My Favorite Things

Questions, Answers & Book Recs

Hello there, Peeps.  

I've had quite a few photography/camera/lens questions in the last week, so I thought I'd pop in with the answers to those questions here since a lot of them were duplicate questions.

• Yes, we took the tripod to Europe -- we used it for the pictures of us in front of the Eiffel Tower at night, so they wouldn't be blurry.  We just set the timer and I hopped into the shot.
• All of the pictures in London & Paris were shot on our Nikon D5000 with the standard 18-55 kit lens.
• All of the pictures in London & Paris were taken on the auto/no flash setting.  I haven't delved into the wonderful world of shooting in manual yet.  ;)
• When taking night pictures, particularly when we were sitting at the base of the Eiffel each night, it was bright enough (because of all the lights on the tower) that I could just brace my elbows on my knees (to serve as a tripod) and get the shot.  
• The new lens that Bartley just got me for my birthday is a Nikon 18-200.  I will most likely be using it for pretty much everything now, although I just got it so I'm still playing with it.

EDITED TO ADD:

• Yes, I edit all of my photos in Photoshop before posting them on the web or printing them.  I almost always have to lighten them up a bit which you can do by adjusting the "levels".  Before I got Photoshop, I used Photoshop Elements which I loved!  Much cheaper than Photoshop and for basic edits, it has everything you'd need.
• When shooting with the 18-200 lens, there are a couple things to note which might help you with focusing.  One, the "clicking sound" the lens makes is totally normal....it's the vibration reduction technology that causes the sound and also sort of shifts the picture slightly when you're looking thru the view finder.  Also, you can't be too close to the subject you're trying to take a picture of.  So if you're taking a close-up of a card, for instance, back your body away from the card a bit, and then zoom the lens forward.  You need to let the lens do the zooming rather than your body.  If you get too close to the subject in your photo, the lens won't focus.  I've found that I can get the end of the camera lens to within maybe 7-8 inches of the subject before the lens won't focus.  Hope that helps!

If I've missed answering your question, feel free to leave it again here in the comments section, and I'll edit this post with the answers.

Now, on to a few book recommendations.  It's been awhile, hasn't it?  

First up are a couple books I read a little while back.

 

Head in the Clouds and To Win Her Heart, both by Karen Witemeyer

Both of these historical fiction books were fun reads with spunky heroines, compelling stories with a bit of suspense and drama and of course, a good clean love story thrown in for good measure.  I love a good clean love story thrown in for good measure, don't you?  These books are completely smut-free, so if you're worried about the possibility of smut, there's no need.  ;)  Also, these stories are not related at all, so it doesn't matter which one you read first.  

Hurricanes In Paradise by Denise Hildreth

And lastly for today, one I just finished last week.  It was actually on sale at our local Christian book store for just 5 bucks.  For $5, I figured, what the heck.  I'd give it a whirl.  Turns out, I really, really enjoyed it.  

It's a modern day story (shocking -- it's not historical fiction!!) set on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, at the Atlantis Resort, to be exact!  All of the usual suspects that I typically love are present in this book.....stories of heartache and redemption, a bit of action, a mystery to solve, some loves developing here and there......plus this one has the bonus of a hurricane heading straight for the island!  Oh, the dramaaaaa.  :)  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think you just might too!  Give it a whirl and see for yourself!

Hope you all have gotten your week off to a great start.  We did some relaxing this weekend and then spent yesterday evening with Bart's side of the family for a picnic and huge fireworks display.  Nothing like wrapping up a holiday weekend with picnic food, family fun and fireworks to celebrate our nation's freedom.  It was a good weekend.  I hope yours was too.

One last thing before I go.......I just want to thank each of you for the sweet puppy love comments you left for us on the previous post.  We've both read each one and we appreciate them so much.  We're so excited about our new little baby and can't wait to bring him home, so it was such a blessing to read that many of you are excited right along with us.  Thank you, Dearies.

Happy Tuesday, 

Your Studio Storage Questions Answered

Hi there,

Since my previous post on the new cubby storage unit in my studio, I've received quite a few emails and blog comments with questions.....most of the questions being duplicates.  I figured the most efficient thing to do, would be to answer your questions here, all at once.  If you have any other questions, just leave a comment on this post and if I can answer it, I'll come back and edit this post with my answers.  Sound good?

Let's start with the most popular question....  ;)

Q: Where did you get the button jars you're using to store your buttons in?

A: The jars are 1/2 pint (8oz.) Ball canning jars.  They can be purchased in packs of four at Walmart.  I usually pay just under $5 per 4-pack of jars.  They are the perfect size to hold one full bag of Papertrey's buttons.  As you can see in the photo, each jar holds a different color of the buttons.  Not only are they just the right amount of space for all of the buttons in one bag, but the wide mouth on the jar is also perfect for digging thru the buttons when you're searching for just the right one to use on a project!

