Howdy folks, it is still raining but that’s OK, I have plenty of projects inside to keep me busy. I was asked for 2 more illustrations for the book I am working on (got to finish that today!) and I am in the process of tearing up my kitchen floor…never a dull moment! Why am I showing you my desk you ask? Because it is time for What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday!
And since it is Wednesday it is time for Ask a Crafter, it’s another epic (epic as in long that is…) broadcast answering 3 pages of great crafty questions. I’ve heard from a few viewers that they play it and listen to it as they go about their crafting or chores, works for me!
If you want to see more crafty desks check out the WOYWW fun at the Stamping Ground! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hello there! Time again for another peek at my workspace. I finished up a bunch of projects over the weekend and took everything off my big bench and re covered it with brown paper, man, that feels great! Then I put my cutting mats back and hooked up my torch which hadn’t seen use for the past few months! I have my watercolors out because I just filmed a video on using watercolors to stamp, it will be up by tomorrow at the latest;)
You can also see the legs of my tripod in the photo, yep, it is time for another episode (yes, Lindsay’s having an episode again!) of Ask a Crafter where I answer the questions left on my last WOYWW post and ASK a Crafter Video, here goes!
So if you have a question ask away in the comments section and I will answer it next week! If you want to see more crafty desks pop over to Julia’s blog the Stamping Ground and see the big WOYWW party! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hellooooo friends! It Wednesday so that means it’s time for What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday over at the Stamping Ground. My desk, well, this is how it looked at 11pm last night when I closed up shop. I am in the middle of illustrating a children’s book. I am hoping to have everything wrapped up this week and off to the publisher soon. I can’t wait to share some of the illustrations with you but for now here is the desk littered with my drafting tools and watercolor pencils and a mirror. Oh don’t forget the wine glass, I was working late last night, The beauty of being self-employed, don’t judge.
Also since it is Wednesday it is time for another episode (I’d say installment but episode is more me…look, there’s Lindsay having an episode LOL, see it fits!) of Ask a Crafter. I had another epic 3 pages of questions submitted by blog readers and YouTube viewers and I got to them all without my camera running out of juice. I’m golden this week I tell ya!
So, if YOU have a question just leave a comment and I will answer it on next weeks Ask a Crafter segment! If you want to see more crafty desks check out WOYWW at the Stamping Ground. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
***Don’t forget to leave a comment on yesterday’s post for a chance to win a rubber stamp from About Art Accents!***
Hello friends! I really feel like I have a whole bunch of new friends this week with all of the awesome questions that were posted on my blog and my YouTube channel after the first “Ask a Crafter” video blog. We’ll get to the video in a minute but first, since it is What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday, here is a picture of my workdesk today.
Not much happening, I bought a french knitter last week with a 50% off joann coupon because I wanted to try making some beaded jewelry on it. I’ll let you know how it goes;) I think I’ll use the gold crochet thread and some champagne colored “E” beads for my first go, wish me luck! I still have the shimmer watercolors out that I used on yesterday’s faux stained glass cards too. Well it is time for the weekly video blog, I have to warn you, it is long because I answered EVERY question that you asked! I sure hope you find the info useful. Next week, I’ll be more brief…I’ll try anyway! Maybe you could pretend it’s a podcast and just listen while you fold laundry or something LOL!
What do you think, long huh? Well, I’ll keep the written part of this post short and you can check out other crafty desks and join in all of the WOYWW fun! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy folks! It is time once again to have a peek at my craft desk. I have supplies to make a fresh batch of summery earrings and I am going to try covering some blank buttons and using them for post style earrings. I’ll let you know how that turns out! Why am I sharing my desk? Because it is What’s on your Workdesk Wednesday and each week the fabulous Julia hosts this super fun crafty blog hop so if you want to see more check out the full list of desks on her blog.
It’s also time for my weekly video blog! I asked you to submit any craft related questions you might have for me last week and I had quite a few on my YouTube video. Today I answer them for you. Question ranges from making rhinestone blingy beads, to craft fair display, resources for cheap craft supplies, photography and more. Have a look:
If you have a crafty question you would like me to answer next week just leave a comment either here on my YouTube video and I will address it in next’s weeks video blog! I’ll even try to slow down when I talk…I’ll try…no promises;) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hello Wowwers! Today my main craft desk is filled to the brim with stuff to package up for the craft fair I am doing in a week and a half {holy smokes! I am just now realizing it is less than 2 weeks away!?!} so instead of showing you the same old crap I’ve been making I thought I’d share another hard-used work area…my photography area!
