have to set it aside (for Orlando this time...) and get stuck when I return to it. I'd also like to try and get caught up on some scrapping... this millenium, LOL!

Have a great Monday!

Photo Tip Friday~ My Photo Conversion

Now... some of you have been asking about my photo processing. Well, I've finally decided to share my secret. In the form of an action of course, LOL! Consider this my Photo Tip Friday for this week... I really do use THIS particular process on all of my photos. It is easy to use and very customizable.

This Action is intended for Photoshop 7, CS, and CS2. It may not work with any other programs. With just a click of a button, you have a very simple and easy to follow action. This color pop and black and white action will take your photos to the next level of WOW! This item if for personal use only. (If you are a photographer who sells photos, or Scrap-For-Hire, there is a Commercial Use Action as well!)

Get Color Pop Photo Action HERE

This really is what I use on my very own photos. Here are some Before and Afters....

Angelina's

Kimberly's

New Stuff....

Have you seen the new site design of The Digi Chick yet? RUN... it looks amazing!! Kimberly did an awesome job redoing the site! There are all kinds of fun activies planned for this weekend celebrating it, and a HUGE 30% off sale happening.



"Who has not dreamed a world of bliss on a bright, sunny noon like this?" --William Howitt

Bliss is a soft and whimsical kit that is designed to suit girls and boys. This kit is the perfect compliment to your sunny summer photos.

Bliss kit includes 8 shabby and softly worn papers, 3 buttons, 3 tags, 2 tied bows, 2 knotted ribbons, 2 stitched ribbon photo corners, 2 frames, 2 folded stamps, 2 scallop masks, 1 journal tag, and 1 flower stitch. Follow your Bliss!

Get Bliss HERE at 30% OFF Today!

Now, TDC has jumped on the Grab Bag wagon, and there are so many COOL baskets to grab! You just CANNOT beat a $2 price tag!

This is a fun filled Grab Bag by Andrea Burns. You will find 4 full sized things inside. Grab it while you can.

Get my Grab HERE for $2!

Four Months Young....

Today my Lucas turns four months old. At 5:48 pm exactly. Today is going to be a big day today for him. He's going to try rice cereal for the first time (even though the doc has recommended it for a while now, b/c of his size). He's also going to the nursery to sleep in his crib tonight. I'm really kind of sad on both accounts. But at least its a month earlier for Lucas on the nursery end. We didn't move Seth over till he was 5 months old.... I was afraid he'd learn to sit up over night and topple out of the cradle, LOL!

Lucas had his 4 month check up yesterday. He is weighing in at 16 lbs and 3 oz, and is 25 1/2 inches long. He has slipped to 60th % height and 80th % weight, LOL! As far as his eczema, it is looking better. When he does have break outs, its not as bad and its few and far in between. Our doc also told us, b/c of Lucas' size, when we start baby foods, we can go ahead and skip the Stage Ones and go right ahead to the Stage Twos. I do think we'll wait till Lucas is 5 months with that (We waited till 6 with Seth). And I do think we'll start with the Ones anyways, b/c if Lucas already has allergic reactions (his eczema) I'd rather catch allergic reactions with foods one at a time. (For you who don't know....Ones are one food at a time in a smaller dose, Twos mix foods at bigger doses.)

We also finally got the go ahead and the referral to see the Pediatric Urologist. We have our consult on Aug 2nd, and we have to drive over an hour to Pittsburgh for the specialist there. For the reason why, Read This Entry. I had asked the receptionist if she had a guess time about surgery if we needed it, and she said that we would have to wait till Lucas is at least 6 months old for the anesthesia to Go Under (Sept 12), OR there is this in-house procedure that the doc can do, and we can just leave. Lets pray that that is our option!

As for Seth.... spending a week at Nana's has really spoiled him I think, LOL! He is acting out quite a bit, and we have quite a few talks about "Listening & Obeying" around here. Has anyone here read the book "Bringing Up Boys" by James Dobson? I've heard its really great and wanted to check it out. Seth is still so sweet to Lucas, I can't wait to see them interact and play together! We are going to be taking him to see Ratatouille sometime very soon.

