Image Cropping: Dissection vs Trimming

Since I'm stuck in bed here at the

hospital I have had a lot of time on

my hands to play with images on my 

laptop for my pendants.

I have noticed that cropping can be

a very important tool in the image 

refining process.

There are basically two ways you 

can use image cropping.

The first,

is to use cropping as a way to get 

a new image from a much larger one.

Essentially dissecting out a part 

of the image.

Take this image for example:

It's a really pretty picture and I 

can actually cut it to get a couple

smaller images.

This is from the top right 

segment.

And this is from the 

top left segment.

This is what it looks like

when you are done.

Sometime you have an image you want

but you need to trim it down to make it fit.

Like this image:

I picked this one for a friend who

loves Alice in Wonderland. 

I love the vintage image.

When I shrunk the whole image down it 

looked like this:

Even with some cleaning up

I lost alot of the detail 

and focus of the image

So I cropped the image in closer

concentrating on the important part

of the picture, being the face and upper body.

And trimmed away the excess.

See how much nicer that

image is?

And you didn't really lose anything.

The finished product looks pretty good

except for a tiny air bubble.

Does anyone else make their own pedants?

How To Make Images for Scrabble Tile Pendants

Scrabble tile pendants,

they seem to be all the rage right now.

My husband thinks they are a waste

 of a perfectly good Scrabble game.

But, he loves to play.

I think he likes it because he always wins!

A friend of mine was doing

some cleaning and wanted to get 

rid of her Scrabble game.

So I volunteered to "adopt" it.

Now that I had the tiles I needed images.

There are a ton of people on Etsy and other

places that are offering to sell you files 

or pre-made images. 

Don't be tempted!

It's really very easy to shrink 

down an image of your choice.

I mean isn't that the point of this craft?

To make personalized jewelry?

Alright, 

lets start with an image.

I happen to really like this one,

and since it is so famous and old no one

will be hounding me about copyright

infringement.

Use whatever photo editor your chose,

for my purposes I will use Picasa.

Now crop it into a roughly 

rectangular shape

Try to focus on one large image

that doesn't have a lot of detail.

Now shrink the image 

using the "Resize" function 

to approximately the same size 

as your scrabble tile.

I found that the best size was

65 to 70 pixels across.

I shrunk this one to 70 x 81

Notice that you have lost 

image clarity when it gets this 

little.

To fix this issue

use the "Sharpen" function 

and boost it way up.

Notice how much clearer the

image has become.

Then go into the "Color" function 

and up the saturation. 

After that use the "Exposure" function

and bump up the contrast of your image.

Trust me you want a little extra

color in the picture to make it pop.

I tried three images last night,

this is how it turned out after I glazed them.

Some tips:

• Use images with bright colors, you get better results
• Try to limit white space, pictures with color show up better
• Don't use a highly detailed image, the detail gets lost
• Experiment with where you crop a larger image, you may be able to use part of the image in a way you didn't see before.

I hope this was helpful,

later this week I'll post 

other How To's on how to 

make these pendants.

Stay tuned....

Grab My Button!

I finally got around 

to making 

my 
very own

Blog Button!

<center><a href="http://nekosknitting.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79Zwz5-C8P9UrIYZW9aMZVQ48mdVUiMLTk4yuOs_K6-qkhFt_UaHF8wDywv9c0rIxCifwilybyOvpnizX90ABjy2fFT1YaF1TGg2rngbpQrylX1sX7b1MGuowX1W0dWY7EGAa5tEAIvLB/s128/yarnball.jpg"/></a></center>
Kinda cute huh?Please feel free to grab it and share some blog loveby copying the HTML code in the little boxand pasting it somewhere on you blog.
Would you like to know how to make one?Ginger over at Ginger Snaps Craftshas an awesome tutorial
BTWIf you are having problemsfollowing via GFCyou can follow NekoKnits through Bloglovin
just click the flashing thingy!
Don't forget about our  Giveaways!(Just click on the giveaway buttons on the sidebar)

How to Monday: Tsumami Kanzashi

I hope everyone has enjoyed the Memorial Day Weekend, I know I have. While I was scanning the internet for some inspiration I came across a new trend that I struck very close to home.

Kanzashi flowers.

These are flowers made from little squares of folded material that are then sewn together. Very popular right now amongst crafters.

Did you know 

 it is a traditional Japanese art that is in danger or disappearing because of the lack of trained artists? 

There are only 5 artists that are acknowledged to be trained in the traditional art form still alive and practicing.

Atelier Kanawa 

is a studio run by a Kuniko Kanawa that still produces authentic pieces of Tsunami Kanzashi. Kuniko herself was trained by one of the few Kanzashi artists and strives to preserve this piece of disappearing Japanese culture.

