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Somewhere Over the Rainbow There’s a Craft at Etsy

Apr 262011

photo courtesy of FunkyJewelleryUK

You don’t have to be like Dorothy and bump your head in order to travel over the rainbow to find the magic of color. With Etsy, the bright, bold and beautiful colors of the rainbow are only a mouse-click away. Below you will find a few examples of handmade creations that make good use of a multitude of colors:

Colored Pencil Bracelet

When looking for a unique way to accessorize, Funky Jewellery UK offers an array of colorful options. Fun and funky, choose from a bracelet and necklace made with 100% recycled colored pencils. The necklace comes with a silver plated chain extender for those who’d like to adjust the length. Funky Jewellery UK also offers the Multicolored Zip Necklace made out of a rainbow of zippers.

photo courtesy of HotPinkPrincess

Rainbow and Black Layered Tutu

Tutus are a popular piece of clothing for young girls and extremely adorable on babies. HotPinkPrincess uses a combination of bright rainbow colors with black to create a sassy fashion statement for little girls. This particular piece is available in the following sizes and can also be customized in the colors of your choice:

0-12 months 7 1/2″ long
12-24 months 7 1/2″ long
2T-5T 10″ long

photo courtesy of partypoofers

Rainbow Round Rug

Made from upcycled T-shirts, partypoofers created this rainbow floor decoration out of a tie-dye jersey knit bed sheet and an assortment of like-new colored T-shirts. After washing the tees, a thick yarn was made, which was crocheted into a rug. Measuring about 3 feet in diameter, you can easily add a splash of color to any room or brighten up your pet’s day.

Rainbow Splash Necklace

photo courtesy of slashKnots

With the eye-catching beauty of multi-colored semi precious stones and glass, slashKnots offers crocheted necklaces, such as this rainbow dream. The combination of amazonite, jade, sodalite, freshwater pearls, vintage glass, and new jade create an undeniable conversation piece. An added bonus – the necklace is waterproof – making it a delightful accessory for a day at the beach.

Repurposed and Upcycled Train Cases on Etsy

Etsy, In the Spotlight, Interviews, Recycled Crafts Comments Off

Jan 272011

Designer: Judy Valencerina

Etsy Shop: Remixed Vintage

Started: May 2010

Judy Valencerina is a creative jack-of-all-trades, who sings jazz, writes songs, graphic designs, and upcycles vintage items amongst other things. With collage and decoupage techniques, Judy transforms vintage luggage, jewelry boxes, old signs, and other gently used items into one-of-a-kind creations. You can also request customization.

Remixed Vintage focuses on repurposed train cases. Judy gives vintage train cases a new life, which her customers use to store cosmetics, jewelry, small tools, art supplies, photos, fashion accessories (such as scarves and belts), special trinkets, and other keepsakes.

Judy’s style…

Judy enjoys birds, butterflies, and flowers. “I like incorporating imagery from nature in my pieces. The paisley raindrops remind me of flowing water or rolling clouds. I also love digging through old children’s books and maps to find shapes and colors to cut by hand.”

What is your most favorite customized design for a train case? And why.

“[Designing train cases] all started with my music. When I played small gigs around the LA area, I’d have to tote my merch (CD’s for sale & email-list, flyers, tip jar) around with me… so I bought an old train case at a boutique in Ventura to use for displaying all the little doo-dads. Around the same time, I was designing with paper cutouts for the jacket/sleeve for my homemade CD. I decided to give the train case the same treatment. At every gig, I’d receive so many compliments on the piece, and suggestions that I should sell them online because they were so unique. This is my all-time fave case, as it got everything started.”

Where do you find the items that you customize?

“Most of my cases are found at antique markets in the southern CA area – Long Beach, Pasadena Rose Bowl, and Ventura County Fairgrounds. I find many different styles this way. People seem to favor the older era cases from the 40′s through the 60′s. The newer Samsonites from the 70′s are okay, and usually in better shape – but it’s such a thrill to find an older piece that is still in awesome condition at a good price. I also like antique shops, thrifts stores, & eBay.”

Stay Connected to Remixed Vintage

Etsy Shop: http://judythejazzcat.etsy.com/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/RemixedVintage

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RemixedVintage

The Benefits of Selling on Etsy

Etsy Comments Off

Oct 112010

If you’re shopping around for places to sell your handmade goods on the Internet, becoming familiar with the benefits of selling on Etsy is probably in your best interest. Some of the benefits to setting up an Etsy account include:

Less Hassle

Before opportunities like Etsy came along, one of the main ways crafters sold their goods was to create a website of their own. They most likely had to figure out how to install a “shopping cart” and equip their site with the capability of accepting credit card payments. They had to worry about creating a website that buyers would be attracted to and learn how to use HTML. With Etsy, there is no need to learn code or bother with the headaches of maintaining a full website.

Setting up a virtual shop is easy with Etsy and only takes a couple of minutes. Also, becoming a member of Etsy is free. The fees associated with listing your handmade goods are only 20 cents. A small percentage of your sales are also collected, but in the long run, it’s a small price to pay for having something else take care of the hassle of maintaining your online shop.

Easy Customization

Etsy allows you to easily customize your shop with a banner, profile, and your very own shop policies. The username you select when signing up for Etsy will be used to create a URL for your shop. For example, a username of DansCreations becomes a URL of: http://danscreations.etsy.com

Community of Crafters

Joining Etsy is like becoming a part of an extremely large extended family that stretches across the world. From beginner crafters to seasoned professionals, the variety of personalities is vast. If you’re looking for new marketing strategies, to share tips or simply chat with other Etsy members, there are plenty of opportunities. For example, Etsy offers chat rooms, a forum, and the ability to initiate conversations between crafters.

A Pool of Active Buyers

When shoppers visit Etsy, they are actively seeking handmade goods, vintage items and craft supplies. The Etsy marketplace is truly tailored to meet the needs of crafters.

Online Safety

Safety and privacy on the Internet is an important aspect for people selling and buying crafts online. Using a marketplace that protects your sensitive information (like billing details) is a must in this day and age. Being able to provide the same courtesies to your buyers will go a long way in the marketplace. Etsy uses secure socket layer technology (SSL) to encrypt the important details of all your transactions.