A BIG THANK YOU to Heather for noticing that I have passed the 100 mile mark on my running mileage. I really appreciate it! I plan on celebrating that with ya'll.... ;) so come back in the next day or 2 to see your giftie.... ;)

LIFE 2007: Orlando

OK, well here goes.....

To see web video's of messages or get free podcasts, go HERE to the LIFE page.

We all got up early and met at the church Tuesday (the 3rd) morning. We had an 11 am flight from the Cleveland airport... we found tickets there cheaper than from the Pittsburgh airport.

Here is our group that went. Nate and I, and there were 6 teens. That was actually nice, b/c it was 3 teens to each of our rooms. And of course, Lil' Lucas went with us. We call our Youth Group Echo Student Ministries, thus the Echo on our shirts. (We strive to live like an "Echo" of Christ.)

all pics uncropped, and unretouched

Our Worship band of the week was a fantastic band called The Swift. Excellent music, and very catchy. This picture was opening night. (I know I mentioned previously that this event usually has 30,000 kids... Nate told me I was mistaken. ROFLOL! Its really about 7,500 teens who attend. Still enough to fill a room, LOL!)

Here is our group in front of the "Theme Car". The theme this LIFE was "Vintage." Living the "Vintage" life, having vintage prayer and vintage worship. (Vintage meaning authentic... not necessarily old school, LOL!) The car was in this beg room filled with booths of C&MA affiliated colleges (Toccoa Falls {my alumni}, Simpson, Crown, and Nyack) various Missions organizations, Artist Booths and Vendors. The rest of the room was filled with overly large blow up toys for the Teens, plus basketball, and sumo wrestling, LOL!

In the picture below, most everyone has a Glow Stick. The message behind it was that... Often times God doesn't use you till you are broken for him... then you can "glow" for him. This was an amazing moment.

Here is my picture of meeting up with Jenn. What a sweetheart.... I'd have coffee with her every day if I could. I could totally see us being great friends IRL.

Here are my girls. We had such a fun time together. They were all "little mamas" and helped me tremendously with Lucas. We all giggled a lot... and watched a lot Disney channel, especially Hannah Montana. Sadly.... the show grew on me too, LOL! I'm kinda sad that we don't get the channel here at home. We are wearing our shirts we made special for the trip... handpainted with handprints, LOL!

Now these next pictures are Beyond AWESOME. We stayed in the Rosen Centre Hotel. Across the street was the Peabody Hotel. They have these famous ducks that swim in their lobby fountain. At 5 pm everyday, a red carpet is rolled out, and the ducks climb out of the fountain, march down the carpet, and climb into an elevator that takes them to their "Duck Haven" for the night. Isn't that wild?!?!

LOL!

We were eating dinner one night at the hotel, and I noticed this cool picture on the wall. I just HAD to take Nate's pic sitting by it.... it almost looks like a window.. but I LOVE the Nathan's splashed across the top.

OK, this is my girl Mallery. Before Nate and I got married we worked in a Youth Group in our college town. Mallery was one of my first girls I worked with.... and at the time she was just starting 7th grade. Do you know how old it makes me feel to know that she just graduated high school and is about to start college herself? ACK! But, she is one of my all time favorite people ever! And we meet up every chance we get. I ADORE this girl!


This next picture is of the Poet/ Artist Bradley Hathaway. He was very entertaining and his poems are wild... I know some people weren't that pleased with him, BUT I thoroughly enjoyed him. I'm still considering buying his book/ CD.


And holy cow... this next guy... well he's called "The Acoustic Ninja" for a reason. I have never in my life seen someone play a guitar the way Trace Bundy does. Just trust me... please check out his YouTube video playing Dueling Ninjas... or Pachelbel's Canon.... or 5 Capos ....

He just plays very unconventionally, and uses both hands... and sometimes his elbows, LOL!


Here's an upside down house. Just b/c its cool, LOL!



OK, now of course you know that the girls and guys got into it a little bit last week with little pranks. It started when the boys would call our room asking for the Golf Club, over and over. Well... long story short, "Someone" was able to score a key to the boy's room, and we papered them! LOL!

