Good Bye Picnik...Hello PicMonkey

Last week we all said good bye to the popular photo editing site Picnik as they packed up their picnic baskets forever. I was just wondering what editing site you all have decided to use if you were once a Picnik user?

Well one of the recommendations Picnik had was to use a website called PicMonkey and I have to say that I love it! Although in some areas like font selection there are not as many options on PicMonkey as what Picnik had, but what they do have is skin, eye, teeth and even weight loss abilities to edit your photos.

Look what I was able to do to this photo of the still stunning 64 year old Cheryl Tiegs.

The original picture...

After tinkering with it on PicMonkey.

I was able to remove wrinkles, whiten teeth, brighten eyes, and even slim down the face using the touch up option on PicMonkey.

How about the ever so handsome Robert Redford?

Original...

And now the retouched picture...

Airbrushing is no longer something only the editing folks of magazines have...we have it too and for free!

Look at what I was able to do with a photo of myself...

Original

This picture was taken in the month of February so in addition to removing facial lines and brightening my eyes, I decided to give myself a little bit of a tan and highlighted my hair.

Retouched

Other manipulations that can be done with the images under the "Effects" option...

Frosted

 Sepia

 Pixilate

Additional effects options available on PicMonkey include Focal Zoom, Dusk and Edifice.

Original photograph...

...with Focal Zoom

With the Dusk option applied...

...and here is the same photo with the Edifice option added.

New framing choices...

And...

PicMonkey is a lot of fun to play with and although it can't do everything Photoshop can do in terms of total creativity, it does have many cool options and is really easy to learn. And like I stated earlier...it's totally FREE!

I'd like to know what you are using to edit your pictures since Picnik is now over. This is such a whole new world of entertainment and creativity for me and if there are other sites to play in I'd like to give them a whirl too!

Have a great day!!!

Mom Always Said "Don't Play Ball in the House" and What Broke?

Here's the setup...yesterday afternoon about 4 pm Mr. Rosemary Lane and the kiddies were in the living room watching a movie on the good old T.V. At some point during the movie Michael decided that playing ball in the house with our 100 pound dog Buster was far more entertaining than what was on the T.V., so he began tossing a tennis ball to the dog from the living room into our entryway. Buster would then retrieve it and bring it back to Michael who was most likely hanging off the back of the sofa. (I know this only because it is not the first time this scenario has taken place in my home.) As for me, well I was in the kitchen diligently working on my next project to post today for all of you.

Now I have begged even pleaded with my children to not play with the dog, the ball, or more importantly the dog and the ball while in the house. But does anyone ever listen to mom? Not even poor Carol Brady was able to prevent Gregg and Peter from playing "free throws in the wastebasket" with a basketball in their bedroom. The ball ended up bouncing out of the boy's room, down the hall, hitting a stairway step and then off of the side only to end up smashing Mrs. Brady's treasured vase which sat on the living room console right next to the infamous horse statue.

So as I am in the kitchen I suddenly hear this massive crashing noise. A noise that had to last easily 30 seconds or so with the sound of moving furniture, falling objects, and glass crashing on to the floor. Honestly it sounded as if someone had pushed a burrow, mirror and all, down an entire flight of steps just to see what happens when it hit the bottom. I was startled at first but then I didn't hear the sound of any crying, and surely someone must have been injured during this colossal impact! I began to run from the kitchen through the dining room and then all of a sudden my slippers went out from under my feet and I was falling. Somehow my butt hit the floor and in front of me all I could see was the chaos that had occurred in my entryway. The buffet was pulled about a foot away from the wall with its doors opened and half of the contents dumped out onto the floor. My lamps, out of view, the candles holders I had on top of the buffet gone too. There were no bodies down, none except for my own. 