Here are a few images from her 

Etsy shop

Karyu (Cherry Blossom and Drooping Willow) 

Tsumami Kanzashi Bobby Pin

Vintage Kimono Momiji 

 (Japanese Maple) Tsumami Kanzashi 

Hair Clip with Black Onyx

 set of Shou-Chiku-Bai 

(Pine-Bamboo-Plum Blossom) 

Tsumami Kanzashi for Maiko 

 Kanzashi of January

I remember being a child and pulling very similar hairpieces out of the big cedar trunk where the kimonos were kept in the basement in anticipation of Spring Festival at the JCCC. 

Please visit the Atelier Kanawa website, you will find a wealth of information about the history and culture of the Kanzashi flowers. Just by learning a little about what they are you are preventing a beautiful art from disappearing.

Want to learn how to make these beautiful flowers?

Here is a tutorial can be downloaded by Christina Stoppa

Kanzashi Tutorial

a big thank you to her for making this great tutorial free to the public.

Please check out her Etsy store

Kurokami Kanzashi

How To Monday: Waste Fabric Tutorial

Remember those monogrammed hand towels I showed you? 

I thought you might like to know how I did it.

Here's how you do it.

Waste Fabric Tutorial

Step 1.

Measure and cut out the appropriate amount of waste fabric.

Remember those blue lines indicate 

5 stitch increments, 

not the ten that are blocked out on patterns. 

I made this mistake.

 Step 2: Finding the center

Fold your fabric in half lengthwise.

then fold it in half width wise

This gives you the center of the material, 

mark it with a pin.

Step 3: Secure your fabric

Line up the center of your waste fabric with the center of your towel and fasten the waste fabric securely.

Ensure that the waste fabric is on straight and very flush to the towel. 

If you are doing a larger piece of work I would suggest sewing the fabric down with a few large baste stitches, but for a small project like this a few pins work just fine.

Step 4: 

Find the center 

of your pattern

This is my pattern, 

I used a pattern maker which you can 

download for free here

The arrow is pointing to a small mark I put on my pattern so I can keep track of the center of my pattern. This mark indicates the center of your waste fabric, all stitches should be done in relation to this mark. 

If you mess this up your pattern will end up off center on your towel so double check!

Ripping out stitches really sucks.

Step 5: Removing the waste fabric

All done!

Trim the excess waste fabric from around the design.

Hang on to those scraps! 

I use decent sized pieces to put tiny bits of embroidery on baby clothes.

Fray the edges by pulling the threads out one at a time both length wise and width wise.

You may want a pair of tweezers to help pull out the threads that are under the embroidery.

Be patient and pull in a smooth motion, don't jerk or snap as you'll just end up breaking the thread you are trying to pull out. 

It's a lot like tweezing your eyebrows! 

Seriously, use that same even motion.

 Step 6: Finishing

Turn your work over and using a very pointed pair of scissors snip any stray threads and ends off.

The back of your work should look like this, very clean with nothing hanging out.

With the iron on medium press both the front and back side of your work.

Use a clean cloth like a pillow case or tea towel to cover your embroidery, this will protect it from the direct heat of the iron.

 Step 7: Admire Your Work

Since I had so much embroidery floss and waste fabric left over I decided to make another set of hand towels. I was going for a "His & Her" kind of feel except with a little more personality. I liked the cheekiness of the "Yours & Mine" set.

It's more fun than the traditional "His & Hers" hand towels.

If you like the "Yours & Mine" towels 

and want to make some for yourself 

you can get the chart here:

"Yours & Mine" Chart PDF

How To Monday

Once again I have about zero interest in studying, I really should as the final is tomorrow at 9am, but I just can't get there. So instead I figured I would give you a quick how to on adding beads into a simple chain stitch.

Beaded Chain Stitch How To:

1. Thread beads onto the your thread

2. Make your slip knot and insert 

crochet hook.

3. Make a couple of chain stitches first.

The slide the first bead to the base of

the last stitch made.

4. Pull up enough of a loop to go 

over the bead, as you would for a 

normal chain stitch

6. Yarn over the hook, just like 

in a regular chain stitch.

7. Pull yarn through, making a new 

stitch with the bead contained within.

Pull it to tighten and make the bead 

sit securely.

That's it! Really, seriously easy isn't it? Now you know the trick to making simple necklaces like this one,

Click on the image above to enter my giveaway for that very necklace!

Now go give it a try!

Vlogging Vednesday

  This is for everyone who asked me "how do you do that?" when they see me and my little crochet hook going at it.  I finally figured out how to use Mr.C's webcam and recorded a quick video on how to crochet. If you have been doing this for a long time and just looking for patterns, try the "My Patterns" tab. Otherwise you can take a look at my video blog entry (Vlog) and then bop on over to Adeline's Daddy who started this whole thing and check out all the other great How To Vlogs!

And now with out further ado, or excuses, here is my very first Vlog. Hope you like it!