Room with a View

Time for more self-centered photos.













My crafting area is in our wide-open, unfinished basement. It's not pretty, but it's functional. Someday, we'll get around to finishing the basement and constructing actual rooms. I actually prefer large, spacious areas, and although can see all around me, from the laundry sorting to the fitness and play spots, my eyes pretty much stay focussed on what I'm doing.

The last pictures are of my craft tables, lightbox, and designated storage.
The others are photos of the murals surrounding the area. I want to build some shelving and hang dowels along the walls, but hate to cover up the paintings--the time capsule of a party we had back in 1996.

Lightbox Love

There it is: my new, DIY lightbox. -->


I used instructions found on: http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/.

To create the box, I needed five standard-size white foamboard sheets (about $28 total). I assembled them with masking tape ($5.49), and added two clamp lights ($5.99 each) and two daylight-bright compact florescent bulbs (($6.50 each).

As you can see from the first picture, the result was a dull gray background, so I added two more clamp lights and daylight bulbs. That did the trick. Witness the photos of the black purse.

The "cheap" DIY lightbox ended up sucking more of my cash than I'd planned, but I ws impatient and didn't take the time to shop sales. It's a worthwhile investment since my merchandise photos will "pop" with clarity and contrast now. I'll still go outdoors for photos of bags in action/with a sense of scale as I carry them.

I need to work on improving my photography skills, now; no more lighting excuses!

My Face

I just read an Etsy thread that asks "who do you look like?".
I don't know how to answer. I'm not someone who gets comparison-compliments. Maybe someone will let me know whom--if anyone outside my gene pool--I resemble.

My sewing is at a standstill. I've not sewn a stitch in eight days and I'm getting antsy. Too much work to do at my regular job, and a kid who went on an anti-sleep mission this past week have made it impossible to do any quality work, so I've abstained. I must get my stitchin' fix tomorrow night. Or maybe I'll get up early and sew instead of run or spin.

Etsy

There --> is a wall hanging I made as a gift for my friend's wedding, using her theme colors of purple, silver, and green. I wish I had taken better photographs before giving it away! It's the sort of project I want to devote more time to, but takes a great deal of time to plan and create. I'd only be listing one item a month if I focused on these...but soon I'll start another.

Etsy.com is a fantastic world for buying, selling, and learning crafts. I spend far more time there than I should, and hope to one day travel to the labs for a class/vacation.
Lately, I am souring on the forum experience. I'm hooked, but I feel false sometimes because I'm posting when I don't even have anything worthwhile to say just so that my name and avatar remain visible. I'm a lurker by nature, and I feel like I'm making a nuisance of myself by piping up so much. I have grown to like it, but hate how rarely we truly listen to one another and simply throw our perspective into the mix and leave the thread.
I guess I'll just have to "be the change I wish to see" in the Etsy world!

Carol Lee is a Genius

I have to hype these cards by carolleedesigns.etsy.com. I wish I could afford to buy piles and piles of them to hand out to kids at school. She has ornamented phrases for every irksome thought a person might have. I especially like the business card message assortments.

On a personal front, my son has crossed into a zone of influence beyond our home front. Although we have no cable, satellite, or antennae, there seems to be no defense from commercialism. When shoe shopping last night, my two and a half year old turned down the nice plain tennies I found, and specifically asked for various cartoon characters. I suppose just seeing his peers wear shoes with lights and liscensed pictures made an impression on him. If I stayed home with him instead of working and sending him to a sitter, he would have no peers to influence him. Regardless, marketing would exert pressure sooner or later. In the end, I decided to let him make the decision. He chose Spiderman over Curious George sneakers. Now I have to figure out how to walk the line between allowing independent decision making and discouraging sheep-like behavior. Already.

I Like What I See

This is one of my favorite items on Etsy. Before watching the artistry in her shop, I was not a felt fan. Now I'm an ardent admirer of the art form.

Check out lupin's shop full of awesome goodies! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5032903

My large projects are on hold right now. I've managed to make out about 10 headbands a week, which is good for this time of year. I'm stocked well, and prepared to sell, since those are affordable. I have so much fabric calling out to me, begging for form and function. The ideas are many, but time is precious little.

Here is one of my recent hair wear creations. I should have called it "Wild Side" because it's pretty bold for my style, but I really like the colors and waviness.

I may even keep one for myself.

Getting Started

Hello. I am GrayEyedScorpio, and I am a fabric addict.

Recently, I've been a one woman headband factory, trying to beef up inventory for my first craft fair. It's a street fair, which I'm told is not best for business, but since I'm just getting my feet wet, it'll suffice. Plus, it's cheap to participate.

I'll soon load photos of my designs, and links to some Etsy shops I admire.

Check me out on MySpace: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=242512700 and Etsy: grayeyedscorpio.etsy.com

Thanks for checking in!