Outtakes

A picture tells a thousand words. 

As someone who makes and sells craftwork online, I struggle with taking a good picture of my items.  I have neither a fancy camera nor mad photography skills so I have to work hard to get a picture that I like.  I want a picture that portrays the item accurately, but also one that conveys a "feeling", my feeling of the item.

The sweet Karen posted a comment on my blog tonight, complimenting me on my photos, and her comment made me feel compelled to share my process.   

Here's what I know works for me. 

First I shoot in natural light near a window.  I find that 10:00am to 11:00am offers light that is kind of moody and nice.  Any later than that, and the light no longer throws shadows, something that I like in my photos.

I shoot the item while facing slightly into the sun.  

I shoot in macro mode.

I consciously arrange the scene, often with the main item slightly off-center.

I use Picasa, a free photo service offered by Google, to crop and make minor edits to my pictures.

I take many pictures, often running to the computer to check them out before returning to take more or change things up.  This becomes extra fun when I know I'm losing my light and have many things to photograph.   (take photo, run to computer, mutter profanity, run back, take another photo, run back to computer...)

Here are outtakes from today.

This one was shot in a different room than I normally shoot in.  The room was painted yellow which gave kind of a sickly yellow tint to everything.  It has a window, but it did not get a lot of sun in it.  Using a diffuser, I set up a daylight bulb to add extra light.  It looks like it's in an aquarium sort of, don't you think.

This one was shot in the same room, but without the diffused light.  A little better, but a lot of glare, and still that sickly yellow tint.

This is the shot I kept.  I changed rooms, and changed backgrounds and shot into the sun.  I like this one much more.

So please, fellow photo-takers, share your tips.  I'd love to hear what works for you and what doesn't.  What are your secrets?

Wordless Wednesday

Needle Felted Hearts

I just finished an order of hearts for The Walker Art Center Shop in Minneapolis and thought I'd share some of the color here. 

These little niblets are made entirely of wool by needle-felting wool roving. 

In case you don't know what needle-felting is, I'll give you my version.  (because sometimes I live in a craft bubble and assume that everyone knows what needle-felting, roving, mordants, mod-podge, etc. is)

So wool fibers are hair, and these hairs have scales on them.  Their surfaces are sort of jagged, and when forced against each other, they grab hold and mat together.  Whether you're creating felt from roving, using a felting needle to force them together, or fulling a wool sweater, the fibers are essentially doing the same thing, grabbing each other and holding on. 

Picture two pinecones. 

If you were to start wiggling those pinecones into each other, their scales would become entwined. 

That's kind of what the individual wool fibers do.

Needle-felting is just the process of forcing these fibers together using a specially-designed barbed needle.  I sometimes refer to it as at-home plebotomy. (if you've done it, you know what I'm talking about)  Artists use this technique for sculpting, creating "paintings", vessels, and lots of tiny wool hearts.

So if you find yourself in the Minneapolis area, stop by The Walker and psst...buy a heart.

Happy Tuesday, all.

A First

My Araucana just laid her first egg! In the middle of January! In Minnesota!

Yeah, I know, I get excited easily.

I'm so proud of her.

Backyard Visitors

We had visitors again yesterday.  One quietly crept up within 12 feet or so of my kitchen door, curiously sniffing my birdfeeder (from the talented Joe Papendick) while her friend stayed a bit further behind.  She could tell we were there behind the glass and her ears were twitching this way and that, trying to get a good listen.  I snapped a few pics then the two of them bounded off, white tails in the air, legs bouncing impossibly high behind them. 

We need to discourage them from coming this close to the house, but it's hard to pass up these special moments.

On another note, I've enjoyed having some time off from crafting and my shop and am returning feeling somewhat refreshed and energized.  I have many  new ideas in my head and look forward to sharing them with you soon.  My etsy shop will reopen on Friday, Jan. 29th and I hope to have regular updates in the weeks following.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Why My Dog Hates Me

I should be cleaning. 

I could be crafting. 

