Ear Cuffs: The Bow Tie Technique

Bow ties are cool.

(I'm not going to stop quoting the Doctor until things stop reminding me of the Doctor. I should have made this cuff out of blue wire, then I could have called it the TARDIS Ear Cuff!)

In case you haven't heard of ear cuffs before, they are basically jewelry for your ears that don't require piercings! They are comfier than clip-on or screw-back earrings, and they can range from elegant to funky. You can see a few here on my Shoppe.

Whenever I have a smidge of free time, I'll head to the craft room to tinker. I've been experimenting with different kinds of ear cuffs, and thought I'd share some behind-the-scenes photos! I've got three new techniques and variations figured out already. These posts aren't going to be full tutorials, but hopefully they will inspire you to do some creative tinkering of your own!

Before you go any farther, you'll need to check out the basic ear cuff tutorial and the swirly ear cuff tutorial. You need to be able to make both of those designs with a decent amount of ease before you tackle this not-TARDIS ear cuff.

You'll need:

- 6 inches of 18 ga wire

- needle-nose pliers

-flat-nose pliers

- (optional) 24 ga wire and beads

Cut 6 inches of wire

And create a double-loop bow-tie with your pliers. Use the bottom of your pliers, the widest part, to create the loops. The overlap from both ends should be on the same side.

Experiment with the placement of the bow-tie. The ear cuff will look really different depending on how long those ends of the wire are.

 (I did mention that this is not a full tutorial, right? You're on your own to figure out how to make the loops. It should take less than 5 minutes of playing with the wire to get the hang of it, though, it's really easy).

Take the loose end of the wire on the top of the ear cuff and fold it over along the backside of the bow tie.

Fold the other loose end of the wire (in this case, the 'other loose end' is very clear because it's longer) up along the backside of the bow tie.

(Optional) Fold that same end (in this case, the long length of wire) back down across the front of the bow tie.

If you leave the end of the wire sticking up, the ear cuff will climb up and down the length of your ear. The ear cuff I'm making in this semi-tutorial is only going to climb down the ear.

Now you've made the knot to tie the bow tie up nice and snug; just use some flat-nose pliers to flatten that knot so it's more comfortable.

Ta-da!

Next, wrap the bow-tie around a marker and tweak it with pliers to make the bow-tie grip your ear comfortably. (The how-to for this step is found in the basic ear cuff tutorial.)

 Next, use needle-nose pliers to swirl the ends of the wire however you would like! (a la the instructions I gave in the swirly ear cuff tutorial).

Note that the knot sits on the outside of your ear. The swirls are the only thing that determine which ear the ear cuff belongs on-- unlike the swirly ear cuff, which has to be designed from the start with either the left or the right ear in mind.

Here's a nearly identical one on my ear; you can see that I added a small brown bead to the top swirl and I made the bottom swirl pointier.

You can also take thin 24 ga wire and use that to wrap coils, loops, and beads onto the ear cuff. In this photo, I let the ear cuff 'climb' both up and down my ear.

Voila! Hip hip hooray and happy day! You have a bow tie ear cuff, and bow ties are cool!

(As always, please be sure to reference me if you use this technique in making your own ear cuffs. Thanks!)

Sacrifice Beads

Have you ever heard of Sacrifice Beads (also known as Good Deed beads)? They are a small set of moveable beads used to count sacrifices and acts of love.

St. Therese of the Little Flower used a set of sacrifice beads as a child. Each time she preformed a selfless act or good deed, she pulled a bead from the knotted side to the side with the Cross. Her goal each day was to move all 10 beads closer to the Cross, just as she was growing closer to Christ. It was a challenge to herself to grow in holiness.

The sacrifice beads can be used as an "exercise in virtue." Count your sacrifices and good deeds, or force yourself to pull a bead each time you give in to a vice (ie, every time you snap at someone).

I've used my beads many times to keep track of my prayers when I can't find my rosary. It's also replaced the rosary in my purse; it doesn't tangle as much!


These beads can be used to count many things!

