Spring Trends

'Tribal' by YOURDAILYJEWELS

Etsy Ethnicity

Freedom, Bob Marley Bac... ParadiseInt $10.00	Decorative Cast Iron Di... StudioHR $125.00	1-Pair - Organic Wooden... TheEarringChes... $10.99
Erykah ShayGon $49.00	dramatic necklace with ... SweetGraceJewe... $34.00	Red White and Black Lac... Shadowcaller $130.00
Spikes times three neck... littlepancakes $19.00	Peace Earrings nenasoulfly $28.00	Spring Garden Gypsy Wor... hatsbybuck $125.00
NAMASTE Indonesian bohe... RedBracelet $10.00	Flower Nose Ring / Nose... RockYourNose $32.95	Bohemian HIppie Tribal ... iampAmm $295.00
Men unisex yoga mala, e... lovepray $129.00	Wabella Flamingo Pink WabellaWear $135.00	Spiral Copper and Afric... KimCreative $22.00
Madeline's Tribe - ... jfmays $30.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Find more photos like this on Do You Etsy?

Spring Snow

Off The Wall Expressions

I lived in apartments for years. On moveout day I would frantically fill nail holes all over the walls with Colgate toothpaste and smooth them out with a butter knife in hopes my landlord would not notice.  I rarely got my security deposit back in whole. 

Well, I live in a house now and I still make at least six nail holes to hang one picture. In fact I have been “relieved” of my picture hanging duties by my husband. Yesterday, I showed him the Off The Wall Expression  shop on Etsy.com and he told me I could have as many as I want of these easy to use art pieces.

 Off The Wall Expressions is a high quality vinyl lettering and wall art design company selling on Etsy.com.  Tina and Mick are the husband and wife team who create all the designs, and if you are lucky enough to live in their area, (North East Indiana), they do local installation. Their vinyl is the highest quality and they pride themselves in great customer service. They have more than 1200 Etsy sales with perfect feedback to back this up.

The decals are a fantastic design option.

Express yourself

Decorate, make a statement, motivate, inspire, amuse, or organize.

Then change your mind,

And express yourself again!

 

Vinyl designs are quick and easy to apply, instantly transforming your home or commercial space. Use them in kid’s rooms, kitchen, baby’s room, playroom,  office; even in your car.

You must see the new, write on/wipe off chalkboard labels in many designs and colors!

Use your imagination, or let Tina and Mick do a custom design for you. What a fantastic idea for a special occasion like a wedding.

This is a Floor Decal

 The options and uses are endless!  This is the best thing to happen in DIY design in ages! The Decals are precision cut using the highest quality interior vinyl in a matte finish for a hand-painted look once applied to your wall. And exterior gloss vinyl for outdoor applications is now available in a limited color selection

Visit the  blog to enter contests for free giveaways and lots more! 

Please 'like' the OTWE Facebook page for sales and special coupons codes!

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“I can’t do this, I have 10 thumbs”.

Never fear, vinyl can be applied to any smooth surface such as walls, windows, wood, glass, refrigerators, plastic, bathtubs, picture frames, and many more.

Vinyl Decal application is fun and easy! Tina and Mick always include complete instructions with each order. When you are ready to remove your decals, just start at a corner and peel off. The decals will not damage the wall surface or leave any residue.

  

Off the Wall Around the Web:

http://offthewallexpression.etsy.com/

http://www.artfire.com/users/offthewallexpressions

http://www.zibbet.com/offthewallexpressions

http://www.bonanza.com/booths/offthewallexpression

Contact Tina and Mick: www.offthewallexp@gmail.com

 Off the Wall Expressions is am member of the  BESTeam

Tina is a very active team member of the BEST of Etsy

The Boosting Etsy Shops Team's goal is to provide marketing support for each others' Etsy shops by writing WEEKLY features on our blogs. For those that have them, we encourage use of Twitter Accounts and Facebook Fanpages to further this goal. Our team also shows support by offering free advertising for each other. We are a very dynamic, active group and we are now accepting new members!

 Thanks for reading,

Norah

ETSY MONTHLY MERCHANDISING TIPS

 Here's April!

Stay Engaged in AprilOur central merchandising topics this month will focus on spring, Easter and Mother's Day. While emphasis will be placed upon the seasonality of the Northern Hemisphere, it's important to remember the Southern Hemisphere is preparing for autumn. Maintaining seasonally appropriate options year-round is good practice for boosting international and overall sales.

