Six Colorful Lampwork Bracelets and The Tape Trick Photo Tip

I went for a short hike with the boys yesterday on one of our favorite trails straight into some long grass and bees. We thought it would clear up soon, but didn't, so we promptly turned around. That short time was long enough to spin me into a hayfever attack that took me down. Hence, I had an icepack on my forehead last night instead of getting my daily blog post in. Well, I'm back in action now! I've listed the 6 colorful lampwork bracelets (shown below) to our website and they are now available for viewing and for sale. I want to explain how I do the length measurements. I list a Total Length and an Interior Circumference. The Total Length is me having the bracelet stretched out on a ruler. The Interior Circumference is the measurement I get when I slide the closed bracelet onto my measurement cone. The width of the larger beads makes the bracelet "shorter" when you actually put it on. Am I making sense? To see what size would work best for you, I suggest getting a thin string and placing it around your wrist with enough slack to match how loose you would like a bracelet to feel. That measurement would most closely match the Interior Circumference. I include the ruler length because I think that is more industry standard. I do free sizing adjustments upon request, however for necklaces, sometimes I need to add a small charge if I am adding a lot more beads. So it didn't take me long to realize that I should just do a group shot instead of a Flickr Slideshow to show you new work. Duh. :o) The slideshows are still cool, but I don't think I'll use them each time. Remember in Blogger you can click the photo to enlarge it and then click it again to Zoom in.

Link to our website to view/purchase the bracelets.

And now, to my photo tip. The Tape Trick. A while back I was having a heck of a time photographing lentil beads without getting major glare from the lights and the flash. I knew I needed to prop it up somehow and was looking around for something. Scott quickly suggested I use a small crumpled piece of tape. I have since learned that double sided tape works even better. You just crumple it up and lay it on your table and lean the bead up against it. You can even then smash it down a bit or lift up and it seems to stay how you want it. Also, make sure to polish off finger prints. Lentils are famous for showing finger prints. Cotton gloves for this would be best, but like I'll ever remember to pick up some cotton gloves when I'm out and about with the kids. I have both full time this summer, no daycare. It is working out and we're loving being together, but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't more chaos. :o) Below is a picture of our photo station. Two 5500k photo flood lights coming from the right and left, along with a light box with a piece of white computer paper on it. I also use the flash on my camera. The light box helps to illuminate transparent beads and get some "under-lighting". The white foam core board in the back helps to bounce light back onto the bead. We then adjust the lighting setting on our camera to to the 5500k setting. I'm not saying my last photo below is perfect. I just wanted to point out that when I was trying to photograph this bead laying flat I got so much glare that the photo was unusable and has long since been deleted or I would have shown you an example. Enjoy your day!