 

Q: Besides your new cubby where else are you storing all your stamps? In particular wood ones.

A:  The majority of my Papertrey stamps are stored on the bookshelves opposite my desk (click link below to see previous studio tour, including the bookshelves I'm referring to).  All of my Hero Arts stamps are either out on a display shelf (they're so pretty to look at), or they're in a drawer just to conserve space.  As for my Stampin' Up! stamps, I'm in the process of moving them out of the studio because I just haven't been using them and the "real estate" in this room is just too valuable.  If it's in here, I'd like it to be something I use often or something pretty that inspires me.  I haven't decided for sure yet, what I'll do with all of those Stampin' Up! stamps, however I'm considering selling them here.  If that's the route I take, I'll be sure to let you all know.

With the moving of the button jars to their new home and shuffling things around in the studio, as well as purging out some supplies that I'm not currently using, I've still got a few more areas of the studio to get organized.  Once I finish all of that, I'll likely do another studio tour blog post.  This post shows you the last studio tour.  All of the furniture/shelving is still the same in here now, but quite a bit of the crafty supplies have been reorganized since these photos.

Q: Where do you find those little canning jars? I've never seen any quite like that and they look perfect. Also where did you find the candy jars too?

A: Regarding the canning jars, see above.  As for the vintage-style "penny candy jars", those were also purchased at Wal-mart.  They're made by Anchor Hocking and were about $5 or $6 each.  I also have a smaller variety (same jar, just smaller) that I have 3 of, but I don't remember where I got those.  The large jars are perfect for storing all of my Papertrey felt.  I just leave the rolls of felt in the bags they come in (along with any scraps I generate while creating, and then pop the bags right in the penny candy jars.  

Just like the new Pottery Barn cubby, I love storage that is not only functional, but also pretty and inspiring!

Q: Is there an inexpensive sewing machine that you can recommend?

A: I bought my Singer sewing machine maybe 7 or 8 years ago when I couldn't find ready-made curtains for our home that I loved.  I decided to make my own and a friend of mine whose mother is quite a good seamstress came over and taught both her daughter and me how to sew curtains in the style I wanted and with fabric I loved.  That being said, when I initially bought the sewing machine, I needed something that would actually do a good job sewing fabric.  (So I wasn't shopping for a small machine to only sew on paper for cards)  However, we ended up buying this Singer (regularly priced at about $400) on clearance at Wal-mart for $99 or so.  It's Model-2638, though I don't believe they make this exact model anymore.  It was a GREAT deal and it's served me well over the years.  I mostly just use it to sew on cards/paper these days, but I know that it could handle any fabric project I threw at it, with just the addition of a sharp new needle.  All that being said, my advice if you're looking for a sewing machine to use in paper crafting, is to look for "more machine than you might initially need", that is on clearance or a crazy sale.  This way, you're prepared if a fabric project ever comes up, plus, you're likely to be better off in the long run with a quality machine that isn't likely to give you a lot of problems.  Just my two cents.  :)

All righty, Crew.....  

Hope your week is off to a great start!! 

xo,

 

Your Questions Answered - Part 4 (more crafty stuff)

Hi Crew!!  

How are you today??  It's been a busy but fun weekend here at the McVey ranch.  (Yes, I live in the suburbs.  Yes, I know it's not really a ranch, but you have to admit, McVey Ranch does have a certain ring to it, yes??  :)

Anyway, I'm back tonight with the last post in the Your Questions Answered series.  Ready to get started??  Here we go.....

1. To read about what I look for when picking the cards for the Spotlight, see the answers from my first Q&A post.

2. Goodness, Top 5??  There are so many really talented designers out there but 5 ladies that I am constantly inspired by are Nichole Heady, Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, Betsy Veldman & Melissa Phillips.

3. I find inspiration everywhere!!  Magazines, shopping, nature, clothing..........you just have to keep an eye out -- inspiration is all around us!

5. Yes, I have a traditional full time office job. You can read about that in the  'Q&A-the personal stuff' post.

6. I'm still not a video-camera owner so I don't know if I'll do videos in the future, although I think they'd be very fun!  It's definitely something I'm considering (although I'm NOT a fan of watching myself on video so editing might be a bit of a drag!  LOL!).

 

 

Hmm.....I can't really think of any tools at the moment, that I use for something other than it's intended purpose.  That was a boring answer, huh?  :)  Oh wait, I take that back.  One of the paper distressors I use is technically a fingernail buffer!  Does that count??  

