Monday, November 29, 2010

*** CYBER MONDAY & TUESDAY ‎*** 40% off Sale ***


*** CYBER MONDAY ‎& TUESDAY *** 40% off Sale ***

Use coupon code * Thanksgiving40 * for 40% OFF
any items--thru Monday &Tuesday!!

www.CreatingForJoy.Etsy.com

**FREE ETSY SHIPPING & FREE GIFT w/Any Purchase**

**Celebrating the Opening of My New Shop Online!!**

Thank you for your interest & your support!! :)

JOYFUL JEWELRY -- earrings, bracelets & necklaces handmade
with sterling silver, mixed metals, gems, stones, pearls, glass, wood, clay & more.

PAPER ARTS -- journals, greeting cards & more, handmade
with mixed media, and lots of JOY!!

New items are being added continually, so please come back again soon!!

Enjoy!! - Dawn :)

Photos of Me (Dawn) !!


On a crisp day this Fall, I took a trip... Over the mountains and thru the valleys... Chasing the sunlight to arrive at a BEAUTIFUL park in Berks County... where I had some photos taken of me... by a professional photographer, who just happens to be one of my BFFs!!!!! :) Thanks, Denean!! You're the *best* !!!!

(Hey, everyone--check out more REALLY extraordinary work by Denean Melcher at www.DeneanMelcher.com --and please contact her if you'd like some great photos taken of you & your family!!)


I really LOVE how the next photo "opens up" to include so much *nature* in the background. (Nature is one of the things I love most!!) (Along with beads, paper, friends, family & food!!) (In fact, this *JOY* filled trip included most of those things!!)


Thanks, again, Denean--for *capturing so much* with such a little part of the day left!!


Sunday, November 28, 2010

Cyber Monday & Tuesday ***SALE***


Cyber Monday & Tuesday ***SALE***

*** 40% off Sale ***


Visit my online shop www.CreatingForJoy@Etsy

and use coupon code * Thanksgiving40 *

for 40% OFF any items--ALL DAY MONDAY & TUESDAY!!


Thanks for your interest & your support!! :)







Thursday, November 25, 2010

40% OFF anything at my Etsy Shop - Thurs Fri Sat

Happy Thanksgiving to All of my Friends & Family!!

Let’s begin the Holiday season with a *JOYFUL* sale!!

*** 40% OFF anything at my Etsy Shop—Thursday & Friday & Saturday ***

Good for any number of items you purchase. Free shipping, too.

Please share the offer with all of Your Friends & Family!!

***Use the coupon code below when placing an order at my Etsy Shop--

Thanksgiving40

Gratefully sent with best wishes for a happy, healthy, safe Holiday Season.

Dawn Conover

CreatingForJoy.etsy.com

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Joyful Progress


I'm excited about some very *Joyful* progress here... Perhaps you've noticed a few things already? First, I'll say that I'm enjoying creating photos of my work EVEN MORE than I was a few days ago... My enthusiasm & enjoyment of this has been multiplying almost as quickly as the number of pixels that I've been prolifically propagating!! I still feel like there is a *whole*world*more* to learn... But, I'm happy that my *capturing* is getting much better, and I want to thank my teachers & mentors (the ones I know personally, and the ones whose words I've read when researching.)

I'm also starting to use more *props* in my photos. For some reason, I guess I thought at first that the backgrounds of my product photos should be as neutral as possible. Thankfully, thru a series of events and encouragement, I've begun using some beloved objects as props. They may add rich color and appealing texture, yet they're still fairly neutral--without distracting patterns, etc. Actually, most of the decor I've chosen in my home is very much like the materials that I choose in my work. Natural colors, textures, simplicity, well designed and constructed... Combined with a bit of whimsical surprise (like the lime green piece below!!) In addition to household items, I will also use some of the display pieces that I've used for craft shows. A few years ago, when I was doing a lot of craft shows, many people would compliment my booth and display pieces. Especially one particular piece that I used for displays--people asked so often if it was for sale, I even tried to get more, or have them made!!



More progress... I set up a *mini* CreatingForJoy Etsy shop -- right HERE at my blog... And did it all by myself--with no assistance from anyone!! (Check it out--on the right-hand side.)

Have been working on a *new* logo for CreatingForJoy which goes along with designing a new banner for my blog & my shop & my website & so much more... (Chris is helping me with this!!)

And...I'm announcing my very *First*Online*Thanksgiving*Holiday*Sale* using a coupon code (new at Etsy!!) ....................... More info very soon :)

Gratefully yours,
Dawn


Monday, November 22, 2010

I've been working on photos...


I'm happy to say that I'm feeling more and more comfortable with the photographic process... Particularly the COLORS are seeming much more life-like in the shots I've captured tonight--in the kitchen, with the big, big photo lights...



These lights are so bright, I don't even want to look at them!! So, I wear *sun-goggles* that are probably suitable to wear while skiing on a bright sunny day. But, I'm wearing them in the house. With bright lights that produce enough heat to make it seem like you're on the beach during summertime. It's like experiencing a whole *spectrum of seasons* at once!!



As you can imagine, it'd be a *funny* photo to post of me doing all of this--maybe I will one day. Chris said tonight, as I was wearing those big sunglass goggles, that I reminded him of Andy Warhol. Hmmm, I guess that was meant as a compliment... But that's another story... The main thing is that I am *enjoying* taking photos of my work a little bit more this week. And I believe that the (particularly the color in the) photos are coming out a bit better, too, which makes me even happier.

