Make Me

Treasure Trove TryOut

I've wished for a long time that there was a way to showcase an Etsy treasury or list of favorites. Then someone posted a link to Treasure Trove on Twitter and voila! A dream answered. Here I am testing it out because the code it generated was wicked long!

BTW, there is so much I'm loving about the new treasuries. First they do not expire. Second I can update them constantly. Third, they are more attractive. Fourth, they are searchable - type in hats, purple in the treasury search and there you go! Fifth, you can set your treasury to private until you're ready for it to go live. However, what I don't like is that they are somehow more difficult to weed through. You can't jump ahead to page 278 if you want to. You can't change the order by curator, only "hot" and "created" date. They also don't expire - even the ones that are incomplete. I think if your Treasury has fewer items than two rows of items, it should be expired after 24-36 hours, unless it is not on public view. Since I tend to shop via treasury, this has been a shift to the boring.  I'd like to get to see the treasuries languishing away in the middle of the 5500 pages, but I can't.  Only the hot and less hot, the new and old show up.

My Quirky Stay-Cation Souvenirs

French Butter Biscuit - A
PetitPlat$17.00 USD

French Fromagerie Sign Ph
PamLefcourt$25.00 USD

Red mini beret
Cajsita$20.00 USD

Apple and Pear. white plu
lapomme$32.00 USD

New-French Macaron Collec
KcSoapsNmore$4.50 USD

Compact FRENCH ENGLISH Di
SimpleJoysPaperi$40.00 USD

Mini Book - Turnip - Fren
stockannette$4.50 USD

let her eat cake .
beanforest$1.00 USD

Francs Very Much (set of
theRasilisk$10.25 USD

Il Fait Froid
risamay$10.00 USD

world landmarks acrylic r
plastique$22.00 USD

Set of 3 Paris Bookmarks
irenesuchocki$5.95 USD

PETIT HOMME ROUGE / VERT
PHOGLIe$14.00 USD

French bread - Baguette n
BaconFactory$7.90 USD

Normandie
t8designs$168.00 USD

Marie Beartoinette - Alte
BeatUpCreations$9.99 USD

 

Generated using Treasure Trove by packagery.com

 

Go ahead, test all the links. See all the coolness! Make a comment or two cuz I think this is one of my more rockingest treasuries and I'd love more people to see it!

My Etsy Makeover, Part 1,349,392,192

Yes! Yes! I'm still revamping my Etsy shop! It's a process, okay? Today I wrote a marketing plan that will help me maximize my exposure for a minimum of output. The idea being if I create a schedule that allows for daily, weekly and monthly tasks, I can limit the amount of time spent selling and make for time for creating. My goal is to spend 15-30 minutes each day on Etsy marketing.

What I've done so far is create some treasuries, comment in the forums a few times and re-instituted my "PLUG O THE DAY" on Twitter.  I've netted two sales this week. It's nice to see a return already. I'm also reading the Etsy newsletters and keeping a notebook of ideas and time expenditure.  The time thing is crazy because I can spend hours shopping on Etsy. I have to be focused.

The funny thing about the Etsy forums is there are some sellers who have posted that they're not selling anything, but haven't truly marketed themselves successfully. They think by blasting Twitter with links to their shops or by posting in Promos section of the forums, that they are doing enough work. I know I've had very few sales. I know I need to be more diligent and market myself better. What I haven't done until now is figure out a system that works for me; that allows me to get the job done without taking over my life.

Small steps. Perseverance. Patience.

Again, I highly recommend The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line. It's clearly written and gives a good plan for those of us who are a little clueless when it comes to self-promotion. 

Here's a sampling of some of my latest favorites.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Hilari.etsy.com

Etsy Friday - My Bloody Valentine!

Haven't celebrated Etsy Friday around here for a while. Since it's close to Valentine's Day, I thought you'd like a nice source of romantic items to share with your beloved.

Starting at the top left:

Row 1 - I Give You My Heart by Midnite Muse * Plasma Heart of Glass by nanopod

Row 2 - Human Heart Messenger Bag by craftie ROBOT  *  Four Hearts by Faune Yerby * Anatomical Heart Pendant by kathelonious

Row 3 - Eat Your Heart Out Plate by foldedpigs * Brass Anatomically Correct Heart by monster kookies

Big Shop Pimpin'

I was looking through my Etsy purchases earlier today and got the idea for this post.  I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites.

My first Etsy purchase was from Ceramics by Sumiko. I bought the little ginkgo plates. I love, love, love them. She also has another shop called Patterns 4 U where she sells a lot of her unique buttons, sewing patterns and knit items.

