Memorial Day Fun on Zibbet

It's quiet today on the Internet because many families are off at the beach, family picnics, or camping trips.

Memorial Day  although a somber holiday to remember the men and women who died in wars,  has also become a time of families and friends gathering in the outdoors for food and merriment.

The first known Memorial Day was celebrated in Waterloo, New York.

If you know someone who lost a loved one you might want to take a bunch of hand picked flowers to them as depicted in this print of a painting by Patty Fleckenstein.

Memorial Day Art Print

For those of you who are home today, may this blog post bring you some Memorial Day enjoyment as I take a spin through the wonderful art world of Zibbet. Just click on any photo caption to read more about the items.

Support the Troops - 3 Piece Outfit

Red, White & Blue Denim Purse

Bracelet Charm Silver Picnic

Quilted eyeglass/sunglass case - American Flag

PATRIOTIC TRIO !

Loopy Hair Bow Red, White and Blue

AMERICANA - RUE de PIPER PILLOW COVER

Freedom Flag Ornies Pattern

Crotchet Envelopes for your Memorial Day Picnic

You can also search similar words on Zibbet and come up with other items suitable for Memorial Day. See what I found using the words: flag and patriotic, and the phrase red white and blue.

Have a fun day and take a moment to tell your friends about Zibbet by sending a link to this blog post, or just sending the Zibbet web site.

Winner of Tootsy Two's Special Giveaway is.....

.....ME! Oh my gosh I was so surprised to wake up this morning, turn on my Mac and see that I am the winner.

You can read about the giveaway and also enjoy a wonderful blog by Tootsy Two HERE.

Interested in adding a Tootsy Two quilt to your home? You can find her wonderful Zibet shop HERE.

She also makes the most amazing pin cushions, so unique, they are collectibles.

I just discovered an item in her sold section that if my daughter had seen it, she probably would have bought it for me. You better get to Tootsy Two, and keep watching her shop, because she also sells vintage items that don't last long.

An Oven Adventure Part II

While I was thinking all I had to do was find someone to switch the power cord onto the back of the stove and plug it in, I got this reply from the kind person who had given me the  stove.

 VERY IMPORTANT:  My husband said you need to get a new electrical terminal strip in order to re-attach the electrical cord onto the old stove.  The old one was electrically fused (happens with age) onto the back of the old stove and he had to break it off so he could disconnect the power cord from that one to connect it to the one we got you.  You're really lucky; that was a severe fire hazard!  Without that, you won't be able to reconnect the power cord. Andrew says you should look for a different stove altogether because he believes the old one is a fire hazard.



I called the appliance repair place and told them I needed this terminal strip, and after supplying the model number was told the part called a "block" is $37.50. I asked what the labor would be and they said they had to get back to me.

Fast forward to yesterday morning, one of my daughters, came in with her boyfriend and I updated her on the stove story. The BF said, just use the part off the other stove. I had no idea we could do that. I called the appliance repair place again and asked and they said, yes we could do that.

This afternoon, daughter's BF is coming over to switch parts on the 2 stoves and then he is going to haul the other stove to a recycling place to cash it in for metal white goods. He'll get, he says, about $20-30.

I'm being summoned in a few directions, so have to end this blog post.

Wishing everyone a Productive Day.

The Gift Maker

An older blog post from my personal blog. I think I am going to post some of them here. My blog is prvate because I have been blogging since my daughters were little kidlets and just never felt safe announcing to the world where they were, where they went and yada yada.

The Purple Rat doing a sewing project to surprise her BF for his birthday

The Purple Rat bought a hat pattern and made a hat for her BF, for his birthday, so when they go to New York someday, he'll be warm.

 

When it was done, she tried it on to make sure it was way too big on her. And it was.

DJ with his hat on and his birthday buttons from Portable Graffiti. Lucky guy, I gave him the Archie Bunker for President button from my collection. He likes the band U-2, so I gave him some square U-2 Buttons. 

