I can't type the name of this...

No really...it's art!

When I started to type the name of this piece...I Googled it just to see what posts came up...

Well...hmmm...I'm not typing that....'cause the Google searches...sheesh!

Kinda bugs me that I didn't know what that meant...does that make me a prude???

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Smile=)

I will...

...keep taking...

...pictures until...

...Got it!

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When bad things happen to good fonts...

I think I could handle this font if it wasn't ALL caps. At least I think I could:/

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Project YUMway!

I heard about this candy store that had made dresses out of candy. Sounded yummy...and fun...SO, I grabbed my camera and  headed downtown to check it out...

It didn't surprise me that they were all in the window...which means glare:/ The bro has a special lens that corrects that...I don't know what it is...and I don't have it:P

I took pics anyway...Yes ladies and gentlemen...that is chewed gum on the matching "Jimmy Chew" shoes. Yeah...kinda yucky:P

This dress is actually kinda cute...and it's ALL Starburst wrappers!

This one comes with matching hat, shoes, and bag...and none of it has been previously chewed!

 I wonder...with my fashion design degree...could I come up with something clever like this?

I actually think I could...but what candy would I use???

Loving that they did bags and shoes to match!

Hmmm...what candy would I use...Oh...maybe an entire dress made with Smarties...kinda like candy sequins! Gonna whip that up with all that spare time I have laying around;P

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So over

It's official ya'll...(Yes I said "y'all...I don't even remember why I reserve the right to use y'all...I'm just using it...OK?) So...it's official. I. Have. Lost. Control. Of. My. Kiddos!

They need school to start. I need school to start, and we need it like, last week.

I have no where left to take them, we have nothing left to do. Summer is over...and I'm exhausted.

School please.

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Chester

Is it weird that I photograph other people's dogs for my blog?

I think not.

Meet Chester.

Sweetest. Dog. Ever! Did I mention he's over 200 pounds?!?

We met Chester in the park today. Actually, I saw him all the way across the park. I have this talent for spotting Newfies from miles away. We immediately made a beeline over to pet him.

As I was marveling at his fluffiness, I noticed a scar on the top of his nose and asked his owner what had happened. She told me that Chester was 5 years old, and she had owned him for 3 years.

Chester had been rescued from a house of hoarders. Poor thing was only 90 pounds when she got him, had infections in his paws, and had a terrible gash on his nose:(

She nursed this marvelous creature back to health and the only way you would notice anything was by the scar on his nose.

I asked her how it affected his personality, and she said he was the sweetest, most laid back dog she had ever met...but that he had a large stubborn streak, and she was having a tough time keeping him out of the Lincoln Park Conservatory Fountain...Oh, and that water you see going down his neck, was due to her failure to keep him out of the Lily Pond;)

I heart Chester=)

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Tin Woman

I'm walking down Michigan Avenue the other day, and I see...

...this.

It's not unusual. I'm sure I've seen her before. There's also a Tin Man who does this a bit farther down the road.

This is how I know I think too much. What does she use to do this?

It can't be just paint...can it?

Do you just use Neutrogena to take it off? Holy bad for your complexion Batman! My face hurts just thinking about it.

I also have to wonder what the pay is? I mean, I know it's whatever the folks on the street want to tip...but I gotta think, in this economy, being a Tin Woman isn't bringing in the bucks the way it used to.

As I continue thinking about it WAY too much...I kinda want to go back downtown and put a couple extra bucks in the jar...'cause that's gotta take a ton of effort...ya know?

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A slight downpour

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Content Aware Fill (The power of Zeus!)

I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting...and I finally got my hands on Photoshop CS5. Why did I want it so badly? Three words...

Content. Aware. Fill!

It's easy to use, super duper cool, and comes in both Photoshop CS5, and Elements 9.

Here's my cute Little Man...when he was still little:)

He looks like he's up to something...anyway, mommy's Macbook Pro power cord is behind his head. Making for a not so nice picture:( Until...content aware fill:)

Now it's an easy fix. Bring the photo into Photoshop, it's a good practice to duplicate the layer so you don't edit on the original (Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac))

Now, use the polygon lasso tool

to select the area you wish to edit.

Next, click Edit at the top menu, and then click Fill. When the dialogue box comes up...

...simply click Content-Aware from the drop down options in Use: and click OK. What happens next...churn, churn, churn...and poof!

I only had to do minimal clean up with the clone stamp, and healing brush tool.

Is it perfect? No...Is it way better than what I used before to remove unwanted objects...You bet!

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Bird is the word

Any guesses what this is...

 It's a bit odd...what if I show you this...

OK...you're never gonna guess, so I'll tell you.

There's this National Geographic Wild show called Live Like an Animal. What these folks do, is choose an animal (I believe they did beavers in London for another show) build their living environment, and then live like that animal for 24 hours.

This rounds animal...a hummingbird.

There is a whole team of folks set up at The Lincoln Park Zoo filming the whole experience.

My understanding is...since hummingbirds eat their own weight in nectar each day...three men will be not only living in the nest, but eating 80 liters of sugar water, and whatever beef jerky they can catch as it's catapulted to them. (Replicating bugs that hummingbirds catch.) Yum...not:/

What...this sort of thing happens everywhere...right? ;)

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#93 Nappy

Daily Chuck...

Oh yeah...Smokey was thrilled with this one...

