Yep. You know that summer has hit when I disappear from blog land completely :)

And yes, I have plenty lately to keep me busy.. Summer usually brings an onslaught of photo sessions, extracorricular activities for the girls, Day Trips, etc.. And while I have been keeping these things merely sprinkled here and there, it has been enough to keep me RUNNING. And running is not always a bad thing.

So. A few things I have been working on :) A new photoshop action. I am not sure on this one whether it will work in PSE or not. SO. If you are action savy, and would like to give it try.. PSE users send me a note with your email address and what version of PSE you are using and I will send you a link to try it out :)

I wanted to create a sepia action, but with a very slight color tint.

I think this action would be perfect for heritage photos, and it obviously works great for baby photos too ;)

So, PSE testers, drop me a line, I will take about 20 or so testers, but it is first come first serve.

This photo is actually from a baby session that I took last night :)Today is photo processing day ;) So, I might have to pop in here and upload a few more.

*ETA: First round of testing has been done, I'll be making a few tweaks to the Elements version and will contact a few more testers next week :) Thanks for all your help ladies!!

Doesn't really feel like a monday for me today.. I have been thinking it was Sunday all day long..

Last week was Lorynn's graduation from her preschool playgroup. We went to the park and I snapped some adorable photos of her and all her friends.. I had this one particular photo that was SO cute, but had a really terrible colorcast, plus I just didn't nail the focus on it. (I hate it when that happens!)  So.. to fix it, I created this uber cool action to make my 'photo errors' look more purposeful :)

hehehe, I love Photoshop :) Anyway.. Said cool action is now in the shoppe. It is only compatible with Photoshop, not photoshop elements because I used curves and channels to color correct and I am just not sure how to replicate that step in Elements.. <sorry peeps, I just don't use it enough!>

So, in other news :) We are happily starting off our summer vacation. Taking a little trip to go visit Lori this weekend.. I expect cool foofie dresses and old barn photos to come :)  AND.. I just wanted to also post here, (in small not as noticeable print) hehehe.. As most of you know, I have been dating.. Well. I've met someone UBER terrific who I'd like to share with you. His name is Chris and I get those fluttery butterflies every time he smiles at me.. In fact, new hottie bio photo was actually a self portrait that I took for him :) SOO.. Since most of you know my history.. I just wanted you to know, that I am very very happy and life has been treating me extremely well..

Now, if I could only channel said happiness into productivitiy.. Well, a girl can wish, right? :)

It just wouldn't be right if I didn't share this LO of Lorynn too :)

It's pure happiness, I assure you.

Yes, two posts, and two layouts in one day..

Yeah.. Don't get used to it :)

Not to shock and awe you with two posts so close together ;) but.. I FINALLY have some new goodies for the shoppe, and I just had to share :)

Let It Shine

A kit packed full of fun summery colors, it's bright and cheery and it just makes me happy :)

Of course I had to scrap with it.. YEAH :)

Brenna was being adorable with her umbrella :) and, no.. It wasn't actually raining, she was dancing in the sprinklers.. but.. you know.. it's semantics ;) Had the rain come earlier, she would have been out there enjoying it.

So, YEAH ME! Now I am off to reward myself with an iced soy chai for a job well done..YUM.

Hell, I've got a quiet house to myself, I might even take the afternoon off and watch Nurse Jackie on SHO.. <how cool would that be??> (Have you seen this yet? It's brilliant!) Man, I love premium cable, it's so much better than boring old TV.. And to think I had actually thought of canceling it. ;)

Enjoy your Tuesday!

So, it's been a while since I've posted.. It would seem that the month of May has really kicked my butt :) May is always busy with Fancy Pants, creating fun new product for CHA Summer.. But this May has been particularly interesting for many reasons.

So, where to start.. First. I am grieving for the loss of a dear friend. She unexpectedly passed away last week. I think I am still in shock over it. Melannie was the little sister to my best friend since the second grade. We all grew up together.. I think I was at Nikk and Mel's house more often than I was at my own. There were three of us, Myself, Nikki and Kristie. We were inseparable.  Mel was the tag along little sister, but honestly, we had more fun when she was with us..  Usually, late at night after Nikki and Kristie called it quits.. Mel and I could be found perfecting our sneaking out techniques, singing Heart at the top of our lungs, or burping our ABC's together.  Ah.. those were the days :)

Here is a little perspective, this is a photo of Nikk and Kristie and I, ninth grade recognition dance :)

Aren't we cute?? Yes, we had big hair, after all, it was the early 90s :)

Here is a photo that was taken of us at Melannie's funeral.

I think it's funny how we change, but remain the same. I am so grateful for these friends of mine. They are really more like sisters. Losing Melannie so suddenly, has really made me put people and friendships into the proper perspective.

It also makes me appreciate my girls, just that much more. I've been trying to find more time with them to just play.. It's SO easy to get caught up in life and work, that playtime can sometimes be missed. Yesterday we went out to lunch and then stopped in at our favorite downtown fountain :) to just play in the water.. It was extremely crowded, apparently we were not the only ones with the same idea.. I didn't get any fabulous photos, but I am sharing them anyway :)

This one would have been cool, had anonymous child from the right not ran into my frame..

Oh well.. I did get a thumbs up from Lorynn, and that was the point, right?

SO, today, I am still working.. Trying to wrap up my new lines with FP. Tomorrow, I think we are going to head out to Lagoon in the morning and then maybe we'll grab a matinee of 'UP'. It looks SO cute! :)