Beads and Beyond Feature

This month Beads and Beyond magazine have covered my work in a two page "Meet and Greet" feature. It's such an honour to be featured in a major magazine article and I'm so pleased with how the photos and work turned out.
My shop has benefited as has my website and it's a wonderful thing to be able to show the family. My mum and hubby have always supported my work, but there were a few folks who thought I was mad to give up a well paid software job & pursue my creative dream.....
Artisan friends of mine assure me I'm not alone in seeing how much more there is to learn (or guilty of forgetting how far I've already travelled).

For those of you on the same journey as myself....a few quotes I've found inspiring.
"Use what talent you possess ~ the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."
Henry Van Dyke
"The purpose of Art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls"
Pablo Picasso

Enjoy your journey...
Nic xx

Making a Photographic Background

I thought this quick explanation of how to make your own graduated background in Photoshop (or similar) might come in useful. :)
It'll save you £££'s against buying one!

You need:
1 x Sheet of Matt Photographic paper (ideally A4)
1 x Ink-jet or Laser-jet printer
1 x Photo programme (e.g. Photoshop)



Instructions:1) Set your paper size to A4 (210 × 297 mm)
2) Use the Colour selector to select the Colours you'd like your gradient to be (e.g. Black & White)
3) Select the gradient tool (on photoshop it's behind the paint bucket tool)
4) Fill a selection by clicking and dragging the pointer across the canvas or selection. The larger the drag the more gradual the gradient will be. All of the control of the tool lies in the dragging of the pointer. Pressing and holding the shift key will create perfectly aligned gradients.
Have a play with whatever programme you're using their are normally a few options for different gradient styles.....
When you're happy print it out onto the photo paper and voilà you have your own professional looking photo background! Here's an example of something I took using mine (I selected the darker area of the gradient but by using an A4 sheet you can also select a lighter gradient)

My pics aren't up to studio standard but with the help of a cheapo ebay light tent and some good lighting you can get some great results....

As a comparison here's the same jewellery item on a white background and a graduated background

Nic xxx