The Etsy shop and the blog have been on hiatus, but we are back! I'm working with existing stock for now, but enjoying making some sales and getting to know new visitors to Etsy.
My best wishes to friends old and new during this long, cold winter. Have some soup!
Despite that sneaky Labor Day holiday and the end of our permission to wear white, summer doesn’t officially end until September 21 — and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it!
See, just like magic you have an extra three weeks of summer! (Maybe I should go into business granting wishes — I wonder if there’s an Etsy category for that?)
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.
I’m resisting listing Christmas items this early (I’m making them, just setting them aside for later). But I did find some autumnal colors and patterns that really appealed to me. My first foray into warmer colors came from a source that only yielded a few circles, so I made them into a little 4-set I’m calling Sedona Sunset (left), since it reminded me of colors and patterns in the Southwest.
I also really liked this African-themed pattern (or at least it felt reminiscent of African fabrics to me), which yielded the first of several eventual sets I’m calling African Autumn (right) These and a few other new items are available — where else! — at 13 Delancey Street’s shop on Etsy.
1% of the sales price for all the items in my Etsy shop donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits
For years I’ve been receiving China Radio International (CRI)’s reader newsletter, as well as very pretty calendars and delicate paper items, all because I sent them a QSL (listeners’ report) card years ago, when I was spending time listening to shortwave radio. Most stations send a postcard back in response — I have lovely cards from 42 countries, the last time I checked. But CRI also sends beautiful die-cut items a couple times a year. The listeners’ newsletter is more straightforward, mostly station news and contests for English-speaking listeners. But I’m so drawn to pictograms and Asian-themed items, after my black and white CRI bubbles sold, I decided to take scissors to another issue before it went into the recycling bin. This one was a program calendar printed in pretty lavender and pink (with the results above, of course available on Etsy). As always I’m not sure what the characters say, but I’m confident it’s G-rated!
Speaking of pink, I tried my hand at my first solid-colored bubble magnets (Fuschia Loves Pink, left). I love the colors, although as per usual I actually think the color worked better here on Blogger than it did in my Etsy shop.
1% of the sales price for these items (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
Sounds nicer than pink with some orange, no? I had fun today practicing for an Etsy treasury. Goodness knows when I’ll ever be able to snag one, but I found a beautiful group of items. I don’t want to give away my theme, but if I don’t have success soon, I’ll post a sneak peek here.
My newest items for sale in the Etsy shop: a summery yellow set of Sunflower Marble Magnets (currently in the gallery in the right sidebar). I’m also quite happy with the way the Tangerine Pink Marbles turned out, pictured here.
1% of the sales price for these items (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
I don’t typically think of myself as an orange and green person (I'm all about blue and green). But these designs caught my eye: they’re so peppy and happy. As with most of the glass bubble magnets in my shop, I found these designs in random magazines.
1% of this sale (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.
Update 7/15/08:
First I learned how to make little magnets out of flat glass bubbles. Then I started seeing 1/2-inch circles, suitable for magnet-ing, in lots of magazines, newsletters, discarded business cards, and even political campaign stickers. Could an Etsy shop be far behind?
I listed the first couple items for the shop, called 13 Delancey Street, on July 4th: a set of glass marble magnets made from pages of the China Radio International reader newsletter, and a set called Ocean Blue (right) made from various magazines with gorgeous swimming pool shots.
I’m just going to add a few items at a time, so I don’t compete with myself on the site search. The most recent items added will be viewable here on the blog, on the upper right-hand column. The Etsy shop also has a RSS feed (see the lower-right hand corner of the shop home page). Or you can keep up here by subscribing via the link below!
For information on the shop’s 1% to charity program, see my earlier post.
Welcome to the companion blog to our collection of upcycled baubles and trinkets, just for you. Our items will be available on Etsy around July 4th. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of a work in progress. Using flat glass marbles and found papers, these will be transformed into pretty and affordable bubble magnets. If you would like to be notified when 13 Delancey Street goes live adds new items on Etsy, post a comment!
Despite that sneaky Labor Day holiday and the end of our permission to wear white, summer doesn’t officially end until September 21 — and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it!
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!
I’m resisting listing Christmas items this early (I’m making them, just setting them aside for later). But I did find some autumnal colors and patterns that really appealed to me. My first foray into warmer colors came from a source that only yielded a few circles, so I made them into a little 4-set I’m calling Sedona Sunset (left), since it reminded me of colors and patterns in the Southwest.
I also really liked this African-themed pattern (or at least it felt reminiscent of African fabrics to me), which yielded the first of several eventual sets I’m calling African Autumn (right) These and a few other new items are available — where else! — at 13 Delancey Street’s shop on Etsy.
Speaking of pink, I tried my hand at my first solid-colored bubble magnets (Fuschia Loves Pink, left). I love the colors, although as per usual I actually think the color worked better here on Blogger than it did in my Etsy shop.
Sounds nicer than pink with some orange, no? I had fun today practicing for an Etsy treasury. Goodness knows when I’ll ever be able to snag one, but I found a beautiful group of items. I don’t want to give away my theme, but if I don’t have success soon, I’ll post a sneak peek here.
First I learned how to make little magnets out of flat glass bubbles. Then I started seeing 1/2-inch circles, suitable for magnet-ing, in lots of magazines, newsletters, discarded business cards, and even political campaign stickers. Could an Etsy shop be far behind?
I’m just going to add a few items at a time, so I don’t compete with myself on the site search. The most recent items added will be viewable here on the blog, on the upper right-hand column. The Etsy shop also has a RSS feed (see the lower-right hand corner of the shop home page). Or you can keep up here by subscribing via the link below!
Welcome to the companion blog to our collection of upcycled baubles and trinkets, just for you. Our items will be available on Etsy around July 4th. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of a work in progress. Using flat glass marbles and found papers, these will be transformed into pretty and affordable bubble magnets. If you would like to be notified when 13 Delancey Street 
