Open top menu
Showing posts with label banner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banner. Show all posts
Monday, November 1, 2010
no image

I happen to come across this tutorial at 4 in the morning and thought it was very neat. This is brought to you via Howcast, the network that brings you little "how to " videos on just about anything. Just take a look below at the 2 minute video on how to make a dress from a button down oxford shirt with no sewing machine.
______________________________________________________
UPDATE: They have recently deleted video, so the instructions are below

Step 1: Choose shirt
Choose a shirt that is long enough to wear as a mini dress when the collar is held just above your bust line
TIP: Women’s shirts are best, since they have back darts. Shoulder darts, usually found on men’s shirts, will hamper the fit of your dress.

Step 2: Hold it up
Hold the back of the shirt with the collar over your chest and have a friend fasten the buttons in back. Then wrap the sleeves around your back. This is the basic dress shape

Step 3: Fit
Have your friend overlap and pin the sleeves together in back. Check the front to make sure it stays fitted and neat. If you don’t plan to keep the collar in front, cut it off now
TIP: If you’re using a short-sleeved shirt, there won’t be much to cut off.

Step 4: Cut sleeves
Mark and cut the sleeves in back, leaving several inches of overlap for buttons, buttonholes, and seams. Then remove the dress, cut the sleeves straight, pin them down half an inch, and hem each one.

Step 5: Lay out buttonholes
Lay out the buttons on the bottom sleeve. Draw four slits in a straight line along the edge of the top sleeve to mark buttonholes. Then cut slits just large enough to fit the buttons.

Step 6: Sew
Hand-finish the buttonholes by sewing completely around the edge of each slit with doubled thread
TIP:Use a sewing machine if you have one.

Step 7: Finish
Try on the dress and have your friend overlap the sleeves and mark where the buttons will go for a perfect fit. Mark through each buttonhole, remove the dress, and sew the buttons at each mark
Read more
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
no image

Due to overwhelming response, we have decided to make the "Etsy Business Tool You May Never Have Heard Of" and ongoing series. If you haven't seen the previous posts ,there is now a link in the right side bar under Shop Busines Tools in the "Little Secrets" section.

UPDATE: Certificate Buddy is no more :( They company is no longer there, but you can still make Gift Certificates thru paypal. Just take a look at our posting "Company Gift Certificates" for info on how to make yours.

Certificate Buddy: is an website that lets you print and track gift certificates for your shop. One of the main questions always asked is how to offer gift certificates from an online store. The designers of this site tried to make it as easy as possible for the user, so the site automatically generates unique codes for your gift certificates, keeps track of which ones have been redeemed and has some gift certificate templates for you to use. It is free to sign up, BUT there are limitations. You can only issue 3 certificates a month, not more than $20 value and you can only use the free templates provided. There are two other price tiers ( Paid $25 and Premium $50) a month that offer 50 and unlimited certificates and both are able to use your own certificate designs.
If you don't know how the gift certificates will be recieved, we suggest signing up for a free account and test them out. If the average prices of your items is above the $20 maximum for the free account, why not use the gift certificates as "coupons", offering $5 discounts for certain products as a promo.

Web Resizer: is a nifty web based tool that resizes your photos for the web. One of the biggest annoyances that shop owners have is when you have spent your time creating an image only to find out that its "too big" or "wrong dimensions" for wherever you are uploading it to. This tool will take your image and save it in the requires size that you input. You are also able to make some simple photo edits like exposure,contrast, saturation and more.

WhosTalkin: is a site to find out who is "talking" about your shop in blogs. Much like Social Mention, you put your shop name, or url in the search box and every blog mention will show up.
The downside to this site is that it is only blog mentions, I prefer just putting the name in the Google Search Bar. At least there you can filter the results by date posted ( 24 hours, week, year, etc). Or with Social Mention , its not just blogs, but websites as well.
Read more
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Stampin it Up!: Company Stamps

















I just got my company stamps and let me tell you, I have been stamping the hell out of anything I can get my hands on!...I even stamped the bag that held my white chocolate cherry cookies from the bakery. I knew I was out of control when my friend looked at it and gave me "that" look :D.
Company stamps are a good ( and inexpensive) way to brand your items and there is certain ink that allows you to stamp on clear cello and vellum bags cleanly, with out smudging. Its also good if you "forget" or "run out" of company labels, no need to break out the printer late at night, just stamp and be done.
I LOVE MY STAMP!, lol
Read more
Friday, January 15, 2010
ETSY BUSINESS TOOLS YOU NEVER HEARD OF :PART 2!

