Daily Drawing #3

Some of my roommates from college came to visit this weekend and we had such a good time! Apartment 2102!

Daily Drawing #2

Some doodles from yesterday while waiting for the train.

Daily Drawing #1

Taking time to draw something new provides inspiration for new projects, and gives your mind a creative break from current ones.

I try to keep daily drawings, but sometimes its hard to find the time... or to be honest, I just get lazy. And then if I do draw, I don't take the time to scan, archive, and post it.

Completing my book for The Sketchbook Project reminded me how beneficial it is to draw something new each day, so this year I'm going to really try and keep daily drawings (or at least semi daily), and post them when I can!

Cold Weekend for a Photo Shoot

Earrings on Etsy

Most of my jewelry photos for Etsy are taken outside. Partly because there is no need to set up a special backdrop, it’s easy to hang pieces on braches, flowerpots, wooden boxes, wind chimes and more. Also, since I’m not skilled with setting up the right lighting inside, its much faster to utilize natural sunlight outdoors!

This past weekend proved a bit difficult to shoot photos, but I did get most of what I needed…

Saturday I convinced my boyfriend, Scott, to help out with a shoot where I needed to play the part of “model” to show off some new necklaces. Standing outside in a tank top and cardigan was a little chilly, but not nearly as bad as I had expected!

Sunday I worked on my own to photograph some earrings. The wind blowing earrings around made it take a bit longer, which led to very cold fingers, but I was able to get seven pairs shot, edited, and up on Etsy.

Enjoy these photos, along with a few silly images of the process, and don’t forget to check out more on Etsy and Facebook!

Heart Necklace / Colorful Hand painted Necklace (top right)

More photos on Facebook

Western Necklace on Etsy

Earrings on Etsy

Earrings on Etsy

DIY Holiday Decorating Tutorials

I haven't had much time lately to put together original tutorials, so instead enjoy this roundup of great holiday decorating tutorials from other sites! (I know I'm a little late on the Hanukkah crafts... but there's always next year)

Yarn Wreath from Country Living

Magazine Wreath from Going Home to Roost

Found Object Party Bunting from Readymade

Glass Bottle Menorah from Readymade

Candelabra and Scouring Pad Accessories from guardian.co.uk

Twinkle Lights from Disney's Family Fun

Colorful Cabinets from Country Living

Happy crafting!

Lasts Year's Holiday Cards are This Year's Gift Tags!

I’ll admit it, I have a hard time getting rid of stuff… I’m not a hoarder, it’s just the crafter in all of us!

It’s the idea that you can make something out of anything. You know as soon as something is thrown away you’ll undoubtedly have a brilliant idea of how to reuse it.

One thing I have a hard time getting rid of is Holiday cards. I save them, then the next year I usually end up tossing them, knowing I’m just going to get another group from the same people.

Finally I decided to do something with them. There are a lot of possibilities, but the one I went with this year was gift tags. Use them on holiday gifts, host/hostess gifts, thank you tags on favors, or even as place cards tied around a glass/bottle.

Materials:

Scissors and/or X-acto

Hole punch

Tag-shaped punch (optional)

Ribbon

Any or all of the following for decorating: pens, markers, crayons, glitter, paint, puff paint, beads, sequins, feathers, yarn, twine, raffia, tissue paper, stickers, charms, wire, twigs, acorns, pine cones, dried flowers and berries, stamps and anything else you can think of!

Steps:

(If you are using a tag-shaped punch skip steps 1-2)

1. Use the backs of a few greeting cards as stencils. Draw the shapes you want on the back of a few cards and cut them out.

2. Trace your stencils on the front of your greeting cards.

3. Cut your tags our with scissors or an X-acto knife. (Or if you are using a tag-shaped punch, just use that to punch the shapes from your cards)

4. Decorate your tags. This is the part where you really get to be creative! I stuck to glitter paint, pens and beads, then layered varying sized tags on top of each other for texture. The possibilities are endless! Go with a glam theme sticking to metallic paint and glitter, or keep it natural with twigs, dried berries and raffia.

5. Punch a hole at the top of each tag.

6. Thread ribbon through the hole and tie a knot. Add a bead if you’d like, for even more decoration.

Now your tags are ready to go, bringing a personal, handmade, eco-friendly element to every gift you give this holiday season!

Holiday Cards - Free Gift

Now through Thanksgiving receive this set of 4 Holiday Cards FREE with any purchase at DESIGNosaurus or triSERIFtops on Etsy. Includes 4 cards, 4 envelopes and 4 envelope seals.