Red Bench on which to consider things.

I've 'revisited' a photo I shot in Barcelona a couple of years ago, given a bit of Eyeshoot magic and here it is:

Red Bench - by Sarah Franklin

My First Collection on Artfire

I have a shop on Artfire to sell my photos etc.  Or rather I don't actually sell anything there so I have upgraded to their Pro version which has a vast array of features, in fact, it's all a bit much.  I'm so used to the simplicity of Etsy that I always find other sites hard work.  They have a feature over there called Collections which are a similar thing to Treasuries on Etsy.  It's a much easier process on Artfire as you add the item you like directly from their shop and the system automatically messages all of the people whose work you have featured which saves copying and pasting loads of Convos |(in Etsy) and continually crashing Firefox in the process!  So I was very pleased with that.

Here's a view of what I've put together, click on the image to see the whole view.

I wish it were Sp...

Curated By: EyeshootPhoto...

ArtFire.com

Whole Lotta Love

I came across this great little scene while in a dull Manchester on Saturday and thought that it would make a great print, so here it is!

Whole Lotta Love by Eyeshoot Photography at Etsy

Treasuries featuring my work.

Here's a selection of recent Treasuries which feature my work:

Thai Pork Wrap recipe based on found shopping list No.4

Continuing my occasional post inspired by one of my shopping lists - this one features in Volume One of a series of mini zines I will be making to record my finds, you can find it here.

This list is rather extravagantly written on one very small corner of a very large, brand new A4 manila envelope which still has the price written in the corner.  This implies to me that it was written in a hurry on the first piece of paper to come to hand, but the super neat and organized, bullet-marked list belies this!

The ingredients here can only be for some sort of South East Asian curry, the galangal is a dead give away as I've only ever seen it used in Thai cooking (it's a relative of root ginger, it has a different texture, being a bit more like Chinese water chestnuts, the skin is more pale with pinkish markings and less tough than ginger, it looks a bit like a very knobbly Jerusalem artichoke.  The taste is decidedly more citrussy and ginger can be used as a substitute as galangal can be tricky to find)

I've done a little research and created a recipe of my own based on some I've found on-line and in my collection of cookery books.  It can be made with the ingredients from my list as well as the normal Asian store cupboard ingredients I would expect any cook to have.

Thai Pork Wraps

Chinese leaves
2 tablespoons of cooking oil 
6-8 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 shallots, finely minced
5 inches of fresh galangal
2 whole small red chilli, thinly sliced - leave the seeds in if you like it hot
500g of lean pork mince 
1 large carrot, shredded (you can use a mandolin or vegetable peeler if you knife skills are not up to it!)
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 lime - juiced
Handful bean sprouts

To garnish
Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Handful of peanuts, roughly chopped
3 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

Method
Separate the Chinese leaves, keep them whole, wash them and set aside on a towel to dry.

In a large frying pan or wok on a medium heat, add the oil, garlic, shallots, chilli and galangal and lightly fry for a minute, don't let them colour too much.  Turn the heat up to a high temperature and add the pork mince and stir well, keeping the meat constantly moving and mixing it well with the other ingredients so that it cooks dry and doesn't steam which will happen if your overcrowd the pan.  It is best to do this in two batches if you only have a small pan/wok.

One the mince has cooked, add the finely shredded carrots and toss for a moment or two so that they wilt a little.  Add the fish and soy sauces and mix well.  Add the lime juice (no pips please) and stir once more and remove from heat.  Arrange in a serving dish and add the chopped coriander, peanuts and bean sprouts.  To finish, sprinkle over the sliced spring onions. 

Spoon the minced pork into the Chinese leaves and fold over to make a parcel, eat and enjoy.

(Ingredients on the list not used in recipe - beef and mixed veg)

Keep it simple Treasury

I've made a Treasury to show off some lovely simple pieces I have found on Etsy, drawings, prints and other goodies all which have a simple line in common.

Keep it Simple - curated by Sarah Franklin

What's for supper, a little book of found shopping lists.

I have a secret, it's not earth shattering gossip or anything like that, it's a little embarrassing. People think I'm strange.

Here goes - I collect shopping lists, as I have mentioned here before. Other people's shopping lists. I look in shopping trolleys, the floor around trolleys and at the end of the conveyors at checkout and when I find a list, it makes me happy. I have a drawer full of them and really want to share the eccentric, eclectic, gourmet, fast food wonderful variety of them.