 Above you can see a set of Sacrifice Beads, (which will soon be) available in my Shoppe. This is a nice set made from a miniature cross and a St. Therese medal, with beautiful Czech glass beads.

Below are two other sets I've made:

My own old, worn out set

Czech glass beads and larger medals; for the Shoppe

Sacrifice beads can be made in many styles.

The most typical way that these are made are by weaving ten beads onto a string: one side has a medal of St. Therese (to remind us of her holy life, which is a model for us, and to ask her to pray for us), and the other end has a Cross. Other medals may be used.

Another, older, way is to use a knot instead of a medal.
Some people add an extra bead, like the instructions below show.

Any quality of supplies can be used. Pony beads and plastic crosses are popular with groups of kids. You can use metal crosses and glass beads. Strings can vary from various strings, cords, and twine to embroidery thread.

I was going to make a tutorial, but I found a well written and beautifully photographed tutorial online. { The Little Ways } graciously gave me permission to use their instructions on the blog!
 

How to Make Sacrifice Beads

Courtesy of { The Little Ways }

Variations

Bracelets-- Some of you may remember my old post on the craft fair. I mentioned that a lady was making sacrifice bead bracelets. I've found her online: { Good Deed Beads.com } She uses tunnel cap beads, lobster clasps, and curb chain to make the string of beads into a bracelet.

This bracelet is very elegant

Here she used "mood beads" that change color!

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P.S. Don't forget to check out my post on Christmas Photography. It has been updated with some new photos! 

P.P.S. I managed to delete/lose an entire memory card of photos of my jewelry, including pictures for a tutorial. I won't have time for another photoshoot until sometime next week, so my next post might be late. :(

Jewelry Photography Tips

I've had many people ask how I take such crisp pictures of my jewelry.

They want to know how to keep their photos from looking like this (or much, much worse).

Click to enlarge.... but I don't think you want to.

In order to have a jewelry blog, or to simply sell jewelry online, you basically have to become a mini-professional photographer.

I don't use any fancy, high-end equipment. I can't afford that. But over the past few months, I've learned how to take some decent pictures. It took alot of trial-and-error, and maybe I can save some of you the pain!

How to Take Pictures of Jewelry 

(...and many other things)

I'm absolutely no expert on this subject, but I thought I'd share some tips that I've found useful. These are the exact techniques that I use to take pictures such as this:

The Camera
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You don't have to spend big $$$ on a camera to take decent jewelry photos. I use a 10 (or more!) year old camera that used to belong to my grandparents. It's old as far as gadgets go... It's kind of falling apart through constant use, and it's pretty outdated.

My camera, taken with my dad's iPhone

Any digital camera nowdays will take decent pictures of jewelry. You just need to know how to work with it.

Gee, I've learned that iPhones can take great macro photos (if slightly grainy in certain lights), and those are quintessential point-and-shoot cameras. No settings, no nothing!

(I'm not excluding film cameras here... I just don't know how to work them, and it would be a pain to get those photos online!)

See the picture of my Olympus camera to see what an iPhone can do

There are two things you can't skip on: the Macro setting and the ability to turn off the Flash

The Macro Setting
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(Almost any digital cameras from the last 10 years has this setting)

The macro setting tells the lens to focus on the closer items rather than the farther ones. Totally indispensable. On most cameras, this setting is found somewhere near the dial or viewing screen. Some cameras even turn it on automatically.

Look around carefully for this fella.      Reader, meet Macro Flower.      Macro Flower, Reader.      You're best buddies for life.

 The macro setting is the best way to get an in-focus close-up shot. Some cameras have better macros than others. Some let you get within an inch of the subject. My camera won't focus unless I am in a range of 2-3 feet from my subject, and it won't focus if I zoom in completely. This just means that I have to crop the images.

Other Settings
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If you have a point-and-shoot camera, you don't need to learn about other settings. You can take decent photos with just the macro turned on.

However, I suggest reading your camera guide to see if you can change other settings.

