Birdee's Nesting Place

Organizing the Kitchen Pantry

2011-10-20T19:21:00.000-06:00

One thing my friends always laughed at was how my cupboard shelves looked like a grocery store. Everything front and center, and always rotated. Well that was just a peeve of mine to have it a mess, but I didn't have it this way because I was good at organizing. Matter of fact, I felt everything was still a mess (am I ever happy?).
I would really love to give credit to the website that helped me organize my kitchen pantry so that I'm "more" happy with it, but it was years ago and I never copied the link.
However I'll just tell you how they did it, which inspires the way I do it.

Plain and simple - you need more boxes ::cheese grin::. I prefer the square plastic clear ones as posted below.

I designated a spot on the shelf for a type of food. Like breakfast, snacks, Oriental, Italian, Mexican, sides, baking, drinks, soups.

In the boxes, I have everything I need to prepare a meal. Take Italian for instant. I am not an authentic Italian chef, but I like my spaghetti. What I have in my Italian bin are all the ingredients (less refrigerated items) in this bin. Mushrooms, noodles, tomato paste, tomato sauce.
In my Mexican bin I have my taco shells, green chilies, refried beans, enchilada sauce.
Then when I want to have say Spaghetti - or I'm planing my weekly menu (ha-ha, does that really happen, we'll, not really, but I do shop to make sure I have what I need in each category for when I want that item) but I can easily see what is there and what I need at the store. No searching on the bottom shelf for canned goods, middle shelf for noodles, top right for mushroom, and down a ways for sauce. When I did it that way, I always ALWAYS forgot some important ingredient for my meal. You can even label what contents you want to always be in that box, but if you have something extra, just toss it in, and it won't get lost in the shuffle when you go to make your meal and forget about it, only to find it 2 years later behind the box of stove top stuffing.
Breakfast items include your cereals, pancake mix, syrups, oatmeal.
I'm not one to keep my sugar for oatmeal in the breakfast bin, and some sugar in the baking bin for when you want to make your favorite sugar cookies, but you may want too if it makes it easier for you.
It's your pantry, you way!

Organizing owner’s manuals, and other obnoxious important papers…

2011-06-30T13:55:00.003-06:00

It seems with everything you buy, from kitchen appliances to computer equipment, TVs and sewing machines, there comes a neat little plastic bag filled with things like an owners manual, a warranty form, sometimes a quick guide, and list of important things to remember, not to mention, some items are worth keeping your sales receipt.
This is easy, and as easy as it is, I'm surprised I didn't think of this, let alone think of it much sooner. But this is something I saw a friend do, and to me (the one who just taped the manual and extras to the bottom of the item, which doesn't work so well on a toaster) Is just simply go out and buy either a file cabinet (if you have room and like the looks of them) or one of these handy dandy little file crates.

Also you will need the hanging folders and tabs. I label my tabs A-Z, it's much easier than giving every appliance and piece of equipment it's own folder, especially since I have way more than 26 manuals I need to store. So A-Z works for me, then I just put all the papers and booklets from one item (say my camera) in a zip lock storage bag, label what it is on the outside with a sharpie, then you can either throw it in C for camera, or C for Canon (hrmmm, either way, that one is going in C). But say you have a Toaster from Sunbeam, you can throw it in T for toaster, S for Sunbeam, or K for kitchen appliances, you decide, but really you just toss it in a file and forget about it, until your toaster catches fire and you need to take it back for a replacement (or money back).

Yep, small post and easy as pie.
Other things I recommend is buying a file cabinet to store things like paid bill receipts, check stubs, a bunch of newly purchased greeting cards for all occasions because if your like me, you always realize at the last minute that it's someones birthday, or someone had a baby, or someone is having a hard day, and it's too late to go to the grocery store and pick out a special card for that special person. So just hit this file in the file cabinet and Voila! You are thoughtful and on time! There is a .49 cent department in the card isle to purchase a whole multitude of greeting cards for those rushing around moments. I like to buy them for my kids just to tell them "Good Job" or give them an encouraging note when they're just having a bad day.

So there are some ideas for ya, hope you can find some inspiration and get good use out if it.

Organization - Part 1,

2011-06-21T10:56:00.013-06:00

I've been wanting to blog about organization for a long time, however I have two problems, I have ADD, and I have OCD, which makes it very difficult to claim myself as an organized person when my mind is such a clutter, and my house is never good enough.

I have learned some pretty cool tips and tricks on organizing my nest that I'll pass along, just in case you can learn from it, build from it, or just want a good laugh at someone who is so upside down and tries to go right side up.

This is not going to be a post about how your should clean your house first, or throw a bunch of stuff away. This is a very keep-it-simple approach to organization. It's my way of painting myself out of a corner, when I'm already stuck in a mess. You wont walk away from this with nothing but a very clean kitchen sink. You wont walk away with a very clean anything. This is not a cleaning post, this is an organization post. Cleaning comes after the clutter is cleared. This is my dive in approach to getting the job done NOW.

One thing I should mention, and this drives my husband absolutely nuts, is I use baskets (or bins), Lots and Lots of baskets. I can not comprehend organization with out the aid of baskets. For without baskets, there is no organization, just as without vanilla coffee creamer, there is no coffee. I prefer square baskets, as I have no round corners to put round baskets and I think round baskets end up adding to the clutter, rather than tidying it up nice and neat. However I would use a round basket temporarily if I had too.

Another thing that is important to the success of my organization is layout. There is a place for everything and everything is in it's place. But where IS that place? Well look at how a grocery store works. They have isles with different types of products, and the stores are divided up into different sections based on what the item is. There is food, cosmetic, home, toys, clothes. And in each of these different sections they have isles that break down item locations even more. They have your electrical isle, they have your plumbing isle, they have your bread isle, they have your cereal and breakfast isle, they have your snack isle (are you counting how many baskets you’re going to need? Now is a good time to go cheap and start shopping All-A-Dollar, or the liquor store for boxes if you need to get started on a very small budget).

So imagine this, in one corner of your store, you have your "Hardware" department. Imagine it like Home Depot, or Lowes Hardware, everything that is not food, or clothing that you could buy at these stores, goes here, (like the basement on all those shelves that have just a little bit of everything from crafting items, to light bulbs, to left over tiles, to old camping gear, to a bunch of you don’t know what because it's too overwhelming to even look at it to go through it to see what else is up there besides a bunch of cob webs and dust bunnies).
First you will need a minimum of 500 (okay start with at least 6-10) bins, and label them, (oh, did I mention you will need some sort of label maker? Whether it be scotch tape and a marker, or actual labels and a printer with cute little clip art designs).

Labeling and filling boxes:

1. Hardware - You know all those annoying little pieces of whatever you see floating around the house, and when you go to put them away, you don’t have a clue where there even supposed to go, because maybe you don’t even know what the heck it is, but you don’t what to throw it away because once you discover what it is, it will be when you realize you can’t live w/o it. Those go in here, along with locks, door knobs, hinges, a million screws, bolts, washers, nails, and other random pieces of wall hanging thingies that you might use some day. Just toss them in the basket, it's that easy.

2. Plumbing - Everyone has one of those gooey ring things that seal a toilet to the floor, go ahead and toss it in right next to that new faucet your husband is going to install in the bathroom sink "someday". Some copper tubing, weird looking plumbing tape, brackets, Drain-O, hair traps, drain plugs, plunger, things of that nature.

3. Electrical - Light bulbs (even those tiny ones for your fridge, stove) Electrical cords and power strips, outlets, light switches. If you can buy it in the electrical isle, it goes here. Heck, you can even throw old phone cords in here Just-In-Case you EVER buy another landline phone again.

4. Paint - Remember all those cans of spray paint you bought because you were into painting baskets and picture frames? This is the place for them, along with spackle, primer, wall paint, (not acrylic craft paint, that is in the crafting isle, silly), tarp, blue wall tape, brushes, rollers, (Did I mention, these baskets or bins need to be BIG?)

5. Lawn and garden - You don’t have to have a lawn or even a garden to realize that you will still have items to fill this basket.

6. IT Equipment - All the million billion extra computer cables that actually only fit in the old style monitors that you may need someday, the thousands of extra red, yellow and white end cable connectors that you’re not sure goes to what gaming system. All the chargers that you’re not sure if it goes to a remote control car, that piano in the kids room, an old ghetto-blaster that requires that 5lb ceramic bunny to be placed onto of the CD player in order for it to work, or some mysterious piece of electronic equipment that you have forgotten about and don’t dare throw it away. Old cell phones that you swear to God you’re going to get all those numbers off of them someday, if only you can find the charger for it. (I promise, after you’re done organizing, that charger will end up in this basket).

7. Auto - Air fresheners, ArmorAll, sponges, wax, your 1984 super cool -foot print- gas pedal. (This basket may be more useful stored in the garage - if you dare tackle that area of the house. However that project may be for graduates).

8. Beauty (Part 1 - Hair) - Extra shampoo that you will use someday when your desperate and have ran out of your favorite product. Extra boxes of hair color, bleach, mixing bowls and brushes, foils and perm rods, old flat irons, electric shavers, combs, brushes, gel and other styling products. (Yes I do hair too, so I need a box for all this stuff, you may not).

9. Beauty (Part 2 - Hands and Feet) - Files, lotions, foot wax, pedicure kits, nail polish, etc).

10. Beauty (Part 3 - Skin and the rest of it) - Make up, body butter, body glitter, eye shadow you still have from high school, 30 tubes of Wet-N-Wild lipstick. These are all the items you DON'T use on a regular basis, but swear you will use someday, or maybe your kids will when they grow up, or maybe they will make great Halloween costume makeup.

Notice how you’re not throwing anything away yet.... Not saying you can't, because you certainly can. However one thing that can stall someone from organizing their home is the overwhelming thoughts that you’re going to have to throw some beloved items away, and you'll find you're spending too much time stairing at an item, bouncing back and forth thoughts in your head that say "I haven’t used it in years - yeah but I forgot I had it, it's still good - but you haven’t missed it so why keep it - but it would be fun to use if I can remember to use it, I do get board - but it's taking up space - but it's still a good item, what if I throw it away and the day after garbage day, I realize I NEED this item, then I'll have to pay for it again, and there is no savings in that!) Just keep the darn thing! Right now we are working on organizing your home and finding that "Place for everything". We'll purge later, (like when your angry is best. There is no detachment like anger detachment. You'll be amazed at how much you realize you just don’t need when you’re pissed).

So we have gotten started on one corner of your home. Go ahead - get inspired, get motivated, and get started! You will soon realize how easy it is to just get a few boxes, label them, and just start throwing items in the boxes. No dusting, no front and center, just toss and you’re done! Put the boxes on a shelf, and the next time you realize you need a light bulb, or extension cord, or file for your feet, you can just go to that basket and grab what you need. After all, now that you know where it is, you actually might use it!

Next...Owner’s manuals. And other obnoxious important papers…
WTH do people seriously do with these? Where are yours? Do you really need to keep them? And if so, where?

Then…

The kitchen (This one will be so much fun!)
The linen closet.
Under the bathroom sink
Hobbies – how many do you have? Should it all gone in one pile? (No, but they come from the same store)
And even more to come...

Sample Storage Bin
Clear is nice so you can see what it in it,

This can be found at Wal-Mart in a set of 8 for only $43.00!

but I prefer a fabric or solid color bin so that it acts as a pretty wall hiding the organized clutter that lies behind it (something like this).

Got ideas, or better ideas on organization? Bring it on! I'd love to hear it! Leave a comment, for I'm all about fixing things that aren't broke!

