Are you worth 12.00?

Well, I know I am! I am absolutely tickled that Artfire is indeed letting you lock in your 12.00 rate (my chatterbox begging worked!!) I was so upset at myself that I missed the 7.00 for life the last go round.
Soooooo, I am very happy to share that if you have not gotten verified on Artfire..NOW is your chance! I have not heard of a deadline on the date to get verified, but I highly suggest you check it out now!! You can click here to find out why you should join Artfire, but I'll also tell you MY two cents.. :)

1. Artfire has excellent customer service! They actually listen to you and take your opinions into account. Now that doesn't mean you'll get EVERYTHING you want, because no venue can please EVERY seller or buyer but they try really hard!
2. You do not have to have an account to purchase on Artfire. This helps you as a seller because your buyers who don't want to sign up for yet ANOTHER account online are more likely to purchase!
3. RANDOM SEARCHES!! These are the BOMB! Now, instead of wasting money relisting thanks to AF's random searches, your stuff can easily be found. Search babies and you may be on the front page, you may be on the 6th, 15th or 100th...either way, it's random every time, so you DO have a chance of being on the front page of your category!! This is especially helpful if you belong to a category that is very popular (i.e jewelry).
   
4. Fuzion Studios. Really, really cool. Customization like you would have on a website, colors, html codes, it's beautiful. Really beautiful!
5. ONE PAGE LISTING. I think this is my fave feature. Hands down!
6. Market Hub--you can easily link to all your shops, blogs, social networking sites right from your studio. Really cool.
   
7. Submitting to Vote Handmade and Twitter right from item listings! This is really handy and neat for promoting yourself and paying it forward and promoting other sellers!

These are just the tip of the iceberg!

So if you are ready to take the leap, I say go for it! I used to spend way more than 12.00 on Etsy and although I am not LEAVING Etsy, I have to say I'm falling in love with Artfire more and more every day!! I love that I know EXACTLY how much I'll spend! And imagine, if you are a seller with very high cost items (i.e. jewelry, woodworking, etc) and your item is say, 200.00...you are NOT going to pay 3% of that item! That is great!

So if you are ready, click here to sign up, and get started.

ANNNNNND are you ready??

EVERYONE that signs up using my referral will get a free bar of my SLS Free Soap OR a 5.00 gift certificate to my Artfire Shop!! Hey, you can't beat that!

If only hubs would take me out...

Then I could buy and wear this..



I am looking at this while listening to Jack Johnson woo me with his sexy voice and I'm wondering why hubby and I don't go out alone as much as we used to!? Oh right, kids, money, work..that stuff. Well I think if I slipped into this lovely shrug I could get my sexy back and have some fun!! (After carefully hanging it up!) :)

You really must check out this shop, it is full of lovely work! Simply click the pic to get to it!!

Sock Monkeys are Taking Over

I am in love with making the sock monkeys....I'm spending more time with my kids and family and much LESS time online! :)
So thus we have Rebecca, the saucy sock monkey!
Enjoy!

Happy Memorial Day

As this Memorial Day Weekend approaches, I would like to share a few things. First, this lovely spotlight featuring some Patriotic inspired items!



Secondly, despite the many Memorial Day sales, picnics, vacations, etc; I challenge you this Memorial Day to truly recognize what the day means. I really don't care what your political beliefs are. I don't care if your right, left, middle of the road, hanging from an overpass..whatever. No matter what you believe in and whether you support the war or not, I feel you should support the TROOPS in this war. Let's not squabble over why they are there for one day, let's just show them the respect and appreciation they deserve, because let's face it, they don't HAVE to be there! There is no draft. They are there because they WANT to serve our country, are proud to do so and many die doing so. They protect this land from people who's only goal in life is do us harm. And for that I will constantly and always respect and appreciate them.

So I challenge you this Memorial Day to take a minute and THANK a veteran who served, pay your respects to those who died serving our country, and take notice of this beautiful land in which we live. Have you ever really stopped and looked at all the beautiful American flags flying? Really thought about what it means? Really respected what has gone into building this nation of ours? No matter what you think of any administration, current or past, soldiers have been dying for our land for a LOOOONG time now. Do we really respect that?

So take some time from your busy weekend to show some respect and appreciation to the men and women who serve us so faithfully and those who have served their time. Perhaps you can donate something to a military family? There are spouses and children who wait patiently and nervously for their loved ones to come home. Maybe those children could use a lovely new play thing? (Trust me, the military does not pay great.) Maybe there is a Vet in your neighborhood who needs help around the yard? A mother who lost her son to war who misses him dearly this time of year? Could you pay her a visit?

