Saturday, June 30, 2012

Saturday Link List: the Fourth of July edition

Welcome another special holiday edition of my Saturday Link List!

I have a few Fourth of July articles.


Again, you can check out the entire Pinterest board here.

Create your own link list and grab a button for your post or simply spread the word on your blog.


Saturday Link List

Did I feature your work here?  Grab a button for your blog or web site!
Saturday Link List


Did you use one of the resources, tutorials, or recipes from my link list?  Leave me a link in the comments or send me an e-mail (randomcreative28@gmail.com) with your photos and stories.  I would love to post them here.

Stay tuned next week for a brand new set of July recipes!

Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday Feature: Fourth of July

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up with me this past week for my Friday Feature link up!  Here are just a few of the great finds that were featured.  Click on the photos to check out the item listings, blog posts, etc.




Here are just a few amazing Fourth of July picks from Etsy.  Enjoy!

Fourth of July Party Invitation - Printable or Printed for You by michelepurnerdesigns

Patriotic Bunting - 4th of July Bunting - 12 Foot - FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING by pasqueflower

American Flag Origami Stars, set of 24. Patriotic Fourth of July Table Scatter by coppleshop

Fourth of July Headband. Nautical headband. Chiffon rosette headband. by BipAndBop

Glass Tile Pendant Necklace, Fireworks Photo, Square Tile, Graduation by PattysPhotoShop

Bomb Pop 4th of July Red, White, and Blue T Shirt by Boys and Girls by kakabaka

Fourth of July SALE 25% off Stripe Dress - SALE by LeylaDanae


I don't like to make a lot of rules for my link ups, but if you link up, please visit and comment on at least one other post.  No one benefits from linking up if we don't all support each other.  Thanks! 




 
 
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Friday Feature


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Friday Feature


Where else I linked up today:

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Get It Together With Tangerine Orange

I'm sharing my latest EBW Challenge piece in a slightly different format than usual.  I'm participating in Janet's Get It Together link up and sharing some other accessories and fashion picks that coordinate with my new piece.

The July EBW Challenge is Tangerine Tango for the 2012 Pantone Color of the Year.  This is such an inspired choice!  You can read more about it here.  I'm sure that many of you know how much I love orange.  I put together a bangle design similar to my 80's inspired A Material Girl's True Colors bangle that I created last year.




The sandals pick up on the orange without creating too much of a "matchy" look.  I love the deep red and the unique style.  You can dress these up or down for anything.

I picked a more casual skirt for summer that you can throw on without even thinking about it.  Isn't the little bird cute?

I try to branch out in my features and not pick the same sellers over and over again.  But I had to return to Madelynn's shop and select a set of stacking rings.  The orange bangle is so vivid that you don't need to overwhelm everyone with more orange jewelry.  Instead pair it with some other bright colors.

You have to click through to the listing to see all of the ways that you can style this versatile black wrap.

I continued to mix up the colors for this outfit with a purple necklace from one of my newest favorite shops.


The skirt and wrap will match so many different types of summer tops.  I have a hard time finding tank tops on Etsy that aren't really skimpy so I opted for a simple blue tree t-shirt instead.

I finished this outfit off with a rich green leather messenger bag.  Isn't that a unique piece?

My tangerine bangle is available on Etsy right here.  As always, if you'd like something similar in a different size or color palette, don't hesitate to ask.  Voting for the July EBW challenge starts on July 9.  Check back here then for more details.

Have you ever worked with tangerine materials?  What have you been creating lately?





I included this post in Michelle's Delicately Constructed Friday 6/29/12.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

June Photo a Day Challenge wrap up



I know that it's not quite the end of the month yet, but it's either now or not until June 6 so I'm posting this a little early.  Currently I have the full album updated through at least the 23rd and will get the rest finished up over the weekend when I finish up the next Scavenger Hunt.


I decided to keep my monthly photo board for fat mum slim's photo a day challenge over on Pinterest because I don't need any more daily content for this blog, Facebook, or Twitter.  You can check out the entire board here (or by clicking on the above photo).  I'm just sharing a few of the highlights in this post today.

Day 1: Morning
Angel doesn't venture to the top floor of our house very often and waits until we come downstairs to greet us in the morning.

Day 5: Sign
This sign is only a few blocks away from our house.  I can't believe that we lived here almost a year before I got a picture of it.

