My Twitter Do’s and Don’ts

I’m fairly new to the Twitter world but have been there long enough to develop a list of rules for myself. I realize my list is probably different than your list, but mine comes from the experiences and interactions I’ve had so far. 

Quite frankly, the primary purpose I’m using Twitter is to promote the items I’m selling in my Zibbet and Etsy shops.  While I realize that most of the people with whom I’m interacting on Twitter are using it for the same purpose and are not my target buyers, this 2013 Rank Correlation Study from Searchmetrics shows the importance of using Twitter for better positioning your website in Google search results.  To quote from the white paper, “well-ranked URLs have many shares, likes, comments, plus ones and tweets.”

So, my list of rules has developed with that mindset and the realization that I don’t just want followers, I want quality followers.  It seems that for every DO on my list, there is a DON’T.

       1)  DO tweet several of my items throughout the day.

    DON’T tweet them all at once or continually.

        2)  DO follow those who have the courtesy to follow you.

    DON’T follow everyone – take a look at the profile and make sure the person is not a spammer or tweets content that is offensive to you and/or others.

        3)  DO retweet those who retweet you.

    DON’T retweet those who very obviously schedule their tweets in advance and never log on to Twitter again.

         4)  DO promote people and venues whose success is tied to your success.

    DON’T promote people who engage in controversy or drama.

I’ve looked into services which allow you to set up automatic tweets, but I haven’t been able to convince myself that it would be a good idea for me to use one.  I’ve seen too many people on Twitter bombard others with the same tweets over and over all day long – and I know they’re using a service.  In addition, they never bother to retweet the tweets of anyone else.  I will not continue to follow someone who does that.

I also don’t continue to follow people who, while they constantly talk about promoting a particular selling venue, never follow you even though you have followed them and retweeted their tweets and you are tweeting from the venue they talk about promoting.  And if they have followed you, they may unfollow you even though the majority of what you’re tweeting promotes that particular venue.  These folks tend to be very insular.  They usually promote only a select few from one venue.  But I have found that most of the promoting of my items from one venue comes from people on other venues.  And I’m going to return the favor even if I don’t list on those venues or I don’t like the venue.  Not liking the venue has nothing to do with supporting the sellers who have supported me on Twitter.

And then there are the people who seem to thrive on controversy and drama.  I stay as far away from them as I can, even going so far as to block them so I don’t see their tweets when I’m searching for a particular term or venue.  I do not want my business associated with their drama. 

There are some great people to follow on Twitter, and I've very much appreciated those who take the time to promote others as much as themselves.  Even though I don't say thank you very much, I hope you know that I am thankful every time I retweet one of your posts.

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Fenton Charleton glassware

I loved Fenton glassware long before QVC made it a household name.  Members of my family have been collectors for many, many years.  However, I really had not paid much attention to some of the historical aspects of the glassware until recently when I spotted a vase at a flea market which looked like Fenton but was painted differently than anything I had previously seen. I bought it, because the price was right.
When I got home, I started researching to see if I could find a similar piece.  I was fortunate to find one that had sold on ebay which led me to the discovery that Fenton had supplied blanks in the 1940s and 50s to another company – Abels, Wasserberg & Co.  AWCO, in turn, handpainted the pieces supplied by Fenton and called this their “Charleton” line.
There’s a super website which has pictures of many Fenton pieces which were handpainted by AWCO.  The site also has a book available for purchase for anyone wanting to know more about the Charleton line.
This is the vase that I found at the flea market.  I am selling it in my Etsy shop.  The design on the vase is called Magenta Leaves and has gold highlights.
 
Just recently, I found another Fenton piece that I’m sure is part of AWCO’s Charleton line.  It is also for sale in my Etsy shop.  It's a lovely cranberry coin dot cruet and has gold highlights as well as pink flowers.
 
I have another Fenton piece in my shop that I think might be Charleton, although I’m less sure about it than I am about the other two pieces.

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Christmas in July sale on Etsy

Many Etsy sellers participate in a Christmas in July event from July 11th through July 21st by offering a sale on some or all items in their shops.  It's a great time to begin Christmas shopping or even to buy something you've been wanting for yourself.  The shops might offer a percentage off, free shipping, or Buy One Get One.  Tags that are used by shops which participate include CIJ and Christmasinjuly.  So, you can use those tags as search terms and can also search for CIJ sale which is oftentimes included in the title or description of the item.
I plan to offer 10% off on the items in my Embracing the Present shop.  The discount will include:
Wedding brooch bouquets


Iphone cases


And button bracelets


I'll be out of town from Saturday, July 13th through Wednesday, July 17th, but will be keeping my shop open during that time.  I'll ship anything ordered as soon as I am back home.

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Unique toy storage

I wanted toy storage in the nursery, because I knew toys can easily get out of control if you don't contain them.  But I also wanted something a little unusual and unique.  I found this great post on babble which shows some unusual ideas.
 