Back to Cloth Diapers - 16 months later

2011-05-26T12:01:00.003-06:00

It's been over a year now, and I'm still using cloth diapers. Just thought I'd give a quick note on how things are going.

So far, the Gro-baby* diapers are my first choice daytime diapers. I do use g-Diapers here and there, mainly when my now 21 month old is trying to rip off his diaper, and succeeds with the Gro-baby. He has a much harder time with the g-Diapers. But what I am not a huge fan of when it comes to the g-Diapers is how the cloth just doesn't seem to stay in place, not when I'm putting it on (I'm always questionable on if it's popping out of the liner) or when he wets, it bunches up and the weight makes it sag down toward the bottom. It's still a great diaper, but just a bit of a pain.

The gro-baby diapers snap in place, there a little short on the upper end, so as long as my son stays skinny and a little small for his age (he's now about 24lb) then they work just fine, but they barely cover his boy parts. I do wished they made the top of the liner just a little longer. I could leave it un-snapped and just pull it up, but so far, with his weight and height, it still works fine with the liner snapped in place.

And hands down, we still love the bum genius for our night time diapers. Once in a great while, we will run out, and I'll chose to use two g-diaper liners in a g-diaper for bed time. That works better than the Grow-baby, (note: I don't have a heavy wetter). But I have just never ever had a problem with leakage with the bum-genius for night time.

A reminder of why I don't use them during the day? Because they are a pocket diaper. That means once he "goes", the diaper is done. I need a whole new diaper, vs. the Gro-baby or g-Diaper, where they are a lot more forgiving (and smaller when on). If he just wets the pad, then I can switch out the pad but keep the shell.

If I had it to do all over again and was on a tighter budget and couldn't splurge in 3 different sets of diapers, I would just go for the Gro-baby (green, All green, no yellow or white) for my son's daytime diaper and 5 or 6 bum-genius just for night time (you only need 4 because you do dirty diaper laundry every 2-3 days, but if they do a poopie soil in them, it's nice to have a back up), and I would just skip the g-Diapers.

However for cute factor, IMO, g-Diaper wins, so I use them for "most" diaper photoshoots, grow-baby comes in second, and for extreme fluffy bums, Bum-Genius takes the cake.

So there you have it 16months of cloth diapering in a quick review.

*It looks as though Gro-Baby is not Gro-Via, but for the sake of not wanting to retype my post to say say Gro-Via, I will be continuing to say Gro-baby for the remainder of the post

Lighting - and other projects

2011-04-20T16:23:00.002-06:00

Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry I've neglected this blog so bad (because I know your dying to read it) but I've just been super busy.
I was told a while back to go back to square one and learn about lighting. While I'm still not sure if it was intended to be rude or helpful (since you cant tell a persons tone on a computer screen), so I chose to use it as a helpful tip. So I did just that. I've bought a couple books on lighting and bought me a nice new shiny Canon 580ex ii.
I prefer to be a natural light photographer, however there is one problem, I like to shoot all times of the day and in all kinds of places. Indoor, outdoor, day, night, rain, sunny. And all of this has an incredible effect on your photography. Well... my photography anyway, maybe you have found that magic camera that takes good pictures, but for me, it's just me, my Canon 50D, and my *self taught education trying to create those good pictures.

Books that I highly recommend is Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure".

I've probably mentioned it before, but it's worth mentioning again, since it's appropriate for the post. And since I only checked it out from the library last time, read it once and was off and running. Now I can go back to it and refresh what I've forgotten (about 90% of the book).
Another book that I'm reading is for my speedlite is On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography . I'm not sure how I feel about that one. I'll let you know after I read it. I'm just not a fan of lighting (maybe because it's more work and learning, and learning and work), but I have found a need for lighting (especially when my ISO is jacked up to H2 [beyond 3200 ISO] Just to get exposure. Heck even 1600 is way too high, but I am an ISO junkie).

Other things I'm working on is a business plan. "Does this mean you are going into business, Birdee?" Well... good question, but one I can not officially answer if I don't come up with a plan. Sure you can go buy yourself a camera and start taking nice pictures, and even have people ooh and aah over your pictures and encourage you to believe that "You Could Do This!". But there is so much more involved than just taking pictures in exchange for some cash. SO much more that it's worth it's own post to talk about. So... when I have another minute, I will post about that.

*what is the definition of self taught anyway, does that mean you reject any info on the Internet and books and help of say a family member who is/was a photographer, so you can basically re-invent the wheel? Learn everything yourself? Or does it just simply mean that you didn't go to school for it. Because I sure use a lot of resources out there to teach myself.

Deciding on a new lens

2011-01-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

I have been in turmoil the last few months trying to decide on which new lens I want.
I've been lusting over the 24-70 2.8 for a very long time. But as I saved my pennies, and the time got closer that the reality of this new purchase grew nearer and nearer, I began to second guess myself. Why do I want the 24-70?
Well, a number of reasons.
#1 - some of my favorite photographers use and love this lens
#2 - It's versatile, it zooms in close, and zooms out far, and can maintain a fabulous 2.8 aperture at any focal length

BUT....
I put on the brakes when I started to feel frustrated with the quality of the pictures.
Don't get me wrong. The 24-70 ROCKS in it's class. But where I felt frustrated was with the eyes and the Bokeh. 2.8 is nice, but it's no 1.4 (not that I can nail focus all that well on a 1.4, but you get the point.
I started to search, Amazon is a great place to look at photos taken with a particular lens. So is Flicker. But I searched and searched, and when I came across a photo that moved me, it was a prime. And when I came across a kick ass photo that bugged me in the eyes, it was the 24-70.
Is it a big bug? No, it's not. I'm still so tempted to get that lens for it's versatility.
But did I mention it's heavy too? (compared to my little nifty fifty)
So what do I do.
I've had photog friends take pictures of their kids for me with their 24-70 at all focal lenghts, and then take on with their prime.
I've asked opinions of many other photographers.
Some LOVE the 24-70, Some are disappointed, and some HATE it. The ones who hat it are the prime girls.
So here I sit, just sent of ANOTHER email to another friend asking her opinion, awaiting her answer.
And it hits me.
"It's your hobby Birdee, get what you want!"
And I want prime lenses.
I just do.
I've lived this long with a 50mm on my camera and done many amazing things with it. I put on my kit lens and I am a retard with the zoom. I still find I hit that sweet spot and move my body in and out. I like angles, I like to get right where I want to be. I like to do the work, not have the camera do it for me. (Not judging, just saying). Yes, the 24-70 would still be nice. I wished I was a bazillionaire and could get one to try and let it collect dust until I needed it on those special occasions. But I have a budget, and I think my heart just wants to spend that budget on what I love most. Prime - Baby!

Project 52

2011-01-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

I started a project 52 at the beginning of this year and forgot to share the link.
If you'd like to follow me, taking one picture a week for 52 weeks, click HERE

How to Crop an 8x10 from a Full-Frame Image

2011-01-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to crop an image, but when you do, you find your cutting off a limb, cutting too close to the head to frame, or just losing the overall quality of your image?
Thanks to Melissa for pointing this out, because I was totally dreading learning this based on written instructions so I've been avoiding this lesson, we can now expand our background to fit a frame, and it is so super simple it makes me wonder what took me so long to give it a try.
Thanks Melissa!

How to Crop an 8x10 from a Full-Frame Image

Project 52

2011-01-06T21:26:00.003-07:00

Come joine me in my journey of taking 52 photos in 52 weeks.
http://birdeeproject52.blogspot.com/

A Christmas Miracle

2010-12-22T10:34:00.006-07:00

Here is the Link: http://www.fox13now.com/videobeta/7fc42e94-a8cd-47d1-8c8a-4a8b2825b97f/News/Image-of-Christ-survives-Provo-Tabernacle-Fire

Using Curves in Photoshop

2010-12-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Using Curves in Photoshop

lynda.com Tutorial

Photoshop CS5 One-on-One: Advanced—Introducing the Curves command

Black and White conversion using LAB and RGB modes.

2010-12-16T09:06:00.002-07:00

Remember to Buy your Christmas Diapers!

2010-11-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Dont forget to wrap your little ones little buns in a cute bright color this Christmas!
Shop at Daipers.com and get 20% off your first purchase.
g-Diapers is also having a fantastic sale when you purchase 100 dollars in g-Diapers, you get 20% off.
Dont let the coupon code fool you. It says you get free 10, but it really is 20% off!
I've got my Watermellon Red g-Diaper on order right now, waiting for it to come in the mail.
Now time to shop for some yummy Christmas baby legs!

use code GETFREE10

shop for all your baby needs: body pillows, good start formula, swaddle pod

check out baby registry

Not valid for existing Diapers.com, Soap.com or BeautyBar.com customers. Some restrictions apply.

Refining Edges

2010-11-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's only too common that this time of year, when we want all our family in a photo, we cant get a good pic of everyone at all the same time. Sometimes a little head swap or full on body transfer is needed.
I usually overlay images, creating a layer mask and erasing the person's I want back in the photo (or over top the original photo - go to the second YouTube tutorial in THIS post to see what I'm talking about).
But what if you need more than just a brush job to transfer a person over? What if the background is different?
Then maby the best choice would be CD5's "Edge Detection".
Now I've never needed to use it. But I've seen some pretty awesome photos where it was done, and I will have to break down and play someday. And it's so nice to know that this is an option to creating awesome, realistic photos of a subject on a new background.
I think with all this snow we received, I'll put me on a beach in Hawaii. I need some warmth (Brrr)

Compositing and Selecting Hair in Photoshop CS5

Same concept, different video

Another great tutorial on Refining Edges

BLW - What to eat, what not to eat

2010-11-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

I'm guessing if you are a BLW parent, you are one to be researching and making your own decisions about your baby. You are not one to just "go with the common flow because everyone else is doing it and has done it for years", but to do your own research and make your own decisions on what you feel is best for you and baby. So why take another BLW parents word on how to BLW, information can become misconstrued as it's passed along from mum to mum. All too often I her "Just give her what your having for dinner" and that is what is done. Well, I had a gin and tonic with my dinner, should I serve it up? (No, just kidding, I don’t drink alcohol) But my point is, I personally have never seen in the BLW book anything that says "Just dish up what your having", though I could have missed it. Instead it says "You can adapt your meals so that he can join in".

Yeah, I've mentioned this all before, but I decided to help parents out a bit more who can’t afford buying the book just yet (or don’t plan on it at all) and clarify exactly what is being said in Gill Rapleys book on BLW.

So while I may interpret it differently, the words are right there in the book for you to decide what is being said. And then you can make an informed decision on what first foods you want to give your baby. Rather than a decision based on other peoples knowledge (or lack of it). I don’t even suggest on taking my word for it. I just encourage mums to educate themselves rather than just following others. You just don’t know the direction they are going.

I have highlighted some points, but it's all good info.

Gettin some Action

2010-11-22T10:36:00.007-07:00

First, what is an action?

I think for some people, they think Actions are ways of cheating in photography.

I say actions are recorded moves performed in Photoshop, so that you don't have to take the time to redo the exact same moves ever time you want to create a certain look.

It can be cheating, and it can also be incredibly helpful. One way I'm learning to do my own PP is by running an action, going back through the history and all the moves from the action, and studying what was done to create that action.

When working with Actions, it's like instead of me going to the store to buy all the ingredients for a bunch of different desserts, especially when I don’t know what half the ingredients are or where to find them or what they do for the desert, I purchase an ingredient package. It has all that I need, but nothing is measured out. If I were to just dump all the ingredients into a bowl, mix and bake, I'd have a really bad desert. Too much salt, not enough moisture, not to mention, if everyone did this, we'd all have the same crappie dessert.

