Photoshop Actions! How Fun....

I am an unrepentant Photoshop Elements fan.geek.user.
As in addicted.
I refuse to stop.
I am self taught.. if Youtube counts as self mastery...
Then whatever.

SOOC (My friend's baby....)

After I boosted the levels and saturation and schtuff in Elements 6.

I aspire to big boy Adobe Photoshop CS. But on a blogger's salary, (I know you're laughing) $600 isn't even a possibility. So. Instead I push my ugly-step-sister Elements 6 to the limit. (Yes I know 8 has already been released. Bite me.)

Things I've mastered in Photoshop Elements:
Layers... pretty much if you don't get layers, you really can't use the program.
Levels... I didn't say I knew what it all meant, but I love playing with levels, the whole 256 light values and all that.
Hue/Saturation... The color stuff above.
The bandaid thingy... (no way am I leaving in all my zits!)
Burn/Dodge/Sponge... basically I use these when I think I'm creating 'drama' around the edges of the photos...

I need you to understand. 2 years ago when I first brought home my baby Elements, I was glued to Youtube tutorials, wasted money on bought books, and basically stole whole library sections on digital photography to teach myself. In fact still, one of my favorite newsletters is from Sue Chastain from About.com, she shares her Adobe knowledge and her *free stuff* too! (PS @AdobeElements is on twitter if you want to tell them I'd love to 'test-drive' photoshop... I'd give it back...)

Early on I realized the one big limitation of Elements as opposed to Big Boy Photoshop... is the inability to run actions. Well fine. {I was a bit peeved.} Because do you know what ACTIONS can do?

ACTIONS make you look like the pros. Not just pretend (like me). Not just run the basics like levels and hue/saturation... oh no. My friends if you thought the image above looks great from the teeny tiny bit of photoshop lurve I can muster...

Wait til you see what professional actions can do. I just found out it was all a big fat lie. And the person who showed me the light... is Marcel Walker from MyPhotographica.com. She walked me through the process and made Action download magic with my Elements. Sexy huh?

I give you: Honey Daze

Boom baby!
See what I mean?
Oh my freaking baby face beauty.

And Zoom Zoom:

I'm thinking this action will be awesome on a landscape, yes?

And Tea Time:

How absolutely amazing is that?
And PEOPLE this is a one. step. process. Numero UNO!
You heard me.
Beep boop bop.
Done.
Gorgeous.

Marcel Sells groupings of these professional style Action sets on her site: MyPhotographica.com
There are 24 actions for sale plus some great freebie stuff: actions, textures.. you'll love it! And if you ask her real nice she'll make sure you figure out how to run your actions too!


Enjoy!

I think I get to say that Marcel 'traded' me these action sets for some fun bloggy advice. Does that count as a disclosure?

Jumpstart LearnNPlay

Escape the Everyday
Use Playtime as Learning Time!

Jumpstart.com has released a fabulous new Wii game!

ESCAPE FROM ADVENTURE ISLAND

And you do just that. You play and gather fun things and when you have enough.. you get to float away on a hot air balloon, Dorothy Style! And of course all there is so much learning while they are playing they hardly realize what they are getting out of it! #learnNplay baby!

My 8yrold's favorite part is the fashion show. {No wonder, I think}, she has been creating American Girl Doll dress up clothes for nearly 2 years now. She's a regular fashion designer diva these days!

The 5yrold prefers... um. Everything. I asked him and he couldn't decide. He is all about numbers right now.. so the math games rock. But he is seriously on the cusp of reading, so the library part is perfect!

And they all like the music!

What does mom likes the best? That they barely realize they are learning. Numbers, letters, shapes, music.... what could be better? Well besides brownies?

And Guess what!
Jumpstart.com is giving away A whole Escape Package. {Well THREE to be exact..}
Did I mention a $250 spafinder gift card for mom... uh huh, as in ESCAPE!

