And Sunshineandshowers also included this wallet in her treasury entitled Where is the Love?

Thank you for all this love. It’s been a great week

What is an Etsy Mini

Featuring upcycled bags and accessories

This is my Etsy mini that is auto-generated by Etsy. It shows four items in my shop with a direct link to the store. For Etsy to auto-generate this code for you, you need an Etsy account and then follow this path: Your Etsy -> Etsy Mini, which will take you to this screen:

Here you find precise instructions on how to generate a mini from either your favorites, or your store. Favorites can change and I plan to showcase a permanent list of vendors independent of the whimsy of my favorites, so I have to tweak the code.

Step 1: Creating the Table

I like the table format for minis. You can either write your code from scratch or auto-generate a table with the appropriate rows and columns using the 2create a website table generator.

You’ll get this code:

<table border=”1″ bordercolor=”ffffff” width=”200″ bgcolor=”ffffff”>
<tr>
<td> row 1, column 1 </td>
<td> row 1, column 2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> row 2, column 1 </td>
<td> row 2, column 2 </td>
</tr>
</table>

Which will look like this

Step 2: Insert the Vendors or Products

Log into Etsy and generate a 1 column by 1 row Etsy mini thumbnail. The java script generated will look something like this

<script type=’text/javascript’ src=’http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js’></script><script type=’text/javascript’>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(5059326, ’shop’,'thumbnail’,1,1).renderIframe();</script>

The number I highlighted in bold 5059326 is my user id.

If I insert this code in my table replacing “row 1, column 1″

<table border=”1″ bordercolor=”ffffff” width=”200″ bgcolor=”ffffff”>
<tr>
<td> <script type=’text/javascript’ src=’http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js’></script><script type=’text/javascript’>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(5059326, ’shop’,'thumbnail’,1,1).renderIframe();</script> </td>
<td> row 1, column 2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> row 2, column 1 </td>
<td> row 2, column 2 </td>
</tr>
</table>

it will display the latest item in my shop with a direct link to the store.

To add some other Etsy sellers to the table, I paste the same code into the next cell, but I need to change the shop user ID to that of the next seller. You can find this id on the seller’s profile page on the right side in the seller’s info box under user ID.

New: Etsy’s pages have gone through a lot of changes since I wrote this post. It’s not as easy to find the user ID, but not impossible either. Here are some updated instructions for this process:

Okay here are the instructions for Firefox:

Go to the shop you want to feature in the etsy mini.
View the page source. In firefox that is View -> Page Source or Ctrl +U. This will open a new browser window with the underlying code.
Select edit find or Ctrl +F, this will open the find field at the bottom of the window.
Search for user_id.
It will find a string of code that looks something like this:
<input type=”hidden” id=”user_id” name=”user_id” value=”6363793” />

The value is the user id for that shop.

The second vendor in my table will be Wabisabi Brooklyn. Her user id is 5160480. I’m copying the same script into the second cell of the table, but I’m changing the user ID from 5059326 to 5160480 to point to her store.

<table border=”1″ bordercolor=”ffffff” width=”200″ bgcolor=”ffffff”>
<tr>
<td> <script type=’text/javascript’ src=’http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js’></script><script type=’text/javascript’>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(5059326, ’shop’,'thumbnail’,1,1).renderIframe();</script> </td>
<td>> <script type=’text/javascript’ src=’http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js’></script><script type=’text/javascript’>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(5160480, ’shop’,'thumbnail’,1,1).renderIframe();</script> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> row 2, column 1 </td>
<td> row 2, column 2 </td>
</tr>
</table>

The rendered code looks like this.

To complete the table I repeat the process with two other sellers; in each instance copying the java script and replacing the id with the seller’s user id.

This process creates a table that directly links to the sellers you select and displays their most recent product. When sellers update their shops their products may change, but the links to the stores will always remain.

