{WISH LIST WEDNESDAY} #4 I Couldn't Resist. . . .

I can't believe it's Wednesday already? I love long weekends (Monday was Labor Day here in America), so Wednesday just rushed right at me. Here's my top faves for this week and I did it again - it's not just ten but instead ELEVEN goodies for everyone to see. I just couldn't resist.

Tree Heart Autumn Sunshine Photo Art Ring by Nomadic Notebook Photography

What a great way to feature photography and personalize it in such a manner that you can take your art wherever you go. This would be a great conversation piece when worn out and also give you a chance to look at something gorgeous, no matter where you are in your day.

Vampire Kiss Necklace by Bionic Unicorn

I love how this is photographed and the necklace itself is really pretty. I love the deep red with the black of the chain. Necklaces with keys on them is a pretty popular trend right now, so to do the reverse and wear the lock instead of the key is a wonderful take on the trend.

Silver Skeleton Key Heart Locket by Priscilla's Jewelry

Want a key for that lock? Look no further. This is is gorgeously done and if you take a look at her listing, you also can see the heart in the necklace opens up as a locket!

Embossed Note Card Autumn Harvest Collection by Sugar & Spice Ink

Greetings from Autumn! Know anyone else who loves the Fall season? Send this along to warm their hearts and remind them the best time is just around the corner.

Orange Blossom Flirty Olive Oil Soap by Dancing Mooney

Unfortunately, my skin has changed a lot in recent years and I went from being prone to oiliness to super super dry (even somehow in the FL humidity - AARGH!), so I am always keeping an eye out for wonderful handmade soap. This is made without any of the usual chemicals the soaps in grocery stores have plus a wonderful scent to appeal. The olive oil in it would do wonders for my skin!

Candy Apple Lip Balm by Bubble Tub Soaps

Going back to the dry skin thing, with the sunshine in FL my lips are always dry as well. Again, this product does not contain all the usual drying ingredients like normal store-bought lip balm and is actually GOOD for your lips. What a concept, right? And, it's apple. You know you wanna try it!

Personalized River Rock Forest Stones by Fern Blossom Studio

Not only can you keep this beautiful red leaf for years to come but you can also have this stone personalized with a name, date, etc. I love this on its own without the personalization but it would be such a beautiful gift. It is part of a series, so you should check the others out as well.

Fire Ring Swarovski Crystal by Leela Bijou

We don't get much of a Fall season here in Florida, so I think sometimes I try and make up for that with my favorite color combo being red, orange, and yellow. This ring more than satisfies the red need but the photo of it with the orange beads is divine.

Reusable Swiffer Cloths Set by Sassmowth Designs

Being "green" is a recent subject that has become near and dear to my heart. I am still very much a newbie, so when I find things like this that seem so amazingly obviously simple, it's a great day!

Kitchen Dishcloths by Cocoa Beans

I saw these on the front page of Etsy and the colors are what drew me in. How rewarding was it to then read the description and find that these crochet dishcloths are great for scrubbing dishes, machine washable, AND dryable. Looking for green kitchen options? This is a great idea!

Resin Triangle Pendant Word Hot by Tubby Tabby's Jewelbox

Just in case anyone who sees you needs to be reminded, this necklace says it all.

Looking back at the list, I apparently leaned pretty heavy towards red & fall colors. It's probably all of the gorgeous Fall-themed treasuries being featured on Etsy lately.

Enjoy your Wednesday!!

{TUTORIAL} Taking Product Shots - 1st Attempt

As I wander around the online selling world, I always see these beautifully done product photos and it made me think - how do I do that? Despite being a photographer, it still was a concept that eluded me because I am so used to setting up my lighting for people, places, and many times letting nature do the hard work! So, here I was trying to photograph the items myself with as minimal as possible post-processing being done but everything still came out. . . . . . ICK. I mean, they're not horrible but they're not very good either. I have awesome products - I need awesome photos!! For example:

Can you spy the wall gunk? Whoops. Plus the entire shot has a yellow tinge & the shadow is weird.

Moved the items away from the wall gunk but the wall color is just not working. Plus, you can see the line between the wall and the platform I have the cards on.

The best shot - still not great, though.

Somehow I meandered across this link (probably found it on Google search) that pretty much had the answer to all of my questions (it's a bit long - may want to jump to it at the end of this):

HOW TO – Take great photos of your projects – The Adafruit Photo Tutorial by Johngineer

Don't let it overwhelm you if you're not the super technical type. It provides great information about how to make the pictures of your products SHINE and depending on how super-gadgety you are it shows the steps to build the permanent cyclorama. I, being the random and usually haphazard personality that I am, did this on a SUPER SIMPLIFIED scale. I had greeting cards made & decided it was time to take photos of them in the manner they deserved. I didn't have a lot of time, so I went with the super simplified version. KISS method anyone?


I went to my mom's house with some supplies (camera, cards, & white poster board) and took over her office/storage room. I knew my dad had some lights with clamps in the garage, so I commandeered those for my own use. I had no idea what bulbs they had or what would work - so I just experimented. He had one light with a metal hood while the other was white. The bulbs inside were white and clear. So, I took a wild guess and figured the white hood with the clear bulb would work - I was wrong. Everything was super yellow. Anyhow, I digress.

First thing I did was find something to clip the light to - back of a rocking chair worked for me. Then, I created a platform with a stack of stuff - whatever I could find - that was high enough for the light. I then taped the white poster board to the wall & then to the stack of stuff, allowing it to curve nicely from the wall down to the platform.

Then, I created another stack of stuff in between the chair and the poster board to set the camera on. Yeah, I know if I had just had more patience and did this at my own work station at home this "multiple stacks of stuff" thing would have been greatly reduced, but I made do with what I had. Once the platform for the camera was the right height, I took the pictures with my hands going through the rocking chair slats. Again, not the easy route but it worked.

As I said before, the white hood on the lamp with the clear bulb had very yellow tinge to it, so I traded it for the metal hood with the clear bulb. Much better!

Results? With some cropping and a small bit of post-processing (cooled the tone down), this is what I got:






It's not quite perfect and I still have yet to build this at my normal workstation, but I hope you realize it does not take a technical genius to get the product photos you need. I plan on using different colored poster board next time as I feel the white board and white cards blend too much. Will keep you posted on the results.

Maybe some of you have your own tips/tricks? Let me know.

I hope this helps!

{SNEAK PREVIEW} Photo Greeting Cards

I thought I'd give a little taste (aka sneak preview) of the greeting cards I have been working on. Some of these are actually from an offline order (thanks MOM!) after I sent a text picture of one of the cards I was working on.

Some notes on these: The greeting card photos are hand mounted, not directly printed onto the card, with a background and envelope liner to match. They are available in white or cream. All of my photos can be made into greeting cards.

Hope you all enjoy!

And some fun with the leftover scraps!

Guess what's next?!? POSTCARDS! Stay tuned. . . . .