Storque articles: How-To

Seller How-To: Get Involved With Black Friday and Cyber Monday Promotions

2009-11-20T17:30:00-05:00

Black Friday through Cyber Monday is a recognized shopping weekend that has quickly gained a reputation as the best time of year to find promotional sales on gifts for the holidays. For businesses, it is recognized as one of the most profitable weekends of the year that officially kicks off the busy holiday rush. We want to get the word out about shopping on Etsy for unique handmade and vintage gifts — instead of waiting in lines at the mall! The buzz about special Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales is ramping up on Etsy, and we hope to connect sellers with otherwise stressed out holiday deal-hunters in a fun and "Etsy" way.

We've seen interest from many sellers looking to promote sales on Etsy throughout this holiday weekend. Etsy will be providing promotional opportunities for sellers who are already planning or wish to host promotions and sales Friday, November 27, 2009 through Monday, November 30, 2009. The opportunities outlined below are open to all sellers wishing to participate and are completely optional. Find out how to get involved!

Site-Wide Tags
Etsy will be hosting and promoting two site-wide tags that link to search results for holiday promotions. To make sure your items show up in these searches, please tag each of your designated items with one or both of the following tags, if they meet the criteria for your promotion. There is no limit for the number of items you may tag.

Free Shipping: Sellers offering any type of free shipping promotion should tag the items offered with the term "EtsyFreeShipping." Remember to set the shipping to zero on the tagged items during this date or spell out in your description how the free shipping may be obtained. (The shipping amount does not need to be changed until the dates mentioned above.) Be sure to begin tagging your items and including promotional details in your item listings now, as Etsy staff will be gathering items to feature far in advance. Etsy will not be actively promoting the shopping promotion until the aforementioned dates.
Etsy Holiday Sale: Sellers offering ANY type of promotion throughout these dates should tag relevant items with the term "EtsyHolidaySale." Make sure to spell out the details of your promotion clearly in your tagged listings' descriptions, your shop announcement, and titles (if you have room).

Social Networking

Do you have a Twitter account? Promote your sales on Twitter with the #EtsyFreeShipping and #EtsyHolidaySale hash tags. We'll be following these tags closely throughout the entire weekend, linking to the Etsy search terms, and we will encourage our Twitter followers to search Tweets containing these two hash tags.
Keep in mind that your banner is a great promotional tool for calling attention to your sale. Need a sale banner in a jiffy? Grab one from our Resource page or use Etsy's bannerator.
We'll be feeding items with the promotional tags into Kaboodle throughout the weekend. Submit your favorite items throughout the weekend to gain exposure for your shop.

Emails, Gift Guides, and Home Page Collections
Throughout the weekend we'll be highlighting items with promotional offers in Etsy Finds emails, Gift Guides, and home page collections. We'll be selecting items from nominations in this Forum thread as well as items tagged with "EtsyFreeShipping" and "EtsyHolidaySale." Be sure to start tagging your items and listing your details in the item listings now as Etsy staff will be gathering items to feature in advance. The emails, Gift Guides, and home page collections will include information instructing shoppers how to use the site-wide search tags.

Home Page Banners
Throughout the weekend Etsy will rotate banners with promotional messaging in order to direct shoppers specifically looking for sales this weekend to those areas of the site. The wording on these banners will be clear that this weekend's promotions are from a selection of sellers, not the entire selling membership on Etsy.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

View More Merchandising Posts | Gift Guides

Seller How-To: Plug in the My Etsy Facebook Application

2009-11-19T15:15:00-05:00

The new My Etsy Facebook app is here and ready to help you share your shop with a new audience! This app not only provides a great way to share your Etsy shop and Favorites with your Facebook friends, but also lets you include a feed from your own blog and will alert you and your friends when your item is featured on Etsy's home page or in a Gift Guide.

I'm here to share helpful links and tips for using this as a social networking and promotional tool for your business, without being too spammy. I'll be hosting a follow-up chat in the Virtual Labs on Wednesday December 2, 2-3 p.m. ET, where we'll add the app together (for those of you who need a little extra help), share ideas and best practices.

First thing's first, sign yourself up for Facebook (if you haven't already). Don't have a Facebook fan page? This simple how-to can get you started. Many sellers prefer to use a fan page, rather than their personal profile pages, for their businesses.

Now you can add the My Etsy app to your Facebook profile, fan page, or both. Go here to get the app. For technical questions and a handy FAQ, please visit our Help section.

Here's an example of what the My Etsy will look like on a seller's fan page:

You've added this app to your profile or your fan page... Now what?

