Head Colds....Yuck!

Want to know what I hate?

Colds.

More specifically....head colds.

They make me feel all stupid and slow.

Want to know what I love?

God.

More specifically....The God.

The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

The Great I Am.

And His Son.

Jesus Christ.

Fully man, and yet fully God.

And it makes me feel good knowing that while Jesus was fully man, He struggled.

With hunger, and pain, and

head colds.

:0)

Be blessed,

Debbi

"Great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new every morning."

Lamentaions 3:23

Why You Need A Light Box

The weather here (just like everywhere) has been really crappy lately, so I have not been able to take my items pictures outside in natural light.  I was taking my item pictures in my studio, but right now I don't have heat up there, so it's slowly turned into a storage shed more than anything else, and I can't get to my picture taking area.  So I decided to bring my background into my kitchen to take pictures of items so I could get them listed in my The Craft Star shop.  This is what I ended up with, even after "fixing" them with my Picasa program....a yellow tint on my white cards.  Yuck.

I auto exposed it...I lightened it...I tried everything, then just got flustered / frustrated and listed 2 cards this way.  On The Craft Star site there is a section of help where I found a link to instructions on making a light box.  So I went shopping for a box and paper and went to work.

 

Here it is with just the overhead light on.  Still kind of yellow. 

Here is is with 1 lamp.  I didn't like the shadow, much, so back to the store for another lamp for the other side of the box.

And here's the result.  Drum roll please.....

..........................

What a difference!!!!

So I spent a whole afternoon taking pictures of my new cards, and scarfs, and some vintage items I have yet to list.  Now to come up with tags and great descriptions....and yes, The Craft Star has a how to for them also.  :0)

You can find this card and my other ones, here in my Rusty Art section of my Yankee Burrow shop 

on The Craft Star.  And you can read about the history of my Rusty Art here.

So, do you use a light box???

Be blessed,

Debbi

A handmade head cold.

I've been fighting a head cold for the past week, (not to mention a problem get blogger to load on my laptop), so I figured I would share with you the essentials for a handmade head cold.

First you need Kleenix.  And while you can buy the colorful boxes, isn't this musical notes tissue box by ColorPopShoppe.  It's a fairly new shop on Etsy, and there are tons of other sofa box covers to choose from, but you know me, I love to promote small business.  And being a musician, I love this fabric. <3

Next you need something to snuggle under while resting on the sofa, and getting waited on by your adoring loved ones.  

(Did that make you giggle? Me too.)

I am partial to anything old fashioned, and I adore the pinwheel pattern of this quilt by Home Sewn Studio at The Craft Star.  It was hard to chose a favorite quilt because there are so many amazing quilters at The Craft Star, so click on the link above and see them all for yourself.

 And when your adoring loved ones are bringing you chicken soup, or a nice cuppa hot tea, tell them to use these large chocolate brown mugs made by River Rock Art at HandmadeArtists.  I love large mugs, and these hold a full 20 ounces!

So now I'm ready to relax and watch some of my newest favorite show....

Dr. Who.  

What do you do when you're not feeling well?

Be blessed,

Debbi

finding my way through the world of e-commerce

Selling your product is hard.

Selling it on-line is even harder.

And that's why I am so glad to have re-connected with Bethan Davis and The Craft Star, not only does she understand the importance of promotion...she promotes!

The Craft Star is a great venue to share your handmade goodies, vintage finds, and much needed supplies.

The newest trend is google+ and Bethan is helping all of us to jump on board that train; with chats, and hangouts, and now with The Craft Star 6 week media boot camp, and it's open to everyone, 

not just The Craft Star sellers.

Take a peek at week 1...

So, she (and her amazing team) is not only helping us learn to help ourselves, but they actually DO things for us...wonderful Rhonda from Steampunk Beadery made me this video business card...

Plus...they host "meet the artists" shows...here's my first (and so far only one).  It was so much fun!

I have to say....if you're not selling on The Craft Star yet, you really need to CHECK IT OUT!!!

Are you on google+ yet?  Come and find me there.

Be blessed,

Debbi