One Big Sale Day- November 14

Hey buddies! This will be an updating post, so go ahead and hit the little star in your web address box, or pin it, or tweet it, or however you store webpages to reference later... Do that. We'll be updating this list frequently with lists of shops who are participating in this giant sale!

You'll be able to go to lots of shops all across the interwebs, use one code, and be guaranteed at least 20% off all of it! The code is: OBSD15. It'll be good one day only, November 14, 2015.

Down with Plumes- Discount Offered: 25%

Handmade tiny top hats, hair accessories, scarves, women's clothing, handbags, and more!

Visit on Facebook

Instagram | Twitter

ichcha- Discount Offered: 25% OFF 

Hand Block Printed Scarves & Home furnishings like Window Curtains, throws, pillows, etc.

Visit on Facebook

Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Viv and Olive- Discount Offered: 20% Off purchase of $20+ 

Fun and Colorful Chunky Jewelry for Little Girls and Ladies!

Visit on Facebook

Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Shea Chick Soap Company- Discount Offered: 20% off orders of $15 or more

Shea Butter based soaps and other fun bath products for the whole family!

Visit on Facebook | Instagram

ANTIGOs- Discount Offered: 20% off

Vintage Accessories - Vintage Books - Vintage Clothing...Vintage Vinyl LPs...Anything Vintage that your heart desires

Visit on Facebook

Pinterest | Twitter

TNRCRAFTYBOWTIQUE- Discount: 20% off $20.00

Hair bows, dresses and headbands

Facebook | Pinterest 

LangDesignShop- Discount Offered: 20% off anything

Wedding invitations and stationery customized for you. Printable cards include Invitations, RSVP, Info, Save the Dates, Thank You's, Ceremony Programs, Menus, Table Numbers and more.

Facebook | Twitter

SleepInComfort- Discount Offered 20%

Cooling Pillowcase Liners and Fabric Hair Curlers/Fabric Hair Rollers You will not wake up flipping your pillow to find the "cool" side anymore.

Facebook | Twitter 

One Clutch- Discount Offered: 15% Off First Clutch purchase, 20% on more than 1 Clutch. 

One-of-a-kind, exclusive couture clutches. Only one piece of each unique design. From traditional handmade clutch bags to exotic filigree metal work clutches, these rare-to-find beautiful couture clutches are a well kept secret and a special treat. Grab the clutch that appeals to your eye now-- for there is ONEClutch only in the design you choose!

Visit on Facebook

Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

CartoCreative- Discount Offered: 20% off

CartoCreative is a map and geographic design shop created by high school sweethearts Mel & Steve. Each work added to our ever-growing collection is lovingly created by hand, allowing us to explore new places every day right from our studio in St. Catharines, Canada.

Visit on Facebook

Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Tumblr | Wanelo

BeeBeeandJack- Discount Offered: 25% off purchase of $25 or more

Short Shop Description: Handmade crochet hats, scarves, booties, hairpieces and other amazing accessories.

Visit on Facebook

Instagram | Twitter

lalunafantasyjewelry- Discount Offered: 20% OFF

Handmade jewelry with wire, gemstones etc

Visit on Facebook
Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

BayouVue- Discount Offered: 20% off of $15 or more purchase
Handcrafted clay jewelry, decor, trinkets, ornaments, and more. 
Facebook | Instagram

Rockscraft

Description. Scrapbooking supplies and jewellery

Facebook | Pinterest

Pelhuaz- Discount Offered: 20%

Short Shop Description: Handmade Indie jewelry.

