Will You Vote?

I finally found a contest to enter Marshal's cute little face in. Will you go vote for him??? I entered six different photos but I think the cutest are these.

Dressed up in his Penn State Nittany Lions outfit, given to him by his auntie Jennifer.

Modeling his adorable little Sheriff's outfit, given to him by some great coworkers of mine.

I think his little face would be perfect on the cover of Parents magazine, don't you??? :)

Cross Posting at Amid Clutter.

Finally Some New Work

I had this design in my head for weeks and could not for the life of me find time to sit down and actually make it. My original idea was to use this gorgeous huge green pearl that I have, but of course I couldn't find it. So I went with the pearls I could find.

Cranberry colored freshwater pearl with two garnets,
14k gold filled chain and vermeil clasp.

I also decided to try a new background for my photos. What do you think? It's a really old (pretty sure it's antique) Spanish grammar book that belonged to my great grandma. It's got the coolest texture for a cover.

Necklace with large electric blue freshwater pearl with a rainbow moonstone teardrop and sterling silver chain and clasp.

Looking at other jeweler's photos, I decided that mine were kind of boring. So I started digging through our stuff and am going to start experimenting. I like that, even though the book is a reddish brown, it doesn't seem to clash with the different colors of jewelry. Even the blue pearl looks good (IMHO).

Taking photos is not my favorite part of making and selling jewelry. Hopefully with this different background it'll make it slightly easier. If I can avoid using the mirror as often photos will require fewer touch ups. It is amazing how much dust and particles show up on a mirror in a photo. Insane!

I welcome any and all constructive feedback. =)

Now if I could find some more time in my day I have some more design ideas floating around my noggin. Anyone have a spare hour or three they could let me have???

Not Always as They Appear

A few folks have given me wonderful compliments about my photos...which I appreciate a ton. I never quite believe them though... =) I'm very hard on myself and being a perfectionist means that I'm never quite happy with things.

I think my photos are a gazillion times better than they were when I first started making jewelry though. And I think I manage to get some decent shots. I've learned a lot. Like, you don't have to have a "pretty" set up to get good photographs. And using the macro setting is vital.

I use a photo tent that I bought at least three years ago now (time flies) for around $300 (could've been more...I have a horrible memory) and it has paid for itself several times over. They have kits that start at less than $200...and of course there are lots of people out there who spend just a few bucks and make their own. I tried that but never could get the right effect that I wanted.

So, this funky set up in my kitchen....

Can yield this more attractive photo (not a perfect photo, I grant you, but better than many photos I see out there and 1,000 times better than the pictures I used to try to take outside)...

Pictures are the only way you can sell online and a good photo can be the difference between a sale and nothing. I rarely buy anything online if the seller doesn't have good photos that are detailed and show every angle as if I were able to handle the item myself in person.

My photos certainly aren't perfect and I've had a couple of complaints about not being able to tell the size of the item, but I try hard to make sure the photos represent as much detail for each piece as possible.

Photo Contest

I entered one of my photos in a contest...maybe it's not the best one. Maybe I should enter a different one. It doesn't say you can't enter more than one. Any suggestions?

Picture It

I think that one of the most important aspects of online selling has to be photography. Unfortunately, it can be a difficult skill to master. I certainly do not think I've mastered it at all, but I have come a long way since I first started selling online.

I wish I could find some of my very first photos but I think I've hidden them. =) I do have some earlier photos though and I want to share those so you can see that I have come a long way. At least I think I have.


This one wasn't so bad, or at least I didn't think so ... but you can see in the corner where there is a background distraction and really the outdoor lighting is too harsh.

This one makes me a little ill to my stomach. The gray looks terrible and the green frame around the photo is distracting. Plus my attempt at a watermark is ridiculous.


Here you can see my failed attempt to take a quick photo inside. The yellow tone is because I was just using indoor lighting and nothing else. I didn't yet have a photo tent at this point.

Now that I do have a photo tent with lights I don't have to wait until it's bright and sunny outside to take my photos. Which is good since I live in Washington State and those days are few and far between.

Yesterday I took a few hundred photos - yes a few hundred. It takes many attempts to get just a few good pictures. So I thought I'd share the untouched attempts and the final edited results.

Here are a few samples from the 17 pictures I took of these earrings. If you want to see all of them in greater detail you can check them out on Flickr.







As you can see, some are blurry, some are too bright, others too dark. There's almost always some sort of fuzz or hair floating around.

I admit to being a lot more lazy lately when it comes to my photos. I should be using my small tripod - especially with the earrings are hanging. It's nearly impossible to get a clear and crisp shot just holding the camera.

My final results aren't that great but you can see what simple editing software and a few minutes can do to improve ghastly photos.








I was really trying to show the flash from the Labradorite since it is gorgeous, but it is tough to capture. I ended up with 7 photos that are decent, though imperfect. Looking at them again I can see a piece of red fuzz that I missed. Oh well.

And I can only use 5 of them in the Etsy listing. So I'll try to pick the best 5 and go with it. They are a simple pair of earrings so I'm not too concerned about attaining the *perfect* photo. I have so many other pieces of jewelry that spending too much time on an inexpensive pair doesn't make a lot of sense.

I hope this post was somewhat helpful. Photography matters a LOT when you sell online. People can't touch, feel, smell, or sense what you are selling except through your photos. They need to be all they can be. =)

Details, People - Details!

