A Little Photo Fix

Check this out!

I have been editing photos we took at our booth at the mall.  They are surprise pics for Mother's Day/Father's Day, so I don't want to spoil this little darling's present.  I just had to show you this little trick I learned!

Check out her little hand heart above.  She is adorable, and is actually a survivor or multiple heart surgeries, but I thought that perhaps that heart needed a little help.  I took it into Photoshop and with a little experimenting with Liquify, look!

Looking at this now, I think the bottom of that hand on the right looks a little goofy, and her pinkie on the other hand looks a little pointy, so let's modify just a bit.

I am subscribed to the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography subscription.  It gives me full Photoshop {which I am still just a baby at using} and Lightroom {LoVE, LOVE LOVE!!!}  It is TOTALLY worth the $10 a month I pay to have those two tools at my fingertips, even only working photography part time.

When you open Photoshop open the "filters" menu and choose Liquify {highlighted in blue above}.  It takes a minute, at least on my computer for liquify to open in a new window, but then there are a couple tools there you can use to push or pucker, or bloat your existing image.  I just kinda pushed around to open the heart up more, then played around with the other tools to get the look I wanted.

Here is my final result!  I like this one.  The heart isn't quite as perfect as the previous version, but I think her hands look more natural.  Obviously I am not perfect at this, but I AM totally excited to have had this much success!  Now, on to try a few other tricks!

Progress, Luckily!

I'm really struggling to see progress lately.  Life pulls in so many directions it can be frustrating at times.  That is probably why I am so over-the-moon excited to have put off everything else tonight and 

got a few odds and ends taken care of.

For starters, I am feeling pretty lucky to have finally painted my "Lucky" sign I designed 4 years ago with my sweet friend Season.  I found it last summer traced on a piece of wood hiding in the garage.  I must have moved it 3 times in 3 different states over the last 4 years.  It was finally cut out this last fall on my scroll saw.  Since then I have moved it from pile to pile of unfinished projects optimistic that life would ease up and time would permit me to paint it.  

Trust me.  This hunk of wood is LUCKY it survived to see the paintbrush.  It will be fun to hang up next March, even if I missed using it this year ♡

Next up, and having waited even longer, moved even more times...my Never Enough Snowmen signs!  I have 2 of them I stumbled across at Christmas time and decided their day had finally come.  Then January was full of trauma and recovery, February was more trauma, a big trip, more trauma, and illness.  March was finally feeling better, crazy craft party, even crazier photo shoots to prep and pull off, followed by trauma and over a week without my husband and right arm (Madison) while they sat at Grandpa's bedside 1200 miles away.

Ahem, get the picture?  This is why I am so excited to have even started these projects!  With any luck, I will even get a couple finished 😄

I did get the lettering finished tonight!  I made a strip of vinyl to use as a stencil.  The white area was where the vinyl was.  I can't even tell you how EASY vinyl has made crafting!!!  I didn't have vinyl back 9 years ago when I cut thsee signs out.  My box would never have been so straight and the lettering would have totally stressed me out.  Instead, done...finally.  Now to get the snowmen on the sign completed!!!  

*fingers crossed*

This will be my new Mother's Day Door Decor.

Cut out this time last year, painted to the level of done-ness you see here.  Yesterday, between editing photos, I worked on the pattern so hopefully I can get it and others up for sale soon.

*more fingers crossed*

These are 2 of the 9 signs I got painted before dinner.  Mads and I are planning a little string art here...

Another fixer project moved from table to table...

I decided I don't like my letters by the front door on wires.  I started gluing them to ribbons and I love it!  They hang better AND store better.

If only I could find the "U" from my "LUCK" I would get that set on ribbon too.  

My garage is a disaster.  Maybe with temps finally above the 30s this week I can get out there...no fingers left to cross!

Fixed my first bunny.  He fell a couple of times during our craft party and I hate to just throw him away.  Now that his ear and foot have been glued back in place I hope to touch up paint and have him good as new.

Got my HAPPY BIRTHDAY frosting painted for my birthday cake door decor.  It is not a fun piece to cut or paint.  I think I finally figured out my paint colors, so hoping to finish the whole cake soon!  Yesterday I designed a party balloon door decor pattern.  I want to make a 3 piece party pattern set with the cake, a giant present, and the big balloons.  More...more...to do.

My most recent started and waiting project.  I finally figured out how I wanted to finish these guys and got the stencils made for the hash marks on the bottles.

After realizing how many unfinished projects I had to show you, I figured I'd better get SOMETHING finished!!!

DONE.

Ignore the scrap on the carpet!  I am posting entirely by phone tonight and have no idea how to crop that out, LOL!

Won't these be cute on the door welcoming baby home for the first time!?!

Well, I am off to bed.  Feel free to show me your projects you hope to finish one day.  I'd love to know I am not the only one 😀

New Props!

I was working feverishly all week on the props I needed for this weekend.  V Photography Studios has a gig at the mall!  We were invited to set up in an empty store there and have at it!

I managed to coax some neighbors over tonight so I could get a couple pre-pictures.  I LOvE THEM!  The neighbors AND the pictures!  Check out those smiley boys!

Probably one of my favorites.  I LOvE to catch real personality, not just frozen smiles.

We had a ton of fun playing around with the SuperHero backdrop.  There was a TON of smashing, let me tell you!  I can't wait to see what our little ones come with tomorrow.

So these are all meant to be a Mother's Day/Father's Day gift if the families want an easy gift.  We tried the backdrop the original way...

Then went a little crazy with things for a moment of flight time.  

That was followed up by a pretty involved beauty session before our RockStar backdrop came out.  These two brothers are just adorable!!!  Put a little colored spray in their hair and the wild side comes out.  I love it!  Man is my job fun!!!

I don't even know how to explain these girls.  They are just crazy...and fun, and so cute together.  Long live BFFs!

Now that our own private fun is over, it is time to pack everything in my car and drive the 2 hours to Fairmont, Minnesota for our first Mall Photo Shoot!  Yahoooooo, I am so excited.  Now if I could only get at least 4 hours of sleep....please!