Photo First Aid - Week 1 - Spot Light Level Changes - Photoshop Elements 8.0

This is for those students taking my class right now that are using Photoshop Elements 8.0  If  you are not yet taking this class and like what you are learning in this video, please go here to register. You have a few days left to get signed up for Photo First Aid.

Photo First Aid Video- Week 1 -Tint, Tone, Vignette- Photoshop Elements 8.0 Version

This is for those students taking my class right now that are using Photoshop Elements 8.0  

If  you are not yet taking this class and like what you are learning in this video, please go here to register. You have a few days left to get signed up for Photo First Aid.

Square Foot Garden - and other news

My dad came up with this concept and so I can't take credit for that.  He found this galvanized steel at Smith & Edwards in Ogden, Utah.  I hear they have other size panels too.  This is 6 inches deep and the box measures 10 feet by 3 feet.  The panels have been laying on the ground in his side yard for 4 years. As you can see, they don't rust. 

My Dad also recommended using clothes line cord to make the squares with.  So today I drilled 2 holes on this end that you can see here.  They are 1 foot apart.  On the far end I drilled 1.75 holes.  I would have finished but the fully charged battery gave its all.  So tomorrow if it's not raining I will drill a few more.  I have to drill 9 on each of the long panels too.

And as much as I love galvanized steel, I don't like the color.  So I got out the spray paint.  Let me just say right now that I WILL NEVER BUY SPRAY PAINT AGAIN THAT DOESN'T HAVE A TRIGGER. Trigger sprayers are the ONLY WAY TO GO.  Ouch! I sprayed the water buckets for grandma's train with a trigger sprayer I purchased at Lowes - much better!

For prep I got out my Black and Decker mouse sander and put the scrub pad on it.  Then I quickly buzzed all the way around the outside.  It cleaned it off wonderfully. Then I just sprayed the outside  of the box.  It looks 1000x's better and since my Dad gave me the supplies and I had the spray paint in the closet my bill is a whopping $1.50 for the bolts. 

You can see the weed mat in the bottom here.  I spent the better part of an afternoon digging the grass out of this flower bed.  I have so much more to dig out. Yes, it goes up that hill side.  you can see some of the daisies starting to grow for the season.  But instead of digging I decided to let every thing dry.  

I'll be filling it with the ready made Square Foot Garden mix from Millers.  

#1 reason- I don't want to try and mix it myself.  I have enough to do (like digging).

#2 they have tested everything from the pH to the nutrients to make sure it's complete.  

#3 they are located a few miles from here and a trailer full is less expensive than bags. 

Other news:

I thinned the Spinach today.  Why? Because I used more seeds than normal because they were a few years old and because my 5 year old helped me plant them. And because I hear that spinach needs to be 6" apart.  That means I'll be thinning more when it gets older.  You don't want to thin your vegetables too much the first go round because you don't want to end up losing some and not having enough plants.  

Digital Scrapbooking News: 

I've just started working on a new class for ReneePearson.com  It's going to be available in July hopefully.  I'm learning a new software to put this all together. But it's going to make it look better than ever.

Also, I have another giveaway on Monday MAY 30TH!!!  Oh yeah! And I will post everything in a day or two.  I know you can't wait to see all the prizes we'll be giving away. Can I just say Cathy Zielske is participating this time!

Transplanting Tomatoes and those blue green garden ghosts

I hate filling Walls of Water.  I do.  They work so well that I have to.  This year has been so wet and cold that I was nervous about trying to get my tomato plants used to the outside weather.  The nice thing about these is that they prevent sunburn, they warm the plants and the ground around them, prevent hail damage, and they let you plant your tomatoes earlier than normal giving their roots a chance to really grow.  I plant them sideways in a trench filled with a hand full of egg shells.  I had an entire gallon bag saved and it was nearly gone in two days. The egg shells prevent blossom end rot (the black rotten bottom on the bottom of the tomato that forms when there is a lack of calcium).  I planted 12 early girl tomatoes - great for canning.  And then 7 roma tomatoes.  And lastly 1 dill.  Romas don't need cages but the early girl tomatoes do. I started them inside.  My supplies cost me about $7 to grow 30 tomato plants from seed.  You can buy 1 tomato plant from the green house for a minimum of $2 on a good sale. That's $60 for 30 tomatoes.  That means I save $53 starting them on  my own. 

