Hurry Baaack...

Since my last Treasury was dedicated to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, it was only fair that my next one should give a nod to the Haunted Mansion.  Did you know it's the 40th anniversary of this ghoulish attraction? And did you know that in celebration of 40 spooky years the artist Shag* put his retro flair on the commemorative artwork? Combining the two is as brilliant as putting chocolate and peanut butter together.  Here are some fun facts about Disney's Haunted Mansion**:

• There was a real Madame Leota. The actress/Imagineer that portrayed the floating head was actually named Leota Toombs. So fitting!
• Tony the Tiger who made the phrase, "Their Grrrrrrreat!" famous was one of the singing statues in the graveyard scene.
• The voice of the Ghost Host is none other than The Pillsbury Dough Boy and Boris from Rocky and Bullwinkle. 
• Walt Disney passed away before work began on the attraction, but he played a major role in Mansion's development.
  

So on to my Treasury… A Ghostly Site which features some incredible artists and their other worldly items.  Featured artists: f2images, ParaNoire, jcmeixsell, cateanevski, sweetheartsinner, cedarjunction, labellefairy, visioluxus, BackCountryPrimitive, ACollectibleCachet, selfxpression, BrandyWine

* Haunted Mansion artwork on the right by Shag - www.shag.com  
**Fun facts found at About.com

Yo Ho, Yo Ho

I have a Disneyland pass and I'm not afraid to use it. The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean have always been my two favorite rides and last week we introduced them to my daughter for the first time. We contemplated whether or not this was a good idea since she's so young, but against better judgment we decided to give it a try. She would either love it like mommy or we'd be that screaming family running towards the emergency exits.

Well friends, I'm happy to say she takes after me. She loved the rides so much that we bought a CD that day with all sorts of wonderful Disney songs on it. Now all she wants to listen to is the "pirate song" and the "singing ghosts." That's my girl.

So here you go… my Yo Ho, Yo Ho treasury inspired by our recent visit to the Happiest Place on Earth. And let's not forget Johnny Depp… How amazing is that illustration by EssenseofUs? And the pirate coat by damselinthisdress? Wow… Enjoy mateys!

Here are the incredible artists that make up one of my new, favorite Treasuries:  CrankBunny, OrangeInk, EssenceofUs, cocoachuchu, santokivintage, SamyStClair,  siemprelalucha,  Leakhena,  graphixoutpost, seasonaldelights, ragtrader, damselinthisdress

Are You Ready?

Times have certainly changed. My Friday nights used to consist of a ton of make up, ridiculously high heeled shoes and lots of loud music on a dance floor. It would take me at least a good hour just to get ready. What do I do now? It's an exciting night when a Treasury becomes available. If I can spend an hour cultivating the perfect list by browsing my favorite shops and discovering new artists, I'm a happy girl. It's even more exciting if I can do all of this before 11:00 pm. Oh, how times have changed.

The Main Treasury became available last night and I thought I was going to miss it since we had our weekly family dinner at the in-laws, but I managed to make it home in time. I was even able put the kiddo to bed and jump online with 30 whole minutes to spare. So this is how I spent my evening and it's about as wild as I get these days. I even stayed up until midnight. The title is Are You Ready and these sellers can spice up any Friday night. Are you ready? Enjoy!

Here are the artists that make up this bold design:

Mariska, GooseGrease, MoonlightAura, LipsonRobotics, HouseofHissy, HappyFamily, StarletVintage, ButtFreckle, MariesVintage, TheNightjar, HarrietsImagination, EvelynX

My First FRONT PAGE Treasury!

I'm absolutely thrilled! I finally had a Treasury design make it to the front page of Etsy! There are hundreds of curated creations found in both the Main Treasury and Treasury West so to be chosen for the front page is an honor. The beautiful sellers who made up CORK YOU deserve a big round of applause for having such incredible items to feature.

Thanks to the kind comments left on the Cork You treasury, I was informed of being a front page winner. Otherwise I wouldn't have known since, of course, I missed it. And another big thank you  goes to Craftcult for creating their super cool Vault program that allowed me to see the glory and snag this neat widget to display here.  Enjoy!

Cr8tivity

Who couldn't use a little help with their Etsy shop? Thankfully there are several amazing sites out there to lend a hand. There's Craftopolis and the awesome Treasure Clock and Treasure Hunt features that make snagging Treasuries a breeze. There's also Craftcult and their Heart-o-Matic that shows you how many hearts you have, how many items are loved by viewers and other fun stats about your shop.  And now there's a new Etsy tool on the scene - Cr8tivity.com.

Developed by a fellow Etsy artist, tronaHUE, Cr8tivity displays stats on your shop such as who hearts you, if they are a seller, when they made you a favorite and where they are located. Pretty neat. Like Craftopolis, there is a breakdown of your hearted items, however Cr8tivity also allows you to Twitter the information, jump directly to the item on Etsy or post a link on Facebook.

There are also handy-dandy pie charts to break down your shop's statistics and another fun feature called Shop Helpers that contains a downloadable Excel file designed to help manage your store. Another Helper feature in the works is a "product flyer maker" to assist you in creating instant marketing tools to promote your shop.  Very, very cool.

Check it out. Bookmark it and if you feel the work is beneficial drop a little donation their way to keep the creativity flowing. It's shops like tronaHUE that help everyone in the Etsy community.

tronaHUE.etsy.com
www.tronahue.com

Cork You

There is something so organic and interesting about cork. Its earthy, old world feel combined with a spongy texture makes it the perfect medium to create a wide range of unusual projects. And that's just what I've discovered in my latest Treasury design. From lamp covers to desk organizers to necklaces, cork is not just for wine bottles anymore.

Did you know that cork:
•    Is environmentally friendly?
•    Is impermeable?
•    Is fire resistant?
•    Is created out of dead cells on a cork oak tree?
•    Is good for insulation for both noise and temperature?
•    Was found in Egyptian tombs?

Pretty cool stuff. And here are the pretty cool Etsy sellers featured in my Treasury who made some neat things out of it: KamLampCompany, AmoreVivo, TheSmallObject, Uncorked, Amoronia, TheCrumpetCloset, SweetsHorn, PaintedPearStudio, Makalewakan, Annacote, SunnyDayArtandCraft, ErdeDesigns.

To learn more about the amazing properties of cork, visit Wikipedia and About.com.

Oh So Blue Today…

Craftopolis is so cool. In addition to their Treasury Clock that counts down to the magical number 333 for you, they also have this very neat tool to let you know if your shop has been featured in a Treasury called Treasure Hunt. Before Craftopolis came on the scene you had to either a) hope the curator would email you or b) scroll through page after page after page searching for a little star next to a Treasury title. Watching those color wheels spin around and around and around can steal the excitement out of it for sure.

Today I went to Craftopolis to check in on the Treasury Clock. Damn… I missed it. Ah well… I then typed in my shop name and low and behold a lovely title of "When the Stars Go Blue" popped up. Ding-ding-ding, I'm a winner! Thank you, AllysAttic for including my Blue Rose ring in your dreamy Treasury.

Fractured Fairy Tales

Ahh… the ever elusive Treasury. I remember the excitement I felt when I finally "snagged" my very first one. It was such a nervous thrill to see that little box finally appear asking me to type the title of my design. That magical number – 333 – always seemed to be more of a myth than a reality. I'm not going to attempt to explain how the Etsy Treasury structure works, but you can read all about it here. I will say that it's a brilliant system that promotes creativity, design and honoring your fellow Etsy artisan's fine work. And once you create one they become very addictive.

There actually is a method to determining when Treasuries will become available. All it takes is a little math and some prep time and you're as good as there. Or you can check this really handy website, Craftopolis, that has a Treasury Clock to do the work for you. To read more on Treasuries, visit this Storque article.

Here is my very first Treasury titled "Fractured Fairy Tales." I have since curated about 30 different treasuries and this one will always be my favorite.

Go Hogg Wild!

There are so many reasons I love being a part of Etsy. I love having a place to sell my creations, but I also love shopping in this amazing community of artists. Unlike shopping at a mall or buying factory generated goods, through Etsy you can put a voice to the person you are buying from. You are one step away from the designer, one step away from their personal story, one step away from their creativity.

Just recently I had the pleasure of meeting another Etsy shop owner who opened her store around the same time I launched MiaRosina. I saw her cute icon of a little pig as I was scrolling through Etsy's Pounce search engine of undiscovered shops (Pounce has an "undiscovered" and "just sold" search option). I enjoyed her witty writing and I loved the story behind the name of her store, a bath and body shop called Hoggwash named appropriately after her last name – Hogg. I just had to order something from this little gem of a boutique. I was her first customer.

The package quickly arrived in the mail. She included a sweet, handwritten note and an extra bottle of lovely perfume oil for being customer #1. You will not get that kind of extra special, personal attention from any retail store. I know how she felt that day when her Etsy email told her she had a sale. It's an incredible sensation knowing that someone out there liked your product enough to click the "Commit to Buy" button to purchase your item. I know because the next day I also had my first sale. I hope for success for my new Etsy friend and I look forward to swapping stories with her as we continue on this journey. Yet another reason to love Etsy…

Visit the Hoggwash shop: Hoggwash.etsy.com

Walk Like an Egyptian

What a great day! I woke up to find that two rose rings were sold from my MiaRosina shop. Then a OnceTraveled customer left really wonderful feedback about my Journey Bottle Pendants. And if that wasn't enough, this afternoon I discovered that my Pharaoh pendant was featured in an Egyptian themed Treasury created by the lovely shop DeeLights!

The other Etsy artists included in this line up are really amazing. I'm in awe of the shop LargeChess who creates made to order chess pieces in extra large sizes. The detail is incredible and the idea of two-foot tall royal chess characters filling a landscaped backyard is decadently magnificent. I don't know who could pull off a scene like that, but it certainly would be a site to see. Other artists such as LancErika and her beautiful painting of the goddess Isis, and DariaDesign's hand-painted boxes have now been "hearted" and added to my Favorites list. I love Treasuries...

MiaRosina.com Promo Video

Featured in TWO Treasuries!

I'm a Treasury addict. I love discovering new shops, beautiful items and creating a design with incredible findings. It's a really fun way to be creative while tipping your hat to other hard working Etsy artisans. Being the curator is also a great way to get your shop and name out there and earn you a bit of karma points with hopes that one day the favor will be returned to you. And today it has.

MiaRosina has been up for just a week and my Red Rose Ring has been featured in not one, but two Treasuries. Needless to say, I'm thrilled! Here they are:

And this one too...