Sterling Awareness Treasury

I curated a Treasury that I call "Sterling Awareness".  You can help me raise Awareness by viewing the Treasury at this link: 

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=85227 

Remember to click on each picture and leave a comment. Those actions are necessary to raise the ranking of the Treasury.

Click here to read more!

A New Blog

I am in the process of setting up a new blog at WordPress.  I am excited about moving my blog because I will have pages on my blog.

I already have several pages set up, but no real information on them yet.  There will be a page for each of my shops and a separate page for my Epilepsy Awareness efforts.

The difficult part is learning how to manipulate the layout and data on WordPress.  If you want to start following now the address is http://apurplecow.wordpress.com.  If you know some shortcuts for learning WordPress, please let me know.  I specifically need to know how to fix the blog posts covering part of the blog title.

I will announce the new blog formally within the week with a special give-away.  I just have to figure out which hoops I can expect you to jump through for the give-away prize.

Click here to read more!

Awareness for Mom

I have not announced my Awareness Treasuries lately but I need to announce this one.  I dedicated it to my Mother.  Please help me support Awareness by visiting my Awareness Treasury.  Click on each picture and leave a comment.  This increases the rank of the Treasury.  

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=108313

expires Thursday Jan 28 3 am

Make sure that you don't miss viewing these Treasuries.  Sign up for my Awareness Treasury notification by leaving your email address in  the comment section.  I always moderate the comments so your email address will NOT get published.

Anyone can sign up to receive notice of my Awareness Treasuries by sending a message to me through this blog or through my Etsy shop. Click here to read more!

$5.00 Sale by the Trade-A-Holics

The Trade-A-Holics team has been very busy.  We had a great Trade Event this past weekend.  It gets kinda hectic in that thread but I traded for bunches of nice things from my teammates.

But its a new week and this busy team is keeping busy.  

The Trade-A-Holics January $5.00 and Under sale is already going strong.  I counted 85 shops listed in the first entry on the thread. There are many more shops listed in  the thread.  And here is the link to one of the best sales so far this year:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6416106&page=1 

Come and shop at the Trade-A-Holics January $5 and Under Sale.  

Click here to read more!

Exciting Sales from the Trade-A-Holics Team on Etsy

The Trade-A-Holics are having 2 sales Back-to-Back.

The first is the Trade N' Stay event that starts tomorrow and ends on Monday.  As soon as it ends the $5.00 sale starts and runs for a  week. 

I participated in my first Trade N Stay (TnS) in December and it was a blast.  You do NOT need to be a team member to participate.  You need to have a shop on Etsy with inventory because that is how you will pay for things.  There is a forum thread on Etsy with the names of the shops that are on the list.  You arrange a trade with one of those shops and your shop gets put on the list.  And once you are on the list, you will stay there until the end of the event.  There are some guidelines for courtesy Trading 101 that you should read here:  http://tradeaholics.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network. 

The $5.00 sale is just what it says.  Shops participating in the sale will have items in their shops that are $5.00 or less.  I will post the link to the thread with the list of shops in my Shop Announcement as soon as I get it.

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Thursday Treasury Tips - Treasury 101

Before I joined my first team I didn't know much about Treasuries.  I knew they existed.  I knew I had never been in one. That was the extent of my knowledge. 

A Treasury is basically a poster that shows 12 items from different Etsy Artists chosen by a Curator. Sometimes there is a theme (Valentine's Day, Green things), sometimes the items are just things the curator likes and sometimes the items are from shops that are friends or teammates of the curator. Treasuries only last 48 to 72 hours.

Etsy has an application called "Poster Sketch" that is the first step in creating a Treasury.  This is the link:  http://www.etsy.com/poster_sketch.php.  When you have chosen an item that you want to include in your Treasury, open the Poster Sketch.  Then enter the item number in the one of 16 boxes on the poster sketch and press OK. Do this for all 16 items.  You can drag the pictures around to set them up in any order you like.   You can click on the copy button at the bottom of the page and it puts the item numbers on your clipboard.  I paste that in notepad or Word and then make a list of the numbers from it.  I think it is easier to cut and paste into the Treasury that way.

