Quick Tutorial

Over at the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy, we were brainstorming ideas on how to improve our product pictures and sharing tips and tricks. I thought I'd show my fellow clayers how I take the blueish tint out of the whites in my pictures by using Photoshop. And then it dawned on me that it would make a nice blog post, so I hopped on over and here I am!

Note that I'm using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and that I'm by no means an expert. This may be the most common thing to do on Photoshop, but I just figured out how to do it a couple of months ago and I thought it might be helpful! It's a bit in depth and it may seem like it's complicated, but trust me...it's like second nature to me at this point. I do without even thinking anymore. If anyone has any questions at all feel free to ask! And everything marked with red in the pictures is what I'm describing in the tutorial at the time.

1) Hit "control" and the "L" button simultaneously for the "Levels" box to pop up
2) double click on the far bottom right button


3) when the "color picker" pops up, take your mouse and click once on an area that should be white but has a blueish tint
4) VERY IMPORTANT! Once you've clicked, don't move your mouse or you'll lose your mark!!


5) without moving your mouse, look over at the box and you'll notice a column on the bottom left that has "R G B"
6) Using the "tab" and "delete" buttons, change those three numbers to match the highest number of the three


7) press "enter"
8) keeping your mouse steady, go ahead and click it once on your picture
9) click "ok" on the "levels" box


10) click "no" when and if it asks you to "save the new target colors as default" (I'm not sure what that means, so that's why I push no haha!)
11) you're finished!!

I hope that helps! I use it on nearly every picture that we take because it just adds that extra brightness and pop. Leave me some comments if you have any questions!

- Jennifer

I finally made it!

Wow, I've seriously neglected my poor blog! I told myself when I signed up for this that it would be a commitment and that it would take time, but I've just gotten behind. I guess the daily things in life kind of get in the way of blogging every once in a while.




Well I have a lot of updates! First, I finally reached 100 sales in my Etsy shop and I am so excited! The lovely customer who bought the 100th item is going to be receiving a Golden Robot. It is so coincidental how it occurred. This particular lady bought Violet the Robot so it was kind of cool that she was the one to get the Golden Robot. You know, someone who will really enjoy it and appreciate it. Karma I suppose! Or maybe fate...? Not to mention that Violet was one of my favorite robots, so when I saw she was the 100th sale I got all sappy and sentimental.



Reaching my 100th sale really allowed me time to reflect on the past year or so. It hasn't necessarily been easy...but it certainly has been a period of growth. Like anything worthwhile, I had to work for it and put myself through many tests. I'm proud of myself and it feels good to know that Tony is proud of me, too. I've got a lot to prove with this, so I look forward to the next 10, 100, and 1,000 sales!! I can't wait to ride this roller coaster!

Even if you've never heard of me until today or if you're one of the wonderful people that have supported me throughout this journey, I just want to say thank you!

Many, many more updates to come...I promise! Not only in my shop, but definitely right here, too!

- jennifer

To the Rescue

I'm not sure if you could tell, but one of my favorite things to make are superhero dogs. I love dogs! And it's not just a little tiny liking...it's the real deal. I know that Tony must think I'm so annoying by this point because I ask nearly every other day (okay, so maybe every day) to go to the pound and pick out a rescue. I've lived with a dog (Blackie my Bichon) for so many years that it's really difficult not to have one around me now. But I know that the time will come!


So I thought I'd share some of my superheroes with you! In my Etsy shop I offer custom superhero dogs and cats (and probably any other kind of pet that you'd like!) and I've made quite a few of them.


One of the best things about being able to make custom orders are the stories that I hear from my customers. They get to share their pictures with me and gush about their loved family members. It's really touching! Some of their pets have passed away, so having them turned into a superhero that they can look at everyday makes them smile. And that's what it's all about for me!

Blizzard...Wait! Blizzard??

Now THAT'S something we don't commonly hear around here! But boy, it hasn't stopping snowing since 9:00 am! We've gotten, oh I'd say, somewhere in the vicinity of 6-8" and we're supposed to get at least another 8" or so dumped on us tonight. So I couldn't just pass up this rare opportunity! So I grabbed Tony, bundled up, and asked him to shoot some shots for me outside.Needless to say, it was freezing outside so we only stayed out for a few minutes. I just can't believe how much snow has fallen in such a short amount of time.
So this weekend should be interesting! Maybe I'll have to pull out an old sled and hit the hills. It's not too often that we get this much snow in such a short period of time. And no one would believe me if I told them I was wearing a t-shirt and light cotton zip-up last night outside, but I swear, I was haha!