 

 

CAS means Clean and Simple, as in.....a lot of my cards are CAS cards!  ;)

 

CASE means Copy And Share Everything, which is how you would refer to it if say, you copied one of my cards and shared it on your blog.  The polite thing to do would be to state that you CASE'd my card or that your card was a CASE of my card and then link up my original card.  Make sense?  

Splitcoaststampers has a huge list of acronyms to help you.

 

See the job info link at the top of this post.  (But yes, I DO work full-time!  I design 'on the side'.)

 

Stamp sets.....Yes!  Definitely.  Several!  ....but I'll have to keep you in suspense a bit longer as to when and what.  Sorry about that!  Hee.  Soon though.....very, very soon.....  ;)

 

 

1.Each magazine is different.  Some of them don't want cards that have ever been posted on your blog.  Some of them will accept cards that have been previously posted but require that you remove them from your blog right away (which is when I replace mine with a 'removed for publishing' graphic) and then some will allow you to post one or all of the cards again after the magazine has been out for a required amount of time.

2. I answered your second question in the Q&A 'the personal stuff' post.

 

 

1. I have to say that I have several favorites based on different things.  LOVE Germany, Austria & Switzerland.  They were very clean and safe and BEAUTIFUL!  Love a few places in Italy like Cinque Terra (WOWWWWWW!), Rome (for the Colosseum & Forum - so amazing to me) & Venice.......dear, magnificent old Venice.  Also loved London and Paris and hope to go back some day.  (Sorry -- that wasn't crafty info at all, was it?!)

2. See answer below, about when I met Nichole Heady.

3. It varies depending on when product comes in but we usually have a couple of weeks to crank everything out.

4. Yes, I'm sorry but this is really how I talk.  Just ask my hubs!  :)

 

I usually just eyeball things but I think my paper trimmer does a pretty decent job of getting the lines straight to start out with.  I don't use a ruler other than the one on the paper trimmer, but after I've put adhesive on the back of my card stock, I hold it over the card and line it up before sticking it down.  I take my time making sure it's straight before it's stuck down because if I do get it down crooked, I'm going to have to start over, you know?  I don't like it when things aren't straight if they're supposed to be.

 

I use this paper trimmer and I really like it.  I've had it for a few years now and feel like I get much more accurate measurements and cuts with it than when I use my small trimmer.  This one is expensive (more now than when I bought mine a couple years ago) but I felt like it was an investment.  I make a LOT of cards therefore I cut a LOT of card stock.  I wanted a paper trimmer that would be accurate and that would last a long time.  This one has done both for me. 

 

I did a bit of studying up before I ever bought a die-cutting machine and based on what I wanted to accomplish with mine, I bought a Big Shot which allows me to use most any dies and embossing folders on the market.  I could have spent less and gotten the Cuttlebug but might have been limited as to what dies I could use.  I felt like the extra money would ultimately result in more bang for my buck, overall.  After buying the Big Shot, we also found a reeeeally good deal on a brand new Cricut Expression from a huge seller on eBay.  We bought that (Bart's my eBay buyer! Ha!) and when it came, it didn't work.  So we contacted the seller who worked directly with Cricut and we were sent a second brand new replacement and they had us send the defective one back.  The Cricut Expression does entirely different things than a Big Shot, in that it doesn't use dies or embossing folders, but rather it uses Cricut Cartridges but can cut a zillion shapes out in a zillion different sizes too.  I feel like between the two, I've got all my die-cutting needs covered! 

 

Yes, you have the general concept behind digital papers correct.  Besides being able to use them digitally to build digital scrapbook pages in Photoshop or the like, you can also buy the paper, change the colors if need be, and print them out on your home printer, for use on your paper-crafting projects.  That's where the term 'hybrid' comes in -- the card is partly made with digital elements and partly with 'real' elements and embellishments.  I haven't done much of this myself but I would certainly recommend Rhonna Farrer's digital kits (LOVE them) and you can find lots of them at Two Peas in a Bucket.  Just keep in mind that sometimes it's hard to get accurate colors when printing from your computer to your home printer and you'll also want to consider the cost of your color ink cartridge.  Sometimes that can end up being expensive, depending on your printer.  As for the quality, that would totally depend on your printer and the paper you print on.  (G'day to you too!)

 

After I stamp my image in Versamark ink and then pour the embossing powder over it, I tap off the excess and then hold the paper over my trash can and flick the paper on the back side to shake off the excess-excess.  Ha.  Then, if there are still some stubborn bits of powder, I have a very tiny paintbrush that I use to brush them (carefully!) off. 