The trellis on the end is for peas.  They are just starting to sprout. 

You can see the pipe for the drip line I made here.  I plugged two spots this year to make a wider row for my tomatoes.

And the thing about digital is you can take more photos.  So walk around your garden/plants/etc and take photos from many angles.  You'll be surprised what you thought you'd like and what you actually see.

And here is a great view of the rows.  I can't wait to plant my green beans and lemon cucumbers.

I love this view of the mountains behind the garden.

And my pea trellis is just a cattle panel that I cut the bottom horizontal row off of and stuck it in the ground.

For more photography tips and also great ideas on enhancing your digital or scanned photos check out my Photo First Aid class at ReneePearson.com

How to visit my live chat May 11th at 10pm Eastern

If you're like me and you get confused when you get to try something new, then this video is for you.  Step by step simple instructions on how to enter my upcoming LIVE CHATS where I'll preview my upcoming class Photo First Aid and answer your specific questions LIVE!

Join me on ReneeTV May 11th at 10pm Eastern time. We will be giving away several fun prizes during that LIVE CHAT.  Want to qualify?  Just sign in and watch the chat - you'll automatically be entered. 

 If you win a prize, I'll ask you for your email address which you can share with me privately so others viewing the chat will not see it. Make sure you are paying attention or I'll have to give your prize to someone else.

What am I giving away? I'll post photos and links to each vendor later tonight so that you can get familiar with everything before the live chat.

See you May 11th at 10pm eastern on ReneeTV

What does this class cover?  It's a 4 week class and I'll be sharing step by step video and written guides: 

In the first week you will learn how to manipulate the light and color of your images. In week two you will learn professional techniques for retouching faces. In Week Three you will learn how to retouch backgrounds, clothing, and group photographs. And during Week Four you will learn current and classic trends in creating works of art with your photographic images, including sports collages.

Photo First Aid 2011

Never miss out on another class, event or discount again.

Sign up for email notices HERE.

Registration for my Photo First Aid class begins Monday - hurry because the early registration discount ends May 15th.

Oh and I'll be showing you a preview of the class LIVE online May 11th and May 30th at 10pm Eastern on ReneeTV! Show up 3 to 5 minutes early to sign in.  

Along with the help of a few local peeps and some far away, we will be having a fabulous Give Away! I will preview that on my blog on May 9th and May 28th.

Giveaway on Becky Higgins Blog!

The ever talented Becky Higgins is giving away a seat in Photo Preserves class today.  

Here's what she has to say: 

One reader will win a seat in Photo Preserves, taught by Laura Vanderbeek. This is a class to teach you how to digitize, restore, and display your old photos. Great idea, as I think a lot of us could use some guidance in this department. The class runs March 31 – April 13. Leave your name, a general idea of where you live, and maybe an idea of what your collection of old photos looks like right now. This is open to international readers as well (nothing to ship).  : )

So go leave a comment for a chance to win no matter where you live in this big world!

Gardening - Cold Weather Vegetables

I love Erin's idea in her Photography 101 class at ReneePearson.com of photographing through leaves, so I decided to experiment a little with the idea myself.  There aren't many leaves around here this time of year.  These are actually the cold weather vegetables I started indoors.  Yep, they are sitting in my window sill in my bedroom and the white behind them is actually snow.

I put this one first because I love it the most.  What do you think? 

Click on it to see it larger.

Romaine Lettuce

Columbia River Cabbage

Big Daddy Onions

Purple Kohlrabi

I can't wait to get these in the ground.  The lake has thawed. That means good things around here.  It snowed this morning but it's already gone.  The tulips are starting to poke up through the ground out front and I pray the deer leave them alone.  I cannot wait to see how the alliums do. I purchased 2 types of purple alliums and I know the deer don't like them.

Don't forget to get your cold weather vegetables outdoor hardy before planting them in the ground.  Don't know how? Find out more here...

(Registration for Erin's class ends soon and my class, Photo Preserves begins next week - giving you until the first week in April to get registered.)

Last day to get discount!

Last day to get $5 off Photo Preserves by Laura Vanderbeek.