That’s pretty sophisticated huh? Well, maybe not but the proof is in the pudding…or the photos so to speak so I thought I film a quick video blog today demonstrating my photography techniques and offering tips that you can try if you are unhappy with the way the photos of your crafts turn out.
Quick Tip Review:
Hold your camera steady, tuck your elbows in at your sides, hold your camera in both hands close to your body, press the shutter halfway down to focus, exhale, press the shutter the rest of the way. Viola! Alternately you can use a tripod and a remote clicker to eliminate shake.
Use the macro feature fore really small stuff like jewelry or details on a card or scrapbook page. This allows you to get physically close to the object and keep it in focus. It blurs the rest of the image for a professional ethereal look. I will often take a photo in regular mode too in case I don’t like the effect when I am editing. On most cameras there is a button on the back with a flower on it, push that to turn on the macro feature.
KISS: Keep it Simple Stupid, I photograph my art in my white box against a white background with white props. It keeps the attention on my artwork. It also reflects and maximizes the light. Sometimes I will scatter buttons, or add a branch or flowers to a plain project to make the photo more interesting or place some scrapbook paper or fabric as a backdrop but in most cases regarding the use of props and backgrounds I have this mantra: “When in doubt, leave it out!” Ironically when it comes to creating the art my mantra is “The more the merrier!”
Don’t use the flash, man! While the flash is great in a lot of circumstances it kills the detail and contrast in your still life photography, really what you are doing when you shoot your crafts is still-life. You should have plenty of light with your homemade light box so ditch the flash. To disable the flash look for a button with a lighting bolt on in and press it until you see an icon on the lighting bolt with a “not-allowed sign” around it.
Adjust levels in image editing software such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or the free program GIMP.
I save white pottery, boxes and dishes to use and photo props.
This is the simple easel I made to lean my scrapbook pages and small paintings against when I photograph them:
Uh, disregard the 2″x11″ notation, the base is 2″x8″. Here it is in use, there is enough support for the paper that is does not slide down or bow back at the corners.
A tip when shooting larger items like scrapbook pages and paintings is to use the “perspective adjustment” tool in your photo editing software. It had an icon that looks like a crop tool but you set each corner at the corner of your project and it straitens out any parallax. Try to shoot it as level as you can so the adjustment has to only be minor. Then crop your photo, I like to leave a border of the white backdrop around my scrapbook page or card but that is personal preference.
After you have these well shot photos you might want to enhance them a bit more. Your camera is tricky, give it too much white and it might want to make it grey, give it too much black and it wants to make it gray but you know your background is white so you can go in your trusty photo editing software and give that photo what-for! I like to use the curves/levels tool for this. In Paint Shop Pro I choose Curves (from the Adjust menu) then click levels. That usually dose the trick but if it still does not look like the original I slide the curve a bit until it really represents the artwork.
I hope this helps answer some of your artwork photography questions without being to overwhelming. Really, holding the camera still, not using flash and shooting your artwork in a simple white box is pretty much all you need to know…huh, I could have just typed that to begin with and save you from listening to me gab for 5+ minutes and reading all of this..oh well;) I hope you learned something new anyway If you want to see what is happening on craftier desks head over to Julia’s blog for more What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday fun! Til next time happy crafting!
Happy Wednesday folks! I love Wednesdays because it gives me a chance to peek at hundreds of crafty desks through the marvelous event know as What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week:
Sewing! My sewing nook is wonderful, it is ergonomic (no sore shoulders after a day of sewing) and since I have my big table I have room to iron and cut fabric (no more cutting fabric on my bed and hoping I don’t snip the bedspreads!) and I can keep all of my mess in my craftroom instead of overtaking the house. Last week I asked if I should so a weekly video blog and the answer was a surprising (and resounding) yes, wow, you actually want to hear me gab about what’s on my crafty little mind?!? So here is my WOYWW video blog, grab 3 objects because today folks, we are going to learn how to juggle!
Once you learn how to juggle it is addicting (so I apologize if you had things to do today) there is something zen-like about it. The juggling bags were made from my scraps from my shopping bag (carrier bags for you British folks) caddies:
I used to have this eyesore hanging on my door, all of those bags fit into the one caddy and I can even fit more! I made a smaller version for the car and dog walkers, I have to thank You Tube viewer Snoopy for the clever name P.U.P. bags, it stands for Pick Up Poop, way better marketing, thanks Snoopy! I’ll have a tutorial for you next week sometime!
The juggling bags are made from 5″x5″ scraps sewn up and filled with 3/4 cup of rice. I love no waste projects!