 

Nichole Heady was sent by Paper Crafts magazine, to a stamp store in my area to teach a class for World Card Making Day and once I found out about the class, I was sooooo disappointed to also find out that the class was already full.  I begged and pleaded (and prayed a bit too - Hee!) and wouldn't you know it?  Someone cancelled and the store owner was able to get me in the class!  I can't tell you how elated I was to get to meet this designer that'd been one of my stamping heroes for ages!  I was ridiculously nervous going to the class (I'd never been to any class there before, much less one where I sat 3 feet away from THE Nichole!).  I'm sure I must have looked totally dorky to her that day, but it was no time at all before she put me completely at ease.  She was such a dear!  There were only about 25 of us in the class that day so I got to talk with her a bit after class and showed her a few of my cards and she gave me some pointers for getting published, including starting a blog (which I promptly did!).  I eventually sent her the link to my blog, since it had been her suggestion, and the rest is history.  We've been friends ever since.  :)  The following year she asked me to join the design team at Papertrey and I couldn't have been happier to say YES!  I'm pretty thankful for World Card Making Day (and a little Divine intervention!)  Without both, I might not have gotten to meet Nichole and would have missed out on a fabulous friendship!  (and a great job!)

 

You can see pictures of the first time I met Nichole at that class HERE!

All righty Friends, that wraps up the "Your Questions Answered" series here at the blog-o!  This has been a fun series that we just might do again from time to time.  I hope you've enjoyed it!

I also have a couple of other fun things to share with you today....

Look what arrived in my mailbox yesterday via ROYAL MAIL!!  

This is Craft Stamper Magazine and it came all the way from the UK!  Their super sweet editor (HI Katy!) emailed me awhile back asking if they could do an article about me and of course I said YES!  I was so honored to be a part of this month's issue (July) and was so excited when they sent me a copy in the mail so I could see the magazine and article.  (I've never received any ROYAL MAIL before so that was pretty exciting!  Hee!)  Anyway, I'm not sure if you can find this magazine here in the US, but you can subscribe thru their website and those of you that are international readers might be able to find a copy on your newsstands so be sure and check it out!  (Thanks again so much, Katy!)

Also, I got a bit 'punchy' today and used a couple 50% off coupons and took advantage of the sales at Michael's and JoAnn's!  Bought a few of the new punches that I've been drooling over lately and thought I'd show you what they look like and what they do!  

Don't these make the coolest borders???  LOVE!!  Each of these punches retails for $14.99.  I found the EK Success ones (gray ones) at Michael's, while JoAnn's had the Fiskars ones (blue ones).  ....not that I'm trying to be an enabler or anything.......  ;)  I just like to share tips with you when I can.  I'm here for you.  It's what I do.  Haha!

Take care, dear ones....

Your Questions Answered - Part 3 (the photography stuff)

Hi-ya Crew!  Hope you are all doing well.  Have you had bad storms in your area?  We had more storms here overnight and had a partial power outage at work for a bit today.  Hopefully none of you are out of power and haven't had any storm damage.  I know there have been some crazy storms all over this week.  Anyway, here we are with Part 3 of the Your Questions Answered series and today we're focusing on the few photography questions you had for me. I'm not by any stretch a professional photographer!  But I'm happy to share what info I can with you, about how I get the photos that I do.  Sound good?  Let's get started!

ANSWER:
I have a Nikon D40 digital SLR and I LOVE it.  Seriously, it's been so easy to use, even straight out of the box with minimal set-up.  I still have a TON to learn but this camera has sure done a lot to make my photos look good!  ;)

I have this photo light tent and usually I prop my cards on one of my vintage florist frogs for photographing.  Pretty simple really, and then after I upload the photo to my computer, I usually edit the photo in Photoshop CS4 for MAC by adjusting the levels or contrast, etc. just to bright the photos up a bit.  (You can get Photoshop Elements much cheaper than Photoshop and it has most everything you'd need for editing photos.)

ANSWER:
See previous answer for how I stage my cards for photographing.  Here are a few photography tips that I try to keep in mind.....

Use natural light whenever possible unless you have a light tent designed for photographing things like your cards.  Always use the macro setting (it's the one that looks like a little tulip) when taking pictures of your cards.  This allows you to get up close without it getting blurry.  Get to know your camera......take a look at your photos and see if anything needs improving.  If it does, get out that manual and see what it says about how to fix certain problems you may be having.  Your camera may have also come with photo editing software.  If so, check it out and see if it has an 'adjust levels' option.  This feature usually works wonders for brightening up a dark photo and letting those details on your card shine!  You can also find a few free photo editing software programs just by searching online.

If you're taking pictures of things other than cards, don't be afraid to think outside the box.  If you're taking pictures while on vacation, look for interesting things that might otherwise get overlooked, like the intricate light post I snapped a picture of when we were in Venice (in the photo above).  Also, you might automatically think to take a picture of a sweeping panorama shot like the one below, but you might also consider zeroing in on one interesting window or a single house as well, like I did when I took these photos in Burano, Italy.

