DIY: Christmas crackers.

Christmas is my favourite time to get crafty because there are so many different things to try! Christmas crackers are a classic around our dinner table when having the roast. The photos won't be the same without us wearing those paper crowns. So I gave it ago myself, heres how I did it...

You'll need:

• A selection of small gifts 
• Cracker snaps, which you can buy very cheaply in craft stores or online
• Cardboard toilet rolls (start saving them early!)
• Wrapping paper of your choice. 
• Double sided tape 
• Ribbon
• Scissors 
• A selection of cheesey christmas jokes. 

So lets get started!

1. I started by getting everything ready for the inside of the crackers. I did this by buying little things that I could fill the crackers with. I then printed some cheesey jokes and made a paper crown. Check out this tutorial video on how to make your own paper hat, or buy some of amazon.

Individually wrapped sweets are great to fill the crackers with.

2. Once everything is ready, stuff the cracker with the joke, hat and present and the cracker snaps. 

3. Cut out a long strip of your chosen wrapping paper and stick some double sided tape to the toilet roll. 

4. Roll the tube onto the wrapping paper then attach with more double sided tape. 

5. Twist the ends like a sweet wrapper and tie it with some ribbon. 

DONE! 

  

(Surprisingly easy right?)

Photographing in low light - Tips and tricks...

Low light can be a real annoyance to photographers, especially when flash isn't an option. I've compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you out during a shoot with low light. As well as this i've also added  little section on how to fix bad lighting in post production on photoshop!

So let's start with when you're actually shooting...

• Up the ISO. ISO is a setting on your digital camera which will help you control the brightness of your photos. I won't go into too much detail as it can get confusing but all you need to remember is the higher the iso number (for example 800)  the more light is allowed in BUT the photo will have more noise or grain the higher you get. For example ISO 100 won't be as grainy as 800. 
• Use a lower shutter speed. The slower the shutter speed, the more light will get to the sensor. Be aware that a slow shutter will capture more movement blur. Using a tripod will stop any camera shake from your hand. A lower shutter speed can be great for evening or nighttime landscapes

An example of a slow shutter capturing the movement of the car lights. Photo by oneviewphotography

• Use a shallow aperture. Just like the shutter speed, aperture controls the light being let into the sensor but it also controls the depth of field. For more information on shutter and aperture please see my other blog post here. Using a shallow aperture such as F 2.8 can not only let in more light but also look great! 

an example of a shallow depth of field. 

Heres an example of using bounce flash..

• Use a flash gun. Sometimes using flash isn't possible, for example during certain gigs or wedding ceremonies. However a add on flash (aka not the pop up flash on your camera) can create great lighting when used correctly. There are different ways to use a flashgun, creating different effects but my personal favourite is a bounce flash. This is when you point the flash gun to the ceiling so that the light it the ceiling and creates a more natural light in the photo. Do some research and have a play around with your flashgun before using it on a client shoot! 

Fixing it in photoshop

Sometimes photos will come out dark, even if you try all the techniques above so that's where the power of photoshop comes in. Here is a few simple ways to get a better exposed photo in photoshop.

Use levels. To find the levels setting go to Image > adjustments > levels OR ctrl + L
Using the sliders in the box you can control how light/dark you want your image.

Another way to change the exposure of the image is to use Brightness/contrast. You can find this by going to image> adjustments> brightness/contrast.

Hope this is useful! Thanks for reading and don't forget to check back weekly for new tutorials and photographs!

Becky x

DIY animal toy christmas decorations - Easy!

This year I told myself I would try out some new christmas crafts and write more diy and tutorial blog posts, so here is my first festive tutorial!

I originally brought these plastic toy animals online for a different DIY but I stupidly didn't look at the size and they are way too small for what I intended. But thanks to the wonder of the internet, I got
some inspiration to make them into christmas tree decorations.

All you'll need is:

• toy plastic animals or dinosaurs
• Jewellery eye hook 
• a little bit of superglue
• Nail varnish (colours of your choice!)
• Ribbon or string. 

I brought a pack of 12 wild animal toys of Ebay for £2! 

I added a hook into the animal using a small drill, but the plastic was fairly easy to puncture so I reckon you could do it with some elbow grease and a pin. Before I put the hook in I dipped it into superglue to ensure it would stay. 

I decided I wanted some of the animals gold, so I just used this Barry M nail varnish to coat them. There are loads of different patterns and colours you could try!

You could try two tones...

or glitter or polka dots! 

Once the animals are dry all you need to do it tie string or ribbon through the hook and whey, you're done!

They'll be more christmas DIY tutorials coming soon! 

x

Making earrings with a glue gun!

I simply love making jewellery, and last week I took a trip to my favourite shop, Hobbycraft! Of course I probably spent a little too much, but I did get quite a few pieces for my jewellery making, which I see as an investment! ;)

I watched a few youtube tutorials on how to make charms using a glue gun, it was difficult at first but once you get the hang of it, it's an easy way to make some lovely earrings! 

The glue gun was from Hobbycraft (£5 I think) and the glue sticks were £1 from Tiger (bargain!)
Glue guns are so useful if you're a keen crafter,  and if you can even get different coloured glue sticks! 

For the most recent earrings I've made, I've been using a silicone mould by Gedeo, which I bought from Hobbycraft. It comes with small moulds of hearts, circles and squares, and they're the perfect size for earrings. The larger moulds are great for necklace pendants. 

Once your glue gun is heated up, just squeeze some glue into which ever mould you fancy. Leave it to dry for a few mins and then it should easierly pop out of the mould. Trim around any excess glue and now you're ready to decorate /colour! 

To colour the earrings I use a few coats of nail varnish, and then a clear one to add an extra shine!

Once coloured I use super glue to attach the earring backs to the charm I've made. 

Red rose stud earrings.

Other ideas:

While the glue is still wet in the mould, add a small nail art design, these are some little fruit ones I found. They were from the pound shop but are available online. Make sure you push the fruit down so it's visible through the glue.

  

Here are some sweet little strawberry earrings I made. 

Use glitter to add some sparkle to your earrings! This can be done by using glitter nail varnish or by adding glitter while the glue is still wet.

Use vintage pictures of flowers! Push them into the glue while it's still wet. (Make sure the flowers are the same size/shape!) 
Thanks for checking this tutorial out! Keep up to date with me via my instagram @beckynetleyphotography 

Awesome lego inspired crafts

So after candyland, I wanted to make a backdrop or scene suitable for boys (or girls) and Lego sprung to mind. I would love to make a crazy world of lego that I could shrink my clients into.

On my quest to find inspiration I found some great lego inspired crafts and life hacks.

Here are my favs

Lego plant head

USB stick.

customized lego letters by this etsy user: MosaicTreasureBox 

Lego Soap!

tutorial here

Lego + cake = the best thing ever.

Key holder!

Toothbrush holder. 

Lego cable holder!

Lego head jars

There are far too many lego diys to try! I'll be sure to do a tutorial if I try any of these, but for now I must get back to lego shoot ideas!

Quick HOW TO: Make a photo bookmark

Well hey hey! 

This weeks creative tutorial is: How to make a photo bookmark!

This is a very simple way to make a book mark from one of your photographs or a photo that you like! I’ve used my own photography for this. 

You will need:

• Your favorite photograph (cropped so its long) 
• Glue
• Thick cardboard, I’ve used mount board
• Stanley knife and metal ruler (mine has a metal edge)
• Hole punch
• Some pretty string or ribbon of your choice. 

So heres what to do:

1. Glue your photograph onto the card, I wanted a black side so I stuck the photograph onto the white side. 
2. Using the Stanley knife and metal ruler (dont use plastic as the knife may cut through it), carefully cut around the photograph. If the cardboard is thick, you may need cut the lines a few times. 
3. Now you should have the photograph nicely glued and cut onto the cardboard! So now using a hole punch, make a hole in the top on the photograph. 
4. Now just tie some string or ribbon through the hole you've made and your done! 

Step 2

step 3

Simple!

These bookmarks are great for presents or to sell at craft fairs! You could even personalize them with a photograph of you and your friends and give it as a present. 

DIY Glitter rings.

You'll need: 

A watch glass, and back of a watch OR a clear (non coloured) gem that you can easily glue onto a flat surface. 

Glitter nail varnish

Plain coloured (colour of your choice) nail varnish 

Super glue

A plain ring attachment. 

1. Get your glass and watch back ready (or gem). Make sure they fit onto each other. 

2. Do two coats of glitter on the inside of the glass.

3. Once the glitter has dried, paint your plain colour over the top of the glitter layers.

4. Ensure the nail varnish is complete dry. Then use super glue to stick the glass on the watch back. (Skip this step if you're just using a gem)

5. The final step is to super glue the back of the watch case onto the ring attachment. Ensure its fully dry before wearing (I've made this very painful mistake!)

FIN!

Other ideas:

Try experimenting with bigger glitter!

black and gold glitter to give a nightsky effect