I built a light box!

Well the holidays are upon us, and I realize it's been two weeks since my last post... lots happening here as per usual in December! While my blog has suffered somewhat from this craziness, I'm still working on my various art and craft projects, and also obtaining or practicing the requisite skills needed to improve my online shop - always learning, always learning!

So I decided to build a light box. These are something that pro photographers use, and they can be expensive to buy. If you google "build a light box" you'll get a number of sites with instructions on how to make your own - granted probably not as nice, but for small shops with a limited budget they can do the trick. I ended up spending under $20 total for everything I needed, and last Sunday afternoon I put it together. I don't have pictures of the actual box (my studio is currently doubling as a holding room for Christmas presents and I can hardly walk in there right now, it's a complete disaster), but I figured a few before and after shots of my items are in order.

So, without further ado, here is the before shot of my Ocean Swirls notepad:

And here is the after, using the light box.

Here is the before shot of my second notepad on Etsy:

And the after shot:

Now, I know I have a few photographers that visit here, so let me add that I still have a LOT to learn in regards to taking good pictures. For starters I'd like to add a second lamp to my box, on the side, so I can get brighter frontal shots while still avoiding glare. But looking at these comparisons, I'd say it's an improvement, don't you think?

Latest Project - Mini Notepads!

In my last post I mentioned a project I was working on but didn't elaborate. Now that I finished a couple of them I figured I'd stop by and post a little bit about them! I'm calling them mini notepads, but some refer to these kinds of notepads as "jotters". Basically both terms refer to a smaller size notebook, often portable, in many cases (mine included) having a key ring for attaching to bags, backpacks or purses.

I had a lot of fun making these, and I'll definitely be making more of them. I'm using the covers of rescued hardback books for the covers (the term "rescued" here means snatched from trash bins, or picked up at yard sales.. which is very often one step away from trash bins for books, at least according to most yard sale owners). The front illustration on my mini notepads is an original, signed by me, which means no two will ever be alike. I hand-cut, hand-punch, and hand- everything else these little books, which is a decent amount of work, but I think the amount of effort that goes into any craft does tend to show in the end result. And in the end, so far every book I've made seems to kind of grow into itself, they take on their own little personalities, much like my writing used to do back when I actually wrote stories (sigh).

Plus these are refillable - the paper size is exactly that of a 3x5 card cut in half. And they're durable, made to last, or at least to survive a toddler (as I'm discovering). These are two reasons why my left brain is happy about them - it appeases my practical nature *grin*.

Anyway, enough talking about them! I posted one to Etsy for now - you can check that one out by following the Etsy mini plugin on the upper right corner of my blog. The second one I made for my mother-in-law for Christmas (shh don't tell, those of you that know her). The illustration on the front is called "The Learning Tree" and it was designed specifically for her. Here's a pic of that one:

And lastly, here's a pic of the one I'm "field testing" (lol). I call it "The Flying Commas", which is kind of a personal joke on me - I won't bore you with the story behind that one:

Anyway, I'll be making more of these. I've got two more that I hope to finish up in the next few days. For tonight, though, it's back to my water soluble pencils!

Current Projects

I figured I'd take a few minutes to post pics of some of the projects I'm currently working on. This first one is my first completed project using water soluble graphite... the picture doesn't do it justice and the flash is reflecting off some of the graphite (I'll have to figure out how to take pictures of pencil drawings!), but I love this piece and here's why:

It's called "Zeke Nudges Coffee Bean". If you notice in the lower left corner there's a little finger... well that's my 2 year old son. When I was taking pictures he was being a very big help, and in fact I got some great shots with him, too. In this particular shot he was very concerned that that little coffee bean might not make the picture, being so far away from the rest of the pile, so he kept nudging it closer to the bunch. The memory of that made me smile so I kept the final piece with his little finger included! I think it adds human interest :).

Anyway, water soluble graphite is a very interesting kind of pencil, and I'm definitely going to practice with it some more. I have no experience with watercolor, and there's some strategy involved with mixing these pencils and water to make a good finished piece, so that's where the learning curve comes in.

