On Vacation!
Hi, everyone! I am off to go camping in Banff and Jasper National Parks until August 3rd. I don't think I'm going to have any internet access while I'm camping, so I won't be able answer any emails or convos.
Please feel free to contact anyway, as I will be answering all of my emails on the 3rd when I get back.
Thank you guys for understanding!
Teri
ImaginativeIntention
Featured in 2 Treasuries!
So this morning while I was wandering aimlessly through the world wide web, I decided to check Craftopolis (http://www.craftopolis.com/). Low and behold, I was featured in 2 fabulous treasuries! I'm so excited that I decided to share it with you!
The first one is titled Boulevard Nights and it was curated by aLittleUnraveled! They used my Black and White Damask Polymer Clay Necklace (top left hand corner).
See the full treasury here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=72319
And the second is titled Flyin' High Above the Fair and it was curated by WhimiscalExpressions! They featured my Ferris Wheel Polymer Clay Necklace (2nd row, 2nd column).
See the full treasury here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=72302
I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do!
A special thanks to the fabulous curators for doing such a wonderful job putting those treasuries together!
Gerber Onesies...Legal Issues
I was lurking in the Etsy forums the other day, when I came across someone who had had some of their listings pulled from the site for trademark infringement and was confused as to why.
*They were selling embellished 'onesies' on Etsy.
So, out of curiousity, I shot off an email to Gerber asking for specifics as to what they consider trademark infringement. I received this response from an attorney with Gerber, here is an exerpt from their email:
"You are entitled to use Gerber's trademark "Onesies" when you are referring to an actual Gerber Childrenswear-brand Onesies-brand one-piece garment.
You can identify such garments by the presence of the Gerber baby head tag in the neck area and a rectangular white tag with the word "onesies" in blue located just above the left leg opening of the garment.
There are other features that distinguish my client's garment from that of others, and if you have any question regarding whether you are selling a genuine Onesies garment, please ask.
If you use the term "Onesies" in relation to only genuine Gerber Childrenswear one-piece underwear, then you are using the trademark properly, provided your use does not suggest an affiliation with Gerber.
You cannot, however, use the terms "Onesies", "Onesie", or anything similar if you are referring to a garment that is not a genuine Gerber Childrenswear garment. "
Hopefully, this will clear up some of the issues other sellers may be having or might have had in the past.
Photograph provided by: SewItForYou
Go Daddy + Facebook = $50 free ad credit!
I've been humming and hawing about purchasing advertising on Facebook, I've been heard great success stories and horrible flops! Someone mentioned how they received a free Facebook ad credit and since then, I figured I would wait until another ad credit popped up and it finally did!
If you purchase a domain name through Go Daddy for $9.99, you can receive a $50 Facebook ad credit!
Expiry: September 30, 2009
Tip: Even if you aren't thinking about starting up a website, you can just simply redirect to your Etsy site or you can make sure you have it available for future use!
TERMS & CONDITIONS: The promotional credit must be applied to a new Facebook Advertiser account within 15 days of creating such account and is valid only for purchase of advertising through Facebook's online advertising system in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. May only be redeemed by Facebook users who purchase Go Daddy qualifying products. Advertisers will be charged for advertising that exceeds the promotional credit. Advertisers will need to suspend their ads if they do not wish to receive additional charges beyond the free credit amount. Subject to ad approval, valid registration and acceptance of the generally applicable Facebook Advertising Terms and Conditions. The promotional credit is non-transferable and may not be sold or bartered. Offer may be revoked at any time for any reason by Facebook. One promotional credit per individual. Promotional credit equals $50.00 USD which can be applied to the purchase of advertising through Facebook's online advertising system. A $1.00 activation fee is charged separately. Offer valid only for sign ups using the code or URL link received upon purchase of Go Daddy shared hosting, virtual/dedicated hosting, WebSite Tonight®, Quick Shopping Cart®, Quick Blogcast - all plans qualify. Expires 90 days from date the customer sets up their account with Facebook. Should you purchase more than one Go Daddy product that qualifies for the above offer, you will receive the highest eligible credit value. Subsequent purchases do not qualify for additional Facebook credit.
New Michaels Coupon - 50% off!
I just came across a 50% off coupon for Michaels and I figured I would pass it on;
http://img.dealspl.us/images/coupon/1247427663_0022.jpg
Creating a new line using vintage viewfinder photographs!
