A foggy morning

The first day of spring is tomorrow! *glee* But that always means some crazy weather. A warm damp day followed by a cold night and we get a morning like this:


Foggy morning by *dbvictoria on deviantART

Perfect day to stay inside till it burns off and do some serious prep work for this year's Vampire Ball. I'll be vending again this year, for either the 5th or 6th time (I've lost count now). It's always an amazing evening.

Friday Favorites!

Couple on a Bower Hand-cut Victorian Style Silhouette, by mountainbrookstore:



Steampunk Medal Pin Brass & Black, by Javagoth:



OCTOCAKE, handmade art sculpture, OOAK, by kimcakes



Megan Heirloom Tiara - Vintage Bridal Style from LewisCooper:



Brown Leather Steampunk/Dieselpunk Gaiters, by vampieoodles:



Copper Steampunk Pendant and Necklace with Brass Antique Gears, by DebrasDivineDesigns:

Another day at Emerald City ComiCon

We made our pilgrimage to our local geekly Mecca today. Many good things were seen.



Spidey shot the husband with webbing, then had a little disagreement with another costumed attendee:





I got some bunny love:



The Vorlons sent an ambassador:



The husband and the munchkin had mechwars over their pizza:



And the munchkin defended Chewbacca against a nasty Tusken Raider:



I made a new friend in my crusade for Robots' Rights!



And we came home and relaxed to good food and tasty beverages:



The rest of the photo set is here

Can't wait to see what next year will bring!



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Friday Favorites!

Tatted Black Maverick Anklets, by Agasunset



Button Bling Hair Pins in Blue and White, Set of Two, by littlebrownbird



Amethyst ring with raw diamond fringe, by 2TrickPony:



Antique umbrella - Black and Pink, by thehouseofoliver:



I Can Resist Everything Except Temptation pinback button, by SykoticButtons:



Victorian Multi Seal Wheel - 7 Wax Seals, by beadsss:

Fun in the snow

Last week we had another !!!snomgpocalypse!!! Frustration and grumpiness for the adults, but fun for the wee ones. The munchkin snuck out one morning before school for a little bit of snow angel goodness:


Snow Angel by *dbvictoria on deviantART

Stock photography tips

Realizing that I have been a bad blogger. Bad kitty! I thought I'd do a little bit on tips for photographing your stock for listings. You get five shots on Etsy, and 10 on Artfire if you're a pro seller. Mix it up!

For quite some time I was using just a plain piece of ivory satin as my photo backdrop:



I switched after a bit, to a piece of white on white embroidered fabric:



But the white washed out a lot of my pieces. I started mixing things up by using a slate tile, for texture and depth:





Then I started mixing in different pieces of scrapbook paper, for color contrast:





I made an earring stand from some base metal wire and a stolen smidge of my daughter's Play-Doh:



And I got a necklace form to try to showcase a little better how the pieces would look when worn:





Because being able to coordinate with my husband to have him take pictures with me modeling pieces doesn't happen all that often:



But my favorite images have come about when I added something else into the picture:





Now that's not to say that a plain background can't still make for a stunning shot:



But mix it up! Have different backgrounds, move the piece around in different positions, take shots from different angles, or on necklace forms or draped over different props:







Don't be afraid to retake pictures, especially of older stock. Your eye's changed since you took the first set, I assure you. I go through phases where I pick one category and rework all the pictures for those pieces, and it usually does result in a spate of sales. It's a lot of effort, but it does pay off.



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Winter Enchantment!

Time for another installment in the ArtBeads Beaders who Blog program! ****

This time, the theme was Winter Enchantment, and the challenge was to design something that represented what I find beautiful or inspirational about the winter season. Well, truth be told, I'm not really a winter person. Growing up in northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin, I had more than enough of snow and ice to last me a lifetime. But I do like the crystalline beauty of ice on tree branches, and the look of a newly-fallen snow, as long as I'm inside, looking at it out through a picture window, while bundled up in a warm fuzzy blanket and drinking a steaming mug of cocoa! So, truthfully, winter-inspired jewelry, that you don't have to freeze to enjoy? That's right up my alley!

This time around, I picked some bicone crystals and pearls from their vast selection of Swarovski beads, and three sterling silver charms, snowflake shaped. The end result was a five-strand bracelet:









These pictures don't capture the true sparkle of these crystal beads, but they are remarkable! They really do look like sun shining through ice-coated branches.

****This post is a part of the ArtBeads Beaders who Blog program. They provide the beads to us free of charge, and we provide an honest review of their products. We are not paid to review or endorse them.



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