So what’s on your workdesk today? Leave a link, I would love to see! And be sure to check out Julia’s blog for all of the WOYWW fun! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Happy What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday folks! I have to report that the Easter Bunny was very good to me this year (imagine that, 36 years old and the Easter Bunny still leaves a basket for me at my parents house, I must have been really good this year…no wait, that CAN”T be it LOL!) I got a basket full of beads and 2 more Ultimate Stackers to start filling! With new beads comes sorting and that is what I have been up to:
I also have to send out a lovely hug and thank you to Ginny who saw my WOYWW post last week about my new-to-me sewing machine that did not come with any accessories and low and behold she had spare parts for that model and she sent them to me, for free! She is such a sweetie and a talented artist as well. Thanks so much Ginny!
So as I was sorting (and beading) I got tot thinking about my upcoming craft fair and remembered all of the questions people had about selling at craft fairs last winter so I decided to answer them in a video blog…I’m thinking about doing a video blog every week and talk about random crafty stuff, what do you think?
I held some of my current projects up to the camera but it is hard to see in a video so here are some photos of this weeks projects so far, basic stringing but it great for showcasing unique beads!
Well that’s it for me, I still have all of those boxes of beads to put away LOL! I get so distracted by them…I’ll just make a few little pretties before I pack them all up, famous last words right? They will probably still be on my desk next week! If you want to see more crafty desks hop over to Julia’s blog for more WOYWW fun and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy folks and happy Wednesday. Over the weekend I promised that If I didn’t clean up my craft studio that I was going to post photos on What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday (I also invite company over when my house is trashed because that lights a fire under me to clean it up!) but luckily it did not come to that, in fact I tore the room apart to make room for a sewing area:
Isn’t that cute! My sister gave me the sewing table, she found it at an antiques shop, it was the iron base of an old treadle machine with a thick board on top. I have wanted it in my craft-room since I received it a year ago but I just could not figure out how to fit it in without getting rid of anything else of course But I documented the process (so technically you DO get to see the messy room LOL) in 3 steps and I am thrilled with how it came out. Here is my 4 minute renovation video:
And yes, I made the poncho! OK so I know a lot of you are tuning in to see who won the stamp set from About Art Accents, well… drum-roll please…..
Sharon Hannifin
Congratulations! I will email you for your contact details so check your spam folder if you have not received an email from me yet;) Thanks to all who played along. After making that first card last week I decided to make a dozen and use one of my favorite About Art Accents stamp sets: Flowered ATC Trading Cards, it is great for those who like to color with alcohol ink markers because the detail is amazing, and it is on sale for $16.99 (regular $29) each stamp is 2.25″x3.25″, that’s a lot of rubber!
I plan to sell them at the spring fair I am vending at next month. I thought they would be great for Mother’s Day but I did not want to limit my customer base so in each card package I include a Happy Birthday Thanks and Happy Mother’s Day sentiment and 2 foam squares for sticking them on. That way there are 3 occasions the cards can be used for. I am selling them for $3.
I think they look nice and tidy in their clear envelopes!
Well that’s all for today. I hope I inspired you to cram more junk…er, I mean look for alternative storage space in your craft space! If you want to check out more crafty desks visit Julia’s blog and til next time happy crafting!
Happy Wednesday folks! It is that time again to check in on the crafty workdesks of the world over at the Stamping Ground and here is mine…actually it is my coffee table because I have had some beads and wire upstairs since the weekend. I have been slightly obsessed with wire this week after getting the coiling gizmo and now I can’t use up my wire fast enough!
I didn’t use the gizmo on this though, these are all hand wrapped. I just love the look of these organic pendents and I finally have a use for all of the semi precious chip beads I have been hoarding! These have rose quarts and some green mineral, tourmaline maybe…I should have written down what I bought from the rock shop, doh!
To keep this post from being super long I made a free printable PDF file of the tutorial complete with 13 step-by-step photos. You can print it now and create it when you have the time, warning it is addicting! This project will take about an hour.
I used macrame cord with an adjustable knot (video tutorial here) to make the manly-er version…huh, do you think a guy would wear this?
In other news I signed up for a spring fair to sell my crafts! I plan to put these pendents in the show, what do you think would be a fair price, be honest, I won’t be offended
That’s all for today. Be sure to hop over the Julia’s blog for more What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday fun. Until next time happy crafting!
Here it is in use, there is enough support for the paper that is does not slide down or bow back at the corners.
If you want to see what is happening on craftier desks 
But I documented the process (so technically you DO get to see the messy room LOL) in 3 steps and I am thrilled with how it came out. Here is my 4 minute renovation video:
