For Natural Lighting, Fire is NOT Recommended. Seriously.

So I warned you I had tales of the light box. And I do. Natural light is recommended for pictures on Etsy. Sadly, Mother Nature has not been very cooperative on that front. Hence, the true light bulbs. True light bulbs have the faintest blue tint, rather than the white tint of a soft white light bulb. And just so you know, those suckers are HOT. I am getting our shop going on a shoe string budget. Enter a couple of $5 gooseneck desk lamps from Walmart. A pack of white tissue paper, and a couple of pieces of white poster board later, I was all set to create a light box.

I tried out a few boxes for this, but in some of my displays, I have lit candles. So I was thinking cardboard may not be the best idea. I was THINKING THIS THROUGH. At least, at that particular time I was. So here I am, flaming objects like this...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/182604592/aperitif-tealight-candle-holder?ref=shop_home_active_4

And no box to put it in. What I do have is an end table. And white poster board. And tissue paper. So, I slide the poster board under the legs of the table and up the wall behind it. I taped the tissue paper to either side the make light filters. I put my new bulbs in my new cheap lamps, turned them on, and started taking pictures like a madwoman.

I did mention those bulbs get hot, didn't I?

About halfway through all the items that needed new pictures, I decided to take a break, upload the ones I had, and get them into my shop pages.

The bulbs are also very, very bright.

So I sit here at my laptop, transferring pictures, while sweating and squinting in all that bright, glorious light. Which gets less glorious the more I sweat and squint. Finally, I looked up, annoyed at all that brightness and heat, ready to turn the lamps off for a moment. And that's when I saw it.

Don't use cheap $5 lamps for true light bulbs. I am now the not-so-proud owner of two desk lamps in the modern-art-meets-Picasso style. The globes of the lamps had melted, warped, twisted, and swirled into...well I don't know WHAT to compare it to, but I know I am never putting those damn light bulbs in them again. From the squishy feel of them at that time, I can only assume I was mere minutes away from a dandy little fire, in stereo.

I need better light fixtures to finish getting good pictures for my shop. But in order to get fixtures, I need to get sales. So go here...
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AislingsNeedfulThing?ref=si_shop and buy stuff. So I don't burn the house down in pursuit of better pictures. Please. Thank you.