hello! did you have a good weekend? i’m on a bit of an extended weekend getaway, but will pop in a few times between today and tomorrow to say ‘hi’!

check out this bright and lovely shop, the hot dish, for eco friendly (and pretty!) kitchen goods.  all of their products are made from recycled wool felt!

recycled wool coasters in citrus

recycled wool cast iron handle

recycled wool oven mitts

wrap up: {coasters} {eco friendly} {felt} {kitchen} {mits} {pots} {wook}

ok, so i’ve been spending a lot of time lately in the latest do it yourself magazine, and this last issue was full of things that made my ‘when i have time’ list a little longer.  i scanned a few pages to share (sorry about the fold) with you, maybe we’ll all get a little inspired to become that weekend warrior we always plan to be!

is this not the loveliest work area you’ve ever seen?  they’ve taken an old crate and made it into a desk (probably in an afternoon), and used vintage drawers for those perfect organizers.

let’s dissect it a little further..

yes, simple cork rounds doll those boring (and cheap) shelves up and turn them into an ever so useful tack board.  i’m thinking sketches, to-do’s, cards.. and they are so much cuter than your usual cork board buy. my favorite part? with a glass cylinder, they’ve turned that ‘haven’t got to it yet yarn’ into not such a daunting piece of art.

ok, here’s where i get a little obsessed.  this wallpaper.  need i say more?  i have to have it.

have a lovely weekend and i hope to see you here in a few days!

wrap up: {cork} {desk} {diy} {wallpaper} {weekend}

straw .vintage. (derby) hat

what can i say, i’ve found myself spending waay too much of my time perusing the .vintage. closet! i love vintage and i love a girl who knows how to do it just right.  that girl would definitely be the lovely rebecca- the stay at home mom of three boys, three etsy shops and two blogs!  her two other very look-worthy etsy shops are: the VINTAGE dress { exquisite .vintage. dresses } and dear Freckle { .vintage. clothing for children }. the vintage blog is also loaded with fashion tips and inspiration.

orange .vintage. -star- shoes

colorful .vintage. scarf

green .vintage. bloomer shorts

off-white .vintage. -bow- hat

wrap up: {love} {vintage}

{if you’re new to savior faire or etsy- visit our first post to learn more}

taking great photos that reflect your style and represent your product well is the key to online selling.  your customers can’t feel, smell, or wear your product, so they must rely on the quality of your images.  having simple, chic, stylistic photos can work wonders in boosting your online sales.

|ethanollie|

lighting :: if at all possible, use natural lighting.  flash generally won’t work for smaller items and usually gives an off-putting effect.  try setting up by a window or outside.  or, if you’re outside, shoot in the morning or afternoon as the noon sun is a bit harsh for photos.

|almeda pottery|

background :: this is where you can really style your photos and brand yourself.  however, you want to keep your backgrounds as simple as possible.  no one wants to see your cat or that 50′s mixer in the background.

work to create an overall theme for your shop.  use the same or similar elements in all of your shots and your shop will have a nice, inviting, cohesive look.  generally, a lighter background works nice and puts your product in the spotlight.  this ‘how to style your photos‘ article gives great advice and how-to’s on styling.

|maries vintage|

what works :: take as many photos as you can, from as many angles as you can.  play with light and see what works best.  your buyer will want to see the front, back, and sides, along with some detail of you work.  you can always crop in and edit later, but you want to know that you have plenty to choose from later on.

one of my favorite photo editing tools is picnik.com.  if you don’t have fancy editing software like photoshop, picnik allows you to edit all of your photos- for free!

|sarah seven|

the shakes :: try to use a tripod, if you have one, to reduce camera shake.  blurry photos never make you say- i have to have that.  if you don’t have a tripod- get creative!  steady it on a table or the back of a couch.  even leaning on something to help stabilize will help reduce camera shake.

|french logic|

get creative :: get creative and a bit editorial.  take from interesting angles and play with cropping.  using a more editorial pic as your first item’s picture on etsy might grab attention and make your browsers click out of curiosity.  you don’t necessarily want to give it all away up front, right?

|efia fair|

do you have any tips on taking great photos? please share!

wrap up: {etsy} {etsy shop help} {photo} {photography} {sales} {savior faire} {shop}

check out  aurora‘s  shop for beautiful lanterns, quirky bookends and more!

recycled leather & newspaper lantern

stubborn finger bookend

paper and cotton lantern

sprouting potted plant bookend

golden paper and cotton lantern

today i’m sharing with you a designer that i has taking my breath away, over and over!  stephanie teague’s pieces are outstanding and the photography is simply stunning.

organic cotton and bamboo high waist pencil skirt

hemp and organic shell