Piglet is Pink.

Original title, eh?

Sometimes the hardest part of writing this blog for me is coming up with a title. It's ridiculous.

I don't know about you, but this has been a strange sort of week for us. We haven't really had much going on, but it has felt so busy and rushed. To top things off, I am officially out of room on the laptop. That either means I need to start deleted some things off, or fork over some bucks and invest in an external hard drive. Or both. Oy.

Not helping my space issue is my addiction to fonts. I recently found Dafont and I.am.hooked! It has a ton of free fonts for you to download. If you are into fonts, check it out, but be warned...it's hard to leave the site!

Without further ado, here is this week's edit:

I honestly can't remember all I did, but I do know I duplicated my layer, set it to multiply, created a layer mask and filled it black and then painted back on with a 25% white brush (thanks, Ashley!). I also adjusted the levels to make the colors pop.

Then, just because I can (well, at least I think I can), I created some water drops, just for fun!

I just wanted to have some fun with it, but still keep it simple. Incidentally, I also gave Piglet a tattoo, but then I removed it. Poor little Piglet just doesn't seem like the tattoo type.

Here is the before and after. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. I really do appreciate them!

As usual, I'm linking up here:

  

Ten on Tuesday

1. Happy belated President's Day. Did you celebrate by learning all our past presidents? If not, you can get your education on here. 
2. I wished Brady a happy Presidents Day, to which he immediately replied "I want to open it!". Poor kid, he thought I said presents day. 
3. I actually did scroll through #1's link and came to a picture of our 11th president. Is it just me, or does he have a slight resemblance to Mel Gibson?

   

   Photo Credit / Photo Credit

4. I've come to the realization that every family with small children has a special name for passing gas, as if somehow calling it by a nicer name makes it less icky. The "f" word wasn't allowed in our house, so growing up, my brother and I had to call it a "puff". Here in the Butler household we call it a toot. What words do you use? I know you've got some good ones!
5. I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Brady has a particular ball he plays with and every time he does, he always says "I do not care for so much reason". Where does he come up with this stuff?!
6. Thanks to some cool new apps on the iPhone, the little guy now knows a rhombus, ellipse, parallelogram, equilateral triangle, right triangle, scalene triangle, pentagon, heptagon, hexagon, as well as star, semicircle, rectangle, square, and circle. Technology is a beautiful thing.
7. Our city had an indoor garage sale this past weekend. I scored some good deals, but my favorite was a huge black frame. It is kind of distressed looking and I love it and it only cost $1. I got it to fame a family picture (assuming we ever take one), but it came with a framed Twilight poster. I'm not going to lie: I was embarrassed carrying it around. 
8. You know who wasn't? The hubster. Yet another reason I love that man.
9. I know I've mentioned this before, but my friend is raising money for adopting. I'm having an online party for Tastefully Simple and all the proceeds go towards her adoption. I am selling products through March 1 and so far have $0 sales. That's right. That number is zero. I feel like the biggest loser of a friend ever. Please buy something, for my friend and for my ego (but more for my friend). The food really is super yummy and you will be helping a great cause.
   
10. I am also linking up with Forever n Always Shoot and Edit. I missed last week's theme of romance. I was uninspired (photographically), so I'm jumping back in with this weeks' theme of pink. Not an easy color to find in our household, but I did what I could. Be sure to check back later in the week for the edit!

Little Feet

Tell me, what is half so sweet

As a baby's tiny feet,

Pink and dainty as can be,

Like a coral from the sea?

Talk of jewels strung in rows,

Gaze upon those little toes,

Fairer than a diadem,

With the mother kissing them!

As I bend and proudly blow

Laughter out of every toe,

This pray, that God above

Shall protect you with His love,

And shall guide those little feet,

Safely down life's broader street.

-Edgar Guest, 1924 (Excerpt) 

I wanted to keep this weeks' edit simple. I adjusted the white balance using levels, sharpened, and added a rose color gradient. I then adjusted the opacity, duplicated my background layer, set to multiply (to try to tone down the brightness of the blanket) and tweaked a little from there. Then I did a minor crop.

It's hard to remember the time when these feet were so small. They smelled so sweet and I could not kiss them enough. Now they're a bit bigger, though still small. They don't smell as sweet, and sometimes they even are a little stinky. I still kiss them anyway. I know there will be a day, coming sooner than I'm ready, when I won't be able to hold them in my hands, or have the desire to hold them to my cheeks. For now, I'll cuddle them and tickle them...along with the little boy they belong to.

I've been loving your comments (and I'm learning from them!). Please let me know what you think about the edits. 

