Say "Booooooo!" and Vote for Your Favorite Halloween Themed Item

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to vote for your favorite item in the ACT October Contest. Our theme was “Booooooo!” and 4 of our talented artists submitted one of their creations.

First up, is a Devil Ring submitted by the Vermont mother and daughter team at With Our Hands. The size is adjustable.

Second, Coco of ByCoco--Art for Everyday Enjoyment, who hails from Maine, submitted her stained glass Ghost and Bat Duo, which measures approximately 4.5"x2.5".




Next, Haffina Creations from Southern Australia created this polymer clay Evil Tomato Keyring. The eyes and mouth of the tomato are glow in the dark clay, and each side is different.




Finally, Creations With Heart, a Jewelry artisan from Michigan entered these glass bead Ghost Earrings made with sterling silver ear wires.




It’s now up to you to help determine which of these pieces best fits our October theme: "Booooooo!" To find out more about each piece just click on either it's picture or its title. If you'd like to see other works by that artist, click on the name of their studio. Once you've made up your mind, please vote using the poll below.



Each month, members of this Artfire Artisan Guild are challenged to create something that represents a specific theme. The contest is designed to spur their creativity in the spirit of friendly competition. Stay tuned to find out who won the Artfire Cafemom Team's contest this month.

What will our November theme will be? Becoming a follower of this blog is an easy way to keep abreast of future themes. If you're an artist and would like to participate in our monthly contests, join our guild on Artfire.com. We are user friendly and welcome new members.

StichNLove's Tie-Dyed Ensemble Wins ACT's Retro Challenge

Congratulations to Christie of StitchNLove for winning ACT's retro themed September Challenge. At the beginning of the month, our guild master, Jenn of Jemz, dared us to get "groovy" with the 1960's and 70s and create something "far out". And Christie responded by creating this funk-a-delic (a creative combination of the words funky and psychedelic) Tye Dyed Bell Bottom Outfit complete with a cloche hat.

Christie was captivated by the material from the moment she first laid her eyes on it. Each time she returned to the store, she was once again drawn to the colorful tie-died material but couldn't figure out what to do with it until the theme of ACT's September challenge was announced. "When I thought of the 60's and 70's, I thought of bell bottoms and tie-dye. This outfit blends the two," said Christie.

Christie designed this boutique outfit using patterns she found online at You Can Make This. She used Toni Hamel's Skinny Bell Bottoms pattern as the basis. She combined elements of two shirt patterns from the same site to create the tie-dyed top. Even the hat pattern came from You Can Make This!

The pants pattern seemed to run a little big, which presented her with an additional challenge. However Christie was very pleased with the overall project and said, "It took about a day from cut to last stitch, but it came together even better than I imagined."

Knowing that Christie is Mom to 6 children, I asked her when and how she carves out the time to design and sew her outfits. Her reply: "Very creatively actually. I sew when Dad is home in the evenings and after bed time. And I sew during the day as much as the kids will let me. There are only two not in school. Next year, I have to decide if I am going to homeschool my youngest daughter, and that will be interesting: homeschool and a sewing business.

(Any homeschoolers out there? Leave your tips for Christie in the comments below.)

When I expressed my curiosity about what her young model had to say about the outfit, Christie shared this antidote. "She is such a ham! She often stands next to my mirage of outfits with her hands in a prayer position and asks what she can wear. This outfit, if I am not mistaken, she wore to bed that night, she liked it so much!"

Each month ACT (Artfire CafeMom Team) challenges its guild members to create something that reflects the chosen theme. Member artists have 21 days to submit their entry by posting a picture of their item in a designated thread within the guild's forum on Cafemom.com. The general public, as well as guild members, are then invited to vote for their favorite item during the last week of the month.

Christie was the only one to rise to the challenge this month, but even if there had been several artists competing, I do believe that she would have won hands down with this 60's & 70's inspired bell bottom ensemble.

To find out more information about ordering this fun colorful outfit in the right size for your little lass, just click on the link to go to the listing for this Tye Dyed Bell Bottom Outfit in StitchNLove's Studio on Artfire.com.

Vote for "Ret Hot"

Our ACT contest theme for August is "Red Hot" and we have, for your deliberation, eight hot, Hot, HOT, unique handmade works of art from Artfire studios which belong to our members. At first, I was surprised to see that no one entered an artistic rendition of a hot chilli pepper, but then I remembered how creative we all are, and that might have been just too predictable.

After reviewing the submissions below, please vote for your favorite red hot item. Unfortunately, you must pick just one, but feel free to leave comments about the others you liked in the the comment section below. Thanks for helping us to select this months winner.

