How-To Tuesday Fun Fabric Flowers

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make super cute and easy fabric flowers! The one's I've done here are made from scraps of t-shirt material. 

I had a lovely soft black t-shirt that somehow obtained a large bleach spot on it!!! So sad!  What to do?  Refashion, of course!!

First, I cut several different sizes of circles out of the t-shirt.



Next I gathered the circles in the middle, by pinching them, and stitching them into place. Like this:


So then I needed to decide what to do with them! I took a cute clearance rack t-shirt that I got for $3 at Wal-Mart, and pinned the the flowers onto the collar.



Then I hand stitched them into place!

Here's the finished shirt!  I think it turned out wonderfully!

The result is super cute and only took about 30 minutes from start to finish! You can also use these cute little flowers to make hair clips, pin-back corsages, or fun festive topiaries! You can use any kind of fabric, and get different results with each! Have fun! 

This was originally posted on Sarahndipities.blogspot.com in September of 2010 (http://sarahndipities.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-tuesday-fun-fabric-flowers.html)

-Sarah @ Sarahndipities

Build a Better Blog #2: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

You've all heard the saying...and know what I'm talking about, right?

But here's what you may not know: you don't have to be a professional photographer to take good pictures! In this day of digital cameras, taking good pictures is easier than ever...but you can also fall into mediocre photo-taking traps just as easily.

Today I'm going to share some simple tips for getting (and taking) better pictures! Taking good pictures is more than having a great camera or awesome products!

1. KNOW YOUR CAMERA! Because of the ease of digital cameras, you can often overlook features that can help you take better pictures. It may seem like a really boring and unimportant thing to do, but read your camera's manuel! Get to know the features your camera offers. Do have the option to use a Macro lens? Figure it out! Do have the ability to adjust the f-stop on your exposure? Do it! (Don't know what these things mean? Your manuel will probably explain them!)

2. USE GOOD LIGHTING! It's easy to just use your camera's Auto-Flash when taking pictures, but there is nothing less professional looking than product pictures taken with a flash. Even if you are taking pictures of something in your own kitchen, using a flash makes it look unprofessional. You can use the same setting with good light and get fantastic pictures! 

Try to take your pictures during the day in a place that is lit by lots of brightindirect light! If this isn't quite possible take advantage of some good photo imaging software to "fix and brighten" your pictures. Most cameras have some sort of simple photo imaging software included for your computer, so when you upload pictures from your camera you can adjust certain things. 



Play with exposure, saturation, and shadows.



If your imaging software isn't quite up to snuff, you can also use another program like Photoshop or Picnik (which is FREE!)! Go mess around with your options!

3. GET FOCUSED! No amount of good light can make up for the lack of focus in a picture. Make sure you're subject is in focus. This being said don't be afraid to get up close and personal...if your camera has the option of a Macro lens setting, you can take some really fun and interesting shots by focusing in on just a part of your subject, rather than the whole.



4. TRY SOMETHING NEW! This one is pretty simple...Experiment with different backgrounds, lighting effects, and compositions. You don't always have to take a picture from a straight-forward angle: 

Change things up by putting your subject off-center!



Crop to feature a specific part of a picture! 



Tilt your camera to get a different angle! 



5. TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES! It's easier to eliminate the bad pictures if you have a bunch to choose from! Try to take multiple shots of each angle...this will help allow for lighting discrepancies, angles, and compositions. You can get rid of the ones you don't like with the click of the button...that is the beauty of digital!!

6. DON'T STRESS! Taking photos can be an overwhelming process...don't let it stress you out! Take it one step at a time! Read a little about your camera, and then take a break! Try something new during one photo shoot, and see if you like the result. Take it easy and have fun!!

Hope these little tips will help you start thinking about how you can improve your photos, and get you thinking about trying new things!!

Have fun!!!

P.S. I'm also sharing this post on the SAHM of Etsy Team blog and one the Olive Smiles fanpage!

Spruce Up Business Card Bundles with Rachael

I know I have mentioned this great etsy group that I am a part of, Stay at Home Moms of Etsy, but today I have a special post inspired by these awesome ladies!

First of all, Nicole at ScissorGoddess on etsy put together this really awesome idea for us all. She divided us into groups of 4 shop owners whose merchandise complimented each others. Then the members of each group mailed the others 15 business cards for their shop. {Stay with me here, lol} After all the trading was done, we each were left with 45 new business cards {3 shops, 15 cards each} to package and send out with our orders... A really fun way to share "hand picked" businesses with our buyers.

I thought it was a brilliant idea. What better marketing is there than word of mouth? Especially coming from someone who has an insight to what you're shopping for! YAY!

However, I did feel a little weird about just tossing the cards in with my shipment... people get confused. haha! So I came up with this little idea to let them know I'm doing something special just for them.

I used my handy-dandy Silhouette machine to make the tags using some leftover paper from our wedding invitations. {Yes, that was awhile ago, but I save everything! You never know when it might come in handy. Case in point. :)} And I used clear labels in Word for the text.

Next time, I would want to print directly onto the tag, but this particular paper doesn't take to printing very well so I opted for the labels. {which I had leftover from my baby shower invitations... my case just keeps getting better for saving everything! haha!}


I uploaded both the file for the labels and the Silhouette working file to Google docs so I could share them with you. It seems that Google docs re-formats things, so you will have to do some tweaking I guess. And, obviously, you would have to change the shop name for your own usage, but at least you have a starting point. :)

Link to Lables in Google Docs
Link to Silhouette file in Google Docs

Here's a quick rundown of how they came together:

Printed labels to the left, and cut pieces above. 

I cut the green about 1/4" larger than the frosted white so it would make a nice border. 

All pieced together!

Assembly line, baby!!

I also cut a couple of little slits in the top and bottom so I could 

thread some ribbon through and tie them all together. No ugly paper clips here!

 More work? Yes. But I feel like presentation is everything. 

How special to get a little ribbon wrapped package inside your box of goodies you ordered?

I hope you all find this helpful, {I know you SAHMs will!} I'm so excited about sending these out!! 

XOXO

Little Birdie Baby Shop