{flashy} Fix-It Friday #136

It has been quite a while since I have participated in Fix-It Friday over in the I Heart Faces community. When I saw the image up for editing today I knew I wanted to play! Editing my own photos, I often stick to basic clean edits but sometimes it is a nice break to have a little fun with it. I knew looking at this picture, by Angie Arthur Photography, that I wanted to give it a saturated urban feel. 

Here is what I did for my final image, it may look like a long list but each step is fairly basic

Edited in Photoshop CS4

• Cropped
• Selected a portion of the brick wall, feathered to 20px and copied to a new layer to get rid of the small amount of window that was left after cropping. 
• Levels adjustment layer on each channel (you can see my tutorial on this here) 
• Duplicated the background image and set to Overlay blend mode, reduced to 80% opacity and masked back her shirt to bring back some detail
• Duplicated the background image and set to Multiply blend mode, reduced to 40% and masked back the girl. 
• Duplicated the background image and ran a High Pass Sharpen with a radius of 20px and set to vivid light blend mode, reduced opacity to 35%
• Duplicated the background image and set to Linear Light blend mode, reduced to 10%
• Selective Color adjustment layer, selected Reds and reduced magenta to -50 and upped yellow to +5
• Gradient adjustment layer with a violet/green/orange gradient, reduced opacity to 30% and masked back the girl at 50% opacity to reduce discoloration in her skin. 
• Flatten layers and save. 

{flashy} I Heart Faces B&W Challenge

It has been quite a while since I have participated in the challenges at I Heart Faces. I have been hoping to jump back in to Fix-It Friday's but it looks like I will start with the B&W challenge! I love black and white photos but for some reason while editing my photos I rarely think about doing a black and white edit. This challenge was a good motivator for me to pick some of my recent favorites and have another go at them.

I took this picture at the first village we visited in Takeo, Cambodia as we were setting up our clinic for the day. This photo has reeled me in from the moment I pulled it up on my computer. Most people may pass right by it, but I. Am. Just. Stuck. On. It. The light pouring in from the window. The man's smile. The children anxiously awaiting brand new tooth brushes, which many had never used before. It is a story.

Take a look at some of the other entries!

{off topic} His love is wide

There was a time when this blog was supposed to be about my artistic endeavors. Yes, even cooking is an art. Oh, what good times they were. I started off so strong and then lost all my umph. One thing about me is that I am NOT a naturally creative person. Not in the least. I have always been more logically driven. It just so happens that everything I find passion for, that I enjoy and strive for, involves a decent level of creativity. Since it doesn't come naturally to me I work at it. Painstakingly work at it. At times...err, always...its a slow process. I'm working on that. In the meantime I find it impossible to not share where I am personally. 


When I started going to church, just over a year ago, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had gone to church as a kid but don't recall being too involved. What I never expected was how much it would change me, consume me, fill me with joy. I was seeking to refine my beliefs, and I got exactly what I asked for.

I have had the song Furious by Jeremy Riddle in my head for the last two days. I have heard it in church a couple of times and all I can say is that this song completely overcomes me. One thing, in any genre of music, that pulls me in is emotion. I want to hear it in their voices. To feel it in my heart. And when that happens I am moved to tears without any real knowledge of why I am crying. This song is no exception. The only thing I can say is that it fills my heart with love, and who doesn't want that? And His love at that. 

I came home from Cambodia two weeks ago. I have been struggling with what to post and sat down several times at my computer to do it but the words would not come to me. This song has inspired me. Although I'm still not sure what I am trying to say while I am typing away :)

"His love is deep. His love is wide. And It covers us. His love is fierce. His love is strong. It is furious."

My time in Cambodia was spent helping people that needed to be shown this kind of love. To know that it is available to them, waiting for them. After enduring years of genocide, which is still fresh in their history, their country needs healing. And what better way to heal than with God's love? It empowers us to do more than we imagined possible. 

During the week we spent in Takeo visiting different villages I helped register our "patients". I struggled with not having much opportunity to interact with the people more than I did. They told my translator what they needed to be seen for; I wrote down what he said. But I tried to find moments to connect when words were not necessary. A smile is universal, right? Those small connections were some of the highlights of my days that week. Of course learning a tiny bit of Khmer, their language, helped a little too. 



We saw just under 900 people in that week and I saw many people turned away because we simply could not help everybody. A majority of the people had pretty standard complaints; arthritis pain, toothaches, colds and stomach aches.  There were some that had been dealing with chronic issues for 5, 10 even 20 years without ever seeing a doctor. Whether it was a 7 year old boy that had an abscessed tooth pulled. An 85 year old woman getting glasses so she could read again. Or a 40 year old man being given pain medication from falling out of a palm tree, true story! We brought relief and hope. 

I was met with so many faces of endurance. Of resiliency.


of innocence. 

The children. Oh, don't get me started on the children. They truly stole my heart. Seeing as though I could probably talk about them for hours, I will save that for another post. 

I can only hope that I helped touch their lives as much as they touched mine. 

{flashy} the details

Oh hi there!


I remember you. Do you remember me?


No? Oh. 


Well, I suppose I can't blame you for that one. 

Have I mentioned that I am a wonderful procrastinator? So good in fact that I don't do, at all, what I am procrastinating to do. I think that made sense...

