Promo Frenzy Team Enters the HandmadeTop 10 Contest!

There's a new site called Handmade Top Ten List recently started by the same Etsy seller who runs the very well know website, Handmadeology! Tim has announced the very first Etsy Team Challenge designed to give Etsy Teams more exposure and give them a chance to win an advertising package worth $450.  

The Promotional Frenzy Team has gotten on the bandwagon in a big way! Our goal is for every member to add two items to our Top 10 list and promote, promote promote! And we're definitely rocking out The Vote :D

Check out some of the items from our members, and be sure to visit our Voting page by clicking on "A Handmade Top 10 List" in the rust-colored box below. From there you can 'Like' us on Facebook ...  
                     
                                                         VVV    Click Here    VVV  

I hope you enjoy seeing some of the items that are representing the Promo Frenzy Team in this contest ...

Petunia and Ivy

Most of what you see in this adorable Etsy shop is created for newborns, but the shop owner, Jennifer will be happy to customize to a larger size and different color!

Petunia and Ivy opened in February, and I can guarantee it has some of the cutest item photographs on Etsy!!!

Artisans Book Lounge

The Artisans Book Lounge is where you will find Business e-books and a variety of crafting books to help you grow and your Etsy shop grow. Janet also has two other shops on Etsy ...   Tinkets N Whatnots Jewelry shop and Supplies shop.

 

SOMETIMES YOU JUST CAN'T LET GO . . .

'FLUTTER', my latest design. I was almost done listing it, but couldn't Let Go!

We all do it! Every once in a while we create something that we just can't bear to sell! Am I right? Don't try to deny it . . . I know better!!!

Once in a while I begin a project specifically for myself, but more often than not I have every intention of passing it on to a good home. In most cases it's some extra special, one-of-a-kind component that turns my head. I love it, and I just gotta have it all to myself!

So on the light side, this week I decided to show you a few of the jewelry items that never got included in the line-up over at jQ jewelry designs. 

'FLUTTER' ~ Sterling silver, Oregon Sunstone and a Preserved Dry-Flower Charm from Rosalera

This next piece is a necklace created with a very high quality Tourmaline, Spinel and extremely lustrous stick and biwa pearls. I manipulated the tension on the pearl's beading wire pearl so that they appear ruffle-like.  I'd intended to sell this piece for a pretty penny, but when it came right down to accepting a buyer's very generous offer, I just couldn't part with it.

 

Appeared in Ornament Magazine and worn at the Bellagio by yours truly ...

I was crazy about the colors in this strand of Chalcedony that I found at a Gem Show. The vendor only had one and I've never seen anything like it since.

 The rest of the pieces are a lot more casual ...

I simply couldn't resist the high quality of this Rainbow Moonstone with it's beautiful subtle blue flash

Fell for this softest shade of sea-green Druzy - the sugary crystals are spectacular!

And designed around some very special Vintage components ...

These old tin cut glass beads from the 20s were very limited ... couldn't bring myself to share ;D

One of my personal favorites with all vintage components and some extrememly rare Carnival Glass beads that show off a rainbow of color.

Now please feel free to share what you've created and then just couldn't let go!

My Passionate Interest in PINTEREST

I'd never heard of Pinterest until GlitterbirdGlamour sent me an invitation to join. Just over a year old, there seems to be a lot of positive buzz out there about this site! You can sign up all on your own, but you'll have to wait several days before being accepted.

I adore Pinterest!!! And I PIN pretty much anything that I would normally bookmark or save to my desktop. I've got quite a few BOARDS going, each with a different sort of theme. 

Pinterest isn't complicated . . . it's kind of like the bulletin board I had in my room when I was in high school. I cut cool stuff out of magazines, kept ticket stubs from a rock concert and pressed a lovely flower I'd gotten from a special guy ... and ALL of them got pinned to that bulletin board!

Sound familiar? Maybe you had a board like mine, and maybe it was full of all the things you found interesting or just plain loved.
 

 Well, that's what Pinterest is - a place to catalog the things you love. You could compare it to hearting items and shops or creating a Treasury on Etsy.  But it's not just about one venue, it's about the entire Internet! Think of it as  a virtual bulletin board — a place where you pin almost anything you find on the Internet to that board. You can create collections of things you love and 'follow' collections created by people whose great taste you admireღ 

Here's an example of how your Boards might look ...

Jill Q ~ Pinterest BOARDS

And your PINS page . . .

Jill Q ~ Pinterest PINS

Can you PROMOTE your Etsy shop with Pinterest?

~ Pin Etiquette says to "Avoid Self Promotion. Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion."

Don’t think for one second that I’m suggesting you go on there and add every item in your shop…no way!  That kind of in-your-face self promotion turns people off big time. But it's certainly fine to have your Etsy shop in your profile and sprinkle a few photos of your handcrafted goodness on your Boards (collections). And who knows how many times they could be re-pinned after that!!! Pinterest is blazin Hot right now, and getting hotter♨

If YOU have an Interest in Pinterest, these links may be useful ...

                          About   http://pinterest.com/about
 

                          FAQs   http://pinterest.com/about/faq

                          Getting Started    http://pinterest.com/about/help


We all know the pitfalls that come with enjoying time on the Social Networks - often, we enjoy it too much . . .

Maybe William Penn saw it coming way back in 1700 when he said, "Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." 

Is YOUR time spiraling out of control?

I love  Urban Dictionary and can spend too much time on it. I tell myself ... it's NOT a time suck, it's an education!