We page by Jessica Sprague

I am trying to learn how to do digital scrapbook pages and how to use blogs . . . learning curve or what? Here is one attempt. Thanks to Jessica Sprague here is a page using her tutorial.

Tutorial experiment

Hi you all. I tried a tutorial I found from Mel at Scrap That Idea blog. Check out the difference in this picture.
~The first one is the original.
~The second one is sharpened but I used the warming filter by mistake.
~The third one is sharpened and the sepia filter at 20% was used as in the tutorial. Tip: go Image, Adjustment, Photo Filter and then use the drop down menu to get to the sepia filter.
~The fourth one is dodged less than the fifth photo and I didn't sharpen it for fear of too much pixulation.
~The fifth one was dodged more and not sharpened. I was worried that I had dodged the face too much and lightened it up. What do you think?
I had to post these to see the difference. There is a difference in the color of the two sharpened pics.
Also, I have always done the darkened edge by hand but there is a much faster and more uniform way to do it in this tutorial. Photoshop is so smart . . .and so are those who figure it out. Thanks to Mel I can do it faster now.

Menu Plan Monday - Jun 1-6 2009

Once again it is time for the Organizer Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. It has been a long time since I planned a week of menus. One reason was a shortage of time and another is confusion on how to change a diet. Does anyone have any tips on Low Cholesterol diet planning? It seems like the things they say to avoid are already absent in my diet but yet I still have to lower my cholesterol. What a challenge!!!

We tried Cedar Plank Salmon on the barbeque today by seasoning the salmon with salt, pepper and a little dill. Toping with Lemon slices and then baking on the Barbeque with the lid down. It tasted great!!!

Any way, here goes for this week.

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Apron making.

Here is what the Aprons look like that I have been making. They are called Four Corners Apron by Vanilla House Designs. I put a pocket on the reverse side so that they can be reversable. The first one is for Victoria and the second one is for her mother-in-law, Cindy. What do you think?

More pictures of Adam & Victoria from Alysha

This shows the ceremony!!! (and the centerpieces in the background)
Bridal party
Adam and Victoria
The cake

Cake Picture from Victoria's wedding

This is a three tiered cake. The top layer is Chocolate with a Raspberry Filling, The middle and bottom layer is a Silvia Wienstock's Lady Baltimore White Cake with two different fillings. The first is a Strawberry Pastry Cream and the second is a Lime Pastry Cream Filling. It is covered in Buttercream and then a layer of Fondant with Fondant Drape

Adam and Victoria's wedding decorations

We began decorating the day before . . . The big boquets had been made in advance.
This shows one of the centerpieces that were made that day.
The final focal point . . .
The final entry . . .
The cerimony begins . . .
Centerpiece in the background, there may be better ones that aren't fuzzy.


Closeup of the centerpiece for the guestbook table . . .
Signing table . . .
Bridesmaids bouquets.
Grandma made Victoria's bouquet . . .
and the corsages, boutineers etc.
The candy table.
The cake table with wrapped roses by Thomas and Meghan.
the end.

Inspiration for a kit

How about Turkish delight. These pictures here were taken in Turkey when we were on a holiday with our daughter Meghan. There are many tones and color schemes that can be drawn out of this design rich culture. Meghan made some collages on her blog that show this even better. The first pictures shows the Bosphorus River. It is a beautiful shade of blue that as you will see changes color with the lighting and the contrast. The ceiling pictures were taken is several places such as the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topaki Palace, etc. Enjoy some of this culture and have a bite of Turkish Delight if you can find some. It is every bit as good as they say.

Menu Planning Monday - Apr 6th

Wow, it's time to get back into a normal routine now that the wedding is all over. So what's for dinner? Anyone have any ideas? That's always a crazy question so here goes for this week.

Monday: Bavarian Meatball Stew
Tuesday: Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Wednesday: Mini Meatloafs
Thursday: Tasty Italian Chicken, Lemon Asparagus
Friday: Left overs
Saturday: Catalina Meatballs with Noodles
Sunday: Easter Dinner

PS - Monday's Bavarian Meatball Stew was a real hit. Such nice change from Italian, Mexican or Asian flavors!

Thomas made a piano arrangement

Here are the pictures of your arrangement for the piano for the wedding. This first one is the original picture of the front.
Touched up picture of the front. I burnt the background to show the arrangement better.
Touched up picture of the front
Picture of the back
Original of the second picture of the front.