While I haven't been posting new work in my Etsy shop I'm still logging in and checking things out every day. I even snagged a treasury last night. Woohoo!

One thing I noticed yesterday, on the front page was a gorgeous pair of earrings that were priced so low as to make me wonder why. So I clicked and was taken to a shop with very pretty jewelry, all priced way too low. These particular earrings were on sale, taken from a too low price to begin with to a ridiculous slave labor price.

This makes a big difference in perception as I've written about before. If you don't value your work no one else will either.

But the price wasn't even what made me raise my eyebrows. Looking at the listing I noticed that the artist had not included very many details.

She listed the material type but there were no measurements listed. There was no reference picture to show how they would hang. I went to look at another piece and there was only one photo.

Her photos were good but only showing one photo is a big no no. People want to see and touch and feel and smell. Selling online is hard because people can only see. That requires a little extra work on our parts.

Photos need to be from all angles. Details need to be included in each listing that gives the potential customer a good idea of how something wears, tastes, smells, and looks.

I'm not perfect in this and can get lazy when listing something that I think is obvious but that is something that needs to be addressed. Not everyone knows sizes in mm or even inches. Some people cannot visualize a size and need to see size referenced in a photo with an item they are familiar with.

So as a reminder - don't assume that potential customers will automatically know something that you know. Include as many details as you can think of with each item you want to sell - and that includes as many photos as you think necessary (which is almost always more than one).

Happy New Year!

Camera Critters #4

A pretty little birdie visited us daily on our balcony in Maui last May. He had a bum leg and so we chased the other birds off and gave him bread crumbs. :) We enjoyed our visits with him.

Check out more Camera Critters.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Time

Another hard theme for me. I decided to not go for the obvious clock photo.

This is Trooper Bear when he was only 2 1/2 months old. NAP TIME! He was a very sleepy puppy with his new home and new brother & sister. :) He used to love sleeping on the bricks next to the fireplace ... he doesn't fit anymore. LOL

Photo Hunt Saturday - Unique Funny Signs

First, I want to ask everyone to pray for TNChick. Her Beagle, Zoey, is missing. :( I know how scary that is and I pray that she is found quickly.

Quinn escaped one day soon after we rescued her. I was heartbroken and beside myself with worry and fear. Hubby left her outside (door open mind you) while he took a nap and she dug out (literally ripped the lower part of the fence off) and took off. He called me on my way home from work which of course made me start crying. We drove around trying to find her. Someone had left us a voice mail but by the time we got there they had left and she'd escaped their yard! So we went back home and finally got another call from a 'neighbor' about two miles away who lived very close to the railroad tracks. She was muddy and very stinky but happy and alive. It was quite an adventure she had but she's never strayed again.

On to the Photo Hunt. Hmmm...this is even harder than last week. The theme is Unique / Funny Signs. I had a jewelry class tonight and there is this funny computer shop and I've always loved their sign. I feel that way about my laptop right now.

Photo Hunt - 13 (Thirteen)

This one was hard! And my photo totally bites. But I managed to find this little flower budding with 13 little fruit looking things. lol

[EDITED TO ADD - The tag says it is a "Korean Spice Viburnum". Hubby is the plant guy. =)

Saturday Photo Hunt - Twist(ed)

Fun! I thought about this all week and didn't find anything new to photograph that represented "twisted." So I looked through my old photos and found this bracelet where I twisted the multiple strands together. It's green and burgundy freshwater pearls with cherry "quartz" and Swarovski crystals. I sold it over a year ago. I had called it "Bohemian Summer." =)

Saturday Photo Hunt - Glass

Hey...I'm playing by the rules this week. :) This photo is one that I took as I (slowly) drove in our neighborhood. Quinn loves to have her head out of the GLASS window. heh. Okay, technically it's a photo of a mirror and reflection but you can see my partially rolled down window.

Isn't she cute though? She loves to keep her head out the window as we drive. Hubby managed to get some really cute shots as we drove down the road.


"What are you lookin' at?"

She only goes on short rides because she gets really thirsty and her potty habits are a little unknown at the moment. The meds she is on make her a little incontinent. :( We don't get mad because she's just too sweet and she can't help it right now.

Morning Beauty

Hubby just e-mailed me some incredibly cute photos. Looks like they're all hanging out together in the back yard and enjoying the rare bit of sunshine. I'm really impressed that he figured out how to download these on his own (normally he makes me do it).







Happy doggies are the best-est.

Photo Hunt - HIGH

I love these fun things I've been finding online due to EntreCard. I'd never know such things existed! [*Edited to add...am I supposed to post photos from ME? These aren't by me...oops. I'll do better next week I hope!]

Photo Hunt is too fun. :) This week's theme is "high"...

Amazing Balloon Photo by Tracy Lee.
View more of her amazing work here.

Photographs Make the Jewelry

I am so excited!!! I am waiting on the edge of my seat for my brand new TS Harrington professional photographs. I sent her several pieces of my jewelry to get some really good shots because some of these pieces just have to be photographed on a model. And boy are these models gorgeous!


She's been teasing me with a photo here and a photo there...it's like Chinese Water Torture waiting for the rest. So I will tease you with the amazing photos she's sent me so far


Showing my large links fine silver necklace and twisty earrings.





Gorgeous - my fine silver long links chain necklace with matching bracelet and earrings.

Man-O-Man...I can't wait to see what else she has for me!