The June Treasury Challenge Entries Left Us SpellBound

Give yourself a pat on the back if you entered the TPT June Treasury Challenge. It truly was a challenging challenge and all of the entries were spellbinding but a special congratulation goes to the winner, Donna of “babydolldressup.” She creatively spelled “WOW – ETSY IS FUN!” with objects that easily looked like letters. Plus, ten of her finds were from the shops of TPT members.

An honorable mention is being extended to two entrants. They are Lani, of  “EcoBrilliance”, and Lisa of “Nouveau-Tique.” Lani used items from nine TPT member shops to spell “TPT LIV WELL.” Lisa amazingly spelled “X MARKS THE SPOT” with snake images. 

 

The June TPT Treasury Challenge is SpellBound

We’re giving you a heads up for the TPT June Treasury Challenge because it’s going to be a real challenge! Color or subject matter is the glue that binds most treasuries but their importance will be less prominent this time.

The creation of a successful entry to the “SpellBound” Challenge will require the 16 items to be seen differently. They need to be seen as letters of the alphabet. For example, a t-shirt will no longer be a t-shirt, it will be the letter “T.” and v-neck top becomes the letter “V.” (See end of article for additional letter finding hints.)

Once you get the hang of seeing objects as letters, you can begin forming words for your treasury. Each “SpellBound” entry must contain at least one 3-letter word. Profanity will not be permitted and will result in immediate disqualification. Bonus points for the formation of a whole sentence or phrase and double bonus for words formed with items from TPT members.

The challenge will take place from June 10-23. Prominent events during that time include Flag Day, Father’s Day and the First Day of Summer – each worthy a treasury “notation.” (Check out the “June Has Everything for Treasury Making” article for a more complete list.) A “SpellBound Treasury Challenge Thread” will be posted on June 10. All entries must be posted on this thread.

Rules for the June TPT Team Treasury Challenge “SpellBound”:

1. Open to all members of the TPT Team.

2. All entries must be posted on the official June TPT Team Treasury Challenge thread between June 10 – 23.

3. The words “TPT Challenge” must appear in the treasury title.

4. The words “TPT is SpellBound” must appear in the treasury description.

5. Each treasury must contain at least one 3-letter word.

6. Profanity will not be permitted and will result in immediate disqualification.

7. Bonus points for the formation of a whole sentence or phrase.

8. Double bonus points for words formed with items from TPT members.

Hints to get started:

1. A – roof lines

2. D – handle of a cup or pitcher

3. M – scarf draped around neck and shoulders

4. O – easy to find, they’re everywhere

5. S – necklace chain

6. T – t shirts

7. U – opened necklace

8. V – v neck top

9. Y – scarf tied around a neck

10. IF YOU FIND AN ACTUAL LETTER – USE IT!

11. I’ve had luck using the buyers search. For example, if “tpt team L” is typed with “All Items” selected, a few suitable selections pop up.

Can’t wait to “read” the fantastic treasuries created by TPT Team members They’re certain to be spellbinding. Here are a couple of examples for you.

‘Art Deco Hidden Word’ by MDCardsandGifts

Can you find the hidden message?

AnneElizabethP… $12.00	jacquelynlee $7.50	BlastsFromTheP… $10.75	SuePsales $35.00
ParrishHousePh… $25.00	LookingAtCloud… $25.00	MindiLynJewelr… $63.00	BerryPlace $15.01
chloesvintagej… $24.90	roberthettinge… $15.00	davidleeguss $149.99	BlastsFromTheP… $10.75
davidpooleartp… $28.00	LostCityJewelr… $49.00	ArtdeLimaginai… $12.00	IslayCorners $28.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

‘Last minute gift guide and hidden message for Mom from the TPT Team’ by SeasAndSeasons

Great gifts from members of the TPT Team that will help you to say “i LOVE YOU MOM!”A 100% TPT Treasury.

MistyAurora $15.00	BuyBackYesterd… $7.50	EnchantedBeehi… $5.25	nanioriginals $19.00
GladToBeHere $27.00	Sweetlittleblo… $10.95	PhotosPast $13.00	auntemilie $48.00
meshedesigns $27.00	fatwoman $15.00	NataliaDecor $35.00	IremOzerdemDes… $25.00
grimmlynn $5.00	SpringwoodSoap… $3.50	ByTheBy $30.00	artyecological $15.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

June Has Everything for Treasury Making!

