Polling Place Photo Project

I'm kicking myself for not posting this earlier. The New York Times is doing a cool polling place photo project!



Here is a bit of info about the project from the NY Times site:

The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism that encourages voters to capture, post and share photographs of this year’s primaries, caucuses and general election. By documenting local voting experiences, participants can contribute to an archive of photographs that captures the richness and complexity of voting in America.

We are especially interested in photographs that document your voting experience, including what works and what could be improved. If you are wondering what to photograph, take a picture of that! We're looking of photos of interiors, exteriors and other views that are part of your voting experience. Obviously, you need to follow the rules at your local polling place, and you should be respectful of other citizens who may not wish to be photographed.

On a related note, if you have any voting related questions or need help, please visit the National Association of Secretaries of State website. This nonpartisan site was created by state election officials to help eligible voters figure out how and where to go vote.

Have fun voting tomorrow!

Photo to Comic Effect

Happy November! I hope everyone had a fun Halloween. Matt and I saved our energy for playing Rock Band tonight at a friend's house. I'm going to try making mulled apple cider. I bought mulling spices from Penzey's (warning: the store will convince you of the need for spices you've never even heard of). They recommend heating a pot of 1/2 apple cider and 1/2 cranberry juice with 1-2 tablespoons of mulling spices. You can also add a splash of spiced rum or brandy. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Let's jump subjects and talk about Photoshop again. I have the 7.0 version and I love it (thanks Dad!). I recently found a tutorial on how to turn a photo into a comic book panel. While I was working on it, I got to thinking how cool it would be to make a comic book with photos of how Matt and I met, and what our life together has been like. It would be a neat way for guests to get to know us better.

Then I mentally slapped myself (yes, I can do that). I think DIY has turned into DIYUYD (Do It Yourself Until You're Dead) for me. If I do all these projects I have sitting in my head, Matt and I will wind up having to get married sometime in 2088.

But that doesn't mean someone else can't do it. Here is the picture I used for the tutorial before the modification:



You can't tell, but Matt has black and red hair in this picture. These were his rock and roll glory days before becoming a responsible adult (no sniggering). Here is the end result:



Nifty, huh? Most printing companies should be able to take your modified photos and print them in a comic book format. If anyone winds up doing this, please let me know so I can look at it and feel insanely jealous.

Here is a link to another comic book effect tutorial for a slightly different look.

Breaking News - Drop Everything!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have had a Palin sighting. Please keep your voices down and no sudden movements- she packs heat and has "palled around with" Cheney.



Here again is her best bud Obama:



Brings a tear to the eye...

The Great Pumpkin

Occasionally I would like to post something non-wedding related. Especially since I think this blog will remain in use once the wedding is over.

Last night Matt and I went to an awesome pumpkin carving party at our friend Tamisha's house. Every year she has a get together with fantastic chili, cold beer, and lots of candy. However, I should mention that this is a very serious event for Matt. Last year he discovered the joys of pumpkin carving. He attempted an ambitious pirate ship design that turned out looking pretty cool:



This year he stepped up his game. Here he is at work on his masterpiece:



Another shot:



Finally after a little more than 2 hours of work, here is this year's pumpkin (get the smelling salts ready):



Here it is at night, the "I Can't Believe I Spent 2 Hours Carving a Pumpkin" pumpkin:



Here it is posing with its pumpkin posse:



No, you are not hallucinating. Senator Obama graced us with his presence last night. It was uncanny how much this carving looked like him:



A Sarah Palin pumpkin is rumored to be in the works, we will keep you posted and alert the AP to any developments.

Matt even won a much coveted prize for his pumpkin skills:



Yep, a new t-shirt.

Hey Crafty Lady

The crafting bug has not just bitten me, it's clamped down with steely jaws and I'm afraid there is no escape. In one of my more and more frequent periods of wedding insanity I decided to make our wedding invitations. Yup, by myself. By hand.

Thankfully there is a lovely site called Weddingbee. More to the point, an awe inspiring blogger named Mrs. Lemon (all their bloggers are named after foods). Mrs. Lemon is a crafting goddess. Seriously, I'm convinced she has crafted her way to deity status. She has also convinced me I need an embosser. That's one of these babies:



She got hers from Wilshire Graphic Press. You can submit your personal monogram (easy to do, just see my previous post) and they will turn it into an embossing plate. Here is Mrs. Lemon's:



Here is the result:



The embossers are $49.95 each, which includes both the embosser itself and the plate that you design. The custom embossing plate is only $10 more ($59.95 total). Additional plates (I'm thinking our return address) are an additional $29.95.

Monogram Goodness

Well. Well, well, well. I'm feeling rather smug at the moment because I finally learned how to work Photoshop. I found some awesome monogram tutorials on the web, so I gave it a whirl and this is what I came up with:

I really can't take any credit since I just followed the tutorial, but I can give credit to an awesome blogger who showed me how to do this. Go check out Brianna Nichole's blog for amazingly easy instructions on how to make your own. Here are some other sites that offer monogram tutorials:

Weddingbells
myJanee

I'm going to print my monogram on blank labels and use them on the backs of my invitation envelopes.