Universal Wish List

That sounds like wishing for the universe, but that's not what I'm getting at. It's a wish list you can use to gather together your coveted items from all over cyberland. At Amazon.com they've come up with a way.

Just go to Universal Wishlist and after a quick click and drag, you're gold! You just add their little icon to the menu bar of your web browser, and when you're on a page with something you're hoping Santa might put under your Christmas tree this year, just click on the icon. Voila! It's entered into your Amazon wishlist.

So you can just go to, say, hmm, let's see, oh yes! Dalkullan Jewelry , and when you've found that must have piece of jewelry, just click on your new icon, and it's in your Amazon wishlist. What could be more simple and more fun. :-)

Of course, getting friends and family to visit your wishlist and actualize your wishes is another matter....... Sorry, I don't know what to do about that one! But you have all your future purchases together at one handy location, isn't that neat?

Wishing you happy shopping!

Iolite Flower Ring

Iolite is a beautiful gemstone. It's also known as dichroite, because of it's dichroic properties. Its color changes subtly depending on the direction that light shines through the stone.

Iolite isn't usually mined, but is found in gravel beds as a pebble worn smooth by water. On the Mohs hardness scale it's a 7 to 7.5, which makes it suitable for rings. Softer gemstones such as malachite aren't strong enough for the wear and tear of being worn in a ring, but as better used in earrings or necklaces.

I set the iolite cabochon in a bezel setting, which is nestled in a circle of sterling that I hand formed into a shape suggesting a flower. This is a beautiful ring, the violet blue of the iolite is prettily showcased by the gleaming sterling.

As with all my rings, I have completely hand fabricated the Iolite Flower Ring, and can make one for you in any size from 4 to 10, including half and quarter sizes. If you require a size outside this range, just convo me at Dalkullan Jewelry, and I'd be happy to discuss the matter with you!

My Star Trek Treasury

Guess I'm a bit of a geek. Star Trek has been one of my favorite shows, alright, it is my favorite tv show. The original series, with James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones, and the rest. Oh wait, "and the rest" is Gilligan's Island.

The Treasury is called "To Boldly Go". If you like Star Trek, go take a look. There's some really creative and fun things there!

How to Make an Etsy Treasury

Once the Treasury opens up, you need to be fast. I'd recommend you already have a title for your Treasury. A field will open up towards the bottom of the window, asking for the title of your Treasury. You have a limited window of opportunity to act -- he who hesitates is lost --- well, at least your chance of getting in this particular Treasury will be lost. If you suddenly find yourself in the uncomfortable position of forgetting the title you had in mind, just type in something generic like 'pretty stuff' or 'great finds' and then click on the "create" button.

You'll be stuck with the title you've entered, you can't edit it later on, which is definitely a drawback. If you have a tendency to clutch under pressure, you might want to write down your title.

If you're successful in entering your title, you should be automatically taken to the window to enter in the id numbers for your Treasury. Here's what you'll see:

The "listing id" is a number that every listing is assigned by Etsy, and it's unique to that item. You'll need 12 items, and if you choose to do so, 4 alternates. The alternates are the items in the far right vertical column, other people won't be able to see those items.

The "listing id" is found in the url for an item. For an example, let's find the listing id for my stacking ring set, "Pharoah's Favorites" . It has the following url:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33474546

The numbers after "listing_id=" are 33474546, and that is, not too surprisingly, the listing id number. You'll need to find them for each item you want for your Treasury, and then cut and paste them into the field for the listing id, and click on "ok". If all goes well, you'll see a thumbnail of the item appear in that section of the Treasury.

I like to think of a theme for my Treasuries, such as the shops of my Facebook Fans, hot color schemes, blue color schemes, etc. I'm sure you can come up with some wonderful Treasury ideas!

Just keep adding more items until you fill up your Treasury, and edit the two fields at the top with a little "edit" button next to them, if you feel so inclined. You can just leave them 'as is' is you wish, many people do. It's your Treasury, you're the boss, so have fun.

After you have all the items in your Treasury, you can move them around by just clicking and dragging. You can put things in the alternate row and move them out of it, too. It's fun to get things looking just right. Kind of like rearranging your furniture, without all the heavy lifting.

You can also get all ready to go before you get your Treasury, by saving the listing id numbers and Treasury title in a file, or email them to yourself, and then all you'll have to do is cut and paste them in when the happy moment arrives and you have your first Treasury!

It's a nice courtesy to send people a quick convo telling them you've put them in a Treasury, but not a requirement. It's also nice to send people who put you in a Treasury a little thank you convo, but again, that's strictly your decision. You might want to do a little P.R. for your beautiful new Treasury -- put the url up on your Facebook page, tweet about it, write it up in your blog, or utilize the "Promotions" section in the Forums.

I got the two pictures I used above from a very helpful guide on the Etsy Forums -- How to Make a Treasury (isn't that a great title, :-) which has a lot of excellent advice.

Hope you'll find this little guide of some help, and please feel free to add your own advice or ask any questions. I'd love to hear from you!