How To Make a Video Ad for Your Online Store

Etsy recently recently posted a video on YouTube of their first TV ad in the UK. All sellers were able to tweak the video and add their own Etsy shop. Lots of folks thought it was cool but many were disappointed that they could only add their store's web address but no pictures of their items for sale.

So we thought we would show you how to make a true video ad for your online shop using Windows Movie Maker.

Go to the link above for Movie Maker details.

We went into Movie Maker on our computer and gave our video a title: Vintage Home. Then we added images of some of our vintage items for sale in our Etsy store Weird Owl Vintage. Next we added animations. There are many options to pick and choose.

Then we went to YouTube's audio library for free background music for our video ad. Music definitely helps make a video better but it is important to use only music which you have permission to use or that is designated free-to-use by the artist or musician. YouTube will remove your music if you are violating copyright or intellectual property.

We could have added captions for the pictures but we skipped that step this time because we wanted to put something together quickly.

When our video was done, we saved it to our computer. Then we uploaded it to our Weird Owl Vintage YouTube Channel. Once you have uploaded your video to YouTube, you can Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social media sites. You can also add it to your blog as we have done here:

There you have it... your very own, easy-to-do video ad!


These are fun to make so we just did one for our new vintage clothing shop on Etsy, Weird Owl Vintage 2

We added Captions to this one so you can see how they look. Enjoy!

Weird Owl Books and Vintage Consolidation

The Weird Owl is spread too thin and we are in the process of consolidating our websites, Weird Owl Books and Weird Owl Vintage with Weird Owl Vintage on Etsy.

Some items for sale on Weird Owl Vintage will be moved to our Etsy shop. Items which are not at least 20 years old and can't be sold on Etsy will available on this blog with a Paypal Buy Now button.

Many books for sale on Weird Owl Books will be moved and available for sale in our Etsy shop.

Until we get everything moved, some links on our blog will be broken. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you see something you want and the link to that item is broken, you can contact us using the Contact form on our sidebar.

Anri Bottle Stopper in Etsy Weird Treasury

Our vintage mechanical Anri bottle stopper was included in this really cool Etsy Treasury titled WEIRD O_O.

Carved wooden bottle stopper tips his hat when you pull the cord.

So ugly, he's cute!

Mid-Century Anri Bottle Stopper for Sale on Etsy

Check out the rest of the featured items in the WEIRD O_O Treasury. They include creepy art dolls, aliens, a psycho killer mask, some weird vintage items, and more.

Thanks to the Treasury's curator Mari Axel for including Weird Owl Vintage. Please check out Mari's Etsy shop Kutuleras "dedicated to everything related to series, video games, manga, sci-fi movies."

Latest Thrift Store Finds: Kitsch, Danish Modern, Gzhel and Books

A bear on a unicycle toilet paper holder, Stelton of Denmark lobster forks, a Russian gzhel blue and white porcelain dolphin that is puzzling us, and some scarce books about Hungary are the latest cool finds from our weekly thrifting.

The bear on a unicycle is an unusual novelty toilet tissue holder. When you pull the tissue, the wheel turns and the bear peddles. We couldn't find another one like anywhere it on the internet. Can't you see this in a man's bathroom? Or in the home of a kitsch lover? He is so cool!

Novelty Bear on Unicycle Toilet Paper Holder on Etsy
SOLD!

We also picked up a set of 6 scarce, vintage lobster forks made by Stelton of Denmark; perfect for a Minimalist decor or for those who love Danish Modern. In the 1960s and 1970s Stelton hired famous designers Arne Jacobsen and Erik Magnussen and it's likely that one of them designed these stainless steel lobster forks.

Stelton of Denmark Lobster Forks for sale on Etsy

The above were finds at national chain thrift stores. Our next stop was at a small thrift run by a local Christian school. I often find good used books there and this time was no exception. We picked up a nice collection of hard-to-find vintage books on Hungary.

