Neapolitan Delights

I've talked about Neapolitan soap so many times, and I probably will keep on talking about it. It's one of my all-time favorite ice creams, and I just love how all the talented soap makers out there have interpreted this Italian import. Here are a few of my faves.

Serah's

Naiad

The Clack House

(Okay, this one isn't soap, but it looks too good not to feature!)

Cafe Mocha Loca and Brett Favre-ing

So Misty and I were on Facebook the other day yapping about our new soaps, and it turns out that she and I made a very similar soap-at least in color, lol. I've been holding on to this coffee-scented soap for a good while because I've been Brett Favre-ing (that's a new TSSism-translation: waffling) about whether I'd actually make a soap with it, or use it to make candles. I know you're probably saying just do both, but you know my mind is sometimes a day late and a dollar short.

Anyway, I made a new batch of my Amaretto Cake Bars, and I made these Cafe Mocha Loca Bars (that's my new soap.) I didn't want to use coffee in this soap, so I used cocoa powder instead to color it. It sort of looks like coffee grounds too. I'm not a big coffee lover, so the mocha scent and the cocoa powder takes some of the coffee edge off.


These are listed in my Etsy and 1KM shops. I have temporarily closed my Art Fire shop because I'm Brett Favre-ing about whether to stay at a "verified" status or downgrade to basic. I haven't made a sale there since December, and frankly, I'm wasting $12.00 a month (should be $7.00 but I won't go there) with zero sales to at least cover my fees. Don't wanna hear you gotta promote, blah, blah, blah. Maybe it's no longer the venue for me. I love all the cool apps they have, but it means zilch if you're not making sales.

 My official Brett-Favre-ing photo

Oh yeah, I'm also Brett Favre-ing about whether to re-launch my own website too? Whatcha think?

ps-Don't forget to enter my custom sticker giveaway. It's free!

Bitch Post #10: Amazon Payments SUCK!

Ahh yes, people, it's time for another bitch post! We're up to number 10, and I am hotter than a bitch in heat! For those of you who are not familiar with 1000 Markets, they only allow payments to be processed through Amazon Payments. That's wonderful for seasoned sellers who've racked up hundreds of sales via Amazon Payments, but if you're like me and have only had a handful, then they literally hold your money hostage for an indefinite period of time. It's their way of safeguarding the buyer. But where does that leave us sellers? The buyer pays, the transaction clears, but Amazon says "We don't really trust you yet, so we're going to use your money as collateral in case the buyer makes a claim against you..."

If I'm reading this wrong, please enlighten me. I've had 3 sales in the last week on 1000 Markets which is like hitting pay dirt in my book because my last sale there was in July! I don't have time to apply for some Tier II merchant level in an effort to have my money released quicker. I have NEVER had a problem on PayPal. The buyer makes a purchase. They pay through PayPal. The transaction clears. I gets my scrilla, and I ship the goods! We're on week 2, and I do not have my money! Meanwhile, in an effort of good faith and good customer service, I've shipped the buyers' goods. After all, they've paid, so why should they be penalized? I'm just sayin....I WANTS MY MONEY!!!!!

EPILOGUE: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I GUESS IF YOU THROW A PUBLIC HISSY FIT, YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT:)

After contacting Amazon Payments and yes, applying for Tier II status, it was granted. Yay! I'm taking the money and running! Maybe now I'll promote my 1KM shop a little more:)

My 1000 Markets Shop Gets Some Love

I don't know about you, but when you're juggling your shops on different venues, you're bound to neglect one (or more.) I'm currently selling on 4 venues: Art Fire, Etsy, 1000 Markets, and Funky Finds. Oh, and let's not forget this blog-my baby, my pride and joy. Anyway, my 1000 Markets shop has been picking up a little steam lately, and I got a nice e-mail from Erika Pitera, Editor, of My Shopping Connection. She told me that I was featured in the spotlight on the Bath and Body Arcade of 1000 Markets. For those of you who aren't familiar with 1000 Markets, there are little mini markets within the venue itself. The markets are then made up of various shops which sell like items such as jewelry, metal crafts, bath and body, you get the picture.

Thanks, Erika, for featuring my Honey Baby soap. I need to make more of it. I'm almost out!

New Soap: Adore

It's been a whirlwind week! I've been featured on Art Fire, and I made my very 1st sale on

1000 Markets-whoot! Well, it's back to business as usual, and that of course means new soap! How did I come up with that name? It's really simple: I love Prince, and it was a toss up between Soft and Wet and Dirty Mind. I'll keep those two for later projects (wink.) Besides, Adore is my favorite Prince song.

"Until the end of time, I'll be there 4 U. U own my heart and mind, I truly adore U. If God one day struck me blind, your beauty I'd still see. Love's 2 weak 2 define just what U mean 2 me ."

The scent of this soap reminds me of raw passion and profound adoration for the one you love (or have an insane crush on at least....) So what does it smell like? Lemongrass, verbena, driftwood, sandalwood, narcissus, amber stone, tonka bean, and musk. It may sound complicated, but isn't that what love is? Complicated....

Soap components: soybean oil, castor oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter. I'm countin' down the days til this one is ready to use! Your man (or lady) will surely dig it!

