A New Newsletter from ZenithJade Creations

New news! There's several NEW blog posts up in my blog- most of them are about taking stellar photography! Here's the link: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ .

You probably don't know that I participated in several cool contests and blog hops. Their content is on my blog as well! My favorite, so far, is the Bead Soup Blog Hop run by Lori Anderson. It is wicked fun! In a nutshell, I was assigned a partner to send beads to, and my partner did the same for me. The next step was to design piece(s) from those beads! It is a HUGE bead and jewelry blog hop/party! I had so much fun designing for this one, that I'm going to do my level best to participate next year, as well. (The Bead Soup Blog Party post is currently the third post down, but in case you don't want to scroll for it, here's the link: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/2013/04/bead-soup-blog-party-7-reveal.html .

Also recent news for all you beady types- I joined a wonderful site called Bead Swap USA. It is AMAZING. There are boxes full of beads to swap, as well as finished item swaps and person to person swaps, plus SO MUCH MORE. http://beadswap-usa.com/ . It's set up in a forum type format, with each section run by moderators. It is really nifty!

Have you noticed I've been trying to blog more? :) I'm doing my level best! My good friend Kerri says that I have interesting stories to tell, and I sure hope that's the case! I surely don't want to bore anyone! *winks* Maybe each time I write a blog post, I'll email it out. I'd love some feedback on that! I don't want to spam your inboxes. Opinions on the matter can be emailed to me at zenithjade@yahoo.com.

I also chat passionately about charitable causes I'm involved in. Here's an update from my ZJC Facebook page I posted fairly recently:

"You can join Jilly's Bead Posse, (it's a crazy group of crazy artists and jewelry designers who believe in fighting for the cause of Alzheimer's) by going here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JillysBeadPosse or here: http://www.jillysbeadposse.com/ . I made and donated 36 pairs of earrings to the cause. Others are making (even more) earrings, bracelets, keyrings/chains, necklaces and what-have-you. :) Another thing I'm doing is taking over 150 pictures of earrings & editing them for my friend Kerri, who is donating 163 pairs of earrings!!! (And I thought 36 pairs was a lot! LOL!). ANYONE IS WELCOME TO JOIN. There are at least TWO fundraisers going on RIGHT NOW. Please check out the website for details. (It's under Fundraisers!).

I have several new blog posts up, two of which detail photography tips & tricks + editing. Mostly, I'm just linking to others blogs, eventually I'll write my own tutorial on how to get good pictures... but until I do, there are a couple of great ones that link from my blog! Here's the link to my blog: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ .

Tonight I made five new polymer clay hearts! Yes, the pretty rustic ones. I recently bought some LOVELY vintage cabochons from Lindsay, (a Bead Swap USA member: http://beadswap-usa.com/ ), and had so much fun incorporating them into my heart designs. I hope you'll like them! I promise to show some pictures tomorrow. And I don't think I'm done playing with polymer clay yet tonight! :) I am having WAY too much fun. You can view a rustic polymer clay heart component here, to see what I'm talking about: https://www.etsy.com/listing/123593014/rustic-polymer-clay-heart-set-with . Woot woot! Lots of new news!
PS- if you've read this far, I'm having another GIVEAWAY when I reach 400 fans! I only have 31 more peeps to "like" my page and we're good to go! If you'd like to help, please do so by "sharing" this page with your friends. I'm very rarely boring, I promise!"

So that's what I've been up to! :) Have a wonderful, fantastic day, and don't forget to give me feedback on whether or not I should email about blog posts! zenithjade@yahoo.com!

Love,
Andrea

Original Email:  http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2e39a3b8ab9b48f3cf3a22c14&id=1901fb711f

Links and information!

The Elusive White Background In Jewelry Photography And How To Achieve It

A Tutorial: Achieving a Pure White Background In Your Jewelry Photography

 

The Guild of Unauthorized Sharing

 

 How I Accidentally Killed One of the Greatest Companies on the Planet

 

***To view my Bead Soup, click here! ***

 

 

Blogger Tutorial #1 - Adding Links to Text

Note: You can click any image for a larger, more readable, version. :)

So adding links to text is pretty easy- and I'm going to walk you through it step by step. ;)

1) When you have an Etsy shop that you'd like to link to like mine, ZenithJade Creations, highlight the text that you'd like clickable.






2) After highlighting, click blogger's handy link icon from the above editing bar.








3) By clicking, it will bring up a pop-up window. Enter the url, or address, of the site you want your link to go to. Then press "OK" in the pop-up window.

Voila! You've made a working link! :)

Firefox + EtsyHacks = Etsy Lurve

I really hope that I can truly delve into the wonders of EtsyHacks and how to use it one of these days.

