New Logo Rubber Stamp

adorable packaging

I just received my hand carved rubber stamp with my business logo from Brown Pigeon on Etsy and I love it!  The owner, Meagan, was lovely to work with and the entire process was super easy and fast.  If you need a custom stamp of any sort, I definitely recommend this shop.

Of course I neglected to buy ink for my stamp, so I had to try it out with an old green stamp pad I found in a drawer.  Try to picture it in blue.  I'm planning to stamp all of my bags for my craft shows and my packaging and anything else I can think of.

Product Photography - Before and After Editing

I'm not much of a photographer so I struggle with product photography.  I try to stick with very simple photos (hopefully letting the products speak for themselves), although I have been attempting to use more interesting camera angles in the past year or so.  I take most of my pictures inside in a fairly small homemade light box.  The items that don't fit in the light box--like ones taken on my mannequin, Helena--get photographed outside because I don't have a good place to do it indoors.  So for those, I try to wait for an overcast day and hope it's not raining or snowing--obviously I much prefer to take pictures inside.

My editing process is extremely simple.  I use Photoshop Elements to make the background white, crop and occasionally brighten or darken or slightly adjust the hue, though that's not usually needed.  My main concern is getting the colors to look like they do in life--I never want someone to be disappointed when they receive their purchase.

Original photo

Edited and cropped

No matter how I try to streamline the process, I still end up taking lots of pictures to get ones I'm satisfied with.  I took 434 pictures yesterday and I should have 21 Etsy listings when I'm done editing them.  I never realized how much time I would have to spend on photography when I started my business--I feel like I'm never caught up.   I hope to continue to improve so I can spend a little less time taking pictures and more time making the things I need to take pictures of.

Etsy Wish List Treasury

My birthday is coming up at the end of the month so I decided to make a Treasury including some of my favorites on Etsy. 

'My Etsy Wish List' by Ruth & Hazel

Porcelain Baby doll hea... reshapestudio $55	doily coasters for tea ... uncommon $19	Rustic Reclaimed Wood K... ParadiseHillD... $29	turquoise LACE screenpr... StirAtHome $18
Married to the Sea . ar... tastesorangey $25	Natural Edge Salvaged W... RedOnionWoodw... $71	Milk Glass Soap Dish robynsetsy $12	Illustration, E. E. Cum... ObviousState $24
Square Ceramic Spoon Re... paigepuckettp... $15	Modern Concrete Bookend... roughfusion $50	Kitchen Utensil Holder ... HurricanePott... $38	Giraffe clock - SMALL -... AsymmetreeDes... $60
Ornate Robins Egg Blue ... CatsPawPotter... $14	Vintage Pie Dish set of... TheVintageIsl... $15	Yes We Can Recycled Cot... blacksheephea... $20	Lightning Bolt Necklace... BootyHeartJew... $65

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Felted Soap

supplies for felting soap

Last week, I made some felted soap at the request of a friend.  I don't think I've felted soap since 2007, the year I started my business.  I ended up not ever adding it to my Etsy shop even though I always intended to do so--I think my other projects just took over.  I had forgotten how much fun I have making it and I may just have to felt some more to sell online.

soap wrapped and ready to felt

Felted soap is basically a bar of soap with a wool felt covering--it's sometimes described as soap in a sweater.  You don't need a washcloth because one is built right in and I'm told it's wonderful for camping, though I don't camp so I can't say from personal experience.  It's a fairly simple first felting project, but it can take some practice to get it looking smooth and even.

finished soaps

I won't try to reinvent the wheel by writing a tutorial on how to make felted soap.  (I didn't get enough pictures to really do that, anyway.)  If you are interested in trying it, I learned how to felt around soap from this excellent tutorial at Mielke's Fiber Arts, though there are great tutorials all over the web.  You can also buy your supplies from Mielke's (other than the soap) if you don't have a place locally to buy wool roving.

Some of the Many Possible Uses for Felted Bowls

I had a comment on my Facebook page the other day wondering what felted bowls are used for.  While I do make a few suggestions in my Etsy listings, I thought it might be fun to post a list of some of the many possible uses for felted bowls.

-  loose change, keys or whatever is in your pockets at the end of the day
-  jewelry
-  craft supplies (my mother-in-law uses them for beading)
-  decoration
-  office supplies, such as paper clips or thumbtacks
-  wrapped candies
-  Lego, Matchbox cars or other kids' treasures
-  cotton balls and other bathroom items

I'm sure you can come up with many other uses on your own.  I'm always interested in hearing what you do with your felted bowls so comment or send me an email and let me know.

In related news, I just shipped a box of felted bowls to 6.25 Paper Studio in Grand Rapids, MI.  If you happen to be in or near the area, go in and check out the store.  I haven't actually made it there myself (since it's a bit of a drive) but it looks fabulous in pictures and Abbey, the owner, is super sweet.