That was so much fun! I've actually never papered anyone before.

These pics were of the last night... the Swift's closing concert. Awesome!

And that is it with the pics.....

As for having Lucas with me, I'll admit it, it was kinda hard. His naps were too short and less frequent. I missed parts of services and worship b/c I was protecting him from the overly loudness, or he was fussy, or I was nursing. It was hot, and he's teething, so you can imagine. He also got up to eat earlier and earlier every day. Crazy kid! Our flight home was a nightmare b/c he tantrummed the first and last half hour of the flight. He was awake, and I think his ears bothered him.

I really enjoyed our trip, and I know all of our kids did too. At one point, LIFE took an offering of the students. Remember.... 7,500 teens. And they raised $114,000 for Africa Relief. Wow. We've already heard that the next LIFE will be in Louisville, 2010.

Wiped....

It's been a very long day of airplanes, screaming babies, and sheer exhaustion. I've been living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks now. I am SO ready to see my firstborn tomorrow. Noon can't get here fast enough.

Did I have a great time?

I had an AMAZING time.

Look who I got to meet up with while I was there!

Miss Fabulous JennStar, that's who!

(This is Jenn's photo & LO!)

We just LAUGHED and LAUGHED the whole time!! What a great gal she is IRL... I would totally hang out with her all the time if I could!

OK... seriously, I think I'm delirious with needing sleep... so I'm pouring myself into bed now....

Photos and stories from my trip coming shortly! :c)

Toot & Woot!!

One week, 1600 miles, and minus-a-Sethro later, I am home. Well... for all of 36 hours. As of 11 am tomorrow, we (all 8 of us) fly out of Cleveland to sunny Orlando. We'll be joining , oh... about 30,000 other teens and youth sponsers for an AWESOME week!

Visiting my folks was fun... if not a bit stressful. Seth did pretty good with the p.o.t.t.y. One night he would have nothing to do with a public toilet, but he was crying from the need to go. Then he asked to come home, so drive all 30 min back to Nana's we did. Just in time for him to mess on the floor. LOL~ he did great holding it till then.

My dad was SO nervous about how Seth would react to me driving away without him. I knew he would be fine.... it was his mama that cried as she pulled out of the driveway and left him 400 miles behind. As it is, our house is too quiet.

Lucas is teething. Yes I know its early, but he's almost 4 months old. Seth popped out his first tooth at 4 months, and he had 4 teeth by 5 months, and 6 teeth by 6 months. Lucas is gnawing on his fist and drooling, and he's very cranky. I don't feel any hard bumps yet, but I'm sure they are moving.

So anyways, I came home to 2 nice surprises!

First, (My Toot) my layout published in the Digital Scrapbook Magazine's Aug/ Sept issue came out. I am all of page 29! I hadn't gotten my subscription issue yet, so I ran to Barnes & Noble and bought a couple. I was a big dork and was showing it off to the check out girl.

Second, (my Woot) my Andrea Burns Photography book came in the mail! I loved some of the scrapbook versions I was seeing was turning out. But I knew I wanted to create a "Photography Book" to help market my work a little better, so I did that first instead.

I used Shutterfly.com, and I love how it turned out!

I got the 8x8 hardbound, Print for Scrapbook version. That way, some of my photos were printed full bleed, edge to edge. You have no idea how tickled I am over this! Like I'm a "professional" or something! LOL! ;) I had gotten 24 pages, and they all came out beautifully. The colors are spot on. I also thought the process of making the book was very easy, and actually kinda fun, because they have this preview of the book afterwards, and you can "flip" through the pages of your work. If you are thinking about trying this, don't think about it anymore, just do it!

I've already got an idea that this would make a BEAUTIFUL cookbook!


Well, gotta dash. I have a lot to prepare for. When I get back, expect some fun surprises! I only have 3 miles to go to hit 100 miles run, and I think I may make a special treat for that... and there are LOTS of surprises coming your way from The Digi Chick. Also, there will be a new kit and a photo action, YAY!