Echoes of Ela

Artistry in metal, stone and glass

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Hello! It’s been a while…

Hi. I didn’t mean to take such a long break, really, I didn’t. But somehow life got in the way, as it often does. But through all of the ups and downs I am always so grateful for this wonderful creative outlet that is my jewelry.

So what’s new this year? I love adding new skills to the mix and attending an enameling workshop last Fall has really motivated me to add lots of fun colors and designs. So many ideas. I love enameling, because it allows me to create my very own colorful elements without the addition of beads. Don’t get me wrong, beads are lovely, but there is just something special in looking at a piece in which ALL of the components were created by my own two hands.

Blue starry sky and white moon enamel cuff. Hammered patina copper.

Matching earrings!

Moon and stars torch fired enamel drop earrings

Blue starry sky and white crescent moon drop earrings created with torch fired enamel.

And finally the matching pendant:

Moon and starry sky celestial pendant created in torch fired enamel, suspended from a hand forged patina copper neck wire

 

What can I say, I just love the whole moon theme so much right now.

But that’s not to say that that is all I’ve been creating. For as long as I remember, I have loved little hand drawn flowers. I used to embroider them on shirts, even. With torch fired enameling, I can indulge in my flower passion in a whole new way! Check these out!

Patina copper and torch fired enamel flower pendant with Czech glass leaf dangle

I have had these Czech glass leaf beads, but wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. What do you think? Aren’t they perfect in this pendant?

Here is a pair of earrings that combines sterling silver, patina copper with the always popular color combo that is red and robin’s egg blue.

Sterling silver and torch fired enamel flower earrings

And one of my favorite pendant necklaces to date:

Square enameled floral pendant with leaf dangles on a hand crafted copper chain

There will always be metals, of course. Over the past year I have focused on creating more complete lines. I have to say, I really enjoy the challenge of making a specific design work in a necklace, earrings and a bracelet. Although somehow the bracelets seem to want to remain on paper… I promise, they exist, if only as a concept.

I LOVED creating this pendant and promise there will be more! The tree motif has held me captive for a long time and it isn’t letting go of me, I assure you! The patina turned out better than I could have dreamed!

Layered patina copper tree of life pendant with pink tourmaline

And some leaf earrings…

patina copper leaf earrings created in a form fold technique

Last but not least, a few new chains!

Sterling silver ball riveted metalwork necklace with round and square connectors

Patina copper and sterling silver hand crafted chain featuring amethyst and green Czech glass beads

Mixed metal patina copper, brass and sterling silver necklace, ball riveted with round and square connectors.

Plus matching earrings.

Sterling silver, patina copper and brass metal work earrings

What’s next? Spring time always sets me on a path of floral and natural elements, so you can definitely expect to see more of that.

Several cabochons in various shapes await their settings. I look forward to combining mixed metals with enamels as well as adding some mid century modern themed pieces to the mix.

What about you? Any favorite styles or pieces? I always love hearing your input!

Of course, be sure to stop by the shop anytime to see what’s new. I’m adding pieces regularly:)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful and hopefully, creative day!

Karin

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Etsy Photography

Don’t you just love the beautifully photographed images on Etsy’s front page? Ever try to take one of those pictures? Easy? No. Intimidating? You bet. Etsy photography is what sells…

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Now, I have always fancied myself a photography enthusiast, at least back in the day, you know, when there was actual film in cameras! Digital cameras have come such a long way since their introduction and offer a stunning array of super complicated nifty features that enable just about anyone to take amazing shots. Well, provided you are willing to invest in a Master’s degree in imaging… or maybe not.

Luckily, you can make your photos look like they were shot by someone who has a clue. And today I want to show you some of those simple strategies that will improve your photography skills instantly – I promise.

Turns out you can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear! Yeah! I will let you in on some very basic and fairly fool proof secrets that anyone can use. You can read my first post about it here. If you are looking for more advanced tips, sorry, not today, but I would sure love to hear from anyone who can add to my suggestions.

Do you need a fancy, expensive camera with tons of features and all kinds of bells and whistles? Nope. As a matter of fact most of the images I will show you in this post have been shot with this:

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My trusty little Nikon S6000 coolpix camera. And I have even dropped the poor thing on it’s head a couple of times – not proud of that:(

Okey dokey. On to the hall of shame. Some of the very first pictures I took and listed (oh the horror!) looked like this:

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While it is probably not as horrid exposure wise as some of my other humdingers attempts, well there is lots of room for improvement. My heart was in the right place!

Then I decided a white background was the way to go…

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 White with a bunch of undesirable shadows that is! After consulting the interwebz, I decided to build this light box, or really more of a white box. And I also came to the realization that direct sunlight might not be all it was cracked up to be – and neither were lamps! Up the white balance I was told and came up with this washed out and over-exposed example. I had reached my “Oy vey” phase of this project!

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But, I don’t give up that easy! White background, indirect, filtered sunlight, a TRIPOD… now we are beginning to see the light – pun totally intended. Maybe white wasn’t the way to go after all. So I hopped on over to Home Depot and scoured the tile isle for just the right materials. I came up with four different styles of tiles:) Black granite, white marble, white oversize subway and a tile with a wood grain look. And I liked what came out of my little camera after that!

 

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For this bracelet I decided to stick with shiny black – and that was the picture that finally sold it!

So, what are the most important tips I want you to take away from this?

Here’s a list of what I always do when I shoot my jewelry:

  • use a tripod
  • set a 2 second delay on my camera
  • use the macro setting that is a feature on most cameras these days – it’s usually the setting with the flower symbol
  • shoot in filtered daylight
  • pay very close attention to any shadows
  • change perspective, usually your images will look much better if shot from a lower angle
  • play with my white balance until it’s just right
  • use the editing software on my computer to crop, improve brightness, contrast, etc. or take advantage of free programs like pixlr.com
  • optimize my images – try imageoptimizer.net, it’s free to free up storage space

I recently purchased an actual DSLR camera. While I am still busy trying to figure out this much fancier contraption, I know that all of the things I mentioned above will work with it just the same, and that I need to save my allowance for a macro lens;)

Let me know if any of these tips help, and even better, if you have some of your own. This is something that will always be a part of the sales part of my jewelry business, so stay tuned for regular updates! I can’t wait to show you all the fancy stuff my new camera can do, as soon as I figure out how to work it…

Karin

P.S.: The picture at the very top was taken with my new camera just a few days ago!

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