It’s been a quiet week in the shop, so I thought I would start upgrading some photo backgrounds. These “I Want Candy” magnets look happier against a proper dinner setting, all set for a Labor Day picnic!A very happy Labor Day weekend to one and all.
I was so happy to find myself in an Etsy Treasury West today! Many thanks to tasteslikepurple for including me in “Violet, You’re Turning Violet!” I couldn’t get ScreenGrab to capture the image (just the frame) but here’s an image extracted from printing to a PDF (I'm in the bottom row on the left). Or you can visit the Treasury live before it expires here.
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Not a lot going on this week, so I thought I would play with the Etsy Mini and see how much I could squeeze into one post. It looks like the answer is 7 rows!1% of the sales price for these items (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
These green striped magnets are fairly dark and were completely defying any attempts to photograph them. I tried paintings, magazine covers — none of my usual background strategies were producing a result even close to the way they look in person. I had resigned myself to the fact that they needed a white background (a prob since I am able to turn even snowy white backgrounds gray). But then I stumbled upon these vintage drawings from the children’s page in a local newspaper, circa 1911.
The white balance and color levels are still giving me trouble — and for some reason Picasa’s sharp display image blurs each time I hit “save,” which is driving me nuts — but I love the drawings! The frogs (top) were what initially caught my eye, since the magnets are green. But I also liked the tiny child fairies playing on the books in the bottom image. Maybe the pixies here can show me how to use my camera properly!
1% of the sales price for these items (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
I can’t decide if this is more lemony or limey. But it was fun to take the photos — this was one of several sets this weekend that did not want to show up against the first several backgrounds I chose. While I'm not convinced this is the final version (and the colors look better on Etsy than they do here), I had the best luck when I fell back on trusty old magazine covers, from the one magazine I never throw away! Here’s a raised glass of the cool beverage of your choice. I refuse to acknowledge that summer is waning!1% of the sales price for these items (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
In my continual quest for interesting backgrounds, I remembered that a few Christmases ago my mom gave me a lovely book featuring women painters of the 19th and early 20th century from our state. The prints are beautiful, and I also really like them as colorful backgrounds for my latest glass bubble magnets.
There’s some tongue-in-cheek irony here, since 
I use upcycled images from fairly prosaic sources — here product inserts and grocery coupons for a newspaper ad for dorm room comforters in the Flower Marché magnets (above) and a newspaper ad for dorm room comforters in the Watercolor Pastel magnets (right). Yet these very quotidian 21st-century images felt like they wanted to be paired with their fine art cousins!1% of the sales price for these items (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
My Favorites section on Etsy is overflowing — I wish I could make a slideshow here to highlight everyone, including Design By Vanessa’s fab Funky Wrap Bracelet, which is an ongoing fave. But since I had a good weekend sales-wise, I think I want to give a little shout-out to a shop that’s still awaiting its first sale. Kaleikyn has such pretty jewelry, most of it in silver tones with a lot of delicate blues and pinks. I’m a big fan of her necklaces, especially Cherry Blossoms by the Lake as well as Persephone (pictured here). All of you amazing and talented jewelry artists face a market with lots of competition — and we all remember what it was like wondering about that first sale! I’m sure Kaleikyn won’t have to wait too long, but I wanted to send some blog ♥s in the meantime!
Image copyright © 2008 by Kaleikyn’s Jewelry.
I have to pace my Etsy listings, since once school starts I’ll have much less time to make things and I need to start stockpiling for Christmas! But I made these last week and decided I didn’t want to wait. These were part of an indoor photo shooting day, and I’m actually happy with the way they turned out.
I’m also continuing to try out new backgrounds. In the Mini Etsy at right, the top image is one of the sets of African Print magnets that I re-shot against a picture of a stringed guitar-like instrument from Mali. For the other African-themed set in the shop, I re-shot against
a Western Civ textbook page about 17th-c. West African cultures. I also re-did the Sedona Sunset magnets (also at right in the Mini) against a map depicting 19th-c. southwestern territories. And for the Happy Sea Monster set above (still a bit too dark), I chose a couple textbook maps illustrating the Renaissance-era Voyages of Discovery. It’s endlessly convenient to have textbooks in the house, even if white balance and I are still fighting with each other, LOL.
