How To Use Coupon Codes on Etsy

More than one person has told me that they had trouble figuring out how to use these codes I give out from time to time, so I'm sharing this step-by-step on how to use them!

How to use coupon codes in my etsy shop:

Step #1

Go shopping and put items in your shopping cart.

Step #2

When you're done shopping and ready to check out, click on shopping cart.

You'll find the "apply coupon code" link on the right side.

or a closer look:

Step #3

Click on the "Apply shop coupon code" link.  When you click on it, a box appears where you can type in the coupon code.

Step #4

Fill in the coupon code (right now for Cyber Monday I have a free shipping code FREESHIP, so I'm using that code for this example.  But you would place whatever code I may be offering at the time here.)

Step #5

Click the "apply" button.

The code will be green and whatever the deal is should be written underneath it.  In this example, "you received free shipping!"

Step #6

Continue to checkout as normal.  

I hope this helps clear up any confusion!  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or problems!

Thursday Green Artist(s) of the Week: The Hodge Podgery

Okay, so this week I am not bringing you ONE artist, but a whole slew of artists coming together at the Hodge Podgery!

The Hodge Podgery is an amazing new store in Harrisburg featuring an eclectic mix of handmade and upcycled goodies.

What they say about their store: "Focusing on making old things new, turning trash to treasure and waste-not, want-not philosophies, we hope to bring some joy and enlightenment to your day with ever changing offerings of functional items with a twist. We want you to get out of the cookie cutter world of disposable mass-produced consumer goods. It’s time to re-group and re-focus on buying handmade local goods, from talented local people. Viva la difference!!"

Of course, with such a great mission, B.B. Bellezza is part of this store, too!

If you are local, you have to stop in! The store is wonderful, Dawn and Jessica (owners) are complete delights. Seriously, you can't talk to Dawn for more than 2 seconds without smiling!

For a lot more photos, check out their flickr photostream.

1100 N. 3rd Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

They also have classes and workshops scheduled!

Shop Update Tomorrow!

Here's a sneak peek of what will be appearing in my Etsy Shop tomorrow evening! See you then!

Where to get your B.B. Bellezza this weekend?

I am spending the weekend with my mom. :) I don't have any shows scheduled, but you still have time to get to my booth to get your Mother's Day gifts! I have plently of options and the shop is open every day at 11 a.m.

342 N. Queen Street, Rear

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Also, we just featured BUiLDiNG CHARACTER on our blog, Outta the Way!

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part 10

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

and now, the final part, Part X: Favorites

So, we've gone through our shop and fixed up our listings and our shops. Another part of our shops is our "Favorites." Although this may not have a big impact on our customers necessarily, I just feel better that everything is all cleaned up and in its place.

If you look at your favorites, are thing things that are now blank or say that the listing has expired? Now is the time to click on the little "x" and delete them.

I have kept some of my favorite items that have been sold because I want to be reminded of that item and find the shop and purchase it in the future.

I also went through my favorite sellers and deleted a few whose shops have closed.

Everyone has a different reason for saving favorites. Personally, I save my favorite items because I want to buy these things. But sometimes my favorite sellers are just shops that caught my attention or people I want to support.

Your Turn

-> Go to "Your Etsy" and click on "Favorites" on the Left side

Go through and delete all the empty listings or things that you no longer want to save in your favorites.

Click on the "sellers" tab and clean up your favorite sellers - see if people have deleted their shop or maybe renamed or moved their shop.

Here are my favorites now.

Feel free to post a comment!

Thanks for Spring Cleaning your Etsy Shop with me!

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part VI

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part VI

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Today we are going to work on:

Shop Title

Shop Announcement

Alchemy Status and Announcement

and Message to Buyers

Don't worry, they are all relatively simple and they are all on the same page, so let's do them all!

Shop Title:

This appears on your shop page just under your banner. It's a great place for your tagline for your shop, or a little description of your shop. You only get a few words, so chose them carefully. I believe that I have read that Google and other search engines pick up the title, so use some keywords. I changed mine to add "coasters" since that is a new product I have added to my shop.

