Geeky Faves

This edition of Pinteresting picks features some pretty cool gadgets I would love to own--especially the Jawbone Up when it comes out (provided it doesn't blow the budget of course). Enjoy--the links are below.

On a blogging-tip side note: I recommend getting your links before you start your post. I just made the mistake of thinking I could just copy them off the page--and promptly got side-tracked by new pins o__O

1. For a clutter free desk-- a pretty USB Tulip Hub.
2. The ORB is a mobile headset that doubles as a ring and displays messages. How cool is that?
3. This Expandable Surge Protector lets you widen the outlets so you can use all of them.
4. Audio Light Bulbs are wireless, illuminated speakers. Plug your iPod/iPhone (or music player) into the transmitter to play back your tunes--and it's also a 60W lightbulb!
5. The Jawbone Up is a new gadget that tracks calories burned, steps, movement (at night, as in how many times you get up) and transmits the data to your mobile device.

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Color Spots Oct 27 2011

Since I started this Color Spots category, I'm seeing color inspiration everywhere.

This yummy Spice Kit comes from an email from Williams Sonoma.

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Preserving Memories

Nick is doing a Family Heritage school project and he asked his Grandma for old family names and pictures for his Family Tree. She was able to come up with some great photos, but like all really old family photos, some of them are in not so great shape.

Well, it just so happens that I was checking out my friend Janine Smith's new Photo Restoration with Photoshop course on Lynda.com. Perfect! That was just what I needed.

Here's a before and after of my first processed photo. I picked one of the less damaged ones; it had some stains, creases, a small tear and lots of little spots. I was able to pick up tons of great tips on how to deal with just about every damage you can encounter on a photograph. Even if you don't have really old photos which require restoration, this course can just as easily be applied to everyday fixes, such as glare from glasses, unwanted objects in the background, color corrections, and...and...and... I could go on and on, but just go and check it out, you will love it. Check out Janine's website, Landailyn for a whole gallery of her amazing restoration work.
Ok, here it is. I think it looks pretty good.

 

The before and after template is from paint the moon photography (I think it was a facebook freebie)

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Color Spots Oct 21 2011

Here's a great Fall Centerpiece I spotted (get it?) on the Martha Stewart site that looks perfect for this week's color spot.  I love fall colors--probably because my Birthday is in October. I ran it through Adobe's Kuler to pull out the color palette.

The ribbon label is a freebie from Pugly Pixel. Check out their other freebies too :D

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My flickr Faves

I thought I'd share a nice mosaic of my flickr faves for inspiration. I used the Mosaic Maker app from Big Huge Labs. They have gobs of cool little apps from creating posters to making blog headers. I haven't tried all of them yet, but I'm slowly working my way through them. Anyway, here are my faves. Enjoy!

Credits: 

1. love all a blur, 2. Dinner is Served, 3. Flight, 4. Evi Abeler Photography, 5. 12/365 Pear/Naspati, 6. BACKYARD SWING, 7. Bewick's at Rest, 8. Poppy, 9. Two's Company, 10. lacy nature 5/52, 11. Going solo, 12. Untitled, 13. remnants..........

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Pinterest Picks - Halloween Favorites

Well, it's October and we all know what that means--my Birthday! Hehe, just kidding. It is my Birthday this month, but I was, of course, talking about Halloween.

So, here are my Pinterest Picks from my Holiday Ideas Board:

1. I really want to make these Pumpkin Cakes, they look so awesome and I do have the little bundt pans.
2. Haha these Vampire Pumpkins are so cute and funny and, apparently, easy to make.
3. How cute is this little Pumpkin Piggie?
4. This is a great idea for those hard, little pumpkins. I never have the right tools to carve these. And you can never have to many candles, right?
5. I've done these kinds of toothy Pumpkins before, but not like this beauty. Love those eyes!

That's it for this week's Pinterest Picks. Check back next week for Fall Crafts.

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That's it for Summer

Looks like Summer's over. One day it was nice and 80 degrees and the next day it was about 20 degrees colder. And soon after, the rain was back. Don't get me wrong, living in the great Pacific Northwest, I like the rain--just not non-stop for, you know, four months or so. I also enjoy nice, cool, sunny Fall days. Which reminds me, I better get started making Nick's Halloween costume. He wants to be Minecraft Steve (don't ask). I tried to get the Steve-Head online, but apparently it's quite popular and was sold out everywhere! But I managed to find some instructions to make it myself--sheesh, what did we ever do before the internet? Well, I better start getting out the Halloween decorations--time flies, right? I've picked up some great ideas on Pinterest already.
In the meantime, here is a shot from our last official summer outdoor cooking extravaganza. Nice, yummy corn to bid summer farewell. I got the idea for the color swatches from the Coffeeshop Blog. I used Kuler to pull the colors from the picture and create my own color swatch. If you don't feel like making your own, you can download Rita's here:

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