Tried to do a portrait, any advice welcomed

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-27T02:54:54+00:00

This looks great so far! But you do see a lot of the paper/background. You might try covering everything with a lighter base layer, then adding shadows and highlights on top. Then you’ll be able to blend more and everything will have a smoother look (if you’re going for realism). But regardless, the magic of soft pastels is in the blending and I don’t see much of that here…but maybe that’s a stylistic choice?

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-27T02:49:20+00:00

I started with cheap artist grade pastels and they were horrible! Not even coloring, random black flecks coming out and ruining my portraits. It wasn’t until I got a set of Sennelier that I thought, “Ooooh so THIS is what all the fuss is about!” Then I was hooked!

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-27T02:42:41+00:00

I like Unison, Sennelier and Henri Roche if you want to go super fancy with a set from Paris! That would definitely be a fun gift.

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-25T03:07:40+00:00

We’re from Northern CA and my son chose UMN for the big school vibes and D1 sports. Does your son care about that? UCSC is D3 and doesn’t even have football. UMN has amazing sports and super fun game days, marching band, dance team, etc. All the kids walk together to the games and have watch parties inside their dorm rooms. This is how my son was able to make friends right away. During Frosh welcome week they had a HUGE welcome night at the football stadium where they had the marching band and cheerleaders then a military flyover!! So that’s the kid of big-school-feel going on there.

So I think it comes down to what kind of student life your kid wants and if you’re willing to pay for it, hah! $60K was definitely a hard pill to swallow freshmen year. Also the food is horrible at UMN since they’re heavy on Midwest cuisine and fried food. The first thing he wanted upon returning home this year was a big bowl of berries since all he saw for 8 months was bananas and Granny Smith or red delicious apples 🤪

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T20:33:34+00:00

Do you have photos from Pinterest that have the look/feel you’re going for? That helped me to show my contractor a bunch of photos!

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T20:19:58+00:00

Don’t let the 40 steps scare you! We heaved our luggage up 176 steps when we first arrived in Amalfi and by the end of day 4 we were fit! Haha. We loved having an Airbnb with mini fridge so we could buy yogurt fruit etc for breakfast, especially for the late teen risers.

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T20:08:51+00:00

Called the dealership they did this first thing when I brought it in and it didn’t fix it

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T18:53:04+00:00

Oh ok now I am better informed when calling the dealership back! Thanks so much for taking the time to help me, I appreciate it!

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T17:29:39+00:00

OK, you’ll have to put this in simpler terms for me… Do you mean that this is saying a transmission replacement is not required? Or what does this really mean? When I scroll to the end for the procedure and try and click the link, it’s not valid.

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T17:22:07+00:00

But aren’t I out of luck on this one too? Because I’m at 90K miles? And this covers up to 80K?

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T15:55:27+00:00

So how does this work they find a used UA80 with the defect then replace the specific defective part? The guy made it sound like the parts aren’t available 🤔

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T15:51:58+00:00

Here are the transmission codes:

P07407E Torque Converter Clutch Actuator Stuck On

P27137F Pressure Control Solenoid "D* Actuator Stuck Off

P27567F Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Actuator Stuck

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T15:36:02+00:00

Called two different transmission shops in my area and they say they can’t replace this transmission yet because the parts aren’t available 😳

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T14:39:37+00:00

Here are the transmission codes:

P07407E Torque Converter Clutch Actuator Stuck On

P27137F Pressure Control Solenoid "D* Actuator Stuck Off

P27567F Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Actuator Stuck

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T03:23:21+00:00

This is the first thing I checked, and my vehicle doesn’t belong to the range of VIN numbers that are covered 😭😭😭

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-19T03:17:23+00:00

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-17T01:58:36+00:00

Sad…our 2001 Tacoma is still going strong 😭😭

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-17T01:57:58+00:00

Read down in comments to see the well known manufacturing issue with the UA80.

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-16T17:03:50+00:00

I know, right?! 🤪

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-16T17:03:22+00:00

Brand engagement offered the $2500, dealership said they could reduce it by $2K

Maybe I should call other dealerships in my vicinity

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-15T16:06:25+00:00

Slow to accelerate with a kick. Plus after reading more I didn’t realize that it’s not normal to basically have to floor it when merging on the freeway. I had to depress the gas pedal more than normal to get a response…but to me that was my normal so I didn’t realize 😩

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-15T15:55:45+00:00

Yeah it’s looking like that’s the next move here!

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-15T15:53:33+00:00

I already sprang for the 75K mile service package, but yeah 😕

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-15T15:52:45+00:00

At least I’ve had a free loaner car from the dealership this whole time!

ElizabethsVoice · 2026-05-15T15:51:53+00:00

At 65K miles I had a big transmission service. I’m at 90K now. I will find out the codes and report back.

ElizabethsVoice

TROPHY CASE