As I was looking for teddy bear items on Etsy, I ran across the cutest vintage macramé plant hanger.  It had these porcelain bears and wooden blocks woven into the hanger.  The bells in my head started ringing, DING . . . DING . . . DING . . .  And I knew I could use the plant hanger as hanging toy storage.  But one wasn't enough so I looked around on Etsy and found lots of other macramé plant hangers in many different colors and bead combinations.

So, after I had received the plant hangers I ordered for the nursery, I went to the dollar store and looked for some plastic bowls to put in the bottom of the hangers to actually hold the toys.  I found two there but also found a $2 bowl at Target.

This is by far my favorite hanger because of the bears and blocks.  It really is unique and perfect for the nursery theme.

And I love all the primary colors which are perfect for the nursery.

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Using vintage linens in the nursery

 I love vintage linens but don't like to stick them away in the drawer.  So, I love to repurpose them when and where I can.  The nursery for my great-nephew will include some repurposed vintage linens.

I was looking for a bear lampshade for the nursery, because I had bought a baseball lamp from an Etsy seller.  So, I was delighted to find another Etsy seller who specializes in making lampshades and even more delighted to see that she had a bear lampshade made from a vintage linen.  The shade was the perfect size and color for the lamp and for the nursery.  Some things are just meant to be.

My niece has a vintage wicker rocking chair that her grandmother gave her.  While it is perfect for the nursery, the cushions needed to be recovered or replaced.  So, I recovered the bottom cushion and made a new cushion for the chair back out of a vintage linen which was actually a dresser scarf.  I cut the scarf in half.  This side will be the front of the cushion - and notice the teddy bear.

And this side will be the back of the cushion.

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Soda crate table

I know it's been awhile since I last posted but it seems I never have enough time for everything I need and want to do.  Now, I'm occupied with decorating a nursery.  Before my niece was even engaged to be married, I had started collecting items for both a girl's and a boy's nursery, because she told me that I could decorate her baby's nursery.  So, I was really excited to hear that she and her husband were expecting their first baby in November.  Once they knew the baby would be a boy, I started all my nursery projects.
When I first began collecting items for a boy, I decided to go with a teddy bear theme.  The main reason for that was because I found the cutest baby quilt by an Etsy seller and knew I had to have it.  I have also added other bear items from Etsy sellers including a bear rug and a chenille bear.  These will be perfect in the nursery.

Because my niece loves vintage, I am able to add some vintage to the nursery.  One of my projects is a table made with a soda crate.  I also plan to hang an old crate on the wall as a shelf.
For this project, I needed a crate - which I already had - and a table with a top which was roughly the same size as the crate.  I found a cheap one at a flea market.


As I'm using a lot of primary colors in the nursery - red, blue, yellow - I wanted to paint the table base in blue.  I decided not to paint the top of the table since it would be attached to the crate, so I taped off the top.

I bought a blue spray paint and painted the table in my garage, which turned out to be a bit of a mess.  My garage was covered in blue dust when I finished.


After I had let the paint dry, it was time to attach the crate to the tabletop.  I decided to glue it on, because I didn't want to bother with a drill and screws.  I used Liquid Nails and put some on the bottom of the crate.

Then I turned the table upside down and centered it on the crate.  It was much easier to do it this way than to try to center the crate on the table when it was right side up.

I put some weights on it to hold it in place while the glue dried.  Once the glue was finished drying, I turned the table right side up.  Because the bottom of the crate on the inside was in rough shape, I bought a cheap plastic place mat and trimmed it down to fit the inside.

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Embracing the Present

"Embracing the Present" is the name of my new Etsy shop. I wanted something that would tie in with my vintage shop "Touching the Past." My new shop will feature items I make, such as button bracelets and brooch bouquets. I had forgotten how hard it is to fill a shop, and I am slowly adding items.

I wanted to show some of what I have so far in the shop. I have several wedding brooch bouquets available and am going to add more. These will be ready-made as I don't have the time right now to do custom requests. I have a cameo brooch bouquet for the bride who wants a victorian wedding.



There is a peacock brooch bouquet. This seems to be a really popular theme in weddings these days.



And my most recent brooch bouquet is in metallic colors. It has gold and silver jewelry and there is a touch of copper in the middle of the hydrangeas at the base. Martha Stewart has some wonderful ideas of how to use copper, gold and silver as the colors for a wedding here.



I've also added a number of button bracelets made from vintage buttons. Right now, I have several which were made to highlight some glass paperweight buttons I have. I love all vintage buttons but paperweight buttons have to be my favorites. They look just like miniature paperweights and are amazing in detail and artistry. If you're interested in finding out more about them and their history, this site is a good resource. Most of the paperweight buttons I have used have a flower in middle, usually a pink one. These are the bracelets I've made from them:







I hope you'll stop by to visit and to see additions to my new shop.

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Repurposing

I love to repurpose vintage items. By that I mean to use them for a purpose for which they were not originally intended. A lot of times I buy vintage items without knowing what I want to do with them and sometimes I buy with an idea in mind and never get around to using them. Right now, I have a lot of those copper or bronzed baby shoes in my Etsy shop.



There are a total of seventeen shoes, seven pairs and three singles. Some of the shoes are very old - maybe even victorian. I originally bought these because I was going to use them as little planters on my deck and porch. I never got around to doing that because for one thing, I'm not sure it would be good for them to be out in the weather. So, that is why they're now in my shop.

I can see lots of other uses for them. I think they would be adorable as part of a baby mobile. Use some of the shoes and some wooden blocks spelling BABY or the baby's name - or add some vintage toys to the mobile such as rattles. I also think they would be adorable to make centerpieces for a baby shower. They could have flowers or rattles or candy or whatever else matches the theme and be given away as prizes for games. Of course, I still think about the planter idea for an indoor area.

I've posted this before, but an idea I borrowed from someone at a flea market is to use a vintage string of Christmas lights as a bouquet in an enamelware container. It's a great way to repurpose those lights since I personally think they're a fire hazard and a way to display some of your vintage items at Christmas. I have added one of those "bouquets" to my Etsy store in case you're looking for one.

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Weekly roundup of Etsy items

I'm going to begin a weekly roundup of new items I list in my Etsy shop.

The first listing is for two red and gold florentine trays. They are different sizes and different styles. I think they would look so lovely hanging on the wall together. The smaller tray measures 10" x 12 1/2". It has a paper label on the back which reads "Art. V R / l Dorato a mano con foglia di Similoro Florence Made in Italy." The larger tray measures 12 5/8" x 16 1/4". It has a Florence Made in Italy embossed on the back as well as a paper label which says Hand Made in Italy.



The second listing is for a carnival glass beaded bag. The beading is all intact and it is lovely. The pictures really don't do it justice. The binding is coming loose on the inside and really needs to be redone at some point. The bag has a metal chain at the top which is pulled to close the bag.



The third listing is for a very unusual doorstop. I love vintage doorstops and am always on the lookout for them. I see baskets with flowers quite often but I've never seen one like this - a vintage boot with two cats. It is marked on the back with a number - hard to read but I believe it is 8020 with a letter in front of that - and a copyright symbol with Emig Products Inc. The doorstop is 9 1/2" high, 6" wide and 2 3/4" wide at the base. I believe that Robert Emig was a distributor of cast iron products in the 30's and 40's.



The fourth listing is for two Wilton cast iron trivets. They are painted in the Pennsylvania Dutch style and are both marked Wilton on the back. The heart shaped trivet is 5 3/8" long and 2 7/8" wide. The round trivet is 3" wide and 5 1/2" long.



You can find additional pictures of these items in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TouchingThePast. I am happy to provide additional pictures or information.

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Using vintage in Christmas decor

I'm featuring items from Etsy sellers in this posting. There are some really beautiful vintage items offered on Etsy and I love making treasuries which showcase them. It also allows me to pair items and colors that are definitely out-of-the-box for me.

This treasury showcases items that are primarily purple, red and white.

'Purple and red for Christmas' by TouchingThePast

Vintage Doilies Lot of 5 - V... AVintageSerend... $10.00	Stunning Lot of Antique Amet... OldJunkAmbitio... $36.00	Vintage Christmas Ornaments ... lakeuka $32.00	antique lace trim lot 15 des... fabriquefantas... $28.00
Lot of 5 Vintage Salvaged O... SavageAttic $7.50	Antique and Vintage Large an... AnAntiqueAffai... $18.99	Vintage Millinery Fruit Made... 32NorthSupplie... $5.95	48 Vintage Red Colored Mercu... beforehefindso... $6.00
Perky Purple Poppies - Embro... aquamarinedrea... $25.00	Milk Glass Wedding Centerpie... LadyMonette $44.50	Vintage Christmas Mercury Be... pumpkintruck $15.00	100 Vintage Cards - 1930s-50... ManyHappyRetur... $19.95
8 Crocheted Christmas Orname... aesthetikara $15.00	plum candy dish/bowl ThinkOldThinkN... $15.00	Pair of Vintage Needlepoint ... KKPWantiques $250.00	Hand Blown Purple Salad and ... MyAtticFinds $21.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Here is how I would use these items.

For my Christmas tree, I would use the doilies, chandelier prisms, skeleton keys and red umbrellas as ornaments. I would string the buttons together to use as a garland. I would also use the lace trim as garland on the tree. I would make a tree topper out of the purple fruit and red mercury picks. Then, I would put the tablecloth under the tree as a skirt.

For my mantel, I would start with the milk glass vases. I would put red candles in different shapes and sizes in some of the vases and also directly on the mantel. I would use the red mercury glass garland to string the Christmas cards across the mantel. Above the mantel, I would hang the seven purple saucers in a Christmas tree formation.

 

I love using pillows in my holiday decor, so I would put the two needlepoint pillows on my couch or chairs. I would fill the purple bowl with the crocheted red ornaments and sit it on a table.

This is just a beginning. I know there are lots more purple, red and white items I can find on Etsy that I would also be able to incorporate in my holiday decor.

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