No matter what you do, and who you spend time with this weekend, you should appreciate them. Hug them, love them, and tell them how much they mean to you. They won't be here forever.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!! God Bless America!

Mama's Little Monkeys has....

SOCK MONKEYS! :) Okay so they aren't listed yet, but here is one of the first generation monkeys!
Sophie, the baby monkey for my lovely niece Miranda who is pregnant with the real Sophie, coming this fall! :)

More coming soon!

Here's to a Relaxing Summer!

Hello all! I just wanted to say thanks to anyone who takes the time to read my blog! I appreciate your time spent, friendship and attention! **Strokes own feathers...**

My son is almost out of preschool for the summer so I may be less active online for a few months. As usual I have several projects...usual stalking for Blockhead Radio, my new intern position with Chris Huff and of course the shops! I will not be renewing much on the MLM Etsy Shop, but will keep renewing Fleur De Ink and have my new soap shop open, Amelia Amos Soaps! That one is more for me to refer people to for wholesale inquiries so it doesn't take much attention! New items will be mostly listed on my Artfire shop because I am really digging how AF works!

I also am staying busy with Handmade Louisiana my non profit group for artisans and musicians in and around Louisiana. It gives me an excuse to go to local concerts (Benjy Davis Project in June..Can't WAIT!) You really must check out our little blog at the link above and please give some love to Merry of Cheeseandchocolate because she works her tookus off on the group!

Throw into that mix my local wholesale sale! You can now find some of my items at the Education Station in Slidell, LA!! Right now you can get my chalk mats, crayons, and crayon rolls. Around late July you'll be able to get my nap mat covers (which will require me to start sewing them mid June, actually.) I have a TON of adorable prints and styles to choose from! If you aren't in this area, no worries, I'll have them in my Artfire shop as well!

And of course, there is the other new project I've undertaken...making sock monkeys. First I want say, I both curse and love two shops for feeding my monkey obsession and encouraging me! Elegant Hobbies and HoffeeandaNuffin are two awesome shops for sock monkeys and they were very kind in encouraging me to go ahead and try them! (They like to tease me with their new monkeys too.....naughty naughty monkey makers!) They are right, they are SOOOOOOO darn fun. I have a sewing to-do list a mile long including a stack of mama cloth that is cut out for my testers from Diaperswappers, but the monkeys have distracted me! :) I made Harrison one he promptly named Gecko (could have been the huge button eyes) and I just finished a baby monkey for my lovely pregnant neice. I'll put up the pics ASAP! :) I keep organizing fabric and 'need to sew' piles but they keep growing! Throw in the soap obsession and Im in trouble. Countdown is on til Eli can share a room with Harrison and I can have a whole room for sewing/soaping...drooooool....

So I love you guys and if I am not around as much, it is because I'm spending time with the monkeys I TRULY loves best, my boys, and am working on things behind the scenes! I hope everyone has a fantastic summer, and gets their creative mojo out and moving!! :)

~~Amy

Let's Go to the Movies

Mocha Cake

ENJOY!

GLUTEN FREE Mocha Cake

1 box devils food cake mix (to make it gluten free, use Pamela’s Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix)
1--8 oz cream cheese
1--3 oz cream cheese
3 cups confectioners sugar
2 tsp hot water
1 Tsp coffee granules
3/4 cup butter
6 1oz choc squares (semi sweet)
1 Tsp corn syrup
1 stick of butter

Mix and bake cake according to directions. (I use 2- 8 in round pans)
Cool cake.

To make Icing:

Cream 3/4th cup butter and cream cheese. Mix sugar in.
Mix on high speed until fluffy.
Reduce speed.
Have ready the hot water and coffee granules dissolved in it and ready to pour in mixture.
Mix until well mixed, scraping sides of bowl.
Put icing in between the 2 layers of cake and on the outsides of the cake.
Put cake in fridge for 1 hour.

To Make covering:

Cut choc squares into pieces.
Put corn syrup, choc pieces and 1 stick of butter in sauce pan.
Melt on low heat.
Let sit for 5 minutes.
Remove cake from fridge.
Put wax paper along edges of cake (along bottom of pan so choc doesn’t get on pan.)
Pour the syrup over the top of the cake, let it run down sides.
Chill in fridge for 15 minutes.

Why Being a Mom Kicks Arse....

In honor of mother's day, I'm reposting this! I hope every mommy out there has a fantastic day!

Here are some reasons why being a mom kicks arse...

