I have added a couple of new things to my shop, my aim is to have 100 items listed and I am at 52 so er, it could take a while :)
Hope you like them.
31 May 2013
1 May 2013
EtsyMetal blog carnival- Show off your latest
Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!
Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.
Show off your latest!
I am currently working on my ring making, finally! I made these 2 rings at the weekend just to practice with the soldering, they are not good enough yet so I am still working on them.
I managed to mess up the sizing which is kinda crucial! I did treat myself to this new tool though to help me out, it's a ring stretcher and reducer, looks fancy!
I am also currently sawing out another butterfly, I think this next one is going to be a necklace though not a brooch this time around.
Check out what Laura has been working on over at her blog
25 April 2013
New bench, new work..
Hello! I wanted to show you my amazing new workbench, made by amazing other half, Dom. I have been wanting a "proper" bench forever but couldn't justify the price. After searching, a lot, I stumbled across one made out of an Ikea kitchen island.
"I have one of those in my kitchen!" I thought.
So that is what it became, my new jewelers bench and it is the perfect size and everything. :)
"I have one of those in my kitchen!" I thought.
So that is what it became, my new jewelers bench and it is the perfect size and everything. :)
Here is the original Ikea island
And what it became, the perfect jewellery bench!
...and me working at it
Here is a new necklace I have in my shop, all sterling silver.
Finally a first look at a new brooch I made for the Brooch a Week challenge
Thanks for reading :)
4 March 2013
EtsyMetal blog carnival: Where do you live?
Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!
Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.
Where do you live?
I have moved around a lot, my Dad was in the army so I moved more than the average child anyway.
I am currently settled and I live in the Alsace region of France, it is right on the border of Germany and Basel, Switzerland where I work. I have been here for 3 and a half years and I have no plans to move back to the U.K right now :)
Here are some pics!
Strasbourg
Strasbourg again
Basel, in the summer we swim down this river, the Rhein
Walking in the woods
Looking out of my living room window
Keeping this one short and sweet, this is where I live!
See where other members live.
4 February 2013
EtsyMetal blog carnival- Photography tips
Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!
Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.
Photography Tips & Tricks
Since I started making jewellery I have been trying to take good photos for my Etsy shop and Website and blog. The photos are so important when you want people to purchase your work online, the images are all they have to go by when they can't see it in real life of touch it in person.
My photos keep changing, I go through phases where I really like them and then I get bored and want to change the style again. I have used everything from coloured backgrounds to sandpaper and now I mainly photograph on wood with a lighter colour in the background.
My tips are to use a macro lens or the macro setting on your camera, this lets you get close up and give good depth of field to the picture to make it more interesting.
I use a 100mm Canon macro lens:
I always used to photograph during the day in natural light from my kitchen window on my dining table. This was fine but I got annoyed with only being able to to take pictures at the weekend (I work full time and it is always dark when I get home!) I recently made my own little light box which works great, all of my pictures are taken using this, easiest thing ever:
....and then I received a proper light tent for my Birthday, I haven't used it yet and I don't think I have a need for it right now as my trusty plastic box does the trick! I will probably use it for larger items if I need too.
This is the tent I have:
Daylight bulbs are essential otherwise your pictures will have a yellow tint from normal bulbs.
When I have finished taking my pictures I always edit them either using iphoto which I find the quickest or I also have photoshop elements. There are plenty of free photo editing programs on the web you can also use, one I particularly like is Aviary which you use through Flickr. I always have to adjust the levels to brighten the picture and occasionally colour saturation; and sometimes I crop and use the retouch tool if I have a bit of dust or something in photo.
Here are a few of my pictures using my homemade light box and the above methods.
I hope these tips were useful!
See some more tips from other members of the EtsyMetal team.