Valentine's Day Gift Guide: Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of the Etsy Twitter Team Valentine's Day Gift Guide! We have plenty more goodies in store! Happy shopping!

Sacred Sparks
These earrings are dedicated to all who allow their tears to flow for LOVE. LOVE of all kinds, it matters not, for those tears are the waters that will HEAL our troubled souls and world. May we all cry for LOVE.


Chicken Scratch
Champagne Soy Massage Candle: Spoil your sweetie this Valentine's Day with a champagne scented massage! Nothing's more romantic than candlelight and some hands-on attention.


Created By Risa
A mix of metal and beads, this heart pendant will capture your (and everyone else's) attention.


Soap Rehab
A Complete Valentine's Day Bath Intervention! Celebrate with Champagne and Chocolates... This is a Trio of bath and body products in the Tiny Bubbles and Chocoholic scents. A great Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie, or a pampering gift to a friend or yourself! Get Clean, Relax, and Soothe your skin.


Gem Heaven
A gorgeous hammered heart pendant with a beautiful moonstone set in it. Put on a sterling silver ball chain, oxidised and hand~polished, to create this organic but simply beautiful pendant.


Lazy T Crochet
A mixed blend of soft, white, fluffy yarns crocheted in a simply soft button scarf. Adorned with two red heart buttons, this makes a fun accessory for Valentine's Day or any day.


BBesigns
"It is the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it is the little differences that make them interesting." What a great quote to send a to that special person in your life just to say "I Love You" or "Happy Valentine's Day"!


ZenBreeze
Beneath falling cherry blossom petals, Buddha, or perhaps a zen Buddhist monk, sits in meditation. This is a monochrome piece, done in shades of green. This mystical landscape is offered as a fine art pendant, hand crafted from original artwork. Suitable for a man or a woman!


Bellflower Textiles
This pencil rolls are soft fabric rolls, made from the highest quality 100% cotton. Each roll contains 12 pockets just perfect for any size pencil, pen, or marker. Slide in your favorites and then roll and tie with the attached ribbon. Perfect to throw in your backpack, purse, or even to keep in your car for inspiration on the go.


Mama Mayborne Designs
These beauties are perfect for your sweetheart or yourself! These Graphic Heart Earrings are made of handmade, fine silver heart charms and handmade sterling silver earwires.


44th Street Fabric
One yard of pink Andilucia "Flora" fabric by Patty Young, 1 yard of pink "Sis Boom" fabric by Jennifer Paganelli, and 1 yard of pink "Ta Dot" fabric from Michael Miller, a fantastic combination.


The Pink Samurai
♥ Probably the most asked question in the Etsy forums is brought to life! If you want to make a cute little heart then follow the button!


Tamdoll
"Home is Where the Heart Is"
Feelings will be loud and clear when this pendant is worn by a loved one - your mom, spouse, significant other, birdhouse lover, quilter, even your realtor!


Winchell Clay Works
Here is a pair of scrollwork hearts in red, glazed on front and back. They measure 2 cm x 1.5 cm, just the right size for earrings or a charm bracelet.


Mufi
Rose Quartz Briolette Earrings - Lovely briolettes of faceted Rose Quartz dangle from delicately detailed sterling silver chain and a simply satisfying sterling ear hook.


Art Lady Manor
Do you need Valentine cards for your child to exchange at school or daycare? For a unique Valentine card, have your child's picture put on a valentine card that I specifically designed for children's Valentine exchanges. (Two designs are available.)


Tamara Garvey Illustration
This is a signed print of my original pen-and-ink illustration. It is archivally printed onto matte, acid-free 11" x 17" paper, a perfect size for framing!


Linda B's Jewelry Designs
Get your valentine a beaded love letter necklace. Show her you love her.


Ambient Lights
Hair and Body Mist with Aloe and Vitamin E and Soap Pouf: Soap Poufs are made with high quality glycerin Goats Milk Hand and Body Soap and a nylon shower pouf.


Rhodes Annals Designs
Knit in gorgeously soft luxury wool in 2 shades of burgundy/red, this hot water bottle cover has a split at the back for easy access to the bottle. The ribbed neck allows access to the bottle top (and hides the ugly neck.)


A Cagey Bee
With so many of us opting for email over the traditional letter, I'm always extra tickled when I do get a personal note in the mail. I think this girl and her bunny feel the same way as they excitedly check the mailbox.


Part 1 of our Gift Guide is HERE.

Etsy Twitter Team Valentine Gift Guide: Part 1

Welcome to our first Valentine's Day Gift Guide! We have a lot of team members so I am splitting this up into a few parts. Happy shopping!!

Geek Details

She loved her uber dork and wanted to show him in a meaningful romantic way. Flowers weren't his thing though and neither were chocolates. She knew she'd have to speak his language for him to really understand how she felt about him. Just saying "I love you" wouldn't work. So she sat down and created a true work of love...