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Oh ye of little face

The kiddos and I were walking back from the zoo, and discussing what was for lunch...

I said: "I don't think we have any more ham...so we may not have sandwiches."

Little Man: "I have a little face."

To which I said: "You don't have a little face, you have a perfect face." (Which really amused me because my kiddos have LARGE noggins:-D)

Later that day Little Man was riding his scooter bike.

"Be sure to stop at the alley!" I yelled as I chased him down the street...

"I have a little face!" Cried The Little Man as he slowed down, and stopped for the alley. (Whew)

To which I said: "You don't have a little face, you have a perfect face."

At the end of the day, I had kiddos in the tubby, and The Little Man wanted his monster truck toy...

"I'm not sure if I know where it is, but I'll look."

What did The Little Man say..."I have a little face Mommy:)"

"You don't have a little face, you have a perfect face." I said on my way down the stairs to find the monster truck...

As I walked, I pondered what the heck this "I have a little face." thing really meant...I kept repeating "I have a little face. I have a little face. I have a little face..."

And.

Then.

It.

Hit.

Me...

What he said was...

"I have a little face."

What he meant was...

"Have a little faith!!!"

...and yes, I found the truck toy...and then you could flip that frown upside down:)

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My Back Yard...

...OK, not really. It's actually the Lily Pond.

I used to go here quite a bit when I was single girl and needed to relax. (Although now I think back and wonder what I needed to relax about:/)

This cool little building is right smack dab in the middle of it...every once in a while I see someone meditating or practicing yoga...and then I feel bad for being there, interrupting their serenity with my screaming children...and then I think, this is the big city, and not their private feng shui garden...

...and then I have to remind myself that I'm at the Lily Pond, and I should be relaxing;)

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#92 Picfx

Daily Chuck...

OK, you know I my phone and I are not getting along:/ So, our gal Dooce used the Picfx app to get the plastic wood texture. Mine is grunge concrete, and it was quite easy to do in Photoshop CS5.

All I did was open my pic, and drag this...

and this...

into the layers of my original photo.

I then set the blend modes on both of them to overlay. (Do play around with the blend modes...see what multiply, or soft light does for you.)

After messing with layer orders, blend modes, and opacity...Mr Smokes looked pretty well grunged up;)

While this was easy peasy...it is high time I got one of those super duper cool smart phones that will let me use the actual app:/

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Great Blog Design Resources

What a whirlwind! Currently, I am in process mode from Blogher '11...it was the best of times...it was the worst of times...

OK, not really the worst of times...but there were some odd moments...again...processing.

I hear The Little Man downstairs yelling "Your stupid little fairies...!" followed by Miss Peach screeching "No, your stupid little cars...!"

Which tells me I haven't much time to get to the bottom of this post...so...

Here is the quick resource list from the Great Blog Design presentation given with the great (and I can't say enough good things about Miss Jill) Scary Mommy (who in my opinion has the best logo in the business)...

Fonts:

http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/

Stock Photos:

http://www.istockphoto.com/

http://www.sxc.hu/

http://www.vecteezy.com/

http://www.dreamstime.com/

Colors :

http://kuler.adobe.com/

http://www.colourlovers.com/

Blogs We Love: (all the blogs showcased in the presentation)

http://www.greeblemonkey.com/

http://www.littlebluedeer.com/

http://www.reluctantrenovator.com/

http://www.prettyinpinkmegan.com/

http://eclecticleverage.blogspot.com/

http://bloomingonbainbridge.blogspot.com/

http://www.cult-f.net/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

http://macrabbit.com/

http://theresumegirl.com/

http://www.mom-101.com/

http://www.hopebomb.com/

http://wouldashoulda.com/

http://www.hostessblog.com/

http://www.designsponge.com/

http://ndesign-studio.com/

http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/

http://ohhappyday.com/

http://www.spearmintbaby.com/

http://ilovetypography.com/

http://all-for-design.com/

http://www.mommasgonecity.com/

http://www.makeandtakes.com/

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/

http://www.strollertraffic.com/

http://littlelovely.typepad.com/

http://simplebits.com/
http://houseoftubers.com/
http://www.sophistimom.com/
http://www.markforrester.co.za/

Now, if you will excuse me...I have to go break up a turf war between the Fairies and the Hot Wheels cars:O

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I made it!

Well...I made it...and here's the view from my room.

Pretty sweet, huh?

Without dissing any airlines, I got to the airport only to find that my flight had been cancelled:/

I freaked.

The lady at the counter said: "It's OK, we'll put you up in a hotel, and we'll fly you through Dallas in the morning:)"

"Ummmmm...NO!"...and I freaked a lot more:O

After much "This is COMPLETELY unacceptable!" they got me out on another airline...EIGHT hours later! So, I had eight hours to kill in O'hare Airport. Not. Fun:(

You know what happened next...right?

They...

Lost...

My...

Bags!!!!

So, I had an epic, full on (we are talking Wicked Witch of the West in Wizard of Oz) melt down at the baggage claim...and then they found it.

Now I'm here...and I'll be speaking Saturday on Great Blog Design...Super. Excited!

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Leaving on a jet plane...

No...I have not lost my blogging mojo...

I've been working my bootay off on my presentation for Blogher!

Here's a sneak peak...

It's in Keynote (Apple's version of Power Point...only way, WAY better!)

If you're going to Blogher...come on by on Sat., and check it out:)

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