Fall Y'all Giveaway

Today I'm participating in the Etsymom's Fall Y'all Giveaway!

Here's a picture of the giveaway I've provided for today:




Go here to read all about it. And then go here to see what the whole Fall Y'all Giveaway is all about.

Stitching Blind

I've been asked how it is that I can sew such tiny stitches when making my Puzzle Balls, particularly the Mini-Puzzle Balls. Part of the answer can be found in the photo above. I've been wearing bifocals for a few years now. But in the past few months, as it became obvious that I needed a new pair of glasses, I opted for some additional assistance...clip on magnifying lenses. They make all the difference in the world when working on small projects, whether Puzzle Balls or Teddy Bears!

I finally had my eyes checked and this time got a prescription for trifocals. When I picked up my new glasses yesterday I thought they were great...because I'd needed new glasses for a long time and I'd been walking around without any glasses at all for a couple of hours while they put new lenses in my old frames. After getting home and wearing the new glasses for a while, though, it quickly became apparent that something wasn't right. I went back to the doctor today, had my eyes checked again and discovered that the prescription was wrong in both lenses. It wasn't off by much, but just enough to drive me crazy and give me headaches.

So, new glasses will be made, but I'll have to wait another week to ten days for them. In the meantime, I have to wear the glasses that don't work or none at all. I can see well enough to manage at home with most tasks, as long as I don't mind squinting now and then and adjusting my distance to the TV and computer, but I figured I wouldn't be doing any stitching. Then my husband had a brilliant idea...and drove me to pick out a cheap pair of reading glasses at the nearest store. Those will do just fine until my new trifocals are ready, so I'll finally be able to finish those Teddy Bears and Puzzle Balls that have been calling my name.

Taking Pictures

Soon after setting up my shop on Etsy.com it became apparent that one of the biggest challenges would be taking good pictures of the products I hoped to sell. I've mentioned before in my blog that I've been a photographer for quite a while, but small-product or table-top photography was never my specialty.

The key to any good photograph is the lighting, though, and I've had a lot of practice being aware of what the light is doing before I ever push that shutter button. So I thought I'd show you what I've been doing to get pictures like these:





I've seen where others have posted instructions for making your own light box or tent for small product photography and I've tried doing that, but my set up is simpler. I live in a very small house and I'm operating on a very small budget, so I needed something cheap that I could set up and take down quickly and store in a very small space. Here's what I came up with:



I use the light coming in through the sliding glass doors to my deck (which means I have certain times of the day that work best for this). I bought a couple of pieces of foamboard and scored one down the middle with an exacto knife, then folded it in half. One serves as the surface I place my object on as well as bouncing some light from the top of the frame. Another piece of foamboard, trimmed and scored and standing on end serves as a reflector when place opposite the light source, filling in shadows on the left side of the object. I can easily reposition the reflector as needed depending on the light coming from outside and the size of my subject. When I'm done, I can fold these pieces of foamboard flat and store them easily, even in my small house.

Here's another reflector I use that bounces a little more light. I recycled an old cannister of Instant Breakfast that has a silvered interior, cut the rims off , then cut it in half. When I set that opposite the light source I get more light wrapping around a small object like this:



Here's another view of the same thing:



I cropped this photo to take out the reflector on the left of the frame and used it for this listing in my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6587120
(Edited to add: Since the link to this blog is still being shared from time to time, I'll try to keep this link updated to always show something currently listed in my shop.)


It's all about being aware of the light. It might help to set your camera to use the spot meter, if it has that capability (if you don't know what that means, leave me a comment and I'll explain further). You can also cover your foamboard reflector with aluminum foil if you need more light. If you try these tips, leave me a comment and let me know how it worked for you.

UMHB Lanyards

It's always interesting to find out how people find me, whether they're stopping by my blog here, or my Vox blog or my Etsy shop. I use Statcounter to keep track of such things for this blog (don't worry, it doesn't reveal any private details about my readers!) and tonight I checked to see where my recent visitors have come from.

I discovered that one visitor came from an AOL Search for "UMHB Lanyards". Apparently, one of the sites that popped up when somebody was searching for UMHB Lanyards was my blog! My last blog entry, "Tagged Again" mentioned the fact that I had worked as a photographer on the campus at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor in Belton, Texas. It also mentioned that I used to teach crafts at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment, and that I could no doubt make a lanyard in my sleep!

And that's all it took for somebody who was looking for UMHB Lanyards to find me instead!

Gee...I hope they found their lanyards.....

Office Treasures

Items from my shop are currently featured in two different Treasuries on Etsy, both related to offices:




Click here to go to this one.



Click here to see that one.


When I think back on my days as an office worker, I think the "Frustration" one is particularly appropriate to the theme!

