Saturday, February 2, 2008

Snagged my first Etsy Treasury!

Well, after that crazy day yesterday, I found myself hanging around the forums on Etsy trying to promote and what not. I needed to go to bed, but here is my theory on going to bed: Once I go to bed, then the next day is already beginning. Sometimes I'm just not ready for the next day to begin, so I selfishly stay up too late because I get to be alone... then of course I complain about not getting enough sleep. Hmphft.

So here I am in the forums, but I'm bored because no one is saying anything too interesting. I'm wondering what I should do, so I pop into "chat" to see if anyone else is up. Holy cow, the chat rooms are bursting with avatars. Do you know what an avatar is? It is that little picture next to your shop name. On Etsy in the chat rooms, your picture is shown at the bottom of the room so everyone can see who is in there. It's also a place for you to click if you want to see that person's shop. Along the side of the room, you can post pictures of other people's listings. Sometimes I hang out in there hoping someone will put one of my products up. Heck, why not? Free publicity!

Sooooo........ I notice that there are no pictures. No one is really saying much of anything. This is odd since usually a full room means the conversation is moving at the speed of lightning (or at least as fast as a crawling baby heads for an open cabinet), and you can never figure out who is talking to whom. Hmmm, I wonder what is going on? This is what the conversation looked like:

2 minutes
yep, can't wait
*stars falling in the room*
I hope I get one
did you do a poster sketch?
oooh, 1 minute

So, I'm like "hello!"
ignored.
oh-kay

So. I figure out that the Treasury list is approaching that time when the number of lists drops below 333. When that happens, you get to add a new list. What is a treasury you ask? I could not explain it any better than this. Apparently there is some magical formula you must follow in order to "get" a treasury. This means that you get the chance to create one yourself. I never understood the glamour in creating a Treasury. I mean, you aren't supposed to put yourself in the list, so you aren't promoting yourself. Etsy has said on multiple occasions that they won't put your Treasury on the front page if you put yourself in it. Plus, even though I love to browse through them (there is some great stuff out there!), I *never* click on the curator of the treasury. Hence, what benefit would it be for me to fight to get one and then get NO exposure for my own shop? I know, I am SO shamelessly selfish....

So I think, HMM, maybe I'll go to the Treasury and see what happens. Who knows? Maybe I'll get one. Lo and behold, I sat there and waited for about 20 seconds (no joke) just staring at my screen waiting for the infamous box to appear, and THERE IT WAS! Well, pickles. WTH was I supposed to do now? I didn't 'design' any group of things. I didn't think of a great topic or theme. I didn't know what to write. So, I just came up with a topic that has been on my mind lately.... Spring. {I think it has been on my mind because I've been hoping that I can plan a trip down to see my mom at Easter. I miss her :) }

It was official. I had gotten a Treasury, and the title was "SPRING is just around the corner." Now what? It was empty. I was afraid to leave the page. What if I left the page to do some searching and I "lost" it? I promptly opened another browser window, and typed in "spring." Yep, only 659 pages to sift through.... "How about 'spring bunny,'" I thought? Here we go! 19 pages is much more reasonable. I ended up with like 7 bunnies added and it was looking a little odd. The bunnies were multiplying like, well, bunnies. I got up to get a glass of water. This was going to be harder than I thought. Maybe I should get up to get a glass of something stronger....

I came back to the computer, and HOLY CRAP! I already had a comment. I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED YET! I wanted to scream at the person who left a comment. Then I was like "oh no, can they see me working?" My game is up, I have been caught. Yes, I got a treasury and I don't even have the decency to have a list of items waiting to pop right into it. What was I thinking? I'm such a newbie.

Well, after only about TWO HOURS, I decided it was time to go to bed, and I was happy enough (or tired enough) to let it be. I have to say that it was truly SO much fun to do. It was really amazing to realize how the sketch changed as I added and replaced and moved around images. I was having so much fun. It was like an exercise in color psychology or color theory. Then there was the content to think about, not just the colors. I wanted people to "feel" spring in the air when they looked at my treasury. So you're thinking, "show me the treasury already..."

Ta Da!


Does it make you feel like Spring is just around the corner? I hope so. It is Groundhog's Day, afterall...

I have a sneaking suspicion that I am now Treasury-addicted.

3 comments:

  1. What a lovely treasury! And aren't they so much fun to make! I've only made a handful over the past year, but it's neat!

    BTW, in regards to your comments on my blog, "Isaiah-friendly" is in regards to his dairy allergy, hence the replacement of butter with shortening.

    And thanks for the feedback on my new layout. I'll try fixing the background so it scrolls. I think it would look better that way, too!

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  2. haha! :) I felt the same way too, but I think really the point is if you feature someone else, they might also feature you. The sellers who are featured DO notice who makes the treasury even if no one else does. I haven't made one in a long time. I guess I should give it another go.

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