Karen's Soap Company makes some awesome smellin' beautiful soaps. While I've never been a fan of glycerin based soaps, Karen's are very nice. Great, lasting scents, pretty to look at and they last. I love the tomato kitchen soap, the retro sweet grass and orange soap. She's a quality soapmaker. Now that I've revisited her site, I see there are some new scents I'm going to need to purchase....

Okay, soap purchase made. On to LT Creates Jewelry. She makes beautiful jewelry from silver cutlery. I bought my mom a ring a couple of years back and she wears it all the time. She's a pleasure to deal with and I think her prices are extremely reasonable.

Another gift I purchased was yarn from Sugarbee Studios. It's really super soft and the colors are so lively and vibrant.  I like the names of her Politically Incorrect line.

I've ordered from them a lot. I adore their soaps. My very favoritest of all the soaps I've tried, not just on Etsy, but ever. Arcadia Aromatics makes a fiercely, fierce soap, y'all. The Black Orchid & Lily smells so good and is so pretty! The Orange Roughy Sea Salt bar leaves your skin soft and moisturized. The 24 Carrot Buttermilk and Honey is my emollient favorite. There's another - a pink frosting or some such that I love as well, but don't see on the site at the moment.

JLee Beads has some great jewelry supplies. I've found items there that I've not seen elsewhere and the prices are good.

Got my mom a poster from ArtWallah. Very nice and she loved it.

Minds Eye Design is another fun site where I've gotten more than a few gifts and items for myself. We have very similar senses of humor.

My last purchase was from Nebulous Kingdom. I love her artwork. I got a mirror and postcard to frame for a friend of mine. She added two additional cards.  She has a romantic, whimsical style that I find really appealing.  Thinking about getting the calendar...

Finally, there is Mixed Species. I just spent a half hour laughing at their hilarious photos. They just make you want to buy something from them!

Enjoy the list and feel free to share some of your own Etsy goodness! I'll post them at a later date!

Arrested Development on Sale! Today!

A quick FYI for ya - I just bought all 3 seasons of Arrested Development from Amazon for $28.99. It's on special today only.

Go n get yours if'n you want it!

3/50

I've decided to support the 3/50 project.  It's hard trying to figure out where to buy the things that you need. I mean, I like to support artisans and crafters on line but I also like to support the brick & mortar stores at home too. 

Recently I've been trying to do my shopping in my neighborhood.  It may cost more to go to the local drugstore rather than the Target at the mall, but my business helps keep local stores open. But then you do think to yourself, "can I really afford to pay $1 more for dish soap?"

I read about the 3/50 project in the latest Vogue Knitting issue. Or at least the latest one I got - I'm a little behind. I like the idea of having a defined planned so I'm not dithering off in la-la land with a dime here and a nickel there.

So I'm thinking hard on whom to support with my big ole 50 bucks. How about you?

Etsy Friday - Peace!

Haven't done one of these in a while. This one is in honor of my friend Glen who fights for peace and is celebrating a birthday tomorrow.

1. Peace Sign Greeting Card by quillavenuestudios
2. Peace Dog Tag by Urban Puppy
3. Peace Quote Box Purse by ArrowSarah
4. Gold Peace Necklace by Elan Poise
5. Peace at Last by Round Room Studios
6. plushstock peace guitar by Patti Haskins
7. Hippie Girl Peace Sign Necklace by Beth's Beads Etc.
8. Peace Wristlet Pouch by zJayne
9. Green. Peace. Mini Quilt by Melody's Unchained

Enjoy!

I Want It Bad

I'm not 100% certain, but I think this may be the coolest thing I've ever seen on Etsy.  I'm sitting on my hands so I won't order it.

VoZ Jewelry

These talented jewelry makers have sold twice at my school.  I love their jewelry. I've purchase a really cool coral ring, a pendant and a necklace.  I meant to blog about them a long time ago but I misplaced their card. Their site is really nifty. Check it out: VoZ Jewelry

Etsy Friday - Patterns!

Patterns for really cool items to be found on Etsy!

Totally forgot to come back and fill this in! Blame it on love of my new iPhone. It's taken up my every moment. Anyway, here we go:

1. Gorgeous Golden Floral Crystal bracelet by CandyBead
2.  Chester the Bashful Bunny by DangerCrafts
3. Reversible Hat by  Mani-Mina
4. Ashling Tote by Lilibeth's Garden
5. Baby Kimono Shoe Pattern by ithinksew.com
6. Goody Sweater by FickleKnitter (also, check out her blog!)
7. Barbarian Viking Beanie
   by Candypop Creations
8. Small Satchel by Keyka Lou

I probably could have done a little better in picking items that went together better color-wise. I started off with the browns and purples in Michelle's sweater and then found the beautiful bracelet, but then I just went hog wild with all the cuteness! Each one of these items is something I would make myself. Enjoy and pay these hardworking Etsians a visit, 'kay?