Spring Time

Today is the beginning of spring. Sounds mad - but in Ireland it traditionally is the first day of spring on St Brigid's Day - the first of February. High time for me to get rid of my New Year's message that had been gracing the "Frame of Frills" in my kitchen.

I wanted a quick and nice update to my show off area empty frame. That was easily done by actually chucking the previous display into the bin: the letters spelling H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R were all warped and I felt not the slightest pang of regret when I put them in the bin. Instead I put up this:

Just a selection of photos, strung up with tiny little wooden clothes pegs. I went for a bit of a friendly theme with the hearts. No connection with Valentine - but it would probably fit the occasion as well.

This is just one of the easiest deco things you can do. Go through your photoalbums and dig out all the nice memories you want to surround yourself with. Or follow a theme - mine was "hearts" and "red/pink". You can easily create polaroid-y prints by cropping your images into squares and then printing them on paper/card/photo paper. Just cut them in such a way that you leave a wider edge of white at the bottom.  Or, for those who want it even easier, I recommend online photo converters such as polaroin, instantizer or (my personal favourite site) bighugelabs. - After that it is just arranging and hanging.

Kitchen mantle February style. Bring on the winter depression, I am ready...

Best,

PS: Linking to Categorically Crafting @ Someday Crafts

, That DIY Party @ DIY-Show-off

Cool Collages

Can you read this:

Yay - Craft-Werk!!! If I didn't already have a banner that I am quite happy with, this is what I would use. If you look closely you can see that the images in the collage are all the projects I have presented here on the blog since I started nine months ago (go on, take out that magnifying glass, I dare ya!)

Yep, I have turned into a geek, I know. But it's just so easy to do, I couldn't resist. And while I was at it, I finally also got into the swing and turned all my green photos into a collage for St. Patrick's Day.Strictly speaking it is not created by me - but I thought I'd show you my find because you might want to create a nice little collage for Paddy's Day or any other upcoming event in your busy lives...

No, I did not painstakingly print and cut out every photo and stick it in a shamrock shape - Shape Collage did that for me. It's really cool - you download their application for free, then you drag and drop all your chosen image into the tool, determine the shape you want it arranged in and click "create". Bang, there it is. There are tons of shapes to choose from - or you can (freehand) draw your own shape. I love it - photo collages made easy. Give it a shot...

Best,

PS: Ok, yes, I promise this is not turning into a photography blog. This will - probably - be the last photo post in a while. And: I am not getting paid to promote this site... unfortunately!

Photography Tips for Bloggers - Part 2

Geek Week continues. I am not done yet with photography tips, so here is part 2 of my do's and don'ts when it comes to taking pictures for your craft blog. In yesterday's post I suggested what you can do to get rid of unsightly shadows in your pictures, how to use flash correctly and explained why a calm and clean background is so important. If you missed the post, click here.

Today I want to look at other common mistakes. Let's jump right in...

4.    Take note of the minimum distance!
Many pictures I see in blogs are blurry close-ups, accompanied by a note “Sorry for the blur; I don’t know how that happened…”. I can tell you how: You probably came too close to your subject! Automatic cameras will snap anything that you point your camera at. However, all cameras have a specific minimum distance between the lens and the object which the camera is shooting. Moving closer than the suggested minimum distance will result in blurry images. 

I am shooting with a Canon 350 digital SLR. On the lens it tells me the minimum distance I can shoot an object from: 0.28m/0.9ft. What it means is – if I am any closer than 28cm/9 inches to my subject, the lens will not be able to focus on it clearly and the image will come out blurred. Check your camera for the telltale note – or look up your manual to find out.

5.    Frame the subject as big as you can!
If you followed my advice from number 4, you will end up with a focussed picture that has your object in the centre - but a lot of unnecessary background around it. And again I am not happy - frame closer! This tip came from the camera manual of my first “proper” automatic camera, a Pentax. The advice is priceless: Whatever you are photographing, whether it is an object or a group of things – try to get them as big in the frame as you can. That way your readers can see the object clearly and in detail. Alternatively… (read on to number 6).    

6. Crop for best results!
Tip number 6 follows from tip 5: If you have taken a picture that has too much background showing, just crop it down closer to the object. For best effect, leave the same amount of space on opposite sides of the image. 