Score This Soap!

This week's score comes from 1000 Markets. I'm loving this venue more and more as I explore all the different markets. If you are a chocoholic like me, then you've gotta love the look of this soap. It reminds me of marble cake or fudge vanilla swirl pudding. Either way, it makes me want chocolate. The name of this soap is called--what else, Chocolate Bliss by Bella Luna Crafts. It's made with real cocoa powder, and the description:

"Deep, dark rich chocolate, with just a hint of cream. Yum!"

She had me at chocolate! Check out her shop, and go score!

Window Shopping on 1000 Markets

Morning All,

I've been neglecting my 1000 Markets (or IKM as I shall refer to it going forward) shop. I still had holiday pics up! I'm trying my darndest to ensure that it and my ArtFire shop are mirror images of one another, but it's too much work! I've bitched before about listing before, and it's just a pain, but I've got to get it done! 1KM is such a beautiful marketplace. It's very clean and organized. I love how all the pics are professional-looking (you know that's such a pet peeve of mine.) One thing that I really love about 1KM is it is a juried site. You can't just join and start selling. You've got to be approved, so your offerings have got to be on point! Another thing that I love is that the site is not just one, big selling outlet. It's a bunch of markets where you can shop by genre or likeness. I love it!!!

Anyway, I've been doing some window shopping, and why did I wait so long??? I am in love with one particular market called Modern Simplicity. It is so beautiful in its simplicity. I am such a no-frills type of gal, but I do love things with an edge. One shop that I adore is called Tre Anelli Jewelry. Her work is fantastic and artistic. It's wearable metal art. Check out these gorgeous pieces. I'm saving my quarters now so I can score a few. I'll be checking in regularly now with my 1KM window shopping feature.

(Photos taken from Tre Anelli Jewelry)

Oh Yeah, I Have a 1000 Markets Account

I have officially dissolved my personal website, The Soap Seduction, and have decided to concentrate my efforts on community venues like Art Fire, Etsy, and...1000 Markets! I posted a few months ago that I was going to do the opposite-focus on my personal website. Well, I changed my mind! I personally found it very challenging to promote a personal website in the dawn of these community venues. Driving traffic to my site was my biggest challenge and my greatest defeat. I did everything-I blogged. I linked. I advertised. In the one year I had my website up and running, I only garnered six, count em six sales! I was spending $7.00 a month for web hosting plus the $10.00 annual fee for my domain. My sales couldn't even pay for my site!

1000 Markets is still relatively unknown. I haven't had any sales in the 4 months I've been there, but I haven't marketed my shop either. That all changed when I received an e-mail today saying my shop was added to Dream Mist Land. I'm a little embarrassed because I hadn't updated my shop since before Christmas. My banner and photos all still had holiday themes on them. So I did a little sprucing up! Check out 1000 Markets. It's free to list, but they do collect a fee of 5.5% + $.50 for every sale made. Kinda steep, aint it?

My First Artfire Sale-Whoohoo!!!!

I blogged very recently, albeit briefly about craft sites other than Etsy. I joined Art Fire, the "anti-Etsy," and 1000 Markets. I honestly only joined these sites to gain exposure, not thinking I'd seriously garner any sales, but lo and behold I got one off of Art Fire, and I am so stoked, psyched, overjoyed, and all other happy feelings in between. I sold this Chocolate Fantasy Cold Processed soap, and I feel like I can do anything now. It only takes one to spark the fire (no pun intended.)

I'm going to now more actively market my shops on these venues. There is an audience out there waiting to be "entertained."

Move Over Etsy...

There's some new sheriffs in town-at least deputies anyway. Let's be frank shall we: Etsy is pissing a lot of people off for a number of reasons. Let's break down a few of 'em:

1. Flooded marketplace
2. Sneaky re-sellers
3. Obvious favoritism: Same shops being featured on front page, gift guides, etc.
4. Admin having shops and not disclosing that they're admin
5. Admin just not doing their job of policing the site for breaking the rules

I could go on and on, but Etsy gets enough publicity from their top sellers. I'm here to talk about some up and coming craft venues. I've joined two of them recently in an attempt to hopefully stand out a little more. The first is 1000 Markets. I actually found this site thru a member of EAOC (Etsy Artists of Color.) It's a growing online marketplace for crafters and the look and feel is very different from Etsy. It's much more streamlined and "cleaner" in its overall appearance. I haven't garnered any sales yet, one because I've been busy and haven't been actively promoting it-yet. The second site is called Art Fire. I found this one thru Etsy Bitch. If you haven't visited Etsy Bitch, then you should check it out. This is a site totally dedicated to sticking it to Etsy by calling them out for every thing done or gone wrong. The talk is frank, candid, and admittedly, dead-on. Anyway, Art Fire is really cool because there are two sign up options: The verified and basic packages. There are NO listing/commission fees except for the verified package which is a flat $7.00 a month fee.

It's good to have options. This isn't an Etsy bash post. I like Etsy. I've made many friends thru Etsy, but Etsy isn't the only choice. Check out 1000 Markets and Art Fire to name a few. Maybe you'll find a new home for your handmade goods.