Double Feature Critiques

It's critique day!  There are two sellers who have offered their items up for critique this time.  As I stated in the previous blog there will now be two sellers per critique post so please feel free to comment on BOTH items. 

You might want to check out this previous posting for guidance in your critique : http://auntkarenscreations.blogspot.com/2009/12/critique-experience.html

Julie of Sensenarts has offered this lovely Original art textile quilted work . 



She would like guidance on promoting the item, her photography and let's check out her description and tags too.  She does offer Tarot readings so if you feel so inclined a look at her readings items would be appreciated too.

Tati of Tatimaia is new to Etsy and has been in the Virtual Labs quite often.  I have selected one of her "featured" listings to share.  Let's give her our best overall advice! 

Please remember to be courteous with your advice.... your item could be posted here too one day soon!

In about 10 days the comments will be addressed and you can come back to see how your critique effected these sellers' item listings! 

Have a wonderful week!!

Stepping it up a bit.

It seems that there are many of you who would like items critiqued.  I had set the schedule for these critiques for one a month but it seems that that is far too long.... so...

Meet our newest family member... Karla the Koran angelfish she's just a baby!  We are stepping up our reef tank as we are stepping up our critiques in this blog.

How is this blog "Stepping Up"?  I am now opening the critiques to twice a month AND doing one item from two different sellers!  How does that sound?

Now, I need TWO shops to volunteer for the next critique.  What will now be the new scenario is:  Two shops will have one item - each - up for critique, they will be introduced on Wednesday ..... when the critique has been closed (2 weeks later) then the next shops will be introduced and their items displayed for critique.  Week 1 is for posting comments to critique the shop/item.  Week 2 will be for the shop owner to complete whatever they need to work on. 

I do ask that those being critiqued please convo me with what they want to have shown and  when selected, please convo me with what you have done.  I will post those particulars and after the repair work is displayed to please come back and comment themselves with thank yous etc. 

Get your Etsy friends to come critique too!  You do not have to be a follower to add to the help!  Just so you know....I will only put items up from followers and those first selected will be from the followers who comment on the items that are being critiqued.  Does that seem fair?  :o)  Oh.... I am putting links to the volunteer shops in my link list as a thank you for your participation.

Who are the 2 brave shops to volunteer to be next?

Undercoverst's Completed Critique

Undercoverst's  journal "Harold"

She did a fine job listening to all of us!  Here's a new picture that she included in her listing because of our comments.  Sara you did great!

Thank you for allowing us the priviledge of critiquing your lovely shop!

Here is what she wanted to let y'all know:

Thank you everyone so very much for the feed back. I now have to make these changes to all my other journals! But I am excited since I believe that this will not only bring more traffic to my shop, but will help people understand what they are looking at! Thank you again everyone!!!

I changed almost everything that was suggested (now I just need to do the same for all my others)

Things I changed:

-I showed the size by placing it next to a coffee mug. I am going to do this in better light eventually, but I think it does the job (it's the second photo)

-I added Metric measurements

-I moved the part about the way I recycle things to make them into the bullet points as well as adding (*Opens Flat)

-Also the spelling error that jswrites pointed out.

-Then I added "recycled" to my tags

Again..... Thank you, Sarah!  You've helped us all!


Alright.... anyone want to volunteer for the next one??

So Spring has Sprung.....

This has been a very long season.  We all have been ready for Spring for a few months now.  Well it's here!  Today is the first day of spring!  I thought you might enjoy seeing what we, here in Peculiar woke up to this fine Spring day.

Do you think that the Easter Bunny will mind?

Our next Critique Volunteer is Undercoverst

Good Morning Everyone!

It's Zero-Dark-Thirty in the morning and I am sipping a nice wake-up cup of coffee and talking with you.  Are you ready to help our next follower?  This week's submission is from Undercoverst.  She would like this journal reviewed.  Meet "Harold"

She asked: "What I would love some feedback on is, what questions am I not answering with this? What would hold you back from buying? How's my description?"  Feel free to browse around her shop and if you see something that she might need to tweek I am sure she'd appreciate that, too!

When you are looking at the description, imagine yourself discussing "Harold" over the phone.  Is she answering all the questions that you might have about this journal/sketchbook? 

Don't forget to leave a comment!!!!

A new word to consider.

There once was a crafter who'd knit,

Who'd crochet, and who'd whittle a bit.

Her supplies filled a nation.

With stuff for creation.

Til she cried for a decrapitation!

author: jswrites

The Laughing Lady is not AK :-)

After a "bad day at the office" I needed at least a smile.  After figuring out why my embroidery machine kept telling me a thread was broken (nope it wasn't broken... ever), battling with the water company over a bill that was too low (I finally had to call a plumber to look for the non-existant leak the water company claimed we had. But he was nice and charged me $40 instead of his regular $120 house call.) and various other little pains in the neck, I needed some humor! 

I can always find something to laugh at or someone to laugh with in chats...  then I remembered the day we were just hanging out in the Virtual Lab Classroom waiting for lab to start and the "Etsy Lab Dictionary" we toyed with just for fun.

We were talking about cleaning up our descriptions and our photos.  I saw the word "crap" flashing up my screen as a word to describe what to get rid of in our shops.  We all have heard that we need to "Crop the crap" out of our shop photos and for some odd reason my silly twin's mind just took over.  I was sipping on a cold cup of coffee - decafeinated - and my fingers took over the keyboard!

Decrapitated the word hung in the room for a minute.... I could see minds  whirring taking in the information.  Everyone thought how appropriate the word was for what we were all trying to do. There were lol's streaming up the chat lane!  So......

Decrapitate:  To remove the crap from your Etsy site. 
Decrapitation:  The act of removing the crap from your Etsy site.
Decrapitated:  Having already removed the crap from your Etsy site. 

It kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

Does anyone else have a home made word that we can use?  Post it in comments give us all a good laugh!  After all on Etsy it's all about hand made and home made. Put on your thinking caps and let's hear your  home made word!

Conclusion to Illuminession's Critique

It's time to conclude the critique for Illuminession's critique of her Golden Gate Bridge item.  The above picture is just one of her improvements!  She's worked hard on the helpful comments that you left and is happy to share her results! 

Carolina replied:

I've updated the following things on my listings (there are a couple product situations that didn't allow yet for an image with a frame):

A second picture of the photograph in a frame with matting, and a note in the description that the frame is not included. I'll also be working on having a third image of the photo in a frame sitting on a desk or piano setting for each product listing.

I increased the description tags on all my images to using either all 14 or the most I could think of at that moment. (I've made notes on which images to keep thinking about more tags for.)

I added shipping to everywhere outside of the U.S.A. I hadn't done it before because I kept spacing off calling the post office for a general price quote, so thanks for the reminder. Now I'm international!

She's also rewritten her Introduction page to include more about herself.  And, she's working on changing her prices.  Well done Carolina! 

Let's go to her shop and see what we helped her to do!

Have a great day everyone.

Looking for the next Volunteer....

Ignatts is hanging about waiting....for his next ambush victim!

Illuminession's wonderful pic has been critiqued.....so it's rapidly coming time for the next shop to step up to the Hot Seat.  Who will it be? Leave a comment and let's keep this rolling!  If there's a shop you would like to nominate... feel free to post them!

Those Aussie Mechanics

As you've read in my bio, laughter is high on my priority list.  I've had this little list for about 10 years.  I just found it again yesterday and had more than a few good laughs and I thought I'd share it with you!  I truly don't know who to credit for this list but whoever it was I thank you!

Qantas Mechanic responses to Pilot's written complaints of the planes that the pilot flew.  In order to fly a plane, these pilots need a college degree.   The mechanics?  Well they need a high school diploma.

The following is a list of Pilot "gripes" and Mechanic "responses" written for record.  These are filled out by the pilots after every flight.  The mechanics review and fix the items on the "gripe sheets".

Remember:  Qantas is the only major airline to have never EVER had an accident.

Pilot:  Left inside main tire almost needs replacing.
Mechanic: Almost replaced the left inside main tire.

Pilot:  Test flight OK, except auto-land is very rough.
Mechanic:  Auto-land is not installed on this aircraft.

Pilot:  Something is loose in the cockpit.
Mechanic:  Something has been tightened in the cockpit.

Pilot:  Dead bugs on windshield.
Mechanic:  Live bugs on back-order.

Pilot:  Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
Mechanic:  Cannot reproduce problem on the ground.

Pilot:  Evidence of leak on the right main landing gear.
Mechanic:  Evidence removed.

Pilot:  DME volume umbelievably loud.
Mechanic:  DME volume set to more believable level.

Pilot:  Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
Mechanic:  That's what friction locks are for.

Pilot:  IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
Mechanic:  IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

Pilot:  Suspected crack in windshield.
Mechanic:  Suspect you are right.

Pilot:  Number 3 engine is missing.
Mechanic:  Engine found on right wing after brief search.

Pilot:  Aircraft handles funny.
Mechanic:  Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious.

Pilot:  Target radar hums.
Mechanic:  Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

Pilot:  Mouse in cockpit.
Mechanic:  Installed cat.

Pilot:  Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
Mechanic:  Took hammer away from midget.

I just love people with a sense of humor, don't you?  Now go out and have a super day!

Critique of the Month - March

Happy March everyone!

I am happy to share that Carolina of Illuminession has offered one of her items for critique.  Her shop is full of gorgeous photography and she is looking for ways to improve her descriptions, views of her work, tags and any other helpful ideas that you may have for her. 

She has submitted this breathtaking shot of the Golden Gate Bridge.

How would you like to see this item displayed?  Can you suggest something to draw views in the description?  Are there tags you could suggest?

Let's take a look and make this her most viewed item, shall we?

Go peeping!!