The month of June is practically upon us and is chocked full of treasury making goodies – probably too much so. Let’s start with the blatantly obvious. We know June hails the beginning of summer and with that comes graduations, school letting out, family vacations and Father’s Day as main events.  But I bet there is a lot about June you do not know. This particular month is honored with the Rose as its flower and either the pearl or alexandrite for its birthstone. While pearls and roses seem to be romantically linked, I thought it odd there was no mention of the month’s greatest activity being weddings…lots and lots of weddings. As seen by the photo above, alexandrite is a beautiful stone, now only found in vintage pieces of jewelry, mainly Russian in origin. It changes color from a moss green in daylight to raspberry red in artificial light…what a lovely color theme for a June wedding! And how well it can been coupled with roses in the same color theme.

But I digress. June is also primarily documented with a lot of birthdays – from the famous to well known comic and cartoon characters. June also ranks very high as honoring various types of food, from healthy to not so much as you will see. Lots and lots of food. So for our appetizer, on a national scale we have the National Drive Safe and National Safety Month, the National Rose month, and National Tennis Month. Our main course consists of National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month along with National Iced Tea Month and Turkey Lovers Month. For animal lovers June is the Zoo & Aquarium Month. But my personal favorite of all time so far, is Potty Training Awareness Month. Let’s see some T’s on that one – I dare ya!

Month long observances also include Dairy Month and the Great Outdoors Month along with National Adopt-a-Cat Month. For week long observances, the first week has National Fishing Week; the second week is National Clay Week ( perfect for odes to our pottery Etsians) and the fourth week is National Camping week. I guess they skipped the third since the third Sunday of the month is Father’s Day. Let us not forget the second Sunday of the month is Racial Unity Day.

For more fun, here are specific date related little tidbits of the month you may not be aware of and these always bring a smile to my face. Sometimes I just don’t know where they come up with this stuff! Warning: you may gain some weight just reading this list  or at the very least, go grab a bowl of ice cream.

• 6/1 – Donut Day, Flip a Coin Day, Oscar the Grouch’s birthday.
• 6/2 – The radio was patented in 1896.
• 6/3 – Is Egg Day, the first US Spacewalk occurred and Repeat Day, Repeat Day…
• 6/4 – Aesop’s Birthday along with Cheese Day while Ford’s first operational car was “born” in 1896.
• 6/5 – Hot Air Balloon day, Richard Scarry’s birthday ( children’s book author) and World Environment Day.
• 6/6 – Was D-Day and hopefully was remembered today (Memorial Day) as I write this post. But on a brighter side, the first drive-in theater opened in NJ – get this, in 1933! Also National applesauce cake day and Yo-Yo Day.
• 6/7 – National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.
• 6/8 – One of my favorites, Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday ( 1867) along with World Ocean’s Day.
• 6/9 – Donald Duck was born in 1934
• 6/10 – Ball Point Pen Day, Iced Tea Day Day ( why do they have a day when they have the whole month?) and Judy Garland was born in 1922.
• 6/11 – Jacques Cousteau was born in 1910 and ET premiered in 1982.
• 6/12 – Anne Frank’s birthday in 1929, Magic Day and supposedly Baseball was invented in 1839.
• 6/13 – Another personal favorite I can not wait to celebrate – Weed Your Garden Day, like that needs a day. More like the whole month for me!
• 6/14 – Flag Day and World Juggling Day
• 6/15 – Fly a Kite Day along with the Power of a Smile Day.
• 6/16 – National Fudge Day, oh yeah, baby!
• 6/17 – Eat your Vegetables Day ( since you had all that fudge the day before )
• 6/18 – International Picnic Day
• 6/19 – Garfield’s birthday – he debuted in 1978 but not to be undone by the Tasmanian Devil who was born in 1954.
• 6/20 – Bald Eagle Day and wait for it….Ice Cream Soda Day.
• 6/21 – the first “official” day of Summer
• 6/22 – Let’s have Chocolate Eclair Day on the day the US Dept of Justice was formed! As good a reason as any.
• 6/23 – King Edward the 8th was born in 1894, as was Gutenberg in 1400 they claim and June Carter Cash inf 1929. It is also Pecan Sandies Day, in case you didn’t get enough eclairs and own stock in Nabisco, along with Pink Day and Soap Opera Day. (Sometimes you just have to use your imagination how you are going to celebrate.) Oh, I forgot – the typewriter was patented in 1868.
• 6/24 – UFO Day – I like this one – it is supposedly the first documented sighting.
• 6/25 – LEON day – spelled backwards is NOEL – to let you know it is 6 months to Christmas. Better get started on all those fabulous items you are going to create for the buying season!
• 6/26 – The bicycle was patented in 1819. And for chocolate lover’s we have National Chocolate Pudding Day. BTW, it is also the day which the toothbrush was invented in 1498 – WOW! I would like to see what that looked like.
• 6/27 – Captain Kangaroo ( Bob Keeshan was born) as was Helen Keller (1880).
• 6?28 – Paul Bunyan Day
• 6/29 – Camera Day
• 6/30 – Meteor Day and perhaps related, Superman’s birthday.

Etsy’s big shindig in Sydney Australia is June 2cd. Movie releases are nominal – Snow White & the Huntsman is this Friday, June 1. For sci-fi lovers we have Prometheus Friday June 8th. Rock of Ages takes the big screen June 15th and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World opens June 22cd. (Unfortunately GI Joe is on hold.) All of these might make good themes. One is called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter which is curious. I’m sure it is not the same honest Abe. On June 5th (June 6th for the Eastern Hemisphere) Venus will trek across the sun’s path, like a little black dot, which is actually a type of eclipse. This will not happen again for another 105 years. (Remember to use a filter if you plan on checking this out). June is also full of local festivals and celebrations.

So there you have it. Of course, do not forget your mermaids, nautical themes, summer fashions and summer home decor themes, nor our woodland friends and geometric shapes & patterns. Look for Etsy’s Merchandising Desk for June coming at a website soon. In the meantime, happy treasury making!

 

The Merry Month of May!

Hi folks. It’s that time again to get creative on ideas for treasuries celebrating the merry month of May. The month is chocked full of inspirational goodies – in fact, I have never seen so many “days” and “national” celebratory days crammed into a single month ( so far ). At least, not since this series started anyway, as a protest to Etsy being slow on producing their merchandising desk. Now I know that you know we have Mother’s Day and Memorial Day as our biggest holidays this month. Of course Etsy will still be looking for those gorgeous gift guides for HER all the way up to May 13th. Now Dads, not to be forgotten, will have their special day on June 17th so get those tags, titles and treasuries in shape now for HIS special day!

First let’s look at how May stacks up for monthly recognition ( with or without editorial comments from yours truly). For example, did you know that May is:

• Better Sleep Month
• National Bike Month
• Older Americans Month ( a personal favorite of mine)
• Mental Health Month
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
• National Photo Month
• National Physical Fitness & Sports Month
• Transportation Month
• Asthma & Allergy Awareness Month
• Better Hearing & Speech Month
• Flower Month
• National Duckling Month?

Now for your basic food groups we have:

• National Hamburger Month
• National Salad Month
• Asparagus Month
• National Strawberry Month
• National Barbeque Month
• National Egg Month

You want more you say – okay – how about some week long observances? The first week is National Postcard and Teacher Appreciation Week. The second week is National Police and National Pet Week and the last week of the month is a not so surprising National Backyard Games Week.

Here are some specific days of the month chocked full of treasury ideas:

5/1 – Hawaiian Lei Day, Mother Goose Day and of course May Day ( does anyone even know what a May pole is – this date got third line billing to the other two!)

5/2 – Holocaust Remembrance Day and National Truffles Day

5/4 – National Weather Observers Day and Space Day

5/5 – Children’s Day in Japan, Cinco de Mayo and National Scrapbook Day

5/6 – (Personal favorite) – International No Diet Day!

5/7 – On this date the first stamp collection was started.

5/8 – National Teacher Day, National Train Day and No Socks Day ( apparently it is ok to go without socks )

5/9 – We celebrate Lost Sock Memorial Day – seriously (though not too serious) to clean out your sock drawer, give brief remembrance for the missing socks and throw out the odd ones. The day before, No Socks Day must also be known as Lost Sock Memorial Eve.  Also on this date, the first newspaper cartoon was published in 1754 (you think it was political?) and the creator of Peter Pan was born but they call it Peter Pan Day – which is why I don’t know the name.

5/10 – Is clean your room day – now that you got rid of your mismatched socks.

5/11 – Twilight Zone Day – which sounded really cool until I clicked on it to discover an ad for SyFy! But I do want to remind everyone that vampire treasuries leading up to the 11th would be cool as on this day the movie “Dark Shadows” premieres.

5/12 – International Nurses Day and Kite Day

5/13 – Mother’s Day (duh – if you don’t know this by now you are in deep doo doo) BUT I bet you didn’t know it is also Tulip Day! They go hand in hand.

5/14 – The Lewis & Clark Exposition started in 1804 (It is also Dance Like a Chicken Day but I could not really find any more info on that)

5/15 – AOI (Hollyhock) Festival in Japan; L Frank Baum (the Oz creator ) was born in 1856 and it is National Chocolate Chip Day!

5/16 – Wear Purple for Peace Day

5/17 – The first Kentucky Derby was held.

5/18 – Is International Museum Day along with Visit Your Relatives Day

5/19 – Armed Forces Day and Circus Day

5/20 – Strawberry Picking Day

5/21 – The Red Cross was founded in 1881; Lindbergh’s flight took place in 1927 and it is Victoria Day in Canada

5/22 – Buy a Musical Instrument Day ( I mean really?  If that is the case then Etsy should go after a day for us!)

5/23 – Penny Day

5/24 – The first Morse Code message was transmitted in 1844

5/25 – Tap Dance Dance

5/26 – Blueberry Cheesecake Day

5/27 – The Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937 and Masking Tape was invented in 1930 (no correlation)

5/28 – Jim Thorpe’ s birthday (1888) and the celebrated Memorial Day.

5/29 – JFK’s birthday ( 1917 ) and Paper Clip Day

5/30 – the ice cream freezer was patented in 1848 and the “official” Memorial Day.

Now be sure to include your woodland creatures, mermaids, nautical and vacation themed, geometric and monogrammed items in deep emerald greens and among lily of valley flowers. And don’t forget to be bullish about it. You can include twins after the 21st and wear white after the 28th ( old school ).

 

 

 

TPT’S APRIL GOODNESS IN MERCHANDISING

It has come to this member’s notice that the monthly merchandising reports from Etsy come out too late. In reality, and my humble opinion, about two weeks ago would have been perfect. After all, they encourage us to make appropriately related items, tag items and treasuries with corresponding nouns matching their list and create treasuries approximately 3 days in advance of noted monthly holidays and events. With such expectations on our part, why then do they wait so long to publish in their blog?

So, this member has taken it upon herself to do some research and come up with a TPT team version relating to the grand month of April which is loaded with goodness worldwide. Now, I am not including what we already know and expect: no moustaches or beards. No mermaids. No diamond or other geometric shapes. No rustic farm equipment. No bunny rabbits. We get it.

Here is some April worthiness to take note for treasury themes, item promoting and future treasure hunts:

THE BIGGIES FOR APRIL:

Concentration on Mother’s Day gifts and gift guides ( duh, but I had to put it in here )

Earth Day is April 22 so how about some green, recycled and re-purposed T’s and items.

And don’t forget about Graduation: first colleges then the high schools – gear up, tag up and get ready.

SPECIAL NOTE: In mid May, the release of “Dark Shadows” , the latest collaboration from Johnny Depp and Tim Burton will be hitting the big screen. Go check out the trailer….looks awesome! Of course I am a big JD and TB fan so that makes me prejudiced. But those of us old enough to remember the Dark Shadows cult phase when the TV show ran and then later in reruns, all know with vampires being so popular now, the timing is perfect for masterful and playful treasuries! Who knows, maybe we’ll make it an end of month or early May challenge.

ADDITIONAL APRIL TRIVIA: Did you know April is national Frog month, international Guitar month, national Garden (duh) month, national Humor month, Volunteer month and Poetry month?

Here are some more uniquely specific April dates as well:

• 4/3 First home phone was installed in 1877
• 4/5 – read a road map day
• 4/6 – North Pole was discovered
• 4/7 – No Housework Day ( gotta love that one!)
• 4/9 – First public library was established in NH in 1833
• 4/11 – Jackie Robinson Baseball Day
• 4/13 – Scrabble Day ( yep – that’s what it said)
• 4/14 – Fate of the Titanic ( also being released in 3D this week)
• 4/15 – No, not what you were thinking but the first Micky D’s was established
• 4/17 – Daffy Duck was born in 1937
• 4/18 – first laundromat was opened. Also, pet owner’s day
• 4/22 – aforementioned Earth Day
• 4/23 – Shakespeare’s birthday
• 4/25 – administrative professional day. Also ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand.
• 4/26 – pretzel day
• 4/27 – arbor day

There you have it folks. Why it’s like a good April garden…great for the picking!  Have fun and enjoy what you do.