Shop Announcement:

There are differing opinions on this. Some people give a lot of information, some people do not use the shop announcement at all.

I am opting for somewhere in between the 2 extremes. I want my items to show up on the page when someone clicks on it, so I don't want my announcement to be too long.

->by the way! remember to save at the bottom of the page! I keep going to my shop page to see what it looks like when I change something, so make sure you save before you do that.<-

Alchemy Status and Announcement

Alchemy is Etsy's word for custom orders. If you are willing to have people contact you about custom orders, click "allow private requests", if not click "do not allow private requests."

If you do allow private requests, make sure to fill out your announcement, too. I am not taking custom requests at this time.

Message to Buyers

This is the message that the buyers recieve on their email when they make a purchase from you. I just did a read through and made sure to get rid of any akward statements and typos.

I added some instructions for if they need something resized or if they have a coupon code, too.

Your Turn

-> Go to Your Etsy and click on "Appearance" on the Left side under "Shop Set up"

This will open up the option to edit all of the features I mentioned above, as well as a banner (which we are not doing today)

Make any revisions and make sure to click on "save" at the bottom of the page.

As always, feel free to comment with any questions or problems you may encounter!

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part V

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part V

For the first 4 parts:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Today, we are going to clean up our Shipping Profiles. I had a lot of different shipping profiles because I used to also make and sell Bath & Body Products, which were all different weights. But now I just sell basically one product and have made my shipping a lot easier because I just charge one flat rate for all my shipping.

Therefore, I decided to get rid of some of my old profiles. (Note, this is definitely just for your own satisfaction and ease, it does not change your shop necessarily, unless you are changing your shipping policies.)

I also got rid of some repeated profiles I had in there.

Easy Peasy. (And if you are like me, you are still working on Part IV - Descriptions!)

Your Turn

-> Go to Your Etsy. On the Left side Find "Shop Setup" and click on "Shipping Options."

To change any profile, pick it from the drop down menu and click "Go". Make any changes and click "Save" OR to get rid of the profile click on "delete this profile" at the bottom of the page.

You can also "Create a New Profile"

If you need to change your listings' shipping, you can use the "Batch apply profiles to items" and then you can change them.

Please feel free to comment here with any questions!

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part IV

In case you missed them, here's the first 3 parts to this series:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Now on to Part IV.

I have been really struggling with exactly how much information to include in each listing, how professional or fun to make it, etc. I have decided to just be myself, but make sure all the pertinent details are included about each listing. Since I use many upcycled objects in my jewelry, I thought it would be good to tell the story behind them when I can.

I got a lot of useful information from this Etsy article about telling your story.

I also put a link from my listing to my Policies Page. My policies include a lot of information, so I figured I would use my words more wisely in each listing and just link to the rest of the information. (And since Part I was about updating our Policies Page, it is all ready to go!)

Changing and updating all your listings will be time consuming, depending upon how many listings you have, of course! If you sell and list a lot of stuff, you could probably just start with new listings or when you relist stuff.

Your Turn!

-> To edit your listings, just go your "Your Etsy" and click on the "edit" link that is to the Right of each listing.

Then you can click on the pencil symbol by "description" and then do your new description.

After editing your description, click on "Last" at the bottom of the page and make sure you click "Finish" on the next page. (If you don't, your listing will mysteriously disappear to the "inactive listings" section.)

Please feel free to comment and let me know your questions, troubles, or just to say "hi!" If you want to post a link to a new description that you would like feedback on, post a link to it.

Here's an example of a new description for me: Antique Adding Machine Button Ring

and here's an example of an old description that I will be changing

Much better, right? Please let me know what you think, or if you see any typos I missed!

Thank you!

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part III

In case you missed the first 2 parts, here they are: Part I and Part II

Today, I am going to look at the "Feature Items" feature of my Etsy Shop. (This should be a relatively easy task as the next task will be time consuming.)