Now you are ready to "fish" for a Treasury.  Check the Craftopolis Treasury clock at this address: http://www.craftopolis.com/index.php?com=tc.  

Be sure that you are signed in to Etsy.  (Don't ask how I know to remind you).  Remember that the time till the Treasury opens is approximate.  I have seen it take an hour longer and I have seen it go an hour or even two quicker.  The closer it gets the more often I check.  When it gets within 20 to 30 Treasuries I open a window with just the Treasury lists and I go back to it every few minutes if I am doing other things on the computer.  Sometimes I get out a project that needs work and just watch the open window.

Sometimes as it gets close a bunch of people will cancel their Treasuries in order to get one in the new batch.  I have seen 10 to 20 people cancel their Treasuries in a matter of 5 minutes.  That does not include the ones that were scheduled to expire during that time.

When the number gets to 340 on Main or 230 on West, I do not leave my seat. Keep looking at the time left on the individual Treasuries due to expire to figure an approximate time. I can just about guarantee that if you leave the computer a bunch of people will cancel and the Treasury will open and you won't get one.

When the number hits 332 for Main and 221 for West  you will need to scroll to the bottom of the page immediately.  You will see this:

Enter the name you have chosen for your Treasury where "Bright and Beautiful" is entered on this form, and click enter.  Then complete the Treasury like the Poster sketch.

When I am done with the Treasury I click on each photo and when the item opens in the other window I click on contact shopowner and send the shop owner a convo to let them know they are in a Treasury.  The shopowner will usually click and comment on your Treasury and they will usually inform their "network" that they are featured in a Treasury and some of them will click and comment too.


That is Treasury 101.


If you have suggestions or comments please use the comment box below.  I moderate all comments so if you don't want your comment published just indicate that and I will delete it after I read it.

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Big Plans and Dreams for this Year

I have not been attending to my blog the way I would like to but that is due to the changes I am in the process of implementing.  I decided that I would share my plans with you.  

I started selling some of my destash supplies in my shop but I don't really like the way they look in the shop with my creations.  So I opened a new shop.  I call it MyExtraBeads.  the address is http://MyExtraBeads.etsy.com.  I will be selling quite a few extra beads and other arts and crafts supplies.

I opened a new FB account for my Epilepsy Awareness efforts.  If you are interested you can find that page at MyEpilepsy Page on FB. My personal page has way too much going on.  I have my friends and family, Larrys friends and family, people that I have met and fanned through Etsy, and all my Epilepsy contacts on my personal page.  Some days I have to go through 4 or 5 pages to see an hours worth of posts.  I decided to break off the epilepsy because that is something that needs undivided attention.  I even opened a group page along with it so that others could contribute more to the page.

I have been doing well with the Awareness Treasuries. I have kept them going almost continuously for almost a month now.  


I am also working on a comprehensive list of Awareness Ribbon Colors that shows all the causes for each color.  I am trying to figure out how to add a page to my blog so that the list can be posted here.

I started the Facebook Tutorial on my Tuesdays Tutorials segment of the blog.  I still need to come up with a couple more segments that I can publish weekly.

I am going to announce a blog giveaway as soon as I hammer out the details.  I will be giving away a custom made bracelet from my shop.  I think I know which one, but I'm not sure.

Hmmm, I need a couple new segments.  I need something to promote my blog giveaway.  Maybe I will combine the two.  

Boy, just seeing this list is making me tired.  


Till next time.


I Click here to read more!

New Weekly Feature Tuesday Tutorial How to Create a Facebook Fan Page

Facebook Tutorial  How to Create a Fan Page

I answer many questions about Facebook Fan Pages and decided that I was going to start writing the instructions for others in the form of Tutorials.

The first tutorial is written as if the reader has not played around with Facebook much.  I am going to give basic information that may bore some of you.  Please bear with me while I bring the new to Facebook audience up to speed.

This tutorial is going to walk you through creating your Fan Page.  You should already have a page set up for yourself.  That page is the "Profile" page.

There are a 2 ways to get to the "Create a Fan Page"  and both ways take you to the page below.

1)  If you are on someone else's Fan Page, scroll down to the bottom of the left-most column.  You will see this:

click on "Create a Page for My Business".

2)  You can follow this link: http://facebook.com/pages/create.php

This is a picture of that page.

Choose either "Local",  "Brand, Product or Organization"  or "Artist, Bank, or Public Figure".  When you choose one you will have access to a drop-down menu.  Scroll the menu and choose the selection that best describes your Fan Page.  I have expanded the drop-down menu for the category "Local" so that you can see what choices are available.

Type the name you want for your Fan Page in the "Name of Page" box.

I recommend checking the next box so that you have time to work on your Fan Page before it goes public.

Read the small paragraph above the blue "Create Page" button.  If you need more information read the statements below the button.

If you are ready to set-up your Fan Page click on the blue button.

This next page is your new Fan Page.  I recommend bookmarking the page or saving it as a favorite.  It is not always easy to get back to the page at first.

You need to fan your Fan Page.  This is not automatic, you will go through the steps like anyone else.  Simply click on the "Become a Fan" button.

*I forgot to take notes while I did this step so please send me any corrections you notice*

Next you should add a profile picture.  Click on "Edit Picture" on the left side of the page.  Click on  "upload from computer".  Find the picture you want to use and click on it.  When you are done click on "Go back to your page" to get back to the main page.

If you want to change your settings, change the admins of your page,  get your "Badge" or "FanBox" click on edit page.  There are too many options available on this page to go over them now

Congratulations!!! You have just created a Fan Page.

I am constantly looking for Tutorial suggestions.  If you have a topic to suggest please use the comment  to suggest it or go to my Fan Page and post your suggestion in the Tutorial discussion.

Click here to read more!

I am in 2 Treasuries

I curated a Treasury and found out that I have been included in another. 

First I say Thank-you to WaterRose for including my Yellow snowflake Earrings in her "Lemon Fresh" Treasury.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=82692 

I curated a treasury "Blue Stand For..."  Please visit my treasury and learn some of the causes represented by the Blue Awareness Ribbon.


http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=82655

Click here to read more!

Purple Stands For... Treasury

Purple has always been my favorite color.  I have Epilepsy so I guess it should come as no surprise that the ribbon color for Epilspsy in Lavendar.  The purple color Awareness Ribbons represent the following Awareness Causes:

Epilepsy, Lupus, Alzheimer's, General Cancer Awareness, Domestic Violence, Pancreatic Cancer, Animal Abuse, Cystic Fibrosis, Fibromyalgia and too many others to list.

Please visit my new Treasury "Purple Stands For" and click on all the pictures and leave your comment. Thank-you

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=105240

Click here to read more!

Awareness Treasuries

Occasionally in your life you will start doing something for one reason and then that something takes on its own personality and its own life.  It evolves into something different, not what you originally planned.  This new life and personality can be a good thing or a bad thing.

The Awareness Treasuries that I have been creating are a good example of something that takes on a new life, a new purpose. 

I have been trying to find a way to promote Epilepsy Awareness through my Awareness Jewelry.  When I started making Treasuries I included my favorite Epilepsy Awareness pieces from my shop. The Treasury was a way for me to exhibit my creations.  Usually the other items in the Treasury had nothing to do with Epilepsy Awareness, or even Awareness for that matter.

Slowly the nature of my Awareness Treasuries began to change.  At first I was proud of myself for including Awareness pieces from other shops along side mine.  I liked the way my Awareness creations looked in the company of  Awareness creations made by other artists.

My treasuries were even growing in popularity.  That is a good thing.  The purpose of Treasuries is to showcase items from different artists with the objective being to increase the visibility of the items.  As the views of the Treasury increase so does the visibility.

I can't pinpoint the date that my Treasuries took on a life of their own.  One day I was just trying to showcase my own Awareness Jewelry for the purpose of increased sales and the next day I was on a one woman mission to change the way the world (at least the Etsy world) feels about Awareness.  

It is no longer about showcasing a piece of mine in order to increase my sales.  Now it is about the need to have everyone talking "Awareness".  Epilepsy Awareness is still my number one because Epilepsy is so much a part of who I am.  But I want everybody to take notice of each and every Awareness Cause.  

When I started making Treasuries I kept viewing the Treasury to see how well everyone liked it.  I checked my Analytics to determine if my shop views had increased.  I still view my Treasuries a few times a day, but I haven't checked my shop views in a while.  I want to read the comments because so many people share the reason for their interest in Awareness.  Everyone has a family member or a close friend whose life is affected by  an illness, condition or disease.  We all find a way to get through life despite it.  We do NOT give in to  whatever it is that is trying to hold us back.  

If you want to help me promote Awareness please visit my Treasuries.  Clicking on each item in the Treasury and leaving a comment does three very important things.  First it increases the rank of the Treasury, and that is how a Treasury gets noticed.  Second (this is for you), you will see 12 original pieces of art, some functional, some just pretty, but all supporting Awareness.  Third (this is for me), I like to be filled with emotion when I read how you or a someone close to you is overcoming their situation.. 

If you want to be notified when I have a new Treasury all you have to do is follow my blog.  I post each Awareness Treasury here as soon as I can.   

Please remember that Awareness and Awareness Causes are important to each and every one of us.  Click here to read more!

Yellow Stands For...Treasury

I curated an Awareness Treasury focused on the Yellow Awareness Ribbon.  The Yellow Ribbon supports causes such as:

 Deployed Soldiers, Military Support, Missing Children, Liver Cancer, EndometriosisSexual Abstinence

Spina Bifida

Hope, Sarcoma, Testicular Cancer, Bladder Cancer, , Equality, , Liver Disease, , Missing Persons, Suicide Prevention, r Adoptive Parents,

Please visit the Treasury, click on each item and leave a comment.  Thanks.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=82398 

Click here to read more!

Autism Awareness Treasury

This time I curated a Treasury of  Autism Awareness items.  Please visit and give it some click and comment love:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=104602

Click here to read more!

Interview with The Curious Pug

Yesterday's blog post was about my experiences trying to add a new landing page to my Facebook Fan Page. I mentioned that The Curious Pug's blog was the source of my information on how to do that. I had a little difficulty with my ability to follow instructions and I contacted The Pug for assistance. I love meeting people through my business especially when they are as friendly and helpful as The Pug.

Today I have an Interview with The Curious Pug.

Who is "The Curious Pug"?

I have a pug named Cyrus Bean who is always wondering what I'm doing or where I'm going. He is often in the same room as me, and if he's not napping or snoring away, he will sit and look at me with his big concerned eyes and head tilted wondering what his crazy human is doing. Or perhaps he is wishing for a treat (which I'm pretty sure occupies 99.8% of his brain).

So it only made sense to name my shop The Curious Pug in his honor :)

How long have you been an Etsy Seller?

I've been a seller since November 6, 2009. But I've had a buyer account since August 2008. It wasn't until I went into my 5th month of unemployment due to the economy that I decided, gee, now would be the perfect time to open an Etsy shop!

How long have you had your FB Fan Page?

Also since November 09. I signed up for all my networking sites around the same time once I decided on a shop name.

What gave you the idea to create the "Landing Page" for your FB Fan Page?

