Saturday, January 30, 2010

How to Make the Best Use of Etsy Treasuries !

I am sure many of you remember Jessica Rabbit from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?". She was the epitome of hotness. This is what can help drive Etsy Treasuries to the front page which is where you want them to be. It will also help your items be seen by more viewers. This "How To" comes from my teammate and friend on Collaborators in Cahoots, a wonderful Etsy team. Try following these tips to see if they will make a big difference in getting your next treasury to the FRONT PAGE!

The main point of a treasury is for your item to be seen by as many people as possible, people who may be possible customers.

There are many pages in the Treasury list. Potential customers are not going to wade through every single page to see dozens of treasuries.

Treasuries can be sorted by anyone looking, in several ways. They can order the list by alphabetical name of curator, by expiry time and by "hotness."

Hotness is the one thing we can have a hand in. A treasury gets hotter when a mixture of the number of comments and the number of clicks and possibly something else makes the treasury move nearer the first page of the treasury list.

It is far more likely that any potential customer who likes to sort by Hotness is going to see this Treasury, rather than see one on page 5 or page 10. Hotness matters for those who sort by hotness.


Above each square is a tiny gray number. That shows the number of times that photo has been clicked.

Each person viewing gets 12 clicks. Once you have clicked, and left a comment, then your work starts as you now have to persuade as many other people as you can to do the same; click and comment.
Put the link on Twitter.
You can take a screenshot, upload the screenshot to Flickr, put the link to that photo on Facebook (which will then upload as the Treasury pictures) and write the link to the treasury under that.
You can blog about it.
The message to get out is that clicking will help all the artisans in this treasury.

There is room on a Treasury for about 42 comments. When that space is full up, people can still click the photos.

As an aside, one poor photo ruins the whole treasury. There is no way Admin will choose for Front Page a well curated treasury where there is even one poor photo.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

A Divine Sisterhood



I am very fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of 5 girlfriends who have known each other for over 30 years. During that time we have all shared happy occasions and unfortunately, our share of sad ones too. Each one of us brings something unique and special to the group . I am not the "sister" that has a way with words but wanted to share this anyhow. We have supported each other through divorces, broken hearts, births, deaths, surgeries and sickness. We have traveled together, laughed and cried together and tried to be totally supportive even when we disagreed with each other.
In honor of our special bond, I made each one of us the bracelet you see above with the funny name we call ourselves. This name actually came to be from one of the X husbands of one of our "sisters."It has significance only to us, but somehow seemed to fit. If you are lucky enough to have friends that you love and support leave a comment here.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Beauty of Lampwork Beads

The photo above is the piece I antiqued in liver of sulphur.


I am excited about my latest piece featuring gorgeous lampwork beads in great shapes and delicious colors. I purchased these beauties at the Philadelphia bead show last summer and have been anxious to use them in an interesting design. The copper wire seems to really enhance the colors in the beads as well as blend beautifully with the bronze toggle. I can't decide now whether or not to oxidize the bracelet in liver of sulphur to give it an antiqued look. I know that the copper will oxidize over time naturally and I do not not wish to change to color of the toggle which is so beautiful just as is. Any suggestions? Please leave feedback and let me know what you think. I will also post a photo of a bracelet I did oxidize in liver of sulphur for comparison purposes.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Harvest Candles




I don't know about you, but this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the exquisite fall colors, pumpkins, candy corn and especially Thanksgiving. Having my family close and celebrating with a wonderful turkey dinnerbrings me great joy. Part of this annual tradition in my home includes decorating with pumpkins from my garden, lovely fall candles and linens to match. I have just visited the wonderful shop of Donald Mckinnon.
His fall candle selection is absolutely beautiful and any of his candles would be a perfect addition to your tables, fireplace or just about anywhere in your home. The colors and scents of his candles are so appealing that you can almost smell them just by reading Donald's perfect descriptions. he also gives you tips for caring for the candle . Visit his wonderful shop today!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

A Wonderful Street





Do you live on a wonderful street? If not , you can add this street to your home and feel wonderful whenever you look at it. Linda Williams ,the artist who painted this incredibly lovely and cheerful acrylic has many beautiful items in her etsy shops. She carries, watercolors, paintings, graphite, pastels and altered art in her Lindacaterpillar shop. The colorful magnet and greeting card you see here are located in her Lindabutterfly shop. You won't go wrong with a visit to either shop. Linda carries wonderful original works of art that will warm your heart and put a smile on your face!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Roman Glass Necklace











These photos are long overdo. I wrote about Roman glass in my last post and here is another lovely piece I made with this ancient glass. The iridescent quality of this glass makes it a perfect element to use in jewelry design.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

A Love Affair with Roman Glass







I don't recall how or when it happened, but the very first time I put my eyes on a piece of jewelry made with this amazing glass, it was love at first sight. Perhaps it was at the Boston gift show where I visited the booth of some amazing Israeli jewelry designers who had incorporated Roman glass into their designs. I think it is the colors of the glass and its iridescent qualities that I find so appealing.



Here is a little information about this ancient glass:



The earliest man-made glass was first produced over 2000 years before the Roman Empire. Core formed and cast glass was produced, although in small quantities in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was often made to imitate semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli and turquoise.
Glass vessels were initially available only to the very wealthy and only in rather diminutive sizes. They were manufactured by core forming, casting, cutting and grinding, The invention of glass blowing around 50 BC brought glass vessels to the general public in vast numbers, mass produced in great variety of forms and hence brought ancient glass into the reach of the modern collector of even modest means. One can nowadays own a Roman glass bowl, or drink form a Roman glass beaker, or wear ancient jewellery where glass was used widely.



Recently I was able to purchase some lovely Roman glass beads and design a few new pieces with these ancient beads. Stay tuned for more photos of my new jewelry pieces.