As you probably know, at the top of your Etsy Shop, there are items that are featured items that are featured items. You pick these yourself and also pick the order.

My personal opinion is that the featured items should be items that aren't actually on the first page of your shop (unless you have 1 page only) and should really showcase your work.

In my shop, I sell jewelry mainly, but I have also started to add coasters and even photography ACEOs. I try to choose a variety of what I sell to feature. (Note: My ACEOs are currently on my first page; however, they are a new and different product for me, so I want to keep at least one on the top. I will probably feature my coasters once they go to the 2nd page.)

Once your featured item sells, it's no longer "featured" so you should have a few back ups starred, too (or many if you have a particularly busy shop.)

Your Turn!

-> Pick your featured items by going to "Your Etsy" and clicking on the star to the right of the item you want to feature.

To change the order, go into "featured in shop" on the left side under "Items" and use the up and down arrows to move the items.

**Also, some people choose not to feature any items. If you want to not feature items, just make sure none of the stars are green in "Your Etsy." I sort of like that idea, too.

Feel free to post any comments or questions! Here's my shop, you can check out my featured items: http://bbbellezza.etsy.com/

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop Part II

Part II of Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop, we will get our categories in order!

(If you missed Part I, we spruced up our policy pages.)

The categories in your shop make shopping easier for your customers. This is especially true if you have a lot of products, or many different kinds of products.

I have seen a lot of categories that go from the very plain the the creative. People have different opinions about what they like. I actually like both ways. However, if I am in a hurry and trying to find something quickly, I prefer simple.

Because of Etsy's streamlined look, everyone has the same font in their store. There are ways to (kind of) get around that. You can put a s p a c e in between each letter, or you can CAPITALIZE your letters (or lowercase them, for that matter.)

I have decided to go back to very simple and straight forward with no spaces or capitalization at all. Also, I will be adding new inventory shortly (rings!) so I made a new category. I also decided to do away with the "hardWire Jewelry" category and incorporate my hardWire Jewelry Line into the more simple categories of bracelets, necklaces and earrings. I might consider changing it back once I get the inventory back up in my store. (I also changed "other" into "miscellaneous." I am not sure that it really makes a difference!)

Your turn! Check out your categories and see if they need any tweeking. Also, you can do use the "batch sort" to make sure everything is in the correct category.

-> to edit your categories, go to your shop page under "Shop Setup" on the left side.

click on "Sections"

From there you can add, rename, delete or reorder your categories.

Have fun! Come back and leave the link to your store if you would like to ask for opinions on what you've done.

Here's my shop: http://bbbellezza.etsy.com/

Spring Clean Your Etsy Shop

This time of year always makes me feel like cleaning and organizing. I see it as a time to start fresh. Plus, my favorite seasons are just around the corner! (Spring and Summer)

I thought it was a perfect time to freshen up my Etsy Shop as well. I thought I would share what I am doing...maybe we can do some "Spring Cleaning" together?

I decided that this I will be breaking it into really tiny pieces. Probably parts that only take a few moments of a day.

Day 1: Policies

First thing I am working on is my policies. I have a lot of policies and they are akward and bulky.

Maybe you didn't fill in your policies yet...now's the time! :)

My plan is to make my policies as simple as possible while still having all the information that I think is important.

As a buyer, sometimes I take comfort in knowing exactly what will happen. Other times, I don't have the time or patience to read all the policies. Therefore, I am trying to make my policies "skimmable" so that my customers can skim over the information and glean what exactly it is they are looking for.

I invite you all to take a few minutes to look over your policies and create them, if necessary, or "freshen them up" if necessary and come back and discuss it if you would like. We can even check each others' policies and give some help and advise...and check for typos, etc. I would suggest linking directly to your policies page if you would like some feedback.

Here is my policy page. Any comments or impressions - or especially if there are typos I missed - woul be greatly appreciated!

Note, I am especially interested to know if they are too long and bulky. I am having a difficult time shortening them because I feel they are all important.

Also, I suggest cleaning up your policies one day, taking some time (perhaps overnight) and re-reading them the next day.

