Only 2 days left for the Artisan Directory!

Wow time is flying! July 1st will be here in just 2 days! That means the Artisan Directory will be closing spots! Good news it will be available for August 1st!! In time for the Holiday Shopping to begin!

Have you gotten your spot? You get a 1/4 page ad spot for $7.50 !

A 1/2 page for $15

A full page for $30

Also the back cover is still available! We welcome groups or marketplaces to this too!

Are you a supplier to the Arts and Craft world? you are welcome to join in too!

But Hurry as Spots end July 1st!

As of today we are on page 48 !

The Artisan Directory will be online and also available as a hard copy. Alot of Marketing to consumers will be done!

We tried very hard to keep the cost as low as possible to Artisans! We hope you will join in and be apart of the Artisan Directory and exposing your shop, websites, marketplaces to the world!

Come get your Spot you only have 2 days! Come get them at the Artfire shop You do not need a Artfire account to purchase :) Click here to visit the Blockheadradio Artfire Shop and reserve your spot before they are gone!

Going Green with Mom's Cafe..and a giveaway!

Last night Mom's Cafe went green and YES, we stayed on topic! Rocker and I discussed various ways you can go green and be eco-friendly and NOT break the bank! We chatted about what being green means to us, for myself I will be as green as my pocketbook allows and I respect the earth we've been given; for Rocker, she explained she just cannot stand to see things throw away, she sees potential in everything!

We shared some fantastic links, tutorials and shops you can purchase green items from if you are sewing machine phobic.

Here are some to get you started:

Links to repurposing clothing:
Men's Shirt into girls Dress:
http://therockerchiconetsy.blogspot.com/2008/07/girls-pillowcase-style-dress-from-mens.html

Neck Ties into Jumper:
http://therockerchiconetsy.blogspot.com/2008/07/neck-tie-dress-tutorial.html

Tut for Sleeves into baby pants:
http://indietutes.blogspot.com/2008/06/happy-bum-pants-from-sleeves.html

Make a kids toys from your old clothing:
http://miaoucrafts.com/jill/?p=82

Tees into Reusable Grocery Bags:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/good-thing-t-shirt-bag
somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year

Where to buy reusable grocery bags:
Upcycled Creations
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=22851

Did you know the Average American throws away 68 lbs of clothing each year? That is insane!! Think of all the good that could come from that! Even if you are not a crafty person, think of the other places you can share your unwanted items! Freeuse, Freecycle, Goodwill, Salvation Army, Women's Shelters, Homeless Shelters, Schools, etc. There are places you may never realize would take donations..perhaps your local Head Start, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts could use some items? Police stations may take clothing and toys to use when dealing with rape or abuse victims. Donate your blankets to homeless shelters or hospitals for babies...who knows if your blanket could help keep one baby warm? Why throw it out?? Do good!

Parenthood also leads one to many Earth Friendly possibilities, reusing toys, sharing toys, handmade toys and clothing, cloth diapering, mama cloth and many reusable items for mom and baby abound!

Here are some awesome shops to find such items:

Reusable Feminine Pads, and Reusable Lunch Bags:
http://www.dominopads.com/
U.S. women landfill or incinerate 11.3 billion "disposable" menstrual products per year.
It takes approximately 500 years for one "disposable" menstrual pad to partially biodegrade.

Cloth Diapers
http://theelimonster.etsy.com
Takes 4-500 years to biodegrade 1.5 billion disposable diapers into landfill yearly!

You can reduce landfill waste from your kid’s toys by making their toys from old clothing, from the tutorial we’ve given you before…. Or you can purchase, SAFE LEAD FREE toys from that are handmade by moms who understand your safety concerns with today’s toy corporations!

Crayons and play dough, also ouchie pouchies
Turtle Mommy
http://turtlemommy.etsy.com

Play Goop, Surprise Rocks,
Leaky Mouth
http://leakymouth.etsy.com
(shop currently closed-Reopening soon! Bookmark it!)

Also check out green toys on Artfire:
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=categories&main_cat_id=33

Crafty? Follow these tutorials!

