Sneak Peek: New Product Photo Staging

I experimented today with new staging for my product photos of the Nubbins for my Etsy shop listings.  While talking with a good friend who runs quite a successful Etsy shop with her sister, and discussing ways to improve my shop and exposure, she suggested I try to simplify my photos and have less varied colors in the background.  I still wanted to utilize my vintage thread spools though.  So instead of having them spilling out of a berry basket like I did in my previous photos, I decided to pick thread colors that coordinated with whatever Nubbin was being photographed.

I was inspired by the heart garlands in Etsy seller (and fellow plush-maker) EcoLEFTZ has in her recent product photos and decided to do my own spin on that idea with the thread spools.

Obviously, the "real" photos that will ultimately end up on the listings will be taken with my nice digital camera and will not have the Instagram filter like the above photo does, so the colors will be more accurate.  

 

Apparently, someone thinks she's "helping".

I have the garland set up so I can easily switch out the thread colors according to what color Nubbin I have.  I have a lovely assortment.  I could photograph vintage thread spools all day.

I will share the "real" product photos soon.

And the Winner is...

Thanks to everyone who entered and made treasuries!  They were great!  I will be featuring them all in my "Treasury Tuesday" blog post next week.  But now it's time to announce the winner of the giveaway...

The winner or the "Treasury Love" giveaway is...

 Comment #4...which was by Victoria (ie: bearslp) and included a link to her treasury, Some Awesome Little Monsters.  Congratulations Victoria!  You will have a Nubbin arriving in the mail soon!

 If you didn't win or didn't get a chance to enter, don't worry, I'm planning on doing giveaways more frequently in the future!

Button Rings!

I got these cool button rings last week from my friend & fellow RNESTer, Erin of Sunshyne Silverwear.  She's the one who made my recycled spoon pendant necklace (which you can see a bit in the picture below) and she's recently started making these wire-wrapped button rings.  And we know how much I LOVE buttons!  I had to have one! (or two!)

Erin had shared the tutorial on her Facebook page last month and my DIY tendencies were tingling, telling me I could make some myself, since I had access to the tutorial...but I just am not much of a jewelry maker and wasn't interested in dealing with buying the wire and the tools involved and messing with the wire-wrapping.  And Erin was already making them and had some I liked, so I decided it would be SO much easier to just get one from her!  

Plus, I found that Erin was interested in doing a trade!  So we did a swap!  Even if she hadn't been interested in trading, the rings are very reasonably priced at $8.

*Photo courtesy of Sunshyne Silverwear

Here's a look at some of the other rings she's done.  You can actually see the two I have (both are the second from the right...one in the first row, the other in the third row).

She isn't selling them in her Etsy shop yet, but she told me that they will be available at her booth at craft shows.  Here's her show schedule for the year so far if you want to catch her.  You should also check out her website and sign up for the newsletter she's recently started if you're interested in any deals, coupon codes or specials she's running (she has one right now that involves the button rings!)  Go "like" her page on Facebook too!  She just hit a milestone of 600 fans! (I'm halfway behind her with 300!)

Treasury Love Giveaway!

It's been quite some time since I did a giveaway here on the blog.  Years, actually.

But in celebration of getting 300 "likes" on my KiraArts Facebook fan page, I am doing a giveaway!

How To Enter:

• Create an Etsy Treasury featuring one item from the KiraArts Etsy shop and leave a comment on this blog post that includes the URL of your Treasury. 

(not sure what an Etsy Treasury is or how to make one?  Check out Etsy's Help Page.)

Rules & Stuff:

• Limit of 1 treasury per contestant
• Treasuries must be “full” (include 16 items) 
• Deadline for entry is February 21st by midnight 
• Winner will be picked by random number generator and announced on February 22nd in a blog post. The winner's treasury will be featured in the blog post (so make sure your treasury looks good!).
• The prize is a red Nubbin with a gray heart (similar to the one pictured)

*EDIT: I forgot to mention...this giveaway is open to US residents only.  Sorry international fans!

Valentine Cookies

Made sugar cookies for my husband today...

We're not doing anything extravagant for Valentine's Day tonight.  Just a quiet candlelit dinner at home...with the added treat of some sweet cherry wine from the local winery.

Moira the Sweater Monster

Meet Moira the Sweater Monster...

"Moira is quite the chatty social butterfly around town by day, but in the evenings she likes to stay at home, snuggling in her favorite blanket, crocheting while she watches home-improvement shows."

My new photo setup for the winter.  I usually have it on my front porch since it has the best natural light, but the porch isn't heated, so it was very cold out there... uncomfortably cold to spend time taking photos for my Etsy listings.  So I moved it all inside to the spare bedroom (which I keep hoping to convert into my new craft room someday).  I'm hoping to improve my item photography...since on Etsy, it's all about well-photographed items.  I'm also hoping my husband can build me a new weathered wood background sometime soon, so I don't have to cobble together old crates.