• April Fools: Practical jokes, gag gifts and emphasis on the sillier side of handmade and vintage.
• Easter: Coming a little later this year, Easter is a great gifting and decor holiday. Think bright and pastel colors, bunnies, rabbits, eggs, baskets, candy, toys, children's spring formal attire, and religious mementos.
• Mothering Sunday: The equivalent of Mother's Day in the United Kingdom falls earlier than the American celebration. Make sure to update your listings with international and expedited shipping options available for those looking for last-minute gift ideas.
• Mother's Day: Plan ahead for this gifting holiday (which falls in early May) by tagging appropriate items with related terms and offering clear shipping options. Think about personalization options, pampering, jewelry, creative framing and photo displays, gadget accessories, flower and bud vases, planters, home decor, and cards for Mother's Day.
• Spring: Think in terms of how you can market toward and contribute to seasonal activities like spring cleaning, spring fashion, spring break, spring planting, a fresh outlook, rejuvenation and splashes of light, bright color.
• Gardening and Food: Gardening and farming are central themes for spring. Trends this season center around tools, plant markers, composting solutions, gloves, scrubs, seeds, plantable papers, organic methods, farmers markets, organic meats and dairy, the butcher, dairy farmer, cheese artisans, seasonality, planting calendars, tips, recipes, and vintage industrial farming references. 
• Earth Day: A great reminder of all the eco-friendly options we have. Think in terms of recycling, repurposing, upcycling, and the use of reclaimed, naturally sourced, self-sustaining, and environmentally-friendly materials. Think about items that facilitate being kind to the earth, contain renewable sources, clean the air, and support being conscious of our surroundings.
• Fashion: Options for spring should be available for purchase now, and lines for summer should be in the works, if not already listed. Emphasis on basics, spring and summer dresses, lightweight bags and carryalls, sunglasses, swimwear, hair accessories, jewelry and sandals.
• Weddings, Proms, and Celebrations: Embrace your inner teenager and think about glammed up prom options with a touch of sparkle and edge: dresses, shoes, jewelry, bags, hair accessories, corsages, and make up. Smack in the middle of the busiest time for wedding season, think about how your line can offer or evoke outdoor options for both the ceremony and after-party.
• Graduation and Teacher Gifts: As the traditional academic year comes to a close, think about offering items that would show appreciation for teachers or a sentimental congratulation for graduates. The typical college year comes to a close in early to mid-May, while high schools tend to close in mid to late June. 
• Diamond is April's birthstone; April's astrological signs are Aries and Taurus (Aries: March 21 - April 20, Taurus: April 21 - May 20).

Trending Topics:

• Japan Relief
• Little Red Riding Hood: With Catherine Hardwicke's movie rendition, this fairytale is becoming increasingly popular: forestry, red capes, wolves and werewolves, the moon (blood moon), young love, legends and dark fairytales.
• Gadget Accessories: With the recent iPhone and iPad availability on Verizon, coupled with the release of iPad2, accessories for smartphones and tablets are on the rise.
• The Indoor Garden: Glass domes, terrariums, air plants, window herbs, succulent plants, garden markers, and planters.
• Vintage Designer: Fashion, collectibles, bikes, and auto accessories.
• The Butcher: Cuts of meat, diagrams, butcher paper and knives, bacon, aprons.
• Fashion: Black paired with white, gold, or navy. Orange, camel, chartreuse, lace, neon, brights. It's all about the shoulders: structured, elevated, outlined, embellished. Faux reptile skins, the 1970s revival, structured wearable art, sporty, nautical, American classics, tribal influence.
• Food trends: Year of the homemade pie, whoopie pie, and macaron.
• Writable surfaces: Chalkboard, whiteboard, fingerprints.
• Personalization: Monograms, initials, text, numbers, zodiacs, constellations, portraits, custom labels, stamps, fingerprints and family trees.
• Vintage: Globes, maps, crates, baskets, barware, industrial appliances, farmhouse, typewriters, cameras, letterpress, brass and cast iron animals.
• Geometry: Geometric shapes, patterns, triangles, chevrons.
• The beard and its many variations have transcended the mustache in popularity!
• Redheads
• Lockets, secret hiding places, skeleton keys, feathers, arrows, diamonds paper cuts, silhouettes, fortune cookies, wishbones, fortune tellers.
• Natural history and woodland forest themes and animals, namely birds, owls, squirrels, hedgehogs, chipmunks, bunnies, butterflies, feathers, nests, eggs, acorns, leaves, trees, branches, woodgrain, and natural colors.