For those old broken up crayons:
http://michaelgrace.blogspot.com/2009/03/tuesday-tutorial-cookie-crayons.html
Make your own shaped crayons, or buy them on handmade venues.

Soap with enclosed Toy:
http://whipup.net/2008/01/25/tutorial-soaps-for-kids-to-make-pt1/

All kinds of tutorials for handmade toys:
http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/homemade-toys.html

Essentially, no matter what you do, where you are, you can take steps to lessen your carbon footprint and leave the world a nicer, cleaner, healthier place to live!

Want to calculate your carbon footprint? Check it out here: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/

Happy Green Living..

~~Mama and Rocker

Don't forget Rocker's Super Cool Giveaway!

CLICK HERE for details!

Introducting, Garsticksandstring

"Man enough to knit...strong enough to purl" is the logo for GARsticksandstring.etsy.com. Gar, as he is referred to, is, are you ready....a 14 year old young man who knits and sells his awesome handmade items online.

But let's not focus on his age. Yes, it is unique to find a teenage boy knitting, let alone using the word "purl"..(which, by the way, caused this blog author to bust out the dictionary.) Apparently, purl means, "An inversion of stitches in knitting, which gives to the work a ribbed or waved appearance." And Gar can do it well! His amazing creations include lambs, hedgehogs (the favorite of a few BHR staff), scarves, hats, baskets and more!

Gar is homeschooled and attributes his love of knitting to several people, including Ms. Kelda, a teacher who helped get him started with knitting. He also owes much to his mom, who Gar says, "brings me through the rough and applauds through the success"...and she buys the supplies of course! Gar lives with his parents, and slightly older sister (just 13 months!) in Louisiana. Gar is ALWAYS having a wool craving, he says, and if he is unable to knit for a few days, feels bad!

When asked if he had a wishlist of purchases, he replied that he would like "patches and a bumper sticker for the business",and earrings for sister and, of course, more wool. Besides his shop on Etsy, Gar also has a shop on Ravelry, www.garstickandstring.ravelry.com.

It is refreshing to see a young man with goals..and Gar has goals indeed! If he had no time or money restraints he'd love to create cable mittens, Easter eggs, baskets, and pottery. He loves to create custom orders, and would probably knit 24 hours in the day if he could!

Gar is also "member/moderator/(co)creator of a group called Minor Effect! Minor Effect is a group for teens (ages 13-19) on Etsy to get together and share ideas. There are 3 other leaders helping out: CrochetRUs (member/moderator/(co)creator), peasantsoup (admin/adult supervisor), and WorksInProgress (admin/adult supervisor)!!" Although they are not an acutal street team, they provide each other with support, encouragement, and share ideas and life has a young handmade artisan on their blog.

One of the things that makes this shop and artist unique is that some of the items are felted, which Gar explains, "for those of you who don't know what that {felted} means I knit my projects with 100% wool and then I agitate them in BOILING hot water for about an hour and the fibers in the wool come together so my projects come out felted!" Now THAT is handmade!

We anticipate many great things for Gar, and a happy life full of wool,sales, and overall handmade awesomeness!

Be sure to check out Gar's shop as he is gearing up for Spring and Easter!

GARsticksandstring.etsy.com

Artisan to Artisan Tonight at 9 PM Eastern--Get your blog on...

Come on in tonight at 9 pm Eastern and learn a little bit about jazzing up your blog and adding PayPal buttons to your blog so you can sell directly from your blog!! Who doesn't need a little help in marketing? Blockhead Radio wants to help!! Blockhead Rod and AGoodWitchToo will be there to hold your hand and help you learn more about this angle for your business!

You will want to have signed into your PayPal Account and Blog just before the show, to save time!

As always, great tunes will be playing!! Have a request? Mention it in chat and Blockhead Rod will spin it for you! Not sure who we play? Well, we ONLY play indie musicians, and to find out more about them, simply go to http://blockheadradiolive.com/songlist You will soon have you favorites!!

So come on over, join in chat, laugh, learn and call in if the mood strikes you!

www.blockheadradiolive.com 24/7 live streaming indie music, exposing artisans to the world!!

Are You Ready for a Party?

Then mark your calender, chill the bubbly and come on over on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 8pm Eastern!

