Friday

Wearing an Indian Saree


My first saree was a gift from my husband (who is Indian) when I turned 19 - also the day we got engaged. Since then I've gotten many more. When I first tried to wear a saree I googled it and found a picture tutorial. So, while I've seen people wear them in ways other than the basic most widely used way, I never knew how they did it. So, last week while browsing an online saree store I found these YouTube videos that demonstrated different styles. Here are the links for those videos. {all the videos are from utsavsarees.com and the sound cuts out after the first 15 seconds or so}
Tips on How to Wear Indian Sarees
How to wear Saree
How to wear saree in Rajasthani Style
How to wear saree in Mermaid Style
How to wear saree in Flowing style
How to wear saree in Bengali Style
How to wear saree in Ghaghara Style (or How to wear a Ghagra in a saree style)

-photo from ebestasia.com-

Wednesday

Changing the Colors of Things in Photos

Several people have asked me how to change the color of something in a photo, or one of the downloadable invites on my blog. Well, it all depends on which program you use and what you want to change. To help, here are some basic tutorials I've found on the net for some common popular programs

With Photoshop (and I believe it works in Photohop Elements as well): http://digital-photography-school.com/changing-color-in-photoshop

With Gimp (a free photo editing program): http://www.instructables.com/id/Quick-Color-Change/

With Paint.net: http://www.instructables.com/id/Changing-Colors-In-A-Picture-Using-Paint.net/

With Corel Paintshop Pro: http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/index.jsp?pgid=1400065&item=resource&listid=1500535

And, YouTube has video tutorials for these programs as well as any others you may use. Hope that helps.

Tuesday

Summer Bucket List 2012







Last summer we planned a "best summer ever", with the help of an online forum/message board for moms. We had a weekly theme, and did activities and went places having to do with the theme. You can see a quick run-down of what we did HERE. We had lots of fun, and the kids didn't complain much that they were bored (see the I'm Bored Jar).

This summer I have made a 'bucket list' for our summer. Things won't be as planned out, but I think they will still be fun. Here is what's on our list


To Craft
Make things out of cardboard (house, car, toys, games) 
Make an obstacle course (or hold an Olympics)
Make finger puppets and have a play
Make something origami
Make Milk Carton Boats
Handprint Sunflower (and other handprint art)
Backyard Mural
Friendship Bracelets
Bug Jars
Build a Fairy House
Balloon Animals

To Eat
Make S’Mores
Make homemade marshmallows
Make homemade ice cream
Make homemade pizza together
Lovo (a Fijian version of a luau roasted pig)
Make cookies
Make and decorate cupcakes
BBQ

To Go
Beach
Park
Picnic
Camping
San Juan Islands
Hike by the school
Geocaching
Arboretum
Waterfall
Bird Watching/ Aviary
Fishing
Library (storytime?)
Road Trip - Visit friends
Nature Walk
Parade and Fair
Orienteering
Swimming
Zoo
Mt Shuksan
Mt Rainier – Paradise and Sunrise
Olympic Mountains
Visit a ghost town

To Do
Bubbles (including giant ones)
Scavenger Hunt
Summer Solstice Celebration (June 20, 2012)
Skip Rocks (teach the kids)
Ride Bikes
Backyard movie theater
Fly a kite
Board Games
Go to Garage Sales
Play in the water
Play Frisbee
Play/make Mad Libs and share your stories
Play kickball
Play hide and go seek
Build a clubhouse or a fort
Start reading a classic as a family read 20-30 minutes of it out loud a day
Play dress up
Star Gazing
Marshmallow Shooting
Cloud watching/identifying
Shadow puppets
Celebrate a silly holiday
Lava floor. Don’t touch the floor to survive
Indoor Picnic
Have a Tea Party
Water Fight
Host a cooking party - invite some friends
Knit (teach the kids)
Costume Party
Play charades
Color
Make a Movie
Play in the Rain
Learn a joke

Here is how I printed it to post in our house, with a box to put a checkmark once we've completed the item.

What are you doing this summer?