Behind the scenes of an etsy photo shoot...

I was trying to photograph a few milkglass items for my etsy shop when a certain cat named Cookie decided to jump into the frame. (She's not for sale, guys!)

But you can see my little set-up that I use for photographing for etsy. I use a small table that I've layered with 2 fabrics--a heavy white canvas, then a sheer polyester-ish fabric (it's really dress lining material). Why two? The white canvas nicely smoothes the surface, then adds brightness to the sheer top layer, enhancing the blue hue. Next, I iron the fabrics on the table. Sometimes I will leave a crease in to help me position/align objects (these always get cropped out, of course).

The table is placed by a south-facing bay window that I have in my kitchen. It's a shame because all the fancy architecture in my house--1920's molding, a marble fireplace, a huge front window with plantation shutters--is in the North-facing front side. Since I live in a brownstone on a narrow street, facing other brownstones, this room is in a perpetual Cavern of Darkness. Like the Motel 6 ad slogan, I always have to leave a light on in that room.

Anyway, the only time I get crisp sunlight in the kitchen right now is between the hours of 2pm and maybe 3:30. This leads to me running around the apartment like a madwoman, muttering to myself about how I'm about to lose the daylight. That said, I always keep my props close by and do really simple vignettes like the one above, with vintage books.

All that, and then a cat jumps into the frame.

The most glamorous lady ever...

A few weeks ago, I was at a coffee shop in Philadelphia, when I happened to come across THE MOST GLAMOROUS LADY EVER (TM). There she is, above. Can you see her cigarette holder? The bejeweled barrette on the back of her bouffant? The devil-may-care stance?

There was so much glamour that my camera could not handle taking a head-on full photo of her. (Okay, the reality is that I was pretty sure she would tell me to go to hell in the most eloquent and haughty way, the likes of which haven't been seen since Joan Crawford's day.) But can I describe her outfit? Okay. It was a full-length black gown with a long cashmere shawl/cardigan/cape. Three layers of necklaces, two cocktail rings and jawbreaker-sized diamond earrings.



And the biggest eyeglasses ever. Like, Carrie Donovan huge. You don't remember her? You're kidding me...

There. Now imagine that, and you can see why I just *had* to get some sort of photo. I mean, it was all I could do not to ask her to adopt me. She just seemed like she had all sorts of stories, involving bridge games with Truman Capote, Slim Keith and the chimp who played Cheetah in the old Tarzan movies. While Burt Bacharach played in the background. She'd swear alot, drink Rob Roys and own lots of caftans and/or palazzo pants. That's just all in a days' work for THE MOST GLAMOROUS WOMAN IN THE WORLD (TM).

It's the thought that counts...

The location: The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park. (Why yes, I do summer there.)
The occasion: Tony Bennett, duh.
The lesson: You don't have to be fancy to make someone feel special and welcome. Or, I really should download my photos sooner, rather than later.

I spent today working on an apron pattern, which made me really productive around my house. Once my brain gets set to do something, it suddenly has an urgent need to do pretty much every task except the thing it set out to do. Did that make sense? While I did get around to constructing a pattern for the apron, I managed to go through my make-up collection, try out some eyeshadows, matted and framed a 60's print depicting the Boston Museum of Art, watched a documentary on Elizabeth Arden and then downloaded 400+ photos that have been sitting on my digital camera since 2008.

But anyway, the photo. Is this not the very definition of an underwhelming welcome? I'm amazed they didn't substitute the E's with 3's.

I'm guessing Mr. Bennett didn't leave his heart in Asbury Park that day.