Ugh...the Hard Work of Learning How to Photograph Products

Have you ever thought that product photography is an easy gig?  I confess...I have.  I mean, there are no squirmy kids to get sitting still and you can adjust the product however you want it. So, no big deal, right?  Ugh...wrong!  I have had the hardest time getting my photographs up to a semi-professional level.  I've learned to crop and I've learned to play some with the lighting levels using the free online editing program GIMP. (Living as a family on loans for law school isn't really conducive to buying Photoshop!)  I've read multiple tutorials, made several light boxes which didn't produce the lovely photos shown in the blog tutorials, and read through GIMP tutorials.  My latest challenge to myself is to get my image quality up to a standard that the lovely sight Craftgawker would consider my photos worthy of posting on their site.  As the name implies, they want crafts (and photos) that make you gawk.  I decided it's a great way to challenge myself in photography quality to regularly submit and see if I can get a product image "up to snuff" so to speak.  Well this week I've been rejected 3 times.  Yep...3! 

So I've been working on a light box and practicing hard how to use GIMP to lighten my photographs.  I love the idea of photographing outdoors in natural light but the reality is that there never seems to be great light when I have time to photograph.  I guess that's why photographers have studios?!  So here's my latest setup...I'll keep you posted on how it's going and when I learn how to make better photos.  In the meantime, if you're looking for some resources on product photography, I found a great list of tutorials which look promising over at Handmadeology.

GPS Watch Locator for Bolting Kids

As a parent whose has experienced a season when my child was at risk of bolting in public settings, I'm always keeping my eyes open for new resources for parents who live with a bolting child.  I came across this GPS locator watch this week and was thrilled!  A few years ago I spoke with local police about a system in place using radio signals to triangulate the location of a person wearing a receptor.  At the time I asked the police if a GPS locator watch existed yet that he was aware of.  At the time he didn't think it did.  So I was super excited to see this on the market!  The monthly cost is well worth it in my opinion for parents who want the security of being able to locate their child.  It's even possible to use your cell phone to request location information.  How great is that?! 

Heart Pencil Topper Design

As I was musing on sensory tools and toys for school, I was reminded how much I loved pencil toppers when I was a kid.  Do you remember those little fuzzy gnome pencil toppers and playing with them during classes?  I wonder if they still exist? ...and I especially loved seasonal pencil toppers.  So...I woke up last week thinking about a heart pencil topper design.  Have I mentioned that most of my ideas show up in the night?  It took some work to get the proportions correct and the sizing just right for a pencil but I love how it finally turned out.  It's structured enough that you don't have to stuff it with any filling and it's small enough that it's a great use for leftover yarn!

Playing With Stuffed Animal Design - Ribbit!

Curiosity got the best of me with this experiment!  I was wondering how/if it's possible to crochet a stuffed animal, stuff it with polyester filling and THEN full/felt it.  Fulling is the "technically correct" name for turning a crochet or knit wool project into a tightly woven "fabric".  You use 100% wool which has not been treated to keep it from felting and through a process of agitating the wool, using hot and cold water, soap, and some elbow grease, you can create a fabric out of your original crochet!  You use this felting process when making my Flopsy the bunny felted crochet pattern. 

So lessons learned...
1.  It's important to use a tight stitch so that the polyester filling doesn't poke through the crochet.  If the filling pokes through, you'll end up with a hold in your project...ugh...I had several small holes which I was able to patch by needle felting yarn fibers to the neighboring felt.  In my experience, using a tight stitch hasn't been necessary for felting since projects will shrink in the process.  This could also be solved by wrapping the fill in some fabric before stuffing...
2.  Remember that different stitches will shrink in different proportions when felting.  My frogs eyes ended up a different shape from the original design since they felted differently from how I expected them to.
3.  Sewing 100% wool felt onto a crocheted felted "form" is super fun!  I really enjoyed seeing personality develop in this frog as I worked on his features.  All those lessons learned and I had a fun gift made for my nephew who inspired me to try this!

Hope to play around more with these ideas in the not too distant future...

Felted Slippers = Toasty Toes

This year was a very handmade Christmas since hubby is in law school and our income is significantly in the negative.  My Mom's always looking for ways to stay warm since (like me) she's always cold!  So this year I decided to make her a pair of felted slippers.  I so wish I had known how to do this when our son was little!  Seemed like I could never find comfortable slippers with slip proof soles...any who...

I chose a felted slipper pattern by knotsewcute since I liked the ankle flap which could keep you extra toasty on cold days (and yes, they do have kid slipper patterns!).  As I was making them, I realized that Mom would probably need them to have a good sole and ideally one which could walk outside to let her dog out in the yard.  Thankfully, I recently came across this great waterproof and sew-able sole material on Etsy over at Shoeology.  It was use-able to hand sew but I'd recommend using it for machine sewing.  I only moderately felted the slippers as you can see because I wanted to make sure they didn't get too tight...who likes a pair of tight slippers? 

And, because I was enjoying my new book on embroidery  Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray, I decided to embroider different peacock feathers on each foot.  Would I ever make these to sell?...uh...no way...they took forever!  But thought I'd pass on the resources in case any of you are interested in making some.  Happy crafting!

Striped Crochet Toddler Legwarmers

 Time for some winter cozies!  My friend Jenn asked me if I could make some striped legwarmers for her 3 girls.  I played around with the ideas in my head and came up with this pattern!  Legwarmers are a great first step for teaching little ones how to pull their own socks on.  My sweet pea is super proud that she can do it herself!  Think about it...no fumbling with the toes but you still have to use the hand-eye and gross motor coordination to get them on to your legs.  For sensory kids this pattern means you can make legwarmers in a texture that they like.  Yeah for coziness!

Hats, hats, and more hats!

I finally bought a "tree" to display all my hats for the Waldorf craft fair.  I made newborn sized "bug" hats, a toddler viking hat, and children's sized slouchy hats, bear hats, and cute pixie hats!  Yep, I've been working up a storm of hats the last few weeks!  Good thing I'm a multi-craft crafter or else I might end up with some repetitive injuries.  There is definitely a limit to what one can do with a one person craft business!

So hats were my surprise at the craft fair.  I sold a few, but not nearly as many as I made, or had hoped to sell. Guess it goes to show you never know what people will buy!  I thought they were a "safe" item to make since everyone needs winter hats and cute hats for kids aren't always easy to find. Still deciding if I'll list them on Etsy or will try to sell them through a local retailer.  I don't want to list too many items which are outside of my shop focus on special needs toys and products.  I've never approached a store owner about carrying my products so it might be a good opportunity to learn about that side of having a craft business.  Who knows?  I might really like it!