Distressed Damask - GIMP Tutorial

This week I added a new free damask pattern to my gallery at openclipart - it's a remix of a cool botanical stamp, public domain, pure black & white. That gives it lots of possibilities so I figured I'd post up this quick GIMP tutorial to show how to make a really cool background out of it!

You can use this for any boring pattern that you want to make distressed and earthy looking.

Here's what we're starting with:

First I'm going to recolor it. I kinda like purple and gray this week, so with purple as my main color I use the bucket fill tool. I set the mode to "lighten only" so it only gets the black parts, and hold down shift so it fills the whole layer purple:

Next I change my color to light gray and go to Layer: New Layer and set the color to "foreground color".

Then Layer > Stack > to bottom moves it underneath the damask:

I go to Image > Flatten to get them on the same layer.

Now I want to tile it so I'll have a little variation in the distress pattern. I go to filters > map > tile, set the mode to "percent", click the "chain" to break it, and tile height 200% and width 300% - it gets a little more width since it's not as wide to start out with. Whatever you pick though make sure it's a multiple of 100% so the image will tile nicely.

Time to add some texture to it. I create a brand new layer.

On the new layer, I pick Filter > Render > Clouds > Plasma. Set turbulence to 7 and hit "new seed" a few times until you just like what you see, no big zones of darkness.

Go to filters > Map > Make seamless. Now I'm at this fine mess:

I set the layer mode to "darken only" so it brings out the damask pattern underneath
Colors > Desaturate so the layer is only gray tones
Colors > Brightness & contrast > Brightness minus 100 so it's darker
I adjust the transparency until I like what I see.

And now I have this, which is much darker in a cool vampire-y kinda way:

What do you think? A nice old wallpaper sort of background for any occasion. Playing with layer modes and brightness settings here can bring lots of interesting results, so have fun and let me know what works best for you!

Featured shop: The Peachy Rose

I found a lovely new shop via etsycontest.com recently that I couldn't resist featuring: The Peachy Rose. Allyson does lovely things with mason jars, in addition to the jewelry and bigger home decor items in her shop. I asked her a few questions about it all - you can also follow her on Twitter @ThePeachyRose or facebook: facebook.com/thepeachyrose.

Bronze & Coral Lace Painted Ball Mason Jar Vase
by ThePeachyRose

Tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a twenty-one year old college senior living in Southern California. My major is biology, which is much different from the girly finds you will see in my shop. I have a wonderful boyfriend of almost 6 years that will be leaving for the Air Force in December. Art has played a large role in my life. I loved ceramics all throughout high school. After, I began working in a pottery shop for three years. During that time, I was able to help create custom creations for people's loved ones. Soon thereafter, I began making homemade gifts for my own loved ones. Thus, The Peachy Rose was born and named for my dear grandparents who have always shown so much support in whatever I have done.

Lavender Painted Natural Wood Earrings
by ThePeachyRose

What got started making handmade items (especially out of reclaimed materials, how cool!)?
As a full time college student with a very small part time job, I realized my homemade creations were not only less expensive than buying pre-made gifts, but also meant more to the recipients.I have always loved thought of upcycling materials and making them beautiful again, especially with such simple items. My college is full of agriculture and large beautiful trees everywhere. I saw all of the branches on the ground and thought that I could make something out of them and repurpose the once lively branches. Earrings were one of the first things that came to mind. I love the natural look of the wood, but I also offer painted earrings as well.

Set of 3 Painted Mason Jar Vases: Peach, Mint, and Ivory
by ThePeachyRose

What got you to open your shop on etsy?
I first came across Etsy while looking for materials for some of my gifts. Everyone was just so lovely and proud for selling their own products and creations. I believed I was capable in opening a shop, finding people that love my items as much as I do, and have earnings that I could set aside for my graduate school. Since my boyfriend is going to be most likely moving out of state for the Air Force, the ability to retain my business and move it wherever I go really appealed to me.

Featured July 24th, 2013
Welcome Wednesday! The newest Etsy shops' items from $1-$50.
Natural Eucalyptus Wood Earrings
by Thepeachyrose

What inspires you?
Colors, seasons, and vintage items are the most pronounced inspirations for me. I love distressing newer items to give them that vintage appeal. Right now, the fall season is inspiring me. I love the scents and colors, and am in the process of making delightful candles and decor to match the warmth that the season brings.

public domain tartan pattern

Added a new tartan pattern to the scrapbook paper generator and I just love it, looks great especially in the darker colors.

