A day in the life of Kim

This and that

So I've got a little bit of this and a little bit of that to share today.  First, I'm down 3 pounds this week which is such a good feeling.  Yeah me!  :)  The weather here is finally starting to get more spring-like and I'm anxious to get out there and get the yard looking nice.  The ground is still a bit frozen, though, as temps have been hovering in the mid to upper 30's.  Can't wait for a warm day!!

Now an update on the couch that I wanted to get for the photo studio.  It was quite the adventure last Thursday. The couch itself has a good look to the velvet, but the back is rather loose.  I had also done some research and found that other ones like this were selling for under $350. I explained my concerns about the piece (which is actually in very good condition considering it's been around a while), and then I offered him $200. He was pretty disappointed as he was hoping to get $450 to fix his car. I told him I really couldn't justify any higher, so he countered with $250. After a few minutes of making him sweat, I accepted. We loaded it on top of my little Subaru and were off. Took several stops to keep it from shifting, and my friend and I ended up making a stop at the Dollar Tree store to get more bunji cords. Now it's in place and looks pretty good. Just needs a good cleaning on the cushion covers and a few touch-ups on the wood.  Hubby hates it, though.  His exact words were, "That is butt ugly.  Why would you buy that?!"  He just doesn't see the same potential that I do.  LOL  Here's a pic of it in my house:
 

I also nearly finished with building the damask wall that I had started a few weeks ago. The wallpaper is on and I've just got to build the feet so that it will free-stand.  And it also needs some lag bolts on the back to pull the three panels tightly together so that the seams don't show.
 

So last night my Mom and I went to see the Drowsy Chaperone.  It was a musical within a musical which was interesting.  I actually enjoyed it and found myself laughing quite a bit.  Here is a YouTube video which gives you a taste for the show.

Now tomorrow I have a silent auction to attend.  It's a fundraiser for the preschool and I've donated a portrait session and two 8x10 prints.  I hope they raise a lot of money cuz the school really could use it.  I don't know if State and Federal funding has changed or what, but it seems like the school is doing a lot more fundraising this year than in the last 3 years we've been there.  It will be interesting to see what other businesses participate and what they are offering up for auction.  :)

This weekend I've got two portrait sessions back-to-back.  I'm going to be so pooped out afterwards.  LOL  One is a maternity client and the other is a 4 week old baby.  So excited!!  My first newborn portrait session.  Yeah!!  :)

Alrighty, that is it for now.  Gotta get the kids ready for school.  Hope you have a happy hump day. 

DIY Fringed Photo Prop and a new kit

The weather here has not been all that great so I haven't been able to finish up the wall project I started last week.  All I have left to do is add some support feet and then apply the wallpaper.  The plan was to use spray adhesive, so I really want to do that outside cuz of the fumes.  But it's been raining the last few days.  Hopefully it will clear up this weekend so I can finish this project. 

In the meantime, I started making a fringed photo prop.  So far I've got 2 hours into the project and it looks pretty good.  It will look even better when I add some more yarn to make it fuller.  Here's what it looks like so far.  I've written up a tutorial (complete with step-by-step photos) so you can make one, too.  All I ask is $5 to cover my time involved in putting this together and the downloading bandwidth.  To get the tutorial, click on the BUY NOW button over there in the side column. ---------->
 

So today I'm going out of town to take a look at an old velvet sofa.  The plan is to use it for two purposes:  (1) a place for parents to sit while I'm photographing their kids; and (2) a posing area for portraits.  The seller wants more money than I'm willing to pay, though, so I'm not sure if we'll be able to come to an agreement.  We'll see.  And, of course, I'll let ya know how it all works out.  :)

Oh, I almost forgot!  I made a new kit which will be going in the shop on Friday.  It will be on sale for 30% off Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Here's a look at Sibling Rivalry:
 

And check out these details:
 

 
And here is a layout created by NicoleD:


Well, that's it for me today.  Gotta fly.....have a great rest of the week.  :)

Digi Dares Sponsor

So have ya visited the Digi Dares site lately?  If not, hop on over there to check it out.  The site is full of amazing inspiration.  And if you participate in the "dare" challenge, you may win something.  HERE is the featured designer interview and HERE is the challenge info.  During this week, all participants can receive a coupon for 25% off products from my shop which is good through March 28th.  You can also be eligible to win one of four gift cards, too!!

