Super Yart Finds!

These are some great finds in Etsy's Annual Yart Sale:

Click on the pictures to go to the item and see the amazing deals!

From delightdesign:

From txbutterfly74

From dirtygirlsoaps:

There are tons on Etsy, too! Go to etsy.com and search "yart". You can even search "yartfreeship" and find items with free shipping!

Happy Shopping!

Yart Sale!

Etsy is having it's annual Yart Sale. Yard+Art Sale. Lots of shops have some really great sales. I've posted some of my items on sale and put a couple of my best sellers on a discount, for one only! You can check out my Yart Sale section here. All of my items have free shipping, too~

Yummy Recipie

Well, I'm a throw it in a bowl and mix it kinda gal so i'll share a fun recipie with you that takes no measuring, just tossing it together.

I took one cucumber, about 18 grape tomatos, feta cheese, olive oil and fresh basil.

Cube the cucumber, slice the tomatos in half, sprinkle with feta cheese (however much you like), slice the basil leaves thinly (roll up several leaves together and cut with kitchen scissors). Drizzle with olive oil and fresh pepper. The Feta cheese is pretty salty so you shouldn't need much additional salt, if any.

Stir together and then let sit covered in the refrigerator about one hour to let the flavors meld together.

It's a light, lovely summer salad.

Treasury How To Tips

A few weeks ago I decided to begin making treasuries on Etsy.com. Treasuries, for those who don't know, are "an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whatever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy." (storqe article here) These are the wonderful collections you see on the main page of Etsy.com

Many people have the impression the treasuries are hard to get, hard to do, and for those elite few who have the time or the artistic inclination. Well, I am here to tell you that is not the case.

Lets take these issues one at a time.

First, the impression that treasuries are hard to get is incorrect. Treasuries come available two to three times a week in the main treasury as well as treasury west. There is a new tool available that can give you a "heads up" when they come available. It can be found at Craftopolis.com . While you do have to spend a little time calculating when they will be available, and maybe spend a few minutes waiting for the expiring treasuries to expire, your patience will be paid off.

The MAIN thing you MUST remember when waiting for a Treasury to open up is to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER refresh the page. The countdown is LIVE and while it may not look like it, the countdown is working. When Treasuries open up you will see a box at the bottom of the page allowing you to place your title.

That leads me to my next tip...BE READY. Have your title ready. Have an idea of what you want to say so that when it opens up, you can type it in and hit enter. If you delay typing while you try to think of something you might miss it.

There is also a very cool tool that is available on etsy called the Poster Sketch. This is a tool that lets you find items and place them in a test treasury to see how they look. This automatically saves in your favorites (very cool I don't know how this works) and the items you choose will stay there until you clear it. So when you "snag" a treasury, you can open the poster sketch in another window and just cut and paste. This makes it very easy and much less stressful.

Now for the ultimate goal of treasuries...To Make it to the Front Page! Woo Hoo!. Two of the last five treasuries I have made have made it to the front page. While I like to promote my friends, my teams, sometimes I like to get creative around a theme. There are themes you can choose that will make your treasury more likely to be placed on the fp.

Etsy has merchandising themes they focus on monthly which are current trends, holidays, etc. You can find articles in the storque and search for "merchandising". That will give you ideas of what Etsy is looking to feature on the front page.

Color themes are also a great way to organize a treasury. Take a look at magazines and other websites and look for popular color combinations. You can search for those color combinations in the search engine.

A third tip is to have a variety of items in the treasury. Make sure you have bags, soaps, clothing, jewelry, photos, artwork, paintings, toys, books, etc. Get a good combination of items.

You don't have to choose the most popular sellers, or those that have great numbers. Just get a good collection together, play with it.

These are all the tips I have for you. Take your time, be ready, and, if you miss the treasury window, just remember it's like the bus. Another will come around eventually. Most of all Have Fun with it!

New Ring

This is my second ring I have made. I am excited to be making bezel rings and offering them in my shop.

This is a vintage cabochon set in sterling silver. It is big and fun, yet still so feminine.

Need a Smile Today?

I had to post this picture I found on Etsy the other day. It just made me smile.

While the Vintage Christian Dior Pillbox Hat is completely amazing, I just had to laugh because of the staging Rachelle of Vintagestarrbeads.Etsy.com created to showcase this hat.

She tells me she painted her mannequin head about 1970 and actually painted her own face like that in those days!

She has a great shop full of vintage things from clothing to supplies, toys to housewares. Lots of fun, unusual and interesting things. Take a browse around her shop. I am sure you will find something that will make you smile.