 Discount ends midnight ET tonight.

Go HERE to register for class!

Fix cracks, tears, dust spots, fading, and discolored photos with this easy to understand class by Laura Vanderbeek.  Want to know more, just email her at laurav@reneepearson.com

BEFORE

AFTER

Cathy Zielske - Photo Preserves Class Giveaway!

The ever amazing Cathy Zielske is giving away a seat in my Photo Preserves class.  You have only today to enter so go check out her blog and learn how to enter!

Presenting ... Photo Preserves

Check it out! I'm sharing my Photo Preserves class once again at ReneePearson.com

It's a 2 week online class taking just an hour or so a week for those of you who want to know how to begin preserving your old photos.

This is for color and black and white photos.  Extra help for those tricky photos available during live chats.  

Photo Preserves Online Class - Restore your family history photos

I want you to be the first to know I get to run this class one more time.

Go Here to see more information about this class.

You'll need Photoshop Elements (6.0 or higher)

I got my copy of Elements at Expercom.com for $90 and it included a $20 gift card to Shutterfly.

OR

 Photoshop (CS or higher) for about $699

This class is a self paced class over the internet.  Once you register you'll have lifetime access to the class videos.  Registration begins March 3rd. Class begins March 31st. I'll be sure to remind you again when the time draws near. 

Take a look at the high speed video of most of the class:

Family History Blog

I recently started a family history blog for the Christensen and Goff side of the family. Here are some examples below.  On though the blog is private and family members who want to view it must be invited, we only share photos of those who are living and no personal information.  That's why you can't see most of what's written in the pages below. There are links to grave sites and photos of headstones.  There are restored photos and other things that we are working on sharing.

  If you've taken my Photo Preserves class you received a page with all the information you'll need to get started creating your very own Summary Pages.  These pages are chapter markers or the first page before other scrapbook pages about the person's life.  If you'd like to take my photo preserves class it will be offered again soon. You can sign up for a free membership at ReneePearson.com and she'll send you an email when any new classes are available.

If you are family and would like an invite to the blog, let me know.  I'm not quite ready to start any other blogs for other family members because I have had such a great response with this one.  There is a lot to be done - photos to restore - scrapbook pages to make - posts coming out my ears!

Sunday's Paper

 I was in the Business Section of the local Sunday paper! So fun.

So I finally took my camera out into the garden this week.  I've pulled up all the onions.  They are drying for 2 weeks before I throw them into the fruit room in  basement.  The last of the potatoes are out - no more goodies for the voles to eat.  

I've also been busy creating a custom graphic for my hallway wall.  I printed it up on an 8x10 and stuck it to the wall so I could decide how much I liked it.  One thing I learned while taking an oil painting class is that if it's out of sight, it is out of mind.  Somehow staring at something and concentrating on it (even if it's only a few minutes a week) will allow us to add just the right touch to complete the project or to realize that it's already there and go ahead with it.

I'm getting itchy to see the pumpkins turn orange.  

To help your tomatoes and bell peppers see this post.

I shut off the water to my tomatoes and they are finally turning red! 

Today I am working on making more garden fresh salsa that will be going into the Ball Freezer pint jars. I am so happy my neighbor showed me that you can freeze the fresh salsa and enjoy it all winter.

I'll share the recipe as soon as it is perfected - it's still missing something.

This is a baby Lemon Cucumber. Enjoy cucs? Well, you need to try this one.

It's the best eating cucumber you'll ever try. It's not bitter at all.

Love this grass- to bad it's an annual here.  I'm bound and determined to get trees in this spot in the spring so I will not have to stress about this area so much.

And these are the wild flowers growing on the empty lot next to my house.  I don't care if they are weeds.  When I see them they make me smile!

I'm working on a GARDENING SCRAPBOOK! I can't wait to start getting all these photos organized. I just finished all my prep work for my class at ReneePearson.com

Featured on Becky Higgins Blog

I'm so excited to say that I've been featured on Becky Higgins blog again.  It's been three years.  Lucky for me she was excited to give away a seat in my class.  Go ahead and go over there to get signed up - maybe you'll win the free seat in my Photo Preserves class. And be fast - I'm drawing the winner tonight!