We Have an October Giveaway #2 Winner!

Congrats to Miss Wendy (comment number 11) on winning October's second giveaway! Yahoo!

She won the beautiful headband from Jill of BeSomethingNew, and has been notified by email. Stay tuned for another great giveaway coming up next week!

Thanks so much to all who entered!

<3

October Giveaway #2 From Be Something New

Narrow Headband in Rust with Vintage Copper Bow by BeSomethingNew

Welcome to the 2nd October Treasury Tree Giveaway! 

Each month we give away some Etsy treasure to one lucky blog reader, and this month we've decided to do it twice! Our second giveaway is a lovely headband with a beautiful vintage copper bow by Jill of BeSomethingNew. It is for entries in the United States only.

Be Something New is a unique line of bridal and every event headpieces designed by Jill Prettyman. Her gorgeous line gives you a chance to BE wonderful with special pieces for every occasion. Some pieces feature vintage items, making them a one of a kind dream. After making bridal veils and headpieces for over 20 years, she is really having fun designing this exciting line of hair accessories. Be Something New offers a fresh look at bridal, and fun pieces you can wear with everything from t-shirts to prom dresses!

If you want to win this headband, you can do any of the following for one entry each: 

1. Visit BeSomethingNew's Etsy shop, then come back to the blog and leave a comment saying which item or items from the shop you like best. 

2. Tweet, Facebook, blog or post on any other social media about the giveaway and leave a comment saying you have done so-each social media share can be used as one entry. 

3. Like The Treasury Tree on Facebook and leave a comment here letting us know! 

Every comment on this blog entry counts as one entry into the draw. So get over to BeSomethingNew and check out the beautiful selection! 

Good Luck! 

The Rules: 
-Anyone can enter, from anywhere in the United States, except for Treasury Tree team leaders and captains. 
-Every comment on this blog entry counts as an entry into the draw. However, any comment which is not an entry as described above will be removed. 
-The giveaway ends at noon PST on Tuesday, October 30th. 
-One winner will be picked using a random number generator and announced on Wednesday, October 31st. 
-Please make sure that we can contact you in some way from your comment(s). 
-The prize is the headband by BeSomethingNew shown above, and it will be shipped to the winner by USPS.


<3

Friday Finds-Kitsch is Good for the Soul!

Thanks to Hope of BlackbirdandPeacock for picking out these great finds!

Check out these upcycled or vintage kitschy finds that make you feel good- and make the planet happy too!

The other day I stumbled upon this vintage nymph from MeshuMash's totally rad shop and fell in love!  So pretty, she definitely belongs on Great Aunt Adilla's windowsill.

Vintage Nymph Figurine by Meshumash

This chillin' clay gnome necklace by Creativity is Messy makes me smile.  And the bottle cap she uses is recycled- very cool!

Chillin' With My Gnomie by CreativityisMessy

Not sure where Molly from Molly Finds unearths her vintage goodies, but I seriously am in awe of all of her treasures.  This donkey is too adorable!

Vintage Baby Donkey Planter by MollyFinds

These sweet upcycled candlestick holders by Trash Things are sooo awesomely pink.

Watermelon Pink Brass Candle Holders by Trash Things

Christmas + kitty cats= absolute kitsch.   Thank you, OooohStitchy.

Christmas Cat Embroidery Hoop by OooohStitchy

Stay tuned for more fabulous Etsy discoveries next Friday!

<3

My House is So Retro Wins the August Week 4 Treasury Challenge!

My House is So Retro... by Hope of BlackbirdandPeacock

This week's Treasury Tree Challenge winner is a fabulously retro vintage-themed treasury titled "My House is So Retro..." by Hope Von Stengel of the fabulous shop Blackbird and Peacock.

Melanie and Valerie of ClassicbyNature chose this treasury because of its great views and vintage feel.  

Keep your eyes open for the next Treasury Tree Challenge to be posted asap!

Hope your Labor Day weekend rocked!

-Kerri <3

Trends Are Going Old School Wins The Week 3 Challenge!