When taking pictures of kiddos, get down on their level.  Sometimes this might mean you'll have to get down on your knees or sit on the ground but I bet you'll be thrilled with some of the shots you'll get, when you shoot from their level.  Just look at what a cute picture I got of sweet Ally girl while I was down on my knees.

When taking pictures of people's faces, one tip I love is to shoot from slightly above your subject's face.  This causes them to tip their head up slightly, eliminating any of that 'double-chin' action that we'd all just as soon avoid!  :)

All righty, that's all the photog stuff for today.  Just a couple other things for you to check out though....did you see this post at the CARDS Magazine Blog?  They're previewing a few of the cards in the June issue of the magazine and the card in the top left corner is mine.   Also, check out the Paper Crafts Connection blog today.....another fun card and a giveaway as well!  ;)  Thank you to both the CARDS & Paper Crafts blogs!

Back soon with a new color challenge and some other fun stuff as well, however at the moment, we're running out the door to spend a bit more time with my family while they're still here in town.  Gotta take advantage of the 'baby time' when we can!  

Toodles!

Your Questions Answered - Part 2 (the personal stuff)

HI-ya!  Back today with more of my answers to your questions.  Today, all of the questions center around the personal/work aspects of my life so I hope you won't be too bored!  *wink!*

ANSWER:
Bart and I are pretty fortunate in that we get home from work at about 3:30 every afternoon.  Granted, we get up super early and we do work full-time, but I love having that time in the afternoon/evening to get some things done.  My day is the same as any other full-time worker, it's just that mine starts a little before 5am!  Typically when we get home from work, I try to spend some time in the studio either paper crafting (and then photographing my projects) or getting my stamp design work done on the computer.  I'll take a break to eat dinner with Bart and then I usually get back to the studio for a bit and then most evenings during the summer, Bart and I watch TV together from 7-9pm and then we head to bed.  (Or we SHOULD head to bed.  We don't always get to bed as early as we should!)  But, usually while we're watching tv in the evenings, I have the laptop on my lap and I'm uploading/editing the photos that I took earlier of my projects or I'm answering emails or typing blog posts.  This way we're still spending time together, but I'm multi-tasking and getting some stuff done too. 

Even though I always think I'll get a ton of stuff done on the weekends when I'm not at work, a lot of the time when the weekend rolls around, I end up not WANTing to spend too much time working on projects or whatever, so that's when we goof off or just relax.  At some point, everyone needs a recharge, you know?  So even though we're at home together during the week, I work quite a bit in the evenings so that we can have more quality time relaxing on the weekends. 

Plus, during the fall and winter months, Bart spends a lot of evenings reffing football & basketball so while he's gone, that gives me lots of time to get my design work done.  It's really a pretty great deal because we both get the time to do something that we each love.  (But we so look forward to our summers too, when we get lots more time together.) 

ANSWER:
We met at work and we're still working together today.  He's one of the bosses and I'm one of the peons.  I'm just not HIS peon which is probably why it works so well!  Haha!!  We work the same schedule so we drive to work together every day.  It's a small, family owned company.....and Bart's office is just a few doors away from my desk.  A lot of people tell us that they could never work with their spouses, but I have to tell you honestly that we really like it.  Now, of course it helps tremendously that neither one of us is the other one's BOSS, but we really do enjoy being able to see each other whenever we want to during the day.  

ANSWER:
LOL!  Bart and I are very content with our life as it is right now so WE don't have any immediate plans for a mini McVey running around.  However, we both know that God could certainly have other plans for our lives and that would be just fine too.  :)  For now though, we're both VERY happy and content with the way things are....we love being able to travel together and having time for each other and for our respective 'hobbies'.  Plus, we're pretty content with being totally cool Auntie and Uncle to our nieces and nephews!  Haha!  ...and we love the baby time we get w/my sister's babies.

ANSWER:
First of all, I don't feel like I "have it all put together" at all!  LOL!  I do have a regular full-time, non-creative office job.  There are lots of afternoons that we get home from work and I'm just plain tired, just like everyone else.  But I find that if I can plug away at getting my design work done on week nights after I get home from work, then I can sort of reward myself with some 'time off' on the weekends.  I'm not gonna lie....I work quite a bit to be able to get everything done (and still wish I had more time!).  But half of that "work" is the fun creative stuff that I love so it doesn't seem so much like work.  That being said though, there are definitely times when I have to just stay awaaaaay from the studio!  :)  That happens on the weekends some, where I don't even go in the studio because I just need a break.  But that's when we'll go out to a cool store like Anthropologie or Nell Hill's and I'll get filled with inspiration and be ready to get back to it when we get home.

 
ANSWER:
1. See previous Q&A post about 'the crafty stuff'.

2. I honestly can't say that I have one favorite, Jan.  If you saw how many pieces of McCoy pottery we actually have, you'd know why!  LOL!  Back when we were dating, I read a feature article on vintage McCoy Pottery in Martha Stewart Living Magazine and fell in love.  We went antiquing a lot back then, so in our hunting adventures, we started looking for (and finding) McCoy pottery at flea markets and antique shops all over the place.  When we'd find a good deal on one, we'd snatch it up and our collection started to grow.  We branched out into various colors and once we were married and I moved in with Bart, he continued to hunt for them for gifts for my birthday or Valentine's Day or Christmas or our anniversary.  Our family even gave us several for various occasions.  Eventually, we started getting them on eBay because we could often-times get them for much cheaper than anywhere locally.  (We love a good deal!)  We are at the point now though, where we aren't buying any more McCoy's because we are out of ROOM for them!  Haha!  My favorite thing is to keep them grouped by color so the dining room hutch holds our teal/aqua collection.  The family room bookshelves house a collection of white pieces.  Guests in our home stay in what we've come to refer to as 'the yellow room' which has mostly yellow McCoy pieces on the dresser with a few turquoise flower pots on the nightstand.  So you get the idea.  Most of the rooms in our house have at least one McCoy somewhere and I really do love a lot of them.  Plus, they're something that Bart and I have had so much fun collecting over the years.  :)   Here are a few photos of some favorites though....

All right, Peeps!  That's all the questions and answers for today.  Up later this week, is the next post in the Q&A series -- the photography stuff!  So stay tuned for that one!  

Take care and have a great night!  (or day!)

Your Questions Answered - Part 1 (the crafty stuff)

Wow!  You girls had quite a few questions for me.  If I answered them all in this post, it'd take you 3 days to read them all!!  :)  So instead, I thought we'd break up the Q&A post into a series of 4 posts, each grouped around a common theme from your questions.

Today's post is all about answering your crafty questions so let's get started!

ANSWER:
I look for cards & projects that overall, have a great design and are pleasing to the eye, first and foremost.  Beyond that, I look for cards that stick as closely as possible to the colors in the challenge and cards that are neat with straight cuts, clean stamping, no frayed ribbon, etc.

The specific brand of products used plays no part in my decision-making.  You don't have to use Papertrey products and you cartainly don't have to use stamp sets that I've personally designed.  I'm looking for great, eye-catching cards.  They can be super simple or piled with layers, but ultimately they have to have a great layout and design.  I'm no professional but I go with what looks good and what I love.  My favorites are the ones that make me say "ooooh" as soon as I lay eyes on them.  :)

Also, you don't have to have more than one photo of your card to qualify.  Close-up, detail photos don't affect my decision at all.

ANSWER:
I started out making cards maybe 4 years ago and eventually a lady that worked in our office building asked me to make her a baby card for a friend, which I did and she bought from me.  But then she asked for a few more so I started making more and then other friends and family started buying them from me.  It just kept growing into this fabulous hobby that I love today.

As for steps to a successful blog, I just determined right from the start that if I was going to start a blog, I wanted it to be the kind of blog that was updated really regularly.....like every day, if at all possible.  I know what it's like to have a favorite blog that you check every day and are bummed when there's no new posts!  LOL!  So, I started my blog, updated often and looked at others' blogs that I liked to see what it was I liked about them and how could I improve my own to be more reader friendly.

Regarding publishing, I started submitting!  Submit, submit, submit!  I tried to always submit my best work and after a few months, my cards started getting accepted.  You just have to get started.  That's half the battle for a lot of people, I think.

(Watch for answers about my day job coming up in the Q&A-the personal stuff post.)

ANSWER:
I think a lot of it really just has to do with attention to detail first.  There are lots of little things you can do to make any card look better, regardless of what your 'style' is, such as making sure your straight edges are cut straight and lined up, make sure your ribbon isn't frayed.  If you're stamping and you don't get a clean stamped image, flip the paper over and stamp it again until you get a clear image.

Beyond that, I'm constanly inspired by designers who's style I love and I learn from what they do and how they do it and I use that to sort of develop my own style over time. 

ANSWER:
1. Well, I have to say that my all time fave/most used set is still Polka Dot Basics so I'd go with something like that or Damask Designs for a set that you can mix with a lot of other stuff for different looks.  Mega Mixed Messages is also a great one for lots and lots of sentiment options.  Beyond that, it's pretty much personal preference.  Just get what you LOVE...that way you'll be more inclined to use it a lot and you'll feel like you got your money's worth out of that purchase.