Compare the next two images:

 Isn't the second one more pleasing to the eye? Plus it gets more detail across to the viewer.

7.    Minimal PS-Intervention is fine!
Let’s face it: We are crafters, not photographers. Your photo optimization should not take longer than the time it took to make your craft object. Bearing in mind that photos look pretty good on a computer screen even at low resolutions, there is not that much you need to do. For general purposes it is fine to use the “auto correct” button in MS Picture Manager or in online applications like Picnik. This will automatically set the exposure, colour and contrast on an assumed ideal level and usually takes out the dullness from pictures. I find that it is quicker to use auto correct in Picture Manager than to wait for Picnik to open up on Flickr. So I quickly auto correct my images on my laptop and then upload to the online album where I am hosting my images.
Here is an example where the auto correct chose a better white balance for my image:

This was just done with one click on the auto correct button! Yes, I do know that the pros use Photoshop - but to reiterate: This is photo optimisation for amateurs and not for geeks.

And finally an appeal:

Less is More!Please don’t overload your post with pictures. Concentrate on a few good shots for illustration. Pick out the ones that show your object clearly and attractively. No need to show every single shot which you took during your 3-hour-shoot. – Your readers just get bored having to scroll down your post over shot next to identical shot next to identical shot next to... Either they just scroll without looking properly and will miss the really good shots. Or if worse comes to worst, they get frustrated and jump blog ship mid-post. So keep it sweet - it also makes posting quicker for you!


Ok - sermon over! As you can see, I do not always adhere to my own rules. Of course I have pics on my blog which are washed out, badly composed, full of hard shadow or unnecessarily large background. You can't follow every photo rule religiously. But maybe my tips have made you more aware of the importance of good photography? Give the tips which you found interesting or helpful a shot - quite literally! I would love to hear about your experiences! And if you have any particular photo-related question, please drop me a comment or send me an e-mail.

Happy snapping, everyone!
 

Photography Tips for Bloggers

Photos play a big part in craft blogs on the net. We all want to display our beautiful creations or show how we made them. Illustrations also work like eyecatchers – posting one at the start of your blog post can attract your readers attention. Chances are that the split-second decision whether the visitors to your blog will read your post or not, is made based on the impression the first photo creates. Photo quality is crucial for that. And having looked at thousands of photos since I first entered Craft-Blogland, I have noticed a number of problems that come up again and again. As you all may have noticed, I am big into photography. Actually I am studying for a degree in photography in college at the moment.  And I thought that I might share some of my tips and ideas so you can improve your photography. I’ll illustrate my post with good and bad examples, so you can see my tips in action. So here’s for another “Babes in Geekland”-post... Sonja’s photography tips for dummies bloggers ;-)

1. Centre-stage your Objects!

Whether you are taking a picture of your family or of an object – always make sure that nothing distracts from your subjects. So, when photographing something, arrange it nicely and clearly and make sure you have no other objects in the background that might protrude into the scene and distract from the overall image. You get best effects when your background is monochrome – or simply one colour. That way your viewers’ eyes will concentrate on the object in the foreground and their gaze is not distracted by anything else. So set up your object in front of a white wall – or place a piece of board or a sheet behind your object to hide busy and distracting backgrounds.

My example shots are quite subtle, but in picture one you can see some chairs left in the background. Compare with the clean background of shot 2. Which one is more pleasing to the eye when nothing has been changed but the background?

2. Get rid of Shadows!

Try to avoid using flash if you can – either by moving your object near natural light (i.e. window sill) or by scheduling your shoot for daylight hours.
Even daylight will create shadows, but you can even cancel that out by placing a piece of white cardboard or other reflective surface next to your object, but keeping it out of your frame.

Here is a little birdy which I have shot in the direct sunlight. The effect is actually not that bad, but I have lost some of the bird's detail because the harsh shadow obscures the pretty head. For the second picture I placed white cardboard beside the bird and thus lightened up the shadows.

 

 

I have not used any additional lighting, this is the pure sunlight reflected back!!! This is the set-up:

3. Diffuse or Bounce your Flash Light!

As most of our crafty stuff is indoor decorations, we mostly shoot inside. Depending on the amount of light in your room, the camera will automatically fire its flash to illuminate the subject. The result is unsightly hard shadow of the object against the background. Sometimes the shadow obscures other details in the shot, other times it creates reflections and highlights that distract from the overall image. If you must shoot with flash, there are a couple of tricks that the professionals use:
You can make the shadows softer by diffusing the light that fires from your flash. Simply stick a bit of translucent scotch tape over it. It softens the edges of the shadow but will probably still give enough light to illuminate your scene.

