Grace and the Greenery – A Photoshoot + Updates

Hi everyone!

Today I have a photoshoot of Grace to show you, and also some updates on summer posting on Smile and Craft AG! Enjoy!

One of my summer goals is to use a blogging schedule during break. This past semester kept me busy with school and work, so since summer has arrived, I have some more free-time, and should be able to post more often (and more consistently)!

So today (Thursday) I decided that I would plan to start a schedule to post every Thursday!

Thus, once our backyard was shady I grabbed Grace (who I had dressed for a photoshoot the other day), and got some photos of her around some big green bushes we have. And then I did the editing and finished the post tonight 😛 !

Hopefully I will keep up the schedule so that you all can expect a post each week on Thursday!

But, next week should be different because…

Wednesday is Smile and Craft AG’s 2nd blogiversary!!!

I’m planning something special, so stay tuned for then!

And enjoy the rest of the shoot!

 

Before you go, Charis is hosting a giveaway for her 1-year blogiversary! She’s giving away The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson. Check it out here!

 

Which photo is your favorite? What do you think I will do for Smile and Craft AG’s blogiversary? Would you be interested in a Photoshop photo editing tutorial?

 

I look forward to posting here more often this summer!

 

Have a blessed day!

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Happy Resurrection Day! {{Easter 2018}}

Happy Easter everyone!

Today I’m here with some family photos of my dolls in the Easter outfits that you all voted on for them!

I hope you enjoy the pictures. Most importantly, my hope and prayer is that you remember the reason we celebrate Easter.

It’s not the rabbits, the chocolate, the egg hunts.

It is Resurrection Day. A day we commemorate Jesus rising from the grave after his death on the cross, conquering death and sin.

And as the song “Glorious Day” puts it,

~Living He loved us.

Dying He saved us.

Buried He carried our sins far away.

Rising He justified, freely forever.

And one day He’s coming back, oh glorious day!~

We don’t deserve His love, yet he freely gives it. Don’t take this message lightly! It is the most important news the world will ever know. Without it, we are doomed to eternity in Hell.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.” ~Isaiah 53:6 

There is hope in the power of the cross!

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” ~Acts 16:31. Visit my “What I Believe” page, or find a Bible church for more information 🙂 . And for those of you who are Believers, let’s rejoice in Jesus’ sacrifice, today and for eternity!

 

And now, onto the photos!

I really like this year’s Easter dresses 🙂 . Click here to see last Easter’s photoshoot!

I think Easter is a great time to get family doll photos 😉 .

And here’s Consuelo! (and the dress I had you all wait to see!) I sewed it recently. Her collection of clothing is growing.

Caroline and Consuelo wanted a photo together 🙂

The two oldest.

And the two youngest!

And finally two last pictures of Consuelo.

 

Favorite photo? Favorite thing you did this Easter? Did the dolls wear the outfits you voted for them?

 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures, and that you had a blessed Easter!

 

Bonus photo comparison:

I was using a white poster-board as a reflector. The above photo is an unedited picture without a reflector.

And this one is an unedited picture with the reflector! I simply propped the board in front of me while I took the pictures. It really seems to even out the shadows, and help their eyes to shine a little more.

 

Winner of the Cowgirl-Style Fashion Show! + Behind the Scenes

Hello!

Ready to see the winner?

In my last post I asked you all to vote again so that a winner could be decided from the two tied dolls. Unfortunately, in the first few days my plan wasn’t quite working. The votes changed for the two dolls… the same amount!

I didn’t close out the poll on Saturday because I wanted to have my mom break the tie. But instead, before I got around to having my mom vote, someone came to the post and cast a vote…

And the tie was broken!!

So, again, Are you ready to see who won?

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Let’s narrow it down: the tie was between Grace and Clara!!

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The winner is…

 

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Grace Renae!!

 

Here is her winning photoshoot!

Pretty much Grace’s whole outfit is various pieces from Our Generation sets, excepting the boots (and earrings).

I would guess the boots might be Springfield, but I can’t remember.

 

♥     ♥     ♥

 

I had asked you all if you wanted to see some behind-the-scenes pictures (mostly consisting of Callie’s ventures onto the set!), and a lot of you did, so here they are!

 

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And here she is, popping in during Grace’s pictures! She looks a bit distracted.

Hehehehe… 😉

Here’s Caroline being silly with her long braids.

And Callie seeing what’s up. ☺

 

I hope you enjoyed, and congratulations to Grace! 😀

 

Which of Grace’s pictures was your favorite? Do you have pets (or just dolls!) that do silly things in your photoshoots?

Spring break is on its way! Mine’s coming up the week after this coming week (next week). When’s yours?

 

Have a blessed day!

Pretty as a Princess – A Caroline Photoshoot with Photoshop Editing

Hi there!

Today I have a short photoshoot of pretty Caroline. She is modeling the dress I won in American Girl Fan’s giveaway. It is such a pretty, silky dress!! Thank you Rolling Rock Dolls and American Girl Fan! Underneath the skirt, I added a tulle tutu that I made, making the dress more like a full, old-fashioned-type gown.

Since I just got Photoshop, I wanted to use this photoshoot as a sort of Photoshop trial run. I edited each of the pictures using Photoshop.

After the photoshoot (note: it’s a pretty short photoshoot 😉 ), I’ll show you a few before and after pictures to show the difference from editing, and I also have one fun, play edit, as well!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Editing really helps bring out her pretty eye color!

 

 

This is one of my favorites 🙂

 

 

Another of my favorites 😉

 

And one last look at her pretty dress.

 

 

That’s the end of the photoshoot! So…

Here are a few before and after editing pictures! Before is always first, and I’ll label them, as well.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

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After:

 

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After:

 

 

And lastly I have a fun bonus edit! I was going off of this tutorial, but eventually just added the sparkle/lights in a different way (I think I used the dodge tool, in case you were wondering), because the tutorial’s version of Photoshop didn’t match my version.

Maybe not quite as magical as the tutorial, but I think it turned out pretty fun ☺ .

 

So, what did you think?

Editing really makes a difference, doesn’t it? I hope that you enjoyed the photoshoot, and editing!

Which picture is your favorite? Do you have Photoshop, or edit photos with something else? Any editing suggestions, tips, or critiques?

Would you like to see a post on how I edit (perhaps after I’ve had some more practice 🙂 )?

What other posts would you like to see on Smile and Craft AG?

Thank you for reading and Have a Blessed Day!

 

 

 

Cheery Consuelo – A Photoshoot

Good day!

Today I have the photoshoot that I had mentioned getting of Consuelo to show you!

She’s such a pretty doll, and it’s fun to play around with photographing her. H4H doll’s heads actually have a little wider range of motion than AG (their heads can move upward a bit), which adds some different posing options.

Please enjoy!

I made the dress, shoes, and headband that she is wearing, all no-sew. The headband is made with some sheer ribbon, braided and tied around her head, the dress is sort of a half-circle of fabric with openings for her arms and head cut out, and the shoes are made with denim fabric, hot-glued onto craft foam soles.

I hope you enjoyed!

Which picture was your favorite? Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner?

I hope to do a Christmas-y post soon!

Also, Smile and Craft AG is nearly at 200 followers!! But… I don’t know what to do in celebration. Any ideas?

Have a blessed day!

P.S. Thoughts on the new sign off?