danbo want to color {13/365}

baby baking {12/365}

not ready to let go of christmas {11/365}

christmas balls are fun {10/365}

my new buddy danbo = best christmas present ever {9/365}

christmas eve in hershey, pa {8/365}

sharing christmas {7/365}

prettiest little jingle bell

magical cookies

that's my kind of christmas color

a christmas tree on raspberry lane

today....on raspberry lane

and as i took this photo, a snake slithered by just inches away, unbeknownst to me! until my son hopped off the stump he was climbing, wandered over and exclaimed "snake!" just in time for it to disappear into the tall grass.

my sweet loves

summertime on raspberry lane

fix it friday #60 ~ i heart faces

i heart tie dye

here is the original photo by Susan Keller



here is my edit


what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
open in camera raw ~ crop, increase saturation to 15
open in photoshop
ran noiseware very lightly
sharpened features ~ smart sharpen
hollywood glow action ~ kubota actions
added textures Bokeh Flare 24%, Beach Glass (vivid light) 24%, and Bokeh Touch 61% ~ Patti Brown texures
lens flare ~ lens flare filter, 50-300mm 75brightness
added warmth ~ color balance adjustment layer, +10red -11 yellow
removed distractions in background ~ clone stamp
daily multivitamin action ~ kubota actions

fix it friday #58 ~ i heart faces

i wish i heart faces had make it better mondays instead of fix it fridays! fridays are too busy! nevertheless, here's my #58

here is the original photo by susan keller of short on words

here is my edit


what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):

opened in camera raw ~ crop, white balance (off her teeth!), increase saturation to +15

opened in photoshop

brightened faces, deepened background ~ touch of light/touch of darkness action ~ mcp actions

sharpened features ~ smart sharpen

daily multivitamin action and kiyoko punch action ~ kubota actions

for the sky, added a "texture" called twilight ~ patti brown kaleidoscope textures

enhanced the sunflare with two "textures", bokeh bunch glow and sweet light ~ patti brown kaleidoscope textures

the last step i did was run noiseware, but this was an oopsie. i meant to do it first, but forgot, and just noticed as i was finishing up that it needed some polishing.

first love on raspberry lane

for me, before there was a dslr, before there was photoshop tutorials, actions, and textures, before there was photography books, rules of thirds, exposure lessons, lighting, blah, blah blah! ... before all of those was my first love = SCRAPPING!, digital scrapping to be exact. so instead of taking pictures the last few weeks, i've gone back to my first love, scrapping up the ones i've already got. here's some of what i've been doing.








and what the heck? the shabby shoppe blog awarded this one layout of the week!



i am soooo thrilled because there are some very, very talented folks over there at shabby shoppe ~ i just LOVE their style .... cuz it's...you know... shabby! AND...they gave me a gift certificate i am going to use very quickly to buy more scrapping goodies! sa-weet!

you can get the template for this layout FREE on their blog here!

fix it friday #52 ~ i heart faces

wow, it's almost not going to be friday anymore by the time i get my post up for this week's fix it friday on i heart faces! my link will be hidden way at the end, lost and lonely, where not a soul will see it ~ but better late than never, i guess! it was too cool a photo to pass up. there were some distractions in the background of this photo, but i thought the yellow and black signs were cool so i left them in.

here is the original submitted by Angie

here is my edit


what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
cropped
cloned out background distractions
brightened girl slightly, darkened edges slightly ~ touch of light/touch of darkness ~ MCP Actions
sharpened features ~ smart sharpen
velveteen light action at 100% opacity ~ kubota actions
smoke 3 texture at 50% opacity ~ patti brown textures
pool 2 texture at 24% ~ patti brown textures
golden sun texture at 15% ~ patti brown textures

fix it friday #50 ~ i heart faces

what a great photo to work on this week for fix it friday on i heart faces! beautiful girl, great texture on the background, fun color, cool angle.....yep, it was a little dark obviously, but nothing a little levels adjustment can't handle! great fun, great photo :)

here is the original submitted by debbie from 50 cent of your love

here is my first edit ~ crisp and clean:

here is my second edit ~ artistified!:


what i did (edited in photoshop cs3, kinda wishin it was cs5!):
open in camera raw ~ white balance, crop
open in photoshop
reduced noise on girl only ~ noiseware
levels adjustment
manipulated light ~ touch of light/touch of darkness action~ MCP actions
sharpened features & brightened eyes ~ smart sharpen, curves adjustment
cleaned up face ~ spot heal
reduced under eye shadows ~ patch tool
popped color on barn ~ channel mixer
daily multivitamin action (crisp & clean version only) ~ kubota actions

artistified version only:

moulin rouge action ~ kubota actions
fireplace texture on background only ~ jessica drossin textures
sharpened background slightly to bring up texture ~ smart sharpen

in bloom on raspberry lane

dogwood & lilacs are blooming this week ~ my favorite week of spring!