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Handmade Pink and Red Apple Large Zip Pouch (Applique on Linen)

by djStoreRoom

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Ray-Lee Manta Ray Sock Drawer Refresher

by Eddy G

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Desert Fortress Abstract Watercolor Blazing Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ

by Spirit Essence Art

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Red Sweetheart Coffee Cup Cozy

by SubEarthan Cottage

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Look Hot Hot Hot in Cherry Red Jewelry Set

by The Blue Beadle

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Red Super Soft Scarf with Angel Hair

by With Our Hands

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Chainmaille Necklace Fire and Ice Byzantine

by HaffinaCreations

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For Any Old Red Hat "Hottie"

by ByCoco

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Vote for Your Favorite in ACT's July Summertime Contest

We have some great entries this month, which may make it hard to pick a favorite. But we want your vote and the votes of your friends, so please tweet, digg, plurk, email, post, or pass this link along in whatever way you communicate online.
Voting begins now and will run through July 31. July's winner and August's ACT Contest theme will be announced right here on our ACT Blog at the beginning of August. So, pick your favorite, vote, and may the best summertime creation win...

Fab Fuzzy Flip Flops by Bittersweet Design Studio
Slip them on to go to the pool, the beach, or wherever...

Grass Stain Soap by SubEarthan Cottage

I'm totally in love with the scent!

Morning Buzz Post Earrings by A Bit of Color
Something bright and sunny to wear for summer (or anytime)...

Oh YUM! Ice Cream Tags by Diecutz
Think ice cream sundaes...

Life is a Fantastic Voyage by Face of Contentment
Abalone like and bronze clay beads dangle with great movement...

Hand Crochet Toddler Dress by Jemz
The perfect hand crocheted Toddler Summer Dress...

Emerald Sea Shore Bracelet by Anonymous ACT Team Member
The little star fish just add a little spark!

Zodiac Crab-Cancer by Eddy’s Pressies
He's king of the Summertime castle...

Palm Tree Sunset Sterling Anklet by Creations With Heart
Perfect to wear all summer long!

Ice Pop Finger Savers by Stitch ‘N Love Boutique
These yell SUMMERTIME, even in the winter in my house!

Lemongrass Citrus Loofah Soap by Amy Rose Berlin
A refreshing slice of Lemongrass Citrus Loofah Soap!

Summer Flowers T-Shirt Market Bag by With Our Hands
Summertime=Market; Grab this "green" upcycled shirt Market Bag...

Stretch Japanese Chainmaille Bracelet by Haffina Creations
I love to make chainmaille pieces in bright colours...

Handmade Large Zip Pouch Cherries by Djstoreroom
Abundant Fruits--Cheery Cherries for Summer!

Song of the Sea by SWDesigns
Firepolished Jablonex beads are the sparkling aqua color of the sea...

Summertime is This Month's ACT Contest Theme

July marks the beginning of the changes to our ACT contest. We have switched from a weekly theme to a monthly theme, and right now the theme is Summertime.

We began accepting entries on July 1st, and as an ACT member, you have until the 21st of this month to post your entry in our discussion thread on Cafemom. Please post a picture of the item you are entering, as well as the link to the item in your Artfire studio as well as the name of your studio and a link to your studio. One entry per artist please.

By extending the submission window to three (3) weeks, we are hoping more artists will be able to participate. If they didn't already have something in their shop that fit the theme, they have time to create something and get it posted.

Voting will take place the following week on this blog between July 23 and July 30. Beginning August 1, The winner will have their rapid cart displayed in the top right hand corner of our blog for the following month.

August 1st will also be the day we begin accepting entries for August's theme, which will remain a secret for now. We are still working out the details and hoping to be able to open our contest to all Artfire artists by August. More on that later.

So far we have nine (9) entries for July, and we still have 18 days to go. So if you don't have an item that fits the summertime theme, maybe you can create something and enter it.

Oh, I just love summer!!! How about you???

Happy Father's Day Weekly Contest

In order to honor all our fathers, our grandfathers, and our children's fathers, this week's theme for the ACT Weekly Contest was Father's Day. Unfortunately, at press time, there were only two entries, but two very nice entries indeed--Both worthy of the men we intend to honor this Sunday.

Title of this piece is:
Masculine Musings Journal

As modelled by me (couldn't find any brave men)
A hat for all dads who love to go fishing

Once again, the winner is up to you. Please vote below.

Thank you for voting. We hope you'll stay tuned for the announcement about some changes to our weekly contest. We have received requests, suggestions, and answers to our questions, and change is in the air...