2. & 3. As for inks, you'll definitely want to build up your color supply over time.  I don't color in images as often as I stamp them with colored ink so I would recommend getting a few inks as you can, but that's just me.  Get ink colors that you love (again, so you'll be sure and use them).  I love the bright colors like Raspberry Fizz & Berry Sorbet.  :)  There are several techniques you can use to get more than one color on an image, including using markers.  However Papertrey's stamps are usually so well thought out that a lot of times you can stamp separate stamps in different colors to build a single image.  For instance, the bird might be one stamp and his wing might be another so you can stamp them in different colors.  That makes things so easy for us stampers!

4. I'm so sorry but I don't see us moving to Ohio anytime soon (LOL!) but I'm sure our hubbies would get along great!  :) 

ANSWER:
I have a brand new ETSY shop (RaspberrySuite) where you can buy my cards!  I've been intending to do this for quite some time now because I have lots of cards to stock my little store with, I've just been short on the time to get it set up!  Ha.  But it's all ready to go now with a few cards to choose from.  I'll be adding new cards to the shop all the time so you'll want to be sure and check back often! 

Besides my shop, I think quite a few designers these days have shops on ETSY too, so you can always go to any designer's blog and see if she has a link to her own ETSY shop.

ANSWER:
Oh goodness, this one's different every time!  Sometimes I'll be out and about or looking thru a magazine and I'll see a color combo that I just love and I'll come home and try to duplicate it with my crafting supplies.  Sometimes I'll see scraps in my scrap pile that have ended up laying next to each other in the pile and I'll pull them out and use them!  Sometimes I'll have one color in mind that I really want to use, and I'll pull out other colors one at a time to go with it until I put together a combo that I love.

ANSWER:
No, it's definitely not 'who you know' when it comes to being published.  You have as much chance of being accepted for publication as I do because we all submit our cards and they're judged by the editors based on whatever the magazine is looking for that month and what your card looks like.  I was published 7 months in a row with CARDS Magazine before I ever got published in Paper Crafts.

You can read my publishing tips here!

ANSWER:
I don't currently travel and teach (though it's definitely not something I'm opposed to) however I will be at CHA-Summer in Orlando this July.  They are having an open-to-the-public two-day event called CHA Craft SuperShow, where you can come and shop at the booths of lots of your favorite paper-crafting companies.  I'll be hanging out quite a bit at the Papertrey booth and would love to meet you all if you get the chance to come!

ANSWER:
1. You can use Stampin' Up!'s watercolor paper which is specifically designed to hold up with water use.  You might also try Papertrey's Stamper's Select White card stock because it's a heavier weight which might work better for you.  One other suggestion would be to use a bit less water so you're not soaking thru the paper all the time.  You can always go back in with more water and color if need be, but you might be able to prevent some warping this way.  Just tap the water off the brush one last time before you touch it to the paper.
2. Look for answers about my day job coming up in the Q&A-the personal stuff post.
3. Mainly, you'll want to make sure you're covering your cost for supplies.  I add everything up and figure out exactly how much I make to cover the supplies and then add a bit for my time.  Obviously that's gonna depend on how long it takes you to make the cards and what you think your time is worth.  You don't want to make them so expensive that no one will want to buy them so if you start a little low, you can always raise your rates down the road.

ANSWER:

1. No, designers submit a photo of their card but if it's accepted, then you have to send your card to the magazine to be photographed professionally for the publication.  All props you see are what the magazine has added themselves.

2. When I first started selling my cards, they were $2.50 each.  I was new and I made virtually no money on them, but I loved it that people wanted to buy them and I was having fun making them.  I've raised my rates since then.  Most of the cards currently in my Etsy shop are priced between $6 and $6.50.

3. I do not have a Raspberry Suite stamp set coming out in June.  Soon though....very soon.  *wink!*

ANSWER:
I almost always adhere embellishments with either large or small glue dots or foam adhesive.  For the paper flowers, I just used a few mini glue dots so it wouldn't stick out from the card any more than it did already. 

ANSWER:
1. Sometimes I start out with a sketch so I'll have an idea of what I want to do, but not always and I use Illustrator and a wacom tablet to design my sets.  There is a lengthy process to go thru to get a stamp set completely ready for production.

2. I've never used Blogger.  I chose Typepad from the start because I preferred the look of several Typepad blogs over the Blogger ones I had seen.  Plus, Typepad had a very easy way to schedule posts ahead of time.  (I think Blogger may have added this feature since then??)  I don't have ads on my blog right now and I do pay a minimal fee for my blog each month.  (and no, they don't give me a discount.)  ;)

 

All righty, that's all the questions & answers we'll do for today, but stay tuned for the next post in this series -- Your Questions Answered - Part 2 (the personal stuff)!  And don't worry...if your crafty question wasn't answered today, that's because I had so many crafty questions, I had to split them up into two crafty posts.  So watch for that one, also coming soon!

