TT - "Fairies and Photos"

So, its tutorial Tuesday and I am going to share some photo tutorials. Since many of those who read here are my jewelry making buds, we are all concerned with images. Good photos can make or break our online presence/business.

I do ok with my photos - they are 'so-so' - not stellar, but not bad. Currently I am just editing in picasa. Its basic stuff. REAL basic....crop, lighten, darken, sharpen, done.

A lot of people use photoshop - but I have never purchased it and don't know anything about it. There is also paint shop pro - which I used a LONG time ago but don't really remember much about. I have a photo editing program that was given to me a while back, but I've never installed it on my computer and I can't recall what its called. I intend to install that, its just that I never get around to it. I will. One day I will. In the meantime, I had downloaded GIMP a long time ago and never did anything with it. I think I am going to learn how to use it, and today I found some tutorials for using GIMP as I was scrounging the net for something else, so I thought I'd share. :) GIMP is a free download and looks pretty promising.
GIMP Tutorials

I also came across Photoscape which is a free download and looks really interesting, though I know NOTHING about it, so I can't vouch for stability or anything.

Besides editing our photos, we need to take good photos to begin with, there are lots of free tutorials on light boxes out there, here are a few I had bookmarked long ago:

$5 photo set up (video tutorial)
Build a light tent
Booth Systems: basic set ups for jewelry and product photography (by Charles Lewton Brain)
Photo Tips by Cynthia Eid

If you've had trouble with photos in the past, I hope you find something useful in all of that!

On to fairies......

I've been meaning to post about a little fairy I have - I have a coffee fairy.

Each morning, Monday through Friday, as I'm in the bathroom brushing teeth, or applying fake-up, or drying my hair - a cup of coffee 'magically' appears on the bathroom vanity.

True. I kid you not.

I turn around or blink and when next I look - voila its there.

Piping hot and not too full, lest I spill it.

mmmmm. I'm spolied, I know.

Well, my fairy flew the coop for a few days and this morning I had to brew my own pot of coffee and pour my own. Not like its any big chore, but it adds time to the morning routine and reminds me how blessed I am. :) My son was watching tv yesterday and out of the blue said, "We've got a good life don't we?"

I said we sure do hon, we sure do.

I don't know what my son had in mind when he said it, but we really do have a good life, and when my coffee fairy returns I'll make sure he knows how much we know it and how much he contributes to it. :)

~Janice