Yummy!

Who doesn't love a batch of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies? That's comfort food if I've ever seen (or smelled!) it! I just got finished listing a set of four chocolate chip cookie magnets. I'm really excited because I've got some wonderful new ideas for my shop. And let me tell you, I'll be the first to admit that my shop needs a serious revamp. The Misfits have definitely been fun to create, but I've been thinking that it's time to branch out even further. So magnets are going to be my newest thing. Now I'm the type of person that might totally change her mind by next week, but we shall definitely see where this leads! But I've got quite a few magnets made up and ready for my fiance, Tony to photograph for me. It's been pretty cool to finish them up and stick them to the magnetic places around the house. That's not really something I can do with my other piece obviously, so if they inspire me, hopefully someone will think the same of them!

Speaking of Tony taking my pictures for me, I finally went ahead and surprised him with a photography light kit for his birthday (which happens to be Valentine's Day!). He really enjoys taking pictures with his camera so I thought it'd be something nice for him. He's had some great success with it and he's only had just over a week now. All of the Golden Robot Giveaway pictures were taken in the light cube and I'm sure that the majority of the new products in my shop will be taken in there as well.

It's amazing to see what he can do with my pieces. He's an extremely creative person and it's really exciting to see all of my little robots marching down a line or my superhero dogs flying through the sky. We've got something big up our sleeves, but I can't reveal it just yet. We are so, so excited about it and can't to share it with the world. I'll be sure to let you guys know first, I promise! ; )

Well this post seriously went off tangent for what I had planned, but hey, it must have been meant to be! So I'll go ahead and leave you with this is a shot of the light cube with one of my newest pieces in it. I thought I'd give my blog readers a sneak peek at what's to come! If you look closely, you might even find something else that's going to be put in my shop shortly! I hope your week has had a wonderful start!

Meet My Misfits!

Recently I added a new section to my Etsy shop titled Misfits. It's very different from what I've created in the past, but I must say, it's quite exciting! I'm so used to making "cutesy" items so I thought it was time to mix it up a bit. Don't worry...my Misfits are still very much a part of me, but just...different. They're a mixture between my sweet, sugary side of style and elements that shouldn't really mesh.

Take Matilda for instance. She's wearing a powdery pink dress and a tiny smile. But what's that blocking out her smile? A huge elephant nose! I think it adds to her character.

And then there's Max. I thought up the idea for Max while I was sitting in my Media Literacy class the other day. I was supposed to be taking notes about how the Internet originated, but I just couldn't help myself. When the idea struck me I had to get it onto paper. (Hmm, maybe I'll have to post some pictures of my sketches someday. Would you guys think that was interesting?) Anywho, the next day Max was created! I think he's got a look only a mother could love, but apparently some others think he's pretty cute because he was featured on Cuteable on Monday! So that was exciting! It's pretty funny to read the comments about him. Very much mixed reviews, but I was proud.


Making these Misfits has been really great because it's allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. At first it was a little nerve-wracking putting them out in my shop for everyone to see. But it's been very encouraging and even cathartic making some not-so-typical looking creatures.

Drum Roll, Please!

I thought I'd kick my blog off with a bang, and go ahead and announce something that I am very excited about!

I decided that I really needed to come up with something special for the awesome person that buys the 100^th item in my Etsy shop. So, after a couple of days of brainstorming, Tony (my fiance) came up with the idea of a GOLDEN ROBOT GIVEAWAY! How cool is that? So we found ourselves a pen that paints 18K gold and I completely gilded one of my robots with it! So for the person that purchases the 100^th item in my shop, you will be receiving your very own 18K gold gilded robot as a humongous “thank you!”

Etsy has been such a huge inspiration to me and my creativity. I am in awe at the raw talent that can be found on that site. More than anything, the people have been just the best. Everyone has been extremely encouraging and kind and that just pushes me to do better and evolve in my work. Literally, Etsy has changed my life. I know that sounds corny as all get out, but sincerely, it's the truth.

My customers especially have been wonderful. The fact that they have been willing to open up and share their stories with me has been amazing. I love being able to help them out and create pieces that make them and the people they know happy. My customers have shared with me that my pieces have helped them get through hard times in their lives and others buy just because they made them smile as soon as they saw it. It's these stories that are exhilarating to me and keep me loving what I do.

So it's for these reasons that I've decided to come up with something super special to give away! If you'd like to see more pictures of the little golden guy, you can check out my photostream at Flickr right here. I'll be uploading them in just a few minutes! And as always, if you have any questions at all you can feel free to get in touch.