• NOTE:  contest open to US readers only.  Sorreee!
  

• Do you want to be able to print your own business cards, letterhead, brochures and postcards from your own home office?

• Does your logo need a makeover or do you need a logo for your new business?

• And do you want to be able to print from anywhere in your house?

Thanks to our Fairy ‘PrintMothers’ at Epson, you can have it all!

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Here’s the Prize Package

• A sexy Epson WorkForce 600 Wireless Multifunctional printer
• Extra set of full-color ink cartridges
• Paper, cardstock, business card paper, labels, envelopes and everything else you could possibly need to create a complete set of business collateral.

And to top it all off, Randa Clay from Randa Clay Design is going to give our lucky winner a new logo to plaster all over your new marketing materials!

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Here are the shiny new prize goodies:

Epson Workforce 600

Here’s the Epson WorkForce 600. Mmm very slick design, I’ve seen this in the flesh. Yummy!

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Client Service Network Logo from Randa Clay Design

Reynoldsburg Baptist Church Logo from Randa Clay Design

Zoom Administration Logo from Randa Clay Design

Here’s some of Randa’s amazing logo design work. Also yummy!

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Entering this contest is easy. Pop over to the Sparkplug CEO blog to see how. Good Luck!

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Righty, so there were 32 entrants to this very exciting draw to win your very own custom designed website showcase and sell your craft gorgeousness. The Random Number generator stopped on the number 29.

Up for grabs was a custom designed website worth over £300 ($600)!!

So will Sue who said:

“I’d love to be able to be able to look after people buying for their own shops (wholesale queries) and people who’ve found me direct.

Also i take things to craft fairs, so to have an option of having the site on hold for the few hours i am at a fair would be good, it means people online and people in person get to see and enjoy everything i’ve crafted

but most of all i want it to be easy, i want to spend my time being creative making things to sell, and have a lovely beautiful place online to sell them. So my feature request would be that’s it’s lovely, is loveliness a feature i hope so?”

Please contact me either by comment or message and I’ll hook you up with Ed who will weave his magic web designer stuff! Congratulations!

Yep, believe your eyes folks; ArtFlock and CraftBoom! have teamed up to bring you a mega draw in which a Craft Business Website is up for grabs!

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For art and craft sellers ArtFlock is a very important alternative to Etsy that is seriously worth considering and here are just a few reasons why:

• FREE to join
• No listing fees
• Upload all of your work, not just what’s for sale (great for building portfolios and for commissions)
• Import your blog to your ArtFlock account for greater exposure
• List real world locations that sell your work like galleries, shops etc.
• Commission rates from just 3.5%
• Create your own flock of followers that love your work

You get all of the above AND you can have YOUR OWN WEBSITE. Have you ever wished you could have your own website AS WELL as your craft shop. Have you ever wished that your craft shop could more truly reflect your own individuality and craft, but you don’t know where to start with the web design, the shopping cart and payment system? Well with ArtFlock you can have all of that flexibility and more with their Website Publisher tool.

The Website Publisher tool from ArtFlock.com gives you:

• Your own website at your own domain name
• Easy to use
• Commission us to design your theme or pick from our free range of themes
• One click publish of everything you have on ArtFlock to your own personal website
• Update and change the look of your site as often as you like
• Sell work from your own site while still being part of a larger community of buyers
• Don’t risk loosing potential buyers by sending them to SomeArtWebsite.com/YourWork when you can send your customers to YourWebsite.com-
• Free to use version (text ad supported or ad free version for $19.99 / €14.99 / £9.99 per month)
• Test drive your own website with the preview tool by signing up for free here
• See an example site (try playing with the different theme options at the top of the page) here, and also here.

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In my opinion ArtFlock looks very well run, professional, and attractive (which is essential as art and craft are so visually driven). Having your own attractive looking website will give you a professional edge and increased exposure. Also being able direct customers to your own website is so important because that way customers will not get lost/confused/distracted in a sea of other vendors.