1. It builds intelligence. Clearly, it takes an upper level intelligence to sort a pile of 56 baby socks, all in similar color schemes.

2. It fosters creativity. See, a childless person would not necessarily have the creativity to know that peas and carrots are not just peas and carrots. They are, in fact, ogre booger balls and orange alien space ships.

3. It is a nifty way to have fun. There is no other time in your life when it is acceptable to do these things: Go to Chuck E. Cheese, play Barbies, color, watch Lady and the Tramp (and cry), rock out to The Imagination Movers, or swing at the park. Okay, well you could do these things as a childless person, but with children, the chances of you being ostracized by society is far less.

4. It is endlessly changing, thus building your ability to roll with the punches. Plans with your spouse? NOPE, someones puking. Need a hair cut? NOPE, dance recital. But, somehow, everything gets done and you learn how to make things happen in a pinch! (Shhh, no one needs to know your hair is out of a bottle.

5. It is a wonderful excuse! Invited to a party you REALLY don't want to attend? Not a problem. Blame it on the kids!! Saying someone is sick, has baseball practice, has leprosy, is allergic to shag carpeting is almost always foolproof....just keep track of your 'fibs.'

6. You suddenly learn how valuable the little things are and learn the real value of money. 50.00 toy from Grandma. Ignored. 35.00 onesie from Auntie Kim? Puked on. .25c bag of Cheerios in your diaper bag while stuck in traffic? PRICELESS.

7. You learn how really STUPID and PETTY the things that worried you when you had no children are. Suddenly, what your next purse purchase will be, who is sleeping with who, and what new vodka is on the market is not really important anymore. Upon entering parenthood, a whole slew of 'grown up' worries hits you--health insurance, life insurance, safest car, vaccines, good pediatricians, college costs, how much a bottle of vodka is, etc.

Okay, so the vodka remains important no matter what stage of life you are in.

8. You have instant companionship--for awhile! Now this is not to say you should turn your back on your spouse or your friends upon becoming a mother. And remember, children do not need you to be their friends, they need you to be their parent. HOWEVER, how incredibly awesome is it to be having one of THOSE days, and be given a big smooch by the human being YOU brought forth into this world? And if you play your cards right...get past the scary teen years, and do your job...you WILL have a friend in your child---when THEY are an adult and can appreciate what you went through for them!

9. You get to dress them up. Okay, so it's petty but come on...dressing up babies is SOOO much more fun than dressing up animals. And please...stop dressing up animals. I beg of you.

10. And finally... no matter how your day goes, how you may have screwed up, what you said wrong....at the end of the day, you get to tuck in and kiss the most beautiful creature(s) in the world and know that YOU are their mommy and that is that--no matter HOW you came to be their mommy..you are and that is yours alone!

I think the perks far outweigh the sleeplessness, belly bloop and expense, don't you?





Amy...proud mommy


All Text Copyright Amy Dutsch 2009
Feel free to share...but give me the credit I deserve!

My Faves: Just for Mom!

Mama's Sneaky Treasure Hunt

Ya'll know I love Blockhead Radio! So we're going to have a little game....

SOMEWHERE in one of my MANY listings on my MANY shops there is a BHR Player Picture (there may be more than one..I'm not saying...) Like So:


So your mission is to visit my shops and FIND this graphic. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS POST where it is! Instead, email me at mama@blockheadradio.com and tell me where you found it! Then on May 12th (the date of the Amos Lee concert..I'll be in a REALLY good mood that day!) I will choose a random winner!

Want an extra chance to win? Blog this post and leave a comment here. You can also twitter, plurk or what not about it, but come back here and leave the URL of where you promoted this giveaway. But DO NOT leave the listing where this graphic is!! EMAIL that to me at mama@blockheadradio.com

Where can you find the graphic?
It's SOMEWHERE in:
Mama's Little Monkeys on Artfire
Mama's Little Monkeys on Etsy
Fleur De Ink on Etsy
Amelia Amos Soaps on Etsy
Mama's Little Monkeys on Crobbies

So get to hunting!!

What do you WIN?

Any of my lovely bath salts found on Artfire or Amelia Amos Soaps! :) Your choice!!
Have fun and smell good!


Don't Forget to Pop a Player and tune into some excellent indie music and great artisans shows on Blockhead Radio!

Did you know...

that you can link the Blockhead Radio Player right from your blog? Yup, it's super nifty and I had a total brain fart in realizing how to do it until the awesome Larry set me straight!

Simply snag this picture and then upload it to your blogger as a picture gadget.