Thanks for reading, Peeps!  I really do appreciate each of you.

Happy FRIDAY!!!

Got Questions? Here's Your Chance...

Hey there....

Ever stopped by here, had a question and forgot it later.....or maybe didn't take the time to ask because you didn't feel like you could?  Well now's your chance!  I thought it might be fun to 'open up the floor for questions' in case there are things, paper-crafting related or otherwise, that you've always wondered and would like for me to answer! 

Just leave me your question in the comments section of this post and I'll do my best to answer them in an upcoming post.  Maybe this way, we can all learn some things together.  I may not have an answer for all of your questions (wink!) but I'll try to answer if I can.  :)

Smooches!
 

Edit:  The comments for this post are now closed.  Stay tuned for answers to your questions, coming soon!

A Lesson on Frogs!

FLORIST FROGS, that is!!  :) 

I get lots of questions about the 'spikey thingy that I put my cards on in photos' so I thought maybe I'd just do a blog post about this so you'll all be in the know.  AND, I'll put a link to this post in the FAQ section over in the left hand side bar so if you need to reference it again at a later date, it'll be easy for you to find.  

And now, let me introduce you to my collection of FROGS!  Frogs come in all different shapes and sizes and these were originally designed for flower arranging.  These frogs would be placed in the bottom of vases and when the flowers were added to the vases, the stems would either be shoved down onto the spikes or would go down in the holes of the frog, thus holding the flower arrangement in place.  That way the flowers wouldn't move around.  

My frogs are all vintage frogs that have been given to me and came from various antique shops and flea markets.  There are still some companies that make new versions of these as well, and you should be able to find them with a simple google search.  If you prefer these vintage beauties, you can usually find several listings on ebay if you just search 'florist frog'.  

See how this one has holes that the flowers would slide down into?  This is a very heavy glass, by the way.  This one makes a fun pencil/pen holder now.  

Notice that with this one, I've flipped it upside down from how it was in the previous photo.  It could be used either way, depending on the vase's shape.

And then, there are my little treasures for taking card photos.  I love these little guys.  I love the chipped paint and imperfect prongs.  These are super heavy weight and are just perfect for holding a card in place while taking a photo.  

I hope you've enjoyed this little FROG lesson!  :)  Let me know if you have any other questions!

Your Questions Answered.

Ok, this is the part of the show where I answer some of those questions that you've been leaving for me in comments or my email inbox!  Today's questions all relate to photography so please keep in mind that I'm no professional!!  I'm just tellin' ya what works for me!   Here we go...

What kind of camera do you have?

• It's a Nikon D40 digital SLR camera and I loooove it.  Very easy to use right out of the box.  Minimal set up to get going.  Easy functionality.  Finding answers to questions in the manual is even pretty easy.  Takes great photos without a lot of know-how.  And, it's not ridiculously expensive.  For most photos, I just use the lense (18-55mm) that came in the kit but it also came with a zoom lens (55-200mm) so on occasion, I'll use that if we're out at a baseball game or looking across the ocean at a volcanic island or something!  Ha!

How do you get your photos to look so good?

• First of all, thank you for that question!  Makes me feel pretty darn good....I am on a quest for great photos!  So not there yet, but I'm learning.  And they're a heck of a lot better than they used to be!  Trust me on this one!
• I have two tips for you here and the first is huge.  You need a basic photo editing program - sometimes your computer or camera might even come with one.  I use Photoshop Elements (for MAC, but they make PE for a PC too).  When you edit a photo in your program, you need to first 'adjust levels' or maybe even 'adjust contrast'.  Just clicking one of those two buttons usually makes a huge difference in brightening up an otherwise dark photo.
• Also, make sure that when you're shooting a picture of your card or layout, that you have your camera set on the 'macro' setting.  It's usually the little symbol that looks like a tulip.  Check your camera -- it's probably there and you didn't even know it!  This button makes the camera focus on small objects up close so it will greatly reduce that frustrating blurriness.

What do you use for lighting?  (especially when natural light isn't an option)

• I recently bought a photo light tent and I LOVE it.  (This link is for the one I have but I will tell you that I got mine brand new, on ebay for less $$)  It is basically a white canvas box that you put your card or whatever in for photographing.  It has lamps that you set up on either side of the box to shine the light thru the canvas.  This is supposed to give you pretty true-to-life colors in your photos and so far, I've found this to be the case.

Again, I'm no pro at this stuff - not even close.  I'm just like you and I've had some of the same issues and I've asked others some of the same questions!  But hopefully these answers will help you and please, don't ever hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.  I'm happy to help if I can!