Cloudy Day Sunset

Just a pretty sunset I captured while taking photos of my Sis-in-Law's family.

CREATE

More Free Fabric!!

This new fabric store is having a super fun giveaway!  They have awesome fabric and great prices!  Go enter and order some new fabric, already!!

Pay it Forward

Have you seen these going around the blog world?  I am so excited to have signed up over at Donna's blog. It sounds super-de-dooper fun!  So what are you waiting for??  Hurry it up already!  I want to make som goodies!!!!

1. I will make a little something for the first THREE people who comment on this post with PIF in their comments. It will be a surprise and it will arrive on your doorstep when you least expect it!


2. I will have 365 days to do it in. What’s the catch? To get a handmade present from me, you have to play too. This means YOU pledge to send a little handmade something to THREE readers of your blog. It doesn’t have to be quilty – just handmade.


3. You must have a blog.  Or your wife's blog.  Or the dog's.  Just a blog that you can put the badge on.


4. Once you comment here, you must post about your Pay It Forward on your blog to keep the fun going, with the Pay It Forward badge.

Block Party GIveaway Fat Quarters

Block Party GIveaway Fat Quarters, originally uploaded by handmadebyalissa.

You could win this fabric!! Yee-Wow!! I want me some pretty, pretty goodness!!


(Go HERE to find out how!)

Halloween

This year, I only got to make two costumes. Very sad! Emma found hers at JoAnn's for 60% off and I frankly could not have made it for that.

Emma the Ice Princess

Snow White Railie

Ian the Spider - I know, not the world's greatest photo, but you get to see his legs in action!

Kaitlyn's Quilt

My latest finished quilt, and my first foray into free motion quilting. By no means is it professional, but I LOVE the results! I made this quilt for one of my best friend's new baby girl. It based on a pattern by k.p. kids and co. Super fun to make, though totally out of my comfort zone. I actually had to build up the brights in my stash in order to make it...

I am participating in the online quilt festival hosted by Amy at Park City Girl. So much fun! Click on the link up there above my quilt and follow the post to drool at over 300 homemade quilts.

Border and binding.

My favorite bug. I had a blast picking the colors for this one.

Ar ar ar!

The day we went to Santa Cruz was foggy and chilly, but later beautiful. While we were there chatting and building sand castles, this guy - or gal, came to visit. He was less than eight feet from the beach and just kept talking to us. He never came out of the water, just played in the rolling surf and watched and barked. He eventually grew tired of us and swam away. It was pretty fun to get to see him!

Yummy Shopping in California

We went to a Farmer's Market and really cool Grocery store in Berkeley. I was amazed at the gorgeous produce available and the variety! Really amazing!

Blue in Her Hair

For Jennifer's funeral... (the petersons go public!: jennifer is dead)

Thanks Uncle Mike, Grandpa Jack and Grandpa Clint!

Eleven!!

Eleven years ago today. WOW!! Who would have thought I could be loved for that long. (And Happy Birthday to Grandma Stowell!)

Ten!

Where has all the time gone? My beautiful girly is ten. 10!! Happy birthday, Lou!

How to Hand Color Your Photos

Here is my original image, fresh from sleeping in my camera. You first need to pick your image. This one is pretty good in full color, except for that rascally little bud right under the cute one. He isn't so cute, or in focus, for that matter.

Open your image in your photo editing software. My preference is PhotoShop Elements (PSE). It is less expensive than the full version of Photoshop AND if you download it from the HP website, you get a free 30 day trial AND a discount! Score!! Enhance your image to your little heart's desire. On this one, I did nothing. I just kind of like the raw (not RAW) image that I took.

After you have edited, you may want to turn up the saturation level on your photo. Look at the part of the image you want to be in color when all is said and done and see if it is vibrant enough for you. You may decide to turn it down, too.

After all your tweaking is complete, you need to make a duplicate of your image. My photo was number 13, so the duplicate's name was 13 copy. In PSE, in the image drop-down menu, there is a selection titled mode. This is where you want to go. There are many selection referring to color. Choose greyscale. Poof...you now have two identical images, one in full color and one in greyscale.