I'm not exactly sure why, but I absolutely adore "vintage" style photograph that look like they've been basically put through the ringer - with scuff marks, holes, scratches, etc. I'm especially fascinated with those that have a viewfinder border.
What is a viewfinder border?
- Basically, it's a photograph that appears to have been taken through the viewfinder of another camera.
Anyways, I'm working on a series of necklaces using vintage-style photographs. The subjects are going to be varied, birds, flowers, architecture, etc - anything that interests or amazes me!
Here's a few examples:
Let me know what you think! I'm ALWAYS looking for new subjects, please let me know if you see anything that you would like to pass along!
Backgrounds, Backgrounds, Backgrounds!
Well up in here in good ole Saskatchewan, Canada in the winter, the temperature can drop below minus 40 C, which basically means there is no well in hell, I'm going outside to take pictures. So a good indoor light setup is essential! I've been playing around with my lightbox now that it's setup properly and I got to thinking about how much I hate white backgrounds (mostly because I don't do them particularly well)!
So I've been wandering around for the last month or so, collecting backgrounds for my photographs. Here are some of the items I came up with:
Scrapbook Paper! This was a total fluke because I don't scrapbook at all! I just happen to wander down that particular aisle at Michaels and EPIPHANY! It comes in a huge variety of designs and colors.
- Advice: Choose a couple of papers that best reflect your work, and stick with them, it will make your work more recognizable!.
My dad found this rock while he was camping a couple of years ago, it has a gorgeous orange and black coloring to it. I found it in their garden the other day (and sort of swiped it), so that I could see how it did as a background.
I found this piece of wood in my parent's back yard in their tree line. I didn't really think much about it but when I used as a background, it adds a real nice, rustic texture to the photo.
I picked up the piece below at a dollar store for $1.25. It doesn't really look like much when I first picked it up BUT the way it's shaped, it's profile is a perfect, inexpensive mimic of a person's bust. Which will save you $25+ on buying a true jewelry display bust!
Other backgrounds ideas:
- Ceramic tiles (not the shiny ones, they'll leave a glare in the photo
- Small sheet of brushed steel
- Rusty iron (think farm implements)
- Small pile of mulch (could be messy)
- A roof shingle
- etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.....
There are literally thousands upon thousands of different background display ideas. You just need to keep your eyes open for anything that seems unique or different. Even if it doesn't look good at the time, it doesn't hurt to bring it home and try it!
Has Your Treasury Been Featured on the Front Page?
I recently received a question asking if there was a way to find out if the treasury you curatored (created) was posted to the Front Page. After a few minutes of double checking my theory, I notified them that in fact there was a way. How, you ask? Well, these are the steps:
1.) Go to the Etsy Front Pager's Photostream on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28488923@N05/
- This is a Flickr group that collects and posts photographs of all of the treasuries that were featured on the Front Page!
- Tip: If you've been featured and have a blog, you can copy & paste the treasury photo from the Etsy Front Pager's group and post a write up in your blog, letting others know you've been featured on the Front Page!
2.) Go to the search bar at the top right hand corner and enter your Etsy username (i.e. ImaginativeIntention). Click search.
3.) The search will bring up any Front Page treasuries you were featured on and if your a curator of any of the front page treasuries.
Well, I hope that helps anyone else who might have been wondering about it.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!
Offering a coupon or gift certificate on Etsy
A great way to encourage repeat business is through exclusive sales to current customers, event attendees, etc. Unfortunately, Etsy isn't setup to automatically to calculate a discount. So, what do you do?
Option 1:
1.) Give your customer a predetermined code or message (something that you'll remember).
2.) Let them know that they'll need to add it the "Message to Seller" section during checkout.
3.) You can either send them a revised invoice or refund the difference via Paypal.
- When refunding via Paypal, remember to use the "Refund" button at the bottom of the transaction page, otherwise the customer will be charged for accepting the refund.
- When refunding via Paypal, remember to use the "Refund" button at the bottom of the transaction page, otherwise the customer will be charged for accepting the refund.
Option 2:
1.) Have the customer convo you before they purchase, this allows you to adjust the price of the listing for the customer beforehand.
You can also add gift certificates to your shop for current and new customers.
- Remember to add a line in the description, that the gift certificate is accepted in your shop (and not for the entire Etsy site).
Well, I came across a few people with a few questions and I hope I cleared everything up. If anyone has any suggestions or questions, please let me know!