Visit on Facebook  

Instagram | Twitter 

Serger Pepper Designs- Discount offered: 30% discount 
 PDF sewing patterns; practical everyday projects with refashion in mind, with step-by-step instructions (perfect for beginners)
Visit on Facebook 
Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Blog

KilnKarma- Discount Offered: 20% off orders of $25 or more
Handmade and Unique Fused Glass Jewelry
Pinterest | Twitter

DannaLivingston- Discounted offered: 25% off original paintings, no prints.
Acrylic Paintings of all sorts

Scrapstorybook- Discount offered: 20% off on all items.
Cliparts, watercolors and illustrations
Visit on Facebook | Blog

NLLucky- Discount offered: 20% off all items

KM.DEXTERITY- Discount Offered: 20% OFF EVERYTHING!!!
Hand Stamped Key Chains and Stainless Steel Bottle Openers
Facebook | Website

bergamotandlavender- Discount offered: 25% off of anything and everything.
One-of-a-kind jewelry pieces handcrafted with love between Europe and Asia 
Visit on Instagram

Unicorn's Creations Studio- Discount Offered: 30% on purchases $30 or more
Kiln formed glass jewelry, home decor, studio treasures and stencils
Facebook | Pinterest

KMHanksart- Discount Offered: 20% off
Notecards, Birch Bark Baskets, Leatherwork, Jewelry and more
Visit on Facebook

Melidasart- Discount offered: 20% off on purchase of $40 or more
Facebook | Pinterest

Just by Jaime- Discount Offered: 20% off with purchase of $10 or more
Hair accessories, nature photography cards and prints, badge reels, keychains, ornaments, and more
Visit on Facebook
Instagram | Twitter

Nerdtastic- Discount Offered: 20% off (no minimum)
Geeky jewelry, lip balm, apparel and more.
Visit on Facebook
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr

sweetbtshirt- Discount Offered: 25% on male tshirts and 20% on female tshirts
Crazy tshirts for men and women with something to say or scream!!
Twitter | Facebook

RainbowLilyDesigns- Discount Offered: 20% off with coupon OBSD15
 Beautiful and unique designs for your 18 inch doll, from costumes to historical and modern clothing, and much more!
Facebook | Pinterest

Drowsy Aurora- Discount Offered:20% off
Drowsy Aurora is officially your unofficial home for the most adorable hand-sewn felt plushies in all the land. Sewn with a touch of magic and a dash of joy in every stitch, these beautiful little plush figurines slumber as they wait to light up your life!
Visit on Facebook
Pinterest  | Instagram 

Backstage Prop Shop- 20% purchase of $15 or more

I sell a variety of "props," my shop slogan is, "whatever the script calls for!" My shop is inspired by my experience with Props Crew in theatre.

Pinterest | Blog

Mother's Day 2015 - Last minute gift ideas!

Mother's day is approaching fast! And if you haven't got mom something yet here are some wonderfully curated collections that will help you find the right gift for mom.

Here is a list filled with soft and delicate colours with a touch of bohemian!
From our member Crystal of Crystals1LittleShop
Here is the full list - https://www.etsy.com/ca/people/crystalbark/favorites/gifts-for-mothers-day

Here is another list with a cute pet and nature themed.
From our member Louise of VintageMagpieNest
Here is the full list - https://www.etsy.com/ca/people/TheVintageMagpieNest/favorites/mothersdayfinds

This vintage inspired list is surely a treasure trove for vintage lovers!
From our member Kelly of TreasuresbytheGulf
Here is the full list - https://www.etsy.com/uk/people/ks9876/favorites/mothers-day-gifts

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all!!

Etsy Shop Feature - One Big Sale Day Member CartoCreative

This months featured member is CartoCreative,

1) In brief tell us about your latest products.

We recently introduced a new line of multicolor maps.
www.etsy.com/shop/CartoCreative?section_id=14848883
So far we only have nine multicolor maps on Etsy, but are working at creating more and getting them online.

2) What is the inspiration behind these items?

We decided to make these multicolor maps because we wanted something more colorful and playful that no one else offers and that have a purpose. The different colors represent neighbourhoods and district in .

3) What other new items are in the plans for the near future?

We are always working on new ideas and expanding our product selection. Currently, we are working on creating completely new lines of products that we don't already have and fulfilling requests for maps of places we don't yet offer.

