Monday, April 30, 2012

May Art Party


Welcome to our Etsian Artists monthly Art Party!


Don't be shy, come on in, everyone's invited!!!

Each month we give you a prompt generated from a Random Art Prompt Generator and everyone who wants to participate creates in their own medium their interpretation of the prompt.   (the art prompt generator changes every time it is clicked on, your prompt for this month is below)

It doesn't matter what your medium is, whether you do traditional art, jewelry, soap, clay, clothing or anything else that I haven't listed.  Absolutely anything and everything is welcome at our party!  

Blogging is probably easiest but it also doesn't matter whether you blog or not, you are welcome to add your creation anywhere on the net and then come back and add the link below. ex. Etsy, FB, Flickr, Photobucket and anywhere else I haven't listed.

We want to keep it loose to make it easy for everyone to participate!

This months prompt is: cyberpunk
(click image to enlarge)
There are no restrictions, have fun with it and then come back and show us what you got!!!

The link up will open on May 1 and will close on May 31 at 11:59pm.  You are welcome to submit your creation at anytime while the link up is open.  If you submit yours early in the month try to remember to come back at the end of the month and check out all of the other creations at this party.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

This Is A First!!! No Need To Vote...

Just Announce The Winner of Last Weeks Treasury Challenge!

Congratulations BabanCat!!!!

Ok, let me explain what happened,  we only had 2 fabulous entries into last weeks challenge and when I came to tally the finals and launch the voting today, I had to eliminate one of the entries for not having a full 16 items in their treasury and that leaves only one finalist or in other words our WINNER!  Congratulations Cat! :)

Cat wins an adspace on the side bar for one full week, a feature on the blog and will be our featured shop in this weeks challenge!  

For those that like to get their thinking caps on early for this weeks challenge the theme will be "Another Bright Desire" remember that it can mean anything to you!  Do not make  your treasuries until Tuesday and remember to swing by here to get the full rules and post your treasury in the link up!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tuesday Treasury Challenge




The Etsian Artists Team Tuesday Treasury Challenge is open to EVERYONE and not just team members so feel free to join us! This weeks theme is  "The Jazz Age"   and remember that it can mean anything to you. This Challenge will run for 24 hours, your treasury must be created within that time frame and NOT before. Come back on Sunday to vote for your favourite one. You must have all 16 items in your Treasury on Sunday to qualify as a finalist, if there are any missing items in your Treasury it will be disqualified. 

The Winner of the Challenge will be the featured shop in the next weeks challenge as well, they will win a featured blog post including an interview with pics and links to their items, if that wasn't enough they will also receive a spot on the side bar of this blog for one full week!

Here are the rules for the Challenge:

1) You must follow this weeks theme  "The Jazz Age"

2) Spread the love... Do NOT include an item from your own shop & only one item per shop please

3) Must include 7 Etsian Artists Team Members or (search EAWT)

4) Must include 1 item from each of this weeks featured shops Oddball Art Co.

5) Must include 3 New or Undiscovered shops (New shops = open for 4 months or less / Undiscovered shops = 40 sales or less) These shops can be team members!

6) The last 5 are up to YOU!

7) Include the Team Tag EAWT

8) Include that you are participating in the Etsian Artists Team weekly treasury challenge somewhere in your treasury description with a link to our Team Blog http://www.etsianartists.blogspot.com/

9) Post your treasury's URL here in the link up below to enter in this weeks challenge!

10) Your Treasury created for the challenge MUST be created within the 24 hour day of the challenge which is every Tuesday, it can NOT be created before hand or it will be disqualified! 

Your Treasury MUST be posted in the link up below to be entered, if it is not in the link up below then it is not in the challenge! 

Good Luck & Have Fun!!! 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Time To Vote


I wonder where everyone has been hiding?  I hope you decide to come out and play with again real soon!!!! :) In the meantime it sure makes my job easy when there's only 3 participants.....  I wonder who our finalists are???