"What happened?" I screamed as I scanned the entire scene only to see the looks of astonishment on the both kid's faces. Mr. Rosemary Lane walked over to help me up explaining that somehow the dog's collar got stuck on one of the buffet's door handles. "What how could that have happened?" I asked but no reply came from any of their mouths. And as I stood there waiting for a logical explanation of how this had happened, I became painfully aware that the great toe of my left foot felt as if someone was cutting through it with a large carving knife. Next I found myself hobbling over to the sofa in an effort to get the weight off of it. Grace ran to get me some ice to put on my poor toe and gobbled up 800mg of ibuprofen to head off the worst of the pain which I knew was sure to come, and after about 40 minutes the throbbing pain in my left big toe began to subside.

Chris and the kids had cleaned up the mess and in time I had come to find out the true story of how the incident happened. So in this whole most unfortunate event only two things were broken...one of my pretty glass candle holders I just bought at Christmas time...and the proximal phalanx of my left great toe!

"Mom always said don't play ball in the house."

My Little Man's First Dress Suit

Last week when the kids were off from school, Mr. Rosemary Lane took Michael out to purchase a new suit for his first holy communion. Yesterday was the official picture taking day for the first communicates, so afterwards I took Michael around our church grounds for a few more photo opps!

Michael looks so handsome and grown up I almost want to cry.

First communion for my sweet little angel is Sunday May 6th.

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Tips for Buying Furniture at Yard and Garage Sales

Well it is officially garage sale season so many of you as I myself do, head out on Saturday mornings in droves looking for that one or more amazing purchases. But make sure you shop wisely and don't spend all your money in one place.  My sister Kim is the complete Guru of garage sales and she has one very important motto with regards to finding great pieces.

 "Old neighborhood, old junk...new neighborhood, new junk."

So depending on what you are looking for...a great old piece of furniture or newer items like artwork or accessories...choose wisely the neighborhoods you plan to shop.

1.    The main rule Kim has as far as what to pay for any given item is that you should never pay more than 10% of it's original cost. Case in point...I was out with Kim one Saturday and we came across a rope hammock. It looked like it was in fairly good shape, although you could tell it was used, and the owner said she wanted $30 for it. I looked at Kim and she shook her head...no I did not buy it, instead I went on to the next house and I ended up purchasing a beautiful wood dresser with mirror for $60. My sister actually negotiated it down from $75.

2.   Don't be afraid to barder with the owners...especially when it is getting into the noon hours. Their stuff will just have to be hauled back into the house or to a dumpster, this will provide you with more room to haggle on the prices.

3.      Also...when looking at items, keep in mind the possibility of refurbishing them or re-purposing them, especially if they are solid and or in good shape.

Here are a  few items I picked up for $10 or less.

You can Hurt Nothing By Asking...

These chairs I snagged for $10 each. They are solid wood and HEAVY. I bought 4 right from under the this women's kitchen table. They were not actually being sold at her garage sale but when I inquired about them she said..."I was ready for new chairs anyway!!!"

If it's in Good Shape and The Price is Right...Buy IT!

This is one of my favorite finds. Kim was at a yard sale down in Pennsylvania when she came across this beauty. She called me from the sale to see if I wanted it for Grace's room. I asked how much and Kim replied $5. My response was SOLD!!! Even if it didn't fit in Grace's room I figured I could always sell it or give it to a friend!! This was just too good to pass up!!!

Keep Your Eyes Pealed for Freebies

I had been wanting a serving cart for may back porch but didn't want to pay a lot of money. Well you can't get any cheaper than FREE. This darling cart was sitting on the curb with a sign on it that said Free. I brought it home a slapped a little black spray paint on it and voila...I had a beautiful new serving cart.

If it is Cool Looking and Cheap...Grab IT

I bought this window box for $2 at a yard sale last spring. I had no idea what I was going to do with only one window box but I hung onto it anyway. Then as I was getting ready to decorate for Christmas I had a brainstorm. Why not create a flower arrangement using the window box as the container. So spray painted the box gold along with some dried up hydrangea and then added pine sprigs from the backyard along with a few berries I bought at Michael's Craft store. I added an applique to the box and had a gorgeous arrangement in my entryway for the holidays!

Just remember that you can really make a killing and have a lot of fun with as little as $20 in your pocket if you keep these tips in mind the next time you hit those Saturday morning garage and yard sales!

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StoneGable