Leona Lane

Introduction to Photo Friday

Every Friday we will all be sharing photos...each week will have a different theme. I love that these photo prompts will inspire us to share fun things and also give us opportunities to take "regular" photos for our Project Life albums. Its always a challenge to take nice photos, especially during these dark winter months!

We decided that this week we would all share our recent purchases from Anthropologie!! As I've mentioned earlier, this is one of my favorite places to shop. :)

Here is my photo! Isn't this just the cutest? Find it here

 

Renae's Photo:

This is actually a late birthday present from Jenn! I absolutely love it! It's so huge and sparkly and blue! Bonus: it fits my big 'Leaves' candle from Bath & Body Works perfectly. Find it here. Sarah and Jenn both got me late B-day gifts from Anthropologie on their latest shopping trip. They're the best! I feel so spoiled rotten. I also got a set of pie plates from them that I'm hoping to test out soon!

Sarah's Photo:

 

I have a self professed obsession with coffee mugs... and I've been on the lookout for a little sugar dish that matches the blue in our kitchen... So I couldn't resist when I saw these! Find the mugs here and the little chalkboard jar here.

Thanks for taking a look! We have had fun on our first week here on the blog. :)

Scrapbooking with a Kit

Today I'm scrapbooking in the living room because Matty is watching TV and I don't feel like being all by myself in the spare room where all my scrap stuff is. Plus, there is a fire in the fireplace...awesome! The easiest way for me to scrapbook in a different room, is to use a kit! I used my Studio Calico November kit. Except for a few small tools, I ONLY used kit supplies. I actually like to scrapbook this way every once in a while. Not only is it convienient to move into a different room, but having fewer choices actually fuels me creatively. Plus,it ensures my kit actually gets used, instead of just sitting around in a bag. In the end, I made four scrapbook pages and had lots of leftovers! I also got to hang with Matt as he watched the Seahawks win.





Here are the four pages that I came up with: (you can click on the image and it will show up larger.)
Thanks for taking a look at my scrapbooking process! I also wanted to quickly share a video made by Shimelle that you can find here. I made these pages before she posted that video, so I thought it was super coincidental and fun. She uses the exact same kit from Studio Calico.

A Tutorial On Printing Instagrams

I love having prints of my Instagrams - to use on scrapbook pages, Project Life, putting on my inspiration board, on my fridge, whatever! What's not to love about a mini photo? After ordering the expensive prints one time, I figured it would be cheaper if I could do it myself. Ever since I started resizing and printing them myselft, people have been asking for directions. So here they are!

What you will need:

- Some Instagrams (or other square pictures)

- Picasa (a free photo editing program made by Google, download available here)

- Your preferred method for printing 4x6s (I am currently using Costco Photo Center because it's convenient and quick but be warned, sometimes the pictures come out on the dark side which really doesn't thrill me)

1. Get your pictures onto your computer. I plug my phone into my computer with a USB cable and then drag and drop the files.

2. If you don't already have Picasa, go download it.

3. Find the file of one of your photos and right click on it, hover over "open with..." and click on "Picasa Photo Viewer". Then this screen should come up (but with your image showing).

Click "Edit in Picasa"

4. Now select picture(s) and add them to your tray by using the green pushpin button. A green dot should show up on the mini-version of your picture on the bottom left corner of the screen. If you are printing 4x4s, select one picture. (If you are printing 3x3s, select two pictures).

5. Once your picture(s) are selected click on "Create" on the toolbar, select "Picture Collage"

6. Make the proper changes to your collage. Under settings, select "Picture Pile". Under "Page Format" select 4x6. Uncheck the box that says "Draw Shadows". Next resize the picture by clicking and dragging the orange dot until "scale" in the center of the circle says 202%.

Let go and the reposition your photo onto one side (makes trimming easier).

7. Click "Create Collage".

8. Now before you click anything else, hit Ctrl and Enter on your keyboard at the same time. This will show you where your collage is saved. If you would like, copy it and move it somewhere easy to find. (I slowly add pictures that I am planning to print to a folder called 'Photos to Print' throughout the week. This makes it really easy to upload all my pics to print with just a few clicks when I'm ready to order prints).

9. You did it! Now go order your prints and make something awesome!!

...now I'll show you how to print 3x3s if you feel like being an overachiever.

Remember when I was talking about selecting multiple pictures to print 3x3s in Step#4? That would look like this. 

Now go to "Create" and select "Picture Collage" again. Select the same settings that you did in Step #6. This time you will want to resize both of the pictures to 151%.

Then line them up on your canvas, like so...

Click create collage and save like you did last time in Step #8. 

Photoshoot: It's a Girl!

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving I had the awesome opportunity to whip together a little photoshoot for my little brother James, and his cute little wife Josie, that are expecting their first baby in April! This is fun way for them to reveal the gender to friends & family members on facebook.




The little wooden horse is a gift from my mother. James was given that horse as a little boy by a close neighbor and friend. We swapped the blue ribbon for pink, and now its a little heirloom perfect for their green & pink baby room.

Congratulations James & Josie! I am so excited to be an Aunt to a little baby girl. :)

Kahlua Cream Pie

The boys asked for Kahlua Cream Pie for Thanksgiving this year. I had made one awhile back but apparently lost the recipe. Luckily I found this one that ran in the Spokesman Review years and years ago (before 1995 according to the article). My sister and I made it for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! There wasn't a crumb left...

Here's the recipe with a few adaptations that we made.

Kahlua Cream Pie

- 1 pre-baked pie shell 

- 1/3 cup sifted then measured cornstarch

- 2 cups half and half 

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 2 eggs, slightly beaten

- 1/4 cup butter

- 3 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur

- 2 ounces dark chocolate chips, melted

For the topping:

- 1 cup heavy cream

- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

- 1 tablespoon Kahlua liqueur

- Shaved dark chocolate

Prepare pie crust and bake. Bake at 475 degrees for 10 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/2 cup of half and half. In top of double boiler over simmering water, heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream. Add the cornstarch mixture, sugar and eggs. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is very thick and the whisk marks keep their shape. Should look like pudding.

Remove filling from the heat; blend in the butter and Kahlua; transfer about 1/3 of the filling mixture into bowl; set in refrigerator to chill. Blend melted chocolate into remaining filling; refrigerate to cool slightly.

When chocolate filling mixture is cool but not chilled, spread in bottom of baked pie shell; chill.

Carefully layer Kahlua cream filling over the chocolate layer.

Meanwhile to prepare topping, whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar and Kahlua until stiff enough to keep its shape. Spread or pipe through pastry bag to cover top of filling. Garnish with shave chocolate. Enjoy!

P.S. If you need more pie inspiration check out my "I Heart Pie" board on pinterest!