 

March TPT Treasure Hunter Challenge

It is Treasury Challenge Time Again!

Challenge Title:  Treasure Hunt Challenge
Time Frame: Sunday March 25 to Saturday March 31
Rules:

• Go on a Treasure Hunt and create a treasury made from 16 of these
  30 items.
• Items 1 through 4 are required.  For the remaining spots, you can use any combination of the items.
• Treasury must be tagged “tpt team”
• Treasury must have a link to the Treasury Promotion Team in the description.
• You can enter as many times as you want.
• Post a link to your treasury on our Official Team Entry Thread (Click Here to Add Your Treasury Entry to the Thread)

Bonus:  Combine items for a bonus during judging!  For example: find a teeny tiny chalkboard, find a bunny rabbit that is personalized.

Winners:  We will have several winners, including a “team’s choice” winner.
What do you win:  Winners will get an ad on our team blog for a month.  (If you don’t have a shop you can choose one of your favorite shops to promote).  Winners will also get various promotion opportunities on our team facebook, blog, and team forums.

1  an item from the shop promotion threads (HERE  OR HERE)
2 an item from the shop of the a tpt team member (Member List HERE)
3  an item from one of the many treasuries featured on our blog
4  an item found by using the search “tpt team”
5  an item found in your favorites
6  an item found by searching your name
7  an item found by searching “tangerine”
8  Something with a chalkboard surface
9  Vintage office supply
10  something made out of maps
11  a Personalized item (name or monogram)
12  a typography item
13   something teeny tiny
14  something the color of your birthstone
15  an item that would be the perfect gift for your mom
16  Geometric Pattern
17  An April Fool (joke)
18  Herbs
19  Treasure (Diamonds or Coins)
20  Aries or Ram
21  Fortune Cookie
22  Wood Pattern
23  a garden tool
24  a bunny rabbit
25  a boat anchor
26  Fish
27  Something about or from the 80’s
28  A sassy dog or cat
29   An item found in the Supplies category
30  White on white

Here are some sample Treasure Hunts to get your creative juices flowing!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/ODMxNzQ2MXwyNTQ1NjYyNTk5/my-etsy-easter-basket

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTU1MzY5OTZ8MjU0OTY3Nzc4OA/the-treasure-hunter-01

TPT Week in Treasure

Here are some standout treasuries this week from our team members!  We will be making selections weekly so remember to tag treasuries “tpt team”

‘Black and White’ by DecadesOfVintage

7 Fall Leaves Vinyl… WilsonGraphics $5.00	Book Wall Clock -Sh… RoosterJam $36.00	Elegant Black Brida… priya123 $42.00	Large Footed Stonew… LeiliDesign $220.00
Single Small Black … cynthiavardhan $25.00	Bee Miniature Paper… elsita $99.00	Most Versatile and … LuciaVerona $59.00	Edinburgh Taxi – Ma… bethstonestudi… $15.00
Modern Wall Clock :… blueorder $38.00	Crossword Puzzles- … MontclairMade $7.00	The two black cups MademoiselleCh… $65.00	brooch nice grassho… squirrelliciou… $16.00
Set of 150 Vintage… paperhill $120.00	Totoro and friends … munieca $16.00	Necklace Beaded Wir… SilverLiningKr… $22.50	Vintage Gray/White … TaborsTreasure… $24.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

‘Neutral’ by DecadesOfVintage

Circle of friends -… DomesticStorie… $22.00	Real Ghost Cicada C… REALBUTTERFLYG… $39.99	Vintage Copper Buck… Etsplace $94.99	Wood Desktop with D… PineandMain $98.00
Ring Bearer Basket,… creativebyhear… $29.00	Winter Wedding Phot… metroline6 $20.00	Nest Garland tatteredrosear… $12.00	Felted ivory vest E… Baymut $198.00
Antique Book 1890 D… LittleRedPolka… $89.00	Vintage Mini Collec… AloofNewfWhims… $21.00	10- 4″mini twi… inkkit $10.00	Jewelry mosaic fram… Nostalgianmore $60.00
For Mum and Baby Cr… MagazinIL $34.00	embroidered noteboo… pilosale $28.00	organizer basket co… PrintParty $45.00	Vintage, Wooden Pot… oldandnew8 $9.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

