What's New?

I had a great day yesterday. A couple headbands are going to new homes and I got more things listed on Artfire and Zibbet.

In case anyone is wondering I only list the quantity I have. So for example if I make 4 of something I split them between shops and list 2 on one site and 2 on the other. If it is one of a kind it goes in one place.

My plan is to have the number of items stay about equal on each site. I have designed a spreadsheet to help me keep track of what is listed where and how many items are in each shop.

The other good thing yesterday was taking pictures in my new space. I think it is really going to work out well. The natural light in this room is awesome and works to my advantage. Take a look and see if you agree.

Showing You

I thought I would show you the place that A Cozy Life may be moving to. If we are, I hope it is all done before it gets too hot around here. In central Arizona almost everything is stucco and desert looking so this house is typical of what you find here.

The front of the house faces south. The windows you see behind the tree are in a breakfast nook. When I was looking at houses I noticed the wonderful light in this room. The mind started working and came up with the realization that this would be the perfect well lit space to use for taking pictures of my items for my online shops. No need to worry about heat or wind or rain and no need to haul everything outside and then back in again.

For those of you who live in greener places the front yard is actually done. It has a few bushes and a tree. The rest is gravel. That is very typical here. With the amount of water it takes to keep grass alive during the hottest months grass is a luxury reserved by many for a small spot in the backyard. If you ever had to mow a lawn like Jim has when it is 115 degrees you really understand the reasoning for just a small amount of grass.

Just waiting to hear if we get it is getting old. We thought we would know by now. Silly us.

Soon To Be In My Shop

These two scarves will be in the shop soon. I need to measure them and get descriptions written. I wanted to share their pictures with you today.

I am feeling better about my pictures lately. A lot of that good feeling comes from using tips found in the etsy.com forums. I have a nice Nikon D70 camera and am learning new things about how to use it every time I take pictures.

When my husband bought the camera he got an extra light to go on the top of it. When I first started taking pictures for etsy I used that light source inside because he said it would be all I needed. Somehow those pictures were never ones I was really proud of.

Over and over I kept reading that the best shots were taken outside in natural light. I tried this on the last several things I have photographed and have seen a huge difference. To tell the absolute truth, I am not really happy about needing to go outside though. You see, I live in the Phoenix area and it is so hot all summer that it is not much fun going outside. Even early in the morning it can be closing in on 100 degrees by 9 or 10 am. When it gets cooler in the fall and winter I am sure I will be more enthusiastic about it.