The My Etsy app will only automatically post to your Facebook News Feed when one of your items is featured on Etsy's home page or in our Gift Guides. If you want to let your Facebook friends know about a new item you've listed, you can go to your My Etsy app and share an item (see image above) or use Facebook Connect. You may be asking yourself, "Should I do this every time I list? Is this too spammy?" It depends on how often you list, of course, but as a general rule, be mindful of annoying your Facebook friends! When you do post about a new listing, try sharing an inside peek into why you created the item, which Facebook friend inspired this new piece or a detail about your creative process. That will be more interesting for your Facebook friends than simply saying, "New item for sale! Go buy it!"

Did you know that a business that blogs has 55% more visitors? (via Hubspot) If you blog, your My Etsy app allows you to share links to your blog posts. This is a great way to use Facebook to connect your presence in the blogosphere with your Etsy shop. You'll notice that only the title of your blog posts shows up on your My Etsy app, so make sure you use strong titles to get that Facebook fan clickin'! More reading: Etsy's Guide to Blogging.
Under your avatar, there are links to your shop profile and policies. That means you'll probably get more traffic to those pages, so make sure you've spent time updating those areas of your Etsy shop. Here's a great article on crafting your profile and another on developing shop policies that work for you.
Your Etsy shop banner has prime real estate on the My Etsy app — so make good use of it! Launching a new product line or having a sale? Use your banner to promote these announcements.
Don't just talk about yourself — share the love! Make sure to add lots of Favorites so that your Facebook friends can get hooked on your Etsy friends. We're in this together, sellers!

Now don't get overwhelmed. We've heard from beta-testers that the process of adding the app is pretty easy. For technical questions and a handy FAQ, please see our Help section. Have fun and join us in the Virtual Labs on Wednesday, December 2, 2-3 p.m. ET!

More Social Networking How-To's for Sellers

How-Tuesday: Rolling Balls From Magic Books & Paper Toys

2009-11-17T14:14:00-05:00

As a lover of both books and crafts, I have a very difficult time letting my coffee table volumes or National Geographic issues sit on the shelf for long before I'm ripping, cutting, folding, and gluing. Pages sticky with mod podge, my collection of paper transforms into a vault of materials and inspiration. Paper guru Esther K. Smith will be hosting Craft Night at the Etsy Labs next Monday, November 23. As a teaser, she shares her Rolling Balls project from Magic Books & Paper Toys for this week's How-Tuesday. This would make a great project (with or without the kids!) as you get ready to decorate for the holidays.

Purchase Magic Books & Paper Toys

Long before I ever thought of making books, I got a hexaflexagon in the mail from Dikko. Other men send flowers, jewelry, or chocolate, but he wooed me with paper. (It worked — we've been collaborating on art and our family for many years now.)

He had read about them in Martin Gardiner's math column in Scientific American and made one for a grad-school course at the University of Wisconsin. The flexagon was cool. I made them for a while — sent one to my mathematician cousin (he was not impressed) — and then forgot about them. Years later, teaching a class at Cooper Union called Instant Artist's Books, I found that hexaflexagon again and decided to include flexagons in my class. Then I got a photocopy of a page from a Victorian children's book that showed magic wallet construction. Those two forms were so easy and interesting that I built a curriculum around them. I developed my Magic Books & Paper Toys weekend workshop, which started at New York's Center for Book Arts. I've taught it at Long Island University, The San Francisco Center for the Book, and Penland School of Crafts.

When I began teaching design for CUNY, I used flexagons with my CUNY undergrads for design and color-theory problem solving. Since their designs split and reverse, they make an interesting design challenge. They also keep me amused.

I added flip books, strip animations, and spinners with wonderful results. One student rendered a paint can that sprays graffiti, another made a subway car with cut-out windows that show the stations changing.

I've seen flip books of fingernails growing, T-shirts changing designs, and all kinds of winking, blinking spinners. I wish I could see the cool things YOU make!

I've seen these made from holiday cards as ornaments, but they are also interesting books. And it's fun to roll them. You could even put a simple pop-up inside.

You Will Need
Heavy, foldable paper
Compass or round object (glass, bowl) to trace
Pencil
Scissors
Bone folder
Adhesive
Drawing and collage materials to embellish
Velco, magnets (optional)

1. Trace circles onto the paper using a compass, or trace a jar or small bowl. The heavier the paper, the fewer circles.

2. Cut the circles out with scissors or a knife.

3. Fold them in half and burnish.

4. Adhere the folded circles back to back, lining them up with care and burnishing until you have enough to create a full ball shape when you open up the ball.

5. Place Velcro or magnets on the covers so that the ball can stay open.

6. Roll your book to be sure it works.

7. Embellish with drawing, rubber stamps, or collage.

Rolling Faces: You can put whatever appeals to you on the pages of your rolling book. Faces can be fun. One student thought faces of politicians would be nice rolling away. Cut them from magazines or newspapers and collage.

Thanks to Esther K. Smith and the good folks at Potter Craft for sharing this project with us. For more paper inspiration, check out Magic Books & Paper Toys.

More How-Tuesday Posts | Supplies Category | DIY Made Simple Gift Guide

From Etsy's Merchandising Desk: December Festivites

2009-11-12T14:15:00-05:00

It's that time again, and those of us behind the scenes at Etsy would like to share our merchandising plans for December. As we continue to plan Etsy’s calendar for the year ahead with thematic merchandising, we will be incorporating many of the concepts you shared in response to November's report and continue to welcome your input. It is our goal to create a healthy balance between promotions for traditional holidays, seasonal changes, and lifestyle trends.

Rounding out November

Keep abreast of the November seasonal themes, holidays, dates to remember, and trends we are looking to highlight in November's Merchandising Desk edition.
Promotional opportunities for sellers in November:
- Nominate your favorite birthstones for our November Citrine Guide in this Forum thread.
- Learn how to participate in Friday Etsy Finds emails in this Forum thread.
- Suggest and nominate items for Etsy's Holiday Gift Guides in this Forum thread.
- Stay tuned to the Selling section of The Storque, Etsy's blog, to learn how to get involved with our broader promotional plans for Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

Stay Engaged in December
December sets the stage for a fast-paced approach toward the holidays. However, we'll soon relax and enjoy the company of family and close friends over delicious seasonal treats. Our critical merchandising focus this month will center around the holiday gift-giving season. Below you will find the extended list of topics we'll be looking to highlight throughout the month of December. We're looking for your creative interpretation and spin on each of the upcoming seasonal themes.

Seasonal Holiday Gift-Giving: Find our full list of seasonal gift-giving thematic topics in the newly released Holiday Gift Guides. Reevaluate your line and describe why your items make great gift ideas; take the time to photograph your items in a way that shows the potential uses it could have.
Seasonal Home Decor: Winter and holiday home decor accents, displays, accessories, centerpieces, ornaments, and all the home accoutrement that make us think of a cozy dwelling. Think candles, baskets, wreaths, garlands, furniture, tabletop, quilts, blankets, pillows, storage solutions, rugs, windows, lighting, bedding, and bath. Rich materials and fabrics remain at the forefront of styling options.
Entertaining: Celebrations including dinner with the family, holiday parties, and those notorious over-the-top New Year's galas abound. We'll be looking for creative and unique seasonal tabletop solutions, dinnerware, glassware and bar, table linens, food for your feast, centerpieces, place settings, place cards, invitations, menus, favors, and hostess gifts.
Winter and Holiday Fashion: Vamped up holiday, formal, and party fashions along with warm layers, winter coats, winter accessories, boots, bags, and jewelry all sparkle this season.
New Year's Eve: Ring in the new year in style. We'll be highlighting party options, celebration accessories and party fashion. Keep in mind with New Year's Eve, resolution time is right around the corner. January sneek peek: Health and wellness, relaxation, detox, reorganization, and all that emphasizes a fresh new start.
Calendars and Paper Goods: Thank you card sets, stationery sets, 2010 calendars, and gift wrapping elements.
Shopping Local: With online shopping, comes shipping deadlines. As we near these deadlines, we'll be looking to promote the Shop Local Etsy shopping feature along with other location-based highlights. Make sure your location is up to date in order take advantage of last-minute shoppers in your area.
Boxing Day: Boxing Day is a recognized day of rest in many countries, originating as a day of extending goodwill to those less fortunate. Over time, it has traditionally become known as a shopping holiday for sales and promotions. For many retail merchants, this marketing strategy has become their highest revenue driving day of the year. We'll be hosting a special Boxing Day extended promotion for sellers interested in participating. Stay tuned for details as we get closer to December including how to participate as a seller.
Winter Weddings: Attire, decor, invitations, favors, and gift ideas.
The International Vacation: Global adventures, features on warmer weather destinations, highlights of spring/summer fashion in the Southern Hemisphere.
December trends: The all-encompassing forest imagery including holly, branches, berries, pine cones, acorns, and related animals (deer, squirrels, chipmunks). Boots, pumps, Oxfords, and ballet flats. Winter accessories. Statement jewelry, metallics and sequined clothing and accessories. Gem tones, deep berry, plum, forest green, and classic combinations of red, white, black, green and royal blues. Vintage decor, eco-friendly options, and tribal motifs continue to top the trends this season.
Turquoise is December's birthstone, and December's astrological signs are Sagittarius and Capricorn (November 23 - December 21: Sagittarius and December 22 - January 20: Capricorn).
Promotional Opportunities for Sellers:
- In preparation for our Turquoise Gift Guide, we will be looking for community suggestions and nominations for what items you'd like to see in the guide. Suggest your favorite turquoise-related items in this nomination thread.
- Suggest and nominate items for Etsy's Holiday Gift Guides in this Forum thread.
- Stay tuned to the Selling section of The Storque for additional promotional opportunities through December.

If you'd like to stay engaged and involved with the approaching merchandising themes, interpret them in your own artistic voice. This can be translated in your listings, photos, shop announcement, descriptions, tags, titles, sales promotions and more. We're excited to see your creative interpretations!

If you make items that would fit well with the themes outlined, try stocking up and listing them in advance to take advantage of potential shipping deadlines and on site features. Do you already have items in your shop that meld well? That's great! Now it's time to revisit those items to make sure your tags, titles, and descriptions reflect keywords shoppers might be looking for this time of year. This is also a great opportunity to revamp your item photography with a new look, if you think they need some work. Check out some great how-to's for item photography to get started.

If your items fall under the main thematic categories we'll be highlighting this month, it might be a great time to consider purchasing a spot in a Category Showcase. For those of you who enjoy making Treasuries, we'll be looking to highlight lists that interpret November and December's themes in a creative and cohesive way, as well as the many innovative and beautiful collections that we normally feature.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

November is known as Real Jewelry Month, Peanut Butter Lovers Month, and Aviation History Month.
December 1: World AIDS Awareness Day
December 6: Spain's Constitution Day
December 6: Saint Nicholas Day
December 9: Christmas Card Day and National Pastry Day
December 10: Final safe date for international shipping deadlines (save for express and overnight)
December 10: Nobel prizes presented
December 11: Hanukkah begins at sundown
December 12: Poinsettia Day
December 12: Feast of Our Lady Guadalupe in Mexico
December 17: Hari Raja Puasa
December 17: South Africa's Day of Reconciliation
December 18: Final safe date for online shipping deadlines (save for express and overnight)
December 18: Muharram
December 21: Winter Solstice — shortest day of the year
December 25: Christmas Day
December 25: England's Constitution Day
December 26: Boxing Day — also known as the Day of Goodwill
December 26: Saint Stephen's Day
December 26: Kwanzaa begins
December 31: New Year's Eve

Do you have a date to remember that you don't see on the list? Let us know in the comments section below. We are currently working toward incorporating a more detailed calendar of international holidays into Etsy's thematic merchandising plans, so we're eager to hear which dates you would like to see included.

We’d like to hear from you!
We appreciate your support and look forward to your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below.

View More Merchandising Posts | Gift Guides

Seller How-To: 5 Tips for Item Descriptions

2009-11-11T16:48:00-05:00

Do you have writer's block when it comes to crafting your Etsy item listings? You're in luck! Optimize your shop with the following five tips for effective and descriptive prose in your product listings. You'll have a way with words in no time!

1. Create an inverted pyramid. The most important information about your item should be first in your description — not only because shoppers want the details on your items as soon as possible, but also because it's a smart way to optimize the way your description displays in Google search results.

Tip: Always use the Google search results preview.

2. Short paragraphs and bullet points are your friends. Visitors to your shop might be looking for a specific size or material, so make it easy for them to glean that info from your descriptions by cutting out superfluous language and making good use of bullet points. Think about your descriptions as a way to answer your buyer's questions (within reason, of course). Here's a forum thread, 20 Questions Your Buyers are Asking, to help you get an idea of what those questions could be.

3. Keep an eye on your web analytics results. (Find out how to set that up in the Seller FAQ.) Keep a list of the keywords visitors searched for when they found your shop and write with these keywords in mind. Remember that your tags are keywords used by Etsy Search, but your most important tags and materials should also be scattered throughout your descriptions so that internet searches (through Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) can find you too! These sites are more likely to pick up keywords from your descriptions rather than your list of tags.

4. Just like a good therapist suggests, use "I" statements. Speaking in the first person will help you connect with your visitor on a personal level — and isn't that what they are looking for when they come to shop on Etsy? Show a bit of your personality! Think of your item descriptions as you would when meeting a new friend: you want to be polite, but you also want to be your natural self.

5. End with a link. Did you know you can copy and paste Etsy URLs in your descriptions and they will function as a hyperlink? Use this to your advantage. If your visitor has read your item description and is not biting, don't let them float away off the computer, to another website, Etsy shop or back to their search results. Instead, give them a link to learn more about you, see your entire shop, check out your policies or even a link to send you a conversation.