I think she should make some of these to sell on Zibbet, don't you? Maybe a bit larger for guys, though. ; )

An Oven Adventure

My oven door fell off and it has turned into an adventure...

I placed an ad on my Local Yahoo Groups Bulletin Board asking for advice on attaching an oven door. One reply lead to Julie and her husband coming over. Julie's husband spent a long time trying to put the door back on. We even used the Internet for directions on how to do it with this specific Whirlpool stove. It was finally deemed impossible. But Julie and I had a good time yacking about New York State while he worked on it. 

They knew of another stove that they could get for me for free. How cool is that. So a few days later they delivered a nice white GE stove with a glass top, quite similar to the one I have except mine is a Whirlpool. The only thing missing was oven racks, but we assumed we could just use the racks from my stove. Not! The size was different. Mine are too wide.

Oh well, now I had a nice stove and all I had to do was find some oven racks that fit. That should be easy.

Or maybe not so easy. The stove has been an ongoing adventure for close to a month. I posted wanted ads on Freecycle for stove racks and got 2 but they didn't fit. I went to some metal recycle places with no luck. I went to appliance stores. To buy a replacement is very expensive. Then I went to the local dump. They had a pile of appliances there including stoves. Told the guard at the gate my saga and he said they are not allowed to sell parts due to insurance reasons.  Okay so then he says but you can buy a whole stove. I asked how much and he said $10. Cool, well that's cheaper than buying an oven rack. So I asked to go look at them.

I was carrying an oven rack that is too large for the oven, and planned to use it as a measuring tool to find a stove with smaller racks. I spotted a GE stove and worked like the dickens to ease it out so I could peek in the oven door. Weird they can't sell the racks because of insurance reasons but they let me shove all that heavy metal stuff around. I could have been killed. LOL There was metal stuff on top of it, too. Finally got it out, opened the door, and no oven racks inside it. Rats!

So I went to the next stove and went through a worse ordeal, because that one had a glass top that was smashed, glass shards all over the place, and heavy metal stuff on top of it. It was hot that day and this was in the full sun. I swore at the thing until I got it so I could open the oven. Yeah! Oven racks, 2 of them. I pulled one out, set it on top of the one I brought there, and sure enough, it was narrower.  Without even thinking about it, I set down the oven rack I had brought into the junk pile, and carried the newly found one out.

I walked past the guard at the gate feeling like a criminal, but then told myself, "Hey they get paid in weight for that stuff and I just left a larger heavier rack for them. The stove was smashed and unusable and destined for metal recycling." (end of guilt trip)

I couldn't wait to get home and try it out. My heart sunk when I discovered it was too narrow and wouldn't work. Now I had a total of 5 oven racks and none of them fit in this GE oven.

Yesterday I called the appliance repairman even though I still owe him $75 for the time he repaired my refrigerator. He came over today, and in about 3 minutes flat he had the oven door back on. He said there is a trick to it. He demonstrated by taking the door off, as I was cringing thinking, he won't be able to put it on again. But he did, he put the door on, he took it off, he put it on again. 

He said no charge for attaching the oven door, but of course I paid for the refrigerator repair (with a post dated check.)

He does not have a dolly and so the stove is on the front porch and now I need the stoves switched out. 

I am getting closer to being able to bake something. All that is left to do is find someone who has a dolly and knows how to change the electric plug and can do the  stove switch. I can almost smell brownies baking. 

Anyone need some oven racks? What could they be upcycled into? Perhaps repurposed into something to sell on Zibbet?

Promoting Cloth Diapers

Someone posted on Facebook a photo of Huggies new disposable diapers that look like blue jeans. I commented that they are bad for environment and then quick went to Zibbet to search for cloth diapers so I could include a link to something WAY cuter than Huggies plastic trash that just looks like fabric.

I found just what I was looking for on Zibbet:
Nifty Nappy Cloth Diapers that are so, so cute and colorful.

Zibbet is the place to shop.

POGS, just starting to list them

POGS

What are they?

Saving myself some typing and sending you to Wiki.

What can I do with those?