When taking pictures of jewelry, I usually let my camera know if the lighting is incandescent (yellowish), florescent (white), sunny (natural and bright), or cloudy (natural and dull). I only mess with other settings for non-jewelry photography.

Turning Off Flash
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I know, I know. If your lighting isn't great, you think you need to turn on flash.

BUT IT WASHES YOUR PHOTO OUT!

Everything looks all white and dull and flat!

(Sorry, this is a peeve of mine! I still can't convince my dad of this... but then, he takes technical photos for work, and I take artsy photos.)

Turn off the flash. If you are taking a macro shot, the only thing the flash will do is overwhelm the subject. Turn if off, and find proper lighting. If you can't find proper lighting... take it without flash and edit on photoshop.

(Okay, there are times when it is appropriate to use flash. And people with fancy, removable flashes can probably put them to good use. Bouncing the flash is good, too. But unless you are an extreme photographer, go the safe way and turn off the flash.)

Lighting
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The number one rule is to ensure that your subject is well-lit.

Use natural lighting when available. Simply moving your subject next to a window and turning off the flash can increase the quality 100 fold!

I am still learning how to put lighting to good use. You can see my trial-and-error progression by looking through old posts on my blog.

I like to set a piece of white paper next to a window. If the day is sunny, the outdoors is usually to bright to work with.
What if it is dark or cloudy?

My T-shirt, lamp, and window studio :)

An easy fix is to shine a lamp at your subject. Oftentimes, the light is too bright, so diffuse the light by taping a piece of computer paper over the light bulb. (Be careful not to do anything dumb, such as setting the paper on fire. Keep an eye on it.)

Shadows are very difficult to deal with. I just move my jewelry around until the lighting is decent... As you can tell, I'm still working on getting rid of those pesky dark shadows.

I recently made a lightbox, which evens the lighting and background. I LOVE this thing!

Want to make a lightbox of your own? Check out my instructional post, here!!!

A handmade lightbox

If you want to spend some money, you can get a good-quality, professional lighting setup.

A Steady Camera
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 It goes without saying that your camera has to be steady in order to get a crisp photo. Use a tripod, mini-tripod, box, book, or one of your limbs to prop the camera. :)

Setup 
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 Alrighty, you have a digital camera, found your macro setting, turned off the flash, and found good lighting... Now what? Before you press the shutter button, check your set-up!

Background: You want a background that compliments your jewelry (or other items) without overwhelming them.

Many people opt for the white background, especially when taking photos for online stores such as Etsy and Artfire. You can use posterboard, computer paper, or even a T-shirt to acheive this effect.

Don't be afraid to be creative, though. I've seen some beautiful jewelry photos where the jewelry is lain on a book, handwritten note, scrapbook paper, or even a cup! (Cups are wonderful for taking pictures of earrings, by the way.)



Props: Do you want anything besides the jewelry to appear in the picture?

You may opt for the plain white background, but sometimes adding a flower, rock, book, mannequin, or other item both
1) adds to the "feel" of the jewelry image, and  
2) gives you something to lay or drape the jewelry on.

Sometimes the size, style, or use of a peice is not apparent unless it is shown on someone. Saying that a necklace is 18" long doesn't pack as much of a punch as a picture of the jewelry in use.

Angle: You may want to take a flat-on shot to show every bit of your jewelry piece, but "artsy" is the name of the game.

Shoot from an angle. Head-on photos are OK as secondary photos for people wanting more information on the overall look, but presentation is the key.

The left photo is very pretty, but the picture on the right should be the "featured" photo.

Editing
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No matter how good your photo is, it can use editing. :D Many times an image will look wonderful on the camera display, but dull and uninspired on the computer.

Using Photoshop, Paint Shop, GIMP (a completely free, fairly powerful editing software), or other software, go crazy! Crop, change the contrast, brightness, color tone, etc.

