How it’s Made #2

A while back I started my new series named ‘How it’s made’. Where I show everyone how I make certain items I have listed in my shop; and, for this post I wanted to share how I go about creating my multipurpose zipper case.  

Here it is from start to finish!

These are the materials I use for the body of the case: 

The lining…

First I press all the fabric and apply the fusible interfacing. 

Next I sew those pieces to the white felt (This adds more body and padding to the case)

Next I prep the faux leather bottoms…

Then sew them to the pattern fabric, like so:

Next I whip stitch my zipper…

Then sew the zipper to the pattern fabric (zipper facing down)

Next, I sew the lining to the zipper and pattern fabric with right sides facing together…

Then repeat on the other side:

Next I edge stitch…

Next, I place the lining pieces together with right sides facing, and do the same with the outer pattern fabric and sew all the way around—making sure I back stitch for the opening on the bottom where I’ll turn the case inside out. 

Once it’s sewn all the way around I open the bottom with my seam ripper and flip the case inside out:

Next I sew the opening, and the case is finish. Then I add the finishing touching with the rings and tassel…

…and there you have it! My case from start to finish.  

Easy Tips for Taking Great Photos

Every once in a while I get questions regarding my pictures, and I love to share any information that I can with everyone. Most sellers are already aware of the tips I’m going to share on my blog today; but some don’t. So, I’m hoping this blog post will help those who are looking for a cheap way to create pretty pictures!

The first thing I did when I wanted to create my low priced photo-studio was find the cheapest items possible:

1.       Ironing board - $3.00

2.       Two pieces of white cardboard - $1.00

3.       Tape - $1.00

4.       Left over gift box (optional) –Free, I found it lying around the house.

5.       Props!

As you can see from my picture, I’ve simply taped the two cardboard pieces together and sat them on top of the ironing board; and placed it against the wall—which is near the biggest window in the house. One tip photographers always suggest is the use of natural light. Natural lighting always flatters the items—unlike a harsh flash. Lastly, I’ve placed my old gift box on the left hand side of the ironing board, since the window is to my right. By doing this, it slightly brightens up the area using some of the natural light coming from the window. Tip: to keep the gift box from falling over I taped it to a box.

Next, all you need is your items and your props. Then you’re ready to shoot! I like using things I have around the house. I don’t like to go out and purchase too much. I like using glass with my items, but by all means feel free to use what you think works best with your items. I’ll just briefly explain how I use some of my props.

I love to use this ceramic cup to hold my cupcake toppers and to lean my small zipper bags against, like so:

Here is the result:

I use the same cup for my toppers too!

I also love to use glass items in my photos—I always love shooting through glass. I think it looks really beautiful.

Then I like to use real life items when photographing my purses and lunch totes. This will help the buyer see the actual size of tote.

I hope these tips and ideas helped you. Feel free to use this affordable at home, handmade, studio for all your items. Use them for cards too!

For more pictures of my items feel free to visit my website unify.etsy.com

Tips for Perfect Photo-ready Cupcakes!

As you may know being an Etsy seller isn’t that easy. Sure we have cute items for sale in our shops, but the only way we can show the world how cute our items really are is by creating a pretty mini-environment for those items.  What I mean by pretty mini-environment is: an eye catching picture with cute props, and great styling. Many books, forums, and blogs stress that great pictures are essential in order to gain sales—and they’re right. That’s why I create beautiful cupcakes and/or props to show off my cupcake toppers.

One thing I like to do when making my cupcakes is, make sure they are always the same height and are perfectly iced (but of course they don’t have to be). The tips I’m about to provide are basic, and I’m sure most people may already know them, but these are tips I never knew—these are tips I had to figure out on my own. So, maybe I can save you some time by showing you what I do! ;-D

First, I use boxed cake mix, and store bought icing. I feel it’s cheap and it doesn’t matter what they taste like really, because Etsians and potential buyers will only look at them and never eat them. But they do taste really good, LOL.

So go head and follow the instructions on the back of the cake mix box. Then once that and your oven are prepared go ahead and get your liners in your tray, and get ready to scoop!

Tip 1: I use this wonderful mini ice-cream scooper.

Tip 2: Only pour 1 ½ scoops of batter into each cup. Some advise filling the cups 3/4^th of the way up, but that leads to muffin-tops. By only using 1 ½ scoops of batter it will not only make a perfect cupcake; it will ensure you have enough for exactly 24 cupcakes.

Then once the baking is all done, your cupcakes should look like this:

Tip 3: I use jumbo size piping tools and a high quality piping bag.  In your local stores you’ll only find regular sized piping tools, but the jumbo sizes look much better and more professional.

Lastly, go ahead and add your signature pipe. Mine is just one circle with a dollop in the middle. But you can pipe the cupcakes whichever way you want. Make it your own so your buyers will always be able to identify your shop by your pictures.

Final result:

Product Gift Wrapping Part Two

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great day! In my previous post I said I was going to share a video I recorded of me wrapping some stationary and here it is. I hope you enjoy it, and stay tuned for another. I’ll be showing how I wrap my tags and cupcake toppers with poly-bags, card stock, and stamps.