Final Photoshop Project and Employee of the Month

The inspiration!




The project: create cd cover...



back cover...

inside cover...


disc face (one color)



employee of the month... (done in picnik.com, rush job, no time for photo restoration)


My Dad...Time has been good to him:)
Wordless Wednesday

Mosaic Monday! Beach Day Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a glorious day with my family at the beach!


We walked and explored for miles!


Kiddos spied and caught a skink!



It was a happy day with my wonderful family!
I feel so blessed!

See more mosaics at Mary's Little red house

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll enter my chalkboard giveaway!

I heart faces "Smiles" week!

This week's challenge, at I heart faces, is "Smiles"

This picture was taken yesterday at the beach! Yesterday was my birthday and my family and I celebrated by taking a long walk on the beach together:) It was the best birthday ever!
This picture was taken when my 12 year old son caught a skink!!! You know when you look thought the viewfinder, snap that picture and know instantly that it will be a photo that you will cherish forever? Well, this is that photo!




See more shiny happy smiles @

Happy Giveaway!

It's time for another giveaway at Chalk it Up!! I'm in the mood to celebrate since today is my birthday! :) The winner will receive two chalkboards pictured below: one 5"x7" framed chalkboard and one 8"x10" unframed chalkboard.



You have five chance to win this giveaway! By leaving up to five comments:
1. Leave a comment about one of your favorite birthday memories:)
2. Follow my blog and leave a second comment saying I'm a follower. (IF you are already a follow leave a comment saying I'm already a follower.
3. Subscribe to my blog feed by entering your email address (to the right) and leave a comment saying I subscribed.
4.Visit my etsy shop and leave a comment here saying which chalkboard is your favorite.
5. Purchase an unframed chalkboard (in the right column) and leave a comment saying I purchased a chalkboard.

So there you have it!!
The winner of this giveaway with be announced on May 9th Mother's Day!
Good Luck!!
P.S. One of my favorite Birthday memories was when I was in my mid twenties. My husband (boyfriend at the time) took me out to dinner at Tavern on the Green (where he was externing). We had the best table in the house and were greeted by the chef and had a chef's tasting. Then we went to see the broadway show Tommy! It was the perfect spring day in NYC with the one I love.
added 4/26 yesterday's birthday is now up there as a favorite bday memories. I spent the day with my family. My hubby, two sons and I went to the beach and walked around then had dinner out. I love my family there's no better feeling then being with the one's you love!

Show and Tell Friday!

The roses are finally blooming on my pergola, after seven years, they are finally bursting open in abundance!!! Never give up on your garden, it will eventuallybloom. Just remember to give it some love:) every now and then!

Roses are red...


Chalkboards are cool...



Framed in high fashion...



Especially for you!!:)
I hope you'll visit my etsy shop Chalk it up! We offer framed and unframed chalkboards of many different sizes!

Did I mention that I love my photoshop class?! This is my latest project:


The assignment was to recreate the "Son of the Beach" logo with your own twist. What I love about this class is that the project allow for a lot of creativity. The objectives for this assignment were to match color saturation and contrast as well as the light source for all of the components that are incorporated into the composition.
I went one step further and added the images of computer, hand, tickets (with customized text), and the office scene to create a fictious travel add. I could imagine this ad as a poster, in a subway in NYC.:) (Maybe for a company like Travelocity or expedia.com

Above is a quick cover that I put together showing some the the images that were used.

The cover above is for the book lessons that we did in the class. (I put this one together quickly too).
Project covers are a requirement for the portfolio.
I think I will be taking one class over the summer, either bitmap II or Intro to Digital Media.

Did I mention that I love being a student again?! I can't wait to apply my knowledge in "the real world" ie. a paying job!:)

See more lovely home and garden finds @ My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday!



Have a very happy weekend!!
Sunday is my birthday and I'm feeling a little blue:( Weekends are not very exciting for a chef's wife. I'll have to try and make my own fun...
Cindy

I ♥ faces "Collage"

This weeks challenge is collages over at I heart faces.
Whatta-ya-know I have a collage! If you have visited my blog before, you may have already seen this one. This collage consists of four different photos and several layers in photoshop. The mountains in the background is one of my paintings, the hand is mine, the face is my son's and the building is located near a historic district close to my home. I had fun doing this surreal little collage.Although this is probably not what I heart faces has in mind, I thought it might be fun to throw it into the mix . I titled this one "Paint the town!"


See more inspiring collages at



I have been neglecting my blog lately. I am having so many computer problems and I have so many things going on right now that it's hard to sit down at a stubborn computer and compose a post.

I'm spending a lot of time working on my projects for my photoshop class that I am taking. Only two more weeks of class. I love being a student again!

Hmmm, my birthday is coming very soon, maybe I'll get a new computer:)

Vision Time!

OK, it's a little embarrassing to show this picture BUT this is my backyard in it's current form.


Seven years ago we bought this house and the backyard looked pretty much like this. The only thing we did was build the pergola. Actually my hubby built it, I sketched the vision out on paper and supervised. The giant dirt patch in the foreground is where we put a portable 15' round pool. That lasted a couple of years. As the kids got bigger they enjoyed it less and less until the only occupants were noisy tree frogs. So down it came. Since then we adopted Lucy,who has taken over this yard.(as you can see from the scattered toys. And there are plenty of holes too!) A doggy's paradise but not a family's.:(

As we all know, Florida is HOT!! Especially in the summer. A house without a pool is simply shelter in the middle of a dust bowl. (expect for the love of family,which makes it a "home")


When we moved to Florida part of our "vision" our "dream" was to own a house with a pool. How lovely it would be for hubby, the chef, to come home from his typical 15 hours work day to relax in his pool. How wonderful it would be to vacation in our own backyard. To finally use our backyard and have friends and family over for a bbq and to relax by the pool. This is our vision!




How about a stacked stone wall...?

Everything starts with a thought. A vision! This vision has been printed out and tacked to my vision board. It's time to make it a reality.

To be continued...

I put some pictures up on HGTV's rate my space. Who knows maybe they will think it is pathetic enough to give us a makeover:) You can rate my space HERE

Spring Break!

This is a x post from Creatively Fit! Next week I hope to get back in the swing of things around here. I'm feeling the urge to be creative with paint! Maybe next week I'll buy a big canvas or change the color of the walls in my bedroom. Stay tuned!!

Today, April 7th, is National Start Walking Day! Sponsored by The American Heart Association

Today would be a great day to join Creatively Fit!


It's spring break this week so we decided to take a walk on the wild side!


Well, maybe not the wild side but this is the closest we could get to the wild side!



Each one of these lovely creatures capture the attention of my camera with his/her charming personality.

And these charming creatures always capture my attention!



Since I am not a ride person, it was a perfect opportunity for me to sneak in a creatively fit walk!

Can you guess where we are?

Maybe tomorrow, a walk on the beach:)

I know it's Tues but I thought I'd jump into Mosaic Monday over at Mary's Little Red House:)

A week of celebration!

Happy Passover!


Happy Easter!