Cranking out the crafties

I have this newly acquired bad habit of proclaiming that I will be crafting, but, instead, finding 20 other things to do before I craft, and, therefore, run out of time in my day.  Well, technically, I am writing this the NEXT day (after midnight).

Today I caught up with some Move More Eat Well February printouts and such.  Then, after having this frame sit and stare at me for months, I have finally created a mantle-piece with it.  The photo I have is from Christmas 2011.  Today, I picked up some delightful yellow and gray patterned paper and decided to use it and a few other embellishments I had hanging around here and there in the craft room.  I dig it.  And I have the larger frame, also, so who knows what will come next?  I am showing a couple different angles, as the lighting at midnight is not very helpful.

InstaLove Free Template

Cathy Zielske, new owner of an iPhone, has recently shown an interest in camera apps (small, happy shriek).  She designed and shared a digi template (for free) specifically designed for pics snapped and edited with Instagram and such.  I made this page in no time flat, thanks to the template.  Fun, fun pics.  I am having a great time snapping them!  Even though this looks stark white, the page is intended as an 8.5 x 11 page.

Read her whole blogpost here.

And another....

Just today, Becky Higgins posted yet another lovely iPhone camera app: Camera+.  First of all, the app takes a pretty sweet photo...better than just taking it with the iPhone camera app.  It gives you a 9 x 9 grid in your field of vision, which helps greatly when establishing your focal point (rule of thirds, baby!).  I used what is called FX Effects --> Magic Hour for the photo of Max below to even out the contrast.  This effect had a slider that I could use to determine the degree of the effect.

The best part: for a limited time, the app is 99 cents!  Woot!  Now my Nikon is completely nervous.

Falling in Love with Easy

So, let's discuss how long it would have taken me to find the right Photoshop actions to alter this photo.  How many steps did it really take me?  1.  Uno.  Un.  O-N-E.

Hello, Instagram app for my iPhone. 

Instagram comes with a variety of actions that can make your pictures unique.  This one is called Nashville, and I like it for two reasons.  I love the frame that makes it look like a slide.  I also love that it changes the contrast so that the photo looks older.  Sometimes, vibrant colors are overrated.  What I want this photo to do is capture a memory that is fleeting.  I would not use this action for everything, but for this picture, I think it's perfect.

Another app I love is one I used with this photo.  

It's called PS Express, a mini Photoshop.  I actually purchased the full-blown app rather than just use the free one, so you know this is serious business.  Here's what I love: I can take a cruddy picture on my iPhone: poor light, hand shaking, too much movement, whatevs.  I can crop it, straighten it, rotate it, flip it, alter exposure/saturation/tint/contrast, make it black and white, use actions for sketch, soft focus, sharpening, and reducing noise, and choose effects (more actions) and borders.  All from this "app that could."  Then, when I am done, I can save it to my phone or upload to Facebook/Twitter if I desire.

I used soft focus on this pic of my guys at the park.

My poor Nikon D60 is getting a little jealous.  Every now and then, I pull it out.  But, for the everyday when I cannot lug that sucker around, I love my iPhone and these apps.