Dotties

If you have less than 20 mvPOINTS left after redeeming your mvPRIZES, you can redeem the left over points for cool dots, thus becoming a cool dottie (c=

Dots are cumulative, all game seasons will refer to this page. As cool dots add up, you can use them to grab the TOP prize if it's a tight race, or advance to the next Award level. Hence cool dots = money & prizes, so don't forget to add yours! Think of it as a frequent flyer account, but you have to claim your miles :D

MAX dots that can be awarded per player per game season: 19.

TOP dottie will have an SEO link added to this page and all dotties will have a link of their choice added for improving their SEO. And remember: cool dots can be redeemed for prizes as they accumulate. Play a little every month and then redeem when you reach the max :)

These fine people have used their mvPOINTS to get the awesome dots you see by their names.

Let's hear it for...

(Original Handmade Dishtowel Aprons ☆TOP shop)
☆@apronsbymeme Etsy shop .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ......
@happiehippiechk ArtFire shop .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......
@BernoullisAttic ArtFire shop .......... .......... .......... ........
@kraftymax ArtFire shop .......... .........
@runwaycrochet Etsy shop .......... .........
@MaggiesDesigns ArtFire shop .......... .........
@barleecreations ArtFire shop .......... .........
@soapsmith ArtFire shop .......... .........
@buttonsmail ArtFire shop .......... .........
@CrankyCatStudio Etsy shop .......... .........
@KNNGraphics BlueCanvas photos .......... ....
@namalihandcraft website ......
@sweepsweetie tweets .....
@UrbanMatchInc Matchmaking .
@mvbeads Zazzle Gift shop .

---

♥Special Gifts♥

Some friends have been playing for so long they've accumulated LOADS of cool dots. Since they are also the ones who know the games in and out, they usually are in the TOP THREE without needing to use their dots to level up... so... the dots keep accumulating :)

I will start adding special gifts for the PRO players. You can claim them now or keep building up your dots and wait to see what the next numbers will unlock, what will 100 be? 200? :) These prizes are only available on this page, so you have to be on the list above and have enough dots to claim them.

Thank you so much for playing so hard and have FUN discovering what each level will unlock :)

Dots	Prize	Available	Claimed by
50	A $5 Donation to Tatyanna's Hope	10
100	One of the gifts in the pic above, TBD	2

---

This is our definition, and we can change it as we wish. Want to add words, remove words, anything? Comment below :)

1. dottie n.
AWESOME peep who has used smarts, speed, kindness, and general wonderfulness to gain mvdots. Dotties are very avant garde peeps.

2. dote n.
A darling, a cutie.

3. dote v.
Adore; Shower with love; Show excessive affection for.

Other people's definitions:

Want to know more about what a dottie is? The definitions below come from http://urbandictionary.com, and I have edited them to make them suitable for all audiences. Are a lot of people in love with someone named Dottie? LOL

4. dottie
[...] best friend that anyone could ever have. Will do anything for you and will do it with a smile.

5. dottie
The most beautiful, honest, and trustworthy girl on the planet earth.

---

A different type of poll

Congratulations KraftyMax with 47 poll votes! ♥ ::happy dance::
The poll has ended. THANK YOU all for your WONDERFUL support. Still counting the promotional entries, #AFP has been a success :)

We are celebrating 6 months of AFUS (Artfire Favorite Undiscovered Studios) features, and to honor the wonderful selfless supporters I've had the opportunity to see in action, I would like to present to you a different type of poll.

ArtFire has just introduced the Like button for studios. So why not use it as a vote counter? :) Since it's so new, it gives everyone a pretty fair level playing field, so let's use it!

I would like to limit the number of studios to make it easier to vote, but I definitely plan to run a Favorite Supporter Poll regularly, so if you have been quietly supporting undiscovered studios, do let me know so I can send my heartfelt thanks.

The 10 studios I've picked for this month's Favorite Supporter Poll, are just 10 out of 29 (I know of) who have been very active in helping ArtFire shops get their first sale. Come back next month to see some more of these beautiful studios run by wonderful, selfless people.