Actions to me are kind of the same way. A great way to get started, and have all I need to make a final product, but it's not measured out. It's given to me in full strength and I have to make necessary adjustments to get that perfect flavor.

Now I do highly recommend learning how to use all the tools of Photoshop (okay, who - by the raise of hands - knows how to use ALL the tools in Photoshop? ::I'm NOT raising my hand, and probably neither are you::

The more you understand why your photo looks the way it does, the more options you have in creating your own style. So don't become dependent on actions as a sole means of creating a photo. I find I often create new adjustment layers, along with any action I run, to create a certain desired look that I want. It's like adding chocolate chips to my pumpkin spice cookies when the recipe doesn't call for it.

I know that not everyone knows how to create layers, layer masks, or some people don't even know what a layer was (boy I sure remember when I didn't have a clue what all those boxes were jumping around when I pressed on an action, I thought it was something magic inside the program that I didn't have the ability to touch, adjust, manipulate or control.

So that said, if you don't know what a layer is, or what a mask is, or how to create them. You are welcome (of course) to check out some of my favorite tutorials in the tab at the top of the page (check frequently, I'm always adding new as I learn myself), or just go to YouTube and search for your own favorites. And with an understanding of what layer masks are, when you run an action, you will understand that you have so much control over your picture. You can erase over saturated areas that you don't want saturated. (Like a picture of people with the fall leaves. Saturation in the leaves is beautiful. Saturation in skin tones, not so beautiful. So brushing out that saturation can make a normal (yet beautiful) looking person appear to standing in an amazingly colorful scenery (careful not to brush out too much if the skin starts to appear gray).

I hope this all makes sense and is helpful. I am super-de-duper tired today and not sure if what I'm writing is coming out the way I'm thinking. And remember, this is only my thoughts and opinions in the matter.

And to help you along on why layers are so awesome, here is a tutorial on adjustment layers. Notice there is a layer mask on the adjustment layer that you can brush back in the original photo (or brush out the new adjustment), this tutorial just doesn't cover using the layer mask, it only covers creating an adjustment layer.

And here is another favorite on using layer masks and brushing in (or out) what you desire to show/hide.

How to apply a layer mask in Photoshop Elements

2010-11-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Although I do have PSE8, I haven't used it since I got CS5. So I really understood just how different the two were, I just knew that CS5 had more features on it that I wanted to use (like content aware ♥)
So the question gets asked "Can I apply a layer mask in Photoshop Elements?"
I thought "what a silly question, why cant you apply a mask? I mean, I just push one little tiny icon in CS5 and voila, there is my layer mask, and if I hold down "Alt" when I click that tiny little icon, I have a black layer mask. Why on earth would PSE be any different?"
So I looked it up on YouTube and sure enough, PSE is way different. They don't have the ease and convenience of just clicking on an icon.
But the good news is, you can definitely create a layer mask in PSE, you just have to be a little creative to get it.
Here is a fantastic video that I think demonstrates First - how to create a layer mask, and Second - how useful layer masks can be, and why they can play such an important part in your PP and creating your beautiful work of art.

I'm posting the tutorial here and also in my tutorial tab above for future ease and convenience.

Is it noisy in here?

2010-11-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

One of the things I have noticed is people trying to avoid using ISO above 200 like the plague, which is a good thing, right?
Well I'm probably one of very few guilty of cranking mine up to 3200.
Yep, that's right, not a typo here. Thirty two hundred. And I'll go higher when I have a camera that can.
Noise doesn't scare me. It probably should, but it doesn't. And don't get me wrong, I don't like it, and I don't like to have to remove noise in photoshop. But what scares me more is having an underexposed picture that I have to lighten, which causes an uglier noise than just cranking up the ISO.
And I don't stop taking picture just because it's dark. (Yup, shot in the dark at night around a campfire before and got some amazing shots).
Another thing I have noticed is everyone feeling they cant do anything about their noise unless they purchase another expensive tool for removing that unwanted noise. Whether it be Noiseware, or Neat Image, or other plugins, people just settle for noisy pictures until they make that purchase.
Well I have recently discovered an awesome tool that I'm willing to bet more people have and don't even know about.
Maybe you have heard of Lightroom 3's new amazing noise reduction feature. I was jealous and mad that I just bought LR2 a few months ago. Bummed thinking I'm going to have to pay another 100 bucks to upgrade so that I can do quick noise reduction on a batch of photos.
But I've recently discovered that I have one of the most awesome noise reduction tools right in my own computer.
It's in my ACR. I'm not sure if all versions have it, as I've read that it's 6.0 or better (which must be what I have). But if you have ACR and 6.0 or better (is there a better yet? I'm no expert here) then try this. You may find yourself as estatic as I am.

Raw images work best
Open Image in ACR
(may want to zoom in 200% so you can see clearly how noisy it is and how the noise reduction it's working)

Click on Detail Icon (I think the third one over, looks like two triangles)

Start with color noise, slide color slider to zero, then slowly drag it to the right until the moment the color noise is gone. You'll see some noise, that is luminance noise. What your looking for is the red, blue and green color noise to turn gray

Then-

Drag the luminance slider to the right until visible noise disappears.

Be sure not to drag to far on either or you'll lose detail.

You can bump up the luminance detail slider if things get too soft, and bump up the luminance contrast to bring back detail if things start to look too flat.

You can then bump up the sharpening at the top to bring back sharpness and detail.

And for your visual pleasure... Pictures! ('Who doesn't love pictures?)

Enjoy your quiet pictures!

How to Batch Save in Photoshop.

2010-10-08T23:39:00.000-06:00

There is nothing worse than editing a batch of photos from a folder in photoshop and having to go in and close each individual picture.
I was so thrilled when I found there is a way to set up a batch save action in photoship that doesn't require anymore action from you after you start the program.
Check out this site for detailed instructions on how to set up an action that you can use when automating a batch. Converting your PSD or any other file

Before you buy your Tamron Lens...

2010-09-16T12:06:00.001-06:00

...you need to ask yourself these two questions.

Do I like to save money? (if yes, proceed to question #2)
Am I a student of a University or Community College?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you may be able to qualify for some amazing savings on the Tamron lens(es) of your dreams!

And better than that, if you qualify for the student discount AND the lens has a rebate on it, you can have a Double Savings Bonus!

Click here for the rebate section

Click here for student discounts

Click here for the PDF

And the best part! You can use both rebates to get extra savings!

Now remember, just because you can get a rebate here doesnt mean it's the best price. Still shop around. But at least you know you dont have to pay full price for a lens, an that is our goal, right? Never pay full price for anything!

Hey - not a big deal, just keeping an eye out for ya ::wink::

Portrait Party

2010-09-14T09:35:00.001-06:00

What a great Idea to get everyone dressed up, have a party, eat some good food, capture memories, and make a little extra cash.
A Portrait Party!
A portrait party is much like other parties you go to like Tupperware, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef. The hostess sets the date, plans and preps the meals (or snacks). Sets the them (Children, Senior Glam, Sport, Holiday) Sends out invitations, calls to remind and confirm.
The photographer sets up, shoots a 20 min session for one or two ppl (unless a group theme), and posts photos in individual accounts online for ordering.
Hostess gets a free sitting and boocoo portrait credits for each pkg ordered.
If your interested in seeing the information I saw and getting full details on the Portrait Party, click HERE. Enter blog (on right side) and it's about 3 pages into the blog.

Calabrating with the Spyder 3 Elite

2010-09-07T13:00:00.001-06:00

If your feeling frustrated with editing a picture on your computer, whether it be a portrait shot, a party invitation, or just a snap shot of the kids at the park, and getting them back from the printer only to find the colors are not what you saw on your screen, then it's time to get your screen calibrated.

I just ordered the Spyder 3 Elite so that I can finally calibrate my monitor, as my pictures always turn out yellow or green, over saturated and blown, . I love yellow and green, but not in faces. YUCK!
I also just learned that often times, a laptop will be darker and grayer than a desk top monitor, hence why my pictures always come out wrong. If my screen is darker and grayer (muddier) and I boost the colors to look good on a muddy monitor, then in real life, when that mud is not a factor, I'm going to run into some real problems.

There are many calibrators to chose from, but I'm going for one based on my budget. This one is complete affordable and will do the job. I don't know the difference between this one and a high end calibrator, but at this point, anything improvement will be a big improvement.

9 steps to eat like a pig and stay skinny.

2010-09-07T12:28:00.003-06:00

9 steps to eat like a pig and stay skinny.

1- Don’t let anyone see how much you eat. Keep your stash out of sight and only have one on your desk at a time. It looks like the same one all day long, giving the illusion of total self control.

2- Take little bites so they don’t count. Let item absorb in your mouth so it just becomes a part of your saliva.

3- When you see your wad of wrappers in the garbage can, shift the bottom trash on top so the wrappers fall to the bottom and your can looks nice and clean with just work garbage.

4- After overeating, suck in your stomach really hard, pressing with your fingers on your abdomen, smashing the food into a smaller ball in your stomach, creating an empty gap, so your stomach doesn’t believe you really filled it up.

5- Don’t shop in the junior department for sizes to fit. They run small and you have to buy 2 sizes larger than you actually are to fit in anything. Always go to the larger lady department and buy small. (See how skinny you are?)

6- Remember to keep telling yourself, with each new bite, that you do plan to go to the Gym and run it off someday.

7- Never EVER count the wrappers to see how many you just ate. Just estimate it in your head. No matter how good you think you are at math, I guarantee you won’t get these numbers right. Your head is much nicer than reality, making you feel like you really haven’t had that much, tricking your body into complying with what you think rather than what actually is.

8- Drink Metamucil about every 4 hours so that it turns everything into a mix of protien and fiber. Healthy!

9- Don’t walk with your head down focusing on the jiggles. Hold your head high, it helps get rid of that second chin. And if nobody can see it, then it must not be there, right?

What I want to achieve as a photographer

2010-09-03T12:25:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure how other photographers feel, or how they got into photography, or what their journey was/is like. But for me, it's something that was so obviously me, yet took so long to develop into my life (no pun intended).
I've always been the one since I was a little girl to run straight to the photo albums at grandmas house and just look at pictures the entire stay. I would go to my uncles house, who was a professional photographer, and all I wanted to do was go up into his studio, look and play with his props, and admire all his amazing photographs.
I would imagine that I was the beautiful woman in all the pictures. I would admire the lighting and angles of men's bodies who were flexing for body building competition, and cowboys flying in the air as they were bucked of an angry bull. Children and babies and women in boudoir. I've even had him photograph me a couple times. Every time I would cringe at the sight of myself, as I realized I am not the beautiful models in those other pictures. Just an awkward teenage, braces, poodle perm hair do, long an lanky girl who wore way too much blue eyeshadow, just trying to fit in. But I never stopped admiring pictures.
I would go to the County fair and admire the winners, losers, and everyone in between, analyzing the picture wondering how the heck they did that? What was it that made that picture so beautiful. What is it about that one that doesn't work. The photo gallery is where I would spend my hours, everything else was just a passerby glance (except my Vita Mix, I stopped for that one and bought one, One of my favorite kitchen purchases still to this day).
And all the while, not ever picking up on the clue that maybe I needed to be behind the camera. Just standing by admiring everyone else's work, wishing some how I could be a part of it. But knowing I just didn't have the look to create such beauty.