Want more tips? Check out these links:

Writing for an Online Audience | Seller Handbook

How-Tuesday: Miniature Stocking Ornament From Sweater Renewal

2009-11-10T14:30:00-05:00

As the season of bulky fibers descends upon us, I inevitably must clean out my sweater drawer for new finds. Pulling out fistfuls of thick wool, I mourn moth holes, shrunken sleeves, oil stains. The colorful knits, even flawed, nevertheless feel enduring, and thus when I came across Sharon Franco Rothschild's Sweater Renewal, I was already inspired. For this week's How-Tuesday, Sharon shares her wool felting technique, along with a template to make a cozy upcycled Christmas ornament. You could even enlarge the template to make a full-size Christmas stocking.

Purchase Sweater Renewal from Amazon or an independent bookseller

I am, always will be, a self-confessed sweater junkie. Whether I am designing, knitting, buying, felting, cutting, or wearing sweaters, I can never get enough of them. Sweaters provide comfort, warmth, and a certain sense of style.

We all have our favorites — some that make us feel fabulously stylish, some that make us feel incredibly comfortable, and those that offer a coziness and warmth that no other piece of clothing can compete with. As we collect and add sweaters to our wardrobes year after year, memories also attach themselves to each piece.

I will forever remember one of my all-time favorite sweaters, and its quick demise. I was sixteen years old, and the sweater (I can remember it like it was yesterday) was a pink mohair cardigan, the exact color of cotton candy. When I wore this sweater, I felt transformed. I felt grown up, stylish, even beautiful. But one of my father's first attempts to do the laundry for our family ended in disaster for this cherished piece of clothing. After some washing-machine agitation (in hot water, no less), my beautiful sweater shrank down to one-third its original size and was suddenly and completely unwearable. But my love affair with this sweater was not yet over. I kept it in my top dresser drawer, and every time I opened that drawer, I would look at my pink sweater and remember instantly how good it had made me feel. It was years before I could actually part with it. How I wish now that I had made something else out of it, something that I could have continued to use in my daily life, to remind me of my dad and the wonderful feeling that sweater had given me.

Fortunately, I have discovered that damaged sweaters, old sweaters, out-of-style sweaters, and sweaters that once belonged to a loved one can have a second life. So clean out your closets, start your washing machines, sharpen your scissors, and get ready to redesign, recycle, and renew your wool sweaters.

Miniature Stocking Ornament

It's never too soon to start thinking about the holidays. These tree ornaments are just waiting to be stuffed with tiny treasures and placed on your tree or above your fireplace. The stocking is made from a brightly colored mohair sweater.

Finished Measurements
3" (7.5cm) x 5 1/2" (14cm)

Materials
Yellow-green sweater made of mostly feltable fibers, at least 8 3/4" x 16 1/2" (22cm x 42cm)
Stocking template (download here) and tracing paper
Sewing needle and yellow thread
1 skein each Rowan Classic Cashsoft 4-ply yarn, 57% extra fine merino, 33% microfibre, 10% cashmere, 1.75 oz (50g), 197 yd (180m), in light brown and dark green, plus fuchsia for crochet flower (optional)
Crocheted fuschia five-petal flower (optional)
Four 10mm nugget beads, 3 amber, and 1 translucent white (2 amber beads and the white one are optional)
Small box of straight pins
DMC embroidery needle #5
Beadalon big eye beading needle 2 1/4" (5.5cm)
Tapestry needle
Size G-6 (4mm) crochet hook (optional)

Techniques
Washing and felting
Embroidery: Blanket stitch, running stitch
Crochet (optional): Silp stitch, chain stitch, single crochet, double crochet

Felt the Sweater

There are three methods for felting sweaters: in your washing machine, by hand in your sink or tub, or at your local dry cleaner. The washing-machine method is the easiest and fastest way to felt, especially if you are washing a whole sweater or blanket. If you are doing a small piece, such as a sock, hat, or a cut piece of a sweater, you may find the hand-washing method easier. If you do not want to deal with the actual washing and felting yourself, your local dry cleaner is a good alternative.

Washing-Machine Felting
1. There are two types of washing machines — top loaders and front loaders. Top loaders open at the top of the machine, and you put your clothes in a basket-like container that has a cylinder in the middle. Top loaders work best for sweater felting for two reasons. The first is that you can open the top at any time during the wash cycle and check your felting. The second is that the cylinder in the middle provides a lot of agitation, so your sweater will felt very quickly, often in one cycle.

Front loaders have a door that opens in the front of the machine, and they provide a much larger, more open space than a top loader. Once the wash cycle begins, the door automatically locks and cannot be opened until the cycle is finished. Because there is no spin basket in the front loader, there is less agitation. So with front loaders, I suggest that you begin any felting project using a very short cycle (hand-wash is best) and know that you may need to go through a few cycles before your sweater will felt the way you want it to.