4) Will you be participating in any up-coming exhibition or markets?

Stephen is jampacked with solo exhibitions for his artwork this summer, which means a lot of travelling and creating, which is awesome, but doesn't leave much time to participate in markets for the spring and summer season. I am hoping to squeeze in the Etsy Made in Canada event this September, last year's event was amazing. We also purchased a storefront this year which we are working on renovating and hope to open at the end of this year or next year.

And our social media sites are:

Website: www.cartocreative.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CartoCreative
Twitter: twitter.com/CartoCreative
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/cartocreative/
Tumblr: cartocreative.tumblr.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/cartocreative/

Write Etsy Descriptions in 5 Easy Steps, including Titles and Tags (Part 3)

From Part 2: Here

Step 4: Creating your key-phrase rich first paragraph

Next copy all your tags and paste it into your description box. You will get a jumble of phrases. Carefully and without breaking up the exact phrase from the tags, string them into sentences. Always begin with the most important key-phrase. Below are the 13 tags I have. 

Here are my tags - 

Hand printed fabric, rust red pattern, toilet paper holder, toilet organizer, tie up toilet roll, extra toilet roll, natural cotton, toilet roll holder, bathroom storage, bathroom organizer, spare toilet roll, cotton fabric sling, gift for mom

Here is what I wrote -

This is a  toilet paper holder or toilet roll holder made of hand printed fabric with rust red pattern. It makes a handy cotton fabric sling to tie up toilet roll, extra toilet roll or spare toilet roll . Made and lined with natural cotton it is an excellent toilet organizer, bathroom organizer or bathroom storage. It will also make a great gift for mom.

I did manage to get all the 13 keywords into my paragraph. Sometimes it becomes hard when there are too many key-phrases that means the same thing. You could go back and tweak some of your tags so that there are not too many similar ones, but if you do that remember to tweak your titles too.

Step 5 : Completing the rest of your description

Now the last step is to complete the rest of your description! Remember you have sections made up in Step: 1? All you have to do now is fill in the rest of your sections. Once you got your first description all written out, use the 'copy' function when creating a new listing. This way you will have the format ready for you when you start working on your next listing.

However, because some of your items might be very different from each other, some parts of your format will have a different function or contain different information. To avoid accidentally removing some of these sections, always have a back up or a sketch of your original format kept safe somewhere.

And you are set to go!

Here is a recap on all the 5 steps -
Part 1 (HERE)
Step 1: Cut it up to smaller sections

Part 2 (HERE)
Step 2: Fill in your titles with key-phrases
Step 3: Create your tags by copying and pasting your title into the tag box

and Part 3 is in this post

Step 4: Creating your key-phrase rich first paragraph
Step 5 : Completing the rest of your description

Write Etsy Descriptions in 5 Easy Steps, including Titles and Tags (Part 2)

From Part 1 - (Here)

Step 2: Fill in your titles with key-phrases 

Yes! Gone were the days when fancy spaced out titles could get you sales. With the high competition and number of listings on Etsy, being found is of paramount importance! So, first fill in your title with as much key-phrases as possible but in a way that makes sense when read by humans. Always start your title with the key-phrases you want to be found when someone searches it.

So here is an example of an item I sold previously -

Here is what I wrote for the title -

Extra toilet roll holder Hand printed fabric natural cotton fabric rust red pattern toilet paper holder toilet organizer tie up toilet roll

(importance placed on the first 3 words)
I've left out the commas too, so that I could maximise the number of letters and pack it full of keywords since I want this item to come up on first page of search. But since we are not discussing SEO in this article, go ahead and make it sound better whilst still incorporating as many key-phrases as you can.

Step 3: Create your tags by copying and pasting your title into the tag box

Next step is to create your tags. Copy your entire title and paste it into the tag box. Read through and then separate it with commas where necessary. Some phrases will be longer than 20 characters and they won' be converted to tags. Example - 

You can break up those phrases that were not converted to 2 or more tags. Example - 'Natural cotton fabric' could be converted to i) natural cotton  ii) cotton fabric iii) natural fabric

Continue breaking up those larger phrases until you have all 13 tags. If you can make more, always give priority to those which are more relevant or makes most sense.