From my disposable kodack - to my first purchase of a digital point and shoot camera, I was always trying to take nice pictures. But since it never happened, just assumed it was because I wasn't any good at it.
But I still tried. And when I did get my first digital P&S, I thought I had arrived. That along with my Microsoft Picture Manager, I was now creating professional looking pictures, or felt hopeful that they were close.
To dark? No more running back to Walmart asking them to re-develop it to lighten it. Way to dark? no more tossing it in the garbage. No more worries about any of the quality of pictures I took.
I thought that all I had to do was point, shoot, and the rest would be done on the computer.
I was thrilled with the result (if you can only imagine how awful a picture looks when taken and it's completely dark and later lightened with the brightness slider so you can actually make out an image behind all that noise. That was quality to me).
Well, I've never claimed to be a fast learner. I'm a little slow, or maybe a lot slow. But I'm here now.
It wasn't until I had my baby that I felt frustrated with my magical P&S camera. The lighting was bad. I couldn't take cute pictures of his feet like I see so many other ppl do. Everything was dark, dull and had no depth. For the first time in my life, I saw that. I saw how crappy my pictures were from my $350 P&S camera.
When My baby was almost 6 month's old, I had had enough. I was sick of his life passing by and me only having noisy, dark, silhouettes of him to put in his baby album.
I saved my money, and I did it. I bought my first DSLR.
And as convenient as a P&S is to throw in your pocket or purse, take out anywhere and shoot photos or videos, I will never look back. My SLR is like a growth on my chest. It's just belongs there, it's home.
Well I have ADD/OCD which comes off as ADHD, but I'm really not hyper, er not hyper active anyway, just hyper neurotic.

One thing about getting into photography is there are a lot of photographers out there. Hobbyists, professionals. I'm not sure which one I will ultimately be, but I'm not worried about that right now. I'm just doing what feels natural to me. I'm on fire and I'm letting my flame burn. My pictures are not much to be spoken of, but I've come a long way, and I do every week.

I almost cant' remember the point to this post, other than just writing down who I am in all of this.
I will not be perfect. I will not follow all the rules.
You wont look at my pictures and say "there isn't one flaw in this, it's perfect".
I like imperfections. In people, in settings, in my work. But I like outstanding beauty too.
I don't care to take portrait shots in a studio. I like nature to be my studio.
Tho I would like to have a small studio, but not because I like the look of the studio, but because sometimes, in order to achieve the look I'm going for, it takes a studio to get there. But it's not my main thing.

I'm finding my style, my taste. I hope I haven't found it yet. If so, it's very limited. But I think I'm beginning to tap into what makes my chest burn, my hands shake and throws me into awe.
And maybe it's not so much the pictures I'm taking, or what my taste is that's doing that. But maybe it's just the fact that I'm doing something I was meant to do all along. Something that I truly love.

I want to be able to do a bit of everything, but I'm finding my true happiness in outdoor candid shots.

One thing I've learned about photography (for people like me). It's becoming a very expensive habit.
I thought a camera was all I would need. And it was... to get started.

So now the things on my wish (and someday) list that I want to/will get are: [not in this order]

First, I need a screen calibrator. It doesn't matter how much I love my pictures. If I cant edit colors true to life, and everything I print comes out with the wrong color cast. I am nothing.
Speed Light
Filter
Portraiture
Website
Allen Bees
Lenses - Yes More Lenses!
Props
Subjects =D

In the much longer run:

Drobo [I'm liking the looks of this one, but will learn more on what will fit my needs later

Eventually a new computer wiht a Great Big Screen!
And ... (drool) the 5DMark II or whatever is on the market at that time (in 100 years from now)

How to make a watermark signature in Photoshop

2010-08-20T07:09:00.000-06:00

I have searched and searched for a good tutorial on YouTube on how to make a watermark signature in Photoshop, and the best one I found isn't on YouTube and it's not a video. It's just step by step instructions made easy.
It's on one of my favorite blogs called Coffeeshop, where you can get all kids of free stuff for PS, PSE and LR.

How to make a Fondant Cake

2010-08-16T18:41:00.015-06:00

Fondant: : \ˈfän-dənt\
Function: noun
1 : a soft creamy preparation of sugar, water, and flavorings that is used as a basis for candies or icings
2 : a candy consisting chiefly of fondant

How to make a Fondant Cake
Easy...
Hire someone to make it for you!

I just finished making my very first/last fondant cake for my son's first birthday party.
I claimed to others through my rolling eyes and cocky attitude "Yeah sure, I've played with Play Dough before, I can sculpt fondant! This will be easy peasy!"

NINE AND A HALF HOURS LATER! (and that's after I made and refrigerated the fondant) I went from what I wanted... (less the shoes)
My Inspiration sold at $200, Shoes an additional 50

To this...
The Final Result homemade for $25

Imagine this with cupcakes on the bottom two stands

The plan was to make a practice fondant cake, use it in my Cake Smash photos, and make the final cake for this birthday party on either Friday night or Saturday Morning (Party's at 3:00).
But by the time I was done with this, cursing and swearing because cooking and cake decorating just isn't my thing. I had sweat dripping down my nose, and the shoulders and biceps of my arms were stiffening by the minute and aching like I had icepicks jabbed into my shoulders, and it was nearing 3:o-clock in the morning.
And did you see what it looks like?
Okay, granted, it is pretty cute (for a first timer - if your an experienced fondant cake maker out there looking at my photo, please keep your giggles to yourself). But I will NOT be making another one "real quick" for my son's birthday party, and I will not be using this one for his Cake Smash photos. There has been a change in plans.

Go do Dicks Market tonight an pick up $4 dollar cake for cake smash
Use Fondant cake as decoration at birthday party only
Freeze Fondant cake and use for decoration for all other future birthday parties, weddings, funerals, and Sunday night BBQ's.

Okay, I'm kidding. I did freeze the cake and will defrost it Thursday evening in the fridge, in the hopes that condensation doesn't ruin my fondant. I do have it sealed in some press and seal. I don't have an air tight Tupperware container large enough to store it in. And I even just might give it to my little bird on his birthday, tho I'm leaning toward another $4 dollar cake with about 90% less sugar. I would like him to have a Happy birthday, not a sugar induced coma attack birthday.

If your a first timer fondant maker out there and would like a realistic recipe (with ingredients you understand where to buy at your local supermarket) Here is the one I used. It is pretty tasty.
________________________________________________________________________________
Marshmallow Fondant
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided
Directions
1.Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside.

2.Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners' sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff.

3.Rub your hands thoroughly with butter, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners' sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.

4.Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners' sugar.
________________________________________________________________________

You can find this recipe at Allrecipes.com but here are some tips from me to you.

Don't try to use latex gloves to mix the fondant, it just makes a very already sticky, hard to work with mess, and you have to kiss any fondant goodbye if it's on the gloves, even the big goops won't come off.
Ice the cake first with a thick sticky goopy frosting. I pulled a wedding cake frosting recipe off the Internet, then added about 4 more cups of powdered sugar because it was too runny. You want it to be like a paste to glue your fondant to your cake.
When your ready to add a color to a piece of fondant, if it's too hard, microwave for 15-20 seconds or until pliable. I was amazed at how the hardest, thickest, already use pieces softened right up when microwaved for a short time.
REMEMBER to use a pizza cutter to cut your fondant where you can. Scissors work for detail cutting. Using a knife works but makes the edges look torn.
Watch these YouTube videos first before you make an undoable mistake.Or just to make your life easier.

Trimming Your Cake Before Icing

Cake Decoration Tips : How to Smooth Cake Frosting

Cake Decoration Tips : How to Frost a Cake Top

Cake Decoration Tips : How to Cover Cake Sides with Fondant

Cake Decoration Tips : How to Cover the Cake Top with Fondant

Cake Decoration Tips : How to Decorate Fondant Ribbons
I used the same concept for decorating the cake

Cake Decoration Tips : How to Add a Bow to Cake Decorations

If you live in the Salt Lake City - Provo area, I would suggest getting a bid on some beautiful cakes at Sweetenyourday.com . Her cakes are amazing, beautiful, and she has the best prices I've seen.

Eat, Sleep, Breath....

2010-08-13T13:43:00.002-06:00

Photography.
That's all I do anymore is study - practice- learn - study - practice - learn- photography - photography - photography.
I have never felt so charged before with a hobby. I love it, I eat it up, I breath it.
I constantly am thinking photography when I'm at work, home and even dream of it. I wake up early and can't wait to take and edit more pictures.

So I'm going to chalange myself.
I'm learning form different people and their photography.
I'm going to give myself assignments and post them here, and telling what I did in hopes to help someone, to get better, and to get some good CC.

Some of the things I'm working on right now is -
Shooting in Manual
Learning about batch processing
Creating and composing layers
Creating a watermark signature
Creating an efficient and productive work flow.
Getting the best SOOC shots as possible.
Finding my style through many shoots and many mistakes. I'll find my style, I will.
Composition
Collecting props,

I learn a lot from You Tube, but sometimes finding a decent tutorial is hard.
Here are some of my favorite You Tube videos that have helped me a ton:

Layers

Photoshop Crash Course Lessons
Video Training

The Basics of layer Masks in Photoshop

Using Layer Masks

Photoshop Video Tutorial - Soften Skin with Surface Blur

Color Correcting Photos: Photoshop CS3!

Lightroom Work Flow Enhancing Eyes

Lightroom Quick Tip: Removing Rosacia

High Key Portraits and Lightroom Edits

Batch Process in Photoshop CS5

Layer Masks in Photoshop

Black and White Conversions

Common Photography Abbreviations and Acronyms

2010-07-26T09:25:00.000-06:00

A

A-DEP – Automatic Depth of Field

AE – Automatic Exposure

AEB – Auto-Exposure Bracketing

AF – Auto Focus. Click here to learn how to fool your digital camera's AF for sharper images.

AP – Aperture Priority

AS – Antishake. Click here for more information.

B

BMP - Also called Windows bitmap, click here to learn about this image file format.

BTL – Behind the Lens

B&W – Black and White

C

CCD – Charged Coupled Device: Click here to learn more about this image sensor technology.

CHDK - Canon Hackers Development Kit. Click here for a detailed explanation.

CMOS – Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor

CMS – Colour Management System

CMYK – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black

CWB – Custom White Balance. Click here for more information.

D

DI – Digital Imaging

DOF – Depth of Field. Click here to learn more.

DP – Digital Photography

DPI – Dots per Inch. This article contains information on DPI.

DPOF – Digital Print Order Format

D-SLR or DSLR - Digital Single Lens Reflex

DZ – Digital Zoom. The difference between digital zoom and optical zoom is mentioned here.

E

EC – Exposure Compensation

EV – Exposure Value

EVF – Electronic Viewfinder

EXIF – Exchangeable Image File Format. Click here for a detailed article on EXIF.

F

FEB – Flash Exposure Bracketing

FEC – Flash Exposure Compensation

FEL – Flash Exposure Lock

FF – Full Frame

FOV – Field Of View

FPS – Frames per Second

G

GB – Gigabyte

GIF – Graphics Interchange Format. Click here to learn more.

H

HDR – High Dynamic Range

HSS – High Speed Sync

I

IF – Internal Focusing

IR – Infrared

IS – Image Stabilization. Click here for more information.

ISO – International Standards Organization. Understand ISO by reading this article.

IQ – Image Quality

J

JPEG or JPG – Joint Photographic Experts Group. Click here for more information.

K

L

LCD – Liquid Crystal Display

LED – Light Emitting Diode

LTE – Long Time Exposure

M

M – Manual

MB – Megabyte

MF – Manual Focus

MLU – Mirror Lock-up

MMC – MultiMedia Card. Click here to read all about it.

