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Monday, April 30, 2012

Marilyn's Choice SHOP OF THE MONTH Critique



Caught My Eye Designs opened shop almost one year ago.  Joyce the shop owner has built up a positive reputation for herself through her sales .  She is now in 117 circles and has 46 admirers. Let's take a look at her shop and see how she has done that and consider some suggestions for improving her already shining record.

If you are looking for knitted and or crocheted shawls, caps, scarves, or even pillows, you will want to visit this shop. Joyce uses materials such as alpaca, wool, novelty yarn, beads and ribbon plus more.

Party Time Any Time Free Lace Scarf
Let's discuss some of the aspects of her shop. Her pictures are crystal clear as you will see. She does close-ups so that you can see detail. She has her items departmentalized.  Like things with like things.
Her descriptions create mind pictures and fill in all the details that the pictures don't cover.
If I have anything to offer here it would be to make the title of the item descriptive using words that hopefully would come up in a search,  and perhaps save those catchy names for the first of the description. Many shop owners use their descriptions for sales pitches and stories and your titles might fit right in with that type of use.  A descriptive title might say something like, Knitted Lace Scarf in Purple, Fuchsia, Pink and White. It's just a suggestion, but we want our items to come up in a search,  the end desire being a sale.

Scottie is a Hottie
Fleece Pillow
Fleece pillow cover measures 16.25 by 16.25 inches. The design is the same on the front and back. Pillow insert for you to purchase is 16 by 16 inches. Colors are pink, light grey. Smaller Scottie dogs are dark brown. The closure is a zipper as seen in picture, it is offset and measures an opening of 13 inches. to fit your insert, fold in half and slide it into the opening. Zip up and enjoy. Monitors are different. Colors appear darker then they really are.
I have limited amount of this fleece so when they are gone, that is it. 
This pillow is adorable, the description above, is excellent, and Joyce's title is too cute. "Scottie Is A Hottie Fleece Pillow".  Love it.  Imagine it as the first line of the description. Try this on for a title: Throw Pillow Pink, Gray and Brown Fleece Scottie Dog Motif. It's a suggestion.

Popcorn Spaced Out Mobius
with a Twist
We have here another of Joyce's creations, one of my favorites. She calls it Popcorn Spaced Out Mobius with a Twist. I don't really know what that is but I see it fits around the neck, it's beautiful, well made and a fair price. Looking through the shop I find that to be the guaranteed theme.

One thing I will mention here is that Joyce only used 9 of her tags and not one of them was #2grc. Let's take advantage of those tags, that's how we invite people to our shops.  One other item I'd like to mention is the occasion box, Joyce put in Christmas, my concern about that is that a customer may think that it is strictly for Christmas when it is really good for all cold weather months.  I personally leave that box empty on my listings but of course I never do anything that is for a particular holiday.  I just don't like to limit my customer pool in anyway. Through the winter I would be wearing this beautiful item with everything in my wardrobe that it went with.
No Ouchies Here Scarf
"No Ouchies Here Scarf" , this is a beauty, for all ages and all occasions. The colors are lovely and I can feel it's softness.  The description is right-on and the price is comparable. You can't go wrong with this item.
Joyce used only 10 of her 18 tags and again didn't use her team tag. Shame...Shame....


There is not a lot of advice I can give to an almost perfect shop. The banner is cheerful and eye catching, true to the shop name.  It's a great place to shop,  with so many selections I had trouble making up my mind what I liked the best.

Let's look at a few minor things that might help to increase sales...
     1. Use all 18 tags - check shop stats for what words or phrases that are being used, do a google search yourself and find out what words it takes to get you to your shop.
     2. Use descriptive words in your titles
     3. Use team tag #2grc on all your items so that it will come up in a search by us
     4. Tweet - use team tag #2grc on all your tweets so that team members will be able to retweet your tweets
     5. Add International Shipping or at least a few places like Canada, Britain.
     6. Try to make a treasury once a month,  when you advertise for others they will return the favor
     7. Change your Featured Items often and always promote them when you do
     8. Go into your Activity often and check it out. Get into more circles, favorite more items, this gets more item views and shop views with really no work on your part.
     9. Take advantage of our teams clicking group,  again helping others will win you their favors in return.

All in all you have a beautiful shop,  and you are doing a great job on the big issues. Your product is wonderful,  your pictures are beautiful,  prices are comparable. Pick one or two things suggested to work on and see if your sales don't increase.
  
Marilyn Rush of Marilyn1545
             






Patty's Treasury Pick of the Month

This month was extremely difficult to pick a winner! There were so many beautiful treasuries made by our wonderful members of Golden Rose Crafters. After much deliberation, I have chosen this treasury made by Wynter from Winterscrystalmagick.

I love how she took the theme and carried it through with the little fairy house and picture of the fairy. The pastel soft colors are dreamy. All the items were truly beautiful!

'The Fairy Tale Colors of Spring' by WyntersCrystalMagick

123 Treasury Promo Team - Treasury Challenge #31 Featuring "CatchSomeRaes'

Fairy house Enchanted forest...
$95.00
Pretty XL Pastel Tie Dye Mum...
$4.50
SILK Scrunchie, hand dyed, s...
$6.95
Mini Hairbow Starter Set - S...
$19.99
Soft Pastel Color Cotton Tr...
$75.00
200 Punched Flowers, Pastel,...
$2.25
Soft, Pastel Chiffon Scarf W...
$17.00
Ethereal Dream Anklet
$35.00
Feather Wreath - Soft Pastel...
$12.00
Pastel butterfly mobile - Sh...
$40.00
Children's Art Print - W...
$14.00
Beaded Bracelet Cuff, Pastel...
$56.00
Pastel Rainbow Swarovski Cry...
$32.00
Pastel Flower Basket
$34.99
Hot Pads, Trivets, Candle Ma...
$48.00
Butterfly Wings Costume, Pas...
$22.00

Paula's Puns

Paula from Paula'sGifts of Love

Women's T-Shirt









1. Letter from Martha Stewart
Hi Loretta,
This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made myself
to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last night, I got
up early and made a sled with old barn wood and a glue gun. I
handpainted it in gold leaf, got out my loom, and made a blanket in
Canvas Tote Bag
peaches and mauves. Then to make the sled complete, I made a white
horse to pull it from DNA that I just had sitting around in my craft
room.
By then, it was time to start making the place mats and napkins for
my 20 breakfast guests. I'm serving the old standard Stewart
twelve-course breakfast, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I
didn't have time to make the table and chairs this morning, so I used
the ones I had on hand.
Before I moved the table into the dining room, I decided to add
just a touch of the holidays. So, I repainted the room in pinks and
stenciled gold stars on the ceiling. Then, while the homemade bread
Spring Womens Black PullOver
was rising, I took antique candle molds and made the dishes (exactly
the same shade of pink) to use for breakfast. These were made from
Hungarian clay, which you can get in almost any Hungarian craft store.
Well, I must run. I need to finish the buttonholes on the dress
I'm wearing for breakfast. I'll get out the sled and drive this note
Sto the post office as soon as the glue dries on the envelope I'll be
making. Hope my breakfast guests don't stay too long - I have 40,000
cranberries to string with bay leaves before my speaking engagement at noon. It's a good thing.
Love,
Martha Stewart
P. S. When I made the ribbon for this typewriter, I used 1/8-inch
gold guaze. I soaked the guaze in a mixture of white grapes and
blackberries which I grew, picked, and crushed last week just for fun.

2 .A woman is knitting as she drives (which is totally unsafe, and I don't advocate
it). Pretty soon, her speed has crept all the way up to 95 mph--and she passes a parked police car. The car gives chase. Officer Bob turns on his siren, but the woman, oblivious, doesn't notice him. Finally, he pulls up alongside her car and yells, "Pull over! PULL OVER!"
She looks at him, looks at her knitting, and yells-- "NO! It's a CARDIGAN!"

3 .One night a wife found her husband standing over their newborn baby's crib. Silently she watched him. As he stood looking down at the sleeping infant, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism.

Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, with eyes glistening, she slipped her arms around her husband.
"A penny for your thoughts," she whispered in his ear.
"It's amazing!" he replied. "I just can't see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $46.50!"

Submitted by: Paula Gsell of Paula's Gifts of Love
           

WHAT WILL BECOME OF US?