For those of you who are already familiar with Firefox and GreaseMonkey, AND have an Etsy Shop... then EtsyHacks are really, truly, just what the doctor ordered. ehax.etsy.com has created some lovely hacks to make your selling++ experiences easier and more fun. He's got: copy listing hacks, forum hacks, receipt hacks, convo hacks... I think you get the idea.

I promise- one of these days, I'll post a tutorial for newbies on how to get started. ;)
(If you know of a newbie faq already in existence, please let me know! I'll post it!).

<3,
Andrea

Mineral Oil & Polymer Clay

Click here for "6 Uses for Mineral Oil". Plus, in the comments there are some additional GREAT ideas. :)

This was prompted by a search on Google. (I LOVE GOOGLE!). Might be able to find some other nifty bits!

**Valuable Links not found via Etsy - Updated 6-11-08

from loosewirestudio, (via this Etsy forum post):

Here's the updated list of links that are used by many Etsians, but cannot be found (or not easily) on Etsy.

Full list always maintained here:
http://loosewirestudio.blogspot.com/2005/06/etsy-helpful-links-not-found-via-etsy.html
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Thanks to all of you who contributed to the original list. Have more? I'll add them and keep it running. :)

-----LINK LIST ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://etsywiki.com/ Accumulated wisdom from seasoned sellers.
http://etsytreasurydemo.blogspot.com/ Treasury tutorial.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_west.php Test Treasury.
http://www.etsy.com/poster_sketch.php Prepare a treasury.
http://www.etsy.com/tag_fractal.php Tag Fractal Etsy Search. Cool!
http://team.etsy.com/downloads.html The old Resources page, which has the postcards.
http://fix.etsy.com/ Where to go if Etsy is down.

http://www.majaba.org/heartomatic.php See hearts and views in one place. By Juln.etsy.com.
http://bestysearch.com/ Lots of other ways to search Etsy.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now Secret Paypal shipping link.
http://etsy.ppcalc.com/ Fees calculators.
http://checkout.google.com/ Alternate payment option.
http://www.propay.com/?refid=ETSYOLCM Propay discount link. Alternate payment and means to take credit cards at fairs.

http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage
http://www.geocities.com/vlhester/index.html TheBeadingTree's international rate chart.
http://www.shelfmasters.com/InternationalRateChart.aspx International Postage rate chart. (Has not been updated.)

http://www.thumbalizr.com/ Cross platform means to screen shots.
http://tinyurl.com/ Make long links short.
http://tools.oratory.com/altcodes.html How to make those little characters.
http://www.onlineconversion.com/ Conversions.
http://picnik.com/ Pic site.
http://webresizer.com/
http://www.primopdf.com/ Convert any document to a PDF!
http://chris-parry.blogspot.com/search/label/Pricing
http://etsyforeveryone.typepad.com/my_weblog/graphics/index.html How to make your own banner. And lots more!

http://www.weloveetsy.com/shops We love etsy shops directory.
mini blogs:
http://etsymini.blogspot.com/
http://etsyminisupplies.blogspot.com/

Gift Certificate knowledge:
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/003889.html Consumer's Union
http://www.rimmkaufman.com/content/brannlawgiftcertchart.pdf PDF document chart
http://www.naag.org/ag/full_ag_table.php You can also check out your attorney general's website

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Also, FAQs, non-offical Etsy style (my cheat sheet):
http://loosewirestudio.blogspot.com/2005/02/faqs.html


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And I thought that *my* list of Etsy links was pretty good! LOL! =*^.^*= Thanks loosewirestudio!

More neat things from the 'net, (and Etsy, of course)!

A snippet from Digital DIY, "Digital Marketing for Small Business":
"I Can Do That Myself" Syndrome

Over and over in the Etsy forums and in other places I hear artists and crafter complaining about incidents where people make rude comments about their arts and crafts and tell them,” I could make that myself, why should I pay you for it?” The artists and crafters defend themselves, like they should, saying that they have expertise and skills and use finer materials than most people would have access to. So why do artists and crafters then say “I can do that myself” when it comes to marketing and promotion?

Click HERE to read the full-length article. It's worth it! =*^.^*=
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If you're looking for daily cool bits to drool over, you can head on over to "Daily Candy". According to the website, Daily Candy is, "a free daily e-mail newsletter and website, is the insider’s guide to what’s hot, new, and undiscovered — from fashion and style to gadgets and travel. As useful as it is entertaining, it’s like getting an e-mail from your clever, unpredictable, and totally in-the-know best friend. The one who knows about secret beauty treatments, must-have jeans, hot new restaurants — and always shares the scoop."