Part 3 - (HERE)

Write Etsy Descriptions in 5 Easy Steps, including Titles and Tags (Part 1)

Writing descriptions for your Etsy listing could be a very time consuming task, especially if you experiencing 'writer's block' while doing it. When I started running my Etsy shop I realised that this might be the most time consuming task, next to actually making my items!

After spending some many hours thinking and researching how I could simplify this task I came up with a 'system' that helps to get my descriptions down quick and get my items listed in a short-time.

And I will be sharing this with you here, step-by-step.

A good description should help your shop achieve 3 main things - 

1) Provides your customer with important and necessary information 

2) Help your item to be found in searches by improving SEO - within Etsy and on Google

3) Provides internal links within your shop

Step 1: Cut it up to smaller sections

Let's start of by creating a 'format' that will be the main guide for all your description's main body, by breaking up the chunk into smaller sections and tackling each section. By having 'sections' in your description you can choose sections to be unique for each item or repeated among similar items. It also helps make sure no important information is left out.

Here is an example of mine -

Section 1 - This paragraph gives the description of the item, although it might read a little weird but it could be understood. This is because this paragraph is a key-phrase rich paragraph. Key-phrases are phrases that someone might be searching for.

Section 2 - Any other interesting info selling point of your item but might not contain key-phrases that you want your item to be searched for. It is separated from the above section so that the first paragraph is not too heavy. Some of my item description has Section 2 and some don't.

Section 3 - This part is for dimensions which could be in a sentence or point form.

Section 4 - Care or proper storage instructions, every product should have care instructions even if you are selling supplies.

Section 5 - Some information or feature of the making process or packaging that is similar with some or all of the items Eg: 'My items are made with toxic-free water based glues' or 'All items are wrapped with reused packaging unless new packaging is requested'. If it is a great selling point or note-of-caution then it is good to repeat it on every listing (if it is the same) and also in your policies.

Section 6 - Links to other similar items in your shop. This helps you customers to find the matching piece or items that could be gifted together.


Things to note about the 'Sections'
1) Choose what sections are important and relevant to your items

2) Place them in any position best for your item, accept Section 1 which should always be on top DO NOT have sale announcements or short sentences on the first paragraph as it could affect your SEO

3) Add other sections that are relevant to your items, eg: for Art and Photos - what was your inspiration, your motivation to create this piece, also same goes for purchases that are motivated by emotions. But do not confuse this with key-phrases and do not place this in first paragraph, unless it is your key-phrase paragraph (explained in later steps)

Now that you have sections, you could easily identify some of these sections that will be repeated with all your items. With Etsy's copy function for creating listings, you can easily follow the format of the listings before. But I recommend that you keep a copy in your note book, just in case.

Here is Part 2 - http://onebigsaleday.blogspot.fi/2015/04/write-etsy-descriptions-in-5-easy-steps_14.html

#20daysuntilspring2015 March Challenge Winners!

In March we started the month with a count down challenge to spring - #20daysuntilspring2015 read more HERE.

The entries saw many awesome photos that gave us a peak into our members life and behind the scenes photos of their everyday lives. It included workspace areas, photos of their pets, photos of themselves in 'action' on a workday and what spring meant to them.

3 members were able to complete all 20 days - Bravo!

They are -
Cartocreative - https://instagram.com/cartocreative/

Titika Shop - https://instagram.com/titika_shop

Crystals Little Shop - https://instagram.com/crystalslittleshop

Here are the instagram accounts of the other members who participated -

RockaBeautyBoutique - https://instagram.com/rockabeautyboutique/
The Vintage Magpie - https://instagram.com/vintage_magpie/
Oatsbags - https://instagram.com/oatsbags/

Congratulations everyone!