So using list I've scanned some I have made them into a little tiny book of sixteen full colour pages each one with a little glimpse into the life of someone who lives in my part of the world. I've even hand stitched it!

What's for Supper?  A little book of found shopping lists - by Sarah Franklin

Taste Test as a Treasury Making Tool.

I was in a very nice Treasury on Etsy the other day which had been compiled using the Etsy Taste Test which I think I recall hearing about a while ago but didn't look at it, just read about it being rubbished in the Forums, and that was that.  Anyway, when I came across the Treasury yesterday there was a link to the Taste Test and I had a look and liked what I saw.  It's a really good way of compiling a Treasury without sifting through pages and pages of stuff I don't like at all.  You can't enter any keywords, so if you wanted items on a specific theme or colour or location, it's not for you.  I like to make my Treasuries by look and found that this tool made the whole experience much more efficient and I think I'll be doing them more often from now on!

Sepia Toned Beauties by Eyeshoot

Holidays in Wales, early 1960s style.

I bought a box of 35mm slides a couple of years ago at a boot sale for 40p which turned out to be amazing.  I've never known what to do with them but somehow I didn't post them on my blog, so here we are.  I would love to do something with them, but I've no idea what!

Take a look at a small sample of the gorgeous Treasuries my work has been included in at Etsy recently. I'm a rank amateur at making these collections look good compared to the people who made these.

Click on whatever catches your fancy to go to the items in their shops where you can read all about them.

Above us only sky.

I took some photos off the terrace a couple of weeks ago of a spectacular sky, both blue and pink.  I forgot all about them until today when I applied a little magic to them and turned them into two new prints!

As soon as I wake up by Sarah Franklin

Above us only sky by Sarah Franklin

Up, up and away.

I've made a new Treasury jam packed full of beautiful photography from the Fpoe Team on Etsy.

Up, up and away.

(click the link to see the real 'live' version where you can access all of the shops and leave appreciative comments and buy beautiful art!)

A new floral digital collage sheet.

I've made a new digital collage sheet today and it's full of gorgeous flowers.  There are eight images each repeated six times in a neat 1" square.

Digital Collage Sheet of 1 inch Floral Photos for Crafts, Scrapbook or Jewellery Projects

On Etsy's Front Page twice in one evening!

I think that a double Front Page in one evening is a record!  The first one happened while we were at the Royal Exchange Theatre watching the world premier of an excellent play called Mogadishu and the second (which led to three sales and used my title) while I was fast asleep!

Tickled Pink by Eyeful

I Can Feel Your Smile by Rush Creek Mosaics

Manchester Mini Zine/Book/Album

I've made a mini zine called Manchester Scenes and it's sixteen full colour pages with one through the viewfinder image on each.  Pretty much all of the photographs were shot in the Northern Quarter in Manchester with one from the beautifully restored Victoria Baths and one on a grotty industrial estate near Piccadilly.  I'm pleased with it and it's now in my Etsy shop.

Manchester Scenes by Sarah Franklin

Spinning.

We visited Tate Liverpool on a freezing cold, damp and slightly misty round the top of buildings day.  Liverpool somehow suits this terrible weather and I was very pleased to spot this nice combination of old and new.  The mist shrouded tower in the background is the St John's Beacon/Radio City Tower which used to have a revolving restaurant at the top like the (former) Post Office Tower in London.  In front you can see the scarily spinning torture machine at the new and epic Liverpool One shopping centre. 

Spinning by Eyeshoot

Happy Birthday Jadey!

The first Birthday Banner of 2011, and it's nice one too!

Tick Tock.....

I've made a time themed Treasury as part of the UK Etsy Team's chain game.  I was featured by Penny Farthing Designs in her lovely collection, so I'm returning the favour.

Tick Tock by Eyeshoot

Stripes and Stripes

Here's my latest Treasury, and it's all stripes.  I tried to make it all from the UK, but there weren't enough items I liked to fill all the spaces, so I've gone global instead!  If you like it, please follow the link and click on the items to see all of the details.

It's all Stripes by Eyeshoot

Stacked Fag Packets

I don't know why this caught my eye but there is a pleasing something about the shapes and the fabulous colour of the wall.