Amanda (my sister) and I found four lovely rings at a small thrift store. Here’s one of them.

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I can’t be sure, but I think it’s silver. I don’t know what the sparkly blue gems could be…

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© 2010 by Erica Lea

This week’s photo for Fix-it-Friday was provided by Keli Hoskins. It is a photo of her daughter, Emma. Click here to see the original photo.

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My Edit: For my edit, I used Corel Paint Shop Pro. First, I cropped the photo closer, duplicated the layer, created a layer mask, and brightened the photo. The background was very bright so I erased that part of the photo using a soft black brush and merged the layers. I then turned the photo black & white and duplicated the layer. On the new layer, I ran a preset called Albumen, turned down the opacity and merged the layers. Next, I placed a texture called concrete over the photo, turned down the opacity, created a layer mask, and erased the texture on the girl with a soft black brush. I then merged the layers and placed a slight purple tinge over the photo. Lastly, I sharpened the image and made her pants, hair, and eyes especially sharp.

The End!

To see how others chose to edit this photo, please stop by I ♥ Faces

Lens: 50mm 1.8 ~ 1/160 sec. ~ f/3.2 ~ ISO 200

Grandma’s picture window is wonderful for portraits. My sister Katelyn makes a lovely model.

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Copyright © 2010 by Erica Lea

On Saturday, Amanda and I had Mom cut our hair. When Amanda saw the pile of our combined hair she cried “We’re bald!”

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Photo Credit: Amanda Berge

The new style is not much different, just shorter. We both like our new cut very much!

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Copyright © 2010 by Erica Lea

Head over to Ruffled to download the free template for an airmail envelope. I printed mine on brown paper and added a vintage stamp.

You can also download this free font to get many wonderful vintage postage images such as the one below.

Enjoy!

© 2010 by Erica Lea

Lens: 50mm ~ 1/1000 sec ~ f/2~ ISO 500

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At my Grandma’s house, there is a large picture window facing her backyard. It provides gorgeous lighting, and the rest of the house is so dark that it fades away.

I’m sort of “into” vintage at the moment, as my editing of this photo reflects.

Click here to see the original photo.

Copyright © 2010 by Erica Lea

This week’s challenge from I ♥ Faces is “We Are Family”. What a lovely theme.

My entry: In this photo, my aunt and uncle are enjoying the attention of their grandson and grand niece.

To see many more beautiful family photos, stop by I ♥ Faces.

January

The Faces of Elinor

February

Vacation

March

A Visit

April

A Girls’ Party

May

Spring Day

Bonfire at Ben and Mindy’s

June

Camping at Itasca

Fishing on Wolf Lake

July

The 4th

Sparkler Fun

August

Grandma and Elianna’s Birthday Party

Golfing at Castle Highlands

September

Party at Ben and Mindy’s

Misty Morning

October

Snow in October

November

Indian Summer

Judah Evan Kastner

December

Making Lefse with Grandma

Skiing with John

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© 2009 by Erica Lea

Every year, Grandma makes a large batch of lefse for Christmas. This year, she asked us to help her!

First, Grandma rolled out the dough on her well-floured counter.

Then, she transported it to the table, where John waited to cook the dough.

Next John, the expert lefse cooker, carefully placed the dough onto the hot griddle. I eventually convinced him to let me try my hand at cooking the lefse.

The finished product.

Meanwhile, Janna, Amanda, and I set up and decorated the tree.

We discovered some adorable retro ornaments.

Now we must wait ’til Christmas Eve to eat the delicious lefse, visit with relatives, and open presents. Only two days left to go. I love this time of year!

© 2009 by Erica Lea