Please use the bright colorful polls to your right to vote for one of these fabulous treasuries to win last weeks Treasury Challenge!  The polls will close at 1:30pm EST on Monday April 23 2012.  The winner will win a wonderful prize package consisting of a front page blog feature of them and their shop right here on the team blog, an ad space on the side bar of the team blog for one whole week and they will be included in every treasury made for the next Challenge as our Featured Shop!

For those of you that like to start planning and thinking about your next Challenge Treasury early the theme will be "The Jazz Age" remember though, do not build your treasuries until the calendar says its Tuesday and be sure to come back here to get a full run down of rules and the featured shop, you will also have to post your link in our challenge link up to be entered.  Have fun!!!


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Etsian Artists Featured Seller



Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your shop?

My name is Ana Goncalves originally from Portugal (born in Lisbon) Have been living in the UK for 21 years now. I have always been very expressive since a young age and believe that it is the gateway to the soul. 

My shop has a mixture of uplifting original paintings and prints on various paper crafts. My work reflects a great part of who I am, and how I connect and feel about life. I am inspired by existence, everything around me through daily experiences, feelings, reflections and my own self awareness. I am also inspired by nature and animals, which bring peace and harmony and remind me that life is ever changing. My art brings insight as well as provides a positive and empowering message. 

Original Acrylic Art Bookmark -  'Inner Voice'

What inspired you to open your shop? 

I wanted to share my creations with the world and allow others to connect with my Art 

Besides designing & creating things, what do you do? 

I am a Holistic Therapist, help people on a one to one basis, as well as do voluntary work and help others when needed in a mixture of fields.

Nature Photo Inspirational Quote -  8x10 Fine Art Photography, Beauty is everywhere you see

Where, who or what does your influence come from? 

 Being here and being able to tap into how I am feeling is one of the main reasons I create, and so existence plays a big influence in my creations.

What inspires you to be creative? 

Just being who I am right here for this moment

How do you get out of a creative rut? 

Go for walks in nature, be around animals, and try something new.

Four Directions Animal Medicine Wheel Spread - 1 Question

When did you first discover that you were or wanted to be an artist? 

I feel that we are Artists at heart in whatever we do from being a Teacher, to a Cross Stitcher or a stay at home mom, we are constantly creating and designing ourselves around what we are and what we do, in turn creating our own very master piece of life.

Can you describe your creative process for us? 

It usually starts with a feeling, or a motivation to create and see what arises. 

Art Print White Eco Friendly Blank Greeting Card - 'Love is All'

What is your most cherished handmade possession? 

An original mixed media original artwork titled ‘Emerging Vibrance’ by Chrissy Foreman C, a good friend and a very inspiring woman. 

Where do you see or want your shop to be this time next year? 

 Expanded

Where would you like to be in ten years? 

In a community or travelling the world inspiring others to live their truth 

Nature Photo Inspirational Quote - 8x10 Fine Art Photography, We are no ordinary People

Who are your favourite shops to browse on Etsy?





What is your best advice to newbie Etsian's just opening their shops? 

Enjoy your creation process and be grateful for it, be open to all the avenues and possibilities of being found. Value what you provide and find the true worth of your work. Ask for help where needed, and most importantly enjoy yourself on the journey and never forget why you are here. 

Where else other then Etsy can you be found on the net?

On a Blog 




Do you have any coupon codes that you would like to share with our readers?

I currently have 35% OFF all items using coupon code: THANKYOU35
Available until 30th April 2012
&
I am 2 sales away from 100 sales here on Etsy and I will be offering the 100th buyer a FREE Art Print Postcard of their choice from my shop.


Violet Flower Art Print White Eco Friendly Blank Greeting Card - 'Blossoming True'

Monday, April 16, 2012

A St♥len Kiss

This weeks Treasury Challenge theme is "A Stolen Kiss," I  was feeling very inspired by this theme and wanted to do something a little different in hopes to inspire all of you!   I went ahead and gathered up some fabulous items from the Etsian Artists Team and a few favs from here and there as well that I feel represent the theme in some way.   So enjoy & hopefully... be inspired to make treasuries! 
Pop Art, Graffiti Kiss, Lips, Black on Red Painting
by GirlBurkeStudios




