Before and After: The New 'Do

The big reveal for the haircut was Sunday afternoon.  She was at our house for her brother's birthday dinner and after cake, I snapped these pictures of her new hairdo.  As soon as I uploaded them, I was reminded of a toddler version of my daughter with bangs and a bob haircut and a perky headband.

Grandpa's Cream Route

The original picture is from the late 1800's and was printed on a postcard.  It has been stored in one of those "magnetic" albums, but fortunately, there was no adhesive on the face of the image.

Sweet Smiles

I've had the opportunity to meet some really wonderful people through my business of restoring vintage photographs.  This little baby with such a sweet smile is now a mom whose son who has a personality and imagination that reminds me of my son.

Color Adjustment (2)

Like my last post, the greatest challenge in this restoration was the color.

Moderately simple changes in tone and contrast began to reveal details lost in the original. The best surprise in these details was her eyes.  They are spectacular!

Color Adjustment

Honestly, I find color to be the single most difficult element to restore.  I've tried one technique after another, but recently developed a combination that works for me.

So here's a tip: try using a series of masked color adjustment layers, varying the opacity of each layer and "painting" the image where you want specific color to appear.  I'm liking the result.

Horses, Carriages, and the Derby

I have a special affinity for horses and carriages.  Maybe it comes from my little girl dreams, fueled by Saturday morning westerns, of becoming a cowgirl.  Or maybe it comes from growing up in Kentucky where once a year, the stage is set to watch magnificent thoroughbred horses compete in the Kentucky Derby. 

I Recently Learned

Lessons learned in making an oversized birthday card:

1.  Think about how you will ship it.  Not only think about it, but check to see what size boxes and/or shipping envelopes are actually available in your area.

2.  Keep the dimensions "standard".  (see number 1).

3.  Don't procrastinate (nor keep adding on to the project so that it doesn't get completed in time to mail)

4.  Bite the bullet and ship it anyway.  (see number 1, 2, and 3)

Something Creative

If ever there was a phrase that reminds me of my mother, this is it.  To say she was creative is a bit of an understatement.  She was a talented musician, a gifted artist, and I like to think that I inherited some of her creative way of looking at the world and at life.

These wonderful stamps are from The Paper Source.  This is actually part of their trademark and what a delightful trademark it is.  So while The Paper Source owns the rights to the saying, my heart is completely on board with the idea of doing "something creative every day". 

The day is early......it's not too late to do something creative today!

Happy Valentine's Day

Thanks to Jessica for a great Valentine's photo and to Florabella for the Valentine's Card download.

Update

I've spent most of the day today, revising my personal blog.  While I am liking the changes, I do wish my mother could see it.....well.....maybe she can....