Something New...

As much as I loved the old background I felt it was time for something new. So I put in my new header and some touches of aqua...my favorite color (next to acidy lime green!)

Back tomorrow with the next photo installment...what a difference a photo program can make!

Be cre8ive!
Susan

I'm ready for my close up!

Photo taking...easy right? Ha!

This weeks time sucker has been wrapped up in trying to take photos of the 3010 things in the studio waiting for their close up. In addition to that I've been teaching my daughter how to take pics for Etsy and assist while I take some.

In a nut shell it took two days to take 250 pictures, then another day until 1 am to re-sample them and catalogue them for the shop. I still need descriptions, measurements, pricing...it never seems to end.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...lets start at the beginning. Back here: http://susanscharmingtrinkets.blogspot.com/2011/10/whats-up-this-week.html
I started to tell you about my photo box and my attempts at taking pics of my jewelry. That photo box is one of the best things I've ever built and it cost the price of a recycled box, about 1/2 yard of white cotton fabric (maybe $2.50), and a roll of white duct tape ($5.00) which I didn't use up.

So here's the whole thing as it looks now in my new studio area:

It's on wheels!

So I put the whole thing on wheels which means I have the option of putting the light box anywhere I want. If the day is lovely I move the whole thing outside or if I have a class I can hide it in a corner somewhere. It's a beautiful thing.

closer

Here it is a bit closer up with all the lights blazing. Those are photo lights on tripods with the exception of one, lower right, is an $8 clip lamp from Home Depot. The clip lights work great and work just the same as the other photo light set up. (I just had a friend gift them to me or I'd have all clip lights!) Currently they all have daylight old style light bulbs in them. (this has a two fold reason behind it...explanation for another post)

You can see underneath the box there is a roll of paper, a box of some kind...etc. Props...today we're were working on shots of vintage jewelry hence the vintage back drop pieces.

Playing with the backdrop

The cart allows the room for all my props to be stored underneath the light box...easy and within reach. So, we start with a couple of vintage cigar boxes and some sheet music. There is always a long sheet of white paper hanging from the back of the box. For experimentation sakes I changed it to this: 

Changed to vintage papers

Lets see what both look like through my camera lens...(I should note this is a shot with the camera setting to macro(tiny flower on your camera somewhere) and no flash. This is not a DSLR camera and its about 10 years old, she's my friend!)

Cigar box background

I kind of like that. Now this picture has had no adjustments or manipulation except that I made it 72 dpi (web sized). Other than that this is exactly how my camera saw it. Now for the paper:

Vintage papers from Upcycled and Remix on Etsy

Again no other manipulations except the re-sizing and it's a little different viewpoint. Hmmm, not sure if its the shot itself or the background but I like the other picture better. What do you think?

Next time I will show you my mixed media supply shop pictures and the magic of a photo program!

Have an artful day!

Susan

OMGosh...did you miss me?

My daughter reflecting how I feel about being away from my blog for so long.

How I feel daily expressed by my son.

And I thought I was doing so well...so much for that! 

Keeping up with this blog thing, facebook, social media in general, teaching, shows, life, children....not to mention some sort of self care...sheesh! I need to be three people!

Well, I've made a list and I'm (once again) re-evaluating business life and all things attached to it. Be sure I will be back with something poignant to say (hopefully) and a project or two to inspire your creativity (with luck!).

Don't leave me! I'm ruminating but will write again soon...

Be always artful,

Susan

Desk View

Yesterday I posted this picture on my facebook page and this is what is still covering my desk this morning. Is your list so long that you don't know where to begin? Mine is trying to paralyze me. It's long....very long! So, breathing deeply, I am going to pick one item after another and knock them out! Cross them off! Get them off the paper! Here's one item from my list yesterday....

This is going in the mail. It was a slow go as I put this together with scissors, stick glue, and a couple of pens. It's a huge mailing label and, I think, it may morph into a sticker of some kind or at least some snippet of it.

So that's crossed off., next is pictures taking....resin pouring....jewelry making....video experiments....and on and on. One note: I am getting back into my Etsy shop with my creations today. Look for it to re-open and be furnished with new things! 

Okay, off I go! 

My Uniform Shoes

Our Fly Tribe is at it again! A tour of all our favorite shoes that actually starts in Australia. At least that's where our links begin. So, my shoes? Well, I have a closet full. I love shoes! There are scrappy sandals, vintage Mary Janes, five inch heeled leather boots (my husbands favorite!), and many others. What do I end up wearing every day? These...

These are my uniform shoes. Everyday I'm into something messy, artsy, painty or some sort of creative juju that my other lovely shoes would never live through. So I don my comfy long cotton tank, a soft sweater, and one of many pairs of jeans and my Vans. And together we're off to work on another project!

 

 Click on the picture to see everyone's shoes!

My Dog Is A Goof

This is my dog.

His favorite way to relax is to lay up side down.

He likes to party with the family.

He makes us laugh everyday.

 

It's Over Until October!

Woke up this morning with a Gllitterfest hangover! What a day! Thanks need to go out to Sheryl and her sister DiAnn plus their family for putting together a fabulous show....again!

And a shout out to all of you who came by, chatted, caught up on new items and newsy things, purchased new keepsakes, and made my day! You know who you are!

For those of you who missed yesterday's show, MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!! The next Glitterfest will be October 13, 2012. No excuses you have plenty of time to plan!

Now, we did alot of talking about my home studio yesterday. It's actually pretty much ready for company! I'm working up a list of creative things we can do together like, mixed media painting, jewelry of all kinds, shrink plastic techniques, resin, sewing, mosaic....there are alot of things! Many of you said you may like to join me and soon you will see a newsletter with the details. Just ironing it all out! (if you're not a subscriber please sign up at the right!)

So what are you p to these days? And what did you think of Glitterfest? I would love to have your feedback!