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5 tips for editing and creating beautiful digital photo projects {Holiday Gift Guide}

Parenting, Promotions, Reviews

5 tips for editing and creating beautiful digital photo projects {Holiday Gift Guide}

No Comments 24 November 2010

I’ve been using Adobe Photo Shop for around 2 years now. I started with PSE-Photo Shop Elements and am now using CS4 Adobe Creative Suite 4. There are so many fun ways to edit your photos ranging from simple to crazy and I’m going to share a few of my favorite tips with you.

1. Get rid of that pimple (or other blotchiness on the face)! This is a pretty simple one, but one worth going over. There are two ways I like to do this depending on the size of the pimple, food smear, etc. The first way is with the Spot Healing Brush. I use this for one or two little spots that need repairing. You can adjust the brush size and it will do the rest for you by using proximity match. Now if I’m doing a photo session where a child is supposed to remain clean and they end up with food or dirt all over their face I will use a soft brush to eliminate anything that doesn’t belong. I simply match the color of the skin with my dropper tool closest to where the food appears and then go over with a soft brush at 10-15% opacity. I also use this method with dark under eye circles. See the image below, I took out dark circles and couple small blemishes, but it still remains natural looking.

pse1

2. Remove an unwanted object. The easiest and quickest way is by using your Spot Healing Brush, Clone Brush or in some instances your Soft Brush you can remove most unwanted objects. In some cases where the object is larger or in an awkward spot you may have to use a copy and paste method. When you choose your Spot Healing you simply paint over the unwanted area and let Photo Shop work for you or if you choose your clone brush you right click on the area you want a particular area to look like and then you paint over the said area. You have the ability to choose the opacity and brush size depending on what you’re cloning out. If you look at the image below you will see in the top left corner where there is a house peeking above the trees that I cloned out.

pse2

3. Turn your photos into your personal style. What might make one photographer stand out among another is their style. Some of this is done right out of the camera and some of it is in the processing. Someone might prefer a more vintage feel and another might prefer their images a little brighter. With Photo Shop Elements you can make your style stand out by trying different black and white techniques, adjusting the brightness, contrast and more.

4. Bump up those curves. I prefer to change my brightness in most cases by using curves instead of the brightening slider. In Photoshop Elements you can achieve this by going to Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Color Curves. From there I raise my midtone curves. See the image below for a photo brightened with curves instead of brightness.

pse35. Brighten your eyes and teeth. This is something you don’t want to get too carried away with by risking an unnatural look. For the eyes I find it easiest to select the eye area with your quick selection brush and then to brighten and contrast that area just a smidge. After reaching the desired look I apply a gaussian blur while the eyes are still selected to make it all blend together. For the teeth you can choose your dodge tool at a very light opacity, about 10 and brush over them once. Personally, I rarely touch the teeth, but you can see in the image below how I adjusted the eyes.

pse4These are just a few of many many ways to adjust and enhance your very own images. I encourage you to use the free trial Adobe offers because I promise you will be hooked after a few short days.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Adobe blogging program, making me eligible to receive a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Baby Dog Style-Where Pet and Baby Fashion Meet! {Holiday Gift Guide}

Parenting, Promotions, Reviews

Baby Dog Style-Where Pet and Baby Fashion Meet! {Holiday Gift Guide}

No Comments 15 November 2010

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I can’t put my finger on it, but as a mother of a little girl I have to admit there is something very magical almost about our relationship. We butt heads because she is so much like me, yet we are bound tight and will be forever because we share what no boy possibly could. I love that she loves pretty things, likes to dress up and get her hair done. Most of the time. I look forward to each season so I can dress her accordingly and throw in the one type of prettiness that lasts all year long, her Pettiskirts and Tutus. They are just too much fun to mix and match with seasonal clothing, one could be worn by itself in the summer with a tank top and then over legging in the fall and winter. Not to mention how stinkin’ adorable they are for photo sessions.

bdscollage

Now it seems like there are a lot of different places to purchase the mentioned Pettiskirts and Tutus. I’ve heard the occasional story of someone spending a pretty penny on something with questionable quality.  I’m so excited to share Baby Dog Style with you all as you need to look no further.  Each Pettiskirt and Tutu is custom made, so it will fit your child perfectly. The quality is absolutely un-questionable. The Pettiskirts are full, beautiful and so so soft. The colors are vibrant and there are so many to choose from. You are, hands down, getting everything you paid for and more.

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Olivia slides into hers several times a week, sometimes for a few minutes at a time, sometimes a few hours. Depends on her mood. What I’m getting at here is that even though these are made of delicate, soft material, it has been proven to be quite indestructible. With that said, I do not let her eat messy foods with it on or get too crazy outside as I don’t want it to snag on the wooden play set. After each use we hang it back in her closet with a pants style hanger and it is still just as beautiful as ever.