MP – Megapixels. Click here for a more detailed explanation.

MS – Memory Stick. Refer to MMC for a more thorough explanation.

N

NR – Noise Reduction

O

OCR - Optical Character Recognition. More information seen here.

OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer

OOC – Out of Camera

OOF – Out of Focus

OTF – Off the Film

OVF – Optical Viewfinder

OZ – Optical Zoom. Within this article, you will find a brief explanation on what the difference between digital and optical zoom is.

P

PIC – Picture

PICS or PIX - Pictures

PJ – Photojournalism or Photojournalist

PNG - Portable Network Graphics. Click here to learn more about this image file format.

PP – Post Processing

PPA – Professional Photographers of America

PPI – Pixels per Inch. Click here to learn more.

PQ - Picture Quality

PS – (Adobe) Photoshop

PSE – Photoshop Elements

PSP – Paintshop Pro. Here is a review of Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2.

Q

R

S

SD - Secure Digital: a memory card format for your digital camera.

SDHC- Secure Digital High Capacity. See SD for more information.

SLR – Single Lens Reflex: the same thing as a D-SLR, only referring to film cameras.

SOOC – Straight Out of Camera

SP – Shutter Priority. Click here for more information.

SS – Shutter Speed. Learn all about shutter speed by clicking here.

T

TIFF or TIF – Tagged Image File Format. Learn more here.

TTL – Through-the-lens

U

USB – Universal Serial Bus

USM – Unsharp Mask, also means Ultrasonic Motor

UWA – Ultra Wide Angle

V

VR – Vibration Reduction. Click here for more information on VR.

W

WA – Wide Angle

WB – White Balance. More information can be seen by clicking here.

WS – Watt-Second

X

Y

Z

Salt and BLW

2010-07-20T13:15:00.004-06:00

Sometimes, as a new mom starting out feeding her baby on solids, we find ourselves lost and confused on how/what to feed our babies.
I love the concept of BLW, which is to give your baby what your eating.
However the book can be confusing in itself (IMO) because while it says "Dish up what your having" (as stated in the first couple lines on the pages below), it turns around and implies a big "But" as it continues to list what to watch out for.
So it looks to me that the concept "Anything Goes" isn't really "ANYTHING" goes. It's more like "anything goes... as long as..."
And notice on the second paragraph after the bullets, it doesn't say anything in the lines of "Give you baby what your eating", but instead says that "you can adapt your meals so that he can join in", meaning to me that we don't just give baby what we're eating, but we change (if necessary) what we're eating so baby can eat with us.

BLW - and any feeding method a mom chooses is every personal decision, and the chances of making a mistake that harms your child is probably pretty rare (unless you go by the concept "Anything Goes" and end up pouring you baby a whiskey on the rocks =-P ).

Here is some helpful information for mom's who are BLW but have concerns about salt intake.
This information is from Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett's book "Baby Led Weaning.

The information on all four pages are very helpful guidelines when approaching the issue of salt intake.
While many mom's may read this, it will all be taken differently based on belief. That is why I won't tell anyone what to do (not that I have the power to influence someone to listen) and I will only share the experience of what I do. But I do like to offer the information I have received so mom's can make their own informed choices. And I can pretty much guarantee whatever the choice is, your probably making the right one.

This guide below is nice for mom's who want to limit the sodium/salt intake. It gives a nice explanation on how to measure the intake, which feels like a daunting task when it comes to measuring anything in our foods.

Enjoy BLW! ♥

Photography Tutorials

2010-06-22T23:02:00.001-06:00

I find these tutorials very helpful in learning about light and photography.

Metering Modes

Histogram

Custom White Blance
More to come.

Photoshop CS5

2010-05-09T11:02:00.005-06:00

Here is a useful link that lists all the CS5 editions so that you can see what is in each of them and decide which one would be best for you.

http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/compare/

If your a student, Check here to see if you qualify for a student discount. I purchased my CS5 Extended for only $199 (Regular $999 - That's an 80% Discount)

and HERE are Adobe's fantastic products at the Student Pricing!!

Click HERE to see some of the fabulous features of CS5

Cloth Diapers after a couple months of use

2010-04-30T16:13:00.002-06:00

I've been using cloth diapers now for a couple of months, so I thought I'd update you on how it's going and my thoughts so far on them.

Overall I prefer to use the Gro-baby and g-Diaper most. My preference for which of the two diapers I use changes from day to day or even week to week. Right now I am hooked on the the g-Diaper day and night. As a matter of fact, I just ordered some more since Diapers.com is having a fantastic sale on them (See my side coupon code for additional discounts if you want to buy from them).
I just haven't had any problems with leaks, and I love how the shells and liners are re-usable change after change, until their is a poop, then I only need to change the liner.
However I love the Gro-baby diaper, and use them like crazy when I'm in the mood for a snap-in soaker insert.

So where does that leave my Bum Genius?

Right now they are sitting in a beautiful blue fabric drawer

that awaits me to finish assembling the 8 cube organizer that I purchased to go in the baby room.

Why are my BG's stored away and going unused? They are a great diaper, I see what other mom's love in them. I just find a couple things that are a more convenient with the other diapers over the BG's.

For one, when you use a BG diaper, and it's time for a change, that diaper is done. Their is no remorse, no second chance, it's dirty and goes into the hamper.

Then to separate the soaker from the diaper, sometimes it feels a little gross to reach into the pocket and pull it out of the pocket, tho that takes very little effort and is not a deciding factor in whether or not to use this diaper.

The third thing I find more difficult about this diaper is spraying any poop off it. Tho it's easy and not a problem, I do find it easier to unsnap (or pull out) a soaker and just spray the soaker, and not have to mess with the whole diaper and the elastic gatherings around the legs where poop gets stuck, though I do find that when baby has bigger, wetter poops in the Gro-baby, I'm battling the same problem. The g-Diapers are the best for spraying off poop (which may be why I'm using them so much over the other two).

I have also noticed the lining in the BG's collect balls of lint from other items previously washed in the washing machine (assuming that's where it's coming from).

The BG soaker inserts also get urine buildup faster than the others (or so I've noticed - but maybe it's just me). I just do an overnight soak in Rockin Green Soap and it takes the smell out of all my dapers, but I have found the g-Diapers are best in this area also.

Speaking of which, I love the soakers for the g-Diapers absolutely best! The microfleese wick moisture away, help leaving baby feel dry. It's soft after every wash, and I love the underside which is a hemp material, which hemp has natural antimicrobial properties and absorbs better than cotton, making me wish I could add snaps to these to use in the Gro-baby diaper shells. They by far hold their shape better then the Gro-baby soakers too after washing and drying.

The only thing weird about the g-Diapers is I find his bum feels cold once in a while. Not his actual skin, but the bum of the diaper, and it makes me wonder if his tushie is cold and he's uncomfortable, though he shows no signs of discomfort. I think it's probably because of the rubber snap-in insert that holds the soakers.

I also hear many complaints that the Gro-baby diapers and g-Diaper don't absorb as well for heavy wetters. I can see it especially in the Gro-baby diapers, and especially with boys, as the top of the soaker insert barely covers the pee outlet :wink: (KWIM). The BG are by far the best for absorbency, especially for overnight, which that is about the only time I use my BG's.

I have fallen in love with my front loader though. It's an LG gas front loader, and I have discovered some settings that make my washing so simple.

I put it on "Sanitize" which uses extra hot for the main wash. I push a button for "Pre Wash" which washes in cold before the main wash. Then I add an extra rinse. I add Rockin Green to my Pre-wash dispenser cup, to the Main Wash dispenser cup, close the lid and walk away. Nearly 3 hours later, my diapers are done with no additional work on my part.

I have started washing my shells separately for the sake of preserving the material and structure as long as possible..

I contacted g-Diaper customer service about washing the shells. I asked them if I could wash them in my regular laundry if they were not soiled. They recommended against it as you still don't want to use fabric softener on them.

I also purchased 2 wooden laundry drying racks, set them up in the spare bedroom, and I line dry all my shells and g-Diaper rubber inserts on them. It's so easy. (I bought two, one for diapers and one for clothes).

I bought some clothes pins and a clothes pin bag that hooks to the rack. I find that very convenient to just dip my hand in and pull out what I need (Or toss the clothes pins back in) with no fuss. However I quit using clothes pins for my diapers. It's just too easy to throw the diapers across the wooden dowels in passing. Literally less than 30 seconds and all my diaper shells are hanging to dry. When they are dry, I quickly swoop them off the rack, snap/insert the shells, put them in my adorable cloth drawers (as shown above) and I'm on my way.

So simple. I never knew that cloth diapering would be so easy. I thought I would feel stress in situations where I was in a hurry, but cloth diapering has not slowed me down one bit, especially since I don't need to go shopping for diapers - Ever! (I LOVE That!)

Newborn photograph ideas.

2010-04-16T12:09:00.003-06:00

If your looking for some ideas and inspiration for posing newborn, you have to check out these pictures from Sleeping Beauties, they are breathtaking.

Looks like I'll be adding a new book to my book shelf.

Also: I will be announcing the winner of my give-away later today.

BLW - Do's and Dont's

2010-04-12T22:08:00.005-06:00

Here is a list I got from the BLW board I'm on to help mom's (and dads ;-] ) when it comes to the do's and dont's of BLW

Do not serve:

* Whole nuts (until 3 years old – Choking hazard)
* Gristle - should be removed from all meats.
* Raisins – choking hazard
* Salty foods – Baby’s kidneys are not prepared to handle it. Babies up to 1 year should not have more than 1 gram (.4g of sodium) a day.
o Ready-meals
o Some breakfast cereals (check labels)
o Salted snacks, such as chips
o Sauces – such as ketchup or brown sauce
o Ready made gravies or sauces from cubes or packets
o Soups/broths from cans or cubes
o Smoked meat and fish
o Soy sauce
o Anchovies
o olives
* Bony fish
* Excess sugar – occasional sweets are okay
* Avoid additives, artificial sweeteners or preservatives such as MSG, aspartame, etc.
* Coffee, tea and colas
* Sweetened or fizzy drinks
* Undiluted fruit juices.
* Milk (not until 1 year old)
* Honey (not until 1 year old)

These salty foods are okay once or twice a week in small quantities:

* Hard cheeses such as parmesan
* Sausages
* Ham
* Bacon
* Baked beans
* Yeast extract
* pizza

Needs checking or adjustments made:

* Cherries – Okay if stone is taken out and cherry cut in half.
* Grapes – okay if cut in half
* Cherry tomatoes – okay if cut in half.
* Cakes, casseroles and salads – make sure they don’t have small hard pieces of items within them.

Limit the following:

+ Whole grains – these are very filling and your baby will get full too fast and not eat other essential foods.
# Whole meal bread
# Brown rice
# Whole meal pasta
+ Allergy related foods. If someone in your family has food allergies, be cautious when first introducing foods that contain items such as shellfish, peanuts, wheat, strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, eggs or dairy products.

