DIY Portraits

When my son was around 10 months old, we took him to a picture studio to have his pictures done.  In fact, my mother was kind of appalled that it took that long for us to get his portrait done.  We had a fine photo shoot and the pictures are cute, but I've never taken him back.

Portrait studio pictures, although nice, always feel too posed and formal for my taste.  My favorite pictures are done on location.  They feel like the photographer got lucky and caught that special look or smile.  Not "Hold that smile for ten minutes while I fluff the pillow you're sitting on to look more like a cloud."

Our unofficial boycott of portrait studios is a sore spot for my mother.  When I take a good picture, I usually get it enlarged and send them a copy, but I finally figured out that what she really wanted were wallet sizes so she could pass them out to third cousins I couldn't identify out of a line-up and flash to grocery clerks across the land.

So the other day, I took my son on a photography session.  Armed with my cheap Kodak Easyshare camera and a son who luckily likes modeling for pictures (with the bribe promise of chocolate afterwards), I picked a picturesque spot downtown where they had a couple of old train cars parked and started snapping away.

I liked how they turned out - not too posed or formal.  Hardly the professional quality you would get with a better camera, but I liked them a lot.  (They look even better in real life than they're showing up online because of the high resolution).  Next I took them home and loaded them on Picnik for tweaking.

Compare the original (left) to the edited (right):

I think that the left looks more like a nice snapshot, where the right looks more like the real deal.

Another less dramatic sample:

Mostly I played around with the saturation, temperature and contrast until I liked the result.

I uploaded the pictures to Walgreens.com and sent away for matte processing (I stopped doing glossy a long time ago) - now Grammy has a handful of wallet sizes she can share to her heart's content.

Green With Envy

My mom's guest room (where I'm currently staying) has dark chocolate walls.  She's chosen to accent it with ivory, pastels, and gold, which doesn't look bad, but definitely is more traditional than I would have done it.

I've been loving the idea of a kelly green dresser and bright white accents to add a modern spin.




From DecorPad


Not Kelly Green, but would work as well:




From DecorPad as well.




From Lonny


I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for not buying a $10 campaign dresser off of Craigslist.  I try to not do a lot of impulse shopping, but I'm still thinking of it months later!

Bath & Body Works Deal

My sister received a Bath & Body Works gift card for Christmas, so I told her I would look out for a deal.  It turns out they're having a BIG sale right now.  Many of their lotions, sprays, anti-bacterial hand soaps, and shower gels are on sale for $3.  They're the full-size versions which are usually priced at $9.50 or more each. 

To make the deal even sweeter, you can combine it with a coupon code (PERFECTGIFT10) online or go here and print off one for in-store and receive $10 off a $30 purchase.

I went ahead and snagged 10 shower gels for only $2 each after the coupon! Score!

Thanks to Hip2Save.com for the heads up!

I Love Barn Doors!

My parents converted their attached garage a couple of years ago, but they've never truly finished it (runs in the family, I guess).  It was originally envisioned as a master suite, then a family room (it's right off of the kitchen), was used as my grandmother's apartment for a while, and has now become a catch-all room that no one uses.  It's sad really, because it's a huge space.  So I'm trying to help my mom de-clutter, re-organize, and re-purpose the room.

Since it is such a large space and there is a structural beam running down the middle, I love the idea of using barn doors to create a flexible space.  Here are some inspirational pictures I've found online.



Sunset.com



From Chic Coles

 

From AMR Design

The above would probably work best - because (since it was a garage) there aren't a lot of windows and this would let in a lot of light, even when closed.


From Mytchell Contemporary Fine Art



From BHG via Blissfully Domestic



From Modern Prairie Girl

 


From CocoCozy

 

Love the blue against the rustic wood!  And the following is probably one of the most featured (blogwise) barn door I found - for good reason.  But wouldn't work at all in my parents' house.
 

From Southern Living

  Any favorites?

Couponing

Anyone else watch "Extreme Couponing" last night?

I did and had fairly mixed emotions.  First of all, I am only a casual coupon user by any means.  Once a year (going on right now) I use a lot of coupons and "stockpile" enough bath and beauty products to last my family for a year.  And then I stop.  I do use them sporadically for food, but we tend to eat the kinds of foods (fresh meats, vegetables, etc.) that don't have coupons.  I always look for a coupon code when I order something online (favorite source:  retailmenot.com) and keep up with what stores are having great deals (free items) on hip2save.com (which has a great discussion going on about "Extreme Couponing").

My main issue with couponing is I buy a lot of things that I don't necessarily need.  Like this week, I went to CVS to get some shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.  I ended up buying make-up.  It was on clearance, I had a coupon, and they gave me money back.  In the end I spent less than $20 and got $64 worth of makeup, 3 2-liter cokes, plus the bath products I went for - plus $5 back to spend on whatever I'd like.  It was a good deal, but definitely not a "need" by any means.

That was my biggest problem with the show - although the participants are speaking up that they donate a lot of their haul, it looked like people buying too much of things that they couldn't possibly need, much less use by the time it would expire.  It's just another version of greed.

Anyway, my mom came up with a nice alternative to the coupon binders a lot of people use.  Two of the people on the show were shown using the conventional coupon binder - basically a large binder with clear plastic inserts similar to the kind a baseball collector would use.  Similar to this:



From You Paid What?!?

I had previously thought about investing in a coupon binder, but it added up to about $30, which seemed a bit steep for someone who only casually clips coupons.  I used an envelope system for the past year - with the envelopes organized by aisles in the supermarket. It was organized, but a bit of a nightmare to use.

When I came to my parent's house, my mom showed me her coupon binder and once again proved that you don't have to spend a lot of money - just use what you have on hand.  What she had was an old magnetic photo album.  The kind where you peel up the plastic, put the photo underneath, and then seal it up again?  These albums are actually not very good for storing your photos - but it's perfect for couponing.  We upgraded to a larger (100 page) album she also had on hand (with a price sticker of $3.99, but I'm not sure where she originally got it) to get more room, and also because it has 3 rings so you can even punch holes in your ads or add pocket folders. 

Here's a (crappy) picture of the outside:

And inside:

See how you can fit all sizes of coupons without folding?  And I love the stiff pages versus the flimsy baseball card holders.  And you don't have to worry about anything falling out if you turn it upside down.

I'm sure my mom isn't the only person in the world who has thought of this - but I would have never come up with it, so I thought I would share.

Greetings from Santa

Just wanted to share a super cute way you can make a personalized video for you little one from Santa Claus.  I made one for my 4 year old and hopefully he'll love it.  He met Santa twice this year, and both times Santa was pleasantly surprised to meet a kid who only wants Hot Wheels cars for Christmas.  Of course, he's getting lots more than that, but having older kids with extensive gift lists make me really appreciate the brief couple of years when it doesn't take a whole lot to make him smile.

Portable North Pole

You can add pictures and have Santa talk about what good behaviors your child has been working on this year.

Hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season!

Cute Fabric Alert!

Little girl rooms are so fun to dream up, aren't they?  I'm loving this fabulous print:

Moda It’s A Hoot Twill Large Hoots & Lolly Pop Trees Marshmellow

I think it would be perfect for some super cute curtains, but could easily be worked into any girly scheme - from a ruffly apron to a craft room.