What we do and a Tutorial

I was inspired to share my 1st EVER tutorial on this blog, after my good friend Heather called and asked for some tips. I thoroughly enjoy playing around on Photoshop and although I really don't know anything at all, I'm learning and Photoshop truly is my playground!

Do you like the "burned edge" effect as much as I do?
If so, let's learn how to do this together! It's SIMPLE! Don't be scared.

1st open the photo you want to work with.
Then click on the 1/2 moon and select Layers to create an adjustment layer.
(For Photoshop CS2 users, select Layer - New Adjustment Layer - Curves.)

Now click on the white dot on the output level bar and drag it all the way down until the output reads 15'ish. Click "OK".

Now you have a nice black film over your original photo.
Next, click on the Rectangular Marquee Tool and drag a dotted rectangle just inside the border of your original photo.

Now, Photoshop CS2 users click "Ctrl - Backspace"
(or Command - Backspace for Mac users.) Leaving you with a thin black rectangle around the border of your original photo.
For you Elements users, it's a little trickier, but more fun I think.
Click on your brush tool and make sure your foreground color
is BLACK (000000).
Now paint away the selected rectangle until it's completely gone.
Also leaving you with a thin rectangle border.
Once you're done painting (or hitting backspace) hit "Ctrl - D", deselecting your rectangle selection.

Now go to Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur and bump it up as high as it will go, around 250.

And what you're left with is an incredibly blurry frame which gives it a nice subtle "burned edge" effect, which I love!

And if you think it's still too strong, it's an adjustment layer that can be adjusted by bumping the opacity level down until you get it at the strength you like. I liked it at full strength!

Have fun burning your edges. I'm addicted. You'll soon see evidence ...

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Being "in" last week wasn't all that horrible. In fact, it was REALLY quite nice!
You see, I was kept perfectly safe.

Oh! Didn't I tell you? I was locked in with velociraptors and t-rex dinosaurs!
My own personal body guard meat-eaters!

We were busy at times and other times just plain lazy.
And for the 1st time in a long time the "we" consisted of ALL FIVE OF US!
It was great! We tackled big & small projects, crafts and games,

watched lots of movies and took an unusual number of naps,
baked and ate junk food,
played hide-n-seek and basketball, did some cleaning and no cleaning at all.
Runny noses, coughs and ear infections have plagued our family for far too long now.

I won't even GO into the philosophies on medicine and homoeopathic treatments and the countless debates that occur here on a DAILY basis,
and no, I do not exaggerate!

I can't say that I'm surprised that my daughter, who shares 1/2 of my genes and 1/2 of her Father's genes, would develop the infamous "Choate Cough".
If you're not familiar with this cough it is commonly described as a guttural, loud, dramatic, gagging, coarse reflex that not only promotes fear in those standing in close proximity, but an instinctive urge to run away as far and as fast as you can!
What can I say? Like Father Like Daughter?
Joshy is never dressed. Seriously. He hates clothes. He has no modesty and is very proud of his naked little self. If I let him he would be naked for the rest of all time, I am sure of it!
But I can't stand pee-pees flying around all the time so as my sweet Mother would say "choose your battles." Well, I'm losing this one, Mom.
The best we can do is a t-shirt! So, if you come to visit, be prepared for flying pee-pees.

To prove my nudity problem point further, this is what the floor in the downstairs 1/2 bath looks like 2.7 seconds after we walked in the door from church.
Now to train the little dinosaurs to pick UP after themselves!