NEW Blog Look ... and Camera Experiments

I decided it was time for a change in the look of my blog.  I wanted a somewhat vintage-y feel, but not frou-frou.   What do you think??  The last header/banner was done by my sweet friend Heather of A Cherished Life, and I truly loved it.  But even Heather changed her blog look recently (go check out how cute it is!), and I felt the need for a change also.  Especially in light of the fact that I'm STILL working madly behind the scenes to get my Etsy (or Ebay listings or additional Blog pages) up and running soon.  I have so much vintage lace, potassium-permanganate-dyed ("golden") laces, trim, fabric, and other vintage linens and goodies to sell....    


A couple weeks ago I mentioned that we'd gotten a new camera.  It's a more powerful Fuji (a Finepix S1500 for what it's worth) and has 10 megapixels instead of my old 2 mp Fuji.  But I can't seem to get great pictures out of it. I know, I know.... it's the operator, not the camera, LOL!!!   So, I am experimenting.  Sooner or later I'm going to have to break down and read the manual that DH finally unburied found last weekend (long story....)  


In the meantime, I'm making lace/ribbon spools to sell.  These templates were bought from an Etsy seller named From the Craft Room  that Pat Winter recommended.  

I purchased for download two different styles - the Edwardian Lady that comes in two sizes and the basic floral spool.   As I experiment with which lace looks good on what (am I being too anal?), I'm finding that I may need to try to design even wider ones myself......  So that's what started me on the experimentation yesterday that led to (1) me FINALLY getting into Photoshop to begin learning it, and (2) my blog redesign.    


And some of the lace I'm winding on old clothespins.  The lace is glued on those; they're just to be used as a cute decoration.  I hope to sell them in my Farmer's Market booth.  

But I digress..... (yes, I know.  I'm going around in circles).    Isn't the lace lovely on that spool??  BUT, I need to put some "Crazy by Design" information on it somewhere.  A sticker on the back of the spool? Or on the plastic packaging (aaaack!) that this will inevitably have to go in??  Should I use tissue paper instead??

How do other (environmentally-conscious-wannabe) sellers do this??   

And then there are the lace motifs.  I'll figure out something to package those, but what I'm really concerned about is PHOTOGRAPHING them.  The potassium permanganate yields a beautifully golden, shiny sheen on nice rayon venice (or schiffli) lace.  But my pictures make them look ... tarnished?  green?  I've tried different backgrounds, but need more experimentation.  Different  lighting?  Super-Macro??  How about a Fairy Godmother (who is a photographer on the side?)

So, I'm back to my little world.  Sweating the small stuff, occasionally taking breaks to stitch, drink margaritas coffee, and shop.  Oh, and work (at the Farm, dearie).  Housework??  I hired a housekeeper last week to help me with spring cleaning.  I'm good for a month week or so now....


Tomorrow:  my weekend estate sale finds!!

Banner for London

For London? you ask.... Yes. But not the English city of London. It's for my soon-to-be-born granddaughter (first biological grandchild) who is due September 2. The daddy-to-be is my son, Shane, and mommy is Heather, who is looking like she'll pop any day now, (although being so young, lovely, and otherwise thin, you can't even tell she's pregnant from the back!). Both Heather and Shane say that London has been appearing in their dreams a lot lately! By the way, her full name will be London Elizabeth Flox.

On Sunday, August 16, we'll be having the baby shower here for family and extended family of both sides. The friends' baby shower was last month. Today I want to show you the banner I made for the shower. It'll go over her crib after the shower.


The colors of the shower are pink and green, as is London's nursery. I made it out of felt and tied it onto ribbon with satin ribbon. The lettering is done in reverse colors. The pink felt was so thin that I had to double it for the flags and letters. Therefore, the pink flag pieces were overstitched together with green floss.

On Sunday, we (my daughter Megan, Heather, Heather's mom Laura and sister Kaitlyn, and me) are gathering at our place about three hours before the 4:00 shower to get everything ready. We have all the games (she wanted them......), and prizes ready. The menu is planned - meat & cheese trays, veggie trays & breads. I'll make a fruit salad and Laura is making a potato salad. The cake is going to be cupcakes made into baby booties. :-) The party favors are tiny baby bottles filled with jelly beans. We'll have "pacifiers" made from Oreos. The punch will be pink lemonade with pink & green rubber duckies floating in it, and we'll have lots of pink tissue paper flowers around. The tablecloth, paper plates & cups, etc. all coordinate in pink & green (and butterflies), and I'll whip out my china and silver as necessary for food and displaying the cupcakes. I just don't want to be stuck in the kitchen during the whole thing, so I'm going with pre-made party trays and disposable plates & tableware (against my regular "green" views!)

And I'm in baby Stitching Mode. Trying to whip out a few bibs, burp rags and receiving blankets in the next couple days. These are not only for London, but for a co-worker who had a baby a couple months ago (I did give her a gift at the time, but would like to add a bit more), and for my DGS Hunter who is 4 months old. He spits up a lot and could sure use more bibs and burp rags.

More pictures of the shower later. Must go sew.

Hugs,