‘Can You Hear the Bluebells Ringing?’ by EmilyVioletElizabeth

various hues of blue for spring

portrait 1 jmsstudio $7.00	Blue Train Case thewhitepepper $20.50	Vintage Mid Century… DaveysVintage $60.00	teapot, 6 cups, Eng… paroliro $25.00
c1950 Vintage Howar… hopperandspace $1125.00	cat eye glasses vin… VintageOptical… $125.00	Fiberglass Desk Lam… castandcrew $88.00	Antique Bottle Coll… Hindsvik $49.00
1950s Two Piece Dre… VeraVague $250.00	Celestine – Celesti… JimColony $65.00	Light Blue Cotton P… DelindaBoutiqu… $28.00	Large ceramic blue … catherinereece $24.00
blue mid century je… charliesnest $18.50	retro blue french w… joellecutro $20.00	CUSTOM Build Your O… studiolara316 $145.00	Vintage royal blue … RecentHistory $10.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Tag your shop items TPT Team

A great way to make treasuries is by doing a search for TPT members.  It is also a great way to get featured in more treasuries too.  Here is a quick overview of how to benefit from being a member of our large team.

Shop Owner:

• Tag your shop items with the tag “tpt team”
• If you don’t want to tag all the items in your shop, just tag items you would like to feature.  For example since Spring is the subject of a lot of treasuries right now, tag your spring items!

Treasury Makers:

• If you want to make a treasury featuring TPT members, do a search for “tpt team”
• Be sure to expand your search to vintage and supplies to include more members.
• For a theme treasury, you can search specific words along with the TPT team tag.  For example if you are doing an Easter treasury, search “Easter TPT team”, “Spring TPT team”, “blue TPT team”, “rabbit TPT team”, etc…

Here are some Beautiful finds from 100% TPT team members!

‘Pack up the cat and go’ by mymothershouse

100% TPT Team Member tribute – thank you for tagging your beautiful items!

wood arrow sign beach b… SheShell $24.00	Primitive Grey Tabby Ca… PrimitivesandF… $28.00	Chocolate Vines, turquo… Svetusha $92.00	1960s Vintage Shabby Ch… auntemilie $22.50
Aquamarine Earrings -Ma… thejewelstreet $27.00	30% off on SUPER30 coup… SchneiderGalle… $25.00	Olive Green Czech Glass… ChristinesJewe… $15.00	Original Abstract Water… SimplyClaudia $25.00
Sleeveless Dress Vintag… bytheway $25.00	SALE, Vintage Trim Gold… lunapurpurie $10.00	Mint and White Flower P… MistyAurora $14.00	Shop-Wide Sale: Wire W… wolfwhispersje… $24.95
Beach Decor, Fine Art P… MelanieAlexand… $25.00	Lichen necklace – mint … GBILOBA $15.00	Purple Czech Glass Bead… HappyFortune $48.00	Crochet Wedding Earring… sukran $52.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

‘Spring forward ‘ by PatMcWhorter

All of these picks are from The Treasury Promotion Team and are tagged tpt team! tpt team members tag your items in your shop tpt team, cause we want to promote you!

Early Spring Metallic P… Lehns $15.00	Easter Decorative Vinta… NataliaDecor $16.00	White Dress A- Line Cut… BoutiqueAlaMod… $62.00	San Francisco Skyline A… MelanieAlexand… $25.00
Golden Brass Tribal Arr… MistyAurora $18.00	Original Painting Calif… jcstrong $55.00	Sweet Treats Cupcake Ca… AmericanBlosso… $8.00	Purple and Gold Earring… TheBrassHussy $16.00
Amethyst Purple Brass … TheBrassHussy $12.00	Southwest Red on Buff P… SouthwestCraft… $24.00	Vintage Necklace, Hat C… meshedesigns $27.00	Fingerless Gloves, Hand… JustColor $47.00
ACEO Kitty Cat in Brown… THEODORADESIGN… $5.00	Easter Photograph Eggs,… LovesParisStud… $30.00	30% off on SUPER30 coup… SchneiderGalle… $39.00	Lavender Dreams – 8 x 1… jessicatorres $30.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

‘Let’s hit the road!’ by MDCardsandGifts

100% TPT members!

