How I Photograph my Jewelry for Etsy

Here is my method for taking photos for Etsy. I have a Canon Powershot A540, 6 megapixels, it was not terribly expensive. I prop my pieces up on some books in a styrofoam chest that I've cut a side out of and use scrapbooking paper underneath to provide color. I use an Ott light that I swing around that I can work underneath. The styrofoam provides a place to rest my arms if necessary, and bright white sides. I set my camera on Macro, which amazingly I didn't realize I had until I started doing this. It is shown as a tulip on the camera. I then upload the photos into the computer, using Picasa2 (which i was able to download for free) use it to brighten things up if necessary, and, thanks to a recent post on the forums, discovered that if you hold the shift key down while cropping it stays square. I then save it, and upload onto Etsy..