New in Shop: Gemstone Jewelry

I have a small stash of gemstone jewelry that I made quite some time ago and has been patiently waiting for a photo shoot. There's more to come, but here's a little taste of what's already been added to Athena's Armoury Etsy Shop & Artfire Studio.

1. Valentine Frost Lariat Necklace, 2. Valentine Frost Earrings, 3. Peace, Love, & Joy Gemstone Stretch Bracelet Set, 4. Sweetheart Gemstone & Pearl Bib Necklace closeup

Valentine Frost Lariat and Earring Set is available on Etsy and Artfire.
Peace, Love, and Joy Stretch Gemstone Bracelet on Etsy and Artfire.
Sweetheart Gemstone and Pearl Bib Necklace on Etsy and Artfire.

American Version of Running with the Bulls Sale

One of Scott's sisters made the joke that this weekend is the American version of running with the bulls as a joke about the crazies people get as they hit all of the sales. Personally, I will not go into a retail store this weekend, but that won't stop me from shopping online. Or from offering some sales of my own.

In honor of the insanity of the Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Athena's Armoury will be offering sales in both Etsy and Artfire shops until midnight EST on Monday night.

All orders will ship for free (except armor) and come with a free gift. The free gift will be a suprise, but it can be anything from a cell phone charm, a pendant, a bracelet, or a pair of earrings.

So, come check out Athena's Armoury Etsy Shop or Artfire Studio for special sales for this weekend only.

Friday Finds is Postponed This Week

Instead of Friday Finds for today's blog post, Athena's Armoury will be offering Free Shipping! I recently decided to take the beginning steps in a change of career which included ordering Lesson One of Rosemary Gladstar's The Art and Science of Herbalism. Much to my surprise, I was excited to find it in my mailbox today. I opened up the envelope and was so excited that I could barely focus long enough to read the intoductory letter.

In celebration of my new endeavor, Athena's Armoury will be offering free shipping from now until midnight on Sunday, September 27, 2009 with coupon code: anewbeginning.

Thanks & happy shopping!!

New in Shop: Aeracura Necklace

In honor of this weekend's summer solstice, I just listed the Aeracura Necklace both in my Artfire Studio and Etsy Shop.

Aercura is a Celtic and Germanic goddess who multitasks as an Earth Mother Deity, a fairy queen, and also as a bridge between earthly life and the hereafter. She is especially fond of assisting artists and inventors. Aeracura is a goddess devoted to blossoming.

This fun, summertime, hippy style choker necklace is infused with lovely flower glass beads. They are set inside a Romanov pattern in the Byzantine chain maille weave. The metal used is bright aluminum which is 1/3 the weight of steel and just as shine as sterling silver at a fraction of the cost. The necklace measures 17" including a lobster clasp and 2" extender chain to vary the length.

Don't forget to check out the Summer Solstice Sale at Athena's Armoury, too!!

Busy, But Boring

I'm playing a little bit of catch up right now. I realize that my blogging kind of ebbs and flows according to what's going on in my life, but I guess that's only natural. Things have been busy for the past month, but with nothing too terribly exciting. With Scott having been home on worker's comp and my renewed commitment to working out, it seems I haven't had time for much else so I feel like I haven't had much exciting news to share. So here are a few little recent tidbits:

This past week was Scott's birthday and we took up Disney's come for free on your birthday deal and celebrated with Scott's parents in Epcot. He had never been, so we decided to eat our way around the world for his special day.

He's doing better, too. His shoulder still hurts now and again, but the doctor cleared him to return to work on light duty starting this week and his physical therapy will probably continue for another couple months.

I recently hit the 40 sale milestone in my Etsy shop! Thank you so much to all of my wonderful customers that helped get me there.

I also recently surpassed 500 Hearts on Etsy: I'm now at a whopping 515! Thank you to all of you heart givers out there, too.

Back in the beginning of April, I thanked all of the folk who used me as their Artfire referral, thus granting me the opportunity to earn a Free Ride for Life and never ever have to pay any fees of any kind. Artfire doesn't actually tell you who used you as a referral, so I was kind of going by memory with those thanks and mistakenly left out Kathy from Gypsy Goods. Oops. Sorry, Kathy and thanks for letting me know!


