A Year in the Making, Day 104

Today, I took a break from making, as I spent a good portion of the day with a rather painful cramp in my left hand. I noticed it while driving, gripping the wheel. It was an on-the-road kind of day for me, about 3 hours worth of driving altogether, and I spent most of it with my left hand in my lap or carefully stretched out against the door armrest. It finally went away, but I'm babying it now.

So instead, I retook a bunch of pictures. I was trying for a unified shop appearance as much as possible, and a light background is always better, because even in natural light, a dark background washes out the colors of the jewelry. But the light colored beads and stones were blending a little too well with the light background. I have a couple of slate pieces that we use for trivets on the dining room table, and I've used them in the past for a few of my pieces, so today I pulled out all the lighter colored bits and bobs, and a few sets that I'd originally photographed on black velvet, and retook them all on a green slate tile. I've been updating the listings bit by bit throughout the evening, taking a break to decorate the Christmas tree with the family, finally.



We have to move the sofa every year to set up the tree, so for the rest of the year I will be suffering a crick in my neck from trying to lie on the sofa and use the laptop and watch TV all at the same time.

Here's a before and after of the same necklace, white background vs. slate:







I've got a much better contrast now, and also pulled in a lot closer for the shots as well, to highlight the materials.

And while I was doing my photographing and updating, I found a necklace I'd made some time ago, but had never actually listed!

Freshwater Pearl and Pewter Celtic Knot Necklace: