Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Etsy Finds for Under $5.00

Introduction: I'm a member of Swap-bot.com and the latest Etsy Swap I am in involved in is a swap of shops that sell items for under $5. While looking for them, I realized it would be nice to share them with more people than just my Swap-bot partners, so I am posting them here for the HOST blog readers as well!)

Etsy Finds for Under $5

1. Orglamix mineral makeup:
One of my all-time favourite stores for mineral makeup. The selection is extensive, with many items under $5.00 and her customer service is excellent! A must shop if you are in the market for new make up!
The eye colors are amazing and it is difficult for me to choose just one. The colour spreads nicely and stays all day for me. The other thing I like about this shop is that there is always some sort of  "deal" going on, wether it is for your birthday or for the first time buyer. I've included a link for one of them below. Also - I've always gotten a little freebie in my parcels (and there have been many of them) of an eyeshadow or blush. I highly recommend this shop!

Two of my favourite items:
Gingerbread - Pure Organic Mineral Eye Color
Orglamix BOGO - Buy One, Get One Free - Eco Mineral Makeup Karma





2. pacokeco:
My go-to girl for tags and promo items! Cohen really knows what customer service is all about. Custom orders are turned around in no time flat! And her quality is unsurpassed. To top it off, there is always a little freebie included and her attention to detail blows me away. Looking for promo items or tags for your next round of gift-giving, look NO further! You've found your girl!
The Grunge and Glam mini tags shown to the left are actually the first item that I found in her shop. I just really liked the look of them and I had her customize them for me for perfume tags. Cohen went out of her way to do it for me and I was very pleased with the work when she was done. The gingerbread gift tags, I picked up for this past Christmas. My neices loved the tags so much, they kept them!

Two of my favourite items:
GRUNGE and GLAM Mini Tags with fibre - Set of 12
GINGERBREAD COOKIES Shaped To and From Gift Tags - Prestrung, Set of 8

TIP TUESDAY: New Craft Website full of indie business resources

I found this on the Etsy Forums and have Rosalie's permission to post this for all to see! Click on her avatar for a link to her shop!

UglyBaby
UglyBaby says:
It's called Unanimous Craft -- and it's a taggable, sortable index of indie business resources. I built it after seeing forum thread after forum thread with lists and lists of resources.

No more. Now it's organized, baby.

http://www.unanimouscraft.com

You can add resources you love, you can add your own resources - etsy shops and blogs, etc. You can review and vote on resources so we all know what the best ones are. You can curate lists of resources with a theme. You can do lots of stuff.

So check it out and add some stuffs. You might like it.




Monday, March 29, 2010

Video Monday: Etsy-Minis

I get a lot of questions about how to make an etsy-mini so I thought I would dig up some more youtube videos for Video Monday on the topic::

This one is a bit older, but everything is in the right areas.



Hope this helps you!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Sunday Spotlight: SarahRoseReynolds


Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a stay at home momma and recently during my free time (nap time) I have found a love of painting, for me and my friends and family..I kind of do a lil of this and a lil of that when it comes to art. I paint, draw, scrapbook, and crochet. I also love to do arts and crafts time with my son. He always looks at all the paintings I do and says, "Momma's painting" - so we paint regularly.



If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
hmmmm any animal? A unicorn.  I always loved them as a child and dreamed of them being real.

Fruit or chocolate?
fruit covered in chocolate!!! YUM!

Your favorite meal?
Depends on my mood,  but I never turn down some good pasta and bread

City break or weekend in the country?
I don't really like to spend a lot time in the city and avoid it when at all possible, unless my hubby is driving..


How did you hear about HOST?
I heard about it thru Etsy Chat from Ivykeep.

How did you first get interested in what you do?
I have always been into arts and crafs, just never did it for profit before!

Tell us about your shop.
My shop is a lil of this and a lil of that.. I don't really specialize in one thing. You will find paintings, paper crafts and vintage clothing and jewelry

What do you love most about selling on Etsy?
The community here is fabulous, you feel welcome and its great.. Also its great to see all the handmade goodies people are out there making.



Where else can we find you? (facebook, blog, twitter, flickr, etc)
I do have a face book page.


Any advice you would like to share with others that might read this?
I am here cause I need help promoting my shopâ. My advice is to join the chats, blogs and community -  immerse yourself in the resources Etsy offers.