Lastly, Scott and I are trying to think of a fun weekend get away for this summer. I love the beach and he loves to keep busy. We're also on a bit of a budget. Any ideas?

Props for the Peeps Who Used Me as Their Artfire Referral

Fantastic news: I got the ten referrals I needed to get my free account at Artfire! I was so thrilled when I got the confirmation e-mail the other day! No listing fees, no selling fees, no monthly fees... Woohoo! There are a few people that I'd like to thank for using me as their referral.

There were a whole bunch of friends from the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team.

Amanda otherwise known as:

Mrs. Dragon Ink and Vine

Kristin, also known as:

aquariann

Jan

Wyldewood Papers

Kerianne

Titianna Blossoms

And some more friends from the Etsy Chainmailler's Guild.

Deanna

You've Got Maille

Debbie

Xizstance

Becky & Hailey

BnB Creations

And one friend from the Florida Etsy Street Team.

Dorothy & Brandi

BDOODLES

There are a couple of unsung heroes (don't know two of the people who used me!) and I actually think a few of the people above maybe signed up after I had gotten my ten referrals, but they certainly deserve much thanks anyway!!! Please help them get started on Artfire and check out their amazing shops. I know I will.

$7 Artfire Accounts - Only 18 Left!!

There are only 18 $7 Artfire memberships left before it goes back up to the regular $20/month. I only need TWO more of those referrals to get a free account. Help a girl out and sign up with me as your referral?

I'd also like to offer up a little incentive for those last two referrals. I'd like to offer a chain maille bracelet worth $25 to the last two people that sign up with me as their referral. Here's how it would work:

Let me know your e-mail addy in the comments below and I'll send you a referral through my Artfire account. Once it's verified, I should be able to see your username in my account and know for sure who it was that signed up. Then you get free chain maille. This offer is only good until those last 18 accounts are gone.

Get in on the Ground Floor at Artfire

If you haven't heard about Artfire yet, it's time you do!! Artfire is the latest web marketplace to buy and sell handmade, vintage, supplies, even design & media services. I have been a long time Etsian (my current shop is nearly two years old & my original shop was open for about a year before that) and have always loved it over there. That said, there is A LOT to be excited about with Artfire.

One of my favorite features that they rolled out recently is the Rapid Cart you see in the right hand column of my blog. It features items from my shop and will let you purchase and check out immediately from my blog without having to sign up for Artfire account. Talk about ease of use for your customers.

Listing is SO easy. You do it all on one page and it is super quick. I love things that make my life easier and this certainly does.

Google Analytics and studio stats. Analytics has worked brilliantly since day one and the studio stats are built right into your account so you know where all of your views are coming from. Makes promoting that much easier.

They also let you link to your Etsy shop, Facebook, flickr, Myspace, and more right from your shop.

They have a fairly sizable marketing campaign in place that includes viral, social, traditional, and non-traditional efforts. They have purchased display ads in national publications, broadcast networks, web ads, as well as over 150 million views of ArtFire ads on websites such as Facebook, Mother Jones, Google, various blog sites, “green” webzines, arts & crafts webzines, and many other channels.

Here's the biggie: No listing or sales fees! They have a deal going on right now where you pay $7 per month for your membership. That is the equivalent of listing or renewing one item per day on Etsy (not counting the added fees for any Etsy sales). So, you can list as much as you want as often as you want and don't pay anything extra when your items sell. There are only 282 of these $7 memberships left. After that, it goes back up to what will be their regular monthly rate of $20.

When you lock in your $7 membership, your monthly fee will never increase, but it may decrease. If you get ten people to sign up and use you as their referral, you will get a Free Ride for Life! As long as you remain an active member of the Artfire community, you will never have to pay a membership fee again. I'm working on getting my ten referrals and am already up to six!! If you've been thinking about signing up, now is certainly the time to do it to lock in the $7 membership rate.

I know I must sound like I've joined a cult, but I really am that excited about Artfire. They have done so much already and have so much potential for even more. So, if you do decide to sign up: please don't forget your friendly neighborhood armorer and help get a girl a free membership with your referral. You can sign up using this link. And you can visit my Artfire shop here.