RoseBushDesigns

Want to show someone you care? Done in hues of greens and browns, this card does just that. The front flap tucks just under the flowered flap. It is blank inside for you to write your own thoughts.

In My Head Studios
Wear a tiny original collage around your neck featuring real lace and cute little hearts!

Rocki's Supplies

I hand form each heart with love and Sterling Silver, solder close, hammer lovingly for sparkling texture then tumble polish for added strength and shine.

Jenco13

This beautiful crochet scarf is so soft - you’re going to love the material!!

BabyCakes1011
Show your Valentine how much you love him or her with one of our Valentine's Day Gift Boxes. Inside there will be a dozen Death by Chocolate Truffles, A Velvet Resolution CupCake enough to share, and a dozen Vanilla Marshmallows cut in hearts and dipped in Red Sugar, and last but not least... there will be a little stuffed animal or heart, our choice.

Beadbug

A Beadbug original - the modern version of a wonderful vintage bead - usually made with glass or Lucite. Vintage sugar beads were popular in the 1950's and were made in Japan.

Alexis Art & Design
Romantic & sweet lovebirds Valentine print. Birds are one of the few animals who often stay together forever. This Valentine's day, show your significant other you really care.
(Print only - listing does not include frame)


Don't Know Publishing
"Be Mine" ACEO - A watercolor of a red heart outlined with glitter. A blue\green background. On watercolor paper. Actual painting.


Get Happy
Here is one of my new Valentine tags, made from vintage "Snapshot" game cards. The card measures 3"x4" and are made from heavy chipboard. They are the actual game cards, not copies, and one of a kind!


Liv'nGood Jewelry
Green with envy isn't always a bad thing - especially when it's other people envious of your new earrings. Combining brass keys with watch gears and internal workings, these resin earrings are completely unique and one of a kind.


Joslin Jewels
A plump rose quartz teardrop captured in a net of sterling silver adorned with tiny blue, green, and pink tourmaline flowers. The pendant hangs from a sterling silver chain finished with a tiny pink tourmaline flower drop.


KnittingGuru
You'll look devastating in this sexy lace and ribbon shawl. The inspiration came from garments worn by ladies during the Victorian period. It's a combination of innocence and sensuality that has eternal appeal.


Pasaii Paperie
The design is hand embroidered on cross-stitch fabric and then turned into a pendant. The silver plated back of the pendant is attached to a delicate sterling silver chain (18").


Beladonna Jewels

This beautiful necklace is Vintage Inspired.

Featuring a gold plated 14mm ring from which a key, locket charm, and an acrylic turquoise bead charm strung onto a long gold plated chain and finished with a lobster clasp closure.

Paw & Claw Designs

The heart is textured by hand with various hammers and punches, then polished to a gleaming mirror like shine.


Jack and Ella

Adorned with a 10mm AB siam (red) crystal heart and a silvertone skeleton key, this choker is made of 1/2" wide velvet ribbon featuring the word in elegant script: Beloved


Beautiful Bridget

This gorgeous cowl is so perfect for those late night walks with the one you love....

Jewel Craft Designs

This versatile piece can be worn with jeans or your little black dress. The circles at the center of the lariat create a nice focal point.


Herban Lifestyle
This versatile oil can be used as a massage oil, or as a skin-softening addition to your bath. The soothing tones of lavender, and the earthy herbaceous scents of clary sage and blue chamomile will help smooth away your cares.


Kitts Krafts
Here is a good lasting note book to add to your valentines gifts. Made from a NECCO sweethearts candy box.


kittyanydots
I call this print "the most beautiful dream."

Stay tuned for more great gift ideas for your loved ones!

Handy Twitter Tools: TweetDeck

On Twitter, I started out with a few followers and following a few people. It was manageable. But it eventually got to the point where I am now following over 1000 people and close to 1000 are following me. I couldn’t keep up with all the tweets!

I heard about TweetDeck when I started twittering and thought, “Oh, I don’t need that. I’ll never have that many people to keep track of.” But I do now, and TweetDeck has made it possible.

TweetDeck is a tool that allows you to break Twitter down into bite-sized chunks. It has columns you can see at all times… your @ replies and your Direct Messages are two examples of columns you can have open, all at the same time as watching the tweets refresh in real time. So I don’t miss replies or Direct Messages anymore.

I also have two more columns open. You can create “groups” columns as well. One of my groups is “People I Like” and I added people whose tweets I do not want to miss to this group. This breaks down the whole stream into a smaller stream where I can keep up with my friends more easily. Just the tweets from this group of people I have selected show up in this column. This allows me to reply more often to people I have built relationships with. It’s also useful for building new relationships as I add more people to this group.

My last column is comprised of all the members of the Etsy Twitter Team. So now I don’t miss out on what my team is doing, and I can help promote them better.

So if your Twitter is starting to feel out of control with keeping up with certain people or groups of people, try TweetDeck. It is easy to use, customizable, and fun!

Blog Badge

I created a badge for our blog!