*Oh*how*I*look*forward*to... the day I feel as *happy* with my photos of my work as I do with my work itself!!

Until then... I will continue to *click* and *crop* as much as I need to...

Joyfully yours,
Dawn

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The JOY of photographing my work

So... Earlier today, as I was editing some photos, I was thinking that I'd like to post (here on my blog) about the JOY of taking photos of my work... *Sarcastically* speaking, at first, then realizing that it really *IS* getting more and more *joyful* (and I'm also trying to be positive.) I'm learning a lot about the process of posting photographs (and taking them!!) lately... Especially with a few "lessons" learned from mistakes (um, I mean "Learning Experiences" which is more *positive,* right??)

A few weeks ago, I went outside to take photos of my work. The COLOR in the photos taken outside can be wonderfully authentic, almost effortlessly. Of course, one must get out there during the daylight, at certain times of the day, and during ideal weather, which can be tricky to coordinate. Overall, things were going good. Better, at least. The process was becoming more JOYFUL and I was starting to have more fun with it all (including the editing process, and all the steps involved.)

Took some more photos, this time in the house again. At the photo station (with all the bright lights,) and in my studio (with a lot of lights as well.) Edited them, etc.

Then, hmmm... I realized that the color in the photos seemed REALLY "off" compared to previous photos. This was strange. I didn't understand it. Just when I was starting to embrace this whole "photo" process with more JOY, the photos were looking terrible in color!!!!!! I was really feeling not-so joyful then.

So, I mentioned this to Chris, and asked if he could help me more. Maybe we could just START OVER, because there was obviously SOMETHING wrong here!!

He said, (almost immediately,) maybe it's a setting. "A setting?" I asked, "What do you mean?" "The setting on the camera," he said... And, sure enough, that was it!!!!!!!!!!

When I had gone outside, I had put it on "macro" because I can use that in the natural light, but inside, I should have switched it back to the setting that works with the inside lights. Ahhhh... That makes sense!! (I was delighted that it could be "fixed" so easily, and I felt some joy returning to my photographic spirit. Thanks, Chris!!)

So, now, I've taken more photos in the house, at the photo station, with the camera on the designated setting for that, and I'm finding more and more JOY again in the process of it all. (Of course, I want to speed things up now with the process, because I have much more to photograph!!) And, I'm looking forward to learning more, and becoming more comfortable with the whole process of digital photographs.

***Fast forward to a few hours later, when I sat down here (at my desk computer,) to type this post (with the story above already in my mind to type...)

And I wanted to post a few photos here from the ones I was editing earlier today. I couldn't find them in my Dropbox folder, which seemed strange. Hmmm... where were they??

Then I figured it out (without even mentioning it to Chris yet!!) When I was at the computer at the photo station earlier today, I had exported each image that I wanted to post. However, I was so excited about the whole process of JOY in photos again, that I must've forgotten to actually copy the files to my Dropbox folder (which would make them, of course, unavailable at another computer, since that's an on-line storage place.)

And I took a deep breath, and sighed... So many details to remember...

So---that is why this post has NO photo at the top. And that is the very

I'm gonna get back to my drawing table now... I feel MUCH more JOY there...

Capturing-ly yours,

Dawn

P.S. Note: Dropbox is an online file storage place to keep, and share, documents and photos. It's great!! If you want more info, I'll refer you to my IT guy--Chris





Thursday, November 4, 2010

Sweet New Items & Sweet New Prices


Hello Joyful Friends!! I've added a few *new* items AND *lowered* some prices.

If you're a fan of *earrings* ...check out my *JoyfulGems* collection for a few new prices.

If you're a *fan* of *bracelets* ...check out this *Large Freshwater Pearl & Smoky Quartz* bracelet--it's new to my *JoyfulGems* line of jewelry (although it's been on my table--being admired--for over a month--time to let it go, my sweet little adored creation!!)

If you're a fan of *necklaces* ...more will be posted soon... for sure!!

Sharing some thoughts on my process & my work...

The photo above makes the shape of a "Q" which I find to be kind of cute, and kind of weird, too. One thing I've struggled with when posing photos is "where to put the tail" of the bracelet!! Hmmm... Who knew there could be so many options, and questions, about this!!

So, I took a bunch of photos of this one, with many different arrangements of the "tail" (which is an extender clasp, of course.) I still chose this one because the lighting is nice, and the colors of the bracelet materials look much like they do in real life. So, I'm still learning, still taking more and more photos, still editing, adjusting, filing, posting, and so on... Which can be a challenge as well as a feeling of victory sometimes!! I'm SURE I am not the first person to experience all this... Yet, certainly this is the first time I've really *grabbed on* to taking photos of my work in this way.

Okay--I'm rambling now... Time to get back to my *other* desk!!

Oh, and remember, I *love* feedback... So, if you want to "ramble" too... Type away, my friend!!!!

Have A *Creative & Joyful* Day!!

Dawn

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Thank you ALL for your participation!!

I would like to thank *EVERYONE* who participated in my recent

* Joyful Survey Request Re: Earrings *


The information has been collected and compiled, and names of all of the Responders were entered in a drawing to win a FREE GIFT!!

All the names were put into a “List Randomizer” in order to be fair, and the *winner* was chosen at random.

The *winner* will be notified by e-mail.

The *prize* is a pair of (you guessed it) JOYFUL EARRINGS!!

The List Randomizer is available at http://www.random.org/ if you are interested in checking it out!!

Thank you again for all of your participation!!

Enjoy!! :)