Fats – Don’t serve Low-fat or Non-fat. They need the full-fat versions!

o Yogurt
o Cheese

Cook with healthy oils: No animal fats or dairy fats (ie, butter). Use vegetable oils, oily fish, olive oil and oils contained in nuts and seeds.
Easy First Finger Foods For Babies

* Steamed (or lightly boiled) whole vegetables, such as green beans, baby sweet corn, sugar snap peas
* Steamed florets of cauliflower and broccoli
* Steamed, roasted or stir-fried vegetable sticks, such as carrot, potato, eggplant, sweet potato, parsnips, squash, zucchini, pumpkin
* Raw sticks of cucumber (cold sticks are also good for teething babies)
* Thick slices of avocado (not too ripe or will be too squishy)
* Chicken (as a strip of meat or on a leg bone) warm or cold. (remove all gristle)
* Thin strips of beef, lamb or pork – warm or cold
* Fruit, such as pears, apple, banana, peach, nectarine, mango (whole or as sticks)
* Sticks of firm cheese – cheddar, etc
* Breadsticks
* Rice cakes
* Toast fingers (no more than 2 slices a day)
* You can also add cottage cheese onto rice cakes and toast fingers as a spread
* Meatballs
* Pastas (limit amount of sauce – it may be too slippery to handle)
o Twists, Shells and bows
* Homemade:
o Burgers patties
o Chicken nuggets
o Fish sticks
* Fun dippers (to dip into things like hummus, yogurt, oatmeal, etc.)
o Rice cakes
o Firm fruit sticks like apples
o Raw Veggie sticks: Cucumber, celery (strings removed), carrots, green beans, zuccini
o Roasted veggies sticks : carrots, pumpkin and other squashes, potatoes
o Pita bread strips (not pita chips)
* Homemade dips:
o Hummus
o Guacamole
o Mixed bean dip
o Yogurt and tofu
o Eggplant dip (baba ganoush)

Breakfast ideas:

* Fresh fruit
* Homemade oatmeal (can add fruit when cooking to add flavor – grated apples, blueberries, etc)
* Full-fat yogurt with fresh fruit
* Scrambled egg – fully cooked
* Cereal – with our without milk. Some babies prefer mushy, while others like it dry.
* Toast, oat cakes or rice cakes spread with nut butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese or 100% fruit spread.

"Egg allergies can be severe and are most common in infants under 12 months of age. Read this page to help you decide when to include egg in your baby's diet. "

Great Blocks for Photography (Save $10 Dollars)

2010-04-06T09:44:00.005-06:00

I found some great blocks to use for photography.
Here are a few that you can find at Diapers.com,

Go check them out! They have great prices - They accept competitor coupons, they have Super Fast Shipping (I've received items as soon as next day!). FREE shipping on purchases over $49.

If you are new to Diapers.com - you can open an account, use coupon code GETFREE10 and get $10 off your first purchase of $50 or more (excluding diapers).

Spend $75 or more and you will also get a year free subscription to Parents Magazine!

Shooting in the RAW

2010-04-01T22:36:00.002-06:00

I hear that once you go RAW, you don't go back. However I've tried shooting in RAW and couldn't figure out how to edit photos, or convert them to JPEG.
Tonight I figured out how to do it.
Upload my RAW photos in EOS Utility, either download all or selected photos, and I'm not in it now so I can't remember but I think it takes my pictures to "Digital Photo Professional" where I can double click on a photo, made some adjustments (the program doesn't seam that sophisticated, just some basic edit settings - but maybe their is more that I haven't seen yet), then save in a JPEG that I can open in picture manager later.

Understanding MM in Photography.

2010-04-01T13:05:00.005-06:00

I still don't understand what all the numbers/letters are on camera lenses.

So in looking for a lens that will capture a wider landscape (if that's what I decide I want), I can't even begin to know what to start looking for.

I found this to help understand more about the "mm" on a lens. Though I don't understand what it's measuring (It says the Lens Focal Length, but is that the inside of the lens? how far the subject needs to be from the lens to be at optimal focus? I can't imagine a subject needing to be a little over an inch from my camera to take a good pic - therefor I'm lost). At least I can understand what each is best used for.

Photography

2010-03-31T15:08:00.009-06:00

I'm still around. My newest obsession is photography.

I'm taking some online classes and hope to learn to take some amazing pictures that I can share with you.

I have recently purchased a Canon Rebel XSi - and made a separate purchase of a 50mm f/1.4 lens.

While it was pricey, so far it has was worth every penny. I was not about to purchase any less of a camera, and especially lens for the sake of saving a few dollars. I have a really nice digital point and shoot Casio camera that does picture and video. So I already own a lesser of a camera. So while I did not purchase anything PRO, I did get a very nice beginner set. And I'm trying to be very cautious on the accessories I purchase for my photography hobby, making sure not to buy anything that wont get used.

My next purchase will be a solid color of seamless paper and plexiglass for my babies 1st Birthday "Cake Smash". Which the background and plexiglass will be for many many uses, but I want to have it at least by his first birthday.

I'm just not sure on what color I want to get.

My son looks best in warm (tan - brown's) colors. Maybe even Burgundy. But I don't want a color that is so specific (like burgundy - red - blue - green), It's too gender specific, and I'm just not fond of the solid baby colors anyway. I want something neutral that can go with many other photo settings, and maybe even used for different genders.

I like this one because you can accessorize the juxtapose of photos to be gender specific.

A tan or beige maybe, if only I can fine some pics online to see how they look.

If any of you SLR hobbyists have photos with neutral color background, please send me a link to see your photos. It will help so much in deciding what would work best for my son and his skin tones.

Thanks a bunch! and Happy Photo Shooting!

Did Rockin Green hold up to the test?

2010-03-27T23:14:00.004-06:00

I needed to strip some diapers. I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong to have such stink on them. Maybe it was forgetting to put them in the dryer before leaving for work. Maybe it was letting them build up in my closed rubber container for 4 days before washing them. Or maybe diapers just need a good strippin every once in a while, but my whole batch smelled funny.
So I filled my sink with hot tap water and added an additional quart of scalding hot water to make it extra hot. Added probably 1/2 cup Rockin Green laundry detergent, swished my diapers around for a couple minutes, and let them soak overnight.
Before work I did a triple rinse (adding 3 Tbsp Rockin Green to the first cycle), then had DH do one more triple rinse before I got home. Dried them - and VOILA! They smell brand new!
So it worked lovely. I'm so happy to have fresh, clean smelling diapers again.

Put the Rock to the Test (and a word about sprayers)

2010-03-25T15:28:00.005-06:00

I did it! I've finally managed to get "Stink" allover babies diapers. Not ALL diapers, but All Over a bunch of them. I think with him being sick and taking 5 days off, we used more diapers than usual- and I didn't do my laundry as faithfully as I normally do, we wen't 4 day's inbetween washes - AND I forgot to rinse the poop out of diapers (I've been sick too, Sick momma + Sick baby = Sick and Tired Momma = Really Stinky Diapers)

So I got a big bowl of hot water and microwaved it for 5 min.
Filled the kitchen sink with hot water and added my scalding hot water.
Added about 1/2 cup "Rockin Green" detergent.
Put on rubber gloves and swooshed it round for about 2 or 3 minutes.
Let soak overnight.
Put in washer this morning, washed on hot with Rockin Green soap, a double rinse, then had DH do another full hot/cold cycle with no soap. I may do one more just to make sure all the soap is out.
I'll let you know how the stink goes.

And a word about Diaper Sprayers.
GET ONE!

If your cloth diapering and don't have a diaper sprayer, you need one!
It is one of my favorite accessories for cloth diapers. And it was so easy to put together.

I have no idea how to clean poop off a diaper w/o one, but this is what it looks like to clean poop off with one. (I have no idea why her sprayer is on the floor, it does have a wall/toilet hook attachment)

And when I'm all done, I just grab a Clorox Wipe that I keep under the bathroom sink, and do a quick wipe down on the toilet and floor (because in all honesty, it can spray and make a bit of a mess). Then my bathroom smells and lookis nice and clean.

Which if you have boys living in the house (husbands included) these come in handy for those of us who like to sit on a clean toilet seat.

I always say - you can't clean a mess until you make one!

What's for food?

2010-03-15T18:57:00.006-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything, we've been very busy, but I haven't forgot about the things I've been wanting to blog about.

We have started solids and introduced a wide variety of foods. However coming up with a menu that offers a variety of nutrition can be daunting when you exhausted and barely eating yourself.

Though I highly recommend reading Gill Rapleys "Baby Led Weaning" if your going to do BLW, Wholesome Baby Food .com is a really helpful, informative site that can help anyone introduce foods and come up with menu ideas for baby.

Here are some foods we have tried, and so far B has loved everything we've offered.

Rice Cereal goes great with a minced, mashed or diced up veggie or fruit (We've had minced up plum, carrot, mashed peaches and diced pears)

Avocado - cut in half and peeled - I give him the half with the pit, it doesn't mash up so bad and is easier for him to handle.

*Waffles with banana mashed and spread on top - cut up in finger pieces, (this is sooo yummy, we all eat it for breakfast - who needs syrup!)

*Toast with Yo Baby Yogurt spread on top - cut up to finger pieces.

Veggies steamed and cut to finger size (my finger size is about 1 1/2 inches long and skinny, like the size of a marker lid): Sweet potatoes, Yams, Green Beans, Acorn Squash, Broccoli, Cauliflower

Veggies cold: Cucumber, Lettuce, (just plays with the lettuce)

Meat: I haven't introduced meat yet, I plan to wait on this one for personal reasons.

Mac -n- cheese. I was confused on this one. When I think of Mac-n-cheese, I think of the boxed Mac-n-cheese with all the salt and MSG. Well I realized I can make my own as easy as I used to make my own when I was younger. With noodles and real cheese. (and my own seasonings). So for B, I cook up Penne pasta and sprinkle cheese over the top. Voila! How easy was that! Down the line I could mix the cheese with yogurt, tomato, mixed pureed veggies, or what ever would make a great sauce, but for now, it's just the two ingredients.
::updated:: Squash and peas mashed together poured over noodles like a fine sauce (that was whats for dinner tonight - he loved it)

A word about eating out.

I've learned my lesson on eating out. We went to Red Lobster for dinner and my grandma had some broccoli on her plate that she was not going to eat. I asked if I could give it to B and she handed me the whole serving. I gave him some good size floret's and he began to munch away. After a while I popped a piece in my mouth and realized the broccoli was glazed in some sort of sugar sauce. I was so upset. What is the point in eating broccoli if it's drenched in sugar? Is broccoli that bad? Is sugar broccoli that good? So I've learned - taste before serving.

Two weeks of BLW

2010-03-07T08:20:00.005-07:00

Today marks two weeks of our Baby Led Weaning journey, and while it takes some courage to start out solids using this method, (it helps to take CPR training just to be on the safe side - but all parents should take CPR training regardless of their feeding style), I have been amazed at how fun and easy it really can be. Not to mention - messy!

Or is it all that messy? Sure I could puree all his food, scoop it in a nice colorful baby spoon and gently hold it before him, keeping it away from his hands and waiting for his mouth to open like a little birdie taking the regurgitated worm from his mothers beak, scooping of any spills from his chin back onto the spoon or wiping his chin with his bib.
But maybe it doesn't have to be a complete disastrous mess like something you'd see from a Jr. High food fight.

One of my most favorite purchases for teaching him how to eat is the Tommee Tippee place mat and bowl set that I bought from Babies R Us.