Here are some samples of it in blue & purple. And yes of course it tiles seamlessly :)

Box-shaped zipper pencil case tutorial

Next month spoonflower is having a zipper pencil case contest and I am SOOO excited, I usually don't do too well at their contests but with this one my mind has just been buzzing. Because hey, let's face it, I got into etsy only after I learned I could buy zippers at bulk prices for 1/10th of the cost they are in stores, crank out adorable bags for all my loved ones, and then everyone else's loved ones too!

But I've never posted a whole lot about my methods, and I need to for this contest, so here are the instructions for how to make a zipper pouch that's got some 3-D-ness to it.

It was also a fun chance for me to try scrawling on my photos with an ipad stylus... my handwriting is not the most beautiful but this method certainly gets to the point.

Here we go: the box-shaped pencil case in only a few EASY steps!

First, the pattern: I've got two here, one that's 3" and requires a 12.5x12.5" square of fabric, and one that gives you 2.5" sides and requires a 10.5"x12" square. Both require 8 inch zippers, but you can use a smaller zipper and add fabric to the ends before sewing it to make up for that, or you can use a longer zipper and just add inches of fabric.

To start: lay your lining and outside fabric on top of each other, right sides together. Sandwich the zipper in there, teeth up. Sew along the top edge. I don't get out my zipper foot for this, I just hit that lever on my sewing machine that moves the needle over a smidge.

Then sew the other side of the zipper.

Now this is important... open your zipper, at least halfway!

Then sew the side edges.

Then the corners - leaving the lining corners open.

Check to make sure each side's top and bottom are the same length, so your box will have square ends, not trapezoid ones. Then turn the whole thing inside-out through the open lining corners. This will be really easy as long as you remembered to leave your zipper open.

And topstitch the lining corners closed.

And you're done! Here's about what it should look like:

Chevron day

Last week at the contest we got around to a wonderful theme thursday: Chevron day! It was full of zig-zag stripes and here were some of my standout faves:

15th place July 30th, 2013
Hue Tuesday! Gray items from $30-$32.99.
Chevron Pillow Blue Gray Pillow Cover .16x16 Missoni. ZigZag Grey Blue Pillow.Decorative Throw Pillow Covers.Printed fabric both sides
by EastAndNest

21st place August 1st, 2013
Theme Thursday! Chevron items from $1-$50.
Jewelry Organizer Jewelry Holder Barnwood Chevron Frame Display Silver Hooks
by TheHopeStack

23rd place August 1st, 2013
Theme Thursday! Chevron items from $1-$50.
Personalized - Made to order - Dog collar with gray and white chevron print.
by Charmanique

26th place August 1st, 2013
Theme Thursday! Chevron items from $1-$50.
iPad mini cover, Chevron iPad Mini Cover, iPad Mini Sleeve
by LittlePigeonCrafts

Featured August 1st, 2013
Theme Thursday! Chevron items from $1-$50.
Dolly Bow, Reversible Deep Pink Chevron and Polka Dot Rockabilly Wire Headband Teen
by Lorettajos

36th place August 1st, 2013
Theme Thursday! Chevron items from $1-$50.
Coffee Cup Sleeve Cozy
by AmandaJeanCreations

Tutorial: Making a chevron pattern with GIMP

Chevrons are totally in right now and it's easy to make a tile-able background, but I gotta warn you this takes a crazy math skill (multiplication) so I've used my brains to step in and tell you how to do it! And as you all know my favorite graphics program is GIMP, but these basic guidelines will work anywhere.

Step 1: Make a striped background

Start a new image, whatever size you'd like, then give it some horizontal stripes. It works best if it's as wide or wider than it is tall.

My favorite method is to just set your background color as something pretty, select a stripe across your image with the rectangle select tool, and hit delete. Any stripe pattern will work!

I went to my favorite website for color palettes to find this fun combo, titled Cafe 1950 by áfrica*.

Tile & rotate

First, pay attention to the height of your image in pixels because you'll need to know that later. My image was 100 pixels high.

Now use Filters > Map > Tile and tile your image by at least 300%.

Rotate the image 45 degrees, using the rotate tool or hit ctrl+r

Crop

Now it's time to get your diagonal pattern to the right size, so it tiles seamlessly.