1% of the sales price for the Star Moon Heart and Sea Monster Happy magnets (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
I’ve started my own little tradition here on the blog, pausing to feature a favorite Etsy shop as a sort of thank-you to the universe (or the Etsy sprites) after a sale in my shop. For this installment I wanted to spotlight this beautiful Red and Orange Button Bracelet pictured at left, from my Etsy “birthday twin” Boxingday. I like her shop motto (“Saving the world, one art project at a time”), and I love her creative take on recycling and art. Beautiful work and such a fun, generous, and creative artist — the best part of Etsy really is the people. Yay, all of you!
Image copyright © 2008 by Boxingday.
I noticed today I’m an alternate for a Treasury called Fuschia Colored Steel. When I clicked the link, I was wondering what on earth the curator had found in my shop, since everything in the Treasury was gray and steel-colored with just a hint of color — the items were beautiful, but not a match for anything of mine. And then it hit me: the background on my Fuschia Loves Pink magnets, which was white in real life, had turned so gray in my photos that it qualified me for a “steel gray” Treasury!I laughed out loud and I’m still laughing. Too funny!
P.S. – Despite my now publicly verified ineptitude with white balance, it’s a really sharp looking Treasury. You won’t see my item unless something else sells (or at least I think that’s how alternates work), but definitely check out the Treasury here before it expires, with many thanks to Jealousydesign for including me.
Taking photos for the Etsy shop is beginning to feel like playing pool to me. Every once in a while I nail a shot, but I never know how I did it! This photo was just a test shot to adjust the white balance on my camera before photographing the three little magnets in the center. I also wanted to try shooting from farther away and then perhaps cropping. I wasn’t paying attention to the composition (or the fact that it was a food theme), I just pulled a magazine off the coffee table and put the magnets on the white portion after a couple failed sets of photos where I couldn’t get the browns or white balance right. It wasn’t until I transferred the images off the camera that I noticed this test shot had an internal logic all its own.
Part of the problem I’m having is my items are so small, about 3/4" diameter, so I need to use the camera’s macro setting. But for Etsy’s photo boxes, that means showing images of small items in a very large size, and sometimes the extreme close-ups actually don’t look much like the magnets in person. I don’t think this shot is the solution — I don’t typically like backgrounds that overwhelm the subject, although in this case the accidental whimsy factor (candy magnets against a photo of lunch) kind of works. I’ve listed two other sets similar to these “candy” magnets but this is the first time the colors have come out right without distortion. So while I’m happy for now with this “accident,” I’m still seeking photo tips!1% of the sales price for these “Eye Candy” Dessert Magnets (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
I’ve been having trouble with my photos — too dark, and the backgrounds that look snowy white (or even blue-white) on my camera have been turning gray when I post on Etsy. Since I don’t yet have a lightbox, I’ve been noodling around with different backgrounds. A popular page of photo advice for new Etsyians suggests shooting small objects on a printed page. I think this might work better with solid-colored items, but this did turn out a bit better than the white background I originally used for these Lime Blue Geometric magnets (which for a change actually look a bit better on Etsy than they do on the blog). But my photo skills still need work!
Has anyone stumbled on good-photo trivia you’d like to share? If so, please don’t hesitate to post a comment!
1% of the sales price for these items (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
It’s been a quiet week in the shop, so I thought I would start upgrading some photo backgrounds. These “I Want Candy” magnets look happier against a proper dinner setting, all set for a Labor Day picnic!
These green striped magnets are fairly dark and were completely defying any attempts to photograph them. I tried paintings, magazine covers — none of my usual background strategies were producing a result even close to the way they look in person. I had resigned myself to the fact that they needed a white background (a prob since I am able to turn even snowy white backgrounds gray). But then I stumbled upon these vintage drawings from the children’s page in a local newspaper, circa 1911.