This week's Treasury Tree Challenge winner is a clean and fresh collection titled "Trends are going old school" by Melanie and Valerie of ClassicByNature.

Kerri of inmyigloo chose this treasury because it was just generally wonderful, plus it made a FP for the team and had the most views!

The next Treasury Tree Challenge to be posted ASAP-stay tuned!

<3

Treasury Tree Challenge (August Week 3)

Welcome to the Treasury Tree Challenge-a fun competition to inspire us all to make great treasuries! 

Remember, anyone can enter.

The item from this week's challenge is from inmyigloo:

Antique Stenotype With Case by inmyigloo

Here are the rules: 

1) Use this item in your treasury. Your treasury can have any theme you like as long as it includes this item. 

2) This item MUST be placed within the first three rows of your treasury. 

3) In addition to the featured item you must include at least four Tree Team members within your treasury, placed within the top three rows. Here’s a list of members. 

 Tip: all of The Treasury Tree members' items can be found by clicking here and searching the team's items by key word. 

4) Tag your treasury with "treeteamchallenge". For your remaining tags, try to come up with relevant and diverse key words. 

5) Use the phrase “Tree Challenge” in your title (you can just stick it at the end in parentheses if you want). 

6) In the description section of your treasury you MUST include the URL for this blog post. 

7) Return here and post a link to your treasury as a comment to this blog post. Entries will only count if they've been posted on the blog! 

Note: 
-You can make as many Tree Challenge treasuries as you want. 
-You are not required to be a Tree member in order to participate in (or win!) these challenges. 
-Participants are allowed to win more than once. 
-If any of the seven guidelines above are forgotten your treasury could be disqualified from this challenge. (boo!) 

You have until 12 noon (EST) on Tuesday, August 21st to create your treasury (or treasuries). The winner will be announced that day! The winner will be selected based upon the number of views and favorites they receive, and will be selected by the featured seller. 

If your treasury is the winner you will be notified as soon as possible, and we’ll give you the chance to select one of the items from your shop to be featured in our next challenge. If you do not have an Etsy shop we’ll ask you to nominate an item from the winning treasury to begin the next challenge. 

Good luck and have fun!!

Shopping Faux Gold

204 nations are gathered under the Olympic Flag in London this week. Around 10,500 athletes in total. And they all want gold.


If like me, you've been watching these athletes in amazement, you might want gold too, maybe not real gold, maybe just something gold colored...



This limited edition gold leather credit card wallet by Sakao, really makes me smile, it is so ostentatious.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/85176749/gold-digger-leather-wallet-id-metro

Gold Digger Leather Wallet by Sakao

I love Hollywood Regency, the high glamour, low cost aesthetic is one that is definitely back in fashion in 2012. And what makes this statement better than a vintage gold plastic tissue box cover?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/98902913/hollywood-regency-box-gold-retro-kleenex

Hollywood Regency Tissue Box from Dottirosestudio

Staying with the vintage theme, this 1960s gold cocktail dress is gorgeous and in great condition.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/104534305/1950s-gold-brocade-cocktail-dress

1950s Gold Brocade Cocktail Dress from ArtofScavengery

And finally, let's bring our faux gold explorations back to the present with these pretty modern earrings by SYMBOLICinteraction.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86334276/pearl-earrings-modern-bridal-jewelry

Pearl Earrings by SYMBOLICinteraction

Tree Finds - Back to School Edition

It may still be warm, but you can sense it. The days are getting shorter, there is a faint hint of fall in the air, and you are starting to think about pumpkin pie. Well, maybe just I am thinking about pumpkin pie. Mmmmmm, pumpkin pie. But I digress, it is back to school time again and Etsyland is full of creative, eco-friendly, and unique items to outfit students of all ages.


I don’t own an iPad, but this fun retro-inspired sleeve by ClassicbyNature makes me wish that I did:
 www.etsy.com/listing/97109847/ipad-case-red-vintage-cassette-mix-tape

IPad Case by ClassicbyNature

These cheerful, reusable sandwich bags made by OrganiLuxe will make your little ones (or big ones) want to gobble up the goodies that you put in them:
www.etsy.com/listing/55777352/3-reusable-eco-sandwichsnack-bags

Reusable Sandwich Bags by Organilux

Made by Conduit Press, this beautifully designed, eco-friendly refillable notebook makes me want to take class notes:
www.etsy.com/listing/103951246/henna-in-grey-and-red-leather-notebook

Henna Notebook by Conduit Design

This adorable cat can hold on to my pencils and pens as long as it likes. This super sweet school accessory is the creation of Tokyoinspired:
www.etsy.com/listing/80281093/pencil-case-eyeglass-case-cute-hungry

Hungry Cat Pencil Case by Tokyoinspired

Call me sentimental, but to me there is something special about the substantial feel of an old metal lunchbox. Plastic just doesn’t compare. AloofNewfWhimsy found a beautiful example of an old beauty: www.etsy.com/listing/92105649/vintage-american-thermos-scottish-plaid 

Vintage Lunchbox from Alloofnewfwhimsy

We can’t forget back to school fashion. Who doesn’t need a ninja shirt? Made from sustainable reclaimed materials, TNTees shows us the fun side of the ninja: www.etsy.com/listing/103815365/cij-boys-tshirt-ninja-applique-baby-12m

Ninja Applique Shirt by TNTees

These beautiful and useful items should help make the transition back to school just a little easier. Now, where is that pumpkin pie?

Treasury Tree Challenge (July Week 4)

Welcome to the Treasury Tree Challenge-a fun competition to inspire us all to make great treasuries!  
Remember, anyone can enter.

The item for this week's challenge is from MollyFinds:

Brown and White Polka Dot Dress by MollyFinds

Here are the rules:  

1) Use this item in your treasury.  Your treasury can have any theme you like as long as it includes this item.

 2) This item MUST be placed within the first three rows of your treasury.

 3) In addition to the featured item you must include at least four Tree Team members within your treasury, placed within the top three rows. Here’s a list of members.

Tip: all of The Treasury Tree members' items can be found by clicking here and searching the team's items by key word. 

 4) Tag your treasury with "treeteamchallenge".  For your remaining tags, try to come up with relevant and diverse key words.

5) Use the phrase “Tree Challenge” in your title (you can just stick it at the end in parentheses if you want).

6) In the description section of your treasury you MUST include the URL for this blog post.

 7) Return here and post a link to your treasury as a comment to this blog post.  Entries will only count if they've been posted on the blog! 

Note: 
-You can make as many Tree Challenge treasuries as you want.
-You are not required to be a Tree member in order to participate in (or win!) these challenges.
-Participants are allowed to win more than once.
-If any of the seven guidelines above are forgotten your treasury could be disqualified from this challenge. (boo!) 

You have until 12 noon (EST) on Tuesday, July 31st to create your treasury (or treasuries).
The winner will be announced that day! The winner will be selected based upon the number of views and favorites they receive, and will be selected by the featured seller.

If your treasury is the winner you will be notified as soon as possible, and we’ll give you the chance to select one of the items from your shop to be featured in our next challenge.

If you do not have an Etsy shop we’ll ask you to nominate an item from the winning treasury to begin the next challenge.

Good luck and have fun!!

A Ruby Red Letter Day

The Treasury Tree blog is back in business, our team of treasure hunters will be bringing you giveaways, competitions, sales sneak peaks, coupon codes and a look into the Etsy treasure chest.


That's quite a cause for celebration. So we thought we'd start with some roaring red finds.  

How about some statement jewelry? This gorgeous piece is made by JustColor she's used a vintage button as the focal point and created a choker with a real tribal feel. Very dramatic!

Ruby is the birthstone for July and this beautiful deco ring would be quite a gift for someone special. It's available from Adin, based in Antwerp, Belgium.

Dare to wear red, on just one shoulder too! This Summer dress is designed and made by Tangente who was recently featured on the Etsy blog. 