How to vote:

To vote, click Like inside the studio(s) you like. Easy peasy :)

The Like button is on the left side of each studio, under the avatar. The voting will be done by clicking the Like button, such that it changes to Liked. Vote for all the ones you like, the Like votes will be tallied Tuesday May 25rd at 11:59 PM PST.

If you see a Liked button under the studio avatar, it means you have already voted for that studio, Thank You!
Like=You can vote. Liked=You have already voted.

Participating studios (links open in a new window):

AndreaDesigns	(40)+25
ExquisiteStudios	(11)+25
hummingbirdtak	(0)+16
InletImages	(0)+18
KraftyMax	(10)+47
Melekdesigns	(5)+18
OuttaSight	(1)+11
quirkydame	(0)+27
vabeachquilter	(54)+40
Valmade	(0)+14

These are all GORGEOUS shops and you will truly enjoy visiting them. We all need more beauty in our lives :)

So go ahead, click them and then click Like whenever the sight pleases you. Scroll up this page for the background story of the poll, scroll down to see how YOU could win $10.

The prizes:

The TOP WINNER of the poll will win a $20 gift certificate to use in any of the undiscovered shops that have joined more than 3 months ago. The complete list of undiscovered shops can be found in this forum thread.

Everyone who promotes this poll will be entered into a drawing to win a $10 gift certificate to use in an undiscovered shop from the aforementioned list. One entry per promotion instance, for up to 20 entries per person. Comment in any of the related voting threads, email me, or comment below to let me know you are participating by promoting the poll.

Thank you all! Let the games begin! :)

---

List of $10 giveaway participants, updated nightly (contact me if I've missed your entries). NOTE: The link to the poll should go to where people can see all the participants. :) It is safest to use http://bit.ly/anLfdD (or any short URL pointing to the top of this post, the voting area of this post at http://mvbeads.blogspot.com/2010/05/different-type-of-poll.html#votenow, the forums, or anywhere where the whole list of participants in in plain sight).

@vabeachquilter, VaBeachQuilter, @kraftymax, @kraftymax, Krafty Max Originals, @kraftymax, @JewelryHaven, @vabeachquilter, @kraftymax, @vabeachquilter, @kraftymax, VaBeachQuilter, @vabeachquilter, Krafty Max Originals, Shallas Designs, @kraftymax, @vabeachquilter, @kraftymax, @vabeachquilter, @vabeachquilter, @DesignWithHeart, @kraftymax, @apronsbymeme, @ARTIBILITY, JennyZ DreamZ, Aprons by MeMe, Aprons by MeMe, @apronsbymeme, @Craftyscreation, @kraftymax, Aprons by MeMe, Aprons by MeMe, @kraftymax, Aprons by MeMe, Aprons by MeMe, @vabeachquilter, @kraftymax, @dee_hausker, @apronsbymeme, @apronsbymeme, @kraftymax, ............

WOW! ::happy dance:: ♥ There have been too many tweets and posts to try to find them all. Thank you ALL! ♥ Please do comment below if you have entered and you are not on the list above. We might have a second drawing. :)

41 known entries entered at random.org's list randomizer... Picking random number: 23. 23 on the list:
~~~~~~ DRUMROLL ~~~~~~
@kraftymax

WOOT WOOT! ♥ CONGRATULATIONS Krafty Max! One of your twitter promos was the WINNING entry! WINNING both the number of poll votes and the giveaway! AMAZING!

mv SCORES - Handmade AFP ArtFire Parade

The #AFP games have ended. THANK YOU all for the FUN, it's been a blast! Read below for info on redeeming your mvpoints. Points expire 5/31 11:59PM EDT. Next mvgame starts July 1st. See you then! :)

mvPOINTS will be awarded to game winners, each game having a certain value announced in its tweet.

mvpoints can be redeemed at any time by sending a tweet to @mvbeads with the hashtag word #mvREDEEM and your choice of prize.

I will reply through a Direct Message with the code corresponding to your prize, and deduct it from your available mvpoints. Heads-up that Direct Messages can only be sent to followers, and that I may answer instantly, or it may take a little longer, depending on my work schedule.

============ SCOREBOARD ============
totalSCORES - POINTSavailable - @player
21 - 0 - @ameliaoriginals
20 - 0 - @CatsWire
10 - 0 - @dee_hausker
10 - 0 - @DesignsbyAudrey
1 - 0 - @JewelryWorksbyK
5 - 0 - @IlMareAtelier
74 - 0 - @KNNGraphics
5 - 0 - @lauraslefthook
11 - 0 - @LBeadBoutique
5 - 0 - @LifeExpedition
2 - 0 - @LoveGlass2
5 - 0 - @M2bC
5 - 0 - @mg_d
1 - 0 - @mvbeads
5 - 0 - @Pandulaarts
5 - 0 - @pcandangels
15 - 0 - @shieldsphotos

@
Do let me know if you are a player and I've missed you.
=====================================

PRIZES while supplies last.
First come, first served.
All COUPONS will EXPIRE at the end of the month.

mvPOINTS PRIZE
1 .............. Dotties
20 ............ COUPON: get this magnet for 25 cents.
40 ............ COUPON: $2 OFF any order above $10.
60 ............ COUPON: 20% OFF any order.
80 ............ COUPON: 25% OFF any order.
100 .......... COUPON: 30% OFF any order.
~MAX possible mvPOINTS: 280

TOP SCORES
1st place ........ KNNGraphics (blog) Congratulations!
2nd place ........ ameliaoriginals (shop) Congratulations!
3rd place ......... CatsWire (blog) Congratulations!

Good luck ♥

Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy Week of 05/17 to 05/23 Features

Daily links go live as soon as the corresponding Undiscovered Studios are featured:

Monday ~ Silver Favorite
Tuesday ~ Bronze Favorite
Wednesday ~ First Honorable Mention Favorite
Thursday ~ Second Honorable Mention Favorite

---

05/18 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

The Bronze Winner of the Favorite Undiscovered Studios poll is spiral, specializing in jewelry and accessories with Asian flair, ethnic flavor, and a taste of bygone days. There, you will find perfect gifts for ladies of any age.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section below, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

spiral's studio sections are:

My Bamboo Closet
Paper and Paint Gallery

spiral's Lowest priced item is $6. The highest priced item is $60.

This gorgeous bamboo and turquoise bangle bracelet is one of my favorites:


What is YOUR favorite? :)

---

05/19 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

A First honorable mention Winner in the Favorite Undiscovered Studios poll, flowerpotdesign specializes in gorgeous flower jewelry and accessories handmade from scrap fabric. There, you will find perfect gifts for the color loving ladies in your entourage.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section below, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

flowerpotdesign's Lowest priced item is $4.50. The highest priced item is $15.

This Fabric Art Bijoux Flower Brooch in Yellow Satin and Purple Lace is one of my favorites:


What is YOUR favorite? :)

---

05/20 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

A Second honorable mention Winner in the Favorite Undiscovered Studios poll, UrsaMajor, specializes in "outsider folk art", i.e. art created largely using salvaged and recycled materials. There, you will find gorgeous spray paintings, perfect gifts for the eclectic people in your entourage who appreciate art.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section below, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

UrsaMajor's Lowest priced item is $69. The highest priced item is $359.

This faerie-like holographic painting on recycled wood is one of my favorites:


What is YOUR favorite? :)

Unique Button Crafts from WishUponAWishbone

---

05/17 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy
Special Feature

---

Today's shop is a Silver Finalist in the Artfire Favorite Undiscovered Studios poll and makes very unique items you are sure to not find anywhere else: wishbones made from buttons. Ever wondered how to find that unique gift that would set you apart? Wonder no more because...

... WishUponAWishbone is here to save the day! :)

And those are not any wishbones, they are customized wishbones. You can even find quirky wedding wishbones in this shop, or request any type of wishbone be made especially for you.

Brigitte is a proud Canadian, and the owner of WishUponAWishbone. She creates costumes for a large theatre company, so you can be sure she will never run out of buttons. Better yet, anything you'd like customized, she probably has the right button for it :) She also creates button jewelry which you can request as a custom order (matching bridal jewelry for that wedding wishbone? Why not?)

Here is how her wishbones came about and what they mean to her, in her own words:

"I've often struggled finding my place and my peace in this world. I've hung my wishbone in my bedroom so I see it every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to sleep, and it reminds me of all I've accomplished and all that's waiting for me ahead."

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

WishUponAWishbone's Lowest priced item is $12. The highest priced item is $18. (Custom jewelry starts at $3).

This elegant red, black, and white wishbone is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

And the WINNER of the Favorite Poll is...

... Well, this month I'll skip the suspense and get right down to business. TOP FIVE by number of votes...

