Sunday 10 February 2013

A wet Sunday in a tent

Ha ha.......I am sure that you had been expecting to see photos of me trying to camp outside?

Seriously you will not see that, I think I have an allergy to camping. It was fun as a girl guide but a grown up girl needs a little luxury. No the tent that I have been playing with this weekend is none other than a photo light tent. I am quite pleased with the results.

As it has been such a wet weekend our planned walk was rained off. Instead I decided it was time to make a few new pieces of jewellery and to photograph them for my Etsy shop. I have put the above piece up for sale in my Etsy shop here

 At this time of year the light is so poor that I really struggle with my photos and my usual spot on the kitchen side in front of the window just does not work. I own a really good little compact camera the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 (which sadly in no longer made). Although I really enjoy taking photos I have no expertise  at all and I know that photographing jewellery is very difficult. There is an awful lot of reflection to deal with. I have been doing some research and also messaged some of my crafting making friends to see what they do. Some have every elaborate photo tents with lights etc but I wanted something which is quickly assembled and easy to use. I really don't have the time or space to have elaborate set ups.

I even looked at the good home made light boxes shown on the Internet using cardboard boxes and tissue paper. They seem to work well but cannot be stored away. What I eventually bought was this.




It cost £14.99 from Maplin and folds completely flat. I also bought some muslin and some pure white A2 card.
The tent does come with white surrounds and a choice of blue or grey at the base but I found this was not enough to give good results.







The packet unfolds and the sides are held up with velcrose tabs.
I just stood it on the desk in the spare bedroom (which is west facing) and draped the muslin around the sides. I cut the card to size and placed it in the base.

I also tried using a pretty rosebud floral print material background for some of my cards. This was originally a dolly blanket I made for my daughter!









This is the floral print.

 I decided to have a play and started clicking away with my camera. I took photos of the new jewellery pieces I had made.


















I then put some of them into Picmonkey (a free on line photo editor)  to edit and I was impressed that even on such a dismal day I managed to get some usable photos.

On sunny days and when I am in a hurry I shall just keep using my kitchen side but on those dismal winter days like today I think I will be "camping" with my tent ;0)









Here are the end results in collage form



 I have started photographing my cards in my tent as well and here is my card challenge card for today

You can see that with this one I used the floral back ground. This card is in fact my Hb's Valentine card....shhhh don't tell him.




Here is a peep inside showing the heart edge I made using my MS punch. The image is again the sweet Bella Sleeping by Wild Rose Studios. This stamp can be used for so many occasions. I coloured the image with my trusty Promarkers. I added lots of my new die cuts and finished off with some gems and a lush black organza ribbon. I love red and black as a colour combo.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;



Totally Papercrafts Love/Valentine #153
Raise the Bar A pair of something #130 my pair is this sweet pair of Elephant trunks!
Pretty Little Ribbons  Anything Goes #19
Pan Pastels Love and Romance #6
A+T Emerald Faeries Love #40
Crafty Catz Love #169
Inky Chicks Valentine or anniversary #3
Party Time Tuesday Love and Romance #106
Simon Says Stamp have a heart
Visible Image Love


I would also like to mention that the Ribbon Girl are hosting a give away over at their blog here There is a lovely bridal and bling package up for grabs if you leave a comment over there.

I hope that for those of you in the UK this wet weekend has allowed you some quality crafting time? I also hope my american friends have not been affected by the awful snow storms we have been watching. I have never seen so much snow fall in one time. I also  hope my post may have also given you some helpful information regarding photo light tents? As I type this the rain seems to be even heavier....at least we will be spared a hose ban this year! Have a great Sunday evening and a good week ahead. Thanks as always for you lovely visits and kind comments that you take the time to leave.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x








25 comments:

  1. Hi Jane, Is the turquoise necklace for sale? I would love to purchase it if it is! (Although don't stress if it is for yourself or loved one) Hugs, Lisa x

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  2. Hi Lisa yes it is for sale...I will email you xx

