The fruits of my labor and a softbox tutorial!

Guess what I did tonight? I stayed home and made this:

It's a softbox! And it literally cost me $10 thanks to a very easy to follow (and funny) tutorial on Strobist that I found today. I have a box of about 15 pieces of jewelry just collecting dust because I've lacked the ability to take high quality photos of them for my portfolio. I knew I needed a solution; I've been meaning to make one of these for a long time. It was ridiculously easy to create, even if it was a bit time consuming.

Here's a before and after photo of the earrings above. The after photo only has alterations to the brightness/contrast and I rotated the canvas since my camera was at an angle.

For my first go at it I'd say it was a success! The original photos are still turning out pretty dark so I'll need to tweak the lighting. Though, with a little help from PS everything looks beautiful. With some practice, I hope this light box will eliminate hours spent in front of the computer removing backgrounds from photos. How exhausting!

AVC time already?

I just got word that the applications for the holiday AVC are due in within the next month (AAAH!) and that they have considerably less space than last year. Why do they have less room, do you ask? Because they have a spiffy NEW VENUE!!!! And it's GORGEOUS!

It's basically a thousand times better than the last venue. Also, it's smaller. A lot smaller. I can tell already that I wouldn't need to wear my brimmed hat again to shade my sensitive eyes from the fluorescent lighting. Now, onto the hard part of getting accepted...

JUNKPRINTS SPECIAL!

Chanel, the fantastic mind behind Junkprints, has offered free shipping* for any of you lovely readers who are interested in purchasing something from her line! All you have to do is enter "Junkprints luvs Sewcial Suicide" in the seller notes. So, if you dig her line, (And how couldn't you?) now is the perfect time to pick up a little something to put a smile on your face. Thanks, Chanel!

P.S. I love the jacket pictured above. A lot.

*The promotion is valid until 8.30.07

Nature vs Machine: back in action? Not yet.

I tried forcing myself to be creative today. There's nothing quite like it in the world. OK, well, forcing yourself to eat brussels sprouts at 25 may come close (that is, if you hate brussels sprouts-but then why would you be forcing yourself to them in the first place?). I decided, instead, to work on a custom pendent that was put on hiatus during my move since I apparently have an aversion to forced creativity. I should have finished it today. Except that my only small drill bit broke in half in the middle of the first of six holes. And that bit would have created a hole that was too small for my 20g wire to pass through. Even if the bit hadn't broke, my reamer, and half of my other tools, are still packed away. Their exact location being in one or more of the dozen boxes still partially unpacked in different rooms of my house. Yes-I completely jumped the gun. I guess I should have finished unpacking first...which is exactly what I was trying to avoid by forcing my creativity in the first place. Back to square one. Tomorrow: unpacking. Ugh.

Etsy pick: Junkprints

Ok, so I found this little shop a few weeks back called Junkprints. I tucked it away in my special little place reserved for future Etsy picks, aka, a Gmail folder. I just pulled it up and had nearly forgotten how much I LOVE this girl's work! And, I believe there are new items up since the last time I visited. Oh, how I wish moving wasn't quite so expensive, because I really could go for this hoodie right about now:


Everything about Junkprints' work speaks to me. I love the artwork, the prints on the inside of the hoods, the positioning of the artwork, and the colors. It has the street vibe that I am consistantly drawn to. The artist also shows her sense of humor while remaining relevant to current issues which is something that I appreciate and adore.

BACK UP!

PHEW!

You never realize just how much you depend on something until it's gone. The internet is finally hooked up at my new apartment. Our service request was misplaced so it's been three long weeks without internet here at home. I feel as though I can breathe again, and that frightens me a little!

One of my favorite things to do to "kill time" is answer questions others have in regards to crafting, art, tools, etc., so I've decided to start showcasing some of those answers in upcoming posts. In the past I've mostly linked to tutorials from other sites so I'd like to get some of my personal knowledge in here just to shake things up a bit. Because, and let me be modest here for a minute, I like to think that I have the skills to pay the bills.

Altered Cloth

I stumbled across a new how-to site courtesy of Craft Magazine called Altered Cloth. There are great posts such as: How to fix bleach spots on fabric (which a friend of mine could have used about two weeks ago-OUCH!), 5 tutorials on how to make different headbands , and 7 tutorials on making shopping totes. There is a wealth of great crafting information on Altered Cloth that I'm sure to take advantage of in the future...as soon as I can find the time.

Etsy pick: Margaux Lange

Jewelry rarely makes me sigh but I actually released an audible one when I came across the work of Margaux Lange. I LOVE the originality and craftsmanship of this jewelry! In addition to using the doll face parts and sterling silver, the pieces have epoxy resin detail-a medium I've been dying to use. The purple lips really POP in this setting (which, by the way, has been sold to some lucky person). This purple face ring is one of my favorites but every time I check her portfolio I find another. You can see this design and more at Margaux Lange's Etsy shop, her website portfolio, or on her blog, Midge's Mind, where she also discusses her work.

Moving destroys my creativity.

I've been taking some time off from creating because I burned myself out preparing for and attending AVC. Now that I'm ready to get back into the swing of things I have to move! I have a few pieces of jewelry and at least one bag that are completed and ready for a photo shoot, I have the pieces for at least 4 bags completely cut out and ready to be assembled, and I have two vinyl pendants and about twice that many earrings ready for their finishing touches. I fear it will be weeks before I'm settled enough again in my new home to let the creative juices flow. For the time being I'll have to be content with imagining my next new project...

I've been thinking a lot, as usual, about printing my own fabric. I already screen print designs on some of the fabric for my bags but I want to do more full-on fabric design; multiple colors and/or prints on a much larger scale. I have several ideas in mind-some done by me, and some done by "my artist". My artist and I have been preoccupied with our own art while trying to collaborate on prints. Perhaps once I've managed to catch up on all of my current projects I'll have the chance to dive into my latest fascination.