~~~~~~DRUMROLL~~~~~~
(just a little teensy bit of suspense :)

(#) STUDIO - VOTES
(5) DS TheWoodyNook - 5 votes
(5) URSAMAJOR - 5 votes
(4) flowerpotdesign - 6 votes
(3) spiral - 7 votes
(2) WishUponAWishbone - 10 votes
(2) DS ajoeynamedroo - 10 votes
(1) DS KraftyMax - 35 votes

The DS studios have been discovered and have had their first sale! Congratulations!

Check out the rest of the GORGEOUS studios that were favorites this month:

gypsythreads
MRCDesigns
shallasdesigns
SonoraKaysCreations
vbdesigns (Currently on vacation)

We have seen record support this month, with no less than EIGHT artists going above and beyond to help promote undiscovered studios. Heartfelt thanks KraftyMax, WishUponAWishbone, night_owl2704, Outta Sight, VABeachQuilter, AndreaDesigns, SotocapMania, and ExquisiteStudios! Five artists and awesome ArtFire have tweeted about the poll. Thank you @quirkydame, @kraftymax, @ajoeynamedroo, @myspiralntbk, @ArtFire, and @WallCakes! Many thanks to all the voters, visitors, thread bumpers, and all around awesome encouraging people who have participated in this undiscovered studio promotion!

With three first sales, this has been a success! This month is actually the first month when the top winner got their first sale before I could feature them! One of Krafty's regular customers from another site has bought FIVE items from her ArtFire store! AWESOME! Congratulations to all who have had their first sale this month and wishing everyone MANY sales!

Look forward to features on the undiscovered studios with 0 sales the morning of. Mini-features about other poll participants who are still undiscovered may also be posted this week ~ to replace the discovered studios.

The poll is over, but that doesn't mean you can't mention your favorites. That is what the comments are for :)

Looking forward to hearing from you!

May Favorite Undiscovered Studios POLL

We have twelve undiscovered studios this month. Pick as many studios as you like, no limits here :) Thank you so much for participating! Tell your friends how cool you are :)

Results will be tallied Friday May 14th at 11:59PM PST. Top winners will be featured starting Monday May 17th.

May Undiscovered Studios Pick your favorites below: (Studios are clickable and open in a new window)
	ajoeynamedroo
	flowerpotdesign
	gypsythreads
	KraftyMax
	MRCDesigns
	shallasdesigns
	SonoraKaysCreations
	spiral
	TheWoodyNook
	URSAMAJOR
	vbdesigns
	WishUponAWishbone
Ends Friday 05/14 at 11:59 PM PST.
pollcode.com

Thank you so much for showing your appreciation! Tell your twitter friends to vote too, and if you'd like to see more beauty, check out the complete list of undiscovered studios.

I would like to give SEO credit to pages featuring these shops, the winner, or the poll, so do EMAIL ME your link to the feature or page running the poll widget :)

The wonderful artisans below are supporting undiscovered studios by linking to the poll or helping promote undiscovered studios. The widget code is below this list, join in the fun! :)

KraftyMax ~ One of a kind customized handmade jewelry

WishUponAWishbone ~ Unique wishbones handmade from buttons

night_owl2704 ~ Handmade fabric items. Intriguing bra purses!

Outta Sight ~ Autism awareness jewelry, donates 50%

VABeachQuilter ~ Quilted everything, purses, microwave potato bags...

AndreaDesigns ~ Gorgeous knit scarves, shawls, ponchos, and more

SotocapMania ~ Eclectic bottle cap and other mixed media creations

ExquisiteStudios ~ OOAK Handmade vintage-look jewelry and more

Comments section is open for gushing about these wonderful undiscovered shops :) Please proceed! :)

Widget code (Run widget until 05/14/2010, your SEO link on this page will be permanent):

---

<center><a href="http://mvbeads.blogspot.com/2010/05/may-favorite-undiscovered-studios-poll.html#votenow" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGvbuZbQayOWwvmtAv9GCVNn7YOYZ-_rj2bZPbSDG3A62fROwJcOP20nqY5_ToC6g4YjHz2ashwN7fJfg8s9Ix9XCQLk5IjbPYhAaOipsfH92YlZeyDNkSOOPPJlnLO0gFvpviELPFPbC/" alt="Vote for your Favorite Undiscovered Studios" border="0"><br>Discover ArtFire Studios<br>and Vote for your Favorites</a></center>

---

May Flowers that could last forever

For this month's giveaway I've decided to offer something special: coupon codes to save on new ArtFire PRO subscriptions. You can enter either by clicking like on the giveaway post on my fan page, or commenting "PRO code" below. Up to two entries per person (one for like, one for comment). See end of this post for a cute contest.

What are those PRO codes?

ArtFire has increased the monthly subscription to $15.95, but each PRO member that was locked in at the lower rates, has received 5 coupon codes that can be given out to family and friends so they too can lock in at $12, as long as they use the coupon before June 1st. Well, that's less than a month away, so since I have 3 codes available (2 already have dibs on them), these are the prizes for this month's giveaway. :) That's $47.40 savings a year BTW.

What can you do with 12 dollars ($3/week)? Well, for starters if you have an Etsy shop, you could pay for one month PRO and import all your items so you don't have to relist them on ArtFire. Change the titles around a bit and the first paragraph in your descriptions, and you've got a full shop ready to go in less than a day.

As a PRO, you also get an ArtFire Kiosk which makes it possible to buy straight from your fan page.

RapidCart can be added to any website or blog, so people can buy straight from there as well. $12 is an all inclusive rate covering listing fees, FVF, everything. If you have many listings and sell enough to balance out the $12 a month, ArtFire PRO is definitely something to consider for putting your eggs in more than one basket.

Each PRO code will come with an mv bookmark and magnet. The drawing will be Friday May 7th at 9PM EDT, using random.org.

The person promoting the most will receive a gift certificate for a free pair of earrings :) All promoters have my heartfelt THANKS! ♥ Freedom to promote anything dear to me, including the giveaway, mv.artfire.com, or undiscovered studios (other than yours) from the 0-sales list. Just let me know either on my fan page, or in the comments below this post :) Entries will be counted every night and tallied Friday May 7th at 9PM EDT.

Have fun and good luck!

---

FB update (added links to studios who have contacted me and used their code, check them out!):
We have 3 coupons and 3 people who've entered, so you are all winners. Congratulations Kris W., Lindsay J., and Christy W. Message me where I should send the bookmarks and magnets, and I will reply with the coupon codes. I will be counting the earrings entries in a bit as well ♥



Earrings entries: @apronsbymeme, @itsmything, @eccladyland, ThePineConeTeaCup, Aprons by MeMe, ExquisiteStudios, Krafty Max, AndreaTJewelry, RoyalMetals, ExquisiteStudios, SpoiledBratzwear

Uh-oh, we have three top entries with 2 each... random.org to the rescue...
... and the gift cert for the earrings goes to...
...
ExquisiteStudios!

AFSL for Kevin: First entry

So this cool guy pictured on the right has asked what our favorite ArtFire PRO feature is. He's really cool, so can you blame me for writing a blog post to answer his question? :) Now had he asked about basic features, I'd have said the people. But that's not only for pros. :)

It's actually pretty hard to choose only one favorite. It's not like there's one feature I use all the time and then don't use the others. All of them are useful for their purpose. But since I can talk about features next week too, this week I'll be picking the Coupon codes. Just because the post below this one is all about coupon codes and what you can do with them. And THAT is COOL!

Start here: http://www.artfire.com/sell-crafts :)