Simple steps to start your day the right way

By: Jacy Pulford of WonderfullyMadeArt



I know what you’re thinking. You read the title of this, and went “Yeah right, you try being positive early in the morning with an annoying, beeping clock next to your right ear!”  To be honest, I’ve tried to be positive many times in the past as soon as I wake up, but have failed at them all. It wasn’t until a few months ago that my thinking started changing. The more I committed to a different way of thinking, the more the Lord changed my perception. I had incorporated some small steps into my morning routine, and had more “pep” in my step. No, I really did, you should see the scars!

It all started when we got a dog. (Cue the ohhs and awws) Well, it wasn’t all cute button wet noses and fuzzy waggy tails either. It was more high-pitched chalkboard whining with the occasional yellow wet sock on the kitchen floor. But it was a commitment. Even if it meant giving up an hour and a half of my morning zz’s.
Before having a dog, I thought I did pretty well starting my day off in a good mood. I felt very close to God. Within the first week of having our new family member, needless to say I was not a happy camper anymore when saw that furry face next to my bedside at 5:00am. And even though I was so upset and tired, those crystal blues would greet me at that same time every single morning after that. Hey, what could I do? She was on her time, not on mine! After one really frustrating morning (to skim the details, let’s just say there were TWO yellow socks that day) I knew I had to do something extra in my routine to preserve my sanity.



Waking up in the morning is a precious gift that I believe we take for granted so many times. God saw the light, and said it was good. The way we start off dictates the rest of the day, especially our attitude. Attitudes are contagious. We have to try to make sure we have the right one. The Lord has given us the gift of life. He breathed it into us, hoping we can in turn use it for his glory.


If we were meant to praise the Lord every moment of every day, it would be wise to spend a little extra time at the start of it. Now, I cannot say I do what is on the list every day, but I am working on it. It will take time to change what you are used to, or to shift the regular schedule to make room for new things. But the important thing is priority and setting up your day to have the right positive attitude. Nobody loves that family member or co-worker that just grumbles every single day about being “so tired”, constantly complaining about their nights rest or how they had a rough morning. We all do it, but maybe we can be the exception. That’s it! Be the exception, and give God some glory in the morning.

Here are some suggestions on how you can have a more uplifting experience in the AM:

1.) Pray before you go to bed. This one may seem like the obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times I was either too tired or forgot. The mistake with forgetting is I missed out on feeling the Lord’s presence as I slept, and having him wake me up with it. You see, God can move even when you don’t. While you are sleeping soundly like the beautiful child of God you are, he can be rearranging the parts of your heart that need to de-clutter. First, you must having the willingness in you heart to allow him to have his way in your life. He then in turn can take care of the rest. I have had times waking up when I have felt his presence so strongly it was as though we had never stopped talking to one another. And remember this important thing: talking with God is never just verbal.

2.) Let your first word be filled with thanksgiving. Okay, so maybe some days it won’t be the absolute first word that comes out of your mouth, but make it a point to thank God for his blessings in your life within the first half of your morning routine. Start with thanking him for waking you up, and being the light through the darkness. Thank him for creating us and giving us the ability to serve him with our whole being. For being the sacrifice so that we can live in freedom. I find that this is best incorporated in my routine when I’m walking Jackie (yes, it’s a human name. We weren’t keen on naming a dog after a flower or a desert. If you did, no offense! She just didn’t look like a “Muffin” at first glance). There is just something about being outside, hearing the birds and smelling the crisp air, that you realize how small you really are in his bigger picture. It humbles your heart and allows you to focus on God’s absolute greatness.

3.) Have a key scripture(s) with you always. This is my favorite because I am always putting up different scriptures all around to help me soak in God’s glorious Word. At 5:00am, it will be highly unlikely for my eyes to focus long enough to read a chapter in Luke. If your eyes work better than my four, give it a try and read the Bible first thing. Whether you read a chapter or just a line, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is allowing his truth to seep into your soul, feeding the Holy Spirit inside of you. Ask the Lord to guide you as you flip through the Bible. Think about what has been weighing on your heart lately. What burdens do you carry? Is today the day when they will be lifted? You know, sometimes we don’t have positive attitudes during the day because of the things we tend to carry on our shoulders. It’s not entirely our fault. When you grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, something inside gets shifted and you see things in a new perspective. We feel differently. Not just spiritually, but we are more sensitive to the world around us. Especially in our homes and at work.