How to Felt Using the Washing Machine

Place your item in a pillowcase. This will protect your piece and provide more friction (which is a good thing).
Select a very short cycle to begin. The hand-wash cycle is always a safe bet.
Set the water temperature to Warm.
Add about 1/4 cup (60ml) of Ivory liquid soap, or any dishwashing liquid with a low pH balance.
Select the shortest spin cycle and the gentlest wash cycle. Spinning the item for too long can distort the shape of the piece, but it needs to spin a little so all the water comes out.
Place the pillowcase with your item inside in the washing machine. Start your washing machine. Do not felt more than one piece at a time. After each cycle, take your piece out of the pillowcase and check to see if you need to wash it again.
When you have achieved the desired results, put your item in the dryer (still in the pillowcase). Run the dryer on a very low- or no-heat setting until the item is dry.

Make the Stocking

2. Trace and cut out the Stocking template (download here), enlarged at 200%. Pin the template onto the felted sweater and cut it out.

3. Pin right sides together. Machine-stitch around the sides of the stocking, using a 1/2" (13mm) seam allowance. Leave the top edge of the stocking open. Turn the stocking right-side out.

4. Turn under 1" (2.5cm) at the top of the stocking. Using light-brown yarn, the tapestry needle, and running stitch, stitch around the stocking to secure the top hem.

5. Blanket stitch around the machine-stitched edges of the stocking, using light-brown yarn and the tapestry needle.

Appliqué & Embroider

6. If desired, you may crochet a five-petal fuchsia flower.

Chain 4, leaving a tail 3" to 4" (7.5 - 10cm) long. Join with a slip stitch to form the loop. (Chain 3, single crochet 1 into the loop) 4 times. Chain 3. Using a slip stitch, join to the base of the first chain 3. You now have five petals. Fasten off, leaving a tail 3" to 4" (7.5 - 10cm) long.

Pin the crocheted flower in place on the front of the stocking. WIth the beading needle, sew an amber nugget bead in the center of the flower, simultaneously sewing the flower to the stocking front. Be careful not to sew the front of the stocking to the back while doing this. If you do not wish to use the crocheted flower, simply sew the amber bead to the front of the stocking at the same point where it would be if the flower were there.

Crochet Loop (Optional)

7. This loop will attach to the bead center of the flower, closing the stocking. Using dark-green yarn, join the yarn to the top center back of the stocking with a slip stitch. Chain 32, slip stitch into the 22nd chain to form the loop, work a single crochet in each chain from that point back to the edge of the stocking. Tie off the yarn and weave the end under the hem of the stocking.

Crochet Strap (Optional)

8. Using two strands of light-brown yarn held together, leave a 3 1/2" to 4" (9-10cm) tail and tie an overhand knot with the two strands used as one. Attach yarn to the upper left corner of stocking (on the heel side). Crochet a 7" (18cm) chain. Chain 10 beyond the 7" (18cm) point. Form these 10 chains into a loop and slip stitch to the end of the 7" (18cm) chained strap. Sew an amber nugget bead onto the upper right corner of the stocking (on the toe side). The chained strap will come over the stocking and attach to this bead by the loop. At the end of the strand of yarn you left as a tail at the beginning of the strap, tie an amber bead. Tie the white translucent bead at the end of the other yarn tail.

Thanks to Sharon Franco Rothschild and the good folks at Potter Craft for sharing this project with us. For more upcycling inspiration, check out Sweater Renewal.

More How-Tuesday Posts | Supplies Category | DIY Made Simple Gift Guide

The Etsy Seller Handbook: All Our How-To's About Selling

2009-11-04T21:45:00-05:00

Sellers!

Below you'll find a handy index of all the useful How-To's about selling on Etsy. We're calling it the Seller Handbook, and we first posted it on the Storque in September of 2007. We'll be adding all new how-to's for sellers to this index and bumping up the post when we do. In this way it's a living document.

You can also search the Storque tags for "Seller Handbook" for a chronological list of all our published how-to's related to Selling.

Your Shop 101: How-To's for Getting Started on Etsy
Start with this one: Etsy Success for Beginner Sellers!
Please also see the Setting Up Shop Help Guide, Selling Dos and Don'ts, Selling FAQs, Listing an Item Help Guide, Etsy Guide to SEO.

[image by Artsy]

Photography How-To's

[image by CarolinaCottage]

Etsy International How-To's (plus How-To's translated into foreign languages)

[image by T woHiddenHeads]

Alchemy and Custom/Reserved Listing How-To's

[image by moxiethrift]

Shipping How-To's

[image by missplum]

Advertising How-To's
Please also see the Showcase Help Guide.