You can make pendants, charm bracelets, big rings, barrettes, bookmarks, cell phone charms, zipper pulls, earrings, buttons, scrap booking, card making, and more.

Collectibles from 1990, new, and never used.

My daughter and I have been sorting, filing, organizing, inventory of all the POGS I bought back in 1990. 

Check them out at Wild Goose Chase.

Add some to your supplies.

Excited about my newest product....Button Earrings

New Product: Button Earrings by Portable Graffiti


The earrings were a joint effort between myself and Tami, the Ole Bag Lady  on Zibbet. Her husband helped, too. I made the buttons with flat backs, mailed them to Tami, hubby drilled the holes, Tami made the earrings and mailed them back to me. I took the photos and am listing them. Showing just 3 of them, but you can see the rest of the earrings here.


This is a test to see how you like them. There is only ONE pair of each design I am listing. Better grab 'em quick if you like them. 

Look what my daughter made

The Purple Rat has a birthday party to go to, and no money to spend. She worked on this nifty gift today. I thought it was so cool, I listed it as a sample at Portable Graffiti. You can order a custom one just like it with any name you want. She has a second mirror bag made already and is waiting for orders.

Perfect gift for anyone with a hard-to-find name. But who wouldn't want one, even if their name is Sue or Jane?

Excitement at the post office today

I know, I know I owe this blog some blog posts, but this one has to jump ahead and be posted now. My daughter went in the post office to get the mail and came out smiling with packages held behind her back. She knew I had been waiting for an envelope from my friend Tami. One of the packages arrived today and so did a book from Paperbackswap.

The package from Tami AKA he Ole Bag Lady was stuffed with fabric bags she made for my mirrors that I sell. I had mailed the fabric to her and she did the sewing. I'll be matching these bags up with mirrors in my shop.  The fabric is new from recycled fabric sample books.

The book we got today is "Staying at Sam's" a children's book about how different families can be. It was a controversial book that was out of print for many years and very hard to find. I have seen copies of it being sold for a few hundred dollars. However, it has finally been reprinted by a new publisher so might be hard to sell for a few hundred now. I now have two copies of the original book, 1989, and might decide to sell one at Wild Goose Chase.

There is one more thing I got in the mail today, but that's a surprise for tomorrow.

I have 4 Zibbets I invite you check out.

Portable Graffiti: Buttons, Mirrors, Magnets

Portable Graffiti Graphics: Banners, Web Ads, Business Cards, etc.

Wild Goose Chase: Vintage, Crafts, Supplies

Proofreader: Get your shop proofread

Thanks for reading,

Judy

a full-time a zibbeter and loving it

I won a contest and got double prizes

I entered a contest and won. Uh oh too late for me to write this tonight, but I am going to post the photo of all the things I got in the mail before I lose the photos. To be continued.....

HOW TO QUICKLY REFER 7 SELLERS TO ZIBBET AND EARN YOURSELF A FREE PREMIUM ACCOUNT FOR LIFE

HOW TO QUICKLY REFER 7 SELLERS TO ZIBBET AND EARN YOURSELF A FREE PREMIUM ACCOUNT FOR LIFE, BY JUDY YOUNGQUEST AKA PORTABLEGRAFFITI

As of this writing… this very moment…  I have 1,920 click-throughs and have referred 95 Sellers. My Zibbet shop is free forever and you can get one, too.

Here’s how I got them:

1. THE OBVIOUS: I posted on Twitter every single day, using my referral link. To help make the task quicker, I kept a text document on my desktop with assorted wordings. Here are a few of the ones I used, and you are welcome to steal any of them or create your own.

