“…then along came
Phase 3 of your bead
give away contest! I am
now the proud owner of
a little…” ~Susan-B
If you have been following my blog for at least the last couple of weeks, you will know that Phase 3 of my Polymer Clay Bead Giveaway Contest is underway. Here are links to first two contest announcement and discussion articles:
Article #1: June 14, 2010: Phase 3 – Polymer Clay Bead Give Away – Your Feedback Needed: “I still get butterflies in my stomach when I realize that I actually won this fabulous collection of beads!” ~Carolyn-F
Article #2: June 17, 2010: More Discussion… Polymer Clay Tutor Bead Giveaway (Phase 3): ” “If there is anyway we can help do this and keep your contests going I vote YES, YES, YES!”
~Peggy-B
Today, I’m excited to present the first batch of contest entries for everyone to see. The links directly under the photos posted further down on this page, will take you to some examples of how to participate in this fun contest. On each photo entry page, you will see the following common elements:
1) A photo or a series of photos relating to techniques learned here at the blog or at the members video library. These images can be uploaded to your blog or to any other web site that allows you to publicly share photos on the Internet (i.e. Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, PictureTrail, FacebookPages, etc.) .
2) A description or caption about your project. Creative stories are always a fun to read. Everyone loves to be entertained :-)
3) An anchor text link (or multilpe links) pointing back to the pages here at my blog that provided you with creative inspiration for your project. The best pages to link to are usually the Tuesday Teaser video posts. And when I say anchor text, that means the link is series of two or three or four contextual words that are clickable. You’ll see some good examples by looking at today’s contest entries below. Plus there is more discussion on the topic in the following comment thread: Creating Anchor Text Links
After you have completed the three steps listed above, you will then need to send me an email which includes a direct link to your contest entry page or pages. You can enter as often as you like.
On a regular basis (weekly if enough entries are submitted), I will post a summary of the most recent contest entries… just like I have done below.
Please note that if your photos are only posted on your Facebook Wall, I will not be able to include them in these summary posts at my blog. This is because they can’t be viewed by everyone. What you will need to do is also post your pics on pages that are publicly available, where the visitor does not have to be approved as a friend in order to view the page.
Here are the Contest Entries
That have Come In So Far…
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^^ Entry #1 ^^ |
^^ Entry #2 ^^ |
^^ Entry #3 ^^ |
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^^ Entry #4 ^^ |
^^ Entry #5 ^^ |
^^ Entry #6 ^^ |
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^^ Entry #7 ^^ |
^^ Entry #8 ^^ |
^^ Entry #9 ^^ |
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^^ Entry #10 ^^ |
^^ Entry #11 ^^ |
^^ Entry #12 ^^ |
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^^ Entry #13 ^^ |
^^ Entry #14 ^^ |
^^ Entry #15 ^^ |
If you don’t see your contest entries referenced above, then please send me another email, and I will include them in the next bead summary post. Make sure to follow all of the rules as outlined at the beginning of this article.
Some Q&A and Commentary…
Hi Cindy, I am a relatively new member, but I wanted to get more involved with the new contest by sending in some links to my work. Right now, I’m keeping everything at Flickr, and have three items linking back to your site. There will be more to come in a few days. Do we need to contact you with each new link, or is my main Flickr address sufficient? ~Nicole-R
Thanks for participating in the contest, Nicole. The way you set up your photos, links and descriptions on Flickr is perfect! Where you have two links on the same page to two different destination url’s, will go a long ways to helping you get more clicks to win the big prize. Oh and including individual links to each of your individual pages is definitely how you want to email your entries in to me. It’s the only way I will be able to effectively keep tabs on everything you are posting. Can’t wait to see more of your work.
Thank you once again Cindy! I have been playing around with the idea of posting images on the internet for some time, but have been fiddling around and felt no great urge to work out how to set something up since I wanted to dedicate all my free time to polymer… then along came “Phase 3” of your bead give away contest! I am now the proud owner of a little blog and have also learnt how to do links thanks to your helpful input. This is great fun!