Plus they are giving away 50 copies of the new Wii game:
JumpStart Escape from Adventure Island

And here's what the 3 Lucky Escape Package Winners will recieve:

• 1 copy of JumpStart Escape from Adventure Island (rated E by the ESRB)
• 1 Nintendo Wii console – to escape boredom
• $250 in SpaFinder® gift certificates – to escape stress
• 1 Flip™ Mino HD video camera – to record your adventures
• 3 lifetime JumpStart memberships – 1 for you, 2 to share with friends
• 500 JumpStart.com virtual coins – to keep your kids’ online adventure exciting
• JumpStart gear – to dress for adventure

Sorry don't enter here for this amazing giveway! Goto the Jumpstart.com Blog to Enter.
All you have to do is answer this question:

Have you and your kids ever built a “pirate ship” out of couch cushions?

Explored the backyard in search of “fairies”?

Hunted under the bed for “buried treasure”?

We want to hear about how your family uses imagination to escape the everyday and turn life into an adventure! Tell us your story for a chance to win.

What are you wating for? Hurry! Ends Nov. 16th.

If you have any questions feel free to follow and chat with @Jumpstart_Erin

Here's how my family escapes....

On Sunday nights The Dad figure bakes cookies with the kids. They make a big giant mess and I get to stay OUT of the way. They learn: measuring, the importance of Dad time, and just how many chocolate chips they can pilfer before dad notices.

Another Dad activity is carving pumpkins. If it's left to mom, they get a bagful of markers to decorate it. With Dad it's all knives and designs and gross insides! They learn: Dad is awesome, big knives are sharp and sometimes make dad bleed, and pretending to blow chunks while holding pumpkin guts in your hand is hilarious!

What does your family do that encourages learning while playing? Tell the Jumpstart Team and win!

disclaimer: Jumpstart provided a wii game for the goodncrazy team to review. I participated in the #learnNplay campaign in the month of October.

How Do You Help A Friend In Need?

Oh my gosh.
If anyone ever asks me again...

"What is Twitter for...?"

I'll show them this.
A few days ago I got some bad news and I tweeted.....

CarissaRogers

"Help... If you just found out a friend had a late term miscarriage... What would you get for her?"

************
There were 30+ responses, from fabulous ideas and websites to the simple and sweet and even one: {{{HUGS}}} more to help me with my feelings...

PreemieMiracle
@CarissaRogers Lots of chocolate. A journal and some tissue

northernchick
@CarissaRogers a beautiful new journal and pen

MOMboTV
@CarissaRogers A 'Baby Loss Comfort Kit' from Earth Mama Angel Baby....

Angelina_Rae
@CarissaRogers I would come to her home and cook and clean and watch her kids, if possible.

madcapz
@CarissaRogers Sorry to hear that. I'd get some lotions, bubble bath, something indulgent she wouldn't normally get herself.

DannyBrown
@CarissaRogers Oh dear, so sorry Carissa, my thoughts with your friend. Sorry can't think of anything except love and support :(

shortpumppreppy
@CarissaRogers ((hugs))

simoneabuzz
@CarissaRogers Ideas for your friend http://bit.ly/hl6ct http://bit.ly/DcEEy

cardstyle
@CarissaRogers These ladies offer great advice for difficult situations like that: http://www.lovelettersquad.com/?p=863

Doublelattemama
@CarissaRogers this is a special place for moms who experience a loss http://www.heavenborn.com/ it was started by a virtual friend of mine

SheliShawn
@CarissaRogers Prayers for your friend, the daddy and you.

