Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

Basic Pony Pouches

Posted in Breyerwest, sewing, Showing, Tips, Tutorials, tagged , , , , , on March 14, 2019| 1 Comment »

BreyerWest is next week! Slowly, but surely, I’ve been working on getting things done and making sure I have everything.
I’m nervous (about everything like usual) but also really excited. It’s been around 5 years since I’ve been to a live show, and I’ve only been to 3 total. I’m really looking forward to it. 🙂

I’ve decided that I need to make new pony pouches for the small group of horses I’m bringing. I made a bunch before my last show but they’re kind of falling apart so NEW ONES IT IS! It’s a long term goal of mine to make pouches for ALL the horses anyway, (mostly to make moving them easier) but like many of my projects it hasn’t gotten anywhere. At least now I’m getting a start on it, and putting fabric I’ve had for years to use!

As I was working on them I figured I might as well document my process here, as a kind-of-but-not-really tutorial for the stubborn DIYers like me. 😉

I’m not using a pattern or measurements, but cutting everything by eye. I’m also keeping these very basic. They just need to protect my models, not be perfect!

I start by cutting a piece of quilting cotton and a matching piece of white fleece.

This one is being made to fit my Bristol, so I’m using him to get an idea of size.

I want the bottom edge to completely cover him when folded up, with extra at the top for a flap. I’m also adding a little extra material for a seam allowance. It’s always better to have too much than not enough!

Later I discovered that a standard pillow case is the perfect size for a Traditional pouch. With some models it would have to be wider/narrower/etc, but it’s a good place to start if you need a pattern.

With the good sides of the fabric facing together, I sew along the entire rectangle, leaving an opening at one end. A good habit to get into is to backstitch a couple times every time you start and stop your stitching. This will lock your threads in place and prevent them from getting pulled out when you turn the pouch right side out.

Once that’s sewn, I trim off the excess, clip the corners…

… then turn it right side out.

I closed the opening with topstitching, but if you want something neater, you could give an invisible ladder stitch a try.

Using Bristol again, I fold the pouch over him and use pins to mark how high I want it to go:

My sewing machine has a really hard time sewing through all four of the layers, so I use a walking foot to help it. This one I purchased off of Sewing Parts Online for around $20, and it’s helped SO much.

The grooved metal bits under the foot are called feed dogs. They pull the fabric through as you’re sewing. The walking foot has an extra set of feed dogs, so the fabric is being pulled from both the top and bottom. It makes sewing through thick fabric easier, as well as thin or slippery fabrics that shift and pucker or get sucked into the machine and jammed. (I hate that)

Once the sides are both sewn up…

… I turn it right side out again, and it’s finished!

I’ve also been sewing velcro pieces to the top, to help keep it closed. (and get this velcro used up, haha)

I’ve been making a few every day, and have a nice stack already. They’re not perfect, they’re not fancy, but they’re loads better than my old ones.

Is it next week yet?!?

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Recycled Breyer Miniatures

Posted in Breyer, Miniatures, Tips, tagged , , on November 19, 2018| 10 Comments »

Breyer’s holiday catalog showed up over the weekend.

Aside from a beach towel and a new shirt, there isn’t much in there I haven’t seen online already. I did see potential for a lot of instant miniatures so I chopped it into pieces instead.

Here’s everything I got from it:

There were several images that could be used as wall art for a miniature tack room/barn office/etc, as well as a perfect miniature calendar.

The other pieces required a bit more effort to put together. The magazines were made by cutting around the front cover, leaving enough for the back as well. Once that was cut out, I used it as a template to cut spreads from other pictures, then assembled them with a glue stick.

I covered the backs with more images cut from the magazine.

I loved the print on the beach towel and decided to make a miniature folder from it. This was made from a long rectangle, with one edge folded up.

I covered the inside with a strip of blue that was on one of the pages, glued it in place, then cut off the excess:

I used a pin to punch a few holes in the side. I wish I had this in full size now. 😭

The tote bag was made by tracing the image onto a piece of cardstock. I added 1.5 cm to each end, traced the image a second time and added tabs on the bottom. I normally do this on a PC so it’s a bit sloppy.

Edges scored, folded and glued in place:

I gently folded the sides in, added a ribbon handle and the image:

The mini notebook was created by cutting out two rectangles, then gluing those to cardstock:

Once that was dry, I used one to cut several rectangles from scrap paper. These got stacked together so a top and side edge was flush, (if that makes sense…) and held together with clothespins.