Then have it link to
http://media.streamads.com/playersdk/v2/widgets/webplayer/arplayer/player.html?sid=117308&relayID=-1&pid=0

Easy Peasy!!

Extra stalker points in it for you if you come back here and leave me a comment telling me you did it.. :)

Web Host Server Info

I found this, and it is nifty. I'm not sure if I'll do it or not, but this is really cool, should you need it!

Enter code 25BUCKSOFF1YEAR at sign-up for $25 off your first year of hosting.

http://www.dreamhost.com/

Carbon Friendly Server!

Surviving a Field Trip to the zoo....

So, life has been kinda crazy lately, and today was a field trip with my son to the zoo. My family will always be more important than my business, jobs, and anything else! So while it was crazy running around the zoo with 3 and 4 yr olds, it was fun (okay, well my son's petrified screaming at the stinging caterpillars on the ground was not so fun.) So we had fun and the zoo is always beautiful!

So tonite I buckle down, get some work done and get orders out! Tonite is soaping night dangnabit!! I have ducky's to make and can't wait to get my new fragrances out! :)

Sooooooooap...I'm coming to you soapy goodness!

~Amy

So What Does a Possum/Monkey Sound Like?

Would you like to find out? Well, then I suggest you head on over to www.blockheadradiolive.com/advertising and snag your ad--because you can request Mama, The Awesome Possum, Mother of all Monkeys, to do YOUR voiceover!!

Not sure how that works? NO PROBLEM!

Simply go to the link above or email advertising@blockheadradio.com and get yours today!Why should you advertise with BHR?

What kind of reach does BHR have and why would I benefit from advertising. BHR is an Internet radio station, so that means people all around the world can listen and do. Our top 5 countries are:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. U.K.
4. Israel
5. Australia

Our demographics are a split of 60% Artisans and 40% General Listeners. 70% Women and 30% Men. Ages vary from 12 years old to 71. Yep we got a grandma jammin' with us.

Why use Internet Radio for advertising? Simple, interactivity. With an audio commercial you have put a voice/personality to your site. When your ad is playing a banner is displayed in the player and the listener has the option to go to you site right then and there. Then the most 5 recent audio plays are kept in a list on the player and those link up to your site too. It opens in it's own window so you have the listeners complete attention.

We sell in stream audio/banner spots on CPM. That way you know that 1000 people will hear your ad. CPM is frequently used in advertising to represent cost per thousand (where M is the roman numeral of 1000). When used in advertising it relates to the cost per thousand page impressions. Using the CPM model the advertiser is guaranteed that a minimum number of listeners will hear their ad.

The cost is $15.00 CPM. Advertiser is responsible for supplying a 240 pixel square banner and link to information. Please provide us with a couple sentences describing your site and we will do a script and voice over. You can renew your ad for $7.50 for another 1000 impressions.

If you have any questions or would like to setup and ad please email us at advertsing@blockheadradio.com

Would You Like A Jingle For Your Ad?

How would you like a catchy jingle for your ad? This special $30 offer for a low cost jingle will boost your image and grab the listeners attention! Singer/Songwriter Mike Burnes is available for this.

One quick more answer. When checking your Goggle Analytics/Incoming URL's the incoming link from the player is: media.streamads.com

~~~But I digress...it is indeed a FABULOUS deal. I, personally have had an ad running for my Cafepress shop and have seen an increase in sales. So it does work!! :)

And should you need a graphic for your ad...NOT A PROBLEM! If you choose ME as your voiceover, I will do your graphic for free! :)

Have no clue what I sound like? It's ok...tune in on Wednesday nights at 9 pm Eastern to hear myself and Rocker host Mom's Cafe...you guessed it, on Blockhead Radio!

So, let us help you have a fantastic business and get the most for your money! You will NOT find a better ad deal than this!!

~~Amy

Win a 5000 impression ad for your business and help a friend!

How about a 5000 Impression Ad with Clickable Banner on BHR?

Here is your chance.

A good friend needs to raise a few bucks to see an endocrinologist for a diabetes problem tuesday and the dr. is 3.5 hour trip each way from his home. So how about it........a donation of any amount gets you a chance.

You know him, he is a fellow artisan and the conductor of the Crazy Train segments you hear on BHR. Larry is an all around cool dude and a friend to all.

You can also check out his shop on ArtFire.

Use glorybound@skybest.com for paypal and put bhr ad in the description. We will keep track and on Tuesday 5/5 we will use a random number generator to pick the winner. The winner will be announced at 8pm et on BHR.