Eiffel Tower Detail, Pa… MelanieAlexand… $15.00	1972 Classic Ford Bronc… GreenBomb $20.00	Brooklyn Bridge, New Yo… SketchAway $20.00	Blue Barn – 12 x 12 Fin… jessicatorres $40.00
Beach Photograph, Here&… MelanieAlexand… $30.00	Roller Coaster Forever … Lehns $15.00	Summers Day Dream 5×7 … JMBarclay $12.00	Paris Photo, Aquamarine… MelanieAlexand… $30.00
Love on the Beach SeasAndSeasons $25.00	RAIN – surreal beauty o… RemoteLuxury $50.00	Number 10 (8×10) Fine A… NostalgiqueIma… $30.00	Fine Art Photograph Nov… Gallery32Photo… $25.00
Tropical Villa, White … KrysPettitArtw… $50.00	Art Folk Art Fine Art H… artandimages $6.00	Brass Bird and Aqua Pea… FuchsiaBloomSt… $26.50	Landscape Photography, … semisweetstudi… $25.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Enough with White Space Already!

Ho Hum Ho Hum……the front pages of Etsy continue to drive white space photos into your face.  While we just finished with Valentine’s Day pages out the wazoo, the latest pastel trended treasuries are basically boring. The boredom is not because of the wonderful item selection – in fact, I do believe that it is harmful to those artisans- but exists because of the overly stark white backgrounds.  Such a sterile, crispy clean to the point of harshness and blindness to the eyes (its like getting a snow burn) background literally washes out the item. And if your item is a soft pastel color….well there you have it.

Deep rich vibrant colors, like all the shades of red just revealed since Christmas for Valentine’s Day for example, go exceeding well with the white space photos. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, St Patrick’s Day are jewel tone color rich. As are the seasons of summer and autumn.  And then comes beautiful spring and while we should be rejoicing in the earth’s returning beauty, grace and  rebirth, it tends to wimp out, at least to me, on the pages of the Etsy magazine.

I have been noticing recently a lot of shop items being photographed in also a washed out bleach by the sun kind of look as well. Now this style is rising in popularity as pictorial photographs but as an Etsy buyer,  I want to be able to see what I am potentially buying – in detail. And a little drama doesn’t hurt either.

So first hats off to all our treasury makers who enjoy drama and little white space in their treasuries. And hats off to the shop owners who offered us such delightful photos to build these treasuries upon. I went through a day’s worth of treasuries in our treasure chest and found some really ass kicking inspiration.

‘Light Up the Night Rustic Weddings’ by MDCardsandGifts

Layered Wedding Dress – The … ktjean $1480.00	20 x white color cotton ball… cottonlight $15.50	Bridal brooch bouquet light … Jannyfays $68.00
Solar Lights – Green. Solar … firefliesdesig… $15.00	12 Rustic Wedding Favors, Fr… thefunkyshack $36.00	Rustic Flower Girl Basket Fi… braggingbags $24.50
Hanging tealight jars Set of… marrymerosie $75.00	light fixture lamp metal sig… InTheWriteHand… $200.00	Solar Lids Mason Jar Solar L… hawthornehill $10.00
Vintage Rustic Wedding Invit… inkdbykate $50.00	Rustic Log Cabin White Birch… goodolddayshem… $14.00	Wedding Cake Topper- Mr & Mr… BungalowGlow $13.00
2 Birch Log Tea Light Candle… MyGardenGate $22.00	Emerald Green Taffeta Prom D… digforvictory $115.00	Hand Painted Mason Jar Moroc… LITdecor $24.00
Champagne Wedding Toasting F… skyspirit8stud… $65.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

‘Hey… Who WHO Who MOVED My CHEESE?’ by CatFabricsandButtons

Inspired by AiryObsessions ESASO Treasury ChallengeIf you are experiencing change in your life, your career etc be sure to read this short story about what 2 mice “Hem and Haw” and 2 friends do and what happens along the way. It’s perfect

Lemon Yellow Glass Jar with … airyobsessions $25.00	Vintage Cat Eye Glasses. Sun… CollectableSpe… $70.00	Vintage multi strand necklac… DragonsLairVin… $22.99
SALE Yellow Gray Flower Slou… mojospastyle $34.00	Henry the Owl 8.5 x 11 Gicle… ruffings $22.00	Rhinestone Earrings, Yellow … AtticDustAntiq… $15.00
Bug – Fabric Winged River Ro… sscookiesandcr… $4.25	Dear God, please don’t l… tanyabond $12.00	Sheet Music – Sweetheart Lan… OLDisNEW $13.00
He Loves Me-Loves Me Not-Whi… giftforallseas… $24.00	Vintage Bright Yellow Jewel … silverliningde… $14.00	Prom Dress Yellow Vintage 19… bytheway $75.00
FOUNTAIN- ACEO Print – Beaut… dianaarcuri $4.99	CrazyCatGlass Lampwork Boro … crazycatglass $19.99	Lively Yellow Vintage Open W… queenartist1 $2.75
Art Photo Design Checker Cab… DownHomeDeco $10.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

‘you are somebody’s reason to smile’ by atticle

Vintage German Op Art White … GoGoBerlinette $45.00	COMING SOON Leather Satchel … eodwyer84 $85.00	Rough Diamond Sterling Silve… ElementalAlche… $95.00
Underneath, small 7″ x … AllisonLongHar… $20.00	vintage sign letter 24″… ElizabethRosen… $90.00	Photography – Black and whit… sparksoffire $40.00
Danish Table Lamp Sakura – … 1001vintage $185.00	Antique 1800s Edwardian Jack… VeraVague $495.00	Mane artmule $50.00
v i n t a g e Unique Metal R… simplychi $12.00	Black and White Solarplate P… RoaringLionArt $25.00	Pope Paul VI Religious Medal NOSTALGIEeurop… $2.00
READY FOR ADOPTION Needle-Fe… BayColonyDesig… $36.00	Vintage Afghan Off White Cab… drowsySwords $65.00	Black Iron Horse OlsenVintageMa… $23.00
White and grey felted wool s… ulga $75.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Of course this is all just my humble opinion. Most really good treasuries have a nice mixture of both white and non-white space photos. So if you want to try something a little different, see what you can do with all 16 slots and zero white space! Then edit by adding some related items photographed with abundant white space and see if you don’t come up with something striking and bold.

One last nod goes to the Etsy Treasury Hunter website. Check it out to see some very special recognition of the non-atypical treasuries created by very talented curators…including our own members. Visit here

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Etsy Shopping Guides – More Relevant Treasuries

Have you seen the new Etsy Shopping Guides?  They came out at Christmas and have continued through Valentines Day.  I have done a few treasuries that I tailored to the gift guides and discovered that the views on those treasuries were higher.  But more importantly the clicks were substantially higher.  That means that the people viewing my treasury were actually using it as a way to shop.

People make treasuries for lots of reasons.  One of the reasons I make treasuries is because I want people to be able to find cool items, something they might not on their own.  So this is a cool way to have your treasury be more relevant to shoppers.

This is how the gift guide works:

On the front page of Etsy they have a big banner that will say “shop for the holidays”.  If not they have a permanent set of links to the left.  It is under the heading “Discover”

In this example I went for the Valentine’s Shopping Guide.  So I looked at “Valentine’s Day”

 

If you click in the article “Top picks for Valentines Day” you are redirected to a treasury search.  The search is looking for treasuries with the tag “valentine gifts”.

So for your treasury to show up here.  You should tag it with “valentine gifts”.  There are also other categories in the shopping guide for Valentine’s Day.  One of them shows “Personalized Gift” another “jewelry”.  (side note:  if you are a seller and you have something in your shop that would fit this keyword, be sure to tag in your shop.  Then you have a better chance of showing up in these gift guides.)

So here goes my nerdy experiment.  I made the exact same treasury. But took two different approaches to promoting them.

• “love you always” treasury I promoted on a treasury team.

• “Personalized Valentine Jewelry Gift Guide”.  No team promotion, but titled in a way that will be found in the gift guides.

You notice the Gift Guide got less comments but way more views.  More interesting than that… The gift guide had a click percent of 71% (this means that out of 120 views 86 items were actually viewed in the listing).

The treasury not catered to the Gift guide, on the other hand, only had 4 clicks out of 55 views or 7% click rate.

This is just one example, but I have tried it several times and always seem to have a much higher click rate.  So I hope this has been informative, now go make those gift guides!

xxoo

Maggie