Love of Learning

Posted by on September 24, 2015

Happy Thursday! I saw the below *BATHROOM* monogram guide floating around Facebook this week so I thought I would share! I know when I do towels, it’s usually a guessing game as to how big to make the monogram. I usually try to fill up my 5×7 hoop when doing a regular towel monogram, but this is way more helpful! monogram guide

In case you didn’t know, I’m a big fan of Craftsy video classes! They are having a “Love of Learning” sale now through 9/27 on over 550 classes, and many are embroidery related. Most are under $20! You can watch at your own pace, watch over and over again, take notes, ask questions, etc. You can click on the photo link below to go to Craftsy and then click on the Embroidery link to see what all they have related to embroidery and applique. I noticed a few that I was interested in and haven’t seen yet – there are a couple on hooping! There’s also a cute one on In the Hoop gifts! I haven’t really delved in to ITH projects but they are all so cute! There’s also a great Product Photography video class I posted this summer which was super helpful!

Social Embroidery

Applique Cafe is a proud Affiliate of Craftsy!

Check out our double Digitizer’s Pick ~ Gingerbread Girl and Gingerbread Man 2! You can find both of these and our other new designs at Applique Cafe.  I have 3 more new ones to list in the morning. These are cute, they match and are only $1.50/each!

adigitizerspick 500

Have a great weekend!

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Labor Day Specials

Posted by on September 5, 2015

Needleheads gift card sale

My Monogram Wizard Plus People…. Take note:
1) We are now selling $25 gift cards to the Needleheads {Font} Store and they are on sale for $19.99/each. (Save $5 here –http://www.appliquecafe.com/catalog.htm?item=892)
2) Needleheads has a few *new* fonts in the store, and several of their fonts are on SALE (Save $2-3 here)
3) More Discounts (Save MORE here):
$10 off a $35 or more Purchase
$25 off a $60 or more Purchase
$50 off a $100 or more Purchase
4) Some of my *favorite* fonts from the Needleheads Store: Bistro, Camp, Happy, Kazoo, Library and Sweet Script! You can also add new Alpha Paks like Master Circle, Blackboard, Pendant, etc.
5) Who doesn’t love fonts? It’s right up there with my fabric addiction. labor day sale

We are having a Labor Day SALE at Applique Cafe! All designs are 35% off through Thursday, September 10th!

Craftsy is also having a great sale on classes & supplies this weekend! On my blog, search “Craftsy” for several blog posts I’ve done in the past 6 months or so on awesome embroidery & product photography classes!

craftsylaborday

Lastly, check out our new Digitizer’s Pick which is our Pumpkin 13 Design! This pumpkin could be sewn with a wide variety of cute fabrics! I am obviously partial to polka dots and ginghams, but would love to see this in some other cute fall fabrics! adigitizerspick 500

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Product Photography

Posted by on July 8, 2015

Hey friends! I hope you are all having a fabulous summer even though it is half over! I’m trying to savor every minute, hour, day and week we have left of no-backpacks, uniforms, yucky snack bags and homework. I may be sleeping until 9:00 too. Anywho… I have found yet another fabulous (yes I used the word fabulous again) Craftsy video to share with you! This one is less embroidery related, but sort of embroidery related in that it’s on PHOTOGRAPHY. More specifically, PRODUCT photography. This is something I struggle with so I couldn’t wait to watch this one. It took me a couple of days to watch all the lessons and soak it all in, but it was well worth it! There are a couple of lessons I need to re-watch as well.

Here are some of the highlights:

*Learn how to use natural light (window light for example)

*Good product photography = selling more in your online shop (our #1 goal, right?)

*Learn exactly what Aperture, White Balance, Shutter Speed and those other camera settings mean and how to use them to your benefit when taking product photos (this is the part that always confuses me!)

*A tripod is your friend (I need to get ours out and knock the dust off)

*The best time to take indoor photos using natural light

*How to tell the story of your product (adding props to really have your product tell it’s story)

*Different types of lighting, shadows and how to take outdoor photos

*Photo editing how-to (she used Photoshop, but I think some of the same features she used can be found in Photoshop Elements or other photo editing software out there)

This class is 1/2 off through next Wednesday, July 15th for my Applique Cafe Blog readers when you click on the link/photo below! As a reminder, when you purchase a video class from Craftsy, it is yours to keep. You can watch it over the course of 2 days if you want to (like I did). You can watch it 8 times if you want to (I will be watching the part about your camera 4 more times probably). You can pause to take notes, answer the phone, let the dog out or make a run to Starbucks if you want to. You can also ask questions if you need to!

Product Photography At Home

Jessica is very calm and easy to understand and shows great examples of how to “style” your product for photos. She uses examples such as soap, jewelry and clothing, but I think her tips would be helpful with any product. With online sales, your photo is ALL YOU HAVE to sell your product! Make it look good! Click on the photo for the discounted class!

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