Remember your original image height? I hope so!

Go to Image > Canvas Size.

Get out your calculator! Multiply your original image height by the square root of 2... about 1.41. My original image was 100 pixels high so now I'm cropping it to 141x141.

Under "offset", just hit the center button.

And for "layers", use the "resize all layers" option.

Now you have a diagonal pattern that will tile seamlessly - you can go to Filters > Map > Tile to test it out!

Turn diagonal stripes into chevrons

But we were going for chevrons weren't we!

1) Layer > Duplicate layer
2) Filters > Map > Tile - now set the width only to tile to 200%
3) Layers > Stack > Layer to bottom

Now select your top layer in the list and flip it horizontally using the flip tool, or ctrl+h

Combine the layers using Image > Flatten Image.

And now you have one tiny part of your tile-able chevron pattern... use filters > map > tile to see how pretty it looks as a background!

Design your own baby onesie!

A few months ago I published my baby onesie pattern and I am here to announce that I've since had my baby, and it fit! I'll update the other post with pics.

Then I got the bright idea to use my template to design some simple cut-and-sew patterns for my favorite fabric printing website, Spoonflower. I made three new designs for my geek baby collection... simple patterns that you just cut out and sew up.

And I'm totally fine with you doing the same thing, so here's the image template I used. It's basically a .jpg version of the printable pdf pattern, scaled for 150 dpi printing. Download the image, design your onesie, upload it to spoonflower, and it will print a perfect pattern on a fat quarter of organic cotton knit.

Feel free to comment here with whatever unique designs you've made with it, I'd love to see where it goes! You're welcome to use this for commercial purposes, but if you want to throw me a little publicity that'd be nice :)

Lots of views, no sales: Why Etsy promotion can hurt you

I know... you work hard on your art. It's nicely photographed. You want to tell someone about it so it's not just sitting out there lonely on the internet. So if you're like a lot of Etsy sellers you first turn to one of these places to quickly & easily broadcast your new listing to the world:

1) Your own social media pages - twitter, pinterest, facebook, your blog
2) An Etsy team with a "post your new item here" thread

But I'm going to recommend that you avoid all that, for a moment, and think about who you're truly reaching out to when you use those methods to "promote" your listings. For example, your own social media pages are probably stocked with your own family and friends, people who've already discovered your shop, and "easy followers"... the ones who followed you only because you followed them. The odds of any of those people logging on to go shopping today is pretty low. Your family is on facebook to see baby pictures. Your former customers appreciate staying connected, but they won't buy things every day. The easy reciprocal followers are too busy selling their own stuff to buy yours.

What's the harm, you say? The problem is that you'll be getting lots of views and favorites from people who are not your potential customers, and in the noise, you'll lose sight of the research opportunity that you get every time you list something. I've written before about how adding a listing is the best thing you can ever do to promote your shop because it increases your odds of being found in Etsy's search, and Etsy searchers should always be your target audience. They're shopping, for something to buy... that's who you want to get to!

So when you post a new listing you have another test case to see what gets the most attention, you can use a new combination of title words, tags, a different photo orientation, maybe even a whole new product. You can compare two different kinds of titles, and see which one gets the most views. UNLESS you're getting views from other Etsy team members. These legions of non-customers will never tell you anything about what works and what doesn't, they're pulled in by you, not comparing your item to a page of competitors. They're not real. They increase the views, and make it harder for you to see how real customers see you, but that's it.

I like etsy teams, they're great places to get valuable feedback or just chill with other artists and make some friends. But I don't like them for promotion, in fact I think they can hurt you. Before you post your item in a team, think about what you're really getting. That increase in mis-targeted views just isn't worth it.

My Top 5 Shop Critique Items

So as I wrote last week I started a shop critique team for etsy shop owners to get feedback and personal tips for improvement. It's been going great! But I do see myself giving the same feedback to lots of shops, so here are the top five things that a lot of new shops can do for improvement:

1) Use all five photos If you were selling your item in a store, customers would be able to pick it up, turn it over, feel it in their hands... but you're selling online. So try to replicate that in-store experience as much as possible. Show every angle, the inside, even the bottom! Convey a sense of size. Show different settings the item would work in - especially if you're selling fashion or accessories. What would you wear with it?