Show Me Your Rainbows!

Rainbows

"Show me your rainbows!" was this week's contest challenge from our guild leader, JazzyJems.
Each week, a new theme is announced to the members of the Artfire Cafemom Team, who then submit one of their creations. The entries are then posted on Saturday and voting takes place throughout the weekend. Come Monday morning, the winner of our public poll gets their Rapid Cart displayed on our blog for a week.
It's a lot of fun for the participating artists and we hope it's a lot of fun for those voting as well. So please take a moment to browse this week's colorful entries and place your vote. These artists will be glad you did. (Click on the shop name to see what else is in the artist's studio or click on the photo or item name to learn more about their entry.)

Arlene of Spirit Essence Art says, "Rainbow colors are kind of my specialty! Here is my entry:"

Small Round Rainbow Plates

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Tamra of WithOurHands said, "Here's my rainbow item:"

Somewhere Over the Rainbow Fun & Funky Thin Scarf

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Yarn of a Tail said, "Here is a skein af yarn that has some of the soft colors from the rainbow, the way you often see it in the sky."

Hand Spun and Hand Painted Yarn

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Katie of The Blue Beadle said, "I call this one my "Rainbow Beads Set." It is made from the glass czech beads. It includes 2 pairs of earrings and a bracelet.

Rainbow Czech Beads Jewelry Set

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Eddy of Eddy's Pressies said, "I'm going to put in my owl cushion-pals as they are the colours of the rainbow (even though 2 have been sold-orange and green-hurrah.)"

Owl Cushion-Pal

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Vote in Artfire Cafemom's Weekly Contest

This week's contest theme is Graduation and here are the three entries. Let us know which one is your favorite.

Mindy's Embroidery entered her "Naughty Pooping Graduation Owl" . She said, "Here is my Graduation contest entry. Its a Candy holder."


ByCoco submitted her "Bethany Angel" saying, "How about an angel to "guard and guide" as the newly graduated venture into the next phase of their life?"


Haffina Creations entered this "Pearl and Crystal Necklace". She asks, "How about a beautiful pearl and crystal necklace for a female graduate?"


If you'd like to learn more about the piece, click on its title or picture. To see everything the artist has for sale in their shop click on their name.

Is it time to Change ACT’s Weekly Contest?

For the past several weeks the Artfire Cafemom Team (ACT), an artist guild on Artfire.com, has been running a weekly contest. A theme is announced to guild members who submit one of their items, which is for sale in their Artfire Studio. A poll is then posted and voting by the general public takes place throughout the weekend, with the winner announced on Monday. The winner receives one week of free advertising on this blog by having their ArtFire rapid card displayed.

It’s a well planned and orchestrated contest. But only a limited number of the guild members have been submitting one of their creations. That was great for those of us having fun with this friendly competition because it gave us a better chance at winning notoriety and free publicity. But one of the comments left on last week’s poll started me thinking about ways to improve or expand the contest.

What if we opened the contest to any artist with a studio on Artfire?

Here are some pros:

ACT would become more visible and better known throughout the Artfire community.

ACT would receive more entries each week, which would mean more variety and excitement for those participating as well as for our readers who vote.

Artist’s outside of ACT who enter the contest would help bring more traffic and readers to this blog.

ACT's membership may increase.

And Here are some possible cons:

We might have to limit the number of entries per week.

.We’d have to post the weekly theme somewhere in Artfire rather than in our Cafemom forum.

Whether you are a member of ACT or not, if you are reading this, we welcome your feedback. Please answer the questions in this quick poll:

Get This - Survey Results - GlowDay.com

We’re all ears as we consider making changes to ACT's Weekly Contest. So, if you can think of any additional pros and/or cons, or even just questions or other suggestions, please give us your opinions in the comment section at the end of this article. We’ll let you know in a few weeks if we decide that it is time to change our weekly contest. Meanwhile, it’ll be back to business as usual, so tune in again next weekend and vote for your favorite item right here on the ACT blog.

Weekly Contest: Let's Go to the Beach

Vote to let us know which item you think best represents this week's Artfire Cafemom Team's contest theme: Let's Go to the Beach.
Learn more about each item by clicking on the photo or the items name below the photo. To go the artist's store, click on the Artfire Studio name.
Voting begins on Saturday and goes through Sunday.

Mindy's Embroidery: Flip Flop Lip Balm Holder


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With Our Hands: T-shirt Turned into Market Bag


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ByCoco: "Gotcha"--Stained Glass Hooked Fish


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Sisters of the Moon: Bikini Cover Up Skirt

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