Finding the Fall Color Report
After some aimless wandering again last night, I came across what could be a invaluable resource especially to those who are slaves to the fashion trends!
Usually 6 to 8 months prior to the season (i.e. spring, summer, fall, winter), the wonderful people at Pantone put together a "Color Report" that previews the colors of that season that in turn will be used by the top designers! You always here that "this color" will be the "it" this season, this is how you find before the season even begins!
What does Pantone do? Who are they?
Pantone is the color people! They create colors the top designers use to create they own work. According to the Pantone website, "For more than 45 years, Pantone has been inspiring design professionals with products, services and leading technology for the colorful exploration and expression of creativity."
With the fall color report, it will enable you to choose and design your own pieces based on the "it" colors for the season before the season has even arrived! Allowing you be on top of the trends and then who knows how far you go!
Anyway, I hope this is helpful to someone! I'll be making some new necklaces based some of the new colors and see how that turns out!
And again the best thing of all....IT'S FREE!
Good Luck!
Website to help with SEO for your shop
Well, I was wandering around the World Wide Web this morning when I came across a very interesting website. Said website provided me with oodles and oodles of information that left me wandering if they could help me in optimizing my Etsy shop for search engines.
What was the website, you say, well it was http://www.websitegrader.com/. What does it do, you say, well let's see;
- you type in your Etsy shop URL and it analyzes your site and lets you know what's good and bad about your site in terms of SEO (search engine optimization).
- it points out the things you can improve upon including how long to make your shop announcement, how long to make your site title, how to improve your keywords, etc.
- it also lets you know your Google page rank, how many inbound links are coming to your site, if your included in directories, the last time Google crawled your site, your traffic rank, etc
- it also issues you a website grade (yeah just like in school) and if you make some of the improvements it suggests you can see your grade improve!
- and you can set it up to compare your site with another (a competitor for instance), allowing you to see what they're doing that your not and vice versa!
AND BEST OF ALL ITS FREE!
Anyway, I hope this might be helpful to someone, I know it was to me!
Good luck!
Creating a Twitter Background out of your Etsy Mini
I created this tutorial to walk you through creating an Etsy mini that can be added to your Twitter background!
If you have any problems, or have any questions, please feel free to ask!
1.) Click on “Your Etsy” at the top of the screen.
6.) Open Twitter. Select “Settings” at the top of the page.
2.) Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on “Etsy Mini”.
3.)
- Under “Items to Show” – select “Items from my shop”.
- Under “Choose Image Size” – select “Thumbnail (75px square)”
- Under “Items to Show” – select “Items from my shop”.
- Under “Choose Image Size” – select “Thumbnail (75px square)”
- Under “Choose Layout” – select “1” and “5”
4.) Scroll down, your Etsy mini should appear underneath the option selection section. Make sure you can see your entire Etsy mini on screen. Using your keyboard, select Ctrl + Print Screen. You have just copied the entire screen.
5.) Open your image editing software program. Hit Paste. Your Etsy mini should appear on screen. Crop the image. Save the image.
6.) Open Twitter. Select “Settings” at the top of the page.
7.) Select “Design”.
8.) Choose “Change Background Image”.
11.) VIOLA! You should have a new Twitter background of your Etsy images.
8.) Choose “Change Background Image”.
9.) Select “Browse”. Choose your Etsy mini image that you just saved. Select open.
10.) Select “Save Changes”.
11.) VIOLA! You should have a new Twitter background of your Etsy images.
New pictures with the new light box!
So, after some tinkering with the new light box setup, I thought I would post some of my new pictures. I finally bought a mannequin bust to take pictures, it seems to really help with visualization. It really helps you to see the size and how it should hang on a real person.
There is still room for improvement but its definitely a start! Fortunately, they are way better than the first photos I ever took!
Any tips or suggestions would be really appreciated!
Finally finished my new lightbox!
So after a bit of searching, I finally found a light box tutorial that I liked and FINALLY put it together. I can be such a procrastinator! In case anyone was curious this is the tutorial I used:
http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent
It is made out of PVC pipes with a white cloth draped over it. I'm using 100 watt daylight bulbs on tripods, that I picked up at Princess Auto for $40 each.
http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent
It is made out of PVC pipes with a white cloth draped over it. I'm using 100 watt daylight bulbs on tripods, that I picked up at Princess Auto for $40 each.
I've included some pictures of my new setup!
Let me know what you think!
Let me know what you think!
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