70's Vintage Toy

I love going to Thrift Stores for many reasons...
1. I love the hunt - it's so much fun to walk into a place that looks pretty hopeless at first glance but as you see beyond that you find those little treasures.
2. I love to save money whenever possible - when it comes to house decorating, toys, clothes, dishes, even gifts, I look first at the thrift store... you never know if you'll find what you need for pennys on the dollar!
3. I love the idea of re-using - one persons junk could possibly be my treasure... just because someone couldn't use an item and decides to donate it doesn't mean it's not good anymore! I could go on and on.

So, Thursday my 2 boys and I decided to stop by my favorite thrift store after a MOPS meeting. In my book it's a great store! They often have 50% off days and I've gotten many, many things there for very little money! And yesterday was one such day... we walked out having spent only $3.24 for two items... a clock for my bathroom and this...

1970's Fisher Price Fun Jet



My 3 year old picked it up and played so much with it at the store I knew that he would love to have it for home...

I was RIGHT! As soon as we got home I gave it a good washing and off he went outside to drag it around and "fly" it! He even took it to bed with him the first night! He LOVES his plane!!

I think .50 was worth all this happiness!!

My first try at Actions...

No, not an action shot... the word "action" is actually an editing term. It's simply means a short cut to editing photos... what would normally take several steps to achieve a specific look you get with 1 step when you apply an "action". A definition taken from the web: "Photoshop actions allow photographers to automate common sequences for increased efficiency." You can get "actions" from all over but I found the ones I'm posting today at The Coffee Shop Blog. By the way, I turned down the opacity of most of the actions... I don't care for the "over edited" look!

Here's my original

(very simple edits were applied to this... like sharpening, vignette, contrast)

Here's the 1st action

"Velvet Truffle"

2nd action

"Tea Party Hazy"

3rd action

"Butter Cream B/W"

2nd Photo Original

"Velvet Truffle"

"Tea Party Hazy"

"Butter Cream B/W"

This is Amber, my sister-in-law, who just had Baby Taylor. We were shooting my other sister-in-law (I'll post those pictures soon) at a family birthday party and I asked if anyone else would like to have their picture taken. Because Amber is... well... AMBER... she jumped at the opportunity! Again, this was my first time using actions and I think they all look nice... I might be using them more often!