fix it friday #49 ~ i heart faces

i don't have much to say about this edit ... the photo was lovely to begin with, so there wasn't necessarily much to "fix". so i basically just wanted to add a little depth and richness.


here is the original submitted by jessie of the lucas zoo.

here is my edit:

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
cropped
darkened just about everywhere except her face ~ touch of darkness ~ MCP Actions
sharpened features ~ smart sharpen
brightened eyes ~ curves adjustment
softened skin ~ doll face ~ kubota actions
increased contrast of hair ~ curves adjustment
removed hairs on pants ~ clone stamp
blurred edges ~ edge blur modified ~ kubota actions
dustclouds texture ~ patti brown

and now some green

occasionally, i like to throw one of my pics in Pioneer Woman's photography assignments. in case you've been living under a rock and don't know, the current assignment is green photos. i just happen to have a favorite photo that is very, very green so i tossed it into the ring. babygirl looks so darling in green, big bald head and all.





and since i think it's fun to see the before & afters, here's the SOOC:

dramatic black & white ~ i heart faces

the theme for this week's challenge on i heart faces is dramatic black & white. i've been doing alot of vibrant color lately, so it was kind of nice to revisit some b&w for this challenge and really focus on the black and white aspect being significant and meaningful in the photo. i loved the way the black & white played up the texture of the lane and field in this photo as well as the lighting.

about this photo: with the days stretching a little longer and the weather warming up, we've been able to enjoy a little time outside after dinner. i like to walk down the lane with babygirl and watch for deer in the field. to the left where she's watching there are about twenty deer in the distance. they come out around dusk, as do we. and it's beautiful every single time.

go catch some more desaturated drama at i heart faces!

fix it friday #48 ~ i heart faces

i REALLY missed fix it friday last week! i need my weekly editing fix! so happily, i present this week's fix it friday for i heart faces. this one was a pleasure to work on. i love close ups of faces, all the details, especially the eyes!

here is the original submitted by Natalie P.

here's my edit.

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):
open in camera raw ~ white balance, crop
open in photoshop
levels adjustment layer
brighten face ~ touch of light/touch of darkness, MCP Actions
sharpen features ~ smart sharpen
brighten eyes ~ levels and curves adjustment layers
remove redness in eye & discoloration on nose ~ clone stamp
lighten under eye shadows ~ patch tool
Lord of the Rings Everyday ~ Kubota Actions
bump saturation ~ hue/saturation adjustment layer
bump contrast ~ soft light layer
darken edges ~ touch of light/touch of darkness, MCP Actions

bundled up ~ i heart faces

the theme for this week's challenge on i heart faces is bundled up. we had a pair of snow storms a few weeks ago that got us all plenty bundled up! babygirl was not impressed with the snow at all ~ i can't blame her since the snow was about as tall as her! we had to sit her on a garbage can lid just so she wouldn't sink into the snow! nevertheless...she's so darn adorable she can still look this cute while sitting on a garbage can lid!

spring is almost here....so grab a final cup of hot chocolate and snuggle up with some bundly goodness on i heart faces before it arrives!

fix it friday #47 ~ i heart faces

this week's fix it friday on i heart faces... i must admit this one was quite challenging. i wanted to really focus the attention on her face and show the connection with the pinball. also when i looked at the original i felt like the lighting should be sort of dramatic, almost as if the light on her face was coming from the pinball machine. noise was difficult ~ note to self, must purchase noiseware!

here is the original submitted by Amy Pinney

here's my edit:

what i did (edited in photoshop cs3):

opened in ACR ~ cropped slightly, adjusted white balance, reduced noise

opened in photoshop

midbright ~ kubota actions, on face & arm only

touch of light/touch of darkness ~ MCP Actions, lightened face, arm, and pinball/darkened edges

cloned out distractions in background

sharpened features of face & brightened eyes

removed shadows under eyes

powder soft ~ kubota actions

angel glow ~ kubota actions

bumped up saturation slightly

increase contrast with curves adjustment

vintage velvet & painterly textures ~ florabella