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Draw Details (please read carefully)

OK, so now you know about some of the amazing features that ArtFlock has to offer; here is what is up for grabs for 1 very very lucky winner in our draw:

• Custom designed theme for their ArtFlock.com website worth $600. Ed will personally work with the winner to design the website to their liking (wowser, that’s worth it’s weight alone!)
• 1 year’s free domain name worth $14.99 (they don’t need to renew in the future if they no longer want the site / domain)

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To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

1. Telling with us what sort of features you would like your own Craft Business website to have.

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Contest Official-ness :

1. I’ll randomly draw the winners in 3 weeks time – 2nd July and announce the winner the following day-ish. Good luck!
2. Winner must have a free ArtFlock.com account in order to upload their work, statement, blog etc. to their free site. Sign up for FREE here.
   
3. Winner will use the free version of the Website Publisher with the option of upgrading to the ad free version.
4. Sorry I can’t notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement. This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don’t have to keep checking back, although it’s always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
5. Sorry I can’t reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one

Up for grabs was this Artful Blogging Journal.
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Anyways, without further ado, there were 50 entries for this draw and the random number picker (so you can’t blame me) stopped on the number 34.

So will Robyn who wrote:

“Hooray! This looks like a *great* magazine. I bet it includes mad tips for being a better blogger! ( I could use a few!)”

Please step forward and drop me an email to claim your prize?

So that means Melanie who wrote:

“I really should do more marketing…

I use the quality of my service as a marketing tool to existing customers and have two mailing lists (one within eBay, one external) that I send to every now and then, usually with an offer.

I also blog, but with that, basically use the type of products that I sell (vintage Japanese fabrics) and highlight ideas for their use. In the beginning, I tried just to “market”, but it felt false and so now I more so just writing about what I’m doing and what is happening in my life.

I plan on opening a store on Etsy soon, but to be honest, finding the time to devote to quality marketing is something that has been delaying my start on there.”

Wins a free add spot. Congrats!

Melanie please email me and we’ll get your prized sorted out

Sorry to those who didn’t get lucky this time, you might be interested to know that another lovely giveaway that I am running is ending tomorrow – you still have time!

This is where the ads will appear and they will look like this.

Fancy winning a free spot? Do you like cakes and chocolate – like YEAH!

Wendy is letting me (and other Sparkplugging bloggers) give a spot away as a groovy prize and all you have to do is post a comment to enter:

1. tell us what you things you do to market your business.

We’ll be picking winners TOMORROW afternoon.  Good luck!

If you already have a crafty blog you can’t fail to be inspired (and perhaps a bit envious) of the gorgeous blogs which feature inside these pages, and if you don’t yet have your own blog you may well want one by the time you finish the journal!

Here is small selection of some of the blogs you can read about (and drool over) in the journal:

Artful Blogging Vol. 1

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Focus on Posie Gets Cozy. Lots of you will be regular readers of Alicia’s cosy and pretty corner of the blogoshpere.

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…the same can be said about the talented Ju Ju’s blog; Juju Loves Polka Dots

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I know quite few of you have entered the Self Portrait Challenges. What a really fabulous idea for a blog and monthly challenge!

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Visual Voice is a sumptuous photography blog that I am definitely going to check out…

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Here are tips on how to write a better blog and how to submit your own blog for future volumes of Artful Blogging (go on give it a try: you never know…)

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I hope you enjoyed the peek inside the journal. I am giving 1 copy of this delish journal away. To enter the draw all you have to do is be a US resident - (if you are from outside the US you can enter the same contest, but on my other blog) and comment by:

1. Including a link to your blog/and or craft business – if you don’t have a blog and/or craft business include a link to your fave craft blog or craft business and
   
2. tell us what you like most about blogging – if you don’t have a blog tell us why you enjoy reading blogs (hopefully you do enjoy them!)