Ten on Tuesday

1. Wow. You know how they say time flies when you're busy? So true. Problem is, I don't have anything to actually show for being busy. I literally have just been piddling, but apparently time flies when you piddle too.
2. There is still (a lot) of snow on the ground here. I don't like driving in snow. Basically, that means that unless my hubby (great guy that he is) drives me, I don't go anywhere.
3. As if we don't have enough snow, the weather people are guessing forecasting we are going to be getting more tonight AND tomorrow. Say it with me: ugh. How many more days till spring?
4. My husband went to a Bible study at church early this morning. I love that he has a heart for God.
5. My son has been saying some of the weirdest and funniest things. Case in point, this morning, out of nowhere, he said "I do not care for so much reason." Say what? I just chuckled to myself. He's two and a half, people.
6. I am up to 17 "followers" on my blog. That is just the coolest thing ever to me. When I first started, I swore no one read it. Now, people "follow" and leave comments. Thank you, friends!
7. I know I'm not the only one that gets sick of winter and longs for spring. My son (still two and a half) taught me a lesson yesterday. We were talking about the weather and playing outside and I said "Don't you like springtime when it's warm and sunny?" to which he replied, "I like the snow too! It's lovely." It just reminded me to be thankful for the seasons in life, no matter what they are (or how many days I'm cooped up inside). Hmmm. Maybe I should go back and rewrite #3?
8. I'm going to make a quiche tonight for the first time. I'm hoping it turns out yummy because, man, I love me some quiche! (Thanks, mom, for the recipe!)
9. We went to a Superbowl part on Sunday and I'm not ashamed to tell you I did not watch any of the game. Yet, it was the best superbowl party ever. Love you, friends!
10. I'm a day late, but I'm linking up to Forever n Always Shoot and Edit anyway. The theme this week is hearts. I know this picture is a stretch, but I lost track of time (all that piddling!) and a friend gave me this picture she had taken of Brady when he was a wee babe and I loved it and had to use it. If you look at his big toe and second toe, tilt your head to the side, squint, and stand on one foot you can see the heart.  You'll forgive me, won't you?

Color of Love, Revisited

I don't know about how you feel, but this has been the longest.week.ever. for us Butlers. Please don't misunderstand, it hasn't been bad, just never ending.

Chuck it up to a week holed up in the house. With a two year old. 'Nuff said.

We are heading out to the bookstore for some R&R. It's one of our favorite places. It has a fun little train table for Mr. Energy and coffee for Mr. & Mrs. I-Need-Energy. Plus, it provides a quiet, calming atmosphere and (bonus!) makes me feel uber smart. Hello? It's a bookstore. You can't not feel smart when you're in a bookstore. I think it has to do with osmosis. (See? I'm not even there and I'm getting smarter just thinking about it.)

Of course I couldn't leave without showing you this week's edit. I did something out of my comfort zone and played with this image, a lot. I added layers, and masks, messed with levels and balances, and added textures.

What do you think? Be honest! I know the 'red' is kind of punchy. I can't make my mind up as to whether I like it that way or not. 

Just for a better comparison, here are the before and after pictures side by side.

Leave a comment and tell me what you think, then check out the other edits here.

I'm also linking up here:

The Color of Love

I had so much fun participating in last week's Shoot and Edit Challenge, I decided to do it again this week. I knew the shot I wanted to do the second I read this week's theme, but that didn't stop me from putting it off until the last minute (it's what I do).

This week's theme is RED, which just happens to be my favorite color.

Now, it's getting closer to Valentine's Day and I know love is on everyone's minds. But, for me, love isn't about red roses or the traditional things a person may think of.

For me, love is about little cars. Why? Because my little boy, my smallest treasure, loves little cars and, when you love someone, you love what they love. (Remind me I said that when he starts "loving" bugs.)

Be sure to check back Friday to see how I edit this one, but for now, check out the red theme here.

Shoot and Edit: Goodnight Edition

I've been really looking forward to this post, although I have to admit I didn't get around to the edits until just now. My favorite little guy has decided to wake up before 6:00 every day this week. As much as I love to spend the time with him, it really does cut into my blogging and photo editing time.

I originally posted this back on  Wednesday with a promise to show you the edited version today. Without further ado...

I changed the light balance, boosted the colors, softened some of the red blotches on the skin, and got rid of the drain (did you notice?).

Here are the two pictures, side by side. What do you think?

I know a professional would probably still cringe, but I had so much fun applying the different tips and tricks I've learned throughout the week. I really like seeing the two pictures side by side, all the differences pop out a little more.

I'm excited to try this out again next week!

Good Night, Sweetheart

I came across this website and I thought to myself, "How fun!". I'm always looking for tips and tricks to help my photos look better or, at the very least, like they weren't taken by a five year old. (Truth be told, I've actually seen pictures taken by a five year old that are better than some of the ones I take.)

Every week they have a different theme and it just so happens this week's theme is "Good night". What says good night to you?

So, here's my confession. This picture was taken way back. As in May of 2009. That's right, math wizards, my little guy wasn't even one then. Back in those days of yore, bath time did say good night. It was a relaxing ritual that calmed my sweet child and relaxed him into a state where he would be easily lulled to a sweet slumber.

Nowadays? Well, bath time is a time that energizes him and soaks me. We now do baths in the morning. Seriously, I don't know when this changed, but it did. Oh, it most certainly did. Not complaining, really. We're a morning bunch around here anyway.

But, I digress. The challenge is to submit a photo SOOC (straight out of the camera). As in-no editing prior to posting. Then, they post editing tips and techniques. I learn from them. And then, BOOM! Friday, I repost the edited masterpiece. That's how it's supposed to work, anyway. I'm game.

I would have posted a picture that speaks of our good night routine now, but I just found this site and this is the last day to get in on the action, so this is what we're working with this week. Next week, I vow to be better prepared.

I feel compelled to tell you I did resize the picture. There's no way it would have loaded without a resize. 

Want to learn all the cool tips and tricks with me? Check out their site!