LadyBugtutu2_500x

In addition to our delicious Pettiskirt, Rebecca from Baby Dog Style has a lot more to offer as you can probably imagine from the title of my post. For little girls there are incredible bows with hats and headbands to place the bows on. For the doggies in your life there are costumes, tutus, football jerseys, beds, cookies and way more than I could even list here. So many amazing gifts for little girls and your furry family members.

Black Friday through Cyber Monday: FREE shipping on Tutus and Pettiskirts!

Filtrete Elite Allergen Reduction

Promotions

Filtrete Elite Allergen Reduction

No Comments 21 October 2010

filtrete

With winter fast approaching and those furnaces blasting, we all need to consider what might be blowing around and recirculating in our homes. I love summer and even parts of spring and fall for the mere fact that I can open all the windows and let the fresh air in. I absolutely do not have that option in the winter with average temperatures in the freezing range. This is why the filters we use in our appliances are very important.

Last year it was determined that we needed a new furnace. Our furnace took it’s last breath and went on to where ever furnaces go when they finally die. It all worked out because my gas bill is a very small portion of what it was 1 year ago and I know for a fact that the air I breathe is clean now. You see, ever since we purchased the new furnace, we’ve been using Filtrete’s Elite Allergen Reduction Filters.

  • Captures 94 percent of large airborne particles such as pollen, smoke, dust mite debris and pet dander from the air as it passes through the filter
  • Captures up to 40 times more microscopic particles than ordinary fiberglass filters
  • Helps maintain airflow in heating and cooling systems, which may help prevent stress on the system and reduce the amount of energy needed to warm your home this Fall and Winter

3M-Filtrete-Elite-Allergen-Air-Filter

Now aside from using a high quality filter, I like to make sure the rest of my home is in tip top clean air breathing shape. There are many ways I do this, I have sort of a weekly routine. Every third day I wash all bed linen, dishes are always done, hard floors polished every Monday, vacuum every day (we have a dog and 2 kids), etc.

Laura Dellutri, public speaker, radio and television personality and the author of 4 books, shares some tips to make housekeeping a little more simple as well. You can see the whole list here, but to name a couple she says:

  • Start at the Top
  • Wipe Down Window and Walls
  • Think Horizontally
  • Clean the In-Between
  • and many many more as well as detailed descriptions…

You can find Filtrete Air Filters and more products by Filtrete at many retailers as well as online at www.filtrete.com. I have a rebate available to all Through Hazel Eyes readers to get your cold season started off at this link: Filtrete Rebate.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Filtrete and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.”



2010 Holiday Gift Guide Submission

Parenting, Promotions, Reviews

2010 Holiday Gift Guide Submission

No Comments 18 October 2010

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I can’t believe it’s already that time of year, but it is! December is fast approaching and I want to make sure everyone knows what is out there to get those lists crossed off efficiently. I will have a category for every age group, specifying in boys and girls. Each Holiday Gift Guide submission will include at least one photo of said product and a link to the specific product. Each submission will be placed in the Holiday Gift Guide in the order I receive them and you will have the option to host a giveaway as well. To get more information, email me at tara (@) throughhazeleyesblog.com or click here to fill out my Contact Me form. I look forward to hearing from you!

Bing “Our School Needs” Contest

Parenting, Promotions

Bing “Our School Needs” Contest

No Comments 18 October 2010

bingwhitelogo

I’m sure most of us have been or at least know someone who has been affected by recent budget cuts in our schools. I know that several local schools in our area have been affected, some more than others. One local school has lost both their art and music programs, others have lost teachers, principals, librarians and more. Kids aren’t getting as many books in their classrooms and teachers are having to personally provide certain classroom supplies. As a family we do what we can monetarily and by volunteering our time to  help. I am so fortunate to be a stay at home mom (with so many thank yous to my husband) that I can help the faculty out in a few different ways at home and at the school periodically. At the beginning of the year I send in boxes of Kleenex, hand sanitizer and items like that to help in little ways.

Bing is doing something amazing. Bing is holding a contest titled “Our School Needs”. What you need to do with your child and their teacher is finish the sentence, what does your school need? Then go about entering from there by using video, photographs, an essay and more. The grand prize is for $100,000.00, each category will have a first prize of $50,000.00. Overall, Bing is giving up to One Million Dollars in prizes and donations to schools everywhere.

You can can click on the following link to get started on entering your school: Enter “Our School Needs” Contest here. All of the information you need to get started is right there. If you don’t have children in school, or are not entering for one reason or another you can vote for other schools in need at that link as well. There are 3 different categories to vote within. Below you will find an informational video to give you inspiration on entering your school.

You will be able to enter until October 22nd, so get started now! Voting starts October 27th and the winner will then be announced on November 9th, so stay tuned!


“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a DonorsChoose.org giving code and gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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