• Zibbet’s “copy a listing” feature saves MEGA TIME when listing an item.http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti/sell
• Where can you get your own web site storefront for just $7 month? http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti/sell
• Put your  ♥ Etsy ♥ on your  ♥ Zibbet ♥ . No kidding, check it out. http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti/sell
• To all my ETSY Crafting friends, get into Zibbet now while the fee is just $7 mo. forever.http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti/sell
• A craft shop site where you can put your Etsy, Artfire, Blog, Facebook, Twitter all in 1 place.http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti/sell
• Finally, a place to sell art that has it all http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti/sell Professional, Pizazz, Perfect.
• Imagine your blog, your facebook, ads, giveaways, anything w/widgets right on your Shop.http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti/sell

Whatever you are doing on the computer, keep a small window open to Twitter, and paste in a tweet, every now and then throughout the day and evening. If you work out of your home, post a few tweets with morning cafe and then a few in the evening when you come home.

2. CRAIGSLIST: Place free ads on Craigslist under 2 categories: ‘Artists’ and ‘Arts and Crafts’. Go toCraigslist.org, find your location and post the ads on the nearest Craigslist to you. I stated in my ads that folks could contact me if they had any questions. I also put my name and town, so that people flagging spammers would know I was local. If you live in an area that has 3 or 4 major cities near you in different directions, post on all of them. Be sure to change your wording in all the ads, otherwise Craigslist will reject your ads as spam. A large number of my referrals came via Craigslist. I can tell by the locations of all the shops listed under my referrals.  When your ads expire, place new ones. Use photos in your ad, because some people only look at Craigslist ads with photos. Sometimes I put photos of my buttons.

Don’t forget to put your referral link in the ad. Some of my ads sounded business-like and some were just friendly fun ads. Write them any way you want. Here is one simple ad that is running right now:

3. YAHOO GROUPS: I’m a volunteer moderator of two Yahoo Groups. One is a Freecycle-type group and one is a Bulletin Board where people can post pretty much anything for sale or events. I posted about Zibbet on these local Yahoo Groups. If you are not on any Yahoo Groups, go to “Yahoo Groups”, then search for Yahoo groups local to your area. You might belong to a Yahoo group for farm animals, dogs, homeschooling, etc. Most groups  allow off-topic posts if you mark it as such. Just say: Off Topic: Want to share a wonderful handmade crafts web site. Put your referral link in the post. Once any of those people click your link, they will become your referrals even if they do not get a shop today or next week. If they decide to open a shop next year, they will show up under you when they open an account.

4. EMAILS: If you have an Etsy shop I am sure you have made some internet friends. Give them your referral link when you email them. Be sure to send your referral link to all your friends, old and new and family members. Or add as a standard signature for your emails.

5. THE NOT-SO-OBVIOUS PLACES: It took me a while to remember all the places I have posted things on the Internet about my buttons. As those places came to mind I went to those web sites and added my referral link.Paperbackswap is a book swapping site I have been a member of for years. CD Swap and DVD Swap are sister web sites I also participate in. I added my referral link under my profile at those 3 web sites. Here is what it looks like at Paperbackswap. (http://Bayberry.paperbackswap.com)

If you have a Flickr Photo Account (if you don’t have one, I highly recommend getting one) on your Profile Page you can add as many links and information as you want. Add your referral link. And add your Zibbet Shop Link. Here is how mine is set up:

Once you have your Flickr Photo account, it can’t just sit there and do nothing. Join some Flickr Photo Groups of interest, look at other people’s photos, MAKE COMMENTS on other folks’ photos. This creates a trail that leads back to your Flickr where your Profile is with your referral link.

6. CONNECT WITH LIKEMINDED PEOPLE OFFLINE: Pass out your referral link on business cards or scraps of paper. Wear a Zibbet button so people can ask you, “What the heck is Zibbet?”

While I was typing this article I had Twitter open on the side and posted a few tweets with my referral link as I was working. So now instead of 1,920 click-throughs, I have 1,996. And another new referral shop.

You can do it! Set a goal and you’ll have a FREE Premium Lifetime Zibbet Account very, very quickly. You only need 7 people to get a FREE one FOR LIFE!!  It’s worth it!!

Note from Zibbet: Please ensure that you don’t SPAM forums, message boards or peoples emails.  This will likely bring you less referrals and casts a negative light on Zibbet.