Great treasure isn't always sparkly. Here's a find that's well within every shopper's budget. A retro 8-bit balloon, design on a red Moleskine notebook. BlackbirdandPeacock, are a partnership; Joe creates the design, carves a stamp of that design and then Hope turns the stamp into a card, notebook or t-shirt. I wonder which one of them is the blackbird and which is the peacock? 

And last but not least, we can't mention ruby red, without thinking of these. Custom made ruby slippers by PrincessPumps.

Featured Member Karineh of JustColor

This week's featured member is Karineh of JustColor. Karineh is one of our founding members and a very talented knitter and crocheter. Her shop is filled with colorful textural accessories and interesting unique jewelry. We asked Karineh to tell us about her art.

Hi Karineh, would you be so kind as to tell us who you are, what you sell, what you are all about?

My name is Karineh and I live in Glendale, California. I am one of 3 children, the only girl (I wish I had a sister) and two older brothers. I have been creating since I was very young. I believe I inherited this from my mother’s side of the family. I also played the piano for many years which I regret stopping and replacing it with sports. The last part of my education was at Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland where I learned about many aspects of art and use of materials. It was here I realized the natural power in my hands and fingers.
I make handmade knit and crochet accessories for women. I also make jewelry using metal chains, glass beads or stones. I recently started creating a collection which is a mixture of all of my favorite elements; luxury yarns, chains, stones, beads and leather. It is still under development. I also like to mix some special vintage pieces in some of my work.

Who are your business inspirations?

The list could be too long and very difficult for me to answer. I am not necessarily inspired by large conglomerates’ success. I am more inspired by small, hard working businesses who have managed to succeed through their creativity and imagination.
I have an aunt who became a single mother of a 3 year old in the late 1940s. Despite having to endure many hardships she managed to build up a very successful business with her natural dressmaking and her amazing talent in crafting and creating. She also raised her son to be a very successful businessman.
I am inspired by my mother who I watched creating and crafting since I can remember.

Do you sell online full time? If not, what is your other business/job?

Right now I do work full time on my Etsy shop which means I am doing something for my shop 24/7. Even when I am dreaming. Lol! I have always worked in the fashion world, either as a designer, wholesaler or in the forefront of fashion in retail management and visual merchandising.

What is the biggest challenge when selling your work online?

The biggest challenge is to be noticed and get the word out there. I think most of online businesses would agree with this. Finding one’s customer base and marketing it appropriately is half of the battle.

Tell us about how you got your start selling your craft, either online or local?

I have been selling my craft on and off throughout my adulthood. I had not been creating too much for a few years. After a while I started feeling like something was missing from my life, the void and emptiness that only creativity fills. I decided to pick up my knitting again. One thing lead to many. I am a collector of objects, such as unique small vintage pieces, buttons and lace. I started using them in my work and my jewelry, which I initially made to give as presents. One day a friend of mine mentioned Etsy. I had never heard of it before. I came home, turned on my computer and wham, I created my shop that day. The rest is history.
I don’t do a lot of craft shows. I used to many years ago. I do some local, small craft shows if I can. I normally prefer to be at home surrounded by beautiful objects and yarns.

Tell us why you do what you do (your particular craft; why make it a business vs just a hobby).

I have to do what I do. It’s the need to create, to make something out of nothing, to introduce a different point of view and a new expression of how I see the world for whosoever might be interested. It’s very personal.
There aren’t a lot of people on this earth who make a living out of their passion. Why not turn your passion or your hobby into your business? I think that’s the highest pleasure anyone can get out of life.
Are there any tips or tricks to selling online vs local that you can share?

Maybe there is. Actually I am sure there is but I am also sure I am not the one to give advice in that regard. It’s a constant learning process and I am still a student. One thing I am sure of is that one must have the three Ps, Patience, Persistence and Perseverance.

A few of my favorite Etsy shops:

Now this is hard for me, since I appreciate so many difference and diverse work of art and craft, from one end of the scope to another, but here are a few of my favorites.
LBCpaper, StoneHood, BobbiLewin, infinityarts and many more.