I made this valuable purchase last week (after one week of a very messy BLW and 15 minutes of clean up after every meal, cleaning off the high chair tray, scrubbing off the seat, cleaning out the crevices and screws, and mopping gobs of goo and sticky off the floor) for when he was ready to start eating from a bowl.
I decided to give it a shot our first meal after I purchased it. I thought "Why Not, I mean, it does suction to the bowls, and the place mat is a sticky rubbery material that B can't move around off his tray".
I placed his food in the bowl, placed some food for me in another Tommee Tippee bowl, and we sat down together to eat our dinner.
I was impressed right away. He dug right in to the food in his bowl, swirling his food around with his hands and fingers until he could pick up what he wanted in the hold he wanted, then bringing the food to his mouth. He instantly looked like a pro vs. him swashing his whole arms around the whole tray trying to stop the food from running away from his hands and falling on the floor.
The food that falls out of the bowl, he no longer pays attention too. It's almost as if it no longer exists or it's garbage (tho I will put it back in his bowl, then it's edible again), and the food doesn't not so much end up on the floor or all over his high chair - or even him. This little piece of gold has made eating so much more enjoyable for him (especially when I put slippery pears or avocado in his bowl) and enjoyable for me to clean up.
I highly recommend getting some sort of feeding set that suctions to the try if you are one who isn't into a nightly spring cleanup. You will still have to clean, but in my experience, it won't be Everywhere!

Gro-baby Disposable Inserts

2010-03-05T10:13:00.002-07:00

I've ordered my first box of 50 gro-baby disposable inserts. They are much like the g-diapers where you can toss the whole thing, or open and empty the insides in the toilet and toss the outer part.
One thing I was waiting to find out is if they had some sort of tabs like the cloth inserts have snaps that help keep the insert in place. They do - but I hear their really sticky and that some mom's don't use them and have no problems.

They should be here next week. Stay tuned and I'll be posting my experience on them as soon as I try them out.

BTW, I love my gro-baby diapers, I've had him in them overnight and had more poopie explosions, and while it does get on the shell more then the g-diapers, (where it gets on the liner in the g-diapers), I've had no more leaks. Guess it just took a bit of getting used to putting these on. I said they seam to run a little small, and I still think they do, but I have them on the largest setting for my 16 1/2 lb baby, so that probably contributed to some of the initial leakage. Now I put them on a lot more snug.

Gro Baby Diapers

2010-03-03T05:17:00.002-07:00

When I first read the reviews on the Gro-baby diapers, I was really excited to try them out. I probably over bought for a diaper I had never tired before. I now recommend maybe buying one or two diapers and trying them out first before making such a large purchase. However - I did buy all 12 diapers, 24 soaker inserts and 16 boosters all in one big purchase.
Luckily - I LOVE THEM! (Whew!)
Now - they are not the PERFECT Cloth diaper, and I promise as soon as I come across that perfect cloth diaper, I will let the world know, BUT these definitely are a great cloth diaper!

Pros:
• First - the look, they are so super cute. I took B to the doctor yesterday and she about fell over at how cute his diaper was! (Okay, she about fell over at how cute B was AND loved his cloth diaper).

(sample pic pulled off a Gro-baby sales site)

• I love-love-love the snap-in soaker! These snap ins do not prevent poop getting on the shell as well as the g-diapers, but do a better job of keeping pee off the shell than AIO or AIT pocket diapers ::wink:: and that's okay with me, It still saves my shell for more uses. The soaker stays put and doesn’t move around like the g-diaper soaker can.

The Aplix on these are the best I've had (granted I'm on my third cloth diaper review), but the top of the diaper is so soft, there is so much room to affix the Aplix, so your options are wider based on the shape and size of your baby, and it's all one color, not the white obvious attachment, but just a solid cuteness.
Gro-baby has come out with a biodegradable soaker like the g-diaper. I haven’t tried it yet but wonder if they snap in too, or if I can try using my g-diaper soaker in the Gro-baby shell.
I can't wait to try them! You can find some at Pampered Buns

Cons:

I wished they came in more solid colors in the cheaper price - preferably a Gro-baby Blue. I say “Gro-baby Blue” because if you’ve seen these diapers IRL, you’d know that the colors are different than what you see in the internet. The Mandarin Orange looks more yellow on the internet and I was afraid that it would be too yellow for my boy, but it’s in fact a darker orange and looks great on boys and girls (way cute). I’d say all the colors are a unique, earthy, darker color from what you see on your screen. (Okay, so I haven’t seen the Blackberry IRL) I love the unique color tone these diapers have to them.

They also have a nice Gro-baby cream color.

I am excited to buy one of these.This will be totally cute on the Beach!

They tend to run a little small. I'm not sure that these diapers will fit B when he becomes a toddler, but we'll see.
I've tried these diapers for overnight use and they dont hold as well as the Bum Genius (the BG's are my favorite night time diaper - but I'm not done experienting with these yet).
When washing - the soaker does tend to shrink and warp. I recommend reshaping before drying, and even more so - reshape and line dry (More on my line drying system later). I think they take some getting used to on the fit. I've had some leaks, where I've had none with the BG. But since I've played around with how to dry the inserts, and apply the aplix on my son's yet, but I'm a little nervous of leaks so I change him with these more often.

Tips:

Before drying the soaker - stretch them out to their regular shape first - or they tend to shrivel or shrink, and I highly recommend line drying them to maintain their shape.

Over all, I wan't these to be my favorite diaper. There are so many features I love about these diapers, especially now that they have come out with a disposable soaker. But in truth, all diapers (whether cloth or disposable) will have their pro's and con's. And so for now, it's BG at night, and a combo of g-diapers and Gro-baby in the day.

Ummmm, Fabric! [drool]

2010-03-02T23:47:00.004-07:00

And even better, cheap - cute fabric.
I'm not one to do big jobs, and if I do- then I'll buy a solid piece in the size I need. But for the most part, my projects are fairly small (a yard or less), Look what I picked up at 75% off reg price! It pays to shop in the scrap bin! And there are some remnants in here that are almost 2 yards, and I picked them up for only 4 bucks!
Now I've got fun material to get me through different projects, for different genders, throughout the year!

And what beautiful PUL.
If you plan to make your own diaper shells, splat mats, wet bags, or anything you need water proofed, then this pul will work fabulously! I picked up these beautiful colors from Sewzann's fabrics. She had a great selection and the best price on shipping. (looks like she's low now, hopefully she'll get more great colors in stock)
The colors are amazing - so fresh and bright. Great for baby!

The cute top piece is for the splat mat I'll be making - soon as baby sleeps... and I'm home

Baby Led Weaning [BLW]

2010-02-25T22:41:00.001-07:00

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2010
Baby Led Weaning [BLW]
We started our LO on BLW this weekend and here is what he had.

1st Breakfast: approx 1 hour after breast milk feeding

• Banana: gnawed on and pulled "uck" faces, but kept sucking, took in very small amounts, I find the banana was easier to hold and chew in his mouth if you split it up in it's three parts down from the center.
• Slice of apple: for taste and texture purposes - he sucked - chewed slightly and pulled sour faces. I plan to feed him more in sauce form.

1st Dinner: again approx 1 hour after milk feeding

• Sweet Potato fries (peeled and steamed) - he loved mooshing it between his fingers, sucking and biting into it, and throwing it on the floor.
• Cauliflower: He was completely intrigued by the texture, crumbling it in between his fingers, biting into it, and pulling funny faces.
• Fresh - long cut green beans, steamed until very soft: Chewed away on it, but got it taken away when mom panicked after he gagged on it.
• *Rice Cereal mixed with Breast Milk:
• Sippy cup with water (No interest except fun to throw on the floor)

*When BLW, one of the things I hear is hard to get used to is watching your baby gag. I thought I wouldn't have a problem watching this because their gag reflexes are farthest forward on the tongue at 6 months old, (IMO - for the purpose of learning how to maneuver food around in the mouth without choking). Well I found I was no exception to freaking out the first time I saw my son profusely gag on a piece of green bean. So I decided - as long as I'm not forcing the food in his mouth, I'd place some rice cereal on a spoon, present it in front of him and let him grab and do with it what he wanted. He did wonderfully - on everything. He gagged on the green bean, then spit it out like a little champ. He also grabbed the spoon with the sweet rice cereal on it (sweet from the milk), shoved it in his mouth and started sucking away. I personally feel that it is a great way for him to learn how to push food in the back of his throat - and I could relax knowing that when he gasped for air, nothing was going to go shooting down his windpipe.

Washing cloth diapers in front loader [Take Two]

2010-02-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

Storage of Dirty Diapers

Take dirty diaper off baby
Take out insert
Hang to dry on top of diaper container (Still using my air tight one)
When dried - put in pail with lid cracked

Prep Instructions:

*Turn water heater up (between 130-140 degrees)
Attach aplix to proper position for washing
Make sure all inserts are removed
Detach liners from g-diapers
Make sure there is no bulk in diapers

Washing Instructions: (I always set my washer to "heavy load" for extra water so they get properly rinsed)

Quick wash on cold in front loader - heavy load setting- no spin - no soap (This will leave the water in the diapers).
*Turn water heater back down to preferred setting.
Wash on normal hot wash/warm rinse cycle using 1/8th the recommended amount of **detergent.
Pull out g-liners and hang dry
Run through diapers and shells one last warm rinse only cycle
Rinse again on warm and high spin.

That is:

Cold quick wash (no soap or rinse cycle) -
Hot w/soap wash - Warm rinse,
Warm rinse.

Drying Instructions (for winter, I will get a line for outside in the summer)

Place all inserts and BG shells in dryer - dry on medium heat for 1/2 hour
Pull out shells and hang to finish drying
Dry inserts in dryer until completely dry
Hang dry g-diaper shells and liners

*I turn up our water heater because our preferred setting is not more than 110 degrees - where recommended is 120 degrees - and for optimal cleaning (say for dishwashers) is 140 degrees.

**Front loader washers requires 1/8th the amount of soap recommended from the directions on the bottle for washing diapers.

I hope I typed that all up correctly.

Let me know what you think, is that better?

Washing my Cloth Diapers

2010-02-19T22:58:00.000-07:00

Though I'm still learning, here are some things I've learned along the way on how to wash my cloth diapers.

First is proper storage.
I don't think storing them in an air tight rubber container is the ideal way to store them until wash day, especially if wash day extends to the 3rd or 4th day (we don't use many cloth diapers during the week since his daycare doesn't allow us to use cloth).

Before gathering my diaper load, I go downstairs and set the water temp on the water heater to high.

Then begin my wash cycle

Attach all Aplix's properly, make sure all inserts are out of shells, and place in washer.
Detach all liners from g-diapers

Front Loader Soak.
My cloth diapers absorb a lot of the water in my front loader, which doesn't use a lot of water in the first place. So what I need to do is a cold wash cycle - and before it spins after the final rinse, I turn the washer off and start it over again, adding my soap and setting the the washer for a large load so that there is plenty of water.

Go turn down water heater setting back to normal. Water in tank should be hot enough - long enough to finish my hot wash cycles.

Then I do a hot cycle - then another hot cycle. (and because I'm me with OCD, I do one more hot cycle).

I'm reading that it's not good to set the washer to "Sanitize" but once a month or it could ruin your diapers. I was doing it every time - but now I'll stop.

Hang dry g-diaper liners.

Dry inserts and shells in dryer on medium heat for about 30 minutes, pull out all shells to finish hang drying (I'm going to invent a compact - indoor - possibly fit on the shelf in my closet - diaper dryer rack). Run the rest of the dryer load until dry.

I hope I didn't ruin my BG inserts by leaving them in the rubber container, I pulled out the liners after 30 minutes and just smelled the inserts. The Bamboo inserts smelled great, but the BG inserts smelled of ammonia (ever so slightly that it may have been in my head, but where they weren't completely dry, I couldn't help but feel that maybe the smell is still activated - and when DS pees on the, it will activate the smell then and I will have ruined them).