I've had Photoshop for a few months, and knowing my camera's faults and the basics of the software, I now have a routine for quick fixes:

~Open the photo
~Auto Contrast
~Auto Color
~Auto Tone
~(If one of those gave a bad look, I undo it and sometimes edit that manually)
~Use "curves" and/or "levels" (depending on the lighting/background) to adjust the brightness of various hues
~Use the "band-aid" tool to remove any dirt or small unwanted items
~Use the "blur" tool to blur the background if it overwhelms the subject
~Crop
~Save

Some pictures take a bit more work, but my basic "routine" only takes a minute or two.

Before

After

Take a TON of photos, and Have Fun!
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I take, on average, 1.5 photos for every good one that I use on my blog or the Shoppe. For each item in the Shoppe, I take 1-4 photos... you get the picture. Take lots of them. :)

(Even if your camera, like mine, takes 30-60 pictures, max, depending on which memory card is in it).

And have fun with it!





What do you do when you take photos? Any new tips? Have my tips helped you out any? Questions? Leave a comment!

How to Make Painted Washer Necklaces

The latest DIY (do it yourself) tutorial is how to make washer necklaces!

{Check out my tutorial on decoupage washer necklaces made with fun paper or artwork!}

These necklaces are pretty popular... I've had so many people ask what I use to make them, because the paint shimmers so beautifully. I always feel kind of sheepish and kind of genius when I say, "It's just fingernail polish!"

You will need:

Fingernail polish in fun colors

Clear fingernail polish

Washers 

Toothpicks

Paper towels to keep your workspace clean

My sister painting her washer necklace

 Step one is to put down a base coat. Feel free to do textures-- they work beatifully. 

You can rub the polish on smoothly, dab in little circles, create textured lines...

Some textures

Your base coat can be two colors, like the one my sister was working on!

Once the base coat has dried, paint with another color and add polka dots, stripes, etc. I like go go through with a toothpick and do a painting or bit of calligraphy.

You don't even have to wait for the base coat to dry to put on other colors! Here you can see a wet base coat with colorful polka dots. I then used a toothpick to blend the colors in for a fun and spunky pattern of swirls!

Next, and this is very important: once the paints have dried, coat your entire washer with clear fingernail polish. This protects the paint from chipping off.

The front...

Silly me forgot to take pictures before the craft fair, so I snagged these real quick. Click to enlarge and see our designs!

...and the back.

To put the necklaces on a cord, string some cord through the washer and tie it off. Then come through with your chain, using the cord to attach it. I didn't explain that very well, so just click to enlarge the picture above. The washer on the left, with the black and yellow cord, shows what I mean fairly well.

These pictures show how pretty the fingernail polish looks in different lighting. Both pictures are of the same washer!

Such a fun and easy project! Let me know if you try it! Leave a link in the combox (comments box) with a link to your own blog post or to a picture! 

Floating Book Shelf

 

A stack of books is suspended on my wall! That or else the bookshelf turned invisible. I think its just too cool.

I made this spur-of-the-moment after browsing "instructables". They give instructions for building an invisible book shelf that requires one bracket, glue, and drilling holes in a book. You can see their instructions HERE.

My first thoughts? 1) One bracket is not very sturdy. 2) Why ruin a perfectly good book? 

So I created my own reusable-book floating bookshelf. 

How to make it:

 Supplies:

2 "L" brackets

2 screws and a screwdriver

A few books

Masking tape OR a rubber band

  I did not want to screw new holes in m bedroom wall (that is, Dad didn't want me to), so I took down this tiny little shelf between my bedroom door and my closet door. My mom had a collection of little foreign dolls, and this particular shelf was the "leftover" that I was not super fond of. So step one for me: take down the shelf and use those holes for the L brackets.

Step One:

Screw two L brackets into the wall.

Step Two:

Set a hardboard book on the brackets.

Step Three:

Either use masking tape inside the book or a rubberband outside of it to hold the back cover shut. (I didn't think of masking tape until afterwards-- it would be less easy to remove the book but would also be an "invisible" way of keeping it shut.)

Step Four:

 

 Stack some books ontop so that you can't see the L brackets. 

 (See the green book? You might recognize that as my Hollow Book Box)

You are finished! If you want, you can add some books standing vertically and other things.