A Coloring Book for Jack

As part of the hand-made Christmas, I'm making our little nephew, Jack, a coloring book from pictures we've taken throughout the year. Here are a few I've created so far. (See below for a quick how-to.)

Scott thought these might be too difficult for a 3 year old, but I thought Jack could make what he wanted of them and doesn't have to stay inside every line. Are they too tough?! Any thoughts...

By the way, if you know Jack, don't tell him about this. ;)

Indiana State Museum

Wrigley Field

A duck on the lake

A random barn

How-to (with a disclaimer):

Bring the picture into Photoshop. Select Filter-->Sketch-->Stamp. Inside the Stamp controls, turn the smoothness all the way down (1), then adjust the Light/Dark Balance until the picture has desirable detail. Some pictures worked better than others and there is no perfect Balance that works for all pictures. I also found it helpful to adjust the contrast before beginning the Filter work for some pictures with many shades of similar colors.

The fine print disclaimer: I used Photoshop Elements and am in no an expert or even an advanced user, I just play with settings until I get the effect I want, so this is only the way I did it. As always, I'd love to hear others ways to achieve the effect too!

The house work texture repeat! (finally...)

For awhile now, I've been wanting to experiment with texture repeats like those done by Daisy Janie. Finally, this weekend, while touching up some paint in the kitchen, I pulled out a can of paint dated 2005, which was suppose to be a mossy green. Low and behold, after so many years on the shelf the colors had separated out, and as I stirred the can, a beautiful swirl formed and within that my first texture repeat!

The original swirl

The finished product after 3 flips in photoshop.
(I really like the hearts that formed in the repeat.)

The next picture is just a shot I had to take today. After such a foggy, gloomy day, as soon as I got home, this was out my back door. The skies really rallied at the end!

Pink clouds on the horizon

Almond Joy Hot Cocoa

Here is another great Hungry Girl recipe from today's newsletter. (Yes, I was so psyched, I stopped on the way home to get everything.) Think warm Almond Joy with a kick! This is a seriously splendid drink!!


Ingredients:
1 package Hot Chocolate Mix
(I used the fat free mix and it was still great!)
Shot and a Half Coconut Rum
Drop of Almond Extract
Whipped Topping

Directions:

Get Ingredients

Boil the Water

Mix together, top with whip, enjoy!

Small tip: Use a larger than normal coffee cup...

Friday - Happiness (a little late)

Finally posting my last picture of this photo week. Happiness is a being at home by the crackling fire on a relaxing Sunday. All day has been easy, easy like Sunday morning...


Yay for another great photo week! Thanks, Sara, for a inspirational one! This week made the glasses I see the world through a little rosier.

Side note: Saw an ad for this very mobile tripod in the new issue Popular Photography mag. This would be super handy for those shots with longer shutter speeds, without all the hassle of setting up a bigger tripod. I'm adding it to my wishlist! Also, this December issue has a great story about taking better holiday pictures, worth picking up if you're at the store. ( I checked the website, but the entire story isn't there...bummer.) Okay, enough of that plug.

Happy Sunday!

Thursday - Community (Boiler Up!)

My community for four and half years, the wonderful Purdue University. Just so happens, I was on campus today for a conference, and I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures at lunch with the point and shoot stashed in my purse.

A tree still full of leaves

The new Armstrong Hall

A replicate of Armstrong's footprints on the moon.

Are the college folks getting younger every year?! Still love visiting campus, BTFU!

Wednesday - Gratitude

In my book, gratitude is the most under used expression. Monday, I took this picture of a flag flying in the cemetery to honor our country's heroes. A simple and beautiful thank you for our veterans.

Tuesday - Exploration (at the Indiana State Museum)

A (holi)day spent exploring the Indiana State Museum. Yay for hometown exploration. As a side note, we also saw the Grand Canyon Adventure 3D at the IMAX, and it was amazing!!

Snowflakes for the Christmas exhibit currently being installed.
Best looking rope light around, right?!

The Foucault Pendlum that was moved from the old museum.

A collection of pins from the 1970's.