We listed this book on Hungarian Embroideries by Katalin Kristo-Nagy and Margit Nagy-Jara on Etsy. It comprehensively deals with the development and regional aspects of Hungarian embroidery.

Hungarian Embroideries Scarce Vintage Book

The other books were about Hungarian history and genealogy.

 A Condensed Geography of Hungary by Leslie Konnyu

 Faith and Fate, A Short Cultural History of the Hungarian People

 Handy Guide to Hungarian Genealogical Records by Jared Suess

 The Hungarian Genius: A Pictorial Record of a Thousand Years

In Search of a New Homeland, Prehistory of the Hungarian People and the Conquest

Last but hardly least, is a treasure we are still researching before offering it for sale. It's a handpainted and signed, blue and white porcelain dolphin, probably a trinket or ring dish, with a lid. It is clearly Russian gzhel but we haven't had any luck so far identifying the maker's mark. There are actually 2 marks and a paper label.

We didn't find another one like it on the internet so that's no help. We checked in Kovel's Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain and no luck there either.

Just listed on Etsy: Ghzel Blue and White Dolphin

Marketing with Creative Images - PicMonkey Collages

If you want unique images for your website or online store, I recommend making a photo collage at PicMonkey. I think photo collages are an excellent marketing tool.

I needed some images for my Weird Owl Vintage shop's  About page on Etsy. I wanted to use pictures I had taken of one of our booths at a local vintage store but all the images I had saved had been resized and were too small. Etsy's About page image size needs to be 760 x 428.

So I decided to just put together those too-small images into a photo collage of related items. I don't have Photoshop or any similar editing programs. I've never been able to make sense of complicated programs like that anyway. I headed to the PicMonkey photo editing website to try their collage maker.

They offer multiple template options for your collage. I used the Cards option which gave me the design you see here with 1 large image and 4 smaller ones:

It took a bit of time to put together images that fit into the collage, mainly because I had some which were just too tall to fit. But after making a couple of collages, it became easier to judge which sizes would work and which ones could be adjusted to fit and it went faster.

The Etsy About page allows for 5 images which they turn into a slide show. You can add some text to the images, too. I was very happy with how mine turned out. I am able to show prospective customers an overview of the types of vintage things I have sold in the past and what kinds of things they might find in my shop in the future.

Now I am thinking how I might use photo collages on my websites. I think they would work very well on the Home page. I'm thinking of maybe featuring a category with a photo collage. For the Men's Vintage Clothing and Accessories category, one like this would work:

Or if I want someone who is on my Home page to click through to the category for Women's Vintage Clothing and Accessories, I could use something like this image:

A website's About page is often near the top of search engine results for that website and it's frequently the landing page that folks use to enter your website. Adding a couple of photo collages to your About page gives people a quick visual overview of what you have to offer and could get them to stay and look around.

So play with PicMonkey's collage maker and see how it can help you better market your products with creative images.

Vintage Fiber Art Wall Hangings on Etsy

Weird Owl Vintage has just listed 2 unique vintage fiber art woven wall hangings.

The first wall hanging is made of jute giving it a look of burlap. Home decorating with burlap is one of the hot current trends.

Vintage Jute Wall Hanging - Burlap, Rustic Decor

The varying shades of golden brown with a hint of green in the leaves of the flowers make this piece one that would go well with almost any decor or color scheme. The woven 3 dimensional design gives it character.

It measures 16" wide, 19" tall with an additional 2 1/4" for the fiber hanger, and is in Very Good vintage condition.

The 2nd piece is stand-out wall art. It would be perfect for a home with Cottage Chic, traditional, rustic, or contemporary modern decor. 

Natural Fibers Vintage Woven Wall Hanging

Made of jute and other natural fibers, this 1980s piece was made in India. The tag on the back has an interesting story:

This wallhanging is a unique piece of art. It has traveled from small villages within India via ox cart. Then on to ship or plane, halfway around the world, to reach your hands.

If you love organic and natural fibers, either one of these unusual wall hangings would  be a wonderful piece of art for your walls.