You can copy and paste the code below the badge in our sidebar into your blog to help promote our Etsy Twitter Team blog. This will also let your blog visitors know you are a member of the Etsy Twitter Team. The badge is a link to our blog here.

Please put our team badge on your blogs!
I would and our team does appreciate it very much!

Shop of the Week: Paw and Claw Designs

Die, Die, My Darling - Scarab Scarlet

Nichole Jeske of PawandClawDesigns.etsy.com creates a mix of many different types of jewelry from traditional earrings to fun, geeky necklaces for “one-of-a-kind people with one-of-a-kind taste”. Paw and Claw Designs is filled with necklaces made from 20-sided roll playing game dice, stamped sheet metal earrings, wire and beaded pendants, and beaded earrings. Truly something for everyone can be found in her shop, even for the geeky man in your life. Her shop has been open on Etsy since October of 2006. She offers free worldwide shipping on all her items.

I asked Nichole where she gets her inspiration from and she said, “I'm most often inspired more by the materials than anything. I'll see a beautiful die, or notice a random bend in some scrap wire, and just run with it. I'm a bit of a ‘geek’ and I love to incorporate that into my work. Little elements, 20-sided dice, and other obscure pop culture references make me happy. Since making jewelry makes me happy, too, it was only natural to me to mix the two.”

“When you buy something I made, you are essentially buying a part of me. I would never sell something I was not 100% in love with. If I wouldn't present it as a heartfelt gift to my best friends, you won't see it in my shop. I pour my heart into every piece, and I think it shows in each and every item.”

"Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything" Earrings

I asked Nichole to tell me how she makes Twitter work for her and her shop: “I'm a HUGE fan of TwitterFeed. I have it set up to automatically tweet when I list an item in my Etsy shops, upload a new image to flickr, and post a new blog post on either of my blogs. Basically anything I can RSS gets put onto TwitterFeed. This frees me up to tweet about ME. The ‘promoting’ is automatic. I tweet about what I am doing, thoughts that amuse me, funny or interesting links, and to chat with my pals.”

“On Twitter, everything has ‘been done’. I worry less about getting people to look at my shop and more about making friends. Real good friends. That's the stuff of Life. More important than sales, more important than making money, more important than most anything.”

I have to agree completely about that… creating relationships is key to using Twitter to make sales.

When asked how Nichole promotes her shop, she pointed me to an Etsy forum thread where she outlines her daily, weekly, and monthly promotional plans. If you need some promo ideas, read this thread for some great information. I have to say, this gal is organized as well as very talented!

Paw and Claw Designs’ Special for this week: Use the coupon code "Twitter” in "Notes to Seller" for an upgrade to free gift wrapping with every order.

Order and shipping deadlines for Valentine’s Day: Domestic - February 6th; International - January 31st

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Paw & Claw Designs

All photos © Paw and Claw Designs/Nichole Jeske

ClassTools.net - Free Flash for Online Teaching

So it has been quite a few months since I was last inspired enough to talk about something on this blog. However, I was going through my list of new Twitter followers today (again, something I have not done in a few months) and found http://twitter.com/russeltarr, who is a history teacher in Toulouse, France, and who developed the ClassTools.net website. According to Russel:

• Classtools.net provides free, customisable flash templates to embed into blogs, wikis and websites. There is no signup, no passwords, no charges...

This is very cool for anyone who teaches online or has a class website. Russel has created 17 templates that are available for teachers to fill in the blanks and images. Some are interactive games, others are fill in the blanks. Students can save their work, which is saved for 12 months on the Classtools.net website.

As an example, the Venn Diagram template allows the teacher to fill in as much of the diagram as they want -- they could be questions, for example -- and provide instructions in a side box. Students can enter their name, then follow the directions to create their own venn diagram. They can then save this online and both print it out and copy and save or send the URL for later access and revisions.


The current 17 templates are:

• Arcade Game Generator!
• Flashcard Generator
• Countdown Timer
• Random Name Picker
• Dustbin Game
• Post It
• Diamond 9
• Fishbone (Ishikawa)
• Venn Diagram
• Animated Book
• Timeline
• Lights Out
• Target
• Hamburger
• Living Graph
• Learning Cycle
• Jigsaw Diagram
• Priority Chart
• Source Analyser

Note that the results all have Google ads on the right, and an advertisement for classes offered by the sites author on the bottom.

This is a very useful teaching tool that I plan to try out in my online classes.

Handy Twitter Tools: TweetReplies

Every so often I come across a handy Twitter tool or website that makes my Twitter life easier. I’ll share the really good ones with you here on this blog!


Ever missed a really important @ reply? Forget to check your @ replies? Then TweetReplies is for you! It sends you an email when you get an @ reply. Never miss one again.

@ replies are the heart and soul of using Twitter to build relationships. How can you build those relationships if you aren’t even getting your replies? The answer: you can’t.

I just started using TweetReplies and it has already saved me once from missing a really good reply. I highly recommend using this Twitter tool.