Take a look- I bet you'll find something you can't live without!
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Two worth-while reads about RME/RMX on the Etsy Forums...
How do I sign up for RME payment acceptance?
AskTripp from (Revolution) MoneyExchange
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Random fun on the Etsy Forums:
Come Play Isketch with Me!
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Come and give RobWhite (Etsy Admin) your two cents about "Feedback and non-paying buyers" here.
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You can also help RevolvingDork (Etsy Admin) about why "Shop Policies (are) being cleared out -- Help us with more info!"
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I dare say that's enough linkage for one night! =*^.^*=
<3!

Want your items to show up at the top of a google search?

dingo says:
You know when you do a google search for something and you see the "Shopping results" at the top of the page with the little shopping bag icon and a few links to products?

Those are items listed in google's product search. Anyone can submit items to the product search directory, and it's FREE.

You can add your items one at a time using google's web site, but the easiest way is to upload a data file with the information for all your items at once.

"But creating a data file sounds like a lot of work, too," you may be thinking, and it would be if you were starting from scratch, but you aren't - Etsy has already done 80% of the work for you by creating an RSS feed for your shop.

BUT - there's one important thing missing from the information that Etsy puts in the data feed - the price. Google requires a title, description, link to the item, an ID and a price. Etsy's feed doesn't have the price.

If it did, it would be a simple thing to simply upload your Etsy feed directly to google and have all your items included in their product search for free. When a person clicked on the link in google's product directory, it would take them to your Etsy item page.

So how about it, Etsy - one little line of text added to each item would allow for a lot of free advertising for your sellers.

It's a special google tag:

25.00

Useful just to google and ignored by other readers.

Read the entire forum thread here. =*^.^*=

The Home Jewelry Business Success Resource

I haven't had nearly enough time to look over this website, but it looks like an AMAZING resource for jewelry makers everywhere. =*^.^*= If you take a look, let me know what you think about this site on this post's comments! <3!

Tutorial: How to Etch Copper

This links to a really fabulous tutorial by Copperheart. If you've ever wanted to learn how to etch copper, you should really read this tutorial. =*^.^*=

While you're at it, you can also check out Copperheart's etsy shop.

Scam Warning!

This particular scam has been floating around the 'net for quite a while, (I was "baptized" over a year ago).

Here's how it goes:
"Hello Seller,
Is this item still available for sale and in good condition? I will like to make an immediate purchase of the item if still available and will be making the payment by a Certified check, I am comfortable with the asking price for the item and will make the payment as soon as possible.

If you are willing to sell this item for me understand this condition, you should get back to me with your full name and address and also your phone so i can have the payment mailed to you. A pick up of the item will be schedule as soon as the payment process for item has been completed.
I await your response asap.

Name:
Address:
City:
state:
Zipcode:
phone

I await your reply. Hello,am can only pay via check at the moment. kindly get back if this is okay by you"

Please note that the words and grammar can possibly change, but the underlying message is always the same.

This is what this scam does:
"The problem with this scam is that the checks are fake or forged. They usually are for much more than the amount of the item purchased. They ask you to cash the check, take out what is owed (plus a little more for your trouble) then send them the balance. They don't care about the merchandise. It's a scam to get you to cash a counterfeit check or money order for them." (- dingo)

"The check will be made out in a much higher amount and the change will be asked for when they pick up the items. The check will take a few days to bounce, and then you'll owe the bank, and be out your item." (- naturallynatalies)

Whether you get this message on MySpace, Craigslist, Ebay, or elsewhere, REPORT IT.
DO NOT RESPOND WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.

Things to remember:
1) A legitimate buyer will never pay more than the cost of the item + shipping. (If they offer, or ask to, BEWARE).
2) You can always say that you do not take certified checks. (Please note that this scam has also hit money orders!).
3) Most legitimate buyers will go to your online store and not contact you directly about payment options. THEY CAN ALWAYS READ ABOUT YOUR POLICIES AT YOUR SHOP.

This warning inspired by an Etsy forum thread started by borneodiva. Click here to read it.

Ultimate guide to "Newbie" (or not so newbie) Questions

sagittariusgallery put together this GIGANTIC FAQ to help all Etsy users- it's very big, but well organized. =*^.^*=

It is a definite MUST read for Etsyians!

On another note, I have links to many places of Etsy interest under my "Awesome Links" header. The Etsy Wiki is linked there, as well as the Etsy Blog, and the Etsy FAQ. (I just realized I need to put in a link to the D&D's [do's & don'ts] in my list- it'll be there shortly!). There are also many other cool sites & blogs of interest. *grins*

mothtoflame's bleach paintings...

mothtoflame's paintings seriously rock my socks- not only are they incredibly unique, but they are just gorgeous. She'll even tell you how to make your own via instructions on her website, (although she still has a couple of secret tricks up her sleeve. =~.^=).

If inhaling bleach fumes just doesn't sound attractive, I'm sure mothtoflame wouldn't mind if you bought one of hers. =*^.^*=