2) Have great product thumbnails When you view your shop, can you see the most important parts of each item without clicking the listing? Or are you cutting parts off that run off the edges of those thumbnail view photos? That's like fingernails on a chalkboard! I wrote a whole post on this last spring: How to think inside the Etsy thumbnail.

3) Start every title with a search term The first three words of your title are the most important, and you want them to look like something that a shopper would be looking for. "Blue wool hat" is very specific. "Set of three" is not, neither is "special occasion gift" or worse, the abstract titles ("the cloudless sky")... if it's a shoe say it's a shoe. If it's a scarf say it's a scarf. Then add the other fluffy words.

4) Have a real shop title Under your shop's "info & appearance" you can enter a shop name (mine is Spacefem) and a shop title (mine is "Specialty fabric and hand-sewn items from Kansas"). Make sure they're different - the title can help people find your shop through searches, so it should describe your product line, not just be a copy of your name.

5) Even out your sections Shop sections are wonderful, but make sure you're using them to keep things nicely oraganized. Never make a section if you won't have at least 8-10 items in it, and after that keep them even, don't have one huge section and then leave hardly anything for the other sections. And for heaven's sake use a search-friendly word for your section title, I keep seeing people add extra spaces in between letters to make them pretty, but no one ever searches for F A B R I C. They search for fabric!

That's my list for today, I'd love to hear what anyone else thinks though, we've all got our shop pet peeves. And that's why I love our team - you never know who will give you the tip to make your shop a winner on etsy. Every bit of feedback is a gift!

Treasury challenge winner

Almost every month in the Etsy Contest team we have a treasury challenge to celebrate the great items in the contest, and June's winner was this adorable collection of toys and decor for little ones :)

Congratulations to the winner and to everyone featured in her treasury!

'It's Kid Stuff' by JOYJU

24 Baby Blue Pastel BALLOON ... naissance $3.5	Stuffed Animal Toy - Dachshu... PlatoSquirrel $34	50 Cinderella Inspired blue,... PartyDelights $8	Mosaic Small Wooden Birdhous... trumosaics $24
Newborn Baby Gift, Custom Bi... LuvinEveryMinu... $12	Sale 15% OFF Euro Sham 26 x ... HomeMakeOver $25.19	Canvas mini tote bag, Leaf d... tagodesign $29.9	Crochet Baby Boy Owl Beanie ... wadamska $28
Gold style cufflinks with gr... YUKIJewellery $18	Turquoise Flower Girl Tutu H... bridalsilks $42	FEELIN' SMUG teenagers d... dfmidesigns $15	Skeleton Bangle,Skull Bracel... GemPearls $1.99
Summertime SALE - Bird Books... danamarieart $29.52	Baby Girl's full ruffle ... CoutureBabyPro... $65	Personalized Chevron Print K... pinkydotgifts $8	Teal and Pink Chevron Monogr... ThenComesPaper $45

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Etsy Shop Critiques: my newest team!

Well I took a big step this week and started a new team on etsy:

Etsy Shop Critiques

I'm really excited about it. For years, I've told people that improving your shop is a two-step process: first, you list stuff. Then, you ask people how you can improve. Then you list more stuff and see if it worked! You go around and around in this circle for about a year, and then you should be a fantastic Etsy seller... don't be distracted by promotion teams, facebook "likes", twitter followers or pinterest boards. Just list, get feedback, list, and improve again!

But there were roadblocks on that "ask people how to improve" step - too many critique teams were just not active enough, and the general Etsy forums keep being reorganized to discourage individual shop critiques... boo. That's what made me dream up a new way to make it work.

In our team, every new member is required to give three shop critiques BEFORE starting their own thread. It means that almost no request goes unanswered, because everyone is out trying to get their magic three. It also gets you started thinking with a critical eye... you can learn a lot from looking at other shops and asking yourself what they're doing right, and not so right!

And trust me, everyone is qualified to give a shop review. If you've ever bought anything in your life, made a single purchasing decision, you can give a customer's perspective. Maybe you're not an expert on tags or titles, maybe you can't even spell SEO, but you can at least tell someone what's keeping you from buying an item... is it weird? Overpriced? Not photographed or described well? What questions pop into your head when you look at what they're selling?

Then when you're done giving your critiques, it's your turn to post a thread and get some of your own.

We've seen lots of great advice since the team started, people are jumping right in and it's been really active every day. I'm optimistic and proud of all the feedback that's been given out, and hope the new members continue to come on in!