Recycled Gift Boxes

I just added these to my Etsy Shop, and plan to add them to my eBay store as well. They are an add-on for your jewelry purchase if you would like a gift box for your purchase.

They are made from magazines and other office supplies that I rescued before they landed in the trash (previously used file folders, the back of legal pads, etc.)

I think they are super cute and they are another little way I can help keep some waste out of the landfill.

The Ubiquity of Sparrows

It's the middle of the week and I have N E W S T U F F!

Blue Bird Charm Bracelet - now available in my shop!

Tons of blue beads and bird charms. A treasure hunt for your wrist!

Blue Dragonfly Earrings

So sweet in baby blue with dragonfly charms. Also available in my shop. I think the bracelet and earrings would look lovely together, without being too matchy matchy.

"A certain traveler who knew many continents was asked what he found most remarkable of all. He replied: the ubiquity of sparrows." ~Adam Zagajewski, Another Beauty, 2002

Lulu & Tutz

Today I made the short trip to this awesome shop. Lulu & Tutz in Strasburg, PA (11 West Main Street, to be exact!) Okay, this picture doesn't come close to showing the absolute cuteness of this store....and inside...well, it is just exactly the shop I would want to have. You just could spend all day looking through all of the treasures.

I took a pretty substantial amount of charm jewelry and some domino and scrabble tile pendants. All of the jewelry is one-of-a-kind and available only at Lulu & Tutz.

Here are some pieces that are there. There are many more as well!

All of the above pieces are also making their first appearances ever at the store!

The best part? I get to make more jewelry! And new jewelry for you to choose from!

Well, I have about 50 Scrabble Tile Pendants just waiting to be completed, so I must go finish them. They will be making their debut at the Freedom Fest on Friday and making their way into my shop soon, too.

Until then, Take Care!

Updating the Shop

Just a quick little note to let you all know that I am currently, right now, at this moment (5/5/08 4:00 p.m.) updating my shop. I am listing and updating necklaces today. There are new photos on some of my already listed items, and much more excitingly (if that's a word) new designs that I am really happy about.

The above photo is of a new design and has Yellow Turquoise, Topaz and Suset Agate.

So, please come check out my shop because I feel like it is shaping up nicely.

There will be about 6 new necklaces this afternoon and several current shop pieces will have new photos for your viewing pleasure.

Let me know what you think of the new pieces. I hope to keep this process going throughout the evening and the rest of the week.

I hope to get everything all updated through the next couple of weeks, along with making some new pieces! Woo Hoo!

Lovely Lavender

I have posted some lovely pieces in my shop. Purple is one of my favorite colors, and I went to town making some new jewelry.

As a matter of fact, These pieces where once one big necklace that I made and was never happy with, so finally I took it back apart this week and created these pieces out of it. I used to hate to do things like that, but I have accepted that sometimes a piece doesn't work out right and you can just let it go...
As a bonus, I have made several pieces out of it.



This is my first stretch bracelet in years! I got my start as a youngster with a little unicorn duffle bag full of beads and stretch cord. (I seriously am longing for that pink duffle bag right now....I just want to see it. Wow, memories) Lovely Lavender Stretch Bracelet


Simple & Beautiful.(I hate the photo, but unfortunately right now I leave for work and get home when it is dark out. It doesn't make for great photos when added to my crappy camera)Amethyst Earrings

I am crazy for this pendant. I will probably make more in other colors or schemes using this pendant, though!
Lovely Lavender Pendant Necklace


Adorable and Simple.Lovely Lavender Necklace


And my favorite, a charm braclet! Lovely Lavender Charm Bracelet
All are available in my shop for sale right now! Take care!Kim

Christmas Beaded Charm Bracelet

Here is my latest offering. A beautiful Christmas Beaded Charm Bracelet.

This festive bracelet is just what you need for your holiday parties! It features all kinds of green and red beads, including glass beads, acrylic beads, lampwork beads, cast metal silver beads and more. All the beads are wire-wrapped and then placed on the silverplated chain with 2 jumprings each for extra durability.It is just beautiful and so festive! There is a bead on each link of the chain.