[image by Earmark]

Business and Pricing How-To's

[image by NewDuds]

Promoting & Marketing How-To's

[image by DancingMooney]

Craft Show & Events How-To's

[image by photohale]

Gallery Go-getter Series

[image by MiNDJACKET]

Social Networking, Blogging, Podcasting & Video-making How-To's

[image by growbots]

Handmade Code (Third Party Applications from the Etsy Developer Community)

"Etsy Addict" iPhone Application
Craft Cult (a site that let's you track your hearts and where you've been featured, plus more)
ColorMatch from 26OliveStreet (a tool that suggests items that fit along your color palette)
EtsyHacks (a suite of tools for sellers — "Copy Listing" is particularly handy)
Morecloth (an application that lets you browse fabric on Etsy by color)
Sellit.com (a service that helps you spread the word about your shop)
Soopsee (an easy-to-use website building service that enables you to feed in your Etsy shop, blog, etc.)
Tag Finder Tool from Craftweasel.com (one of this developer's many applications the Tag Finder gives sellers insights into what tags might be appropriate for their items)

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Legal Info for Artists

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Tagging How-To's

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Team Tips Handbook

See all the how-to's relating to Teams, groups of sellers who self-organize by location or craft.

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All about Etsy & Site Features

We have to close comments here because the page is taking too long to load! So if you have additional tips, please post in this Forum thread.

If you'd like to write a how-to for the Seller Handbook, pitch to the Storque editors.

How-Tuesday: Rose Petal Tee From Appliqué Your Way

2009-11-03T16:07:00-05:00

Picking through the scrap bins at fabric stores is my cherished scavenging adventure for texture and pattern. In every nook of my craft storage, strips of vibrant textiles bloom forth. When I find projects made for these sweet trims, I'm not only reinventing a T-shirt or a tote bag, I'm also creating something completely new out of my neglected bouquet of materials. Kayte Terry, who has shared many a resourceful embellishing how-to on The Storque, has come out with a new book, Appliqué Your Way. These projects will inspire you to root your way through not just your own pile of discarded cloth, but your neighbor's as well.

Purchase Appliqué Your Way from Amazon or an independent bookseller.

I came to appliqué through my love of fabric and patterns. I adore the contrast of rich velvet on linen or a sweet Liberty print mixed with tweed. My heart goes all aflutter when I score a stack of feed-sack fabrics on eBay or unearth a set of vintage Marimekko curtains at a flea market. Doing appliqué is a way for me to highlight these special fabrics in my work and to play with textures and colors.

The beauty of appliqué is that you can use small amounts of gorgeous fabric to make a statement. It's a great way to use scraps from your other sewing projects or to put old clothing or linens to new use. You can transform everyday clothing and household items into one-of-a-kind works of art with the addition of some simple appliqué. There's really nothing more satisfying than answering the question "Where did you get that?" with "I made it myself!"

While I love the comfort of a T-shirt, sometimes a basic tee just won't cut it. Romantic rose blooms and leaves, also made from T-shirts, gracefully trail down the neckline of this tee. A monochromatic palette makes this tee super sophisticated. Hit up your local thrift store for extra-large men's tees (they give you more fabric to work with) in different shades of one color.

Materials
Boatneck T-shirt
3 T-shirts in assorted shades complementary to the boatneck tee
Quilting ruler
Self-healing cutting mat
Rotary cutter
Pencil
Card stock
Tailor's chalk
Fabric scissors
Sewing machine and thread in complementary colors
Needle and thread in colors to match T-shirts
Straight pins

Make the Flowers and Leaves

1. Use a quilting ruler and work on a cutting mat using a rotary cutter to cut from the assorted T-shirts the following strips of fabric:
One 6" x 24"/15cm x 60cm
Five 3" x 14"/8cm x 36cm
Three 2" x 9"/5cm x 23cm
Note: You may have to sew a couple of strips together to get a 24"/60cm strip.

2. Trace about a dozen leaves onto the assorted T-shirts. Cut with fabric scissors. Mark simple leaf veins on the leaves with tailor's chalk.

