Winter...

Apparently, I spoke too soon.  Winter decided to remind me that it is still here and in Dallas that means ice.  I would be more upset about it, but all the icy roads and cold temperatures (-2 with the wind chill) mean we got a day off school!  As much as I prefer warm, sunny weather, this ice day came at a time when I could use a day of rest (recovering from being sick), so I will be grateful for my day off, bundle up in my warmest coat and remember that it will be 60 degrees by next weekend.

Sadly, I did not get to break out the art supplies today - everything is all packed up in boxes in preparation for my move.  It is my hope that in my new house I will slowly convert one of the rooms to what I am calling a "real, live art studio".  I have big plans in my head!  But until I have photos to share of what I imagine will be a wonderful, colorful, arty studio, here are some pictures of some of the ice Dallas had this winter.

Photos, photos and more photos...

I have spent the past five hours photographing my necklaces!  This morning I woke up and finished building my light box (which worked beautifully) so I figured I would take the photos and then... well, I didn't actually have any other plans today, but I figured I would do something else.  Instead, I took tons of photos, then downloaded them all and went through them to choose the best ones and delete the blurry, out of focus ones (they always look ok on the camera, but on the computer you can really see any mistakes!).  My set up looked something like this:

photobox on the table (with my small camera case as backdrop for the necklaces), lamp to the left, big fancy camera in front (with tissue paper tied over the flash)

You would think that after all the photos I took and the sorting through I did that, that would be the end of it.  But then my boyfriend looked over my shoulder and asked if I wanted him to show me how to do color correcting on Gimp.  Well, I have heard a lot about the wonders of color correcting and seen some of the photos he has done it too, so I said "Of course!"  I think that is what took up most of my time...  I had twenty necklaces with at least two photos of each and while it is not hard to color correct, it does take a bit of time.  I think it was worth it though.  Take a look at the difference:

before

after

Let's hope all this time I put in eventually pays off and I become an up-and-coming, in-demand jewelry designer...

Light Box

I am working on making a light box.  I made one when I lived in Chicago and took photos of a rose wilting.  Not great subject matter, but the photos turned out really great thanks to the light box.  So, in hopes of improving the quality of the photos of my necklaces, I am constructing a new one.  Sadly, I was almost done when I realized I have no white tissue paper, so that will be added tomorrow, but here is my new (very small) light box:

 

All the sections are cut out and it is ready to be glued together! 

 from the top

the freshly painted inside

P.S. The No Bake Chocolate Cake I made the other day is delicious!  If you are a chocolate lover this is something you must try!

Preview

I have finished 16 fall-themed necklaces!  Now I am working on taking good photos of them so they will be ready to add to my shop in September.  I have this great Canon Power Shot camera and it takes really good, high-quality photos.  Sometimes though, when I try to take close-ups of my necklaces it focuses on the background instead of the necklace.  Sadly, it did that with almost all the photos I took yesterday, so I will be re-shooting today.  Next week my official models (also know as my friends who I bribe with food and wine...) will come over so I can get some more photos of them being worn.  In the mean time, here is a preview: