Watermarking Baby, Watermarking

Happy Monday Sweeties...

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Well, the Pinterest Controversy continues. Even we seemed to stir

up some lively debates that I'm still getting some comments & emails

about. But what I want to address in this post, is how to add a

watermark to your photographs. Some of you mentioned you weren't

exactly sure how to do this process & I'd love to help...that is if I can.  ;)

{disclaimer: it is completely possible that after reading this tutorial you may

know even less about watermarks then you did prior to reading this post, lol}

Most of the photographs I add to the worldwide web, whether through my

blog or facebook or flickr, I am not concerned about any form of copyright

infringement. They are put on the internet with the joy of sharing, to me that's

what the internet is all about. Sharing facts, history, information, images, creations,

joys & sorrows, for me the GREAT so outweighs the bad. But there are a few

images that I want to keep just for me. This post has a few of them &

therefore they are watermarked. I have dreamed about creating a card line

with some of my digital designs called 'JUST SAYIN' to go along with my

spoon jewelry line, 'SPOONIN'. {it could happen! lol}

Definition of photo Watermarking...

A logo or mark that is superimposed on an image to create a pattern that

indicates proof of ownership, typically used as security for copyright protection. 

On the first 2 images I added the watermark in Photoshop, which is a

program not everyone has access to. I put the words 'just sayin' on them,

but thinking about it now, that doesn't give anyone information on what

the original source is for the image. So in the image above I decided to add

my blog address to it instead, now we have an original source.

I use a free photo editing program for all my pictures by Google called Picasa.

Through Picasa I can crop, contrast, lighten, saturate, make black & white,

sepia tone, blur & add text. On the two images above I used the Picasa

text tool to add my watermark & it is sooo easy. It's literally a click of

a button, 'ADD TEXT', then you can choose the font you like, the size

you want, the color of text & it even has transparency to make your

watermark lighter or darker. I'm happy with the end result.

Here, I tried a smaller, lighter & more delicate watermark with Picasa. A watermark

doesn't have to overwhelm an image, that's totally up to you. There is an added  step with

Picasa though, you can not upload your photo directly from it. You must export it to a

folder, which I put on my desktop & then upload it from there. I mean it takes

all of 2 minutes to do, but for some this could be frustrating.

If you Google search, Free Easy Watermarking, you will find many different

programs to choose from. I looked at many of them, some look pretty straight

forward & easy & some require a download & look a bit more confusing.

Visual Watermark has a one time fee of $20, but looks like it has all

the features I would want from a watermarking program.

I found some good tutorials on-line about watermarking

& wanted to share them with you.

BYTESCOUT shares a tutorial using Widows Paint

ABOUT.COM has a simple tutorial with several programs included

OBSCURED CLARITY blog shares a tutorial for Mac users

Like I said in the beginning,

I hope I didn't confuse you more then inform you! ;)

Bottom line, copyrighting my images is up to me.

Protecting my intellectual property is my responsibility.

And the reality is, if someone really wanted to, they

could crop out my watermark & do anything they wanted

with any of these images. Am I worried....ahhhh, NO!

I'm too busy researching my family's genealogy on Ancestry.com,

but that's a whole other story!!

Big Hugs...

XOXO

vintagesusie

Pinterest Controversy, Oh No!!!

{all photo's from Pinterest}

Here I sit at 5am in the morning, unable to sleep any more.

The wind is howling on my mountain top.

I laid in bed for hours just listening to it

whipping wildly through the pines.

{vintage rose garden tumblr}

As my coffees brewing in the pot,

it's rich aroma stimulating my thoughts,

I think to another situation that seems to be brewing

on the horizon. It seems Pinterest has a bit of controversy

regarding Copyright Infringement...yikes, really.

{curious sofa}

As I understand it, Pinterest pinners are pinning pictures...

{sounds like a crazy tongue twister to me, lol}

that some original owners don't want pinned.

They feel their copyright & ownership of this content

is being infringed upon. If their photograph is going to

be used in a blog post, like I'm doing right now,

they want to be asked permission first. 

{red river antiques etsy}

Now this isn't everyone, just some.
I mean I DO get it. I do get that original art work is the sole
property of the artist. I know there are unscrupulous people
out there that claim other people's art as their own, or even
copy & try to sell it. Not only is that incredibly wrong & rude,
it's incredibly illegal too! But do I think that's what most of
the people on Pinterest are doing? No, I do not.

{magnolia pearl by vintagesusie}
An example with photography. I took the picture above at Marburger
in the Magnolia Pearl booth...I ADORE all of her ruffles. I posted it
on my blog along with many other pictures of my trip to Texas. The
reality is, as soon as I uploaded this image onto the internet it was no
longer just mine. Anyone could Google my blog or Google Maggie Pearl
& they could have it in minutes to do with as they want. If it was
important to me that no one use this photo & claim it to be their
own, which it was not, I would have 'watermarked' it.
'Watermarking' is a great way to make sure your
photo is referenced back to you.

{sarah clemens clothing etsy}

I guess my thought is, long before Pinterest was even created,

people were going onto the internet & saving favorite images directly

to their computers & what they did with those images has always been

hard to control. I know copyright is a very important issue, but I don't

think we can be naive enough to think we can mandate, legislate or

sue users or the internet into submission. That would be like trying

to control the tides or hold back the hands of time.

{the met}

Along with amazing technology, comes a lot of personal responsibility.

What we can do is be careful about what we put on the internet, because

once it's there...it never goes away. If there is any question that an image

may be used inappropriately, watermark, watermark, watermark.

{fleaing france tumblr}

I LOVE Pinterest! I really do!!!

To me Pinterest is a site filled with beauty, inspiration & life.

It inspires me to want to sew, knit, paint, wire, solder & pound.

It ignites the wonder in me as I research vintage clothing, jewelry,

costume design, the Victorian era & Tsar's & Tsarina's. 

It has introduced me to so many new creative people & places

where inspiration resides. It has helped people find me &

encouraged them to take a look at my blog & websites.

{plain & elegant antiques}

Pinterest can also be great free advertising for smaller businesses

& I love that too. I have already bought several things that I've pinned,

that I was able to link back to their original source.

So, here's my answer to the Pinterest Controversy. Pinterest is trying to

address the copyright issue. If you go to the Pinterest Blog, they have a html

code that you can add to any website that you don't want to have pins taken from.

I am going to try & only pin images that have an original source, not just Google.

I like pinning from etsy when someone has something for sale. I feel that may

give a seller an edge & help encourage more creative etsy product images. If

I use an image on my blog, I will make sure I link it back to it's original source.

And finally, if I add an image to the web that I'm concerned about people copying

inappropriately, I will WATERMARK it. There, I've solved World Peace!! LOL

{kreestal tumblr}

We, the Pinner's, are all kindred spirits.

We are looking for beauty in everyday life.

We are sharing our joys & our passions.

We are the visionary's. We are the doers.

We are the dreamers.

Now go forth & PIN!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

Haute Couture & Vintage Fashion Design, Ooh la la

I have no idea why, but lately I've been fascinated with

The History of Fashion. I spend a lot of my Pinterest time

looking at vintage clothing design & have fallen in LOVE with

Old Clothes. I think it comes from my LOVE of Magnolia Pearl

& realizing how much of current design is just a new version of

something old & fabulous.

Believe it or not, the first picture is of a newly designed Haute Couture gown.
Looking at it, it seemed I had saved a vintage outfit in my Pinterest board
called Vintage Rags that looked very similar. I'm getting a whole
new appreciation for the beauty of couture gowns.

Here again, classic styling with a big, beautiful brooch...
now what does that remind me of?

This gorgeous vintage lace, high neck tea gown from the early 1900's.

I could even see the brooch working perfectly on this beauty.

When I saw this Valentino gown from the 2012 spring line,

I new I had seen a couple amazing vintage dresses that had a
very similar style & look to them. {gorgeous detail}

I ADORE both of these, they are sooooo amazing!
The one above is an afternoon dress from 1905...

& this is an Irish lace coat from the same year...swoon.
Look at that lace work friends, literally to die for. I would so wear
these, maybe over a pair of jeans or Magnolia Pearl bloomers

A lace couture dress...

& an American lace dress made in & around 1907.

Another current couture ball gown overflowing with tulle...

& a vintage ball gown with ruffles of tulle,
aren't they both just glorious?

Soft layers of tulle will forever be in style,
whether it's 2012 or...

1957, the year after I was born.  ;)

This dress is completely glorious, I adore it too..
one of Elie Saab's couture gowns...

but, so is this vintage 1950's Cotillion Party Dress.
So here's the big surprise friends...
that this So Cal born & breed beach girl, who is the epitome of
jeans, a tank top & flip flops & always has been, is seeing the
beauty & drama & glory of fabulous clothing, vintage & couture.
That there is more IN common with newly designed couture &
classic vintage, then NOT & my appreciation of both is at an
all time high. I just swoon for a lacy, tulley ball gown whether it's
Worth or Valentino...so maybe it's not that I was born in the
wrong era like I always thought, but more that I was born in
the wrong income bracket. If I was filthy rich I'd be sitting front
row at the great fashion shows around the world, buying
couture for my closet & antique/vintage for my museum. LOL

XOXO
vintagesusie

What IS The Price of Art??

Sweetest of Hearts,

How bout a penny for your thoughts!

I have a question for you regarding

The Price of Art...

or, to get more to the point,

how do YOU price YOUR art?

 {A Penny for your Thoughts on etsy}

How do YOU come up with that equation?

I have such a hard time in this area where business &

art come together & ride that fine line of commerce.

Do you take the cost of your supplies & your time & double it?

Do perspective buyers KNOW how much each component costs

in any given piece? Just as an example with the necklace above...

the vintage coin purse cost $10

the copper finding was $5

the tintype was $5

the vintage Pepsi coin was $1

the skeleton key was $4

& those are just the main components.

There's also the crystal beads, rhinestone rondelles, copper chain,

copper wire, time spent designing, time spent creating, oh...

& I also made matching earrings with custom made, copper ear wires.

I've got to imagine my costs for the

'Penny for Your Thoughts' set

ran at least around $45 & it easily took me a couple of days on

& off, to make it. Maybe I'm slow & I do spent a lot of time

thinking about exactly how I want a piece to look.

But, I really, really LOVE how this set turned out

& to me it's absolutely beautiful.

I consider this art.

Now here's the hard part...

I thought about everything, supplies, time, the usual suspects

& when I listed it on etsy my price was $125 for the set.

I know, that's high right!

But that's for a handmade, one of a kind,

matching necklace & earring set.

Well, it sat there for a bit & I sat here for a bit & I thought...

'It's too much, I've priced my jewelry too high

& that's why no one has bought it yet.'

So, I changed the price...

I dropped it by $50 & priced it at $75.

And now I'll wait to see truly, what is the price of art?

Is it what the artist considers it to be worth,
or what the customer is willing to pay?
It's a dance that I don't know the steps to often
& it's a place where my insecurities come out.

I can tell you one thing I do know about the price of MY art...

to me, it is PRICELESS.

In so many ways, my art defines who I am.

It's what I do & what I have always done.

I have a creative soul & if I'm not creating

with my hands, I'm creating & designing in my mind.

Yes, I guess by default, I am an artist.

If no one ever saw what I made & I never sold

a single thing, my art would still be PRICELESS to me.

It is my passion & something that has filled my life with joy & purpose.

Whether I'm knitting a scarf or pounding on a spoon, making curtains

out of vintage tablecloths for our trailer or wire wrapping a necklace chain,

I'd be doing it no matter what. That's just how I roll.

So, from this moment on, I will go forth & create & I will

remember that the value of a thing is not in what someone is

willing to pay for it, but in the process of the creation it's self.

The JOURNEY'S the thing friends, right...

& I am going to try & be ever mindful of that. 

{sounds good, but I'd still love any thoughts or

suggestions you may have though}

;)

XOXO

vintagesusie

Smelling the Oranges & Kimberly Crest

 Greetings Sweetest of Hearts...

I hope all is glorious in your part of the world.

I want to thank all of you who took the time to read

my incredibly long Tsar & Tsarina post!!!

If you did you must truly be my peeps, cuz that means

you love history just as much as I do!!!  ;)

Have you ever wondered
what beauty lies in your own backyard,
that you just haven't taken the time
to discover yet??

I know I've had that thought from time to time.

So, last weekend my hubby & I went to a beautiful mansion

in Redlands, CA that I've ALWAYS wanted to go to,

but I was never willing to take the time to just

STOP & smell the roses.

I'm so glad I finally did!

This gracious manor is called

Kimberly Crest & it was built in 1897 in the

French Chateau style of homes.

This Victorian Era home was built on a 6 acre estate & the gardens

were designed with never ending Mediterranean borders,

cascading fountains, lily & koi ponds, multiple terraces,

curved stairways & an engulfing orange grove, all

reminiscent of Renaissance Italy.

I LOVE this art nouveau, outdoor light fixture.

Our first glimpse of the house, as we walked up the many

terraced stairs from the gardens.

The view looking back towards downtown Redlands.

Breathtaking...

Kimberly Crest  is a 3 story, 7,000 sq ft mansion which was

owned by the Kimberly Clark family, paper product magnets.

Does Kleenex ring a bell?  ;)

This is actually the back of the house,

looking out onto the gardens...

& the fountains...

& this glorious bronze statue,

isn't she Stunning!

Welcome to our backdoor!!! :)))

{I wish}

Great leaded windows...

& a fabulous doorbell.

Sadly, we weren't able to take any pictures inside the house,

but this turret room was a beautiful, sun-filled bedroom.

The doors were locked, but I soooo wanted to go out onto

the balcony. {yes, I did try when no one was looking}

I consider a tour as more of a guideline...

I'm always the last one out of any room. 

That way I can touch & look at the beautiful vintage

clothes & hats in the closets.

100 year old wisteria vines...

looking back to the front entrance...

overview of the front gardens...

these bird of paradise, were huge...

the carriage house, that now has a small

museum & gift store inside...

This is the main entrance where the carriages would pull up

& drop off visitors on the way back to the carriage house.

Walking back to our car we walked through the

surrounding orange groves, taking in their sweet smell.

How can you not want to pluck an orange off a tree,

peel it right there in the grove & suck on it's sweet juice??

You know what, we couldn't help ourselves.

We did just that & it was the sweetest orange I

think I've ever had...absolutely delicious!

I guess after 100 years of growing, somebody knows what they're doing

cuz these were to die for oranges. We're already plotting our next illegal

orange picking excursions....shhhhhhh,

don't tell anybody!

Hope you enjoyed our impromptu adventure.
 I can't wait to come over to where you play, to see pictures
of something magical you found in your own back yard.
Stopping to smell the roses, or in my case the oranges,
makes life sweeter. I'm gonna try & remember that!

XOXO
vintagesusie