Etsymini 101: Myspace, take 2 (or is it 3? 4?)

Update! Again! With the new Myspace page layouts everything has gone out the window yet again. See the "Myspace Layout" section below for the latest tweeks.

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Hello my lovelies, here is something I wrote up to help out my team mates on the EtsyDarkTeam and now I thought I'd share one of my posting sekrits here. Just a couple of the many things I do to try to keep my posts consistent and neat looking. By no means is this a "must do" for you. I just thought I'd put these up for those of you who are as... particular, yeah particular, as I am about it ;)

I'm sure you've noticed that some blogs do not like Etsyminis, they eat the formatting. Here is a little something for a clean looking Etsymini on Myspace! Etsyminis on LJ & Blogger are in another post.

Note: Areas you need to replace with your shop info is in red & CAPS.

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Myspace Comments/Bulletins:
Sorry, I haven't had time to retest these but you can try my old code which you can find here.

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Myspace Layouts:

I ran into issues recently (June 2011) with the newer Myspace layout since they changed what they accept as code YET again *sigh*. I found that using centering on the text portions work fine but the object, the Etsymini itself, refuses to budge no matter what I tried. So, with a little experimenting I found that 5 columns fit perfectly into the wider sections of the new Myspace layout. If you are using the narrower sections of the Myspace layout for your Etsymini try using the 3 column Etsymini code below. That *should* work. In theory :)

Here's two examples to help you along. To see mine in action with the 5 column code below go to http://www.myspace.com/staticwhite

4 Rows, 3 Columns for the narrower sections of the new Myspace layout...

<p align="center"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="374" width="281">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" />
<param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" />
<param name="movie" value="http://www.etsy.com/flash/spots/etsy_mini.swf?user_id=SHOP ID # GOES HERE&user_name=SHOP NAME GOES HERE&item_source=shop&item_size=thumbnail&rows=3&columns=4" />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="never" allowNetworking="internal" src="http://www.etsy.com/flash/spots/etsy_mini.swf?user_id=SHOP ID # GOES HERE&user_name=SHOP NAME GOES HERE&item_source=shop&item_size=thumbnail&rows=4&columns=3" height="374" width="281" wmode="transparent" />
</object></p><p align="center"><a href="http://SHOP URL GOES HERE><font size="4" style="text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#cc0000; font-size:14px; font-weight: bold;">Etsy</font><br><font size="2" style="text-decoration: none; color:#cc0000; font-size:10px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buy Handmade</font><br><b><font size="3" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#ffffff; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none;">SHOP NAME GOES HERE</a></b></p>

3 Rows, 5 Columns for the wider sections of the new Myspace layout:

<p align="center"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="280" width="468">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" />
<param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" />
<param name="movie" value="http://www.etsy.com/flash/spots/etsy_mini.swf?user_id=SHOP ID # GOES HERE&user_name=SHOP NAME GOES HERE&item_source=shop&item_size=thumbnail&rows=3&columns=5" />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="never" allowNetworking="internal" src="http://www.etsy.com/flash/spots/etsy_mini.swf?user_id=SHOP ID # GOES HERE&user_name=SHOP NAME GOES HERE&item_source=shop&item_size=thumbnail&rows=3&columns=5" height="280" width="468" wmode="transparent" />
</object></p><p align="center"><a href="http://SHOP URL GOES HERE><font size="4" style="text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#cc0000; font-size:14px; font-weight: bold;">Etsy</font><br><font size="2" style="text-decoration: none; color:#cc0000; font-size:10px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buy Handmade</font><br><b><font size="3" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#ffffff; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none;">SHOP NAME GOES HERE</a></b></p>

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FAQs:

Where do I find my shop #?
Go to your Etsy shop page. Hover over the "See who favorites this" link towards the bottom of the left hand column. Look at the taskbar at the bottom of your interwebs window, see the string of #s at the end of the previewed url? That is your shop #!

What is my shop name?
It is just your user name alone, for example:
www.SWStitchery.Etsy.com = no cookie for you.
SWStitchery.Etsy.com = try again, please.
SWStitchery = correct!

Nerd notes: The "param" html may look redundant, and you can see an Etsymini without it if you use Firefox, but it will not be viewable in IE (it'll be a big white box) & you will get scroll bars on LJ.
Sneaky tip: Copy&paste the above html into Notepad on your computer, fill in all your info and save it to your desktop! Now it's nice and handy anytime you need an Etsymini :)

Try it out and have fun posting! xx~Static

2010 Holiday Cards

I recycled some old unused but out-of-date postcards (hubby's old band lineup) into Holiday Cards! They're fairly quick if you need some last minute cards/stocking stuffers and have some old postcards/cards laying around.

I searched for "christmas ornaments vector", found some I liked and arranged 4 of them in Photoshop. I then printed the 4 ornaments on colored construction paper, cut them about a 1/4" smaller than the post card (giving an 1/8" border) and used Modge Podge & a small foam brush to glue them in place over the front of the post cards. Stick them under a heavy book while they dry so they wouldn't curl up. If you don't weigh them down they will curl, as I learned the hard way with my first batch :p

The Holly is a removable pin! Which I found the directions for on marthastewart.com: directions & template

I used a single jingle bell (special ones have a Holly Spider too!) and tried different types of ribbon. Keep in mind double sided ribbon is easier to make the bows from than single sided. For the bows I used a 1.5" template I made out of  cardboard scrap. Directions to make your own templates and a chart for multiple sizes here.

Once your cards are dry and your pins are done, on the cards about a 1/2" above the top of the printed ornament mark 2 dots horizontally an inch apart. If you don't have a hole punch that can reach, like moi, make a small 'x' with an Xacto blade and then gently poke a knitting needle (I used a size 9, 5.25mm), or something similar, through the 'x' to make the holes for the pin to go through.

Write your message on the back and you're done!

xx ~Static