Big Red & Little Me


It's a blustery day here in Idaho
and I'm cleaning the house like a mad woman
getting ready for our foster care home study later this week.
So many emotions whirling around in my little head
we've been preparing for this for just about a year
but I can't help but wonder
"are we really ready?"
what a giant leap to make
to go from just the two of us
to possibly 5!
WOW!
That's the way life is though...
and I'm sure we will manage this new adventure
with the same spirit and teamwork
as we always have


Speaking of adventures -
Our very own Big Red has been featured by
an amazing blog from a young couple
who have thrown out conventional ideas about settling down
in the pursuit of finding the perfect place to call home.
I can't imagine living full time on the road
but who knows maybe Tiffany and her man
are onto something?
I mean if you can survive months on end in a travel trailer
it seems to me like your marriage could survive just about anything!
Not to mention how many of us end up living somewhere
we really don't belong?
Be it family or the ol' ball in chain, aka your job
most of us never really got the opportunity
to find that place where we really belong.
I know all to well what that is like -
We ended up in Portland, Oregon
because of family and job opportunities
we purchased a home and thought we would be happy
but before long
we were just pretending...
and so when we got the chance
we made a decision
to try something new
and we are so much happier
but I can only imagine what we might have found
if we had taken a similar road as Tiffany and her husband
and tried to find our "perfect match".

Anywho - there's some food for thought :)

If you have been dying to learn more about Big Red
this post really has a lot of great information :D


In other news:
I put together a special look in celebration
of Paper*Cakes Finds 2nd Birthday
Gosh, I can't believe how time flies,
seems like just yesterday Chelsea
was sharing her idea with me about this new blog.
I'm so proud of what Chelsea has put together
its such a special blog
helping to shine a light
on so many amazing and talented people!


& perhaps exciting for some of you...
I'm offering my biggest giveaway yet!
3 winners will each receive $20 big ones
to use in my shop.
Find out all the details here.

Happy Birthday Liefgeval


If you are not acquainted with Nikki of Liefgeval
you are truly missing out!
I have been so blessed by our friendship
and even though it's a tad early
(hey, better than late right?)
I'd like to wish her a very happy birthday!

digi sources :
Kitschy Digitals,
Erica Hernandez
and Minitoko


I'm SO SO crazy in love with this new digi kit
from my good friend
Julie of Minitok!

I'm so blessed to have such fun, and talented friends
who are constantly inspiring me
and filling my life with color and sweet silly things.

1970s - Fashion on Paper


In college I studies architecture
and of all the times for America to become a rich country
how sad it had happened in the 1970s
Even Disney World itself suffered from this period
however, on the other side of the artistic spectrum
we find art and fashion
which brought us color, youth and timeless classics.
While 70's fashion is in full revival
concrete structures made to last the age of time are being torn down.


I've always been drawn to 1970s illustrations
from sewing patterns to Japanese Anime
so I was so excited when I stumbled upon
this set of vintage fashion dolls
made by the Whitman Company in 1970
for just $3!


I'm not sure if I have all the pieces
but they are in great played with condition.


There are some awesome outfits
that I wouldn't mind owning!


even "ken" has some pretty sharp getups


but what amused me more than anything
are the matching hunter green suites
for the bride and groom!


I also recently found two great fashion plate toys
both made by the Tomy Toy Company
in the late 1970s.


I remember loving these as a little girl!
I can't believe I found these with not one missing plate!


This set is equally fun
with all the elements a child might need
to make there momma
one very special card.

and ACTION!


When I started my little blog I was so naive
of how much work blogging really was
I didn't know a thing about creating graphics,
or what it took to take great pictures
and I certainly never thought about how much I would be sharing
but the honest truth is that so much of who I am today
is because of this blog
If I had had a head start on all of this back in high school
I think I would have been far better prepared for college.
I would have had a better idea of who I am
and what I wanted to do with my life.
but instead I have a worthless degree
and like a brand new car that you sadly wrecked without insurance
I'm paying for something I can't use.


In the 3 years that I've been blogging
I've found a love for modeling
graphic design, photography,
and most recently photo editing.
If you had asked me even just a year ago what a Photoshop action was
I would have said
"something geeky computer people use to make their pictures AWESOME"
I had no idea that they were so simple
and that you really didn't need to know much to use them
even now I'm learning more and more just by watching how they work.
Even layer masks are starting to make some sense to me :D
I got started by trying out free actions I found around the web
But last night I used up all my saved up clams and purchased my first action set
well two sets actually! A total of 50 Actions!
Talk about fun!! It really is like playing a game...
you never know which action is going to be the winner!
The above images show you just what actions I used on each image.
Frames from Kitschy Digitals


Here you can see the before


and after! Pretty cool right!?


These shots are from a recent photo shoot I did
for some future clients
these ones didn't make the cut but I liked them all the same.
I'm telling you - it drives me crazy that I can't share
all my photo shoot work with you :(


One guy who is always ready to have his picture taken
is my basset hound Miller.
He is such a ham for the camera.
We recently moved our master bedroom
into the same room as my studio
to make room for our future foster care kids
and Miller, who loves to be wherever we are in the house
has fallen in love with hanging out on our bed
as I work on whatever it is I do all day long on the computer.
Needless to say I'v been photographing
his sweet little face even more than usual.


Charlie dog on the other hand
hates having his picture taken!
this little guy is our little Terrorist
oops I mean terrier.
He's always trying to escape our yard,
and in the wet months of winter and spring
I wash this guy more times that I wish to count
on a daily basis.
This particular day,
I believe he was hot on the trail of a local gopher.

~

What have you learned about yourself through blogging?
Have you learned any new skills recently?