Mama Got a New Camera

I finally did it.  After complaining all the time that my pictures stink and that they're grainy and they're not the quality I wanted, I just bit the bullet and bought a new (to me) camera.  It's a used one I got on Amazon.  The seller had 100% feedback and a return policy so I figured it was a low risk situation and I got it for more than $100 less than what I would have paid new.  It came quickly (within about 3 days), and was packed in the original packing with everything included.

I got a Nikon Coolpix L120.  My sister-in-law has the same camera, and I used it to take pics of my new spring collection.  You can see those pictures here.  It's so much better than the old $40 point and shoot I've been using, and I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of it between business and taking pictures of the kiddos.

I haven't read the manual yet, or figured out all the features, but I've already used it a couple of times and it's great!  If you're looking for a more sophisticated point and shoot (because you don't want to mortgage your house for a DSLR), then I'd really recommend this one.  Here's to better Sugarplum pictures!

Sugarplum Freebie: Valentine's Day Printable

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and I've been trying to find some cute, free, non-character Valentine's that I could print from my computer and let my kids sign (or color in Dieter's case) the back and then we could send them to family and friends.  I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I made my own and I'm sharing them with you here.  There's a boy and a girl version (one with a bow on the mustache and one without), so you can please the masses on the big day.

 You can click on the image and save it to your desktop to print it, or you can find it in Google Docs here for a higher quality print.  Orrrr, you can email me at sugarplumcuties(at)hotmail(dot)com and I can send you the orginal files.

I printed ours on some white cardstock and then let the kids go nuts on the back.  Easy peasy.

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

Photo Editing

One question I am often asked is what photo editing software I use when posting pictures to my Facebook group and page.  As much as I wish I did, I don't have Photoshop right now, so I use a combination of a few online editors to get the job done.  Before I offer advice of any kind please understand that I am in no way qualified as a graphic designer or anything remotely close to that.  Quite frankly, I stink at logos and fonts and photo editing in general, but there are a few programs I've found that have helped me stink less.  Maybe.

Microsoft Paint

Believe it or not, that old program that you used to use to draw goofy things on your computer is good for photo editing too.  If you have a PC you have Paint.  It's usually somewhere in Programs -> Accessories depending on what version of Windows you are running.  You can crop images, add shapes, add text, resize, etc.  I use this program a lot if I want to add text using a specific font on my computer.  I also use it when I'm resizing images like for creating my Facebook banners.  You can upload a picture in there to edit, or you can start from scratch and create your own images.  I created this banner using just the features in Paint:

iPiccy

iPiccy is on online photo editor that I think is like a 'lite' version of Photoshop.  You can add layers much like Photoshop.  There is also an "autofix" setting that will automatically fix your photo, and lots of other presets like a cartoonizer and pencil sketch setting that are fun to use and see how they make your photos look.  You can also add textures, text, and stickers to your photos, and all the features are completely free.  The only thing you can't do in iPiccy is create photo collages which brings me to my next program.

PicMonkey

PicMonkey is just straight up awesome.  They upload stickers and fonts on there that coordinate with the upcoming holidays.  So right now there are a bunch of cool edits you can use for Valentine's day.  Some of them are Royal features, which means you have to pay for them, but some of them are free.  The best thing about PicMonkey is that you can use it to create photo collages like this one I did here:

Honestly, the best way to get better at editing and creating images on the computer is to just jump right in there are start messing around with all the features and see what happens.  If you have any other awesome programs  you use leave them in the comments section so we can all benefit!