~Susan-B
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| ** Did You Know… Members with current subscriptions to the weekly tutorial videos are always entitled to a 10% discount when purchasing 6 or more back issue packages in a single transaction. If you are interested, let me know which back issues you would like and I will send further instructions on how to complete your order. |
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@Cindy: you just pull it all together in such a brilliant way and with such apparent ease. It thrills me to part of anything you do since you really do it SO well. I am really looking forward to visiting all the “Cindy inspirated” sites!
Wow! This collection is amazing! Good luck everyone!
Good job, everyone! Unfortunately, (I guess it has to do with some element of security on my computer, or maybe I just don’t know what I am doing which is more likely), I can’t open any of the links, but from what I CAN see from Cindy’s post, the pieces are beautiful.
Just above, Elizabeth S. said that links I provided right under each of the contest photos, are not working for her. Are they not working for others too? They should be. I suspect, Elizabeth, that you need to change a security setting in your browser or your internet firewall (which may require some help from whoever it is that helps you with techie stuff).
And Phaedrakat said… “It looks like the rules allow the entries from the first contest to be used again. If you entered the first contest but haven’t been claying much lately, you can still do this! Just post them on your blog or photo-sharing site and add links back to the appropriate tutorial post here at the blog.” >> You are absolutely correct Phaedrakat. Thanks for pointing this out.
@Cindy Lietz from Polymer Clay Zebra EarringsGEESH!! More techie stuff??? FIREWALL, you say?? OMG, will it ever end?? (LOL) Seriously, I know for sure that this is the problem and will consult my super-techie son once again.
Nice to see the “first batch!” Beautiful work, everyone! I hope there are lots more entries, it’s so fun to see all the pretty & inspirational work. I’m a bit surprised, is everyone just getting a slow start? It looks like the rules allow the entries from the first contest to be used again. If you entered the first contest but haven’t been claying much lately, you can still do this! Just post them on your blog or photo-sharing site and add links back to the appropriate tutorial post here at the blog.
I need to get my own blog going, but I’m having severe pain. I’ve had neck trouble since our Father’s Day get-together on Sunday. Strange, I just mentioned how much I “baby” my neck so I don’t have problems with it. I guess I didn’t baby it enough this time!
@Phaedrakat: I am so sorry to here that you are hurting that bad. What happen to your neck again? Use heat pads and ice pack rotate them take some Ibuprofen for swelling. Dr. Brendas Orders *LOL*.. I have the worst back trouble neck to tailbone.
@brenda: Thanks, Dr. Brenda. I’m the same, well almost — neck to lumbar. I’ve got DDD as well, plus other problems in certain areas from specific accidents. I explained in another post, but my back hurts constantly. My pain medicine keeps it to a dull roar most of the time. I use heat, ice, electric stim., creams, vibration, all kinds of things, depending on HOW, where, & why it’s hurting at the time. I’ve been suffering for years, so I expect to hurt. Sometimes it gets even worse, however, and I can’t function. My neck problem is from a car accident, and I try not to antagonize it. But I did, at my brother’s on Sunday, and I should have gone to lay down with my special neck pillow at the first sign of trouble! It’s more difficult when my neck hurts. Maybe because it’s not constant, so I don’t know how to “deal” as well. It’s amazing what you learn to put up with. It probably helps to remember I’m still blessed, I know that things could be much worse…
Anyway, thanks you guys (Brenda, Elizabeth, Susan!) for wishing me less pain. That would be so nice, and I’d be so grateful! It’s been so many years, that I would go crazy with happiness! I’m pretty certain the neck pain will subside and be manageable again in a day or two. I’m babying it completely, using tried & true methods. Thanks again, and I wish you all less pain, too. We’ve got a bunch of bad backs here, don’t we? ~Kat
BTW, let’s continue to pray for Ritzs. I believe she’s had her neck/cervical fusion by now, so she’s probably going through an extremely painful recovery. Poor thing, I know how painful that is, a real nightmare! Good luck, Ritzs, and to all of you, too — good health and less pain!
@Phaedrakat:Kat,
I wish I had some miraculous pain resolving cure to send you. I, too, am a member of the back problem population and although I haven’t had a flare up for some time, I remember how intense and debilitating it can be.
