Object Swap

Making Memories recently had a challenge based on the song lyrics "Every generation has a chance to change the world."  A picture of my son sprang to mind.  In it, he was holding a big green balloon.  I decided to see if I could turn it into a globe. 

I first removed the string and tie.  Then I pasted a globe onto a new layer.  Tip: By adjusting the opacity of the globe, I could see where his fingers were (so I knew exactly where to erase).

  

I look forward to hearing your thoughts! 

No Anne Geddes

I'm no Anne Geddes, but I have to experiment on something while I learn about Photoshop.  Here is the fruit of today's labors:

Photoshop Magic?

As soon as I saw this picture of my daughter, I knew I wanted to play with it.  I had dreams of adding a little magic with fairy-like sparkles. 

I first changed the color of the background (as done in the post, "A Beginning").  I gave it a soft blur and brightened her up a bit.  I then added a layer of texture (64% opacity) and smoothed it over her face and arm (as done in "Photoshop Textures", with the healing brush). 

I think it lends her an ethereal quality and the sparkles I've tried so far have just looked cheesy.  I'm continuing my research and this may not be the final incarnation of this pic, but I thought I'd share with you what I've done so far. 

With Halloween approaching, how do you add magic to your pics?

Routine charts

My son used to love his My Go To Bed Book.  When my husband had to be gone for 6 weeks, I scanned some of the pages and turned them into a bedtime routine chart.  It worked like a charm!

Now that he's old enough to make his bed in the mornings and with the approaching turmoil of a deployment, I've added a morning routine chart.  We didn't have a book that fit the bill, so I had to improvise.  For "wake up" I googled the phrase "happy sun" and the kids picked this one (quite emphatically, I might add). 

To make a chart, simply print your images, glue them to 8x10 cardstock, laminate, add 2 eyelets to the top, and hang with fun ribbon.  They're extremely durable!  I might even make an afternoon chart for the things they do when they get home.  (Put shoes away, set the table for dinner, etc.) 

I can't wait to hear your thoughts!  What are your best tips for mornings/bedtime?

Update:  My son requested a green chart for the afternoon.  Here it is!

Decorative Packing Tape

I always clean my home thoroughly before going on vacation.  It's such a wonderful feeling to come home to a beautiful and clean home! 

I'm having similar ideas about the boxes we'll be putting in storage.  Everybody knows to designate boxes according to their rooms and I'm doing just that with a whimsical twist, using decorative packing tape.
Maybe polka dots for my son's room and birdies for my little girl?  Here are the rolls I've purchased so far:

Not only will we know where each box goes, but there will be a little something to make us smile.

What are your best moving tips?

Toddlers Telling Time

Today's obsession is how best to mark the passage of time while Daddy is gone. 

The first strategy involves apothecary jars filled with jelly beans (1 for each day of the deployment).  Each day, the child gets to eat 1 jelly bean.  To avoid fighting, we'd need a jar for each child. 

A fun thing to do before my husband leaves would be researching which jelly bean flavor is each child's favorite. Then, each jar could be filled with their favorite flavor bean!  I can imagine my son choosing the buttered popcorn flavor because he often eats popcorn with Daddy.

The second strategy is a paper chain.  Each day, one link is removed from the chain.

I like these because they're patriotic without being over-the-top.

These are gorgeous, but wedding-themed.  I'd have to custom print the paper with messages from Daddy for each day and markers like "Halfway there!"

My final conclusion?  I need a better way to cut my scrapbook paper with these cute patterned edges!  (The little scissors never work very well for me.) 

What ideas do you have to mark the passage of time?

Growth Chart

Admittedly, I've been out of commission for a few days while reading the new Dan Brown novel.  Not wanting to shirk my blogging duties, I'll share with you a project I completed a few months ago: a growth chart.

Being a military family who moves often, we needed an alternative to tracking our kids' growth on a doorframe.  Many growth charts commercially available are too cartoonish and furthermore, too small!  My son could easily grow past 6' and I'd like to be able to chart the whole way.

The solution:  I purchased a 1x4 and placed it on the wall at the height I wanted it to be.  Then, I placed a tape measure over it (starting at the floor) and taped it to the wood.  I woodburned the ruler markings into the wood.  I also woodburned the family name into the top of the growth chart.  Two coats of natural polyurethane and it was finished!  Here are some pics of the finished chart (with the names of my children removed):