If you are using a separate flash, direct the flash to the ceiling. The theory is thus: Light travels in straight lines. If you point your camera straight onto the object but the flashlight against the ceiling, the light will bounce off the ceiling first, loose some of its brightness and illuminate the scene from above. The shadows will not fall against the background, but more against the surface your object is placed on. Due to the loss in brightness the shadows will also appear softer. As an overall effect the shadows will not be so apparent and will neither distract from nor obscure the object.

In my example, the flash light creates hard shadow against the wall. The light is rather blueish-cold. Check the insets for the details and compare with the second shot, taken with flashlight bounced off the ceiling.

 

Can you see how the light appears softer, warmer and the shadows have almost completely gone?

Come back tomorrow for another series of tips on how to improve your photos!

Best,

A Special Birthday Card

Hello everyone - want to know what has kept me busy at the weekend (apart from going to the movies, attending a classical concert, being locked in the studio for a photo shoot and hosting a craft afternoon - *woosh*, I get tired just reading that long list of weekend activities...)? I made a special card for my dad's upcoming birthday. (Hope he is not reading here, otherwise the surprise is spoilt...)

Yeah, right, a card that is. What's so special? Well, that is what is called an "infinity card". My scanned pictured doesn't show you what it can do. Essentially it can be opened up and folded back to reveal more pictures, all without changing the orientation of the card.


My daughter had been given an infinity card for Christmas and I was fascinated by it. I had no idea how it was made - and then I stumbled across a great clip and a template by Toymaker Marilyn Scott Waters (via one of my reader's comments - I have been trying to search and find who of you had a link to Toymaker, and give you credit for the inspiration - sorry, can't find you again, please accept my thanks this way...)


To really show you how the infinity card works, I've made a little video. Check it out, it's only a minute long and shows the magic in action:





I nearly lost the plot making this card - the template I worked with had graphics, not photos, and so I had to experiment in order to get the orientation of the photos right. You see, the images get "twisted around" when you fold and turn the card. I think I printed about five drafts until I got it right. (And while writing this tutorial I also realised that I needed to take pictures to show what you need to do - words are not enough...). This is what happens:

Good person that I am (...), I have decided to make a template for those of you who want to recreate this, using your own photos. You can download it (for free, of course) at the end of the post via scribd. (Aside: Wow, I am really learning so much while I am blogging - scribd is so cool for document sharing!!!)

A few notes on making the card: The template is general and allows you to adapt it with your own message and photos. The red boxes are designated for a message. Word MS will let you click onto the writing in the boxes and add your own message. The orientation of my notes in the document shows you which way up the pictures should go. You can simply copy and paste photos and place them in/on the document, sizing them as required. Note that you may have to cut photos in half and change their sides so that they show up correctly in the finished card!!! (I have indicated that in the template.)

Once you have written your message and pasted all your photos in, you can print out the pages on card. Page 2 has to be printed onto the back of page 1; page 4 goes on the back of page 3. It should all align, so that you can trim off the excess. 

Next you cut your two square print-outs in half along the red line in the middle. The black dotted lines denote the lines where you should score the card. (If you are printing on normal paper, you won't need to score!) Then fold along the score lines - both ways.

Place your square from page 3 and 4 in front of you with page 4 facing up. You should be able to see that there are four boxes on the two strips that say "Glue Point". These glue points should be in the four corners of the "square". Put a bit of glue on each of them. 




 

Take the two remaining strips with page 1 facing up. Page 2 also has four boxes labelled "Glue Point". Attach them to the bottom square by placing glue point onto glue point.

And you are done. You may need to fold the strips back a little more as you are trying it out, but the infinity card should work now.





Here is the template for downloading. I am not sure why, but scribd's preview shows the elements of the card scrunched together and overlapping. I have tried downloading it and the template comes out correctly on four separate pages, just the way you can work with it. I created it using MS Word 2007.

Template for Photo Infinity Card
 

By the way - opening and folding the card backwards does not work!! It only works seamlessly if you start with your message square first; otherwise the pictures and the text will be completely jumbled up...