JustDoingMyBest
@CarissaRogers Ive heard from others that have dealt w/ loss that they just want acknowledgment. Im sure you doing *anything* will mean alot

ali_rn
@CarissaRogers that happened to my friend i bought her a few books on surviving miscarriage and a beautiful journal to write it all out
told her she could write and keep it or throw away or burn also lots of helpful websites

ResourcefulMom
@CarissaRogers Depends how far along. I found a great gift basket for a friend who lost her child at 20 weeks.

themorrisbunch
@CarissaRogers I give my friends a necklace from http://bit.ly/2b4WCo I miscarried twice and wear mine a lot for hope and rememberance
notdiyheather
@CarissaRogers saw @ResourcefulMom's tweet & I remembered that someone gave us a WillowTree gift when our 1st child was stillborn. beautiful

**********
So what is Twitter for?
THAT is what Twitter is for.

A few days later I got brave. I called my friend. We talked and cried for over an hour. She explained all the details to me, and helped me understand how amazing the hospital staff had been and how hard it was to have so many decisions to make on the spot like that.. For example she regretted not having her older children come to the hospital to meet the baby. And she made it clear that she would love to have home visits and help with her older children.

I took her a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, a journal and a hardy plant. I made a playdate with her 4yrold. And I made it clear I would come over anytime if she needed me.

She seemed touched and I felt so happy to do something. But I have to agree with what everyone said, talking was more important than all of it.

Photo Credit: Beth Retro Phototgraphy. I asked if I could use this image and received written approval.

Photo Story Friday: Round 2

My little boy is 5.

He refuses to sing.

Well...except... he sings a popular primary (that's Mormon-speak for ages 3-11) song called:
I am a Child of God.. he learned it in Nursery (pre-primary age kids). And when I asked him about learning a new song in church he would answer.. I don't KNOW that song, mom.

Well duh.

Every Sunday, he happily sits in Primary NOT singing a single song, until I am a Child of God, comes up and then he shouts it from the rooftops.. you've seen this kid right?? The one who sings the chorus really loud and then nothing else.. kind of like that, only he shouts the whole song.

Fast forward to this past August.

Out of the blue in the back seat of the MomVan he says: "Hey mom I can sing a new song." I nearly pulled over to see what he was talking about!

Have a listen for yourself.
I give you....

MY KID singing a NEW song!

And get this. He agreed to sing it SOLO in front of the whole congregation during the Primary's fall Sacrament program. How freaking cute is that? We call up grandparents and he sings it over the phone. He happily sings it for pretty much anyone walking by. Give me a call and he'll sing it for you!

One big giant thank you to Cecily for allowing me to overcome my #doofus moment a few weeks ago..
THIS Photo Story Friday is thanks to her!
If you have a link to share.. please feel free to join in!

Hosted by Cecily and Carissa

To play PhotoStory Friday, check this. Copy this code into your post and sign Sir Linky:
<center><a href="http://whatworksforus.blogspot.com/2007/06/iphone.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/whatworksforus/pfw.jpg" border="0" alt="PhotoStory Friday" /></a><br/>Hosted by <a href="http://mychaosmybliss.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cecily</a> and <a href="http://goodncrazy.com" target="_blank"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Carissa</span></span></span></a><p/></center>

Social Media = Positive Customer Service

If I were a company using Twitter. I would so want you to have a happy ending.

My little boy wants to be a transformer for Halloween. Specifically Bumblebee.
And the dad in our world is one awesome Dad with a capitol D. In the past he's dressed up as Willy Wonka while the rest of us did other Chocolate Factory Characters. He's also been the Joker, Tweedle-Dee (to my Tweedle-Dumb), Batman, and of course a Sexy Vampire. So what do you think he'll be this year....?

(In your best James Earl Jones Voice....)

Optimus Prime.
Oh yeah. You know what I'm talkin'bout.

Being the frugal mom that I am, I searched around and found an adult OP costume at the best price I could find. AND... *BONUS*! I found the costume on ToysRUs.com for $45, but there was a $10 coupon if you signed up with BillMeLater.com... Total no-brainer. I've seen Bill Me Later as an option before and lately I've even seen them on twitter and participating in some blog campaigns...

BillMeLater.com
I literally thought to myself, since I've seen them around on twitter I'll bet they will be able to help me if I have any questions? Plus, I counted no less than 4 different ways to contact their customer support.

