Printables: Easter Basket & Bookmarks

Can you believe Easter is only a little over a week away? This year it falls early in the month of April on the 8th. If you're still looking for ideas, Jinjerup and Craftbits have teamed up to bring you this cute Easter Basket and Bookmark set. You can get the download for the bookmarks at Jinjerup and the Easter basket at Craftbits. Jinjerup also has cute printable bunny and lamb baskets available for purchase.

Photographing Craft Projects

A couple weeks back Caca asked me how I photograph my projects so today I'm going to try to answer that question. First you should know, I am not a professional photographer nor do I claim to be. However, I have been taking photos of my projects for over five years now so I've learned a few tricks along the way. Here goes. . .

The Set Up

Almost all my projects are photographed by a window with natural light or outside, no flash.

*First I place a large white poster board on the table for a blank slate.

*Next I set up a bi-fold Foam board. This reflects the light and helps prevent shadows.

* I like to use scrapbook paper for my backgrounds since it's inexpensive and comes in so many styles . Some times I use fabric too. I try to stay away from prints that are too busy.

Lighting

* Once I have everything set up, I find the best light. Since I've been doing this for a while now, I already know what window and time of day works best for me. This is something you'll have to troubleshoot on your own.

*Last I will angle the entire setup for the best light. I'll simply turn the bottom poster board to find the optimal light. Often I'll take a few pictures, see how it looks, and adjust accordingly.

Photo Editing

If the colors or lighting don't come out the way I like, I'll edit the pictures with Photoshop. Above is an example of this, the top picture was not edited, the bottom one was.

*First I adjust the lighting with the manual levels option.

*Next I'll dodge and burn (lighten & darken) specific spots. For example if a shadow is too dark, I'll lighten it up with the dodge tool.

*Last, I'll crop the photo to the size I want.

There are a lot of great sites online that dive deeper into these topics. If you're just starting out, I recommend iheartfaces and Photojojo for detailed tutorials.

Hand in Hand, Crafting with Kids

Hand in Hand by Jenny Doh

I've been waiting for over a year now for the book Hand in Hand to come out. Now that it's here, I can finally share about it with you. Jenny Doh of Crescendoh asked 19 bloggers including myself to contribute a unique kid craft for the book. Along with 20 craft projects, the book also profiles our creative lives with photos and our thoughts on creativity.


For Hand in Hand I created a paper bracelet craft. Can you guess the main supply I decorated it with? Hint: it's one of my favorite mediums to work with.

Here's just one of many crafts that caught my eye in the book, plush animal cushions. This project is by Jhoanna Monte of One Red Robin.

My daughter has already gone through the book and has plans on making a thaumatrope by Mummysam. I always find it interesting to see what craft projects appeal to my children. It's one more insight into their personalities.

Want to learn more about the book? Here's a complete list of all the contributing bloggers:
Jackie Boucher, Samantha Cotterill, Jenny Doh, Maya Donenfeld, Ali Edwards, Rachel Faucett, Pam Garrison, Abby Glassenberg, Cindy Hopper, Beki Lambert, Merrilee Liddiard, Jhoanna Monte, Ella Pedersen, Carly Schwerdt, Amanda Blake Soule, Nicole Spring, Jean Van't Hul, Dana Willard, and Kristin Zecchinelli.

Craft: Paper Easter Eggs

You've probably seen paper decorations like this before only as Christmas ornaments or pumpkins. I decided to update the craft for Easter and make the paper balls egg shaped. It's a simple project that requires few materials. My favorite part about this craft is that you can make them any style you want. Add some rhinestones or decorate the eggs with markers. It's all up to you.

Supplies:
Scrapbook paper - I recommend a paper that has a print on both sides.
Paper Slicer or Scissors
2 Small Brads - any style you like
Hole Punch - size 1/16"

Cut out 11 strips of paper 4" x 1/4". Punch holes on the top and bottom of paper strips.

Place brads through all strips of paper at each end.

Fan out the strips to make a ball shape.

Bend paper into egg shape.

*Optional - add string to brads to hang them on small branches for a centerpiece.

Japanese Craft Book: Embroidery Emblem

Over the weekend I purchased this Japanese craft book, Embroidery Emblem by Atsumi. I was fond of the idea that these mini embroidered pins looked like they could have been passed down from generation to generation. I especially liked the emblems that resembled military medals and family crests. Before I even got the book home, I was already imagining how the pins would look on my cardigans.

Below are a few images from the book and a embroidered pin I made.

Above are the emblems I plan on making for my sweaters.

Here are some of the projects in the book. All of them come with embroidery patterns.

Above is a picture of a pin I made from the book (my first one). And I was wondering, what do you think it's supposed to be? It's obvious to me what the image is because I have the pattern but I'm not sure if it will be obvious to everyone else. If you could leave a comment with your guess, I would appreciate it. I'll update what the image is in a couple days.

*UPDATE - I'm so glad most of you said a high collar blouse because that's exactly what it is. Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment :)