Tutorial: making an Etsy treasury (Part 2) April 4, 2011

Ok, so here are the screen shot in case yesterday’s tutorial wasn’t quite detailed enough for you!!! You can bookmark this link and you’ll be able to skip the first three steps 🙂

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/new

Step 1: go to the Etsy homepage

Etsy homepage

Step 2: bottom left, click on ‘treasury‘ (under ways to shop)

Ways to shop

Step 3: on the right click on ‘create a list‘ (under curator tools)

Create a list

Curator tools

Step 4: you’ll have 16 squares to fill. Just copy and paste the item URL

Fill in the spaces

Item URL

The URL is the Uniform Resource Locator but for us who are not fluent in techno-speak, it is the website address thingy-me-bob in the top bar. Make sense? It is made up of the domain name, backslash and the file name and starts with http://

For example: http://www.etsy.com/listing/69407150/12-mini-ribbon-flag-cupcake-toppers-in

Well, that is it folks… how to make a treasury in 4 easy steps! Or, one step if you go straight to the create a treasury page on Etsy! Hope you have fun and make some creative treasuries. Hope your treasuries end up on the Etsy front page- how cool would that be?

Don’t forget to add TAGS to your treasury. Think about the items you’ve used, the colors, the textures, the theme, etc. Is the collection full of vintage or handmade items? Tags help people find your treasury!

Once you feel really proficient with the treasury making or just need a challenge, then check out the Team Discover homepage and enter their weekly treasury challenge! Here is a treasury I made for one of their competitions a few weeks back:

Butterflies and flowers

And, here’s one more example of a treasury challenge entry. Notice that two of the items are the same (the butterfly pendents).

Fly away!

ENJOY! And share your treasuries 🙂

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Tutorial: The Silk Flower March 17, 2011

You will need:

Silk flower

Lined double prong alligator clip

Hot Glue

Rhinestone Embellishment (optional)

 

Step 1

Cut the stem off the flower. Discard the plastic green “crown” so that all your have are the leaves.

Cut stem off the flower

Step 2

Separate each layer. We are going to glue these on the alligator clip, one layer at a time. We’ll start with the bottom layer and work our way to the top (smallest) layer.

Separate each layer

Step 3

Put hot glue on the alligator clip and on the largest layer of the silk flower.

Hot glue

Step 4

Press the flower on the alligator clip and hold to the count of 10.

Press flower on alligator clip

Step 5

Repeat with all the additional layers.

Repeat

Step 6

Once all the flower layers are glued on the clip in a stack, take your embellishment and glue it in the middle of the flower. If you don’t have an embellishment, you can use the ‘center’ of the flower and that’ll give you a more ‘natural’ look.

Embellish the center

Enjoy! And be creative:)

In hair

Tutorial: The Loopy Hair Bow March 15, 2011

You will need:

3/8 inch grosgrain ribbon: FIVE strands that measure 8 inches and FOUR strands that measure 6 inches. You can mix and match the ribbon- they can be all one color or lots of colors! Be creative with your ribbons and have fun with it. The total amount of ribbon is 64 inches.

Fray Check

Needle and thread

2x double prong alligator clip (one lined, the other unlined). One will be use for the bow and the other is a tool you’ll use.

Hot glue gun

Embellishment such as a button or rhinestone for the center of the bow

 

 

Step 1

Select your ribbon. I have used red saddlestitch, white with red saddlestitch and red with Swiss dots.

3/8 inch grosgrain ribbon

Step2

Cut your ribbon and treat all ends with Fray Check to prevent fraying.

For a double layer medium sized loopy bow, you will need five strands that measure 8 inches and four strands that measure 6 inches. Your finished bow will measure approximately 3 1/2 inches.

Cut and treat ribbon

Step 3

Stack the five strands that measure 8 inches then fold over in the center. Make sure your Swiss dots are facing towards each other as shown in the photo. Put your needle in the center of the fold. Do not pull the needle all the way through! You need to stop when the ribbon is approximately half way on to the needle.

Stack and fold

Step 4

Fan the ribbon taking care to keep the strands evenly spaced out. Take your time with this to get the ribbon exactly where you want it. It helps to hold the bottom of the needle with your dominant hand and then slowly move the strands around. Then, use a double prong alligator clip to keep the strands in place. Do not remove the needle.

Fan ribbon

Step 5

Start folding each strand. Take the end of each strand and turn it upside down before placing it on the head of the needle. This is called an inside-out fold and will give you nice loops. There are other ways to do the loops- the important thing is to be consistent and each loop has to be made the same way.

Inside-Out fold

Side view of fold

Start folding

Step 6

One you have done all the strands, you’ll have a pretty flower shape. Use your needle and thread to sew the center securely. Usually I have to pull the needle through about 4 to 5 times. Then, cast off.

Sew the center

Step 7

Repeat the above steps with the shorter threads of ribbon.  You’ll notice that it is easier to fan out the ribbon when you only use 4 strands.

Repeat for shorter strands

Step 8

You now have two loopy flowers.

Two loopy flower layers

Step 9

You can either sew the top layer onto the larger bottom layer or use hot glue. I have used both methods and after breaking several needles, I have become a huge fan of the hot glue method! Once the layers are stacked, add the embellishment to the center using hot glue and attach the bow to a partially lined hair clip using hot glue. I like to put the bow upside down, apply the glue to the top of the clip and then turn the clip upside down and press it onto the bow. Make sure you hold for 10 seconds so that it is secure.

Stack layers and add embellishment

Here are some finished bows. I love playing with different colors and using lots of different ribbons. With regards to printed ribbon, I prefer very simple- Swiss dots, saddlestitch or stripes- but that is a personal preference. You’ll quickly develop your own style!

Gold and purple loopy bow

Multi-colored loopy bow

Yellow and green loopy bow

Back of loopy bow

To do a  third layer, you will need SIX 9 inch strands of ribbon.

I used a simple white button for this bow but this is where you can get even more creative. A wonderful source for custom made embellishments is Green Meadow Clay.  Christene makes amazing polymer clay centers for hair bows. This is a wonderful way to tie in the hair accessory with the outfit or the theme of the party dress!

Wouldn’t this ladybug that she made look really cute in the above bow?

Green Meadow Clay