WIN A FULL SIZE LOG CABIN QUILT
IN THE
TREASURE YOUR TRASH CHALLENGE

  • Here is the challenge, you must rescue something from your trash, and create something new. (Take note of the picture above). Your new items must be usable. It can be a tool or it could be something decorative.  
  • All contest entrants must be members of Golden Rose Crafters Team. If you are not now a member you may become a member of GRC up to May 31st 2012 and still enter the Summer Challenge.
  • Let me know you are participating.  (Marilyn1545.Etsy.com)
  • As for Judging, using trash items that are seldom saved  will weigh heavily towards the good in this challenge  Remove something from the trash that really never gets saved, that's what we are looking for here.
  • The hope is that the item you create will also sell.  Can you create something that you can convince others that they need?  However, the judging will not be based on whether or not you have been successful in selling your new creation.
  • When the project is finished to your satisfaction, you will need to put together a short report detailing what items you have used in your production.   You will need to supply pictures along with notes on how you created your item. This is for the judging so do a good job on your report.
  • This challenge will cover 4 months June through September that's plenty of time to let those creative juices flow and come up with something unique. I can't wait to give my quilt away to our next Etsy Success Story. So put your thinking caps on and get busy.  Cut off date is Sept. 28, 2012.
  • Judging begins directly after Sept. and winner will be announced Oct. 15, 2012
  • Contact me at Marilyn1545.Etsy.com   or    marilynrush@comcast.net
  • When the judging is completed the selected winner will be featured in a GRC Team Blog Article. Other selected items from the challenge will be used in the article as well.
  • Sponsored By Golden Rose Crafters https://www.etsy.com/teams/10421/goldenrosecrafters
  • Quilt is in Production,  pictures will follow soon.
What will become of us? Plastic soap bottles, yogurt containers,  jars,  boxes, cans, pop tabs, lids, liquid soap bottle,  plastic containers of any sort, they go into the trash everyday.  If you are anything like me every time you have to throw one of these containers away you sigh and shake your head and you wish there was something you could use that container for because it bothers your conscience knowing that you are sending something to a landfill.
This summer is your opportunity to take one or more of those containers and create a use for it. As , Captain of Golden Rose Crafters Team I challenge you to remove something from your trash and use it to create something new. The new product can be decorative,  it can be a tool, use you imagination. But your end product has to rescue something from the trash.
Below I am going to share some ideas that I have found from other Etsy shops,  made by various crafters.  I think these are some great ideas, look them over and see if they can inspire you.

Beer bottles with the top cut off to make drinking glasses.
Pendant made from old Scrabble Tile
Clutch made from ReCyclced Juice Cartons
I've included below a few listings you can visit and see outstanding examples of what I'm talking about. One of the listings here is for lampshades made of plastic bottles and they are truly amazing and beautiful. Don't miss out on seeing them.
Butterfly made from Coke Can


Yvonne Hernandez
Refrigerator Magnet made from Coca Cola Can
Ceiling Light Made from Plastic bottles

Lampshade made from Plastic Bottles

Sarah Turner EcoDesigns



Folded Book Art Sculpture

Folded Book Art Sculpture
 Marcy BatesRecycled Reads

Michole Recycle Clocks

Recycle Clocks
Aqua Man Clock
I Love My Man Bicycle Sprocket

Michole
Recycled Magazine Vase
Recycle In Love

Marie Poulain

Recycle Examples

Submitted by:  Marilyn Rush of Marilyn1545







Patty's Picks


Twisted Sticks




                                                  








NEW ITEM                                                                                                
   For this months new item I have chosen this darling ballerina mouse from Mamaducksdesigns.

I can’t help but smile when I see this darling little creature With her pink tutu and slippers she makes me want to get up and dance.  With the sewn on facial features, this would be a wonderful gift for a little girl.

Check out all the wonderful items offered at Carol’s shop.
www.mamaducksdesigns.etsy.com


 Renewals

This month I have chosen this lovely pink necklace and earring set. 

Stitches and Jewels chose to display this set on a beautiful white embossed fabric.  Lovely!  This would make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift.

Find many more lovely items at their shop:  www.stitchesandjewels.etsy.com
Promotions

Don’t we all wish we really had a little fairy dust! 
This is a very unique necklace.  I love the wire wrapped bottle.  Great gift idea for Mother’s Day   What mom couldn’t use a little fairly dust!

Find more of Stef’s lovely items at  www.pinkcupcakejc.etys.com

Toddler Quilt
Spectacular Mariner;s Compass Quilted Pillow


Table Topper








Some great finds from Patty's Twisted Sticks