Let me give you a quick example. I had a terrible situation within my work environment. I felt constant negativity due to tension between some co-workers. Though I was not involved, I sat right in between them. I couldn’t deal with it anymore! I never prayed so hard for two people to be friends in my life! They thought they were just hurting each other, when in fact, I was in the middle the whole time. It was frustrating because we (meaning us Christians) are supposed to “Christ like”, right? “Keep calm, carry on, and let God work it out!” But I really didn’t want to, I admit. God knew too. And because I didn’t properly guard my heart, I ended up taking offenses from both parties. Now the problem wasn’t just these two ladies disliking each other, now I was compromising my beliefs to satisfy my anger in the situation. So I found scriptures that concerned anger. I found about four, jotted them down and taped them to my computer screen. Early when I arrived, I turned on my computer and was reminded about how the Lord viewed anger and how best to deal with it. It was the quick anointed kick that I needed to remember who I am representing in that environment and how I needed to be the exception.




There’s never really a finished list of things to consider when you want a more positive morning, especially with the Lord. God’s hands are always at work in our lives, and different situations will always be thrown our way. But the more we get our minds off of how bad our mornings start, the closer we get to seeing it as an opportunity to be the exception for Christ. And that, I wouldn’t mind waking up to at 5:00am!

By: Jacy Pulford of WonderfullyMadeArt

by Patty of catcalls and gear4guys

Tweetings to All!

Welcome to Tweety Bird Avenue! I am a dedicated tweeter (Twitter.com). I can easily say what I want in less than 140 characters and move on. I love it! I began tweeting in October or November of last year and have made it my primary form of advertising. Since I am not much of a chit-chatty person, this works great for me. I have met all kinds of people, made some cyber friends (not the same as REAL friends, but still friends!), and made many sales due to a mix of advertising and genuine, though brief, conversations. I have also become a buyer of fellow tweeters-not only because I like what they have to offer, but also because I believe the very best way to live life, including the self-employed cyber business life, is to invest in relationships. It is definitely a challenge to get to know others when you can write so little, but it forces me to hone my writing skills and be concise.

I send out 300-400 tweets a day, one third of which are used to promote others. I have 1800 followers as of this writing, and although a very small percentage actually read my tweets, the effects of just one tweet is instantly reflected on my views. They increase anywhere from 8-25 immediately. Most of the items in my shop reach at least 100 views after about 8 tweets, sometimes much sooner. Today I sold a Snakey Mouse Cat Toy at 2 pm. I relisted. I have sent out 13 tweets so far and there are 139 views right now at 11 pm. The more views, the greater chance of a sale…tweet, tweet, TWEET!


Here are a few pointers to help make your tweeting experience profitable:

1. PROMOTE OTHERS You will receive a tweet in return most of the time and if they have 3,000 followers, your product just landed on a nice cushy nest of potential!

2. ADD FOLLOWERS DAILY Generally they will return the follow.

3. USE HOOTSUITE.COM or TWAITTER.COM TO SCHEDULE FUTURE TWEETS I use Hootsuite and schedule my tweets 24/7 at 5 minute increments. I also program in others’ products as well. DO NOT ONLY program tweets. Maintain an online presence as often as possible to respond and be human! People are social and want to talk to YOU, not Twaitter.

4. TWEET LESS THAN 130 CHARACTERS This allows room for others to retweet your line and add a comment...”love this!”…”so cool”..etc.

5. MINGLE AS YOU MARKET If you see ”@birdyboo I just blogged…stu44k9pt” and you know birdyboo-take a minute and read the post, leave a comment and tweet back “I just read the funniest cat story! @birdyboo stu44k9pt” Start making friends!

6. USE HASH TAGS A hash tag is simply a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic. They allow you to create communities of people interested in the same topic. If I type in CAT in the search box, I will find everything from “He’s a cool cat” to “My cat just slid down the slide!” BUT, if I use a hash tag and type #CAT in the box, my search will be narrowed mostly to those who are genuinely interested in cats. Hash tags should not be over used. Use them on keywords to identify yourself with a particular interest. Use them inside the tweet or after. Examples:



As believers, we also have a higher purpose than just marketing. My profile states that I have seven children. I have oftentimes received comments about that. I am quick to respond with something like: “God could not have given me any greater blessing than 6 boys and 1 girl!” I have also had messages sent to my direct message box, a private setting only I can see. From there I have been able to do some sharing as well. You never know how God will lead. And if we keep relationships as our primary goal in all we do, including tweeting, and others see we genuinely care about them, who knows where Tweety Bird Avenue may lead!

by Patty of catcalls and gear4guys


Patty's Blog
Patty's Twitter (Beyond_5)

Cast Team hasn't been in the blogging business very long. This blog was really only started at the beginning of this year. Many of those on our team have never blogged prior to this or have only done very basic blogging. We've been stumbling along behind the scenes helping each other out. Those who figure out how to do something new share with the rest of us. From that collaboration, I've put together a few basic How-To's for our blog team and I thought that I'd share them with the rest of the CAST team too. And I've scattered some great CAST team items through the post to show you that you can get lots of help to dress up your blog from fellow team mates.




Blogger How To's:

1. Make links. Copy the url you want to link to. On your blog post type in whatever you want the text of the link to say and highlight it with the cursor (or highlight a photo for a photo link). Then on the edit bar for your blog post you will click the "Link" icon. That will bring up a pop up with a space for you to paste the url. Click "OK." Ta Da, you have a link.

2. Add photos from Etsy listings. You'll want to go to the item you want a photo of on Etsy and right click on it. Be sure and  right click on the large version and not just a thumbnail. From the list choose "Save Image As" in order to save it as a file on your computer. You'll get a pop up on how to save the image on your computer (I created a new folder on my computer just for CAST to keep things separate and you don't need to save them there once your post is complete). Save the image as a jpg file on your computer where you can find it again.

To insert the photo into your post, place your cursor where you wish to insert the photo and then click on the little icon that looks like a landscape photo. Browse your computer and find the image that you saved there and open it. You then have the choice to load more photos from your computer if you want. You will then have thumbnails of those photos in the pop-up window. When you are ready, click the photo you wish to insert and then click "OK."  To choose how you want the photos to appear in your blog, click on the photo in the blog edit window and it will give you a bar at the bottom with options right, left or center AND large, medium, small or remove. 




3. Add an Etsy Mini. Note down the Shop ID# of the shop you wish an Etsy mini for by clicking on their "policies" page. You will find the number in the url for their shop on that page. Or click on their "profile" page and look near the bottom of the side column. Then go to "Your Etsy" and click "Etsy Mini" in the side column. Then configure and copy the code for the appropriate style of Etsy mini for your own shop.

In your blog draft, click the " Edit html" tab at the top which will show you the hidden html coding for the post. Scroll to where you want to insert the Etsy mini and paste the code for your Etsy mini. Replace the ID# of your shop which is embedded in the code with the ID# for the shop you wish to feature.

Here's Julie's as an example:
4. Schedule a post to publish automatically. At the bottom of your draft you will see a link for "post options." Click on that and then at the left click on "Scheduled at," change the date and time to the time you wish your post to be published. After that you MUST hit the "publish" button to have the post actually scheduled to publish automatically. If you just hit "save" it will not work. It's good to get into the habit of doing this in case you get busy and forget to publish your post.



Do you know other helpful blogger tips? Share them with us on the comments!


Thanks,
Sue of SueRunyonDesigns

What is a Treasury?

Etsy defines a treasury as "an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items." Basically a treasury is an opportunity for you to pick out items that display your own taste. You can arrange your items according to a color, theme, or a style. You can use a treasury to promote your favorite sellers or team. Etsy Admins (the staff of Etsy) often promote whole or partial selections from a Treasury list to the front/home page.

What is a Treasury West and where do I find it?

