Color Incorporated Standout Mount Give-Away!!! - Closed!

The giveaway is closed and I will be posting the winner on Thursday!!!

See my new Color Incorporated DigitalProLab Standout Mount below? I LOVE it! I agonized about what image I should have printed and finally settled on this one. I love this photo. It was taken last spring and it is an image of my boys playing in the hay field.  With all of the stress I have been going on in the last week with my computer woes, looking at this image on my wall instantly relaxes me.

I ordered the 30x20 Black Standout Mount.

Computer Update 2!

After a stressful weekend waiting to hear about my poor dear broken computer, I finally found out this morning it was a hardware failure. My CPU was shorting out and caused all kinds of damage. So I must buy a new computer to replace my 1.5 year old computer. :-( 

Computer Holding Pattern

Just a quick computer update.

My computer is still at the Computer Dr. Apparently I had a hard drive crash, not necessarily due to the kids playing on it.

Kids and Computer Don't Mix...

I wish I liked beer because there is nothing as sad as seeing someone cry over their morning coffee... ;-)

So yesterday, late afternoon, I turned on my computer to check email and then went to do some laundry. I was so proud of myself, actually doing some housework for a change. I came back and both of my boys were playing on the computer like madmen, something they are NEVER supposed to do. In fact, I don't even let them play games or watch videos on it.  I tell them computers are only for adults...

Well, the computer was frozen

Blogger UnWrapped: Blogger Gadget Title "Fix", or "Blogger, why the heck do you force me to title my gadgets now???"

You probably know I love Blogger. I use it for all of my blogs and I am also a Blogger blog designer. So imagine my horror (ok, maybe that is a bit dramatic) when suddenly late last night Blogger started forcing me to add titles to all of my gadgets on Page Elements, including html/javascript and text.  

{Friday Photo Bliss}

Inspired by the SouleMama blog's {this moment}, I am posting one image every Friday, taken that week, that really makes me happy. If you end up doing the same I would love to see your photo linked in my comments!

It is hay baling time at our house.  We line up our lawnchairs, grab a cool drink and our sunglasses, and enjoy the show.   I used my newest Photoshop/Photoshop action on this image, CoffeeShop Magic Sunset, coming out soon!

CoffeeShop Urban Grit Action and Tutorial

I have had so many people visit my Flickr CoffeeShop Group and write that they would love to have the Urban Grit layer in Perfect Portrait as a stand-alone action. Well, here it is! I also wrote a little tutorial for those of you that prefer to do it on your own (yes you!!!) and also to show you how I went from my before to after with texture in the sample above. This tutorial works in both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

Click on the image above to see it large!

1.  Run the Urban Grit action on a flattened image. If you don't want to run the action simply make a copy of your background (Ctrl-J) and run a high pass filter on it with a setting of 20 (Filter, Other, High Pass) and then put that layer into vivid light blending mode and adjust opacity to taste. 

2.  The action applies a black layer mask (if you aren't using the action you can download my free PSE layer mask here and click on it and fill it in with black - Edit, fill layer, black).  When you run the action you won't see any changes on your image (the black mask "masks" or hides the effect so you can paint it in where you want it). 

Simply click on the black layer mask on the Urban Grit layer to select it and then paint on the image with a low to medium opacity soft white brush (in normal mode, check your top menubar!) in areas you want to give that gritty almost HDR effect.  If you make a mistake paint back over the image with a black brush.  You can also adjust the Urban Grit's layer opacity after using the brush.

On this tractor photo I wanted the grit applied evenly over the entire image so I removed the black layer mask.  Just click to select it and drag it into the trash. 

3.  I then dragged the ShadowHouse 1000YearsBC free texture on  top and put it in multiply blending mode and lowered the opacity a bit.

4.  For the last step I added a levels adjustment layer on top and pulled up the highlights and gamma sliders a bit to brighten the image.

This effect is gorgeous on urban-type settings and things like tractors and cars and anything that needs a bit of gritty enhancement.  I use this on brick, stone, metal, and vintage grungy wood fences in portraits all of the time. It also looks great on old barns and walls.   Like all effects, moderation is the key, so make sure to start with a low opacity soft brush and lower the opacity of the layer to taste.

You can download the free Urban Grit PS/PSE action HERE!

Want all of my favorite CoffeeShop Actions or Design Elements in one simple download AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures. For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

Yum, Homemade Pizza!

I love to bake and cook from scratch. I seriously love it. I am a bit of a snob, especially with baked goods. I just don't believe in

Time for some blog love!

There are so many generous and talented bloggers out there who have amazing photography/photoshopping freebies on their blogs/websites.  I found a new (to me) one that I wanted to share with you today.  Please go check out Isabelle Lafrance's website.  Not only is she an amazing photographer but she has quite a list of freebies which include textures, Photoshop Actions and LightRoom Presets!  They look amazing.  She also sells some really affordable actions and presets.  I haven't tried any of these (I never buy actions since I am an action designer myself) but they look really nice.  I am all about supporting small businesses so please check Isabelle's website out and tell her you found her at the CoffeeShop!

I have a section with buttons to many of my favorite freebie sites at the bottom of my blog.  Please check them out!  If you are a blogger with freebies or have a link to a great freebie site, please comment about it in this post.  I am always looking out for great new actions and tutorials to blog about or talented guest bloggers for CoffeeShop!

{Friday Photo Bliss}

Inspired by the SouleMama blog's {this moment}, I am posting one image every Friday, taken that week, that really makes me happy.  If you end up doing the same I would love to see your photo linked in my comments!