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  3. Hi Jane, I really enjoyed seeing your tent photos! As a fellow blogger, it's always a challenge to get photos that are pleasing to the eye. I use iPhoto to brighten a lot of my photos, since I live in grey Oregon. Have a great week! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  4. Well I wanted to see you slopping thro the mud with your sparkley heels on... Pmsl
    Your pics are great, and super cute image..
    Love hefulumps!! Xx

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  5. Jane this is adorable :) thanks for playing along with us at www.visibleimage.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. Gorgeous jewelry! As for you card, it is fabulous! You might want to consider entering it in this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge!
    {hugs}
    Debbie

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  7. Hahaha Jane, you had me for a second regarding the tent! I was thinking at this time of year. Love all your beautiful jewelry creations. They are just so lovely and the photos are so artistic. Wonderfully done.
    Love the ❤ card, love those ellies.
    Hope you have better weather this week, xoRobin❤

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  8. Hi Jane! Your new tent is great! Fantastic photos and I love your turquoise necklace! Small items are difficult to photograph, but now you have the way to get lovely photos! x Teje

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  9. I'm with you on the camping Jane! I need at least four stars above the door before I'll stay for the night! ;)
    I do love your tent tough, what a great idea for dull days (like today) and your photos are lovely and bright. Great jewellery too! :)
    No walk for us either yesterday, it just poured all day long. :(
    Have a lovely new week, Pancake Tuesday and Valentines all in the one week!
    V xxx
    P.S. I won't tell your Hb about his gorgeous card! ;)

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  10. Beautiful, beautiful! I really like your chain bracelet too. You do such lovely work. I'm glad you found such a good way to photograph it.

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  11. Dear Jane,

    I can't believe you've just posted about this as I have been web-hunting for a great (and affordable) way to get some better pictures all year round! I am planning to set up a permanent-something (not decided yet) into my studio soon, so I thank you so so much for this info, the pictures (and the jewelry) look great! I like the floral background too, such a great choice for my "always white".

    I wish you more sunny days and happy crafting!

    Yours,
    Mia

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  12. Beautiful creations. Thanks for joining us at pan pastel uk

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  13. Gorgeous creations, so pretty, thanks for joining us at CraftyCatz this week.xx

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  14. What a sweet card! Your lightbox is quite similar to mine. I love it! Have fun! Thanks so much for playing along with us over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog!

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  15. Stunning pieces of jewellery Jane and a great card as well.

    Thanks so much and sharing with us at Pretty Little Ribbons challenge this month.

    B x

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  16. superb card hun...so very pretty ..love the jewllery too thanks for sharing with us at CRAFTY CATZ hugs sassyxx

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  17. Your photos (and jewelry) are great! I have to take pictures for my students' portfolios, and the 3-D stuff is so tricky to get the right lighting on. The "tent" you brought looks like it works well!

    Sorry to hear your weather has been so wet! Our giant snowbanks are shrinking a bit, but an hour away in Boston, they've been struggling to get electricity back to everyone, get kids back to school, and to get all the streets plowed!

    Hope your week is going well,
    Jane T

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  18. WOW a stunning card, love it, and thanks for the photos of your light studio, must go and look at Maplins

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  19. That sweet little elephant is way too adorable.. thanks for joining us at Simon Says Challenge blog

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  20. Loving the card and thanks for sharing with us at crafty catz and good luck with the gdt

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  21. Such beautiful card, Jane!
    Thanks for joining us at the Pretty Little Ribbon February challenge.

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  22. Beautiful card - striking colour combo and cute image.
    Your jewellery looks stunning too.
    Thanks for playing along at TPC this week.
    Good luck.
    Debs xx

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  23. What a clever and handy tent. It is really grey in my part of the US. This might be useful for my Etsy photos.

    Hope you had a good Valentine's Day, Jane.


    Best wishes,
    Anne
    PlumCreek22

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  24. wow, your creations are wonderful! thank you very much for taking part in our challenge at Visible Image

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  25. Thank you so much for this amazing photo tips!! I am new in jewelry making and really enjoy it.. But my photos was terrible...
    Thank again!!
    Hugs,
    Natali

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Jane x