Day 7: Hat
I didn't include this in a Scavenger Hunt and thought that some of you would enjoy seeing it here.  My father-in-law sells these hats in his True Value in the fall.  He and Jake went to their first Packers game this past fall and wore them.  Now we own one.

Day 9: Your View Today
I have a huge influx of new flower and zoo photos from this month.  I'll keep sharing them here a few at a time.  I'm still in shock of so many of these shots.  Look at that bokeh!

Day 11: Door
As best we can tell, someone took these doors down when our living room was carpeted and they no longer fit.  Thanks to some huge help from my father-in-law, we got them trimmed down and fitted in again, and then cleaned them.  Aren't they beautiful?

Day 14: Time
I confess that I took this picture before June because I knew that time was going to be a prompt at some point for either this challenge or the Scavenger Hunt.  It's in one of the old VA buildings.  Unfortunately it doesn't work anymore.

Day 19: Imperfect
I'm sure that anyone who works with any type of glaze or resin can relate with this photo.  As hard as I try to remove all of the large air bubbles from my pieces, sometimes one still sneaks in there.

Day 21: Where You Slept
If I've ever shared this little guy here, it was ages ago.  Jake gave him to me for our first Valentine's Day as a couple in 2002.  Most of my old stuffed animals are on display in the basement, but he gets to stay on my side of the bed during the day.

Day 22: From a High Angle
This is another shot from my mini flower shoot on Father's Day.

Day 23: Movement
I took this during a Museum After Dark event at the Milwaukee Art Museum, which is right by Lake Michigan.  Clearly "after dark" isn't really applicable during the summer!

Again, you can check out the entire set of June photos on Pinterest right here.

I'm going to re-cap the questions and insight that I put together for last month's challenge.
I have another confession to make.:  Like last month, I did complete all of the prompts, but I did not necessarily take each one on the appointed challenge day.  I still believe that this resulted in better photos than I would have gotten by forcing photos every day.
Was it tough to participate in this challenge and the Scavenger and Macro challenges?  The short answer to this is still yes.  Some weeks it all comes together easily while other weeks I'm down to the wire getting caught up with everything at the last minute.  I did still find a number of prompts that overlapped, which made the process go pretty smoothly some weeks.
Was it worth it?  The answer is still yes.  As I mentioned earlier this month, I'm working harder than ever to use as many original photos as I can for my long term earning articles.  I love being able to pull something from my files instead of having to shoot and edit something brand new or pull a stock file online.  Continuing to grow my own photo supply this much each month really helps with this process.

I am participating next month.  I am also planning to continue to not force photos everyday and only take time to upload once or twice a week.  The July prompts are not up yet, but you can check back with fat mum slim before the beginning of July for the list.

What have you been photographing lately?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Christmas in July preparation

I know that a lot of people aren't in the mood to think about Christmas.  If you sell on Etsy, you should be thinking about Christmas in July!  It's a great promotional opportunity.  I have a number of Christmas designs left over from last year and will be marking down a number of red and green items.  I'm also releasing a few new items and re-stocking popular items...which means that I need to get them done.  Before July...how is that less than a couple weeks away?







Who else is getting ready for Christmas in July on Etsy?  What new projects and promotions do you have in the works for it?

New article:

Monday, June 25, 2012

Scavenger Hunt and I Heart Macro on Monday (6/25/12)

Welcome to another edition of the photo Scavenger Hunt and I Heart Macro! I've also included my weekly update about my monthly photo challenge progress. Enjoy!

1) Warped
I did a mini flower photo shoot at my in-laws' house when we were down there last week for Father's Day.  For the warped theme here, I used Picasa to apply a tint and then the Holga-ish effect.

2) Concentric Circles
I pulled from my scrapbook paper stash again.

3) Gear
The gear that I use every day to give Angel her blood pressure medication.  I crush the pill on the plate with the back of the spoon and then mix it into the sour cream.

4) Glazed
I've been (slowly) making some new glass magnets and charms and experimenting with some bottle cap designs for the open house next month.

5) Marble
I have no idea if there is any real marble involved in these steps.  They're part of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Check out Ashley's blog to see what other people submitted for the themes this week.



Here's my shot for I Heart Macro.
This is another one of my shots from my mini flower shoot on Father's Day.


studio waterstone

 The Monthly Photo Challenge Update: 
My June Photo a Day Board is going well.  Can you believe that we're already nearing the end of the month already?  Follow the board on Pinterest to get the most current updates! Stay tuned later this week for a monthly blog post wrap up for June.

Where else I linked up today:
Photobucket