Now comes the trickiest part of this whole transformation. Drag your greyscale image onto your color image, making a stack. In PSE, they will sort of automatically "snap to grid", meaning they will pretty much line up on their own. Again, you may have to tweak this a bit.

Now for the fun. Find your eraser tool. In PSE, it looks like a pink eraser. Click it. On top of the image screen, you will have the option of choosing which brush to use, thickness, opacity and a couple other toys. Put your mouse on your photo and erase away.

I really love this new fun application I learned and hopefully you will find it fun and easy to do!! If you have any questions, let me know. You can link to your fun images so I can see what you have done, too. I love that!!

I {heart} Photoshop!

I have been taking a class on-line through my local Community College, well, three actually, but the one I am really loving is Digital Photography. I love learning all the fun things I can do with my photoshop software - which I really recommend for all of your photo needs. This last week I learned how to add color back to a black and white image. It really does sound daunting, but it is surprisingly simple and REALLY fun to do!

Happy Mom's Day... Oops, a Bit Late!

To all of my Momma's and to all my Momma friends, I hope you had a very blessed Mother's Day and that you know how much you are loved! (And Happy Birthday Gramma Bunny!!)

The Simple Things

Railie ordered these pancakes at a crazy busy restaurant in Scottsdale before we left Arizona. She loved that they were Mickey shaped and had strawberry's and peaches. It reminds me of pancakes as a little girl. My mom, though it may have been my dad, used to make initial pancakes. Having tried shaped and letters a few times now, I am really amazed that they pulled it off. It is much harder than you think as a little kid. I remember my dad making egg burritos on the weekends, always wrapped with a paper towel. More than once I took a huge bite and inevitably bit right into the towel. I think he usually made them on Sunday mornings before church, right before the glasses cleaning ritual. Dad used to stand at the kitchen sink, squinting out at the yard, while he washed his glasses. When he was done with his, he would wash Micah's and then mine (she got hers before I did, so she was always first) once mom got her glasses, she joined us in the early morning ritual. Crazy what memories cute little pancakes bring back...

Happy Day Little Dude!

030, originally uploaded by kristan.ellsworth.

I can't believe he is two already. He still seems like my little itty-bitty guy. Now he is my little buddy, who follows me around and hang on to my leg at the most obtrusive times. Here he is, lining up his cars, which is his new favorite thing to do.

Nummy in my Tummy

Taco Ring, originally uploaded by kristan.ellsworth.

Looks odd, doesn't it. I know. And it needed salsa or sour cream or enchilada sauce something to make it a wee bit more...wet.

I saw the recipe for this in a scrapbooking book. Becky Higgins had made a recipe album including quick and easy fixes.

For this beautiful thing of goodness, you need three simple things:
Cresent rolls (in a can in the fridge section...)
Ground meat
Taco seasoning
(I also added a can of pinto beans)

The rest is easy-peasy:
Cook your ground meat, add your taco seasoning according to its directions. Open you rolls, I used two can thingys. Lay your wedges out on a baking stone or cookie sheet in a circle, make sure there is an empty space in the middle. Put taco meat on your rolls, and wrap them around. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

What is your favorite easy-peasy recipe?

Genetics...

originally uploaded by kristan.ellsworth.

In my family we have this somewhat odd genetic...thing. We walk on our toes. Not all of us, but I do. And my dad sometimes. And my grandma Berenice. And her mom Grandma Bertha, and most of Bertha's sisters, the Eberhart Girls. And my children. Well, at least one of my children. The one on the left - Railie. She wears dirty socks, too.

It isn't like I actually WALK on my toes, I sort of bounce. It makes my ponytail sway like Poe's pendulum. It was really hard to overcome this odd way of walking when I was in marching band and had to: 1) ROLL my feet, 2) make my feet point forward - my knees don't even point the right way and 3) keep my upper body STILL as I moved forward. It was really funny the first few times I tried it. And man, was I sore!