We're having a "Thank You" party for EVERYONE who has worked so hard to fight CPSIA! It is an especially big thank you for some hard working people who have gone OVER and BEYOND the call of duty to fight CPSIA for handmade artists everywhere!

What IS CPSIA? Well, the words needed to describe it are not appropriate for Blockhead Radio....

If you need to find out about CPSIA simply go to these sites:

CPSIA Central

Handmade Toy Alliance

National Bankruptcy Day


Invite EVERYONE, and come on in, have a drink, listen to some tunes and take a break! Pat yourselves on the back for your hard work fighting CPSIA, and come chill with us! Because it'll be back to work Monday morning!

We also hope to have some special guests in chat, and encourage you to call in!

Oh...and it's BYOB....sorry...still can't figure out how to send you all martinis......

www.blockheadradiolive.com



**no spam. Ever. Or the chipmunk gets it.**

Get All Wired Up on Saturday, 1 pm with the Wire Artisans Guild!!

Sorry, couldn't help the pun...

Join us Saturday at 1 pm EASTERN when Lily of TulipsTreasureBox DJs with The Wire Artisans Guild

Check out some of their awesome work HERE.




So come join us in chat, hear some tunes and learn a little about the Wire Artisans Guild! :)

Get to Know Ms. Moo Tonight at 9 pm Eastern

MOOOOOOOOO. What, you don't speak cow? Well you will after tonight!! Join us at 9 pm Eastern with Ruthie of Roseworks Jewelry to learn ALL about our beloved Ms. Moo, the brainchild behind Spotted Cow Soaps! Hear some great tunes and learn all about her soapy goodness, where she gets her moo cow spots, and what life is like up in good ol' Vermont!

There is just TOO much in her shop for me to highlight here, so simply click the pics to check out her shop ahead of time and give her some love! Ms. Moo has almost 600 sales....we think perhaps you could learn a thing or two from her tonight??

Get your soapy love here:




Don't you feel like your baths have been inferior up til now? Check her out and take your bathing experiences up a notch!

So join us at 9 pm Eastern on www.blockheadradiolive.com and meet Ms. Moo! Join in on chat if you want, or just listen in while you go about your business!!

Tell your friends, your mama, your buddy, your coworkers! Blockhead Radio Loves ya Baby!

Do You Entrecard?

If not, you should!! Entrecard, in a nutshell, is a way for you to drop your business card on blogs! Simple as that!

http://entrecard.com


Visit the site, sign up, and have at it. Don't be scared..it does look intimidating but it REALLY isn't that hard!

You sign up, get the code for the widget and put that on YOUR blog. Then you start making drops on other people's blogs. How do you do this? Once signed into Entrecard, click "Campaign" and simply find the blogs you want to make drops on!

How do you succeed with Entrecard? Venture out of your comfort zone! If you make jewelry, don't just make drops on jewelry blogs---they make jewelry, they may not necessarily NEED yours!! Look at the various categories, and MAKE DROPS!! You never know when a techie guy on a computer blog could see your Entrecard and say hey, I need some smokin' jewelry for the lady!

Once you start, you won't stop!! Entrecard is just another tool in guerrilla marketing and you need to use it!!

You don't blog you say? Well, get to it pronto!! Blogging is the future for online marketing, whether you are selling items, showing off your craft, a musician, photographer or just sharing your family life!!

Common blog providers are www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.com

ENJOY!!!

Questions? Email mama@blockheadradio.com

Wordless Wednesday

Mindless Monday...with a little monkey

Seriously? It's Monday again ALREADY?? Sigh.

Well in case you missed it, don't forget to tune in every weekday at 9 am Eastern for the Morning Brew Ha Ha. You'll get your daily dose of Blockhead Rod, Witchy and some rocking tunes! You have to provide your own coffee though...sorry. We're full of love at Blockhead Radio...but reach for the coffee and you draw back a nub...



Here's to a wonderful day!

Need Some Advertising?

Then you're in the right place!!! Did you know you can purchase advertising from Blockhead Radio through Etsy or Artfire?

Check out our listings, share them with your friends!! Get a great deal on advertising and raise your feedback at the same time! :)

Click here for the Etsy Listing.