Lips and Kisses - Vintage Heart Photo Collage 5x7
by ColorfulPixelsbyLife

XO Studs Sterling Silver Hugs and Kisses Earrings
by Aeliosdesign






The Kiss Designer Spring Love Bird, Home Decor, Nursery,Child's Room Decoration,Cake Topper
by Hartstringz

To Kiss a Prince
by Starflycreations

  
108 Kiss Labels Hello Kitty birthday, favors
by HappyDigital



Cute kissing bear couple wedding cake topper gift Decoration with flower basket
by Heartbear





Kissing Jackalope hoodie dress - eco-friendly brown ink screenprint on slate grey cotton fleece - size Medium/One Size (fits USA 0-8) 
by NYHop


I Want to Paint My Face onto your FACE - Original Collage- 8x10inches - Not a Print - Mixed Media Art - Thomas Patrick Levy Quote
by HuneyBunny



SKULL KISS GIRL Skull Skeleton Death Zombie Gothic Goth Skull Tank Top Women White T-Shirt Tunic Singlet Vest Women Art Rock T-Shirt Size S  
by Punkalife

Tuesday Treasury Challenge



The Etsian Artists Team Tuesday Treasury Challenge is open to EVERYONE and not just team members so feel free to join us! This weeks theme is  "A Stolen Kiss"   and remember that it can mean anything to you. This Challenge will run for 24 hours, your treasury must be created within that time frame and NOT before. Come back on Sunday to vote for your favourite one. You must have all 16 items in your Treasury on Sunday to qualify as a finalist, if there are any missing items in your Treasury it will be disqualified. 

The Winner of the Challenge will be the featured shop in the next weeks challenge as well, they will win a featured blog post including an interview with pics and links to their items, if that wasn't enough they will also receive a spot on the side bar of this blog for one full week!

Here are the rules for the Challenge:

1) You must follow this weeks theme  "A Stolen Kiss"

2) Spread the love... Do NOT include an item from your own shop & only one item per shop please

3) Must include 7 Etsian Artists Team Members or (search EAWT)

4) Must include 1 item from each of this weeks featured shops BabanCat

5) Must include 3 New or Undiscovered shops (New shops = open for 4 months or less / Undiscovered shops = 40 sales or less) These shops can be team members!

6) The last 5 are up to YOU!

7) Include the Team Tag EAWT

8) Include that you are participating in the Etsian Artists Team weekly treasury challenge somewhere in your treasury description with a link to our Team Blog http://www.etsianartists.blogspot.com/

9) Post your treasury's URL here in the link up below to enter in this weeks challenge!

10) Your Treasury created for the challenge MUST be created within the 24 hour day of the challenge which is every Tuesday, it can NOT be created before hand or it will be disqualified! 

Your Treasury MUST be posted in the link up below to be entered, if it is not in the link up below then it is not in the challenge! 

Good Luck & Have Fun!!! 


Sunday, April 15, 2012

Time To Vote Etsian Artists!


Thank you to everyone who participated in our most recent Treasury Challenge this past Tuesday!  I am looking forward to doing it again this Tuesday but in the meantime we need to find a winner for our last one.  I hope you all will like our new and improved, and very colorful might I add, voting system to your right =>
There was a bit of a technical difficulty this morning with the old one, hence the delay in getting it up here.  So a fresh start I guess to our new and improved weekly challenge.  The polls will close at 1:30pm est on April 16 2012 so please use the polls to your right to vote for your favorite of the following finalists...
The winner from this Challenge will win a prize package that includes a blog feature right here on our Team blog, an ad spot on the side bar for one whole week and they will be included in every treasury for the next challenge as our Featured Shop!   For your opportunity at winning this amazing prize package join us this Tuesday for our next Challenge, you can get your thinking cap on now and start considering this theme "A Stolen Kiss" remember it can meaning anything to YOU but don't start building your treasuries until this Tuesday or they will not be qualified in the challenge.  Full rules will be posted here Tuesday.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Tuesday Treasury Challenge


The Etsian Artists Team Tuesday Treasury Challenge is open to EVERYONE and not just team members so feel free to join us! This weeks theme is  "Shadowy Forest"   and remember that it can mean anything to you. This Challenge will run for 24 hours, your treasury must be created within that time frame and NOT before. Come back on Sunday to vote for your favourite one. You must have all 16 items in your Treasury on Sunday to qualify as a finalist, if there are any missing items in your Treasury it will be disqualified. 