Treasury West is just as important as the main Treasury, it's just a little bit harder to find. You can't reach the main Treasury from the front page. There are two ways to find Treasury West. The URL (web address) is http://www.etsy.com/treasury_west.php . The other way is from the craftopolis treasury clock which I will explain later but you can click on the clock and it will take you to Treasury West http://www.craftopolis.com/index.php?com=tc . In theory the Main Treasury is better for sales because it's easier for shopping customers to find. Also, percent wise, more front pages are chosen from Treasury West, but Etsy Admin does search through both Treasuries so they're both just as important. I will also go over what they look for as far as "front page material" a little bit later.

How do I know if I'm in a Treasury?

Hopefully the person who created the treasury (the curator) will convo you, but this is not always the case. The way you can search for yourself is by going to craftopolis and using their "treasure hunt" feature http://www.craftopolis.com/index.php?com=th When you plug in your etsy id it will let you know if you are in any treasuries, including if you're an alternate. If you click on the treasury name from craftopolis it will take you directly to the treasury in Etsy. You know how exciting it is to find out you're in a treasury, so why not convo each person you've included in your treasury including the link to the treasury you've created so they can share in the excitement too! :)

How do I know if a Treasury I'm in made it to the Front Page of Etsy?

Etsy does not contact you if your Treasury makes it to the front page or if an item of yours in a treasury makes it to the front page. There is a website that can find that information for you! It's Craftcult, http://www.craftcult.com/vault.php?userid= The vault shows you all of the front pages, but if you click on "search for member" you are able to search for yourself two ways. "Lists featuring items by" will tell you if you were included on the front page at any time. "Lists made by" will tell you if any of the front pages were made from your treasuries.

What is a BNR Treasury?

BNR stands for "Buy and Replace." These are treasuries created to help generate sales for each other. One person creates a treasury and when you buy an item from one of the sellers featured, you're replaced in that treasury. You don't have to buy the item being featured in the treasury, just an item in their store. Once you purchase the item, you come back and list the store you bought from and the transaction # in the comment section of the treasury. The curator (the one who made the treasury) will replace that item with an item from your store. Sometimes if your item doesn't sell before the treasury ends they'll include you in the next BNR treasury. Others have special rules like if you purchase from the top row you'll be guaranteed the next 4 treasuries. You need to read the first comment by the curator in each individual BNR Treasury to see their rules.

How do you "snag" a Treasury?

Timing is everything! In order to "snag" a treasury, Treasury Main needs to drop below 333 treasuries and Treasury West needs to drop below 222 treasuries. There is a tool to help you gauge approximate timing of when enough of the treasuries will expires so that other spots open up and that's Craftopolis http://www.craftopolis.com/index.php?com=tc .




An important thing to remember when using Craftopolis is that is just a gauge. It runs approximately 15-20 minutes behind the actual Etsy expiration time, so when it says there is about 35 minutes until the treasury opens up, it's a great idea to go straight to Etsy's treasury. You can sort treasuries by hotness, title, curator, or expiration. You want to sort it by expiration and go to the last page so you can see which page is expiring first. If you are in Treasury Main and there are 340 treasuries, just count up 8 from the bottom and you'll see when the last one will expire in order to open up for new treasuries. This can change though, because curators can delete treasuries at anytime and sometimes do when the lists get close to 333 (or 222 in Treasury West) so it's important to stay close to the computer. There is no need to refresh the screen, it will automatically update. Once the list drops below 333 or 222 a box will open up and allow you to enter your title. Have this prepared, if you wait too long and the treasury fills up that box will go away. Also once you save your title it can not be changed. Now you can add your items and create your treasury!!! You can also add a subtitle and location. The subtitle defaults to "a few of my favorites." The location defaults to from "somewhere special." You can change your location to your actual location, a random place, or even a URL (web address) like your blog or Facebook fan page. You can only have one treasury at a time in Treasury Main and Treasury West. Do not use multiple accounts to make more than one treasury.

What is a poster sketch?

A poster sketch is your own personal workspace and can be found here http://www.etsy.com/poster_sketch.php .



You can create your treasury on your poster sketch by adding, deleting, and editing until a treasury spot opens up. When looking at a listing you can find the item number in one of two places. It's at the very end of the URL (web address) and also on the right side bar under "additional item info."