It is on sale now in my shop here!

I have been getting in a holiday mood lately. I actually don't usually even get too much into Christmas, but I think all this preparation for the Holiday Craft Show has me in the spirit. I almost feel like starting to decorate a little. But I am sure I won't....

Happy Holidays!
Just kidding!
Kim

Saturday Night Special in Etsy!

Saturday Night Special in Etsy

5 p.m. EST Sat until 6 a.m. EST Sun.

15% Off everything in the shop!! (Etsy Shop only)

Just put "SNS" in the notes to seller, and I will send a revised invoice. (Note, you may not get a revised invoice until Sunday)

I will update you all on my life soon! Probably tomorrow!
Love,
Kim

Tutorial Tuesday, Vol 2

For this week's Tutorial Tuesday, please go here.

I thought I was being tricky, but it didn't work out so well. :)

Do you want to purchase the Kit for the Flower Earrings?


It is just $2.79 plus shipping and handling in my eBay store.

Tutorial Tuesday, Vol. 2

Tutorial Tuesday, Vol. 2

Welcome to
TUTORIAL TUESDAYS ™
_________________________________________________________

Each Tuesday, I will do a tutorial for you, with words and photos, of a project. We will be starting out with a couple of jewelry tutorials, but I will be branching out as well. I hope to try out some new projects for myself, too!
___________________________________________________________

This week will be doing a great pair of earrings. They are simple, yet unique. This is a great way for beginners to get started making simple earrings.


I will give you instructions for the minimal amount of tools required.
___________________________________________________________

I also have this as a Kit in my shop. So, if you want to make this exact design you can get the kit to follow along.


First person to email me with their name and address will get it free! BBBellezza@hotmail.com

Now, on to the Tutorial!

____________________________________________________________


FLOWER EARRINGS!

Supplies:

• 
  
  2 Headpins


• 
  
  2 Earring Wires


• 
  
  2 cast metal silver Flower Beads


• 
  
  4 Black Glass Beads

Tools Needed (Not included in the kit for sale in my shop):

• 
  
  Wire Cutters


• 
  
  Pliers

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1

1st make sure that you have all of the above items gathered (or make sure they are in your kit if you have ordered one from me.)

Step 2

I think that it is a good idea to lay out my design first when possible. It is helpful to place the beads on a piece of felt or a place mat, so the beads do not roll around. For the Silver Flower Earrings, the beads are in this order: 1 seed bead, 1 black glass bead, 1 silver flower bead, 1 black glass bead and 1 seed bead. You will be making a pair, so lay out both.

Step 3

Place the beads on the headpins in the order you laid them out in Step 2.

Step 4

Hold the beads firmly against the bottom of the head pin, the "head", with one hand, then with your pliers (round nose work best) in your other hand, grip the headpin just above the last bead and bend the wire 90 degrees to form a right angle.

Step 5

Cut off the excess wire with wire cutters, leaving about 1/4" of the bent portion. Be careful! Sometimes the wire will fly when you cut it, so it is good to keep your hand over it when you cut.

Step 6

Now we are going to make a simple loop. Take your pliers and curl the top of the headpin toward you to form a loop. Try to end the loop right at the top of the last bead or in it.

Step 7

Open up the loop in the earring wire and hook the loop that you just created into the loop of the earring wire. Tip: do not pull the loop apart, but rather open it sideways so it reatins its circular shape.

Step 8

Close the earring loop.

Step 9

Repeat the process for the second earring.

Step 10

Enjoy your earrings and impress your friends with your cool new skill!

Ideas for my jewerly kits:
Get a bunch of kits and have a DIY Jewelry Party! Everyone gets to make a piece of jewelry to take home with them.

They make great gifts for your crafty buddies or make the jewelry yourself and give the jewelry as a gift. Your friends will love their new handmade gift!

Take care everyone!

Love,

Kim