Hugs and prayers for speedy relief.
Elizabeth S.
@Phaedrakat: I too hope that your pain goes away soon but am very pleased that it doesn’t stop you typing your wonderful and very helpful comments!
Very impressive work on this page Cindy.. I like how you put phase three together. Especially the showing of everyones work. We have some very talented people on here. I need to get my etsy store up and running. I am scared to death of how to do the shipping lables. I have no idea how to set that up in paypal.. Can anyone help me with that??
@brenda: Brenda, it’s uncertainty about shipping that’s stalled my opening of an Etsy store, too. For me, it’s that I don’t know how much to list for shipping & handling. I guess I need to go to the Post Office and get the details from them.
Anyway, if you google “paypal shipping labels” you should get the information that you need.
@Linda K.: I went to the post office. If I understood the man correctly, he said to purchase a scale to weigh the package. So, I had him to weigh three pendants that someone purchased in the bubble wrap yellow envelope, it was half the size of a large one. It came to be just a buck.. So.. It wouldn’t be worth it to me to to use paypal’s lables.
@brenda: Do you include the cost of your bubble mailer and the cost to insure your package in your shipping and handling price?
I put my jewelry into a white jewelry box, which I hand-paint with roses. The box costs me about $1. I’m guessing that the cost of the bubble mailer is about $1. The insurance is around $2. Then, if the postage itself is $1, that’s a total of $5 for shipping and handling.
@Linda K.: Accually the bubble mailer cost 50 cent I get 2 for a $1. I’ve been placing my pendants in a draw string mesh colored pouch, then wrap them really well with tissue paper. I haven’t purchaced any insurance on any items as of yet. Any suggestions on how to do this would be so helpful. Someone told me to post on ebay. I don’t even want to go there until I figure out Etsy. All those place cost something. So you have to add that cost in too. Even paypal charges for using them. I think it is 90 cent per transaction???
So in reallity you have the cost of use of etsy
store,paypal,packaging,insurance and postage. So Linda are you saying use that as the price for shipping?
@brenda: I hadn’t even thought of counting the cost of using the Etsy store and PayPal in the handling cost, but you could certainly do that.
I guess it all depends on how you want to do things. You could add all those things up and call them shipping and handling…or you could roll most of the handling costs into the price of the item and make the shipping more reasonable. Three examples of the same item:
Example 1: Item price $40 plus $5 Shipping & Handling
Example 2: Item price $43 plus $2 Shipping & Handling
Example 3: Item price $45 with free Shipping
Personally, I would be more likely to purchase the item listed as Example 3. Maybe that’s just my quirk, but I hate to pay shipping. It’s all psychology, I guess.
Then we have the next dilemmas…What do we charge for shipping if the customer orders more than one item. I’m not sure how Etsy handles these things.
I have decided to stay away from Ebay for a number of reasons. They made some changes about a year ago that angered many of their long-time sellers. They increased the charges to the seller and made it difficult to refute unwarranted bad reviews by unscruulous buyers.
@Linda K.: I thought about doing one flat rate. It seems to be easier that way. I know someone that sells on ebay, she charges a large amount on the shipping. It is crazy what people would pay. She told me that is where she makes all her money. Thanks for all the tips.. Both you and Kat have been so helpful!
@brenda: I was thinking about using a flat rate, too. If you watch any of the infomercials on TV, they all charge outrageous shipping & handling. My husband and I often comment about how they make more money on the s&h than on the merchandise.
@brenda:
On most of my items I charge $3.00 shipping and handling with additional items costing $1.00. That gives me enough to cover first class postage and cover the cost of the envelope. I use the large envelope like someone else mentioned about, wrap the gift box with the item in it with bubble wrap from a large roll, then fold the envelope in half. Nice secure packing and so far I’ve not had any damages.
I almost always use Paypal’s postage printing service. For one thing, it prints out the label with the address that the customer listed so I’m less likely to make a mistake. It also provides me with a tracking number automatically and includes the option to add insurance. I rarely do.
A couple years ago, I tried to raise some extra cash by selling a lot of old CDs and movies. I did it through Amazon, and ended up using Stamps.com to print postage and labels. They have a deal where you get the first month free, as well as a free scale. I liked it, but I have no idea if it will work well with Etsy, since I haven’t looked into that (very far, anyway.) I just wanted to mention it, just in case. It is a free trial for a month, so if you do not like it, just cancel it and you’re out nothing. In fact, I think you get $5 free postage or something like that.
I’m the same way, I hate paying shipping! Surely it’s psychological, but I will go to great lengths to avoid paying it!
When I sold my CD’s, I also hated paying for the bubble mailers. Since I had to keep my prices low to compete, buying 50 cent envelopes dug into my (already small) profit. I ended up buying a box of the right size manila envelopes, and they were much, much, cheaper than the mailers. I also bought a big roll of bubble wrap. Then I wrapped the CD in bubble wrap & put it in the envelope, giving me the same amount of package protection for a much lower price (approx. 7 cents/pkg.) You could do something similar with jewelry, maybe even use the bubble wrap in a more decorative way, thus adding to the presentation while keeping the cost down. Just an idea…
@Phaedrakat: Good thinkin’, Kat. I was wondering if that made any sense, and now you’ve saved me from traipsing through the stores to price that stuff. Thanks!
The USPS has an online service you can use to purchase postage, print labels, buy insurance, and many other services. It’s free to use. I started using it when most of my CDs were sold and I knew I wouldn’t be needing Stamps.com much longer. It’s been awhile since I used it, but I imagine their system has only gotten better! It worked great for me!
It’s difficult trying to find the right price for your goods AND figure postage. You need to recover all of your outgoing costs somehow. Linda’s example shows 3 different ways — as a customer I would probably choose # 2 or 3. If you go by example 2, you could take advantage of using a “free shipping” incentive for buying additional items. Jewelry is so light it doesn’t cost extra to mail anyway, at least not much. Only if it’s really large or heavy.
I’m having a problem trying to fix a rate for the shipping; that’s why I havent sold anything online yet. I think Example #2 sounds good. Maybe using a pouch and wrapping in tissue and then a bubble envelope would be better than a box?
@Cheryl Hodges: If you keep it small and light, the postage is quite a bit less! What kind of box do you mean? Like a jewelry box, or a cardboard, packaging box? If you have some sort of pretty box you’d like to add as an “extra” with your jewelry, it might make it worth the extra shipping. But shipping in a box vs. and envelope will cost you more, so don’t do that unless you need the extra strength to protect the item you’re selling…
@ Linda and Brenda: I have an etsy shop and wanted to share a couple things with you. First, their fees are extremely low. Only $.20 to list an item and the listing is active for 4 months which is LOADS cheaper than Ebay. You can also renew a listing at any time for the same fee. Renewing helps because listings are sorted on the Etsy home page by time listed with the most recent showing first. Renewing puts your item back on the first page so they are seen more often. Etsy does take a minimal fee for sales also, but it is only %3.5. An example of a monthly bill: In the month of April I renewed 20 items and sold a pair of earrings for $6.00. My bill was only $4.21.
As for shipping, I order little white cardboard boxes in bulk (50 of them was about $12.00 I think and I have the 3″x4″ boxes) and pack them with bubble wrap. I charge a flat rate of $1.50 no matter how many items I am shipping (I set this rate after shipping my first few sales, one item shipped, as I described, in the US was usually no more than $2.00 this is without insurance because I offer it as an option not a requirement) . I do however add a couple dollars more to the price of the item when listing. It is a psychological thing, if people see cheap or free shipping, they are more likely to buy than if the item is cheaper and shipping is $3 or $4.
I know I’m not the only one here who uses etsy, but you all can check out my shop and if you have any more questions I’ll answer the best I can!
BTW, my shop is a little bare right now as I am focusing on festivals right now!
Hope I’ve been of some help to you!