I have had some really great nicknames over the years, too. Everything from "Tippy" (thanks Kellie!) to "ducky" (I don't really remember WHO said it, but I remember it being said). But my greatest achievement was winning the Best Legs award for three years in a row in marching band. That was fun, and a complete shock the first time. I have always tried to hide my legs and my cows (WAY too big to be calves...) but it seems I didn't do so well at that.

So, I guess my children will have to endure the wrath of the Eberhart legs, and embrace them. They are great weapons to use in the event of a tickling match gone bad...

Railie's Birthday Party

So, me, being the great mom that I am, remembered to get Rai the cupcakes she wanted, make her the right new blanket and TOTALLY forgot birthday candles. What, NO FIRE ON MY CUPCAKES????? Oops. Thankfully, Railie isn't too concerned about where the fire comes from, so long as she could blow it out, again and again and again...



She is really funny and has a flair for drama. Her facial expression says it all here. And yes, she was saying, "AH AH AH!"

Followed by, "This is what I always wanted! How did they KNOW?"

She told Grandma Lynn and Papa Charlie that she wanted something to build with. This is her castle that she built on her own, right out of the box.

Worth the Time to Watch!

Happy Birthday, Railie and Karlee!

Today, Railie is five. Hard to believe my little girlie-girl is getting so big. She is an AMAZING sister (she tries really hard to be) and a good friend. She is very polite, making sure she says please and thank you, and excuse me. She is the most compasionate little creature I know. If someone is sad or hurt, she is usually the first one there, trying to help out. What an amazing child! I love you, Rai! (That is Railie's partner in crime, Grace. They are currently fighting over a play phone and talking to Grace's boyfriend on it!)






This is Karlee. Today is her 16th birthday. She is currently in Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. Her family was the first we met when we came to Emmett. Her dad was Railie's first visitor after we brought her home. Her family means the world to me, they have NO idea! I am amazed by their strength. I had the pleasure of teaching Karlee in Sunday School a few years ago. The poor thing was the only girl in a class of 14 year old boys. She is small, but one look from her packs a mean punch! She is a fighter, which is good. She needs to be right now. I know that some of you lurking aren't "churchy" types, but this sweet girl needs your thoughts and prayers. You can go here to learn more.

Itty Bitty Cuteness

Aren't they sweet? I made these for my friend, the Stamp Guru. She is having a baby - a boy, can you tell? Hopefully these will fit his little newborn chicken feet.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

There is going to be some construction going on here over the next few days. Just so you know. If you like something - let me know. If you want to throw up or you get really dizzy - let me know that too. And yes, I know, the pinks just don't work with the green. I'm not really sure the green works, either.

Jennifer's Bird Leg

Emma and I played with this silly piece of wood after reading Jennifer's post about the birds of Idaho this year. Jennifer is my only follower! See over there on the right side? You can be my follower, too, if you have a blogger profile and can remember my URL long enough to put it in the little box.

Anywhoo - back to the bird wood. Emma and I both thought that it looked like a bird foot, so we put it up on the wood stove and took a picture so we could show Jennifer that we caught a big bird poo offender.

Then we got a wee bit silly, and painted its toes, or talons, or whatever they have.







Then Emma decided that Jennifer needed to see a happy disected bird leg.






So maybe we were a little bit bored. And needed less chocolate and more sleep.


Maybe....

My Creativity Defined...

I know, twice in one day. No one pass out.
So I took this fun quiz about my creativity. You should take it. It is really fast. Here are my results.
Discuss.

Love

This is what we are going to make Saturday at an impromptu craft day at church. I just free handed this on red home dec dupioni and added buttons. All back stitch as my stem stitch, which is evidently the "correct" stitch, looks like too ripe bananas. Bad.
We are also going to make a little mini scrapbook, but I am not sure I want to post pictures of that. We'll see.

Valentine Mix

Ian's hand in the chocolate. Surprise, surprise. Did you know that you can buy entire bags of green M&M's now? Weird.