I would like to try a detergent that I've been reading about called "Rockin Green".
It claims to be able to battle ammonia smell by soaking 3 Tbs in hot water with your diapers for 30 to 60 minutes. I'm excited to give it a whirl! (Okay - pun intended)

If you happen to see disaster in my recipe for clean diapers, or have tips to help, please leave me a comment. We know how expensive these diapers can be and I'd really like to get the best use out of them.

Happy Washing!

ETA: I forgot to mention that the only time I used soap (1/8th the dose instructed on the bottle) is with my first hot wash cycle. The rest are just rinse cycles.

Gro Baby Diapers

2010-02-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that I Love Cloth Diapering? Who Knew this would happen? (Okay, a lot of you mom's did).
So I made another - rather large - purchase last night.

Note To Self: Don't make purchases when so terribly sleep deprived
However I think I will LOVE this purchase, because it's Cloth Diapers! And what cloth diapering enthusiast doesn't love clicking "Continue to Checkout" on such a wonderfully colorful, fluffy purchase? (Kind of makes you want to go shopping, doesn't it?)

After researching and reading reviews on many diapers from a couple wonderful sites I'm sure you've spent your share of time on, called Dirty Diaper Laundry , and All About Cloth Diapers
I found myself torn between trying the new Flip diapers - which is somewhat like the g-diapers where you can use cloth or disposable liners, and the Gro Baby diapers.
I decided to go with the Gro Baby diapers because
1. I already have a hybrids diaper.
2. The "Fips" got reviews that until they release the new design of inserts (to be released sometime in 2010), the old inserts are a bit too small and move around a lot. (Which I do not have that problem with my g-diapers.
3. I loved the idea of the cloth ~snapping~ in place inside the shell, and being able to reuse the shell throughout the day.
4. The aplix on these diapers stick to the whole upper band, rather than the unattractive white strip of Velcro that goes across some diapers.
5. I love my g-diapers because I can put one shell in my diaper bag along with a couple extra soakers and it doesn't occupy a whole lot of space. And since I want to have more than just one brand of diapers that I love, I figure why not have a second set with the features that I love from the first!
6. I love the "One Size" from my Bum Genius, and the Gro Baby diapers are a one size diaper with cute snaps on the front.

I ordered:
12 Shells (3 vanilla - 5 kiwi - 4 mandarin)
24 Gro Baby Organic Soaker Pads
16 Gro Baby Organic Boosters

I found when purchased in a large set from places like Puddles Place , theyoffer a 10% discount for large bundles.
I also went to retailmenot.com and found a coupon code "bestdeal" and received an additional 5% discount.
So what could have cost me around $435.10 (when bought individually)- instead cost me $355.30, That's not a bad deal!

I'm excited to try our new diapers when they come. I'll be sure to let you know all about what I think of them!

How to make a Birthing Skirt

2010-02-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

I was recently emailed by a friend asking "How did you make your birthing skirt". So instead of replying to her e-mail, I decided now is a good time to share with the world.
There are not a lot of tutorials on how to make a birthing skirt on the Internet, so if you make one, shoot me an email with the link to yours and I'd be happy to post your link at the bottom of this post.

I didn't want to pay full price for a birthing skirt. Though they are cute and have really nice ones you can use as a regular skirt later, I knew I would only wear it once so I decided to look for patterns and make my own.

I found one pattern online that inspired me, (Click here to see) however it didn't make any sense to me to cut three Isosceles Trapezoid shapes only to sew them back together where I had cut them out.

It just seams like the shape would be the same as if I had never cut the material, and just used a wide skinny rectangle.

So instead I flipped my outer pieces so that the smaller edge was at the top for all three pieces.

Maybe that is a no-no in sewing skirts, but it worked for me to have it bloom out more so that I could pose a good squatting position for birthing and not have any restrictions from the skirt.

I also made slits in the sides so that it could spread open even more, making sure they didn't rise too high, (sorry I have no measurements on how high) which the slits were covered up by the wrap once it was properly wrapped on. This made the skirt very comfortable to squat in.

I made sure that the skirt was long enough to cover my bottom comfortably while sitting on a birthing ball, but short enough that it didn't get in the way. My skirt was probably 4 or 5 inches up from the knee.

I used two sets of ties on my birthing skirt. The middle trapezoid covers my back end, and the two end trapezoid's wrap around the front creating a double front cover.
I sewed a ribbon in the indicated "A" "B" areas and tied A with A and B with B.

Good luck and have fun creating your birthing skirt!

Day two of diapers

2010-02-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

We used g-diapers all night last night and all day today.
There were poop blowouts, but nothing that got on the diaper shells or on his clothes (YAY little g's) So I'm happy with that.

I did go through 3 g-shells throughout the day (I'm not used to cloth and couldn't quite tell if they started to smell like pee or if I was just smelling the soaker so I just changed them) but went through plenty of the soakers.

B does display more discomfort with being wet or dirty with the g's vs with disposables, which is fine because I change him sooner. (Not sure about the BG's on that one yet)

I am on my last rinse cycle on all my diaper soakers.
I washed cold w/soap (about 1 TBSP soap)
Washed hot w/soap (about 1 TBSP soap)
Rinse hot (speed wash)
Rinse hot (long wash)
Hopefully that is sufficient.

In observing how clean the diapers are after the first wash
The BG soakers have stains on them from the poop.
The little g's came completely clean. (Yay Little g's)
Not sure why the difference, but I washed them all together so I don't think the washing system had anything to do with it.
I don't care that the soakers have stains, they go inside the diaper, and I don't think I'd care either way, but I am excited to line dry them in the sun to see if that really does bleach out poop stains.
Oh and the BG shells came completely clean of all stains. (Good Job BG!)

Over all, I'm very impressed with the simplicity of Cloth Diapering.
I'm very glad I've made this choice.

Bum Genius vs g-Diapers (Part Two)

2010-02-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

The first diaper we used what the Bum Genius (BG)
(which he slept in last night and they worked great)

Pros:
• Easy to put on.

• Cute

• Absorbent (used it all night and no leaks)

• Take it off and toss it on the pail

• Very soft

• Aplix is easy to work with

Cons:
• I'm not use to such a big "Fluffy Butt" and these are Big

• I don't like how long the liners are, you snap them to fit the size of the diaper, but the fold leaves an extra bulge to an already big diaper

• Cloth pad is kind of gross to remove for washing

Tips:

• None yet.

Then we tried the g-Diaper.
(which he's sleeping in a g-diaper with cloth pad tonight so we'll see how well it holds up)

Pros:

• Cute

• Smaller fit,

• Very absorbent

• Flushable or disposable pad that biodegrades in 3 years or use as compost in 50-150 days

• or Use cloth pads

• Cloth pads are very soft and absorbent - no leaks all day, even with poop.

• Outer liner doesn't get dirty so you can reuse it all day - you don't need to purchase as many outer covers, just the inner pads (which ever you decide to use, cloth or disposable)

• Has a snap in rubber liner to insert pads in that can be removed if it gets dirty

• Absorbent reusable pads are very soft with no folding or snaps.

• Handy to take disposable pads when going out so I don't have to worry about storing a dirty pad.

• I have the option to use diaper rash ointment with disposable pad.

• Cloth pads are easy to remove for washing

Cons:

• If you want to flush the disposable pads, you have to carry it to the bathroom.

• Flushable pads tend to clog my toilet (but I have a crappy toilet upstairs, so I may have to take it downstairs to the better toilet)

• Disposable pad is not as soft as any of the cloth pads, though B didn't seem to mind.
• More difficult to put on. Lots of "Making sure" to do.

Tips:

• When using the disposable liner, be sure that all the edges are inside the elastic of the rubber liner or mess will get on the outer cover.

So far I really like the g-diapers best. I have more options and I do like the smaller fit. However I think I will enjoy the BG for night time because they are easier to put on. I'm glad I have both.

Now I wonder how these larger fit diapers affect the skin between our LO legs when they start to crawl.

g Diapers vs Bum Genius

2010-02-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well I did it, I bought 6 g Diapers and 6 Bum Genius, 4-6pks of g Cloth diaper inserts, 1-6pk of BG cloth inserts (which each diaper came with one also so I have 12 total along with 12 of the little ones - something about them being for newborn's) and 12 cloth wipes.
I ordered them yesterday and had them by noon today, I'm very happy about that.

My first wash load is in the washer.

I used 1/2 of the pouch of liquid laundry detergent that came with the diapers.
The instructions say use 1/2 the recommended amount for washing cloth diapers, and 1/8th if you have a front loader. I'm not quite used to washing and measuring and tried to get 1/8th the measurement but there was only 1 oz in the pouch, so I figure 1/2 oz will probably be okay, especially since I plan on washing them a few more times before use w/o any detergent.
I'm washing the inserts in extra hot right now. I will dry them, then on the g Diapers, I will wash them 5 more times (as recommended).

The g diapers are made of hemp and apparently hemp gets softer with use so the more you wash them, the softer and more absorbent they get.

I think the Bum Genius is okay to wash and use right up front, but I do plan on at least one more wash just to make sure all soap is out.

This weekend I will go buy a plastic storage container with an attached hinged lid (if I can find one in the hardware store) as recommended by other moms (Thanks Moms!) and a wet bag (again - Thanks Moms!).

I'm already finding myself so excited and obsessive about cloth diapering. It's always scary and uncomfortable to change and do something new, but so far this has been a lot of fun.

Upcoming Crafts
Make diaper covers
Crochet cute covers
Organize space to create the perfect cloth diapering system
Create 7 x 11 travel wet bag with velcro handle to attach to stroller or diaper bag.

Cloth Diaper Lingo and Abbreviations

2010-02-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to need this.

AIO - All in One diaper

AI2 - All in Two diaper

AP - Attachment parenting

BF - Breastfeed

BTDT - Been there done that

BTW - By the way

CD - cloth diaper

Crunchy - Natural lifestyle

CPF - Chinese prefold

DSQ - Diaper service quality

EC - Excellent condition

EUC - Excellent used condition

F&C - Free & Clear (used referring to detergents)

FLer - Front loader washing machine

FS - For sale

FSOT - For sale or trade

FYI - For your information

HE - High efficiency (when referring to washing machines)

Hyena - A term for hard to get, popular diapers that are stalked by diaper hungry moms

IPF - Indian Prefold

IMO - In my opinion

ISO - In search of

ITA - I totally agree

KWIM - Know what I mean

LMK - Let me know

LO - Little one

LOL - Laugh out loud

NAK - Nursing at Keyboard

PUL - polyurethane laminate, a material used to make diaper covers/wraps

ROFLOL - rolling on the floor, laughing out loud

SAHM - stay-at-home mom

TLer - Top loader washing machine

WAHM - work-at-home mom

Diaper Brands Commonly Referred To With Abbreviations:

BG - bumGenius

FM - Fluffy Mail

FMBG - Full Moon Baby Gear

FB - Fuzzi Bunz

HH - Happy Heiny's

LC - Little Caboose

ME - Motherease

GAD - Green Acre Designs

SEZ - Snap E-Z

Cloth Diapers

2010-02-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

The first thing I want to blog about is Diapers.
I am looking to switch my 5 1/2 month old (son) to cloth.
However I know NOTHING about cloth diapers other than they are cute, much more reliable than when my first was born, and don't require pins or an extra change of clothes every time they pee.
Some questions I have include:

What is your favorite Cloth diaper?
Anyone use g-diapers?
How do you clean them so they don't smell?
How do you store them in between washes so they don't smell.
I really don't want my house to smell - especially like urine.
What are soakers?
How do you store a diaper when your on an outing?
How do you clean the poop off a diaper during an outing?
Please, all the tips and tricks you can give will be appreciated.
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I venture thorough this new world of cloth.