@Carrie: Thanks, Carrie! I’m glad someone who uses Etsy finally offered some information — you’re awesome for helping! :D
@Carrie: Carrie, thank you so much for this extremely valuable information! I did know about Etsy’s low fees vs. Ebay and I knew about the strategy of relisting items. I just wasn’t sure about how Etsy handled the shipping options. I guess I should have done a dry run on listing an item to see how it worked.
It’s good to know that you can make insurance optional and that you’ve been able to make such low shipping rates work. I feel much less initimidated now and I’m going to open my shop next week–hubby is on vacation this week and we have two grandchildren staying with us, so I’m too busy to devote any time to it right now.
What I would love to know is where you buy your white cardboard boxes. I spent hours online searching for them and the only white boxes I could find were embossed with a design. I just want the plain, matte, white, cardboard jewelry boxes so I can paint on them. I’m currently paying 95 cents each (with tax) for them at Michaels. When I’ve sold locally, people always love getting their jewelry in a handpainted box. I attach my business card to the bottom with a glue stick. It would be easy to put some bubble wrap around these boxes and ship them in a manila envelope, as Kat suggested.
@Linda K.: People are going to love recieving their purchases in your beautiful boxes! I’m excited that your getting started on Etsy now! Best of luck~
@Phaedrakat: Thanks, Kat.
@ Linda K.: Forgot something! When you list a new item on Etsy, on the page where you set shipping it has boxes to fill the shipping prices in. It has a box for normal shipping and also has a box that says “shipping cost if shipped with another item” so you can offer a discount on multiple items purchased. You can also set shipping prices by country or region. Etsy allows you to make a standard shipping profile that is saved so you can use it on all your listings if you choose to do so. i.e. My shipping profile is: In the US: $1.50 first item, free on any other items, Outside the US: $5.00 first item, free on any other items.
Hope you can make sense of my ramblings!Lol!
@Linda- My boxes are the ones that come flat and you fold them yourself. Painting would probably work on those too. I buy them in bulk on Ebay. There are a ton of different sizes to choose from.
@Carrie: Thanks, Carrie. I’ll check those out.
Thanks for the help with the boxes Carrie. That is so much cheaper than other sites. Linda, do you paint in water colors or acrylics?
@Cheryl Hodges: Cheryl, learning to paint with watercolors was on my to-do list until clay began to take up all my time! I paint with acrylics.
What a great conversation that is happening here! Love seeing you all share your ideas and help each other out!
One thing you all need to take into consideration when figuring out prices for your work as well as your shipping and handling fees, is the cost of your time. If you are selling just one piece at a time (like many of us do), there is a lot of time that gets spent writing the little note, wrapping up the jewelry, filling out the address (and customs forms if it is crossing the border), going down to the post office (standing in line) and getting the package shipped.
This could easily take an hour to do. If you paid yourself minimum wage ($8/hr in Canada) or even half that, that could put your labor costs up by $4-$8 just for that one package! If you’re selling a $6 pendant and charging $2 shipping, you haven’t made one cent. In fact you have lost money, in the cost of clay, packaging, listing on Etsy, taking photos, and time. Lots of time. You’d be better off handing out your jewelry on the street!
So what I’m saying here is don’t shortchange yourself, by under charging. This doesn’t mean you should gouge people either. Be fair and as efficient as possible.
Try to ‘batch’ your jobs best you can. Only mail 1 or 2 days a week if you have few orders and try to streamline your processes as best you can.
The idea is to have fun and some profit too (even if it is not a lot). Not to stress yourself out running around and losing money in the process. Don’t worry about the people who charge less than you. They won’t be in business very long anyway.
Do your highest quality work and charge properly for it. You will be happier in the long run if you do!
@Cindy Lietz from Wholesale Bead Pricing Tips: Cindy, thanks for reminding us about all these things.
Has anyone figured out how to add a hyperlink to a word in FaceBook?
The best I could do was to select a web address, copy it, then paste it into the photo caption in my FB.
@Linda K.: I just tried adding the code it won’t work but if you add the link itself to the comment section, it will link back. I did go to fb help pages and asked the question about link a hyperlinking a a word. we will have to wait and see what they say. If you look in my photos under pendants you can see what I added to the glow in the dark pendant to give you an idea of what I mean.