The white balance and color levels are still giving me trouble — and for some reason Picasa’s sharp display image blurs each time I hit “save,” which is driving me nuts — but I love the drawings! The frogs (top) were what initially caught my eye, since the magnets are green. But I also liked the tiny child fairies playing on the books in the bottom image. Maybe the pixies here can show me how to use my camera properly!
I can’t decide if this is more lemony or limey. But it was fun to take the photos — this was one of several sets this weekend that did not want to show up against the first several backgrounds I chose. While I'm not convinced this is the final version (and the colors look better on Etsy than they do here), I had the best luck when I fell back on trusty old magazine covers, from the one magazine I never throw away! Here’s a raised glass of the cool beverage of your choice. I refuse to acknowledge that summer is waning!
I use upcycled images from fairly prosaic sources — here product inserts and grocery coupons for a newspaper ad for dorm room comforters in the Flower Marché magnets (above) and a newspaper ad for dorm room comforters in the Watercolor Pastel magnets (right). Yet these very quotidian 21st-century images felt like they wanted to be paired with their fine art cousins!
My Favorites section on Etsy is overflowing — I wish I could make a slideshow here to highlight everyone, including Design By Vanessa’s fab Funky Wrap Bracelet, which is an ongoing fave. But since I had a good weekend sales-wise, I think I want to give a little shout-out to a shop that’s still awaiting its first sale. Kaleikyn has such pretty jewelry, most of it in silver tones with a lot of delicate blues and pinks. I’m a big fan of her necklaces, especially Cherry Blossoms by the Lake as well as Persephone (pictured here). All of you amazing and talented jewelry artists face a market with lots of competition — and we all remember what it was like wondering about that first sale! I’m sure Kaleikyn won’t have to wait too long, but I wanted to send some blog ♥s in the meantime!
I have to pace my Etsy listings, since once school starts I’ll have much less time to make things and I need to start stockpiling for Christmas! But I made these last week and decided I didn’t want to wait. These were part of an indoor photo shooting day, and I’m actually happy with the way they turned out.
a Western Civ textbook page about 17th-c. West African cultures. I also re-did the Sedona Sunset magnets (also at right in the Mini) against a map depicting 19th-c. southwestern territories. And for the Happy Sea Monster set above (still a bit too dark), I chose a couple textbook maps illustrating the Renaissance-era Voyages of Discovery. It’s endlessly convenient to have textbooks in the house, even if white balance and I are still fighting with each other, LOL.
I’ve started my own little tradition here on the blog, pausing to feature a favorite Etsy shop as a sort of thank-you to the universe (or the Etsy sprites) after a sale in my shop. For this installment I wanted to spotlight this beautiful Red and Orange Button Bracelet pictured at left, from my Etsy “birthday twin” Boxingday. I like her shop motto (“Saving the world, one art project at a time”), and I love her creative take on recycling and art. Beautiful work and such a fun, generous, and creative artist — the best part of Etsy really is the people. Yay, all of you!
Taking photos for the Etsy shop is beginning to feel like playing pool to me. Every once in a while I nail a shot, but I never know how I did it! This photo was just a test shot to adjust the white balance on my camera before photographing the three little magnets in the center. I also wanted to try shooting from farther away and then perhaps cropping. I wasn’t paying attention to the composition (or the fact that it was a food theme), I just pulled a magazine off the coffee table and put the magnets on the white portion after a couple failed sets of photos where I couldn’t get the browns or white balance right. It wasn’t until I transferred the images off the camera that I noticed this test shot had an internal logic all its own.
I’ve been having trouble with my photos — too dark, and the backgrounds that look snowy white (or even blue-white) on my camera have been turning gray when I post on Etsy. Since I don’t yet have a lightbox, I’ve been noodling around with different backgrounds. A popular page of photo advice for new Etsyians suggests shooting small objects on a printed page. I think this might work better with solid-colored items, but this did turn out a bit better than the white background I originally used for these Lime Blue Geometric magnets (which for a change actually look a bit better on Etsy than they do on the blog). But my photo skills still need work!