Featured Designer at ACOT

That's right!  The team at ACOT is featuring my designs throughout the month of March over at ACOT.  They wrote up a nice article RIGHT HERE and I'm doing some random giveaways.  Check out my post about the giveaways RIGHT HERE.

So it's been a very long week here at our house.  I came down sick last Thursday and I think it might have been the flu.  I had all the classic symptoms.  Then my husband and our oldest son came down with it on Sunday.  Hubby ended up staying home from work (which he never does) on Monday and Tuesday.  David ended up missing school all week.  I took him to the doc on Wednesday and they did a quick test for the flu and a quick test for strep.  Came back positive for strep so he's on antibiotics.  He actually looks and sounds a LOT better today.  So I sent him off to karate tonight....not necessarily to participate, but to sit and watch.

Today I actually feel really good which is the first full day that I've had energy since I came down sick.  David and I went to Home Depot and picked up some building materials so that I can make a folding screen to use as a background in the photo studio.  It's not a cheap project.....so far I'm up to $182.  Hopefully that is all it will cost.  Basically, I've made three tall and narrow frames out of 1x4 inch pine.  Then I've stapled thin sheets of luann (plywood) on top of each of these frames.  Next I have to router the edges.  Then I'm going to hinge them together so that they will fold.  Then I'm going to adhere wallpaper on top of the luann.  Here's a visual.

These are the three frames I made out of 1x4 inch pine:
 

And this one is showing the luann stapled to one of the frames.  Obviously I measured wrong.
 

And here is a close-up view of the corner.  Don't ya love how the wood is warped?
 

Suffice it to say, furniture building is not in my future.  But, as long as this turns out to be a functional background for an upcoming photo session, then I will be happy.

Alrighty, the boys are back and it's time to do stuff with them.  Have a great weekend!!

PS Actions Updated

Hey all.  Well, we're battling the flu here.  I've been sick for over a week, hubby came down with it over the weekend, and our oldest came down with it yesterday afternoon.  For some bizarre reason, our youngest seems to have escaped it.  I think the worst of it is over for me as I'm no longer running a fever and my used tissue pile has drastically dwindled.  Gross, I know.  Sorry.

Anyway, while I've been couped up here in the house for the last week, I managed to get all of my photoshop elements actions updated to be functional in version 7.  Special shout-out to Lorraine for all her help testing the actions and creating XML files for these.  So now all 25+ action packs have been updated.  Only set 13 doesn't seem to want to work in PSE 7.  Now if you've already got some of these actions, you will want to contact Sunni over at Scrapbook-Elements to get the newest zip file which includes the updated action, XML file, and installation instructions.  If you haven't bought these, there is nothing for you to do except get yourself over to the store to pick some up.  Go on.....what are you waiting for?  The actions are great, very inexpensive, and I bet you'll like them just as well (if not better) than some of the more expensive actions out there. 

And it was brought to my attention that some people are having trouble navigating the shop at SBE.  So here's a little how-to info.....First, when you go to the store, scroll down and select the designer name you want to shop for.  This will allow you to view all products created by that designer in chronological order (newest products listed first).  Just above the first product, there is a filter drop-down tab which allows you to further sort within that designer's products by product type (such as page kits, actions, frames, overlays, etc.).  So if you are looking for PS Elements actions, you will choose the drop down listed as PS ELEMENTS SPECIFIC and if you are using any of the professional versions of photoshop, then you will choose the drop down listed as ACTIONS.  Here is a screen shot so you can see what I mean (click on it to see the full view larger).

 

Since I've been kinda out of the loop this last week, there is nothing new in my personal shop.  I am working on a siblings kit, though.  Hopefully I will be able to finish that up before the week is over.

I do, however, have some new stuff in the shop at SBE.  There is a set of PDQ Templates and a new $2 action which is compatible in all versions of PSE and Pro Photoshop.  :)  Take a look:

 
 

Oh and be sure to stop by the shop at SBE every Friday throughout the month of March.  We're running a March Madness sale where you can get a variety of products for just $1 or $2 each.  I'll be putting various products on sale, too.  Last week there were some PDQ templates on sale for just $2 per set.  This Friday, I've got some page kits for just $2 each.  CHECK HERE for all the great deals every Friday this month.

Alrighty - I'm outta here.  Have a great week!!!