Click here for the Artfire Listing.

And as always you can check out other advertising rates and offers at www.blockheadradio.com/advertising

Thus ends today's advertising announcement. We now resume normal possum activities....

Amy, the awesome possum

Artisan Spotlight on WoodedWoods!

Join us Thursday, Feb 5, 2009, at 9pm Eastern for the Artisan Spotlight where our very own Ruthie of Roseworks Jewelry will interview an artisan.

Where? Why at www.blockheadradiolive.com of course!

Tonight's guest is Kamila of WoodedWoods. Kamila creates OOAK art dolls that you just have to see! Join us tonight to hear her talk about her work with Ruthie.

Here is a little bit from Kamila, from her website:

"Making dolls, to me, is the natural progression of a childhood spend doodling away. I have spent my life drawing and sketching mostly whimsical and sometimes "a-little-out-there" characters. After realizing that I would never be happy leaving my characters on the page, and tending to enjoy the doodles and the process more then the finished polished work, I let them out. "

So join us for a great show!!


Amy, your friendly blogger

Excuse my delay in blogging today...

I'm a one-eyed possum today.

Okay, not exactly, but I was delayed on blogging like usual due to a silly eye problem I get from time to time that requires a timely trip to the eye doctor. Oye, I know.

Sooooo, I do hope everyone enjoyed the Sneak Attack Live and Indie Music Spotlight last night!! And I definitely hope everyone is enjoying the awesome music we have playing 24/7 for you!

We are proud to announce we are OFFICIALLY out of beta and no chipmunks or tech support personnel were harmed in the transition. WOOT WOOT!

SO, come on over, the site is VERY user friendly and easy to navigate! The music rocks, and the chat is always fun! You are always welcome in chat, and if you need a safe place to chat with your friends, come on over!! A show does not have to be on for you to take advantage of chat! So invite your friends, family, hear some tunes and chat away!!

www.blockheadradiolive.com 24/7 music, fun, and laughs

Stay tuned for more posts about upcoming shows and more!

Amy, your one-eyed possum blogger

Ask Huck Premiering Tuesday, Feb 3, 2009!!

Tonight is THE night!! Tune in at 8 pm Eastern to hear "Ask Huck" where our very own Huckleberry Arts will have her own show! Join us on www.blockheadradiolive.com where you can ask questions in chat, or call in to speak with Huck yourself! Pick her mind on marketing, business strategies, creative ideas, advertising, or just on how she survives life with Blockhead Rod!! :)

So come on over and pick her beautiful brain and learn everything you can from her...you won't regret it!!

A Huck Original:



Come join us! It'll be a HOOT! :)

Win FREE Advertising! $112 Value!!

Who doesn't want FREE advertising!? Do you sell? Create art? Blog? Write tutorials? No matter what venue, what you do, as long as it's PG-13, you can enter to win our FREE ADVERTISING GIVEAWAY!!

What is this you ask? Free Advertising?

You bet!!

WHAT do you win?

A 30 second in-stream audio commercial for your website/shop, complete with free script and voice over! This ad is for 5 thousand impressions, which means AT LEAST 5 thousand people will hear your ad!! This is a $112 value! The only rule about the site to be advertised is that it is PG-13.

HOW do you win?

You must do a blog post about Blockhead Radio on your blog--with an active link to Blockhead Radio (www.blockheadradiolive.com). Then leave a comment on the blog post -->(CLICK HERE)WITH a link to your blog post about us. Everyone with me? :)

***One Entry Per Blog URL! So if you run ten different blogs, you can enter one time under EACH blog URL!***

The giveaway will run from 1/21/09-2/28/09. On March 1, 2009, we will use a random number generator to pick and winner and VERIFY all the blog post links. We will announce the winner on March 5th on this blog.

Please share this giveaway with everyone you know!! It is a GREAT deal!!


----Amy, your friendly blogger

Artisan to Artisan 9pm Eastern--Google Analytics

If you survived last week's lesson on www.feedburner.com, please join us again this week for Artisan to Artisan where we will have a far less Steinable lesson on Google Analytics. If you got Feedburner to work, you can master GA in no time! If you did NOT get Feedburner right, never fear, our resident geek, Blockhead Rod will show you the way!! Just drop him a line or call him and he'll help you out before or after the show!