@Linda K. & Brenda & maybe Cheryl, too!: I have tried this many times also, and it will not work. Then I went and looked at other people’s photos, and none of them have anchor text links, either. Even the “pros” have the “not as pretty” regular url links, instead of the nicer ones we’ve been trying to achieve. I told Cindy about this in a comment on another thread, asking her if we could “make due” with the regular links in Facebook only. Especially since she laid down the rule about having to have the photos posted somewhere else anyway. I haven’t seen her reply yet, but if you want to watch for it, my comment is here: Facebook Links
Let’s see what happens…
I checked my settings on FB and it’s good. The photos are ‘Everyone’ so I think I have that part right. They are still in ‘profile’ . I don’t know if people who are not approved can see it. Anyone had that problem? Do I also have to be able to get it on my wall? About the links i just opened Cindy’s video page and copied the url and pasted it under my photos.
I posted this on todays (6/28/10) color palette, It might be better discussed here since etsy has been a big topic here (thanks Cindy):
I do have a question, and it is tossed out to anybody, not just Cindy. I have everything in readiness to put my etsy shop together, do I need to go through the effort to register my logo design for the shop name? How many etsy’ers have registered their logos or can it wait for a later date.
@Ken H: Hi Ken, I don’t know the direct answers to your questions, but thought I’d mention that quite a few of the Etsy sellers that I buy from change their shop banner several times a year, e.g. to reflect their latest designs or themes. For the sellers I’m thinking of, the font they use for their shop name stays the same on the varying banners, but there’s no logo as such. (That makes me think the answer to your first question is probably “No”, although as I said, I don’t know for certain.)
@Ken H: Ken, as far as I know, the only thing to register is your username/Etsy shop name. I’ve never heard of registering an Etsy logo. However, you might need to register your business name with the state for sales tax purposes.
@Ken- Logos are not too important, if you want to add it, great! The biggest thing I have heard is to really spend time on your shop banner and avatar image. Make sure your photos are crisp and clear and that whatever images you choose represent the items in your shop well. For my banner, I laid out a pile of my bracelets and took a pic and then used an online photo edit program to crop and sharpen it. For my avatar, I use pics of my items and change it regularly. This way if you use the chat rooms and forums tons of people will see your different items and not just a logo or random pic.
@Carrie:(and Sue F) Maybe logo was the wrong choice of word, I’m refering to for example the “font” that coca-cola uses,and the way that font is used, is immediatly recognised as their brand, should I register the way I used the my fonts and the way I chose to photoshop that text into a design that hopefully will be recognisable as my jewelry before opening the etsy shop, or can that wait for a later date.
@Ken H: I would rather doubt that someone would want to ‘steal’ your ‘look’, but even if they did, it could end up pointing folks right back to you. It is extremely expensive to do patents, copyrights, etc. Sometimes just using the ™ © symbols is enough to deter folks. Yours would be your trademark, whether officially registered or not … and using the copyright is actually a legal way to protect yourself if you use that symbol the first time you post something. Don’t know where I got this info, but I do rely on it. You may notice that I use the ® symbol with Dove Designs®. In my mind it is registered to me … even tho I didn’t go through all the legal hoops and expenses. I am sure that it would slow down anyone who wanted to use that moniker. BTW: Thanks again for your part in making this Philly trip so very special. I’ll return the favor when you come to Tahoe … actually I’d be happy to hear from any of you who want to come my way.
Carrie, that’s how I made my business cards: took out some beads and braids, spread them on the table, took pics and PhotoShopped the heck out of them. I have been thinking of changing my avatar on a jewelry forum but I’d give a bit of advice here: it may be better to stick with something recognizable, like using the same font. When folks surf the net and forums you want them to recognize your “brand” or name. Usually you add a pic of your most recent piece when you post.
And good clear photos are probably the most important thing of all. That’s the only way you have to show a net customer what they are getting for their money.
Cindy suggested I post this question here in case somebody else needs to know how to do this too. Nancy Rennell, you have a link on one of the pictures on your Flickr page. How did you do that? I know how to do a fair amount with Flickr but couldn’t figure that one out.
