Lights, Camera, Etsy! Lightboxes and the Right Camera for Etsy Success

When I go back to my first photos on Etsy I can feel nothing but shame. I am sure a 4th grader was helping me way back in 2009. At least that is what the end results of those early photos show.

Fast forward to 2011 and I am all grown up (Etsy photography-wise). My photos show it and I could not be happier.  The pot of gold at the end of the Etsy photo rainbow includes two items that are the "Must Haves" in the world of Etsy. A Lightbox and the RIGHT Camera.

At left is an early photo, with the Fuji JX250 Camera, no lightbox. AUGH!





 


 This is a link to a great "How To" on building your own inexpensive lightbox. How to make a lightbox

This is my finished lightbox made for less than $20.00. And below is the kind of photos you get with it using my new camera!

 Fuji cameras are budget friendly, and they may be great for outdoors shots of people and animals; but for close-up, jewelry photography....they just don't make the cut. After just a few months of use, they start to blur out on the "Micro" setting. So I took  my $150.00 budget and went looking for the right camera.

What I found was a dream of a camera, the Sony Cybershot DSC-W570. 16.1 Mega pixels, 5X zoom,  with white balance and a little setting called "Gourmet Food" that is the perfect setting for close up, "Oh My Gawd!", jewelry shots like this....

So don't let your budget keep you from thinking you can't have million dollar photos in your Etsy shop. Not only is it not true, but the resulting increase in sales will more than pay for that $109.00 camera and $20.00 magic little lightbox!


~ Dr Brassy

Coffins, Coffins, Everywhere-I am just dying to get my hands on them!!!

October is thrust upon me in the way that motherhood is thrust upon a first time Mom. It's HERE and I need to spend every second taking care to be sure I don't fall behind. Of course the reason October is my month of total insanity and little sleep is due to the Samhain/Halloween Season. It is the time of witches, vampires, gouls and all the dark gothic wonderment that goes with it.

So with October weighing heavily on my every waking breath. I looked around the dungeon (known as a "Craft Room", "Laboratory", "Artist Loft" and now "Dungeon" as I see fit), and discovered with horror that I had exactly ZERO coffins/caskets on hand.

A mad rush to Joann Crafts turned up  exactly nil coffins. As did the same frantic shopping spree to Beverlies Crafts, Betty's Fabrics and Michaels...So what to do?????????

My savior came in the body of one of my "A Nightmare on Etsy" teammates, Annette. She saved my bacon for sure and I am now waddling in mini-coffin heaven. For those of you even further behind than I am. Coffins can be had at Donmechanic.com and SOME Michaels stores (I had to drive 2 hours to find one that had mini coffins and I bought them out).

So go forth into the night with your mini mouse sized coffin of delight.... and tell them Dr Brassy sent you!

~Dr Brassy

It's been a "Moving" Experience

Moving is like giving birth. It is. It is like giving birth to a 1900 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, double- garaged... baby. It's a baby that needs tending and care, nurturing and feeding. It is painful, it will make you cry and there is a 110% chance you will get into a huge fight with the person you love that has joined you at the hip for this birth...I mean, Move.
After the pain is gone, the blood has been cleaned up and the linens washed; after the stitches are taken out and the bruises heal, you are left with a nest that is yours to call home. Everything that was horrible washes away and there is just happiness and contentment.
Still- I will never move again for the rest of my life if I have my way. I want to be here forever and I want to plant fruit trees, put roses in the garden and add Dr Brassy elements to make this a home any Steampunk would envy. 

Things I learned along the way.
Never do business with a company that has it's call center overseas.
Never buy appliances from a company that outsources it's deliveries.
Never use people to clean your house or carpet that smoke cigarettes.
Check out a neighborhood at night and on the weekends before committing to buy or rent.
Leave your old house in better condition that when you rented/bought it. 
Go out and  meet the neighbors. Wave when they drive by and say hello when retrieving the paper in your robe in the morning. Be "Neighborly".
Banks are evil.
A Good Realtor is worth their weight in gold.
Always tip for a job well done as people are barely making minimum wage nowadays.
Keep your sanity. You will get through it. 

My Singer looks right at home

Here is a photo of the living room starting to take shape.

I waited 46 years for a fainting couch!

Mr Steamington channeling his inner "Hef"

Just Call Me A Maverick For Our Time

There are people who will remain unnamed in this blog, who claimed to be "Mavericks" sometime back around 2008. I am not talking that kind of Maverick or politics at all for that matter. I am talking Steampunk Nerf  N Strike Mavericks. If any of you have attempted a Maverick Make Over or Maverick Contraption Redo. You know the headaches, perplexity and general FUBAR of the project if you don't do it in exactly the right order and in exactly the right way. Although everyone and their cousin has gotten on the Maverick bandwagon, I still think there are unique and amazing designs to be had in the genre. Here is a photo journal of the Maverick Nerf N Strike from start to finish with a "Do it Yourself" list of Tips and Trix at the end.

