How to Fail on Etsy: Embrace Shadows

This is probably the single biggest problem with Etsy photos: the photos are just too damn dark. For example:


Is that a scarf or...a ghostly mist of pure evil? It's so hard to tell with this lighting. This was a scarf I had made for a custom order long ago, so while this photo wasn't planned as an Etsy listing, this was the actual "after" shot I sent to the customer. Bad Kelli of yore.

"See the good quality? Nice even rows, pretty pattern, a decent length...and it blends in with the shadows! Perfect for any ninja in your life."

Nevertheless, dark photos happen to the best of sellers. So how do you fix it?

There are a couple methods I use for fixing up pictures. If you have Microsoft Office installed on your computer, chances are you also have the MS Office Picture Tool (try looking under the Office Tools folder, if you can't find it). This is a standard photo viewing and editing program which is actually pretty solid. Open up a picture with this program, then click the Edit Pictures button. A list of options will pop up on the right of which you'll choose "Brightness and Contrast." The new menu will display (depending on your version) Brightness, Contrast, and Midtones. In general, you should avoid the Brightness option, choosing to use Midtones instead. This will bring out a photo's highlights without fading the overall image.

If you would like to try a program with more flexibility and features, upload your picture to Picnik.com. Click on the Exposure button at the top. There you'll find a handy slide tool, which you can use to make the picture brighter. While this quick repair won't wow anybody, it certainly improves the quality and gives the customer a better idea of what they're buying:



Like magic. However, keep in mind: this software is not God. It will not make your picture fabulous, nor will it get you laid. Your best bet is to put the initial work into making the picture a good one and just use this software as a supplemental tool.

One of the best tricks I have found is to create a light reflector, by using the dull side of aluminum foil and a piece of cardboard. Cheap, quick, and very handy.

Here is a good tutorial to show you how to make and use it:

Studio Quality Product Photography with a $12 Setup - by Handmadeology

By re-directing light without washing out the object, a potential customer can get a better look at the item:


Here are some other articles which may be helpful:

Cost-Less Macro Photography Light Box by PetervG on Instructables.com

Small Object Photography by Marlo Miyashiro on Meylah.com

Make Your Pictures Pop by Bomobob on Etsy.com

But if you'd rather just have a quick summary, here it is:

Never use your flash

Along those lines, remember it is much easier to correct dark photos than those with glares

When possible, use natural light

Try to avoid direct sunlight, as it can give you a harsh glare or wash out the object altogether

Rather, reflect the sunlight off of something else, even if it is white posterboard

Brighten photos afterward, using the exposure settings on a photo editing software.

Remember: dark and brooding only works if you're a poet, a teenager, a vampire, or some combination of the three. Otherwise, opt for clear, bright, and shadowless:

Green Shoulder Bag by Marbled

Crocheting Hippo-Hatamus

You want to know how I get my creative juices a-flowing? No, don't worry, it's nothing that will make you feel weird later for knowing. My thought process goes something like this: "I have a craft fair tomorrow. I've been selling a lot of frog hats lately. I should make another animal hat for tomorrow. What is another kind of ugly animal that you don't often see as a hat? Ooh, a hippo, and I even have a bunch of purple yarn!"

That's all.

I started by making just a basic beanie, then added the details. For the snout, I crocheted a large, triangular piece, then stuffed and whip-stitched it on. To give the appearance of separate "cheeks," I simply cinched the middle of the bottom row. Then some triangular ears, a couple nostril flaps. When I got to the eyes, I looked at many photos of real hippos, to get an idea of how I would design them. What I noticed is that hippos have fairly ugly eyes, simultaneously saggy and bulgy.


True to life, I made the eyes dark, bulging in their saggy sockets. Keene said, "I think it would be more relatable if you added some white to the eyes." I said, "But you don't really see the whites on real hippos." He said, "But it would be more relatable." I said, "Who relates to a hippo anyways?" I kept it ugly, its eyes dead and full of despair.


(Ignore the line running down the side of the snout. It was a failed experiment which was later axed.)


Unfortunately, in addition to being an ugly, unrelatable animal, the hat is also hugely un-photogenic. No matter how many times I tried, no matter the angle, lighting, or model, the hat just looked weird and shapeless.



But on the bright side, this hat could totally chomp you in half.

At the Spa

Okay, we didn't actually take any pics while at the spa. So here are pics of us at Beau Jo's Pizza:

As Kortney said, "Keene's nose zit was not welcome in this picture":

Heeeeeey!

That kid is snarky

Aye aye aye. Kayden. It's really hard to get after him about being snarky when I'm too busy laughing behind my hand.

So, we were all in the car last night, on our way to take Kayden to his dad's house. Maia was eating (fast food, since we were en route).

Several times, I heard Kayden telling her to close her mouth while she eats (she is quite a loud eater). She continued to eat with her mouth open.