Hope this wasn't too complicated? Have fun with this - it will amaze your children and is an easily made card for any occasion: next birthday? Valentine's Day? Paddy's Day? Or just for a loved one to show that you care and are willing to spend time on an original craft for them.

Best,


PS: Have you entered the giveaway? It's your last chance now - I am pulling it off tonight at 11.30 pm GMT. Just go to my celebration post and leave me a comment. Seriously, that's all!

PPS: Yay:

Linking to:




  

 

Classy Silhouettes

Black is such a classy colour. I mostly wear black (apart from my trademark red), but I do not really use it much in my interior dreamings. But I have noticed that an awful lot of re-dos that I see in blogs is done with black paint. Well, here is a little idea that might appeal to all you lovers of the colour black out there. 'Cause today I made a couple of classy silhouettes.

 

The inspiration for this project came from a whole wall of silhouettes. These are two silhouettes of ancestors. I think they are late 18th and early 19th century respectively. Before the invention of photography in 1836, the cheapest way for the burgeoning bourgeoisie to have a portrait done, was having a silhouette cut. If you look closely at the lady on the left, you will notice the fine detail and care that went into these "likenesses". This silhouette was not cut, though, but painted. The outline of the head was painted black and then the details such as the hair and the ear were added. They even included the eyelashes. Isn't this lady beautiful? (I am thinking Elizabeth Bennett, here...)

Here is another silhouette, which I believe is pre-19th century, just based on her hairstyle. Again, this is a painted silhouette. The fine details of hair and bows would have been impossible to cut. Both miniatures are about 3-4 cm in size (approx. 1 - 1.5 inches). - Isn't it wonderful to think that these likenesses are still around, long after the two ladies are gone? They certainly we held very preciously and are mounted in sweet little wooden frames with gilt edges...

I decided on a slightly more modern version of the silhouette by inverting the colours - light silhouette against a dark background. The paper I chose for the silhouette came from my stash of security envelopes. I haven't been able to stop collecting those ever since my ill-fated "Material of the Week"-adventures last year... (See some other projects with security envelope paper here: paper beads, a little garland, card decorations and mini-envelopes.)

Sorry, no photos of the individual steps, but it is pretty self-explanatory: I printed a photo of my own, regal head in profile onto the back of the security envelope paper. Then I cut it out with small scissors. (Brrrr, hate using flash - leaves very ugly shadows on the pics. Obviously, the frame is perfectly round, not oval...)

The idea for the frames came to me the other day when I was doing the recycling. While taking the lids off all the empty jars that were going into the glass recycling, it occurred to me that they make perfect little frames. So out came the blackboard spray (proper black spray paint would do much better, but I haven't got any), and I gave the two chosen lids a good spray. Make sure you choose lids that are not of the "twist off"-variety. Those have irregular rims and do look too much like lids...

Be patient until your spray paint has dried and then stick your silhouette into the lid. (As usual I was impatient, scratched the not-yet-dried surfaces and had to touch up with a marker *tstststs*.) Since my ribbon collection is newly organised *yoohay*, I quickly found a length of black velvet ribbon onto which I stuck the lids miniatures. It looked a bit too bare like that, so I embellished a bit with bits of pieces in my "miscellaneous" box. To hang the length of ribbon, I made a bow. Cheapskate that I am, I had some little silver beads on thin wire (dismantled from a Christmas cracker... I know, I am a total crackpot, saving fiddly bits like that...). And guess what the silver star/snowflake ornament on the bow is? .... It's the hanger from a Christmas bauble!!! When taking down the Christmas decorations, one bauble smashed and I kept the hanger (yeah, definite crackpot, Sonja!). I simply flattened it. Then I put the wires from the beads through the star and pushed it through the velvet bow and the ribbon. I also attached a small satin ribbon to hang it up. 

Lastly, I glued the lids onto the ribbon. Continuing with the tradition of keeping the ladies' likenesses, I also made a silhouette of my daughter. And here it is, my silhouette display - preliminarily hung above the shelf beside my desk.

  
So, there is a classy little project for you - that will cost you nothing, but is priceless! 

Best,
 

Linking to:

 









http://itssoverycheri.com/2010/02/14/its-so-very-creative-party/?