What is the best etsy tip or resource you have found or been given?
 have had a lot of fun with the chat rooms, found some great people and great unique shops.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

HOST Spruce Up Your Store Challenge: Categories & Location

(Okay, I know I said we would be covering tags today, however, I need to postpone that for a bit due to personal reasons. I'll try to get back on track next week)

Today's challenge is short and sweet: I want you to take a good look at your Categories (or what Etsy calls Sections) and your location information.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Meet the HOSTies: knitrgal



Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a stay at home Mom turned business woman striving to turn my shop into a small "cottage country" business with employees and everything!!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

TIP TUESDAY: Great Low Cost/No Cost Marketing Tips from noisettemarketing

These tips come to you from http://noisettemarketing.etsy.com - Did you see the Great Giveaway that Isa has donated to us? Check it out!


Online marketing

  • Use the internet to market yourself. It is so easy to get started marketing yourself online through your own blog, low cost online shop, simple website and a Flickr account. You have full control about the information you present to the world and can spend as much or as little time as you like on them.

  • Start a mailing list. It can cost nothing to create an e-newsletter some providers as long as you keep your subscribers under a certain amount. You can ask current customers to sign up for special offers or exclusive previews of a new range which will increase the possibility of repeat sales.

Monday, March 22, 2010

MEET THE HOSTies: mlpjewelrydesigns



Tell us a little about yourself
I live in Puerto Rico, San Juan Area, fifteen minutes from the beach. This is my favorite place to meditate. Now that you know which part of the world I am. Let’s talked a little about me, I consider myself a quite, very shy, friendly, giving and caring person. I loved to travel, reading, going to beach, the movies and of course designing jewelry. My priorities in life are Family and God. I’m single with no kids. Live with my Father, 85 years handsome and the best father in the world.

If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
A dog

Fruit or chocolate?
Dark Chocolate

Your favorite meal?
lobster

City break or weekend in the country? - -Weekend at the county or at the beach

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sunday Spotlight: dgordon


Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is deb, I moved from NY to south Florida 12 yrs ago after my divorce. When I left NY I left everyone and everything I knew. I moved in with my parents until I knew where I was going to go. My dad's a potter and he thought playing with clay would "help" me since I seemed so lost and adrift. I apprenticed under him and discovered I loved loved loved working with clay. I've been doing it ever since.

If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
I'm a cat lover. I have 5 and I'd have many more if I had the room!


Saturday, March 20, 2010

HOST Spruce Up Your Shop Challenge: Announcement Page

Welcome to Week 3 of the Spruce Up Your Shop Challenge!

Task 1 - share your Google Analytics for the past week below. Has your traffic changed any? Up? Down? Let us know.
Task 2 (Optional): Update your Google Analytics with this nice feature! http://www.etsy.com/storque/etsy-news/tech-update-etsy-web-analytics-enhancements-3350/


This week we are going to work on your shop's Announcement Page and organization


HOST BLOG GIVEAWAY: Etsy Shop Analysis fron noisettemarketing worth $50 US!

Welcome to our first 2010 HOST Giveaway! 

We are very excited about this particular prize because it ties in nicely with the Etsy HOST Spruce Up Your Store Challenge that we are running currently. Come join us for the Challenge and don't forget to enter the contest!
The prize: Etsy Shop Analysis by noisettemarketing
A written review and analysis of your Etsy shop and an action plan of recommendations worth $50 USD,
The report will include (but is not limited to) a review of:
* Your photos
* Your descriptions and tags
* Your branding
* Your prices
For more details, please see Isa's listing for this same item here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36561190

Friday, March 19, 2010

FUN FRIDAY: Easter Egg TREASURE HUNT sponsored by The EGG Team


  The Etsy Goodie Goodies Team invites you to join their EGG HUNT!! Egg Team members have hidden eggs somewhere in their shops. Your goal is to find the eggs! You have between now and April 3rd.