I'm also procrastinating on my latest graphite piece, the first in my Poker Face series. This is Antonio (gotta figure out how to reduce that flash glare):

I've always liked the "unfinished" look in some of the pieces I've seen from other artists, but whenever I try it mine always come out just looking... well, unfinished. I've still got work to do on him, I've just been lazy about it.

Lastly, I'm working on another project that I'm not going to talk about just yet.. too early. But it's exciting, and I really hope it comes out the way I'm envisioning!

More Fun with Treasuries

So I managed to grab a spot to post my own Treasury over at Etsy! Since treasuries only last a few days I took a screenshot of it so I could remember and be proud :

And, happy coincidence, at the same time that I managed to get a spot in the treasury lists, someone else posted a treasury featuring one of my prints! Bad Day Ben has a proud spot in a treasury featuring faces, thanks to a seller named MyLadies.

The only thing about treasuries that bothers me is that four of my entries (the four on the right) are alternates, so they don't get seen by anyone but the Etsy admins. I understand this is so they can fill in if/when something on the list gets sold, but it was really hard to make the decision as to who got "real" spots and who had to stand on the sidelines. All of these Etsy artists are very talented!

I just love this treasury, created by netamir:

Weird and wonderful!

The Prints are here!

And they look GREAT. I'll be posting them in the next few days, but I couldn't wait so one of them is now up at my Etsy store! Her name is Mistletoe, arriving just in time for the holidays! Find her here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17323634

Amanda!

I just finished the initial scan and edit of Amanda, my latest pencil sketch. She gave me more than a little trouble with getting her scanned in, but I guess I can't really blame her. I drew her on cheap paper that has humidity damage at the top - I didn't notice the extent of that until now - so the paper was wrinkled and extremely hard to scan properly.


But in the end that was a good thing, as she gave me an incentive to go buy quality sketch paper. I figure now that I've fallen back in love with sketching, I should actually work with tools of reasonable quality!


I'm going to experiment with digital color on Amanda, but regardless of what I decide there I will have prints made up of the original BW version of her. Personally I love pencil sketches just as they are, but my husband thinks color might add interest, so I'm willing to give it a try.


For now, here's a peek at her!

It's Etsy-Love at First Sight

So, I'm going to start a regular series of posts devoted to the things on Etsy that I've fallen in love with, even in the short amount of time I've been an Etsy member. This will be a weekly event here on my blog, although to be honest it could easily be daily, as there are so many marvelous things on Etsy to fall in love with!

I'm starting with a necklace that I decided will be either a Christmas gift to myself (if I can afford it), or an incentive for me for selling X number of items (X is yet to be determined, and changes depending on my mood). For those who don't know me, I'm very picky about necklaces. It must be beautiful but not typical, graceful but not delicate, simple but not boring, and practical enough to wear every day. Silver is my metal of choice (platinum is actually my metal of choice but usually not in my price range). And I want unique. Which is why it always takes me a very long time to find a necklace I love, but when I DO find one, I tend to wear it all the time.

Enter this lovely piece, called the NestEgg Necklace, from allthosethrees (I even love the seller name!):

That little cutie peeking out the top of the silver is a vintage pearl - my birthstone! These are handmade, and I'm just humbled by the quality of craftmanship that must go into making them. I love, love, love this piece. Find this necklace and more at http://allthosethrees.etsy.com .

Etsy Mini

Note the cute little preview of my Etsy shop on the right side of your screen...

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What a neat feature that Etsy has provided.

Bad Day Ben Designs is Live!

We have liftoff! Bad Day Ben Designs is now a live store, woo!

I have a grand total of four items listed in my little Etsy store. But there will be LOTS more on the way...

Go check it out: http://baddayben.etsy.com

little love blue: and the winner is...

I just TOTALLY won the cute little acorn and leaves set over at Littleloveblue's giveaway! Announcement here: little love blue: and the winner is...

While you're there, check out her stuff. So very adorable!