I saw another Etsy seller's fan page with their landing page and I thought it looked really professional and different. I didn't even know there was a Facebook app that allowed you to do that. So I searched on Google and discovered all the information I needed to know in order to set it up, but it was scattered about and not all in just one place, so that's why I decided to make the tutorial my own way, step-by-step :)

I noticed on you blog that you have posted several tutorials. Can you tell us what tutorials are planned for the future?

I just created one today on how to set up a Google Analytics account for your Etsy shop and blog. And I was thinking about maybe doing a tutorial on how to create a slide-show with music for YouTube using Google Picasa. I'm always welcome to new tutorial suggestions and if I feel I can create a good tutorial, I'd be more than happy to make one up.

Please tell us 3 things about you that would surprise us.

- I'm an x-ray tech and I love seeing bone fractures. Nothing shocks me anymore :)

- I am a huge fan of 80s music. I will usually listen to Pandora Radio when I'm sewing and leave it set on the 80s channel.

- I watch way too many movies and will usually make some sort of quote reference to them when talking to someone and they have no clue what I'm talking about! I find it amusing :)

I  know that the Curious Pug loves receiving emails and comments from her readers and customers.  

You can find The Curious Pug through these links:

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

http://www.facebook.com/thecuriouspug

http://curiouspug.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/thecuriouspug

http://www.youtube.com/user/thecuriouspug

http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouspug

Click here to read more!

Personalized Facebook Landing Page Courtesy of The Curious Pug

I browse through the Etsy forums from time to time looking for a thread that might interest me.  This title certainly caught my eye: "I made a tutorial on how to make a welcome Tab for your Facebook Fan Page".  I loved that concept so I checked out the links provided in the thread.

It seems to be a real simple thing to do.  All I really needed to do was design the graphics for my page, then follow a set of directions.  I can do that.  Well  if you read some of my blog entries you know that I like to outsmart myself.  I designed the graphics for my page and followed the directions.  (this is the part where I outsmart myself).

I could get the graphics loaded but the part about embedding a link in the page to take fans to my Etsy shop took them to the picture in my Picassa web album. I beat my head against the wall for about 4 hours. No matter what I did I couldn't fix it.  I even went back and read the post (instead of just skimming the highlights).   I finally sent The Curious Pug an email.    In the reply she went so far as to type up the exact code so that all I had to do was replace the picture information.  This is where you learn that if you are following a computer code verbatum, it may be a good idea to do just that.

After an hour I had just about decided that my fans would appreciate visiting my web album instead of my store.  The only difference between what I used and What she used was that the Pug used Photobucket,, so I uploaded my Graphics to Photobucket and that fixed it.  I guess it has to do with the way Picassa links back to the picture.  But it works now.  Check it out.  http://www.facebook.com/Cheryls.Purple.Cow?ref=ts

Here is a link to the post in The Curious Pug's Blog:

http://curiouspug.blogspot.com/2009/12/tutorial-1-how-to-add-welcome-tab-to.html

My next blog post will be an interview with The Curious Pug.   I will have information on upcoming tutorials on her blog.  Look for it within the next couple of days. 


Click here to read more!

Different Color Different Cause

I curated a Treasury called "Different Color Different Cause".  It is another Awareness Treasury that features some of the lesser know Awareness causes.  I hope that you will all visit this Treasury. http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=81661 When you do please click on each item  and leave a comment.  Those actions add to the "score" of the Treasury.  I have been told that if a Treasury gets a high enough score, it may be chosen for additional Etsy promotions.  I would love to see Awareness on the front page of Etsy.

Click here to read more!

Causes that Need Your Awareness Treasury

I just curated a new Treasury on Etsy.  I love to promote Awareness and I love to make Treasuries.  So I have combined the two to bring you items that support Awareness for causes that you may not know about.Please visit the Treasury by following this link:  http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=103669


Click on each item and leave a comment to support Awareness.  Another way to show your support is to support these artists.

Click here to read more!