Contest Official-ness

• ONLY open to legal residents of the United States 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. One entry per person. Void where prohibited by law. Important contest rules and details.
• I’ll randomly draw one winner in a weeks time on the 29th Apr and I’ll announce the winner on this blog the following day-ish. Good luck!
• I’ll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage.
• Prizes which are not claimed within 3 week of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
• Sorry I can’t reply to contest comments, but I enjoy reading every single one.
• Sorry I can’t notify contest winners so please keep an eye out for the winner announcement. This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog (although it’s great to have you drop-in for a read )

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“Arrghhh!!! I don’t live in the US!” – I know that a lot of my readers are from outside the US and I don’t want you to feel left out. So for folks outside of the US I have set up the very same contest just for you to enter on my UK based U-Handblog. Good luck!

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I tells ya, there’s nothing like being passed from one dept to another (interspersed with repetitive strains of Vivaldi or crap pop) to turn a seemingly intelligent adult into a raging baboon. After a few hours of (teeth pulling fun) on the phone I learned that actually I need a new router modem thingy and the Internet connection is fine. Happy days eh?

Okeydoke, so there were 36 entries in the ‘What are your biggest challenges regarding running your craft business’, draw. Today the Random Number Picker (so you can blame it; it’s nothing to with me!) chose the number 20.

So will Tanya who wrote:

“The main items that I see a need for include:
Start Up
A “pratical, yet usable” Business Plan Template with lessons for how to complete and why…
What is Breake – even and how does it impact pricing (Direct Cost – Overhead)
Pricing my goods as a Women in Business not a Women with a hobby
Finding my target Market in my backyard or on the internet
How to bulid a marketing plan
Tax Write-off
Finding Financing

Features would include:
craft businessy tutorials, classifieds,networking (area and regional, events (area and regional) and workshop by area and craft for both business and crafts, links to assocations and professional resouces and tools.”

Will you please step forward and send me your mailing address and claim your 2 Amy B. patterns?

Powered by Qumana

We know that there are quite a few excellent craft sites out there that cover craft in general, and there are a few sites (like this one) that focus on craft business too, BUT as craft business owners we need (me included) an inclusive site where we can meet, share, and support each other (lots of you are experts in you own right and we can learn lots from you). Such a place (at least like the one that Wendy and I have in mind) doesn’t yet exist. I am beside myself with excitement because judging from the emails I get from you, there is a big need to provide such a site for you, and it’s gonna happen!!!!!

So tell us what are your biggest challenges in running your Craft Business?

This one-stop-shop Craft Business meeting place is being created for you and we want to serve you as best as we can. We need to know what sort of things you would like in such a site. Whether you have a blog, or Esty, eBay, or your own e-comm shop or you are planning one please tell us (in some  detail):

1. What would you like help with: promotion & marketing, driving traffic, starting up, sales advice, setting up e-comm, or anything else, etc etc etc.

2. What kind of features would you like your craft business meeting place/forum to have (i.e) photo sharing, craft businessy tutorials, classifieds or any other features etc etc etc.

Answer the 2 questions above and you could win 2 yummy Amy Butler Home Dec patterns!!

Contest Official-ness

• ONLY open to legal residents of the United States 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. One entry per person. Void where prohibited by law. Important contest rules and details.
• I will send both patterns to 1 lucky winner after the random draw on 1st Feb. I’ll announce the winner on this blog the following day-ish. Good luck!
• Sorry, I can’t notify winners so please keep an eye for the winner announcement. This is made easier for you is you subscribe to this blog (although it’s always great to have you drop in for a read ).
• Sorry I can’t reply to contest comments, but I do love reading every single one.

“Arrghhh!!! I don’t live in the US!” I know that a lot of my readers are from outside the US and I’d love your feedback (and for you to feel not to feel left out) so for folks outside of the US I have set up the same contest just for you on my UK based U-Handblog.

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Okeydokey so the Random Number Picker chose number ‘39′.

39.

On September 26th, 2007 at 6:21 am, Jennie said:

I just started a business, making clothes fitted exactly to the customer.
I’m hoping everything will go well so I can start a craft line, aswell as making one of a kind, unique clothing.

So will Jennie will you please let me know what your address is and I will send you your yummy bottle of Sola!

And the other Fab Amy Butler Giveaway is this kit…

If you would like to win Amy Butler’s gorgeous Sew-It Kit, skip over to my other blog and enter the draw.  Good luck!