Your basic finished Maverick.

Very fancy Maverick!

Tips and Trix: Take the whole gun apart first. Dremmel off any lettering, copywrite marks etc. Sand the plastic to get the shine off with a fine grit sandpaper. Primer the whole gun. Choose your paint colors. You can spray paint, use paint pens or use a soft lint free cloth to dab on the paint on for an aged look. My fav Mavericks have several different metallic colors on one gun. You can use an antiquing gel, metallic dust, or antiquing rubs as well. Ideas to make your Maverick unique are to burn scroll designs into the gun like the last photo, or you can add brass filigree, copper fittings or any other accoutrements.  Use wire to hang the Maverick when painting to let it dry. When you are done, seal the gun with a clear acrylic sealant and let it dry for 2 days.
This will give you a gun that will last for many battles and still look just as perfect as the day you made it. 
~ Dr Brassy

The Cat and the Hat-A Steampunk Story

I received a custom Steampunk styled top hat request in June from a customer I will call "Cass". The request was pretty straight forward. A black and silver Steampunk top hat with netting bustle and silver accoutrements. More specifics unfolded in the making and we narrowed it down to a crushed black velvet hat with high styled rococo silver flourishes in metal with a small spattering of clockwork details, lots of black feathers on the right and left sides with a very long black net train down the back but that also had a second train bustled up in the back.

There is where the cat comes into the picture.

Delilah trying to look angelic and innocent

 There are few things in nature more attracted to each other than a cat and feathers. I, Dr Brassy, should know this from the umpteenth gazillion piles of "felis pukemus" that I have cleaned up over the years that contained lovely rainbow colored feathers. (Our Delilah is an indoor only kitty, so no live birds were injured in the making of the cat barf). 

I was so focused on this hat and all the details that I forgot completely about my Box O'Feathers (I am in the process of moving the lab into a our new digs, among other familial distractions). Well- Delilah found herself in cat feather heaven... which resulted in, you guessed it. Cat barf central in every color of feather I own. Burgundy, blue, green, orange, yellow, purple, pink and white or at least what used to be white....

Thankfully and gratefully I had the good sense to place the all important "Cass" Hat up and out of the way of our diligent Delilah who at post time has yet to figure out the nuances of furniture tetris to reach atop the sewing cabinet. (Give her time and she will figure this out).

So here is the finished project, 1 month in the making and 100's ruined feathers later due to somebodies strange culinary obsession.

Finished Hat Front

Mr Steamington providing non-consensual modeling of hat bustle

What did I learn? Keep all feathers in large gallon size ziplock bags AND a large plastic bin WITH A LID!  ~ Dr Brassy

And the winner is.....Chromospan!!!

Congratulations to Lorena Ambrose!!! This was a very difficult contest as all the names were original and magical. It was very hard to decide which one was the best, from a field of All bests.

I want to thank everyone for entering. 
Leanna Longo (4 entries!), Tracey Craig, Melissa Walker Castro, Firefly Visions, Ellen Wodoslawsky Gonchar and Lillie Nyte all came up with amazing names. 

Lorena, please get in touch with me and let me know which sightmares you would like and where to send it. My email is Drbrassy@yahoo.com.

Chromospan named by Lorena Ambrose

Thank you all!  ~ Dr Brassy

3D Steampunk Art at it's Best- I would like to introduce....Pyrosthenes

Pyrosthenes and I go way back, I mean waaaaaay back when big hair was in, digital cameras weren't out yet, and a Yahoo was what you called your cousin who has an affinity for dynamite and beer, but never made it past 8th grade.

Pyrosthenes (pronounced Pie-Rows-Th-EE-KNEES), is a 3D artist on Deviant Art and the man "gets" Steampunk like no one I know. I have engaged his services for 3D artwork on several occasions and have been awe struck by the end results that are worthy of framing on the walls of my laboratory.

We all get to the point where we want an avatar of ourselves to use for business, Facebook, Match.com. And we want that avatar to look as much like us as possible, albeit 20 years younger and 40 pounds thinner. When I got to that point and was also looking at needing business cards. I hopped on Deviant Art and let my fingers do the walking.

There is world class, museum quality artistic talent on DA and it can be had for way less that it's worth (I always pay more). I mean, $10.00 for your own Avatar? Bargain of the year, I think! So here, without further ado, is my homage to the amazing light and magic of Pyrosthenes....

Don't mess with Dr Brassy

Dr Brassy's Airship

 

Gothic Dr Brassy

Dr Brassy in her Steamsub

Steamy Mermaid