Go to http://etsygoodiegoodiesteam.blogspot.com/ for rules of the game and how to enter. The prize is fabulous!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Meet the HOSTies: jinglebobs


Tell us a little about yourself.
Jinglebobs.. all one word no caps in the middle!
A Jinglebob is something on a cowboy's spur. It jingles when he walks or in time with the horse's gait. ME: I'm over 30, I enjoy animals of all sorts, crochet, knit (just learned!), learning to spin, ride, take photographs, used to camp, fish, hike, am NOT a computer wiz

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Two Simple St. Patrick’s Day Family Crafts

VN:F [1.8.2_1042]

If you don’t have a lot of time to spend with your family making complicated St. Patrick’s Day craft projects but would like to do something for the holiday, you’re in luck. The World Wide Web is a great source of free St. Patrick’s Day images that that can help you make great crafts. For example, craft projects made from vintage St. Patrick’s Day cards found on the Internet are simple to make, due to the fact that vintage images are versatile and also quite effective when it comes to conveying a St. Patrick’s Day message. You can find a little something for everyone, because vintage Saint Patrick’s Day images range from mischievous to sweet to Irish-loving patriotic. Vintage images can also be downloaded and used without fear of copyright infringement. That’s important for people who want to honor copyrights (as we all definitely should). Searching the Web for “free vintage St. Patricks Day clip art” will also net you a large number of no-cost images from which many craft projects can be made.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

TIP TUESDAY: How to take a screen shot of an Etsy Treasury.

When you are lucky enough to be included in an Etsy Treasury, you'll want to keep a picture of it to post in your blog or on your website.

I'm a fan of www.thumbalizr.com. All you have to do is get the direct URL and plug it in and this site does the rest. The only problem I have found is that it tends to cut off the bottom of the last row - so if your item is in the last row, this tool won't do you any good.

 

So, I've found a great post on how to take screen shots for you. It's from a website called The Curious Pug and it gives you the straight deal. You can find it here: http://curiouspug.blogspot.com/2009/12/tutorial-3-how-to-take-screen-shot-of.html It should answer all your questions, but if not, you can ask me and I will do my best to sort it for you.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT: CrikkiCrafts



Tell us a little about yourself.
I am 23 years old. I am married, pregnant, and already have 2 kids. I love to sew and do little crafty things, so I thought that I would try to sell some of them so that I could afford to go to college. I am a stay at home mom and I love it!

If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
A penguin. They are so cute!

Fruit or chocolate?
Chocolate

Your favorite meal?
Home made Lasagna with extra meat

City break or weekend in the country?
Weekend in the country

 How did you hear about HOST?
I met Ivykeep in a chat and she told me about HOST.



How did you first get interested in what you do? 
I was raised by my grandmother and for as long as I can remember, she handmade all of my clothes and toys. I was not so much into crafting as her. She passed away on January 1st of this year. I inherited all of her sewing machines and crafting supplies, and just got interested in doing it.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

SPRUCE UP YOUR STORE CHALLENGE: Week 2

Okay, so if you added Google Analytics to your shop last week - go check it. See if people are visiting your shop and when. Rewatch the second video from last week and write a little summary below to tell us how you are doing.

Once you do that, we are ready to move on to today's challenge:

Store Settings #1: Profiles and Policies.

Etsy is a great place to buy items with a personal, handmade touch. There is a great sence of community here. Your customers want to know about you - and you about your customers. Two of the most overlooked pages of your Etsy account are the Profile page and the Policy Page. So we will start there.

The Profile page is where you get to introduce yourself to your customers. They want to know a little about you - how you got started in your craft or hobby and what you draw your inspiration from. Tell them! Also, tell them where else they can find you: other Etsy shops, your blog, twitter, etc. Check Etsy policies about posting any off Etsy webstores though.

Read this for more information on how to use your Profile pages:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/shop-makeover-series-crafting-a-profile-page-1056/

Policy pages are next. These are the guidelines that tell people how you do business.
Here is an article with great tips on writing up your policy page:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/service-tips-for-sellers-creating-policies-that-work-2095/


Pay special attention to the Stay Positive aspect. You do not want negativity on any of your pages. It leaves your customers with a bad taste. Stay professional.

Your Challenge this week is to write (or rewrite) your profile and policies pages. Come back here and share your before and afters - and ask for comments. Share your tips if you have any. We are all here to help!

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday Crochetmaggie!



♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MAGGIE ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ AND MANY MOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!! ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪


Happy Birthday Maggie!

All of us at HOST send you wishes for a wonderful day - and hopes the sales fairy blesses you with a fly by!

Happy Birthday crochetmaggie!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/crochetmaggie

Friday, March 12, 2010

Happy Birthday theClackhouse



♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CLACKHOUSE!♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ AND MANY MOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!! ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪


Happy Birthday theclackhouse!!

