Off to the Emerald City

Steph (TartDeco) created a treasury list of top 16 vote-getters from May '09 Design Challenge. It is called "Off to the Emerald City."  Have a look - it expires on Friday, May 15 at 6:34am EST.

Congratulations to Retro80s, RetroReDesign, Liddesignsboutique, Anisemouette, AtomicLivin, FallingLeafDesigns, BeautifulStranger, Vintagecookie, Haannh, KnottySisters, Bipedalhumm, Threepeats, FartsyArts, Funusual, MyFriendAmy, and WendyBirde.

Congratulations!

The winner of the Threepeats giveaway is... Mr. Bean! 

Mr. Bean won the Jungle Orchid Necklace from Threepeats (see the photo above). 

Suzanne of Threepeats have sent you an e-mail... you have until May 14th at 6:30AM EST to response back or a new winner will be chosen!

There will be another giveaway starting on May 18th until May 25th.

Twy a Twibe on Twitter

What is a Twibe, you ask? Twibes are groups of people on Twitter with a common interest. Instead of wading through all those posts on your home page, you can simply go to a specific Twibe page to read Tweets about a specific topic. Several Twibes are already in effect, and you can search through a list on Twitter to find ones of interest to you: http://www.twibes.com/twitter-groups. You can also start your own Twibe, as I did for all of you interested in making retro-inspired handmade wares. Just go to http://www.twibes.com/group/RetroHandmade to join.

The benefits are really worth the effort, which is only a click of your mouse: you can begin to network with more individuals who share a common interest; you are able to see Tweets relevant to a specific group without having to track them down individually; and, the group itself acts as a marketing tool as it can provide a wealth of information for a larger audience interested in specific content.

If you do indeed decide to join the Retro Handmade Twibe, be sure to include “retro,” “handmade,” or “etsy” in you tags so that they show up on the Twibe’s member page.

I'll be checking in regularly to check out your new posts!


anise mouette
http://anisemouette.etsy.com
http://twitter.com/anisemouette

Friday Flickr Finds: Nostalgic Whimsy

These Flickr finds are from our Retro Handmade Team Flickr group pool.

1. 1970s Play Projector Tote, 2. Retro Style Deco Mirror, 3. Alice in Wonderland, 4. The flappers dancing the Charleston., 5. Necklace, 6. Spring Love

Featured Blog Giveaway: Threepeats

~ Win your Favorite Item from Threepeats Jewelry ~

Guess what? You get to choose your favorite item from Threepeats' Etsy shop that you hope to win. Also, PLEASE read her giveaway details at the bottom of this blog post.

Suzanne of Threepeats has been an active member of Retro Handmade Team since New Year’s Day of this year. Why don’t you get to know Threepeats better by reading the interview?

How did you started creating recycled jewelry?
One summer I decided to see if I could use some of the beads and chain from broken pieces I had to create a necklace I would actually wear...one that was long, light and versatile. When I got compliments on the necklace, I started creating them as gifts for family and friends and got more compliments. Threepeats was born!

Tell me a bit about your retro inspired creations.
Threepeats carries three section necklaces made from recycled vintage chains and beads. They are long and light and can be worn in a variety of ways. They all slip over the head and are hand assembled (no soldering!) Dangle earrings that are also made from recycled vintage chain and beads are available. I enjoy repurposing vintage materials into wearable modern jewelry pieces.

Check out her Etsy shop!

Giveaway Details

The giveaway will run from today Monday, May 4, 2009, until next Monday, May 11, 2009 at Midnight EST (Eastern Standard Time). The winner will receive an item from Threepeats’ Etsy shop. This giveaway is open to the US only.

To Enter:

• Official Entry:  Choose your favorite item from Threepeats' Etsy shop that you hope to win. PLEASE leave a comment with the name of chosen item from Threepeats and a way to contact you (i.e., Etsy shop username).

• If winner does not respond to the winning convo / email within 72 hours, a new winner will be chosen.

Thank you so much! :-)

Help Yourself By Helping Others: Promotional Ideas that Don’t Cost a Dime

Offering others my help has been my most successful networking tool. When conceptualizing ideas to market myself, I try to think of ways I can offer support. Don’t get me wrong. My underlying objective is to market myself. Mother Theresa I am not. However, when I take others’ interests to heart, I seem to benefit more than when I put my interests first. Included here are a few things I’ve started to do on a regular basis, all of which have increased interest in my handmade wares.

- donate a portion of all my proceeds to a local charity
- post how-to craft tutorials on my blog and other networking sites like Craftster
- post networking tips on my blog and other networking sites like byhand.me
- provide feedback and tips in forums on Etsy, among others, on a regular basis
- offer my wares or time for charitable donation
- promote fellow crafters via networking sites like Facebook & Twitter

To note, my most recent blog post, “50 Free Promotional Sites for Crafters,” has been my biggest networking success to date. In return for the list, readers of my blog were urged to follow me on Twitter. And sure enough, within 48 hours of posting, I noted some 200 plus new followers (and the number continues to increase). In turn, this exposure has lead to more than triple the daily views I was receiving in my Etsy shop. No Etsy showcase, banner ad, or even press clip about my shop has awarded me near the same amount of exposure. And it didn’t cost a dime.

http://anisemouette.etsy.com
http://anisemouette.blogspot.com

Team Blog Giveaways

Retro Handmade Team is hosting two (2) featured blog giveaways per month starting tomorrow, May 4th. Each featured blog giveaway will provide their own giveaway details on how to enter the contest. Remember, everyone's different - it doesn't mean everyone's rules are same from one to another.

How can I keep up with your team's blog giveaways?
Good question, you can sign up for our email newsletter to stay informed. To subscribe, you can enter your email address via the form, which can be found under the section "Subscribe via Email" on the top of 2nd right-side navigation bar.

Image by amanda bel via Flickr

You will be informed as soon as we posted a new blog giveaway - it will be sent to your email inbox automatically. Just like that... (snap fingers).

As for this month's upcoming giveaways, we are proud to host Threepeats from May 4 to 11 and NikkiMichele from May 18 to 25.

Have fun entering! :-) Also, don't forget to vote for May '09 Design Challenge - it ends on May 9th at midnight EST.

Vote for May '09 Design Challenge: color GREEN

Guess what? This is our first monthly design challenge, and we are excited about showing you our creations for the design challenge and hoping that you would cast your vote for us!

--- This month's theme is COLOR GREEN! ---

Please view our entries before voting:
You can view the entries by visiting our “Favorite Items” page via this link:
http://www.etsy.com/favorite_listings_public.php?user_id=7147456

How to cast your vote:
To cast your vote by leaving a comment on this blog post or on this Etsy forum thread via this link: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6137721

Voting deadline:
The voting deadline is on May 9th at midnight EST (Eastern Standard Time).

Voters’ Prize:
The voters will be featured on the treasury list at Etsy! Who doesn’t like being featured on the treasury list? :-)