Anyone ever used a light box?

Recently another small craft business owner shared that she had purchased a light box, and that it has made taking photographs of her work infinitely easier. I've read a few articles on the topic in some art/craft magazines, but I'm still a little skeptical.

I'll admit it, the photographing of my work is the part that I HATE the MOST! My problem is that despite spending time to set up the shots, getting them as well and evenly lit as possible, and taking multiple shots, I end up needing several hours with PhotoShop to get them really clear and sharp. And what's worse is that good photographs are a must to selling online and successfully applying to craft fairs.

I've read that light boxes are good for eliminating shadows and that they help keep the light even on all parts of the object. So does that mean that if I invest in and use one, I won't have to spend hours at my PC fiddling with the photographs? I'd love to know if others have had the same troubles that I have, and if a light box helped.

Join me in welcoming my sister to the 21st century

That's right, my baby sister just joined the blogosphere! She has started a blog for her photography business, Innovative Photography.

dawn elizabeth (my sis) is based in southern NJ, but has traveled as far as Curacao (an island in the Carribbean) and NY for photo shoots. She and her associate, Dennis, shoot weddings, portraits, senior portraits, and more. Her on-location portraits (photos taken in a setting of your choice, rather than in a studio) are fantastic!

Every so often she lets me model for her (always fun!) as she tests out new lighting or posing ideas. Here are some samples of her work, starring me!

Hooray for Smiley's Yarns!

Yesterday was a great day!

I got an email from Smiley's Yarns, and they are going to replace the skeins of yarn that were damaged in my last order! Hooray! I'm glad they came through, because I was going to be very disappointed if I had to find another place to shop for yarn.

My mom drove to my house and we spent the day together. We worked on a new pattern, and have two successful items to show for it! We are the perfect sewing compliment: I'm good at measuring and am more mechanically minded, but she is great at ironing to make things easier to sew, seam allowances, pinning, and the more technical sewing stuff. What was the pattern, you ask? We are avid readers, and both have paperback covers with handles for carrying. We re-created such a fabric cover, from scratch. It was a lot of measuring, and pretty complicated to figure out how to stitch all the seams so that none of them are visible!
Here're two pictures of how it turned out:

And the third reason yesterday rocks: my husband and I packed for a surprise long weekend. Well, my surprise... he won't tell me where we're going! Most difficult part of packing will be to pick a project to work on during the drive to our destination..... :)

So... I'm off to our surprise vacation!

I want YOUR opinion!

I have been steadily working on the crochet shawls and completed three more. No, I haven't photographed them yet; I'm waiting for life to slow down a bit as the last few days have been nuts. Maybe I'll ask my husband to take a few pictures of me modeling them tomorrow. They look ok on skirt hangars as far as color and pattern goes, but the hangar is not so hot as showing off size, which is important since I created three basic sizes: small, medium, and large.

Now, about the feedback I'm requesting. I recently knitted a thong (yes, a thong!) from really soft cotton/elastic yarn (Cascade Fixation... yummy stuff!) I threaded ribbon through eyelet holes around the top; the ribbon ties in a bow in the front, so the sizing is truly adjustable from about a 4-5 to an 8-9 (I'm in the middle of that range, and it fits fine). I was a little worried about how comfy it would be since I don't like how most 100% cotton yarns feel, but lemme tell you, this one is nice! And since it's 97% cotton and 3% elastic, the finished piece has some nice give.

So now that I've described my new product idea..... I want to know what you think! Vote below now.

Should I sell knit thongs in my store?
	Yes
	Maybe
	No
pollcode.com free polls

Pictures .. the boring part

I know my sister would have a cow if I told her that taking pictures are the boring part of having an online store. That's because Dawn is a photographer. Owns her own studio, as a matter of fact (she's incredible; I'm so proud of her! Check her out at www.innovativephotographydes.com).

But as I was saying, to me the pictures are the tedious, boring part. I've learned a lot from Dawn, but not enough to make it easy for me to take good pictures. And good pictures are soooo important when they're the only visual people get of your product.

I usually try to take pictures in batches ... you know, photograph about 8 new items, then list them one every day or so until I run out of pictures and have to start over again. So today is one of those days. To top it off, I also have to take a few pictures for entry into a juried craft show. A juried craft show, if you're not familiar with the term, means that your items are judged --- by the pictures you take --- and then only some of the applicants are chosen to actually participate in the show. I have to submit my application for the March show this week, or it'll be too late!

It's looking like a busy Sunday! I know God rested on the 7th day, but I get no such luck! Hope He understands..... :)