Teachers’ Appreciation Luncheon

For this year’s luncheon we decided to go with a store bought item. Each teacher received a bright and cheery beach towel to kick off the season together with little flip flop soaps from Brown Bag Bath Bars

The towels were “wrapped” up with a Flemish Bend knot. This knot works really well if you’re ever in need of a rope belt.

I think this would also make a cute favor for a beach wedding.

Sorry about the picture quality. I forgot to take my camera and had to rely on my friend’s handy camera phone, or should it be a phone camera?

Kimm of Kimmchi was also kind enough to write up a little something about the drawstring bags we designed together.

Tomorrow I’ll be face painting on the Island. Let’s do a little sundance to ward off the thunderstorms.

Setting Up Shop

Jen of McFlashpants took this picture. We’re getting The {NewNew} Treasure Chest boutique ready on Governors Island. It is soooooo gorgeous there. Have a wonderful weekend.

My friend Kimm of KimmChi came into this funky fabric, and we thought we’d make it into a unique Governors Island souvenir for the store. Tada:

If you can’t make it to the Island, but are longing to transform a special fabric into a bag like this, you can find the tutorial I wrote up for the bag on the {NewNew} blog here.

By the way, don’t use this map to find your way around New York. Williamsburg is NOT next to Chelsea.

Crafts in Chelsea, Courtesy of The {NewNew}

Last Saturday I participated in Crafts in Chelsea, an outstanding market with 100 Etsy vendors to benefit P.S. 11. What started out as a routine day on a picturesque side street in Manhattan turned into a study in sudden climate change. The morning began with a little drizzle that turned into rain. Luckily my tent was up, we were all cozy and waiting for the show to begin. The sun came out. It was a pretty day. Then the air started moving. The tent walls came down and everything seemed peaceful again until a gust tore some merchandise off the table. The winds subsided. A sudden crash, a swirl of wind had turned over the table next to me and the tent on the other side had walked away 10 paces all by itself. At that point my tent mate and I decided to take the whole tent down. We just managed that when another gust pushed over one of our tables. Now we decided to pack it in.

Curiously, as we were walking just a few feet down the street, everything was tranquil again. Just a little breeze here and there, but nothing like the gales we had experienced.  Business as usual. Apparently our spot had been right in the middle of the micro-tornado touchdown zone. Crafts in Chelsea even made the New York Times under the headline Winds Delay Travelers and Commuters.

Which brings me to the point of this post, How does one weigh down a tent.

1. Tent Weights From The Store

There are two types of commercially available tent weights one kind is essentially a bag that you fill with dirt

or actual weight plates with a notch to “wrap” around the tent leg.

2. Tent Weights You Make Yourself

Nordea of Nordea’s Soaperie has an excellent tutorial on how to make your own heavy duty tent weights.

And finally, there is the 5- gallon jug of water solution. Not pretty, not recommended and not necessarily safe.

Don’t forget to check-in with the organizer of the fair. Some organizers have a minimum weight requirement for each leg!!

Crafts in Chelsea Giveaway Day 1

Things week I’m organizing a giveaway promoting the Crafts in Chelsea event. Every day this week you can enter to win some amazing handcrafted items by New York City area artisans.

Crafts in Chelsea Giveaway Day 2

So go ahead and enter! If you’re on facebook or twitter it will take you less then a minute. Here are some images of the things you can win.

photo by Natasha Ryan, newyork.metromix.com

On Saturday, I was one of the lucky vendors to have an outdoor spot at the fabulous Spring Handmade Cavalcade organized by my Etsy street team The {NewNew}. It was a fantastic day with beautiful weather and a ton of visitors. It was also the debut of the recycled cotton messenger bags I’ve been working on.

Governors Island Bag

Spring Biker

If you want to attend the Cavalcade virtually, check out the slide show on New York Metromix.

I love Renee’s variation from my version below with the contrasting, overlapping ruffle and the pretty kanzashi flower.
Since we’re on the topic of tutorials on other blogs check out my latest project involving DIY iron-on embroidery transfers on The{NewNew} blog.