Product Photography Tips: Using Props

 If you’ve visited my Etsy shop you’ll noticed that I tend to always use props in my images. Most of the time, they’re handmade but there are also times where I’ll head over to the dollar store so that I can have a few other options for a particular theme I’m working on. Lately, I’ve been having some trouble finding my ‘Christmas photo backdrop niche’—that’s what I like to call it, hehe. So I’ve been coming up with different ways to showcase the new 2013 Christmas items I have in my shop. Some of you may have already noticed some Christmas themed items in my shop already using the pine cone garland backdrop. I really love that backdrop but I was excited to try a few new things; and, I thought why not share my ideas and offer some seller tips on my blog? If you’re not a seller but you’re a card-maker, you could still use these tips when taking pictures of your creations (it’s so fun). I think adding props to photos makes them stand out—or at least I think they do, hehe.

You’ll notice in the first image above I purchased a Kraft bag covered with white snowflakes, a pack of green, white, and red pom-poms, candy canes, and a small box. Those items where all purchased from my local dollar store but the pine cone garland was purchased at Micheals (it wasn’t cheap but I had to have it, haha). 

The first thought I had when I found the pom-poms at the dollar store was, “this would make for a cute handmade garland”, so once I got home I just grabbed a needle and thread and began stringing them up in no particular pattern. 1 ½ packs of pom-poms made me a 5 foot long garland! 

Here’s how I used the pom-poms 2 ways:

Picture 1: I simply scattered the remaining loose pom-poms around my product. 

 Picture 2: I taped the garland to the background of my make shift photo studio.

Next is this beautiful pine cone garland that I bought at Michaels in Downtown, Los Angeles. I’m not sure if they have these at all Michaels’ but it was $14.99. I think it’s so cute.

Here’s how I used it: To show off the cards from my Winter Wonderland collection I wanted a dark background in order to make the cards appear bright, so I used some burlap fabric and hung the pine cone garland in front of it. That garland was so heavy, though, I can’t count the amount of times it fell, haha.

Do you remember that box in the first picture? Well purchased that box with the intention of never actually showing it in the images. I planned on covering it with some Kraft wrapping paper for more of a eco-friendly vibe. I also purchased this box so I could display my handmade tags on them.

What I did was: Cut a piece of the Kraft wrapping paper; stamp it with a Merry Christmas sentiment. Wrap it around the box, and add some Christmas themed twine. I think it came out really cute. I just need to find a better spot to shoot these tags in. I wasn't happy with the yellow color I was getting from the wooden table I had it on. 

Lastly, I wanted to use this pretty snowflake Kraft bag so show off my Yeti tag. I thought the light blue and green colors would match well with this bag. I think using props for your items not only makes them look great but it also shows the potential buyer different ways they can use your item, it also shows that you take pride in your products.

Buying props for your small business photo-shoots never has to break the bank—I certainly don’t let it, hehe. I always set a budget for myself and I try to stick buy it. I’m always at the dollar store walking through ever aisle thinking, “how can I use this as a prop”, or “what can I turn this into?”. Get crafty with it, it’s so much fun and it having unique pictures definitely separates your pictures from all the rest.  

My Visit to Paper Source, in Old Town, Pasadena

Oops, I meant for this article to post at Midnight for my usual ‘Monday’ post but I accidentally hit the ‘Publish’ button too soon and now this is a Sunday night post, hehe, and I’m going with it. Moving forward, this Friday I visited Paper Source for the first time. My sister had been there before while in Old Town Pasadena and quickly told me about it. I've wanted to check this store out ever since, and finally made time to visit while having lunch with my mom and sisters. As soon as I walked in the door at Paper Source I was in awe. There were so many colors, and products—I was in heaven. There is so much inspiration at this store, and many tools for you to get your crafting on; for instance, their huge wall of high quality rubber stamps, embossing powders, favor boxes, tags, and so many other things. Their wall of wrapping paper has also got me thinking about not only using them to wrap gifts but also trying to figure out what else I can use them for because each print is so beautiful; and, I’d love to see what else I can use them for—perhaps things like, using them as a background while taking product images, or napkin rings. So many possibilities. But enough talk—take a look at all the pictures I took below. 

What do you think? Great store right? I loved these two stamps I purchased from their store—and I couldn't help but get myself some stickles, hehe. I’m definitely already planning to return very soon because they have so many things I’d love to get my hands on. 

How it’s made Monday—Making Thank You Notes

If you've been following my blog for a while now you’ll know that I take pride in packaging my items before shipment. I love to provide a whimsical experience for my customer; and I’m always trying new ways to make my packaging look super adorable. Not only do I enjoy trying new ways to say thank you to my customers, I also like sharing how I go about doing making them too.

I love to use paper-scrapes from previous crafting projects and I’m going to show everyone how I use my lovely paper-leftovers. Saving your paper scrapes is so crucial because you can sometimes use those scraps for other projects like tags, toppers, and stamp image paper piecing. I have a box filled of different color paper scrapes and I love to go back to that box and search for the color pieces I need before starting from a full sheet of paper.

This time around I’m scraping (pun intended) my ‘Thank you’ card and instead started making the ‘Thank you’ circular tag with a washi tap accent. Really quickly—if you’re unfamiliar with washi tap, it’s a Japanese tape that lots of crafters use for decorating cards, tags, etc. Go ahead and give it a google if you’d like to learn more about them; and, to find the store that I buy my washi tape from you can click here.

So, I’m using ivory leftovers for my ‘thank you’ tags, and as you can see I have lots of them!

I’m also using my ‘thank you’ stamp courtesy of Lawn Fawn. I absolutely love that they provide a free gift stamp with all their orders. It makes receiving their packages even more fun. 

I’m also using one of my favorite Lawn Fawn sets ‘Love ‘n breakfast’ for this thank you tag and I’m using my 2 inch craft punch. 

…and this is how I use the stamps

Next, I simply color in the images and place some washi tape on the back of the tag to seal my bag (but sometimes I skip this process if I’m not using a craft bag), then I apply some more washi tape over the tag to secure it. That’s it! It’s cute, simple, and whimsical. 

Cute Things You Can Make Without a Cricut—Using Affordable Tools

    Every once in a while I’ll have friends over for a visit, and they (and their children) are always immediately drawn to my craft table. I’m always willing to answer any questions they may have about what certain things are, how they work, and how much certain tools cost. But one of the most common statements I get from visitors is, “I wish I could make these cards, or these cupcakes toppers, but I don’t have a Cricut.” Every single time I heart that I’m not convinced, lol. I always say, “You don’t NEED a Cricut to do most of the things I make.” Sure the Cricut can make tons of things—but to be honest most of the time I only use my Cricut for printing out tags, and making Hello Kitty items. I love being hands on with every step of my craft—the items I create with tools and my hands always seem to come out better and I feel that they have more value.

What are those tools you ask? They’re craft punches! –Craft punches, high quality card stock, stamps, ink, glue, ribbon, imagination, love, etc. Here are some of the craft punches I use to create cupcake toppers, tags, cards, and embellishments.

Once I’ve punched out the shape I want, I just use some stamps to decorate the paper and these are some of the items I’ve made using these tools (without a Cricut).

Therefore, you can create some of these too. Perhaps with every paycheck you can buy a craft punch, some paper (when it’s on sale), and other needed tools—to start creating and sharing these things with the world.