The Winner of the Challenge will be the featured shop in the next weeks challenge as well, they will win a featured blog post including an interview with pics and links to their items, if that wasn't enough they will also receive a spot on the side bar of this blog for one full week!

Here are the rules for the Challenge:

1) You must follow this weeks theme  "Shadowy Forest"

2) Spread the love... Do NOT include an item from your own shop & only one item per shop please

3) Must include 6 Etsian Artists Team Members or (search EAWT)

4) Must include 1 item from each of this weeks featured shops MadScientistsDesigns & Cathouse Prints

5) Must include 3 New or Undiscovered shops (New shops = open for 4 months or less / Undiscovered shops = 40 sales or less) These shops can be team members!

6) The last 5 are up to YOU!

7) Include the Team Tag EAWT

8) Include that you are participating in the Etsian Artists Team weekly treasury challenge somewhere in your treasury description with a link to our Team Blog http://www.etsianartists.blogspot.com/

9) Post your treasury's URL here in the link up below to enter in this weeks challenge!

10) Your Treasury created for the challenge MUST be created within the 24 hour day of the challenge which is every Tuesday, it can NOT be created before hand or it will be disqualified! 

Your Treasury MUST be posted in the link up below to be entered, if it is not in the link up below then it is not in the challenge! 

Good Luck & Have Fun!!! 

Do YOU Want To Make More Etsy Sales?

Some of you might know what a BSP is and some may not so lets start with the basics....

BSP = Barter Sales Project

A BSP is a great project especially for new and/or undiscovered shops. In my experience I feel that one of the biggest problems opening an Etsy Shop is making that very first sale! That first sale seems to be the very hardest and the reason its so hard is because people are afraid to buy from a shop that has little to no sales and no feedback. I think they figure why take the risk when they can get something similar from a well established shop. It's unfortunate but it really seems to be the way it is. The BSP will help you establish your shop with sales under your belt along with positive feedback. The 2 key ingredients to getting on your feet. If you are already on your feet and have plenty of sales coming in, this is still a very fun project to take part in. You will get to go shopping among your team mates giving you the opportunity to check out some cool stuff, maybe stock up on Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, even Birthday gifts or any other holiday you might need a gift for or just getting cool keepsakes for yourself. 

Everyone who is interested in taking part in our BSP can start by signing up below, scroll all the way down to the very bottom of this post and you will see a link up, just simply click the little blue button that says add your link and follow the instructions by adding your shop name and your shop link. 

BSP will run for a full week in June, the exact dates are TBA. This gives everyone the rest of April and all of May to get their shops ready for it. 

Getting ready for BSP you will need to create items in your shop that you feel are worth around $5. In order to ensure fair trade it is very important that everyone is creating stuff of the same value as this is a bartering project. 

When you list your BSP items in your shop you will need to create a new section in your shop and call it BSP or what I have done is called it BSP/Sale and that way it doesn't scare off any potential sales from people who are not part of the BSP. 

You will also need to make sure you tag the items with EAWT BSP. Tagging the items properly is very important. If you want to add BSP in the title you may but it is not necessary as long as you have tagged them properly and added them to the new BSP section in your shop. 

No cash ever changes hands during BSP so you will have to have your shop set to take either 'check/money order' or 'other' for method of payment. 

As far as the shipping costs go you can go ahead and list the shipping cost on each item so that if anyone else who is not part of the BSP wants to purchase the item from you they can and they will pay the shipping on it too but for the BSP we will not be charging each other shipping as we will each be taking care of our own shipping costs. To get around this we will use a generic free shipping coupon code so everyone who signs up for BSP will need to add a free shipping coupon code to their shop and make the code BSPFREE this is important that everyone makes it the same so that we all know the code when we go to make the purchases.