We got such a great response to our first popular post Etsy Business Tools :PART 1 , that we have added some other tools as a follow up that we think may be useful to all of you sellers.


Favors Me: is a beta site that is similar to Soopsee where you can essentially "make your own one page website". I must admit that the Favors Me site is very slick and chic, with modern fonts to choose from as well as easy to use, its the basic point and drop method. They have a gallery of users work to inspire you and show you what can be done as well as demo video to see what you can do with the site. It is also free to use as well, just sign up with your email address ( invitation code=" etsy"). Some of the negatives is that it only works with certain sites,Flikr, Facebook, Tumblr, Vimeo and Twitter (they seem to be adding more , but no date as of now). The Flikr, Facebook and Twitter service is great, but if you have a blog other than Tumblr, which alot of people do (Wordpress, Blogspot to name the bigger ones) then you will not be able to incorporate them like the others. There is no "domain hosting" here, so if you have a domain name you can of course direct it to this site as your "Front Page" but the Favors Me URL will be up top. Just note that this is a new tool, so you will have to promote just like you would with any other website.

Banner Fans-is a web based banner maker . When I first came across this I was a little skeptical, but since everyone knows how against Microsoft Paint I am (especially to make a banner) I must say this is a decent alternative. This site makes it easy for people who want a DIY banner and it literally is the point and click method.They have selections for "common banner sizes" or you can even custom your size if you need a banner for an odd place. Some of the best features are that the font selection is large, you can upload your own pictures as well as they let you add several effects from shadows, gradients and different borders . In addition, they also let you change colors for all elements easily as well. You can even move the elements around with your mouse in the "preview" section while you edit.
One of the best features is that you can save it in one or all of the three formats suitable for web viewing (jpeg, gif, png) and lastly you can get codes for about 13 different social and web outlets once your banner is the way you want. That means not only Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, but also some other formats you may never have thought of. We suggest you sign up (for free) to save the different banners that you use.


Flikr2Twitter: is a service by Flikr that lets you tweet your Flikr photos with one click.It may essentially eliminate your need for the Twitpic Service provided by Twitter. Once you install the add on button and link your accounts, a little "FT" icon will be displayed on all your pics in your flikr account (next to the tools like "all sizes" and "add to favorites"). This will let you add automatically to your Twitter account just by clicking on the button. You can even use from your mobile. There are setting on it, so look them over and make any changes before you start to use.

Qwitter: is a little stalker tool that lets you know if someone is a "Twitter Quitter". It is rather funny, but after you put in your username and email, it will let you know who has stopped following you, when and why. The craziest thing is that it tells you the actual post that they "quit you".

Craft Count: Every wonder about those who are the best sellers in your category? Or in any category? This site ranks the top etsy sellers (1-50) by several groups , from overall to shop category, country and several others. Now some of them have been sellers for several years, which can factor into the large amount of sales, but this is a good tool to see top sellers.

Craft Gawker: is a gallery where anyone can showcase their art, crafting and photography skills. It's a place for you to discover new artists and handmade goods that you may never have known about. They also have a sister site called "Food Gawker", which is essentially the same concept , but with food. Even though it is free to submit to site, as everyone knows, not everyone gets picked. There are some that submit over 10 times and are not accepted and there are some that are accepted the first time they enter. Though there are several requirements to submit photos (one is you must be registered, its free) I have found that the main one that can decide acceptance is your photos. Make sure the lighting/exposure of your photograph is good or else don't bother submitting as you will be rejected. It can sometimes be frustrating if you are constantly being declined, but they do send you and email as to why, so before you submit, take a look at the "About" page for other requirements.

Pictaculous: is a color generator for your pics. If you have ever wondered what colors match your pictures, then just upload the pic and it will give you suggested color palettes that match your photo, they even give you the color codes. This tool is good if you are looking to make some backgrounds, frames or other color blocking designs to make your pictures pop.



And of course the first part of our post Etsy Business Tools :PART 1
Read more
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)