To punch the holes I pushed a safety pin through the stack into an eraser:

I used a very thin beading wire to loop through all the holes. The green piece is an unfolded paperclip, which is helping keep the loops even.

Here’s the notebook finished, after being trimmed:

I’m sure more could be made from other pictures too, and not just with this catalog, but any you might get in the mail. (especially this time of year!) It’s all about training yourself to look at things differently. 🙂

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How I Photograph My Models – Revisited

Posted in photography, Tips, tagged , , , on August 25, 2018| 9 Comments »

Five years ago I wrote a post explaining how I photograph my models. Looking back on it now makes me cringe.

So dark 😦

It’s kind of amusing to read. My photos have changed a lot in five years so I think it’s time to revisit that old post.

First off, what hasn’t changed:
My cameras. I use a Canon Rebel T1i for 99% of my photos. (I’m considering upgrading to a newer model though :3) I rarely use my Powershot for models nowadays. Lately I’ve been using an iPhone for quick IG photos too.
I’ve improved with learning how my camera works, and I was shooting in RAW for better control of the image until my computer decided it no longer likes opening RAW files. (whhhhyyyyy???)

My basic backdrop is still a white piece of poster board, and Photoshop is still my go-to for editing, but I’m using the full version over Elements now.

The biggest change I’ve made is lighting.

I have struggled SO MUCH with lighting. For the longest time I was trying to make due with natural light or my desk lamp, neither of which were giving me very good results.

I ended up finding an Ottlite on clearance and decided to give it a try to see if it would help. It did! For a couple years this was my photo setup:

Combining the two lights, my camera’s settings and some minor tweaks in Photoshop helped me finally start getting photos I was happy with.

But it has it’s downsides. It’s not portable, the light can be very harsh, and my desk simply isn’t big enough for any other type of set up. I’ve had more interest in setting up arena and “outdoor” scenes, and natural lighting worked ok… but only if I could catch it at the right hour and Photoshop everything afterward.

Other problems included space for the setup, shiny backdrops, and having to rely too much on Photoshop.

I wish I still had the “before.” This photo is VERY edited and I don’t like it when I have to do that

This Enterprise Props shoot is what pushed me over the edge. The final images are ok, but they all had to be salvaged with heavy editing. My scene setup with the natural lighting is in an extremely tight space, and is too large for any table, so everything had to be set up on the floor. Taking photos required me to lay on my side (literally pressed against a wall, lol) and awkwardly prop the camera up. The whole thing was just frustrating and painful.

I had considered buying a light tent of some sort, as I know a lot of hobbyists use those for model photography. The problem I have with those is the size. Sure they would be perfect for collection photos or props or tack, but my backdrops are big, and finding a big enough tent (or making one) seemed like another hassle.

Instead, I did some searching on photography lighting, and ended up purchasing this set of softboxes on Amazon.

These lights changed EVERYTHING and made model photography so much easier for me. They’re huge, but they can be completely folded up for easy storage. I can adjust the angle and the height, keeping them low to the ground, or up higher for something on a table.

Here is a basic, white backdrop setup with the lights:

This room has a gas fireplace and YES the backdrop is taped to the front BUT it’s completely shut off. I’m not that stupid XD

And the settings I used for those curious:

I vary all the settings whenever I take pictures. What might work for one horse won’t with another, so it’s nice to have several different photos to go through.

Here’s the final image. All I did was resize it, add a subtle unsharp mask and my watermark.

I love being able to get brightly lit photos at any time of day, at any spot in the room, at any time of the year now.

That was really hard to do before. And because the light comes from above, reflective backdrops aren’t a big issue anymore either.

I do struggle with over and under exposure. A more neutral backdrop (such as grey or tan) would be better for photographing horses, but I’ve been using bright white for so long that it wouldn’t feel right to change it now. :/

I’m still learning. But upgrading my lights was an extremely good choice for me, as I use them often for blog and sales photos. Setting up scenes isn’t as frustrating as it used to be, and I’ve been enjoying it so much more.

I still have to set up and tear everything down whenever I take photos, which is annoying, but at least it doesn’t take over my desk anymore. Someday I’d like to have my own studio/office space with a spot for a more permanent photo setup. We’ll see what happens in another five years!

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