SubEarthan Cottage is ACT's First Power Up

I belong to a great Guild on Artfire called the Artfire Cafemom Team Guild. For the month of August (and maybe beyond), we'll be helping promote one another for a four day time period.

First up is Charity from SubEarthan Cottage.

Name: Charity
Shop Name: SubEarthan Cottage
URL Links:
http://subearthancottage.artfire.com
http://sophiecls.etsy.com
http://subearthancottage.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/sophiecls

Product Range: Handmade Soap, Eco-Friendly and Upcycled products including Coffee Cozies, T-shirt Totes, Shopping Bags and more

Experience: I learned to sew sometime in elementary school and have always enjoyed creating and making gifts for my family. I started researching soap making about nine years ago. My first attempts at making soap followed a few years later. I have been selling my handmade soap almost two years ago after much experimentation on myself, friends and family.

Special Promotion: Free bar of my handmade soap for every $20 spent in either of my shops.

AnythingElse: I am wife to a wonderful man and a SAHM to one beautiful and very active 3 year old son. I love to chat, so feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Please stop by her shop, take a look around and be sure to let her know that you found her here - on withourhands blog.

Coupon and Promotional Codes

I received great news today in my Artfire Newsletter from Artfire. They will be releasing coupon and promotional codes soon that sellers can use on their studios.

Coupon Codes / Gift Certificates are being tested now. This new feature is robust and allows for many of the most popular promotional codes and a great deal of customization. Our goal with this coupon code engine is to give artisans the ability to use their creativity in promotion to try many different combinations of codes and discounts. The new coupon codes will be out shortly and we welcome your feedback as we roll them out.

I am very excited about this enhancement. There are times when I like to run specials within my shop but haven't been able to do so without having the buyer jump through hoops (either email me and I need to reinvoice them or pay via paypal and I have to refund the discount).

Good job Artfire - now I just wish they would allow me to see sold items from other sellers shops.

A Shopping Spree for Three with a Twist

Playing is easy, and winning is even easier! All you'll need is a blog, here’s what's new:

1. Write a blog review about your favorite ArtFire shop (feel free to use mine - http://withourhands.artfire.com) that isn't your own. Then submit a link to your blog on the Artfire fan page wall to let everyone see!

2.Invite all your friends to join and “like” and “comment” on your submission, go ahead and “like” your friends’ posts too.

3.The contest officially starts now, July 1st, and ends July 31st at 11:59:59 PM EST (please note we are switching the time zone so it is the same as saying it will end at 8:59:59 PM PDT) There will be three different ways to win this month, check em out!

A)The submission with the most likes at the end of the contest will receive a $100 ArtFire shopping spree

B)One of the fans who "liked" the winning submission will be randomly selected to also win a shopping spree at ArtFire.

C) One submission will be randomly chosen to win a $100 shopping spree regardless of likes.


I wrote a blog post below about Vermont Maple and submitted it. I would LOVE for you to stop by Artfire's Fan Page and leave a comment and "like" my comment I left there with a link to my blog post.

If I win, one of my friends will win a $100 shopping spree on Artfire. It could be you!

Maple Syrup Anyone?

Today I wanted to talk to you about one of my favorite sellers on Artfire: Vermont Maple. I think I have tried almost everything she sells. The prices are affordable and she'll even save you money on shipping by combining everything into a flat rate box.

To provide you with full disclosure, Vermont Maple is my sister. After I opened a shop on Etsy, she decided to open a shop also. In January, I made the move over to Artfire and she followed along, although she does still have an active shop on Etsy.

A few months ago I was lucky enough to sample a new product line from Vermont Maple. Traditionally they sold just Maple Syrup but last fall they expanded their line to include Maple Peanut Butter, Maple Peanuts, Maple Popcorn, Lollipops, Hard Candies, Maple Sugar (and with Cinnamon), baked goods, granola and Maple Cream. If you love maple products as much as I do, then you need to try their products.

I was thinking of spotlighting just one of their products but I had a hard time choosing which one, as I really love all of them. Their Peanut Butter is all natural. No salt, sugar or preservatives added, just pure 100% natural Vermont Maple Syrup. This is great spread on toast, crackers or used as a peanut sauce in Asian cooking (put on chicken).

I love having hard candies around my house. You could always find me with a bag of A & W Rootbeer Candies laying around for those times when my sweet tooth hits but I don't want to indulge in a high fat dessert. Now you can find a bag of Maple Candies near me. These little candies are made from the same candy that their lollipops are made from except they are small drops that you can throw right into your mouth. Plus, it's alot easier to share a drop than a lollipop. Great candies for when you are craving a bit of maple syrup.

Top 100 Artfire Studios

I just joined a new marketing campaign called the Top 100 Artfire Studios. I added their button to my studio and hope it brings in more traffic to my shop.
If you have a few seconds, I would love it if you'd take a minute to click on the Top 100 Artfire Studio Button below and then click the top link to vote for me (please don't click the one that says "enter here").