inspiration and chocolate

For years I’ve been wandering around the creative universe with blinders on. I try to avoid really looking at anything other people make because I’m afraid that their ideas with taint my own and then I won’t know who’s idea it is was to begin with. How dumb is that?

Recently I’ve been mingling with more creative folks. I joined the Craft and Hobby organization and have started making friends. In the process I’ve also started absorbing the creative vibes in magazines. Every time I go to the craft store (which isn’t that often, or my children wouldn’t have any food), I pick up a few magazines in all directions of craftiness.

The brilliance behind what these designers make is amazing to me. Their inginuity and ability to make beautiful things out of old junk or mere paper is breath taking. I’ve started jotting down ideas, and allowing myself to brainstorm. Most importantly I’ve started allowing myself to see the wonderful inspirations created by others and it’s reviving my own love for the process.

One of the trends I really love is the use of earth tones, antiques and the whole “steam punk” direction of things. The mix of old and new has always been facinating to me, and I’ve always been a fan of textured items. Making something appear to be more intricate than it is or have more tacticle elements is a fun challange. The warm browns and coppers is relaxing to me.. it reminds me of chocolate, and everyone knows chocolate is the ultimate in inspiration!

To add an extra bit of flare to your creative moments, consider challanging yourself to combine something old with something new and then pick a color scheme to unite them.

Free Father’s Day Coloring Page & Card

My Daddy Is Number One Father’s Day card for kids

This Car themed Father’s Day Coloring Page by MomsWhoMakeStuff.com can be colored alone, or folded into a cute, do it yourself Father’s Day card. The illustration features a cute kid car and a daddy car and reads, “My daddy is number one!” Click the colored image below, or here for your free, downloadable Father’s Day coloring page.

In which I try (and fail) to get good studio quality shots on a jury-rigged stove top

As some of you know, I’ve been obsessed recently with making jewelry. I’m really still learning, and that goes for every aspect of making and displaying jewelry, including how to take decent photos of my work.

Everything I’ve read says to sell your jewelry online (which is a highly saturated market) you really need awesome product photos. Especially if you want to sell your jewelry on Etsy.

With limited lighting, no budget, and no props, my photos haven’t been magazine showstopper quality. Today I thought I’d try a different set up in the house and just play around and see what my camera was capable of.

Here’s where I set up my little photo shoot:

My studio…my stove top. My background? An old sheet of watercolor paper. My lighting? an old fluorescent overhead light and a couple of flashlights. Am I doomed to failure? Probably. Will I try anyway? You betcha.

Some of the halfway decent photos (with a mid-shoot interruption by Billy who insisted on posing too):

As you can see, my results still missed the mark as far as magazine-feature-ready quality. My next step on this learning journey is the get some pretty props (like fabric swatches, silk flowers, a nice display stand), build myself a light box, and buy some clip on work lights (which I need anyway for my desk).

All in all, not a bad shoot. I had fun (who knew arranging and photographing still lifes was entertaining?), and got some decent photos to list these earrings for sale in my Artfire store. If you’d like to see how I should have set this photo shoot up, please check out the additional reading links below.

-k.

Advice on Photographing jewelry:

Here’s an awesome blog post I wished I’d read BEFORE I started this shoot today:

More Photo Tips on Shooting Jewelry

And more advice:

How to Photograph Jewelry

Etsy Success: The Right Camera

DIY $10 Macro Light Tent For Handmade

How to Photograph Jewelry

Photographing Jewelry with A Scanner

Some good Videos on Photographing Jewelry:

Earrings & Jewelry Photography

Setting Up a Home Photography Studio

Jewelry Photography : Sweeps & Plexiglass for Jewelry Photography

Photography Tips for Shooting Jewelry Part 2