Be signed in to your blog and Google Analytics before the show to save time, get comfy and learn how to drive people to your site and use GA to benefit your blog, site, etc. (Sometimes I use it for evil, but only on occassion...)

9pm Eastern, www.blockheadradiolive.com

Come on down!! Our doors are ALWAYS open!

Amy--your friendly blogger

Ask Huck Premiering Tuesday, Feb 3, 2009!!

Join us this Tuesday, Feb 3, 2009 for the PREMIERE edition of "Ask Huck"!! Our very own Huckleberry Arts will be LIVE ON AIR and taking questions via phone and in chat!! What could you Ask Huck? Well, she's been around long enough to answer just about anything about marketing, handmade, computers, online business, advertising, art and more!

Just how long as Huck been doing this? Well, no one really knows....legend has it she drank a brew some years ago that left her immortal...perhaps Witchy knows something about it?

Ok, not really! But, she still knows her stuff and can undoubtedly help you!

So drop on in to chat at www.blockheadradiolive.com and then launch your player to hear the awesome Huck.

She may even reveal how she keeps Blockhead Rod in line.....

I'm thinking duct tape is involved.....

Come and join the fun!!

TUESDAY, FEB 3, 2009 (and EVERY Tuesday!) 8-9 pm Eastern on Blockhead Radio!

Amy--your friendly blogger

Artisan Teams and Groups Spotlight--Sat. Jan 31th 1 pm

Be sure you tune in on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm Eastern for our Artisan Teams and Groups Spotlight show, hosted by our very own lovely Lily from TulipsTreasureBox! Lily will be interviewing Carolyn from the

INCrowd (Indiana) Team. Tune in and let's learn about their awesome team and what they're all about!! Be sure to
check out her shop as well and the team blog!

So take a break from the Saturday grind and tune in with us!

Amy, your friendly blogger

**Need advertising info? Visit www.blockheadradio.com/advertising

Win FREE Advertising from Blockhead Radio!!

Who doesn't want FREE advertising!? Do you sell? Create art? Blog? Write tutorials? No matter what venue, what you do, as long as it's PG-13, you can enter to win our FREE ADVERTISING GIVEAWAY!!

What is this you ask? Free Advertising?

You bet!!

WHAT do you win?

A 30 second in-stream audio commercial for your website/shop, complete with free script and voice over! This ad is for 5 thousand impressions, which means AT LEAST 5 thousand people will hear your ad!! This is a $112 value! The only rule about the site to be advertised is that it is PG-13.

HOW do you win?

You must do a blog post about Blockhead Radio on your blog--with an active link to Blockhead Radio (www.blockheadradiolive.com). Then leave a comment on the blog post -->(CLICK HERE)WITH a link to your blog post about us. Everyone with me? :)

***One Entry Per Blog URL! So if you run ten different blogs, you can enter one time under EACH blog URL!***

The giveaway will run from 1/21/09-2/28/09. On March 1, 2009, we will use a random number generator to pick and winner and VERIFY all the blog post links. We will announce the winner on March 5th on this blog.

Please share this giveaway with everyone you know!! It is a GREAT deal!!


----Amy, your friendly blogger


**Employees of Blockhead Radio are NOT eligible to win.**

Sooo, What IS Blockhead Radio??

I realize some of you are faithful readers, but I realize we are growing every day and perhaps not everyone is truly familiar with Blockhead Radio and its concept.

Essentially, BHR is a 24/7 online radio station that focuses on exposing the artisan to the world. That includes, musicians, crafters, writers, essentially anyone with a creative outlet! If you have an art of some kind and need an outlet--let us know!!

The music plays 24/7 and there are scheduled shows focusing on a variety of topics--including just for fun shows! :)

Chat is also open 24/7 and you are welcome to come hang out any time!! Looking for a safe place to just chill with your friends? Come on over!

You will no doubt enjoy our lovely crew, hosts and listeners!! Make great friends, share your links, and become part of the family!!

So come on down, open chat and the player and enjoy!

Once you go BHR, you never go back!