@Arlene Harrison: Hi Arlene, I used the following format for my Flickr links using the photo description field for each photo (just remove the apostrophes around the symbols and update with your specific links and anchor text): ”Anchor Text”. Flickr will recognize that as a link and that should be all you need.
@Nicole R: The anchor text “code” did not show up in your comment. It automatically converted your code—dropped the open- & closed carets, along with what’s inside them. That happened to me here before, too, trying to make an “aside” type note.
*@Arlene: But you can find this info on the Flickr page. Under the box where you can add comments, it says “Want to format your comment?” It’s actually a drop-down menu with some html code tips. Click on it, and in the menu, the “anchor text” aka “link text” (as it’s called in these tips) is the second-to-last tip.
Just copy the code, and then paste it into your description, in the place you want the link text (anchor text) to be. You will be substituting the letters U R L with the actual website address for Cindy’s tutorial page.
Then substitute the words link text for the name of the tutorial you’re linking to, for example Faux Agate Tutorial.
Finish typing the rest of your description, or add a final “period” to end the sentence. Then save. You’ll be able to see right away that the code turned into a nice anchor text link. Test your link to be sure it works correctly and points to the right place, and you’re done!
Note: There are quotes around the letters URL in the code, and you need to leave them there when you save your description. (Nicole said to omit them–above–because she was trying to get the code to show up properly in her comment.)
I’ll try to show you what the code looks like, without the caret symbols ( this is an open caret < , and the closed caret is the one pointing the other way, right next to it on the keyboard) in the next comment.
Test: Open caret = < and Closed caret = >
Yay, it worked! No preview necessary.
So that’s the code (previous comment) you use for your links.
Substitute the URL and the link text parts of the code, as mentioned in my comment, 2 up from this.
Or, quickly, once again:
URL is the actual website address for Cindy’s tutorial that you’re linking to.
link text is the name of the tutorial as you want it to appear in your description. (ex. Copper Bangle Tutorial or Zebra Cane Video)
@Phaedrakat: Are you talking about on fb? I tried the HTML links like that and couldn’t get it to work on facebook photo’s. But I was able to put the link.
@brenda: Hi Brenda, no, I was just trying to help Arlene (conversation is above my mini-lesson!) She was trying to do anchor text links in Flickr.
I’ll try to show the code for anchor text or link text, but it might not come out right. That’s because certain characters, like caret symbols, are used in HTML code, and they get automatically converted. I’m going to try to use escape code so the carets show up. I just hope the rest does, too. Fingers crossed, here goes:
<a href=”URL“>link text</a>
(I wish this comment box had a preview option!)
YEA!!! By golly I think I’ve GOT IT! I was putting my description in the box right under the photo, not in the comments section. Makes all the difference! Thanks to everybody who helped me figure this one out. I’m usually pretty computer literate but this was blowing my mind!
Thanks Carolyn, I guess it’s the performer in me, we have to jump through so many hoops to get permission to perform certain works that that is the first thing that comes to mind. I really do want to sell on etsy and am just being overcautious I guess.
I’m glad you enjoyed your time here and that I played a part, sorry mother nature wasn’t more hospitable to your visit (most of the month of June has been in the 90’s, 32-37C for everyone else), and if I find myself heading out your way I will let you know, I would love to visit again.
@Ken H: The temp. wouldn’t be half so bad if it weren’t so humid. It’s like trying to breathe under water! And it almost seems a waste of water to take a shower since as soon as one is finished I want to take another. I will NOT miss this weather.
While I’m working on my compter literacy (grin), could somebody point me to the post where it tells how to get a picture instead of that silly little symbol by your name? I remember some discussion about this a while back but couldn’t locate it this morning.
@Arlene Harrison: the site is en.gravatar.com
OK let see if anything different happens!
Nope – I’m still a silly icon. Back to the drawing board…
@Arlene Harrison: We can see you in your red blouse. For you to see yourself you probably have to clear your cache.
@Arlene Harrison: Ooooh, Arlene, what a pretty red outfit! It’s nice to see you.