If you'd like to stay engaged and involved with the approaching merchandising themes, use them in your own artistic voice as you add to your shop. They can be translated in your listings, photos, shop announcements, descriptions, tags, titles, sales promotions, and more.
If you make items that would fit well with the themes outlined, try stocking up and listing them in advance to take advantage of potential shipping deadlines and site features. Do you already have items in your shop that meld well? That's great! Now it's time to revisit those items to make sure your tags, titles and descriptions reflect keywords that shoppers might be looking for this time of year. This is also a great opportunity to revamp your item photography with a new look. Check out some great how-to's for item photography to get started.
For those of your who enjoy making Treasuries, we'll be looking to highlight lists that interpret these themes in a creative and cohesive way throughout the site. Please tag your treasuries accordingly.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

• April is known as International Guitar Month
• April 1 April Fools
• April 3 Mothering Sunday (UK Mother's Day)
• April 4-10 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta
• April 5 Ching Ming Festival (Hong Kong)
• April 15 Tax Deadline
• April 19 - 25 Passover 
• April 22 Earth Day 
• April 22 Good Friday
• April 23 St George Day
• April 24 Easter Sunday
• April 25 Liberty Day (Portugal)
• April 27 Freedom Day (South Africa)
• April 29 Greenery Day (Japan)
• April 29 Arbor Day 
• April 30 Queen's Day (Netherlands)

Take me Away: Manasquan

Take Me Away
In celebration of the first day of Spring I am featuring a place  I love being in the warm days of late Spring  and Summer: Manasquan, NJ.

The Premier Surfing at the Jersey Shore

We Travel By Boat

Evenings are Peaceful

Frank is Never Happier

The Guys Love Spring and Summer

Great Bike Riding

Manasquan has Kept Its "Old Shore" Feel

It is An Easy Trip!

Something For Everyone

Today I am featuring a place I am actually able to experience. I am so lucky to spend Summers  at Manasquan. It is one of my favorite places. In the Summer, there is no place I would rather be.

Why You Should Join A Team on Etsy

I have never been the “join a team” type of person. I am an introvert and have trouble asking for help unless I am in a perilous situation. I was selling my handmade jewelry in my Etsy.com store, Your Daily Jewels, for about six months.  I should say, I was  “not selling” on Etsy for this time. I kept reading how sellers were quitting their day jobs and everything they did to achieve this. So, following their suggestions, off I ventured into blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting and a lot of other activities I had never before considered. Sales were still slow, (on a good day.) Discouraged, I decided to try shaking it up one more way. I threw caution to the wind and applied and was accepted into the Jewelry on Etsy Team, on Etsy.com

The Jewelry on Etsy Team, (JET), is the premier organized group of jewelery crafters and sellers on Etsy.com. Eighty seven woman and one man make up this eclectic, cohesive, and very active group. Led by a Captain and three leaders, the JETs promote together, support, and educate each other; and laugh together on their forum that runs twenty four hours a day with their international membership. The JETS hold contests, special promotions, and friendly competitions all year long. The JET leaders keep an alphabetical list of members from which they choose a daily, "Jet of the Day,” or JOD, to celebrate. On your JOD day, the entire team promotes you on Twitter, Facebook, Stumble Upon, Kaboodle, Style Hive, Treasuries and more. There is also a feature written  just for your store that day on the JET  Blog!

 The JETs accept new members several times a year, but they do have a waiting list. Once you join, you start as a Jetling. In other words, you are assigned a mentor who helps you with all aspects of Etsy and the JETs. Smartly, the JETs require members to participate in the forum from time to time. This is great for me, otherwise my shyness may keep me from really taking part. I am still a Jetling and I could not be happier that I took a chance with a team. I have made local friends and friends from all over the world, my store looks more professional, my photos are so much better, and my prices are higher. All due to the community of JETS. Sales are great for me on most days, and on the slow days, the JETs keep my spirits up.

If you have been on the fence about joining an Etsy team, or maybe you are like me who thought I would never join a team. What is they say is the definition of crazy? Oh yeah, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Try challenging your fears and look into and apply to a team. There are hundreds of teams focused on anything you can think up as a common interest.  I bet you will find one that betters your Etsy experience. You may end up like me, now I am on three teams! 

Thank you for reading,

Norah

More than 1900 Views on Etsy!

'It is Only Natural' by YOURDAILYJEWELS

A collage of talent from my team members and friends on Etsy

Into the Green - a brid... preetalina $28.00	Forest Green Brown Mult... abacusbeadcrea... $48.00	silver cocktail ring. w... peacesofindigo $76.00
Butterfly Pendant, Mixe... DebrasDivineDe... $27.00	20% OFF SALE Tropical B... Maddenphotogra... $20.00	Emerald Green Quartz an... aubepine $46.00
Echinacea Batik Print SusanItkinBati... $20.00	Golden Leaves Smoky Lem... ovgilliesdesig... $12.00	Four Seasons Landscape ... theenchantedcu... $16.00
Real 4 Leaf Clover Dome... AsLuckWouldHav... $30.00	Golden Rose Necklace w ... mysticwynd $22.50	Woodland Nymph - Soap C... bubbletub $5.50
SALE Wire Wrapped Gemst... christieg $20.00	Stacking Rings, Cool To... thatSandygirl $90.00	Willy The Beanbag Worm CreationsByDan... $28.00
Ceramic Recycled Glass ... islandgirlpott... $20.00

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