From the online chat bubbles on their site to their Twitter account: @BMLDeals... and a toll free phone number on the site as well as a real mailing address... (I know.. who does that anymore?)

My point: instead of assuming the worst: I believed (due to their presence in Social Media) that they would be thrilled to solve any issue or question I might have with their service.

Here's the funny part... the $10 'coupon' didn't show up on the ToysRUs bill? Huh I thought? So I sent a chat bubble directly on the BillMeLater site. They answered, oh that's a new campaign and the discount will show up on your BML bill.... oh? Okay...

One day later, the bill showed up in my inbox but the discount apparently got lost? This time I tweeted directly @BMLdeals. Get this... Heather, DMs me to say: I'm so sorry, I'm traveling but when I get back to my desk I'll get this figured out.... then proceeds to offer her direct email address... Whoa.

What?! Did she really give me her email...?

Within one week, my issue was solved and I appear to have a new BFF in Heather Fields from @BMLDeals!

I'd call that a positive experience.

companies active in social media want you to have a happy ending.

Note how clean and easy to read and use the Whole Account Interface with Bill Me Later feels.

Welcome to Halloween's Past...



I promise the Optimus Prime costume.... rocks.. I mean..
'SAVES THE WORLD'!

Disclosure. There isn't one. I got the same $10 discount you can get if you head to ToysRUs.com.

GoodNCrazy Gift Ideas For Mom

FanCast.com

There are several of these 'Free to View TV Shows on Your Computer' sites. This one is new to me. I tried it out over the weekend and I had an Aha! moment. There are a lot of new TV shows out there and if I try to DVR them all (knowing I'll never get around to watching them...) it fills up my DVR; (and let's face it). What's the real reason for DVR at MY house? For my kids to tape a gazillion Halloween shows all month long. And Ben10, and Wizards of Waverly Place and then it will be Holiday shows... and well... there isn't room for the mom shows.

Another reason I'm checking out Fancast is to see if I can watch whole seasons of shows I've missed in the past. I'm only on Heroes Season 3 right now.. (DO NOT TELL me what's going on right now!!) However, I was bummed to see they don't have past seasons of Heroes. But they do have the pilots of most of the shows I want to check out this season. I watched most of 'The Good Wife'... compelling and interesting, and probably I'll watch a few more of that series when the hubby is away on business! Yay for my laptop and Fancast! Cost: FREE.

Shiseido Zen
I received a sample shower gel from a PR rep at blogworld... and I gotta say, I don't love heavy perfumes. Haven't since I was 16. I much prefer a lighter lotion or shower gel. I never smelled the Zen fragrance before and was expecting it to be a little like my grandma? WRONG. I totally like it, it's light and flowery and not overwhelming. And the shower gel is so yummy in the morning when you are still waking up! I love how moisturizing it feels. Cost: $35 (Which at first I thought was kinda pricey... till I smelled it and used it. I'm buying one for my sister... DO NOT TELL her...shhhh!) I wish the screen was scratch N sniff.. all I can say is test this out next time you are in Macy's or Sephora!

The Sacrificial Sock
Every Home Needs One! That's what the website tells you...
At first I was all... huh? Are they serious....? Ohhhhhh now I get it, it's a gag gift! How funny. How very very funny. Need a white elephant gift no one else will have at the boring office party this year...? Or do you have a funny friend who always comes up with the best stuff.. this year YOU will win that prize! Cost: $9.95 plus shipping.

No more lost socks. The Sacrificial Sock Saves the Day!
Oh my gosh the instruction page is hilarious... plus there is a whole discussion about how to accurately use your Smack Talk... here are some examples (as we all know how intimidated washer and dryers can be... ).

• "Your mama was a Cement Mixer."
• "your lint trap smells like cat urine."
• "If I wanted it to take 5 hours to dry my jeans, I would have used my hair dryer."
• "The next load is dirty diapers."
  
  and more... srsly funny.
  

Disclaimer: Some products provided. Some affiliate links included. Thoughts are my own.