I would be more productive...

if I weren't having so much fun putting lobster hats on my dog.

The Moon Is Painting The Sky

We had a lovely sunrise this morning; a splash of mango and robin's egg blue through the trees. My camera doesn't do it justice, I'm afraid.  The 3 year old stood gazing at the scene and turned to me and very matter of factly told me that the moon is painting the sky.  "It's beautiful" he said.  Quite right, little man.

I hope the moon is painting your sky too.

Happy Tuesday.

A Place Of My Own

After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, life is starting to slow down again.  I'm taking advantage of this time to kind of regroup and reorganize myself.  I've started with my workspace, a place that had until now been only a storage place.  After a lot of work, it's now a place where I can actually sit and sew (hide from the kids - tomato/tomatoe) in peace.  It isn't pretty but it suits me just fine.  Oh yes, the walls aren't fully drywalled, and yes, it's in the basement, but it's mine.  All mine.  And it has a door!  Woo hoo!! 

A table to work at!  Now I won't have to clear my sewing off the kitchen table every night before we eat.

The miscellany cache.  Tools, books, and random stuff like antlers, monkeys, and twine.

Getting into the belly of the beast...my vintage buttons, wool roving, leather, and shells.  The shelving to the right holds canvases, framing tools, wood, drawing tools, and wire.

Yeah.  My felted wool.  There are 10 56qt boxes, and three garbage bags full of wool.  Fabric and candle-making supplies are beneath the table to the left.

When cleaning and organizing my new space, it became abundantly clear that um, I have a lot of stuff.  Actually more stuff than will fit in my space.  I need to rectify that so I've made a resolution.  Here goes...deep breath...

I have resolved not to buy any craft supplies for one year. 

EEEEK!!!  No wool, no buttons, no nothin'.  I've been wanting to do this for a while and now seems like the right time.  I'm still allowing myself to gather natural materials and buy parts should some critical tool or piece of machinery break down, but that's it.  I'm alternately terrified and excited.  I may need some support if I spy a great wool coat in the thrift store window.  Is there a wool-addiction support group?  No?  There should be.

Hopefully no one has turned me into that Hoarders show yet.  What I hope is that I will work through some of this stash, simplify a bit, and be stretched creatively by the exercise.

Wish me luck!

Hitting the Trail

We're hitting the road for a few days to see friends and family and usher in a new year, but before I go I wanted to wish each and every one of you a year full of happiness, health, and possibility.  I'm so thankful for your comments, your friendship, and your inspiration.  You each make my world a brighter place.

Happy New Year!!

xo

Lisa

Winter Walking

After a busy holiday of frantic gift-opening, sugar-fueled kids, and running to and fro to various gatherings, I was only too happy to get a chance to escape to the woods today.  I left the honey in charge of the wee ones, grabbed my snowshoes, and went out to explore the 20" or so of new snow on the ground.

The patterns of the snow-covered branches snaking across the sky was almost dizzying. 

The palette of bark and snow was only occasionally broken by rust-colored leaves, a glimpse of blue sky, a clump of moss, and this surprising find...

...shocking red berries against the white.  I think this may be a Winterberry shrub, but I'm not sure. (UPDATE - it seems that these are viburnum trilobum or a highbush cranberry, which is edible.  Can you guess who will be making highbush cranberry jam next year?) 

I've made it a habit when I'm woods-walking to stop from time to time and look back.  Often I'm surprised by what I see that I had walked right past the first time. 

My boys call this the bridge tree and look for a troll everytime we walk past it.

It was really lovely to have a little quiet time, and the weather was just perfect for it too.  I'm so glad I took advantage of it.  I hope you've enjoyed our walk today, and find a little quiet time yourselves.

Happy Sunday! 

Happy Holidays To You

Our dream of a white Christmas is here.  We have 7" of new snow on the ground with the promise of more tonight.  We'll be cuddled in front the fire celebrating the baby's 1st birthday, and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the man in red.

Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season, however you choose to celebrate it, and lots of warmth, happiness, creativity, and joy for the coming year.

The very best wishes to you and yours.

xo Lisa

Baking and Beans (but not baked beans)

The annual cookie-a-thon has begun in my house.  Each year I bake cookies as gifts so about a week before Christmas the house begins filling with the scent of spices and sugar.   I have a favorite that is really easy to make and delish, so I thought I'd share.  It's a standard oatmeal cookie recipe, but I like to add dried blueberries or cherries and pecans.  ( NO raisins.  blech!!)   Combined with a bit of cinnamon and vanilla, it's pure heaven when paired with a good cuppa coffee.

Here's the recipe:

Oatmeal cookies

2/3 c. granulated sugar

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. softened butter

1/2 c. shortening

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

3 cups oats

1 c. flour

1 c. dried blueberries, cherries, or cranberries

1 c. pecans

Mix all ingredients except oats, flour, fruit, and nuts in a bowl.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2" apart onto an ungreased (or parchment lined) baking sheet.  Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes.  Remove immediately to a wire rack.

I have a couple of young helpers at home and while they do looove to help with the baking, sometimes I need a distraction so I can just crank out some dough.  Today I gave them a mixing bowl and dried beans to play with.  Are they going to make a mess?  Yes.  Do they love it?  Yes.  Hey, they're beans.  I can just sweep them up, no problem.

They inevitably moved from playing with the community bowl to other areas of the house.  Once they start making crop circles on the floor with the beans, I try to sweep them up lest we find beans throughout the house until New Years.

What to do once you sweep them up?  Craft!  We glued ours onto some egg gourds I had, added a ribbon, and dubbed them ornaments. 

So that's that.  All in all a good day of baking and beans.  What did you do today?

Yes Deer

We had visitors today.  I was sitting in the living room with the kids, making a blanket fort when the mighty four year old said "Look mommy... deer."  Sure enough, there were two deer casually sauntering past our window.  The boys stayed quiet and still (I was so proud of them) while I dove for my camera. 

They carefully picked their way through the back yard, past the chicken coop, and to the trail that runs through the back woods and off into the county land.  

We commonly see their footprints in the driveway, but rarely see them out in the open during the day; and never this close to the house, so this was a real treat. 

Wordless Wednesday

Princes and Princesses

I did some holiday crafting this weekend and whipped up some presents for my nieces and nephews and my two youngest sons.  Last year I made them all superhero capes, but this year I decided they should get wool crowns.  I didn't have a pattern to work from, just a vague idea of what I wanted them to look like so I drew a template on a piece of paper, grabbed a pile of felted coat wool, and started winging it. 

I handsewed the details, but machine sewed the crown together.  Let me tell ya, me and the machine...we don't see eye to eye...  but I managed to get everything sewn together anyway.  I added a few different button holes so the crowns are adjustable.   Elastic would work perfectly, but I didn't have any on hand so I dove into my button stash instead.

My 3 year old requested a yellow bird on his, and I still have to make one for my 4 year old who has very stringent directions for me....ocean, blue, beach, 1 palm tree, a starfish, green fish only, and sparkles.  Alrighty... 

I'm hoping the kiddies like them as much as I do.   What handmade goodies are you giving this year?

Taking Time

I'm taking a little bit of time off from my Etsy shop in order to spend some quiet time with my family.  Last year at this time I had the honor of being Etsy's Featured Seller, was expecting my 4th child, and was feeling the pressure to get a lot of things done in a short period of time.  This year I decided that I would make different use of my time.  I have a number of projects that I'd love to finish for my family (some that have been in the works for *ahem* months), which I plan to do slowly, more baking and story time with the kids, more relaxation time, more heyjustslowdownaminuteandbreathe time.

While the shop will be empty, I'll still be popping in here with this and that, sharing new projects, recipes, and the like.  Hey, in fact, here's the start of a holiday gift for my little nephew.  I'll be sharing the rest of it soon.

  I hope you take some time to breathe during this busy season too.

See you soon!