Thanks to this new book we purchased the other day, A Field Guide to Common Texas Insects, we were able to identify this amazing Rainbow Scarab Beetle. Yes, I realize it is a dung beetle and I found it by some chicken poop, but it is related to the ancient Scarab beetles of Egypt and is simply stunning. Look at that horn on top (it is a male). Amazing isn't it!  Thanks little beetle; I am not a fan of poop and I appreciate your job as a tiny sanitation engineer.

Coffee With Amanda: Free Action, Make a PSE Thumbnail!

Have you ever found a neat, free action online, added it to your Effects palette in PSE, only to be frustrated by the blank, black space for that action? Well, here is an action to help you quickly create a thumbnail. No, this isn't one that you will probably use a lot (although I did buy some PSE actions a month ago, only to discover that like 12 of the actions had no thumbnails, so I am using it a lot).

To download the Make A Thumbnail action, click HERE.

Step 1: Create a new file by simply going to File, New, Blank File.

Step 2: In the pop-out box,

Update Time! Coffee, Toast, Books and Chicks

I just wanted to take a minute to post a few updates.

Blackie, Goldie, and their three chicks are doing great.  We had a huge rainstorm yesterday and the chicks got soaked, but I found them in the covered cage, one snuggled under Blackie and two snuggled under Goldie.  They are just too adorable.  Both moms are still completely content to share chickcare. 

I finished Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting and it was excellent. If you are a parent or are going to become a parent you should consider buying or getting this book from the library. It will really open your eyes. It makes me feel so much better about raising my free-range boys. Sure, I still have Mommy Guilt at times, but I try to deal with it. ;-)

I have read The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition) a few times (especially the part covering K-4th grade). I love this book. I am also reading up on the Charlotte Mason method.  I think I will borrow her nature study and narration ideas and add that to my program. 

Duke and I are ready to start homeschooling Kindergarten in the Fall. It seems that everyone I meet says something to the effect of "so Duke will be starting school soon, are you excited?". When I tell them I am homeschooling they give me "the look". I know, I will have to learn to deal with it, but it is still a bit annoying! Maybe next time someone mentions their child starting school in the fall I will give them "the look" and say "what, you aren't homeschooling them?".  ;-)

My sis Heather is trying out the Classical Conversations program for her daughter and I am excited to see if she likes it. But for now Duke and I will work on phonics and handwriting and I am reading some amazing books to him. Books I read in my childhood, like E. Nesbit, Roald Dahl, James Harriet, and C.S. Lewis. I am so excited he will now listen to books without pictures. And I am even more thrilled to be introducing him to so many amazing books that made me the avid reader I am today.

And thanks for visiting my blog and also for your donations, kind comments, and editing excitement.  You make this blog possible.

The Tale of Two Hens

Blackie, Goldie, and their three little chicks

I am the first to admit I am not an expert on chicken psychology.  However, I have had chickens off and on for years and frankly admired their complete lack of common sense.  I have seen chickens almost drown in a small container of water, get stuck in small crawl spaces and be unable to figure out how to get out (by simply backing out), and lay their eggs on top of chicken snakes...

Yet sometimes even the simple chicken will surprise and amaze you...

Yes, chickens are not wired

CoffeeShop Web Frames Rounded Corners, Set 1

{Friday Photo Bliss}

Inspired by the SouleMama blog's {this moment}, I am posting one image every Friday, taken that week, that really makes me happy.  If you end up doing the same I would love to see your photo linked in my comments! This is homemade playdough, recipe found in my favorite craft book ever, Disney's FamilyFun Crafts: 500 Creative Activities for You and Your Kids. This is out of print unfortunately but used copies are cheap. I bought 3, one for me and one for both of my sisters. :-)

OK, now a question for the homeschooling parents out there!  I am trying to decide on a math program for my son.  My sis Heather uses Saxon math and loves it, but I have read great things about Mammoth Math and the price is so incredibly affordable. I would love to hear your advice on your favorite math program for a K/1st  grader.  And if you found one you did not like, I would love to hear about it also!  I need to start getting some things together for this fall.  :-)

I am Woman, Hear Me Purr - My Free-Range Childhood

Summer of '76, Rita (on left), her two little sisters, her father, and her favorite truck

I was going through some of my parent's photos of my childhood and it really gave me pause about parenting in today's world. I am also reading this excellent book, Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting. This has encouraged me

CoffeeShop Simply Vintage Tutorial and Free Action!

Back from a long weekend. We had a great time; plenty of swimming and playing outside and visiting with family. We even made homemade smoked ribs using the 3 2 1 method of cooking and our own oak branches for "cowboy charcoal".

So today it is hot and the boys are painting their masterpieces and I decided to post a new free action and tutorial. I hope you enjoy this one!

Tutorial

1.  Open your image in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
2.  Soft Haze layer:  Add a solid color adjustment layer in ivory (hex#fcfbe5), normal blending mode, opacity 15%.
3.  Lighten layer:  Add a levels adjustment layer and move the gamma (middle) slider from 1.0 to 1.2.
4.  Add a gradient map adjustment layer with forground color pink (hex#a6215a) to background color light blue (hex#b2d8f2).  Put this layer in soft light blending mode.
5.  Color Mute layer:  Add a black to white gradient map adjustment layer in normal mode and adjust the opacity to taste (start with 10% or so).
6.  Vintage layer:  Add a dark blue (hex#021276) solid color adjustment layer and put it in exclusion blending mode, 40% opacity.
7.  Add texture for additional enhancement!  For my sample in my "ad" I added this free texture from ShadowHouse Creations just above the background layer (I desaturated it first so it wouldn't change any of my colors) in linear light blending mode, 40% opacity.
8.  Adjust all layers to taste!

You can also download the free CoffeeShop Simply Vintage action here! 

Want all of my favorite CoffeeShop Actions or Design Elements in one simple download AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures. For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.