All of us at HOST send you wishes for a wonderful day - and hopes the sales fairy blesses you with a fly by!

Happy Birthday theClackhouse!

Treasured Memories - Another Featured item!

Temporary link to Treasury.

Thank you to my teammate tantecaroline from the Niagara Etsy Street Team for including me in one of their Treasuries.
- ivykeep

. If you are a HOST member, and you are featured in a Treasury (any Treasury)- send us a screen shot and a link and we will post it here!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Treasured Memories - An All HOST Treasury!

Treasured Memories - crochetmaggie

This must be the month for HOSTies and Treasuries! Here is another one featuring our crochetmaggie!

Happy Birthday LA Originals



♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LA ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ AND MANY MOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!! ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪


Happy Birthday LA!

All of us at HOST send you wishes for a wonderful day - and hopes the sales fairy blesses you with a fly by!

http:/http://www.etsy.com/shop/knitrgal

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!


A St. Patrick's Day blessing upon you! It's that time of year when thoughts turn to Ireland and shamrocks and green can be seen everywhere. On March 17th, the anniversary of St. Patrick's death, Irish throughout the world will celebrate pride in their heritage. Many will participate in the oldest St. Patrick's Day parade first held in New York in 1762 by Irish soldiers serving in the English military. Millions of pounds of corned beef and cabbage will be consumed and Guinness will be the beer of choice. If you're still in the need of a shamrock or something green to show your pride in Ireland, stop by Etsy for many wonderful choices!

Sláinte! (cheers!) and Éirinn go Brách! (Ireland forever!)

Monday, March 8, 2010

VIDEO MONDAY: Top 5 Etsy Time Savers

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Treasured Memories - Wow! Another Treasury!

 
Congrats crochetmaggie!

Treasured Memories: More HOSTies in Treasuries!

 
Thanks yodamoon



Congrats Jinglebobs! 

  
Congrats Knitrgal

Treasured Memories: HOST member in Treasury

Congratulations to The Ivy Keep. Thanks to Nikki at http://www.etsy.com/shop/bonfires

Hosties - Have you been in a Treasury lately? Send me the thumbnail and information and we will post it on the Host Blog!

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT: ReduceReuseRecycle & SoapAddicts


Tell us a little about yourself.
Well, I am a native New Yorker, born and raised and have now been living in Florida for about 5 years. I live alone in a one bedroom rental in Orlando just a few blocks from Universal Studios. I have been on etsy since 2006 and started selling in 2007. I have two active shops and I also run a street team called Etsy Goodie Goodies aka The Egg Team.
My team is about a month old and we have about 18 members and still growing. We are all about having fun and supporting each other in every way we can as well as promoting and good deeds. We are dedicated to doing at least one big good deed a month. For more info see here: http://team.etsy.com/viewteam.php?id=753
I am a swapaholic and love chocolate, dogs, dolphins, red, blue, purple, tea and hazelnut.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

HOST Challenge: Spruce Up Your Store - Baseline Information

Just to get this out of the way, I'm not much of a writer. So, you can expect a lot of videos and point forms being used to explain aspects of this Challenge. Why reinvent the wheel when more qualified people have already done the explaining? I'm a relative newbie to Etsy myself - and some of the tasks this Challenge will cover I haven't done yet - so I am going to be joining you every step of the way. I hope we will learn new things and have fun together during this process.

Okay - now we can begin -

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Meet the HOSTies: Crochetmaggie



Tell us a little about yourself.
If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
I love dogs. We have cats and dogs now, but the dogs are definitely my favorite.

Fruit or chocolate?
I'm not crazy about chocolate unless it is covering something else, like fruit! Mmmm chocolate covered strawberries...


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

TIP TUESDAY: How to Feed Twitter your Etsy Listings.

I stumbled upon this lovely little video over on YouTube the other day and wanted to share it with all our Etsy readers. Did you know that you can have your Twitter account automatically post your listings and re-listings? You can! And for free.


The service is located here: http://twitterfeed.com/


And instructions on how to set up your automatic Twitter Feed can be seen in this video. Turn your volume down a bit though - the soundtrack tends to squeak a little at times, but the content is worth it!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Reflections



♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MARIA ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪ AND MANY MOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!! ♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♪

Related Posts with Thumbnails