Tutorials – Jo McVey Photography

Princess Edit – Using Greater Than Gatsby Actions

I’ve lost count of how many messages I’ve received asking for mentoring, tutorials, or editing videos, so I decided to record one to show you how I use Greater Than Gatsby actions in my editing workflow. I am in no way affiliated with GTG, I just happen to love their actions.

I started this edit off in Lightroom, and did a few adjustments to exposure and white balance, and then moved on to Photoshop.

It’s really helpful if you know how to work with layers and masks before purchasing their actions so that you can tweak and customize them to your liking.

Here’s the progression of the edit you will see in this video. The straight out of camera (SOOC) image on the far left, then the adjustments I made in Lightroom, and finally finishing up with GTG actions and a little hand editing in Photoshop.

The GTG actions used in this video are from the following collections: Innocence Retouch, Innocence I and II, Newborn Essentials, and Newborn II.

Side note: I shoot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III, and this particular photo was shot with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I always shoot in RAW, never JPEG. I just like having more control over my images. Settings for this photo were 1/200, f2.8, ISO 500.

I hope you like this video! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Also, I’d love it if you’d like my Facebook page: Jo McVey Photography

Or follow me on Instagram: jomcveyphotography

And, if you’re a child and family professional photographer, please join us over in my Facebook group The Art of Child and Family Portraiture.

https://youtu.be/mDTN1GTJBLQ

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Joanna McVey specializes in maternity, newborn, child, senior, and family photography. Serving Nashville and surrounding areas, including Hendersonville, Gallatin, Goodlettsville, White House, Madison, Hermitage, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Bellevue, Old Hickory, Donelson, Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, Castalian Springs, East Nashville, Germantown, Nolensville, Green Hills, Ashland City, 12 South, Belle Meade, Cool Springs, Clarksville, Greenbrier, Spring Hill, Dickson, Portland, Fairview, and all other Middle TN areas.

Chevron Quilt {Free Pattern}

I love chevron. Many a curtain or pillow in my house is, or at one time has been made out of chevron fabric. And I’m sure many of you remember the Chevron Baby Blanket I crocheted for my son. So it’s only natural that my second quilt would be a chevron quilt. (I guess I never blogged about my first quilt. I’ll do that in the next few days.) This quilt was relatively easy to make, thanks to the pattern calling for fabric strips instead of triangles. And since I quilted it by just stitching 1/4 inch from each seam, I had it finished in about 2 weeks. It probably would have taken less time, but you know……I’m a mom. I don’t have much free time these days. 🙂

I picked up two fat quarter bundles (5 fat quarters in each pack) with coordinating aqua and silver fabric from Hobby Lobby, as well as some plain white fabric for the background. I still needed 3 more coordinating fabrics to make the quilt the size I wanted, and luckily I had some fabric in my stash that matched perfectly.

**Here is the free pdf pattern I used.**

Once I had all my fabric cut and the blocks sewn together, I arranged the rows in an ombre´ pattern (light to dark).

Then I sewed my blocks into rows. For this pattern, your rows are diagonal instead of horizontal or vertical.

Then I sewed my rows together.

I was so happy when my quilt top was completely sewn together!

Then it was time to make my quilt sandwich and baste the three layers together. That’s a lot of safety pins!

As I mentioned before, I quilted the quilt (ha!) by stitching 1/4″ from each of the seams to accentuate the chevron pattern….and because it was easier and less time consuming than free motion quilting.

Lastly, my favorite part of quilt making — hand sewing the binding. This is the part where I can just sit and relax watching TV with my hubby, while mindlessly sewing.

I love the way it turned out, and I’ve gotten so many compliments on it. And it’s HUGE! So my hubby and I can easily snuggle under it together.

I chose a cute aqua and white polka dot fabric for the backing.

As I was taking photos, our cat, Lacey, decided the quilt would make a nice soft place to lay. Silly kitty!

Here’s the full view of the quilt. I really struggled with where to put that dark aqua stripe. And even now, I’m not sure it’s in the right spot, but there’s nothing I can do about it now!

Another regular photo bomber is my son, Grayson. See his arm? Right as I was taking this picture, he jumped over and said, “CHEESE!!!”

So, of course, I took his picture. Little cutie pie. He loves these jammies, btw. He calls them his “baby jammies” because they’re the onesie kind that babies wear. He’s standing in front of my new love. I picked up this beautiful, handmade, rustic table on my local Varage Sale page yesterday. I think Joanna Gaines would approve. My new motto for home decor is, “If I couldn’t see it on an episode of Fixer Upper, then it doesn’t belong in my house.”

Well, I hope you enjoy this free pattern, and please let me know if you have any questions!

DIY Alphabet Wall

My son, Grayson (2 yrs., 3 mos.) loves reciting his letters, and can say all but six of them! I’m a proud mama! I’ve been wanting to do this project for a while, so that he and Oliver can see the letters whenever they are playing in their playroom. I finally was able to get to Hobby Lobby to pick up the supplies and get to work. This project wouldn’t have taken very long from start to finish, but I could only work on it for a few minutes at a time, since I have a 7.5 month old and a 2 year old to take care of during the day, so it took me about a week to complete.

Here’s what you’ll need:

cardboard/paper mache letters (found at most craft stores)
scrapbook paper (26 sheets)
modge podge (I used a matte finish)
paint brush or modge podge brush
x-acto knife
scissors
cutting board
tacky putty (for attaching to the wall)

Grayson is obsessed with trucks and trains, so when I saw this pack of coordinating scrapbook paper, I knew it would be perfect for him!

Since I wanted the colors to be evenly distributed, and not have two of the same color or pattern next to each other, I laid out all 26 sheets of paper and switched them around until I was happy. Then, so I wouldn’t loose track of the order, I wrote the letters on the back corner of each page.

On the back of each paper, flip your letter over so that it is facing backward. Then trace around the letter with a pencil.

Tada! A traced letter!

Then, cut out your traced letters. You can leave the center in letters such as B, O, P, etc. because we’ll cut those out with the x-acto knife later.

Next, paint all the sides of your letters with a coordinating paint color.

This is the modge podge and brush that I used. It’s a matte finish for paper.

Brush a thin layer of modge podge on the front of each letter, making sure to cover the entire surface.

Then, firmly press the cut out papers onto each letter. I found it best to start from one end and work your way up, to minimize air bubbles.

Wait at least 30 minutes for the modge podge to dry, then cut out the centers of the letters on a cutting board with the x-acto knife.

Tada!

Next, brush a thin layer of modge podge over the entire front of the letters, and let dry for 30 minutes. Now, you’re ready to hang them on your wall! I used tacky putty to hang them, but if you have another method you’d like to use, by all means, do what makes you happy!

And there you have it! A beautiful alphabet wall for your playroom, nursery, or any other room in your home! (Yes, I realize that the letter “Z” is missing. It was out of stock when I picked up all the other letters, so I’m going to have to go back and get it. Just pretend it’s there.)

I hope you enjoy!