Finally, Keene said something like, "Well, Kayden, you have to give her a break if she occasionally opens her mouth to breathe or something..."

Without missing a beat, he said, "Isn't that what a nose is for?"

Hello? Is it me you're looking for?

Last night, I was watching a movie on my computer while crocheting. In the living room, Keene was typing away on his computer.

Suddenly, I get a call. I look at the ID and it's Keene. I look up and he's still typing. I hold up my phone and say, "Are you calling me?"

He pulls his phone from his pocket, looks at it, and says, "Oh, I guess I was."

I reply, "Apparently, something in your pocket really wants to talk to me."

In my mind, I imagine this to be the conversation:

Kelli: Hello?
Keene's pocket: ::heavy breathing::

The Significance of Markings on Lenox China

(Reposted from Lenox-China.net)

It is believed that the first china markings were done by Meissen Royal Manufactory in the eighteenth century. The king of Saxony, Augustus Rex (also known as Augustus the Strong), commissioned the first production of hard-paste porcelain in Europe. Meissen painted an “AR” on the pieces, in honor of the king. Shortly thereafter, the company began using the famous crossed swords mark, which is still in use today.

Markings are often located on the bottom of a piece, and usually include (depending on the age of the item) a pattern name, a product number, the year of its creation, company name, retailer, and/or brand name. To make life even more confusing for the identifier, sometimes a piece will have both the name of the factory which produced the piece, as well as another mark signifying the decorator.

There are clues to identifying the age of a piece right away, based on the emerging laws and standards of certain time periods. For example, if an English piece has the name of the pattern printed, it was created after 1810. If the word “Royal” appears, the piece was made after 1850. If you see the word (or associated abbreviations) “Limited,” the piece was created after 1861, while the words “Trade Mark” tell you the piece was created after the Act of 1862. Similarly, the letters “R N” signify a date of creation after 1883. If the words, “bone china” are included, the piece was made in the twentieth century (or later).

Lenox has made it fairly easy to identify the age of its china. The first pieces were stamped with “Ceramic Art Company” or “Lenox Belleek,” depending on the style. In 1906, the stamp was changed to a green wreath surrounding the letter “L,” with the name Lenox below it. (Nevertheless, even if the company name is missing, it is still authentic if it has the wreath logo.) In 1930, the phrase “Made in U.S.A.” was included. This stamp remained the standard backstamp until 1953, when the wreath’s color was changed to gold.

Another way of identifying Lenox china is by the date code. If there is not a pattern name, look for a series of letters and numbers either on the bottom or on the rim of a piece. The first set of numbers before the slash describes the piece’s shape. Next, you will find a letter and a number (and sometimes, a second letter), which makes up the date code. If you find a date code but no pattern name, the piece was likely created before 1950—the year when Lenox quit using the date code system. After the date code, you should see a string of letters which correspond to a piece’s pattern colors.

With this gathered information, you can look up the maker, pattern, year, and/or value of your piece on the Lenox website, in an encyclopedia of china marks, through a replacement company, or by taking the piece to an appraiser or antique shop.

The Next-Day Challenge: Purple Mountain Lion Hat

Yesterday, my friend Anne, emailed me, asking if I could create an "emergency hat". Her coworker's birthday was the following day (that would make it today, for those uncaffeinated readers out there). Would I be able to pump out a hat in time? Or would I fail, thereby ruining my friend's coworker's birthday forever? (What? It's my blog...if I want to have an inflated sense of my own importance in the world, that is my prerogative.)

Sounded easy enough, but this was no ordinary hat. Anne had recently read my post about the Frogger hat and wondered if I could make a similar hat, but with a mountain lion. A purple mountain lion, at that. Her coworker had attended Kansas State University, for which the mascot is this:


Okay, so the KSU mascot is actually a wildcat and not a mountain lion. But you know what you get when you google "wildcat"? A whole bunch of cute, little domestic kittehs. No, no. We were going with brawn.


I got started on the hat later that night, while watching documentaries about the Donner Party and the Dust Bowl of the '30s. By the by, have you ever gone to PBS.org? There are lots of interesting videos online, which you can watch for free.

Anyhow, while I finished the major components of the hat, I was far from satisfied with the eyes, ears, and "snout". So, the next morning, I tore out yarn, re-did them, tore out more yarn, re-did them. After a bit of tweaking to make it look more realistic (yes, like a real purple mountain lion would look), I was satisfied with the final product (ignore the wacky lighting):


Doing a quick "would I wear this?" test, a pertinent part of the hat-making process:


It passed, so I delivered it to Anne. Within the hour, I heard back that the birthday girl loved the hat. Huzzah!

Happy birthday to Kristen! And thank you for being a good sport and letting me post your picture on this questionable blog:


(And thank you to Anne, for giving me something interesting to blog about, since I've been so boring this week. Well, unless readers want to hear about the riveting Plants vs. Zombies tournament going on at home. Neither do I.)