To ensure fair trade when BSP week arrives the way it will work is when someone buys from you, you MUST in turn buy from them. This is the only way to ensure fair trade and that no one gets their feelings hurt. We all work very hard on our items and our shops and though we are not all going to have the same tastes and likes this can still be fun for everyone. If someone buys from you and you turn around to buy from them but don't see anything in their shop that is to your particular taste or style then just try and decide who you know that would like it and this is where the stocking up on gifts comes in. If we start asking for permission to barter with each other or telling someone you can't barter with them because you don't like what they are selling, well then this no longer becomes fun because someones feelings ARE going to be hurt, or even crushed so by setting it up this way we eliminate that from happening.

Also with setting it up this way each of you really controls your own destiny of how many sales you would like to make in your shop. If you wish you were at 20 sales then all you have to do is make 20 items for BSP and go out and buy 20 BSP items from your team mates who will in turn have to turn around and buy from you, and there, you just made 20 sales, or maybe you have 25 already but want to be at 50, well just make 25 items and do the above and you will be at 50 sales! Its that easy!!! 

When BSP week arrives everyone who is signed up to participate needs to go over the following check list and ensure everything on it is checked off in your shop. Once it is all done you are ready to go shopping. Simply do a search under handmade by typing in EAWT BSP and everything that is available will come up as long as everyone has followed this check list properly...

BSP CHECK LIST

  • All BSP items are listed in your shop
  • All listed BSP items are tagged with EAWT & BSP
  • All BSP items are priced at $5
  • Your Free Shipping Coupon Code is BSPFREE and is Activated
  • Your shop is set to accept "other" or "check or money order" as method of payment
When you see an item that you are interested in just add it to your cart, enter in the code BSPFREE and choose either 'other' or 'check/moneyorder' as the form of payment and check out. That person will see the sale in their inbox and will then have to go to your shop and find something that they want to purchase in your BSP section, this is why creating the section is so important, its much easier when we are the ones retaliating the sale that we can just click on that section rather then having to search through the whole shop looking for BSP items.

Once the BSP sales are made each person will treat it just like any regular sale meaning get it all ready to ship out and shipped out in a timely fashion. Make sure that everyone is leaving positive feedback only for each other, both buyer and seller need to leave feedback. The sellers can actually go and leave their positive feedback right away for the buyer, its better the buyers wait until they get the item to leave theirs that way if they want to write anything unique about the item they can. 

Please please please do not leave negative or neutral feedback for anyone!!! That will totally defeat the purpose of this project. If anyone has a problem for any reason then they can be dealt with and sorted out by way of convo. Negative feedback can be very damaging to a shop and affects will be ever lasting so please take this rule very seriously. If you absolutely are so unhappy for whatever reason that you can not bring yourself to leave positive feedback then just don't leave any at all. It's kind of like something my mother always told me as a child, "if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all' that is how this will work.

I think that pretty much covers everything. If anyone has any questions about anything then go ahead and post them here and I will get to them.

Looking forward to BSP, you all have 8 weeks minimum to get your items and your shops ready, remember items must be worth around $5. Now don't forget to sign up for BSP week below. 
Happy bartering!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

April Art Party

Welcome to our Etsian Artists monthly Art Party!


Don't be shy, come on in, everyone's invited!!!

Each month we give you a prompt generated from a Random Art Prompt Generator and everyone who wants to participate creates in their own medium their interpretation of the prompt.   (the art prompt generator changes every time it is clicked on, your prompt for this month is below)

It doesn't matter what your medium is, whether you do traditional art, jewelry, soap, clay, clothing or anything else that I haven't listed.  Absolutely anything and everything is welcome at our party!  

Blogging is probably easiest but it also doesn't matter whether you blog or not, you are welcome to add your creation anywhere on the net and then come back and add the link below. ex. Etsy, FB, Flickr, Photobucket and anywhere else I haven't listed.

We want to keep it loose to make it easy for everyone to participate!

This months prompt is: timelessness


There are no restrictions, have fun with it and then come back and show us what you got!!!

The link up will open on April 1 and will close on April 30 at 11:59pm.  You are welcome to submit your creation at anytime while the link up is open.  If you submit yours early in the month try to remember to come back and check out all of the other creations at this party.