Learning via You Tube

Growing up I wanted to learn how to crochet.  My mom had some books which, I thought, had pretty clear pictures showing simple steps.  Then I realized, and got angry, that the instructions assume you're right handed.  I'm a lefty.  A few years ago I bought a knitting book from the bargain bin and decided, since it involved 2 needles, it HAD to be more straightforward to knit left handed than crocheting. Ever tried to learn to knit and flip the pages of a book?  Notsomuch.  Enter, the virtual classroom of You Tube!  While I was marginally more successful with the knitting (meaning I did more than a big, long chain), I never really made anything.

One of the things I wanted to accomplish with my blog was to learn how to do more in Adobe Elements.  Namely, editing photos, making collages, and fun ways to share my pictures.  Elements has a 'create a photo collage' button, but either I'm not using it correctly (I blame my left handed brain), or it is so basic it doesn't do what I want it to do.  After searching You Tube a bit, I found a tutorial, and with the aid of the pause button, I followed along and made my own collage template!

Neumann Christmas 2012 (1 of 3 in 24-hours)

It could look a little better, and I'm sure it will the more I play around with it. But, it did everything I wanted it to.  I found out how to do a border on my images, and I was able to drop them into each box and resize them to fit into the box - which was key, because my organizational OCD had placed each photo box EXACTLY where I wanted it.  Thank you You Tube.  Now I'm going to try to make a collage for our other two Christmases.

Fun in Instagram

Back in November I posted about the November Thankful Challenge that I was going to participate in on Instagram (and I actually kept up with it).  The same blog that I found the challenge on just posted an awesome photo collage template (with instructions) for combining your Instagram photos.  So, here's 25 days from my month of thanks:

Day 1 - For chubby toddler feet peeking out from under the highchair.

Day 2 - For Friday night dinner dates with my little guy!

Day 3 - For the annual Turkey Trot 5K and being able to run it this year.

Day 4 - For orange roses growing in the garden.

Day 5 - For Sebastian's finger painting masterpieces.

Day 6 - For being American and the constitutional right to vote.

Day 7 - For a huge purse and things to keep me busy while I wait for my MRI.

Day 8 - For my boys checking out a rare rainy morning.

Day 9 - For the crisp air and clear sky following a rain storm that finally make it feel like fall in Southern CA.

Day 10 - For homemade pumpkin pie (and discovering Seb loves it).

Day 11 - For Sunday family dinners & Granny's who encourage 'helping hands.'

Day 12 - For the simple things that surround me every day.

Day 13 - For annual passes and Seb's first visit to Disneyland (even though he hated both rides we went on).

Day 14 - For warm pumpkin muffins topped with melted butter.

Day 15 - For the entertainment value of gigantic teddy bears at Costco!

Day 16 - For my brother and sister.

Day 17 - For my family and the opportunity to take new pictures since we've expanded in the last few years.

Day 18 - For 'barn soup' and childhood imagination at play.

Day 19 - For a fun purple manicure (and the time to do it)!

Day 20 - For holiday flavors at Starbucks and Adam having the day off!

Day 21 - For an indulgent lunch destination. Nom nom nom!

Day 22 - For homemade pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and a house full of loved ones.

Day 23 - For Seb's fancy new sneaks from his Granny.  So proud my little man is now walking!

Day 25 - For good friends who live close enough to help when you're in no shape to run out for flu supplies.

Day 26 - For bubbles and tricycles.