ShareThis

Tags: free premium account, getting referrals, referral program, referrals

1. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 10:29 amPoocheze
   

   Great article! I’m still working on that Free for Life account, so this comes at the perfect time from an amazing seller! 
2. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 10:48 amacraftyarab
   

   Thanks so much Judy for your very well written and informative article.

   I’m going to try the Craigslist idea up here in the Northwest and put the info on my meetup groups too.

   I appreciate that you also included some wordage so we can just cut and paste the info. It saves time and makes us look more consistent.

   Go Zibbet Go!!!

   Kay
3. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 11:37 amAllAboutTheButtons
   

   Congrats,Judy…alot of work but obviously worth it.
4. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 12:10 pmLOCDesignStudio
   

   Thanks for sharing! I have a paid for lifetime membership. However, the tips you posted are great ways to send traffic to my shop for sales!
5. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 12:42 pmPortableGraffiti
   

   Hey thanks everyone.

   When I wrote the article I had 1,920 click-throughs and 95 Sellers.
   But now I have 2,264 click-throughs and 102 sellers.

   Even though I already have my free lifetime shop, I keep up the same routine to get more sellers here because more sellers = more items listed which = more traffic in Zibbet via Google which ultimately brings more sales to all of us.

   And congrats to A Crafty Arab for winning the last contest. Your click-throughs and number of referred sellers must have increased greatly during the contest.

   Judy
6. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 2:17 pmRosieRowe
   

   Well done Judy - and thanks SO much for sharing this! If it works for me, I shall dump my other 2 shops and make Zibbet my priority!
7. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 2:57 pmPortableGraffiti
   

   Rosie, Thanks.
   I just went to check out your Zibbet shop and there is nothing in it. Please, please, please list some of your work. I’d love to see it (here.)
8. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 8:34 pmMangoSunsetCreations
   

   What a great article Judy! I hope to do what you have done and run with this. Well written and to the point….a very informative blog.
   Thanks so much for taking the time to do this for all of us!
   Carol
9. 

   February 22nd, 2010 at 11:17 pmStrandz
   

   Thanks so much for all the great info! I want a free Zibbet shop too! 
10. 

    February 23rd, 2010 at 3:50 ambhbkidstyle
    

    Thank you Judy! Great article! And congratulation to your success! 
11. 

    February 23rd, 2010 at 8:54 amPortableGraffiti
    

    Thanks and I hope you all have great success with it. Please, forward this page to friends who have thought about getting a Zibbet shop but have not yet.

    If anyone has any questions for me there is a widget on my shop page that brings up my email address. You can email me directly any time regarding my favorite subject: Zibbet.
12. 

    February 23rd, 2010 at 2:40 pmMamasakio
    

    Thanks Judy!
13. 

    February 23rd, 2010 at 5:08 pmPennyFarrow
    

    Thanks for all the tips, I have paid for a premium account but am still finding my way around the internet and social selling, these are great tips. Penny
14. 

    February 23rd, 2010 at 8:27 pmJewelsSoSweet
    

    WOW Judy what a terrific article - you sure spelled it out really well. Thank you! You have me jazzed up to get myself some refferrals. I really appreciate your time & engergy. Thank you.

    Jennifer
15. 

    February 24th, 2010 at 12:02 amWhenGuineaPigsFly
    

    This is such an awesome promotion tool for early birds at Zibbet! I literally just signed up for a premium account about an hour ago maybe? And I didn’t know about the 30 day free thing either. I’m off to spread the word (though I should probably wait til people are actually awake…lol)

    Congratulations, Judy! You give us newbies something great to strive toward!
16. 

    February 25th, 2010 at 12:35 amacraftyarab
    

    Yeah, I got my first Premium Member referral and it’s all thanks to you Judy 
17. 

    February 26th, 2010 at 9:11 pmPortableGraffiti
    

    A Crafty Arab - HOORAY! Congrats!

    When Guinea Pigs Fly? I have to check out that shop. I bet you have a referral already.