Growing up in southern California we never really had true seasons. It was a very welcomed change when we moved to Oregon last year. I have been relishing in the changing colors as fall has come and seems to be quickly heading back out. 

I so often find myself just lost in my surroundings, taking in all the beauty around me. We live in a truly spectacular world. 

I try not to dismiss the little details. It's the details, the beauty, the wonder, the awe, that makes small moments so joyous. 

{off topic} Changes

I'm totally rollin' with 'em.

A lot has changed in the last, oh 45 days, or so. On July 24th my husband and I wrote an offer on a house. We saw the house the day before, and within minutes knew it was the right place for us. Granted, neither of us really expected to purchase a house this year. And not just A house, our first house. We have been saving for it, and occasionally looking, but we felt that we wouldn't find "the" place until after I came back from Cambodia. Then we found this place. I didn't expect to like it from the listing pictures but was really surprised when we walked in to find that it had everything we have been looking for. A spare room, closet space, a pantry - let alone a walk-in pantry! and it has a yard. It wasn't exactly the cute house with a big yard I was hoping to find, but it had what we actually needed and at the asking price, it was hard to walk away! So, as I said, on July 24th we wrote our offer. Since it was a Sunday it was submitted the next day. On August 26th we were signing! 31 days. That's fast! Everything fell in to place as it was meant to be. My husband had to leave town for a week for work just two days after we signed, so we officially moved in to our new house this past Monday. It feels great to finally be in a space we can call our own. We already have big plans, for much later on down the road.

On top of that my little man started pre-school today. Preschool!? How did that happen? He is going 3 days a week, for 2.5 hours each day. I think its just enough time to give him a break from mommy. And mommy some time to craft, or who knows, maybe even read :-) At this time last year he was terrified at the idea of going to school. He has changed so much over the course of a year, he is definitely not my little baby anymore. This morning was all smiles and hugs getting ready for school. He had a wonderful time, and is even excited to go back on Monday.

The craft show I am doing in October is fast approaching! I am nowhere near ready. I would love to get another 10-15 items done before then, as well as a ton of vinyl wall sayings. I will have a new craft space in our spare room so lets hope that, combined with some free time now, I will push on through. I am still praying for a good turn out. I would love to get my name out there and start a little side business. And of course, selling a few items would be great too! It would be a nice addition to my Cambodia fund.

The Pastor of my church has been speaking more of Cambodia, and Cambodian people, in the last several weeks and it always leaves me in tears. As well as excited for the opportunity to go and make a difference in their lives. Our church has a great vision to help the people of this country, the pure outpouring of love just leaves me in awe. It really is nothing short of amazing.

I have been blessed in this life with some truly wonderful friends. My dear friend Stephanie still has a Scentsy fundraiser going for me until the end of this month. She has graciously offered me 100% of her commission from this fundraiser! If you are interested in some great Scentsy products for a good cause, you can buy directly from here. Many awesome new items were released this month! Another friend of mine, Liz, has offered up a fundraiser as well! She makes some GORGEOUS hairbows and headbands, and super cute jewelry. And they don't just have to be for your kids! I have purchased from her to send gifts to friends. I wish I could pull off a fancy headband myself, but it just isn't happening. I am hoping to have more details about this soon! I have struggled with guilt since I began fundraising for my trip. I have certainly never been one to ask for handouts. Though I am learning that God has set me on this path, and it will fall in to place as it is supposed to. I will not push. I will not hound. I will, however, take an opportunity to talk about God's plan in me. While I do not want to phish for donations, I do want to give everybody a chance to support a cause. Giving is such a wonderful feeling, I certainly do not want to deny anybody the opportunity. If you would like to support me on my trip you can absolutely do so.

Make checks payable to Horizon Community Church - its tax deductable!

Write "Amanda De Jong Cambodia 2012" in the memo line

Mail to:

Rick Meacham

Cambodia Mission Coordinator
23735 SW Ladd Hill Rd.

Sherwood, OR 97140

I am deeply grateful to my family and friends that have supported me. In contributions, fundraiser purchases, prayers and kind words. It all means so much!

In the last several months I have thought a lot about my "greater purpose" in life. That amplified quite a bit when I decided I was going to Cambodia. I love being a wife and mother, supporting my family's needs and just being there for them, but I wondered what more I could do or that I should be doing. I don't know what exactly my calling is, but I do absolutely feel it growing in my heart to help not only these children in Cambodia but locally as well. I have registered to walk a 5k next weekend, and have also volunteered to help with the event, through Stop Child Trafficking NOW. These walks are happening nationally. I encourage everybody to look for one in your own neighborhood! This organization doesn't just wait to help victims after the fact, they are working to remove the source. Their mission:

"SCTNow exists to stop child trafficking by targeting the source of child trafficking: predators who drive the sex industry everywhere in the world, including in your local community. SCTNow has partnered with specially trained operatives familiar with what it takes to infiltrate, investigate and bring to justice the predators victimizing children worldwide." 

You can check out their events here. While it is absolutely free to walk, I have a personal goal of raising $200 to sponsor my walk. If anybody is interested in sponsoring me, please click here.

If you made it to the end of this post. I totally applaud you. I really need to keep up more often so my posts aren't always a big jumbled mess.

How about I leave you with a picture?