Tip Tuesday: Backgrounds for Etsy Photography

I have been inspired to do a theme day every week. We'll see how it goes!

Yesterday, for the first time in months, I photographed an item to sell on Etsy. It took me a minute to shoot, about 10 more seconds to scoot my chair two inches towards my Mac, 15 seconds to load the pics into IPhoto, and then finally 35 seconds to upload into Etsy. What is that? 2 minutes!!!

What do I credit? Not my lovely Mac, not my camera with its wonderful macro setting, but my background and location. More specifically, my placemats placed strategically infront of a double window.

I went through a lot of different backgrounds. Some were good, some were horrible, some pissed me off. I finally found "the one" passing through the aisle of Target. A cream-colored textured placemat. Beyond forces that I do not get, it worked. Now, they may not be the best pictures on Etsy (actually, I'm sure of it) but they are the best I've produced.

Here's a comprehensive list of all materials I've tried as backgrounds before finding "the one": (Please note: I am absolutely not saying that these do not work as backgrounds because I have seen fabulous pictures including most of these on Etsy. They just didn't float my boat. That's all)

Backgrounds:
Placemats
White paper
White tetured paper
Colored paper
Colored textured paper
Mirrors
Reflective black surfaces
Kitchen cutting board
Windowsill
Wood
Fabric
Ribbons (Glued nicely next to eachother)
Screening (the kind from a sliding screen door)
Foam
Carpet
Tile samples
Linoleum
Paper towels
Bottom part of wicker baskets

So my tip for the day, if you haven't found "the one" already, maybe try some of the above background ideas in your next item photoshoot. And, if what you use is not listed up there, please share your "the one"?

Don't forget! 3 days left in my giveaway. Participate here!!!

Good luck & Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Update

This past weekend was a nice whirlwind with many accomplishments. Some of my husband's family were in town and it was nice to visit with them. Saw Dear John (pretty good, cute) and did some awesome shopping on a rainy day - Old Navy's Item of the Week is such a good deal. Check out Old Navy Weekly, they post it every week.

Also! I had a jewelry order courtesy of Etsy on Sunday (so excited!).

Oh, and in other news, plans are officially underway for Operation Europe. I mean, we had decided but no $$$ was involved it. Boy is it now! As of this weekend, cruise out there, 1/2 of accommodations, and one overnight train are booked. There is still a lot more left though but I am loving researching it. Tripadvisor and Google Maps Street View are my favorite sites. I am practically drooling over all of the sites I looked up via Street View. I took a pretour of Paris - what! I couldn't resist.

Current itinerary you ask? 7 weeks of...
CA > Texas > Cruise to Barcelona > London > Paris > Munich, Germany > Salzburg, Austria > Venice > Florence > Cinque Terre, Italy > Rome > Athens > Nafplio > Rome > JFK > LAX> Sleep for a week

Anyone been to any of these lovely places? Pointers? Advice? Recs? I'm all ears.

Also also also

This last week has been so crazy - actually, this whole year so far!

I was absolutely flabbergasted that I had 5 jewelry orders this past week! That is my busiest week yet and I am soooo appreciative of all my customers. Thank you!

I got a little busy and made some new bracelets and rings the last couple days. After a small photo shoot - I posted these lovelies tonight. Give them a visit if you like!

 

Sunshine Citrine Ring 

  

Mother of Pearl Stretch Bracelet 

  

Red Peace Ring 

  

Green Adventurine Double Stretch Bracelet 

 ALSO! I am finally diving into my next project - making prints of my paintings. Step one - read my camera's manual so I can take good quality photos of my paintings. This is what my little point and shoot gave me. 

Yea, I really need to figure it out. I mean it looks okay but no great quality prints will come from it. I don't know about you but camera manuals, or manuals in general, give me migraines. I have a feeling Step one is going to take awhile. 

ALSO ALSO! Hubby and I are seriously (and I mean seriously) thinking of jumping the pond. That's right - tripping out to Europe. This has been my dream since...forever. Yup, "Paris" might have been my first word, I don't know, I'll ask my mom.I just can't make myself push that button to start booking it. I'll keep you posted.

Joolwe.com's Free Jewelry Loyalty Reward Program

I just came across this amazing offer by JoolJoolwe.com Online Jewelry Store on the Giveaway Diva blog. Have you heard about Joolwe.com's Free Jewelry Loyalty Reward Program?

Once you make a free account you can start earning points toward free jewelry.

Check it out – it’s free jewelry we are talking about here!

Also if you blog about this amazing program, you can get 30 gold points!!! So right off the bat, you are automatically able to cash in for an item on Joolwe.com for FREE. 

Additional Ways to Earn Reward Points: Besides making purchase at Joolwe.com, additional reward points can be earned by the following methods:

1. (1) Write Review on Items you have purchased. No reward point will be granted to reviews on items you have not purchased - 3 Gold Points
2. (2) Subscribe to our newsletter - 3 Gold Points
3. (3) Blog about Joolwe.com and our reward program. (see Submission form for more detail) - 30 Gold Points
4. (4) Be a guest writer for our blog (Original article only). - 10 Gold Points per article

Check out all the eye candy at Joolwe.com here!!!

I want theseeeee.

Sterling Silver Diamond Cut Embellished Cosmopolitan Hoops

GIVEAWAY!

So in honor of my very first time on the Etsy Showcase (check it out here http://www.etsy.com/showcase.php).

I'm also going to do my very first Giveaway here on my blog.

I'll make it simple - leave me a comment here on your favorite item in my Etsy Shop http://tesorojewelry.etsy.com/ by Sunday, September 13th, 11:59 PM PST and I will pick at random a winner (thanks to Random Integer).

Winner will be announced Monday, September 14th.

Want to know what you'll win? Of course you do!

Semi Precious Faceted Blue Lapis stone with anti-tarnish silver wire.

Ok! Show me some love! 

(Please leave me with some way to contact you - email address, etsy shop name, etc. If you are uncomfortable leaving your email address as a comment, please contact me on my blog)