3. Set your sewing machine to a straight stitch and sew veins on the leaves, backstitching at the beginning and end.

4. To make the flowers,
a. Thread a needle with a thread color that matches the T-shirt strip. Knot the thread end and set aside.
b. Fold a T-shirt strip in half lengthwise. Holding each end of the strip with your hands, with the folded edge at the top, fold the upper left corner down so that the raw side edge of the strip meets the bottom edge of the strip, forming a 45-degree angle. (See figure 1.)

c. Start rolling the first few inches of the left side of the strip to make the center of the rose. (See figure 2.) Sew through the bottom edges of the flower center to secure.

d. Fold the strip at a 45-degree angle next to the flower center and roll flower center onto the fold. (See figure 3.) Sew bottom edge to secure. Repeat folding the strip, rolling the flower onto fold, and stitching to secure, until there's no fabric left.

e. Tuck the final end of strip under the flower and sew to secure.
f. Repeat all the steps to form flowers from each T-shirt strip.

Assemble the T-Shirt

1. Lay the boatneck T-shirt out on a flat, clean surface. With the T-shirt facing you, pin the largest rose just slightly left of the center of the shirt. Pin two leaves below the rose. With a needle and thread, hand-stitch to the shirt to secure. Remove the pins.
2. Cluster four roses to the left of the large rose and accent with leaves as desired. Pin, hand-stitch to secure, and remove the pins.
3. Pin clusters of leaves trailing up the neckline of the T-shirt to cover the rest of the left side of the neckline. Hand-stitch to secure, then remove the pins.
4. Cluster four roses to the right of the T-shirt in a different formation than the one on the left and accent with leaves as desired. Pin, hand-stitch to secure, and remove the pins.
5. Pin clusters of leaves trailing up the neckline of the T-shirt to cover the rest of the right side of the neckline. Hand-stitch to secure, and then remove the pins.

Thanks to Kayte Terry and the good folks at Chronicle Books for sharing this project with us. For more modern embellishments, check out Appliqué Your Way.

More How-Tuesday Posts | Supplies Category | DIY Made Simple Gift Guide

Fabulous Packaging and Wrapping With rikrak

2009-11-03T10:30:00-05:00

Have you missed the first half of our series of holiday workshops for sellers? Don't worry, there are many workshops left to help you get your shop in shape this season. (View the entire schedule here.) Last week's workshop was hosted by Etsy seller, rikrak, our resident branding-with-packaging specialist! I've put together some great references from her workshop here, but make sure you read the thorough notes she's provided on her own blog, the rikrak studio.

Packaging How-To Videos:

Etsy Holiday How-To #1: Packaging

Etsy Holiday How-To #2: Packaging

Etsy Holiday How-To #3: Creating Labels and Hang-Tags

Furoshiki Gift Wrapping

Packaging Blog Tutorials:

Holiday How-To's: Sellers, Wrap It Up With Gift Wrap!

Team EcoEtsy Tip of the Week: That's a Wrap

Team Eco-Etsy: Make Your Own Waterproof Shipping Envelope

Furoshiki Fabric Wrap Techniques

Funky Felter's Blog: All About Labels for Handmade Items

Craftster Tutorial: Making Personalized Labels

Team Canada: Making a Cereal Box into a Beautiful Mailer

Packaging Downloads:

Envelope Pattern

Flying Floating Mailing Labels by the Small Object

Free Printable Mailing Labels by Creature Comforts

Free Printable Labels and Gift Cards by oh smile

Sweet Mailing Labs by Elephantom Knits

For more packaging tips and tricks, don't forget to read all of rikrak's workshop notes here. Happy packaging!

More Packaging Tips | Holiday Tips for Sellers | Holiday Workshop Schedule

Halloween Hosting: Kill Devil Punch Recipe From Food & Wine Magazine

2009-10-29T15:31:00-05:00

Your guests will be reeling (in a good way) from this punch! The recipe for Kill Devil Punch came to Food & Wine Magazine from Phil Ward, bartender at the aptly named Death & Co. It features a block of raspberry ice that melts, slowly releasing its juices (a.k.a. raspberry blood) into the bowl throughout the evening.

Ingredients

Raspberry Ice

12 ounces water
18 raspberries

Punch

9 ounces amber rum
6 ounces pineapple juice
5 ounces simple syrup
4 ounces fresh lime juice
5 ounces chilled champagne
12 raspberries
12 lime wheels

Directions

Make the Raspberry Ice: Pour the water into a plastic container and arrange 12 raspberries in the container. Freeze for at least 6 hours.
Make the Punch: In a pitcher, combine the rum, pineapple juice, simple syrup and lime juice and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
Stir the punch and strain it into a punch bowl. Add the raspberry-studded ice. Pour in the chilled champagne and stir once. Garnish the punch with the raspberries and lime wheels. Ladle into teacups or small rocks glasses.

Below we've picked a few spooky items to give your Halloween party some bite. Have a creepy Halloween!

Get More Halloween Decor | More Posts From Food & Wine Magazine

Orange and Black Recipes on Food & Wine Magazine