You also don't need to worry if you close your poster sketch window because it will automatically save and you will be able to see it again if you are using the same computer as long you don't delete your flash cookies (different than your internet cookies). Once a treasury opens up all you need to do is copy the item numbers from your poster sketch to your treasury! :)

How long will my Treasury be there?

Treasuries expire two days after their creation. Sometimes they are given bonus time (up to 24 hours). This happens randomly in order to balance out the number of treasuries and their expiration dates.

What does Etsy look for to choose a Treasury for the Front Page?

Here are some tips for making "Front Page Treasuries"

1. Admins look for treasuries who's top three listings are eye catching. Remember that this will be the first page that people will see when coming to the Etsy website and they want this to represent them well.
2. Good photography throughout the whole treasury is essential. Clear and well-lit photos as well as good composition are important. (As a seller who wants to be featured in treasuries, remember that clear, eye catching photos are what they're looking for).
3. Even though the alternates aren't visible on the treasuries page, the Admin can see them. If your treasury makes it to the front page the alternates will be used if the other items sell. Make sure all your alternates are used and that they're just as good as the ones in the treasury.
4. Use a creative title. There are a lot of treasuries to look through. This is what will "pull" your audience in to open up your treasury.
5. Use a wide range of price points.
6. Use a varied collection of items (clothes, jewelry, soaps, shoes, paintings, cards, food, hats, make-up, etc). It is okay to make a treasury with one type of item. You can do a whole treasury on hats if that's your thing. It probably won't make the front page, but it will be fun to look at and that's okay! :)
7. Make sure the items you are putting in your treasury are from sellers with good feedback (100%).
8. Make sure you don't repeat any sellers.
9. Etsy doesn't normally choose treasuries that include items with prominant watermarks on the first photo.

How do I know if my Treasury made the "Hot List?"

Another way to sort the Treasuries is by Popularity or "Hotness." Hotness is calculated by a special formula of clicks, views, comments and other factors. There is a little box to the left of your Treasury title that starts out gray and will change in color the hotter or more popular it becomes. It changes from gray, to blue, to green and so forth until it turns red hot!

How do I make a "screen shot" of my Treasury to use on my blog or Facebook?

To make a screen shot of your Treasury you want to look at your Treasury on your computer screen. While holding the "Ctrl" key down, press "Print Screen" (while still holding the Ctrl key). Usually you can find the "Print Screen" button on the top row of buttons on your computer. Now, go to the bottom left Start Up menu --> All programs --> Accessories --> Paint. Once you open up your Paint program you can go under edit and then paste. There is your screen shot of your Treasury! You can crop it there if you'd like and save it to your pictures from paint also! (You can save any screen shot from your computer using this method). If you prefer not to use Paint, you can use the photo editing program of your choice.

What does C&C mean?

It stands for "Click and Comment." Clicking refers to clicking each individual item, yes all 12, in the treasury. Have you ever noticed the little gray numbers up in the top right corner above each item? That's how many clicks each item has. When you add the total clicks for all items in the treasury together that is their total clicks. Commenting is physically writing a comment about the treasury. Each treasury is allowed 44 comments, so often you'll see curators delete comments to allow more. This goes back to the "hot list." Adding up the clicks and comments increases the popularity of the treasury and in theory gets noticed by Etsy Admin.

Treasury by cksilver

What is a Team Treasury?

A team treasury is a treasury made up of only items from your team members. If I were to create a 100% CAST team treasury then when searching through Etsy I would search castteam . Also remember to search under the category "All Items" not just handmade, because we have vintage and supply sellers as well.

Should I add an item of my own to my Treasury?

You are allowed to put one item of yours in a treasury, but if your treasury was to be chosen for the front page one of your alternates would probably be chosen instead of your item because the treasuries are not intended for self promotion. If your treasury was chosen you do get credit, so people can click on your name from the front page.

The thought of getting your treasury on the front page is very exciting, but that shouldn't be the goal of making treasuries because it doesn't happen all the time. In fact it is very rare. Instead, we should enjoy making treasuries, have fun promoting each other, and if we do make it to the front page, enjoy the surprise!

Further Reading:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-to-make-a-treasury-the-nuts-and-bolts-688/

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-to-make-a-great-treasury-list-671/