Tagged Again!

I've been tagged once before, but this time I was tagged by three different people: CozyMoments, TPDesigns, and mooretaste.

So, now I'll list eight things about myself. I got a combination of eight or six items mentioned by my three taggers, so I figured I'd go ahead and do eight.

It took me a little while to think up more things about myself I could list this time around, but here goes.

1. I've been a songwriter.... I wrote about a dozen songs when I was in college, singing and playing my guitar frequently at a summer camp and for the Baptist Student Union on my campus. Mind you, I didn't say they were good songs, but my friends seemed to enjoy them. One was about the camp where I worked one summer and the kids even gave me a standing ovation! But they were kids...what did they know?!

2. I've been a published writer.... I wrote for a couple of years for the Womens Missionary Union. I had a blast doing it, learned a lot, and met some fascinating people. But one day I had to set aside an article I was working on because I'd gotten a call-back from a missionary in Thailand to interview her for another article. I had to park the phone on my shoulder to talk to her while my hands were busy changing my daughter's diaper and it suddenly occurred to me ...perhaps I should wait a few years before taking on that many deadlines!

3. I've been a published photographer.... Some of my photos appeared in the WMU publications I also wrote for, some in other Baptist publications, and quite a few in the alumni magazine of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas where I worked with the PR Department for about three years. It's always a kick to see your name in print!

4. I've been a cartoonist.... Okay, don't get excited. I just doodled some cartoons for my junior high school paper. No autographs, please!

5. I've been a crafts teacher. I worked five summers in a row at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill, Texas. Four of those years I was director of the crafts program. Give me a little plastic lacing and I can make a lanyard in my sleep!

6. I've been a guitar teacher.... Besides giving tips to beginning guitar players here and there, I've actually been paid to give guitar lessons a couple of times. I also taught a couple of guitar classes during Music Week at my church. Just me vs. seventeen beginning guitar students in one class...the biggest challenge was keeping the guitars all tuned up!

7. I've been on TV a couple of times.... Again, don't get too excited. I worked as a production assistant for two shows on the old ACTS (America Christian Television System) Network, which later was sold or merged with something else. But it was a great experience since part of my job was scheduling guests for talk shows and hosting them while they were in our studios. Another job where I met some fascinating people! A couple of times, they needed me to appear on the show. Once they had someone on who was evaluating colors, you know, figuring out if you were a "winter", or "spring", etc. I agree with my Aunt Becky who has always said her color was red...as in Red Tag Special! Turns out I'm one of the rare people who can be just about any season of the year, so I posed a challenge to our guest for that show! Another time they were doing a feature about parenting preschoolers, and since I was the parent of a preschooler at the time, my preschooler and I appeared for a brief interview. We took a picture of my daughter getting her make-up done for TV to add to her scrapbook!

8. I've been there, done that, and will never grow my hair long again!






Now here's who I'm tagging...each of you have to list eight things about yourself and tag eight others:

sjcreations
EmmagailCreations
madebymelissa
happydaystudio
PhonyArt
CatherineGrace
Messie
SimplySilly

Meet Brother Blotz

I want to introduce you all to a new feature in my Etsy shop.

Meet Brother Blotz:



Brother Blotz was born the same year I was, another product of Doug Dillard's creativity, I guess you could say. Yes, my father is Doug Dillard. Throughout my childhood, Bro. Blotz was featured in numerous Baptist publications, as illustrations in books, and starred in a series of cartoon books of his own. To quote my father's website: "Brother Blotz cartoons use humor to poke holes in our pomposity, chide us for our inconsistencies, and hopefully make us want to do better. He first appeared in print in 1961."

Brother Blotz, one of my favorite pastors, taught us all that even in church, we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously.

When I got my first button machine I realized I could finally do something I'd always wanted to do...put Brother Blotz's image on a button.

So I scanned some pages from the first book, "Meet Brother Blotz" and the cover and made the buttons pictured above. My father loved them! A few months later I attended a conference where I knew I would encounter several of my father's old friends and I took a few of the buttons to give to them. Usually, when I attend these events, my dad says "If you see anybody I know, tell them hello", so I thought the buttons would be a nice touch.

Then I recalled the sweatshirts my father had made for the family when I was a kid and decided to duplicate the design on 2 1/4 inch buttons:



When I sent them to my dad he got the idea that I should make these available in my Etsy shop and he would link to it from his website, http://www.brotherblotz.com. And that's what we're going to do.

Brother Blotz now has his own section in my Etsy shop, with buttons, keychains and magnets available for purchase. So, if any of Brother Blotz's friends and family are looking for unique gifts, they'll know where to find them!

Here's to you, Brother Blotz...and thanks, Dad!