before and after....

remember this chair???

i bought it at a thrift store for 10 dollars.....
it was disgusting, dirty and smelly.
but it had nice lines and detail

 after lots of deconstruction

eeewwww...spider condo...

and i mean lots....dang staples

i ended up with this frame

which i painted a nice soft cream color.

the seat presented a problem because i wanted to use it for photography and maybe have kids stand on it.
and not really that comfortable to sit on anyway.

not near strong or sturdy enough so i removed the wire springs and don cut out a piece of scrap plywood we had laying around to fit the seat shape.

i bought some foam (man, that stuff is expensive), cut it with my electric carving knife...cuts like buttah..

and covered and stapled the inner fabric to the plywood.

i tried several fabrics....

and this was the final choice.

which i stapled the seat to the base

 and

there she is.

for 10 dollars and some paint and fabric i had laying around the house.

not bad.  

linking up to more great redo's here:
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

i don't know....

i don't have many pictures of me with austen because i am the one behind the camera 98% of the time

so when i ask for a couple of pictures with him i usually don't have a problem...

but, i don't know.....

the kid is just. plain. weird...

i did it!!!......

fixed my blog problem and


learned how to upload actions to my computer...
finally.

i have been trying to learn how to download actions to my computer for ages.....and ages. 

photoshop actions are a series of steps built into one computer "click" that
improve your photos that are straight out of the camera.
every photo needs a little bit of help and these "actions" make the job a lot easier.
you can buy actions for your particular edition of photoshop or photoshop elements.  or you can get some free on the internet and download them to your computer.  easy enough, or so i thought....
for the life of me, i could not figure out how to download them to my computer.

well, i figured it out last night after a couple of weeks of internet searches, tutorials and crying, begging and pleading for help on message boards.  this is what i did....

sooc (straight out of the camera) picture of us blueberry picking a couple of weeks back...

not horrible but could really use some spiffing up.  it's a little blah and washed out.
here is the same photo after running an action on it....

not too bad....a little boost of color and some more definition.
or you can really have some fun and play around with some of the steps and bump it up a bit

by changing the color tone and giving it a retro vibe....

portraits are a little trickier....
this is tessa sooc

not too bad but could sure use some brightening up.

and this is after playing with the actions....

my first try so i think it's a little heavy on the softness, a little too plastic-ey
and a little too much color

so i tried this...still a little heavy.  it was my first try, after all!!

after a little more practice i tried it on
this one
sooc

and after running an action.

much better.  it takes practice but i think i'll get it in no time...

i love the fact that with just a click of a button and a few minor adjustments, i can take
this sooc image.....

and do this with it.

a nice soft vintage feel to the picture.....

this is gonna be fun!!!!!

ps....it's good to be back........

problems with blogger.... :(

i have not been able to post pictures to my blog for a while now...i keep getting a "server rejected" message and i am having a difficult time trying to resolve the problem.


i hope to fix this and resume regular posting soon......please bear with me..

what is wrong with this picture????

other than the fact that don's underwear is hanging out of his pants and there is 

laundry waiting to be hung and folded on the back of the couch.....

i guess it's pretty clear who rules the roost around here...

hmmm, giving me the stink-eye for disturbing his sleep....

spoiled brat!!!!

*****adding this picture*****

because after i published this post, i turned around and saw him giving me this......

i guess it's his way of saying "i know what you just wrote about me".... is this how he gives me the finger???   :)

actually, i think this is giving me the finger...

twice!!!!

they won the championship today.....

today was austen's last baseball game for the summer.  

they played 4 games in a tournament this weekend and won them all.  austen is a very good athlete but like many kids his age, he struggles with confidence sometimes when he plays.  

he can go a few games without a hit or will strike out 2 or 3 times in one game. 

yesterday he had one of those games.  struck out, grounded out, flew out and walked.   

so on the way to today's game, he was very quiet on the car ride there.  don tried to give him a pep talk but i think that made him more nervous.  

as the lead off batter, things didn't get much better for him when he got up to bat...

 his coach tried to boost his confidence

but by the look on austen's face, he didn't have any more luck than daddy did...

with the determination that he pulled from the deepest depths of his being, 

he got up to bat,

planted himself in front of that plate...

got that awesome look of determination that i love to see on his face...

and smacked the living crap out of the ball!!!

all the way down the left field line.

and as luck would have it, a hit like that is a sure confidence booster and ice breaker.

especially when it is a double.  

and you steal third base....

and then slide into home plate head first under the throw on a well placed bunt...

and are called safe.

head first sliding into home is never without its consequences, however, 

and he came up with a face full of dirt.

that ended up mostly in his eyes and mouth...

his teammates and coach were very excited for him...

and a little water helped clean him off.  

the rest of the game was very exciting and the entire team played their hearts out.

dad keeps score. 

they won 5-0.

and they got the big trophy this time...

it was half his size!!!

that one however, was the team trophy...

his was a little more manageable.

after the game we went here

 the coaches treated the boys to ice cream.

and they made sure to let passing cars know that they had won the championship...

and everyone honked!!!

i will miss every one of those boys on his team.  i have never met a greater group of kids. 

and i'll miss their parents as well.   

well done bobcats, 

well done!!!!