    Jewels So Sweet - Bet you have new referrals, too. Watch the click-through numbers. Because every click-through you get, if any of those people ever open a shop, even if it is months and months down the road, they will be a referral under you.

    So the more clicks the better.
18. 

    February 27th, 2010 at 10:01 pmWildfirePottery
    

    Thanks for some great ideas. I haven’t done much promoting of my Zibbet shop (or my etsy shop for that matter) yet. But after I read your article I posted something on my facebook and got 6 click-throughs (so far). I have to do a blog posting, I’ve just been putting it off. I sometimes feel like it is hard to keep a balance between too much “sales pitching” and not enough general info about my studio and work and methods etc, so I have to watch how much I babble about sales….
    That being said I have something that I hope is going to work to get some referrals. I’m offering $10 off anything in my shop to anyone who signs up through my referral link…
    Thanks again, you’ve given me some good ideas. 
    Happy Zibbeting!!
19. 

    February 28th, 2010 at 2:02 amsewinmachine
    

    Thank you so much for all of the good ideas. I have posted a couple ads on craigslist, and you are right…it does work. I have also taken some of Wildfirepottery’s advice and offered $5.00 off if a buyer signs up for an account. I posted the “offer” on every listing, just in case they forget to read my profile or main page information!
    Thanks again!!!
    Jennifer
20. 

    March 3rd, 2010 at 12:47 amMangoSunsetCreations
    

    Well, Judy wrote a great article for sure!
    I however, have had 3877 click-throughs and not one of those persons has signed up. ;-(( I don’t understand why. You’d think at least ONE would have, wouldn’t you?
    I will keep trying and will impliment some more of Judy’s great ideas.
    Carolann
21. 

    March 5th, 2010 at 10:45 amPortableGraffiti
    

    Carolann, I sent you a message about this with some more ideas. Hope you got it. Judy

    I also like WildFirePottery’s advice and what Jennifer posted.
22. 

    March 5th, 2010 at 7:32 pmWildfirePottery
    

    After I read your posting I got inspired to promote zibbet over the last few days and traffic to my shop is way up! I’ve had two people sign up for a premium account through my link.

    Thanks!
23. 

    March 6th, 2010 at 11:08 pmPortableGraffiti
    

    Wildfire,

    That’s great news. I’m using my own advice and working on getting 7 referrals for another shop. In one day I got one referral so far. I haven’t checked tonight to see what the latest is. I put an on Craigslist for the weekend, so should see some additional referrals or at least click-throughs by Monday.

    I checked out your blog by the way. Love it!

    Judy
24. 

    March 10th, 2010 at 8:11 pmmonkmama54
    

    Sounds great, I’m new & I’m hoping to get referrals so I can get a free shop also!
25. 

    March 17th, 2010 at 8:09 amDaisyBlueStore
    

    Thanks for the tips! I put some adds on Craigslist and my click-throughs went from 12 to 68 overnight! and I have 6 referrals! yay! no premium accounts yet… but, I’m still hoping… 

    ~ Deena
26. 

    March 29th, 2010 at 7:14 pmTootsytwo
    

    Thank You, Thank You … off I go to try this! :o)
27. 

    April 4th, 2010 at 7:25 pmJuicybath
    

    This sounds pretty easy to do. I will try the steps and see what happens:-) What if referrals sign up with basic accounts? Do we get their referral credit if they upgrade later?
28. 

    April 12th, 2010 at 6:25 pmGalleriaLindaLoft
    

    Gosh, this is awesome. This weekend I read this then I tweeted - scheduled tweets late night too with hootsuite. Did a craigslist ad for my city. Blog post. FB page post.

    Have 555 click throughs 2 premiums (on trial) and 6 basics (some of which may go to premium I hope! 2 are from craigslist - like you I could tell because they are in my area.

    ONE weekend, folks.

    Judy, your examples are what made the difference. Thank you!
29. 

    April 16th, 2010 at 6:36 amPetitPoulailler
    

    wowie! Most impressive! And thank you for all the great ideas!