Ayana Features: Trista Bell

Today's next Ayana Feature is all about One of a Kind with Trista Bell. In this shop you will find jewelry, blankets, photography and supplies. If you are looking for handmade items that are sweet and simple to bold and beautiful with a little bit of whimsical, then this is the shop for you! So for today's Flower Power Friday I am featuring Stephanie with Trista Bell!

1) Tell me a little bit about yourself and your shop.
Where do I start, I've been doing crafts in one form or another since school. I've always done sewing, floral arrangements, writing (which I could put you to sleep in seconds)LOL ,painting, and in the last few years I happened onto jewelry making and have been hooked ever since. I try to use gemstones, pearls, and swarovski crystals in my pieces. My pieces are more on the sweet and simple side. I love to try new techniques, but if its not perfect it will not be seen, I'm my worst critique. Every once in awhile I'll through in a BOLD piece.

2) How did you decide on your shop name?
When I found out about Etsy and decided I wanted to start selling, my biggest problem was coming up with a name. There were so many Stephanie's (Its a great name!) LOL, and I wanted something that would stand out. So, I decided on TristaBell, my oldest nieces name is Trista and the youngest niece is Isabelle. Just combined the two:)

3) What inspires you?
For me I think it a color or a shape that gets me inspired about a new project.

4) What is your favorite item in your shop and why?
For me thats a hard one. I love all my pieces, but I guess my most favorite is the "Sea of pearls". I put my heart into every piece, so there all kinda in the favorite column.

5) What advise do you have for other Etsy sellers?
Promote,promote,promote! Get your name out there and I think the biggest is be patient. It gets frustrating at times, but when you make that special piece and the right person comes along, its all worth it:)

Here’s a fun question:
6) If you could be any super hero (or villain), who would you be and why?
Oh, boy!! I don't know the answer to this,LOL:) I want to say the Bionic Woman, but I don't think she was a super hero, not sure. If I was Bionic woman, I can run around at lighting speed and get my jewelry, sewing, and house work done in the fraction of time. Plus, I would have super human strength to pick anything up:) BUT,I do have to say I think everybody has alittle bit of villian in them.

Shop for your uniquely designed and crafted jewelry and other goodies at www.TristaBell.etsy.com

Ayana Features: Audzipan Design

Today's first Ayana Features is all about Awesomeness with Audzipan Design. In this shop you will find awesome glass, wood and bottle cap magents, decoupage boxes, banners, custom graphics and more. So for today's Flower Power Friday I am featuring Audrey with Audzipan Design!

1) Tell me a little bit about yourself and your shop.
My name is Audrey Mann, and I am a fun-loving, newlywed twenty-something with a love for design and a newly discovered freedom for design. I recently graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor's degree in Interior and Business Design, and my shop reflects a lot of my personal taste and style. However, my biggest sellers are custom graphics for other Etsyians!

2) How did you decide on your shop name?

I decided on my shop name based on a nickname given to me by a college roomie. We were huge fans of homestarrunner.com, and one of the girl characters is named "Marzipan." My roommate modified it to fit my name, and it stuck like glue. Marzipan + Audrey = Audzipan!

3) What inspires you?
I am inspired by birds, trees, nature, and most of all life in general. My husband is one of my biggest supporters, and he often brainstorms with me on new designs, ideas, and business plans.

4) What is your favorite item in your shop and why?
My favorite item in my shop is usually my newest, because I am always so excited to create something new. At the moment, it is my Wooden Fridge Magnets with Awesome Animals. I just finished the design and assembly, so I am still basking in the rays of new creation.

5) What advise do you have for other Etsy sellers?
My advice to other Etsy sellers- Don't take yourself or your art too seriously! Art should be freedom, not a headache.

Here’s a fun question:
6) If you could be any super hero (or villain), who would you be and why?
If I could be any superhero, I would be Supermom. We don't have any kids yet, but I would like to continue creating and listing on Etsy while raising a family. It seems like I will need to be Supermom to do that!

Shop for your handmade magnets, decoupage goodies, custom banners and more at http://www.audzipan.etsy.com/

Promoting Others

I usually only feature one artist on Friday who makes some items with a floral theme, but since this is my blog, I'm going to do something a little bit different. Throughout today I'm also going to feature various artists just because I can. Today is all about promoting someone else. So stay tuned . . .

Starting my crochet adventure

My birthday was last Friday and since my husband "planned" a spontaneous day for me, I didn't do everything I planned on doing, which is fine by me. All I have to say is The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a great movie . . . The Cheesecake Factory has awesome cheesecake . . . outside malls are not as bad as I expected . . . it's always hard to decide which book to get from the bookstore. As you can see I was quite busy. So now that I am a little bit older and a little bit wiser, I am going to challenge myself to learn a new craft . . . crocheting. I'm a little apprehensive about trying a new craft. I tried to learn how to crochet years ago, but soon got bored with it and I let it go. Like I said earlier, I am a little bit wiser and I figure that if I can teach myself how to make beaded flowers, I can learn how to crochet. So stay tuned . . .

"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something.

But I can't accept not trying."
- Michael Jordan

EFC for the Month of June

I have been a busy bee this week, which is why I haven't had much time to blog. Yesterday was the last day to submit entry proposals for the Etsy for Charity June theme and charity to donate to. The voting will starts today and members will vote for their favorite. It took longer than I thought to come up with a theme for June since I wanted it to focus on Father's Day, but I eventually decided on "To Dad With Love". Since there were no other entries, my theme won by default.

What's next?
EFC members are going to vote on the charity to donate to for June. The other entries are Central Asia Institute (www.ikat.org), Holy Angles (www.holyanglesinc.org), and the Vestibular Disorders Association (www.vestibular.org). I proposed the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which sponsor programs and raise awareness of the challenges facing the world's children. They are currently working with the Government of China to rush tents, medicine, clean water and other supplies to help children who were affected by the earthquake on May 12.

The following links are press releases on what they are doing:

http://www.unicefusa.org/news/releases/unicef-rushing-medical-suppl...

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_43981.html

And then . . . .
EFC members and non-members can make a handcrafted goody related to the winning theme. These items will then be donated to the Etsy for Charity Shop, in which all proceeds will be donated to the charity of the month.

We'll see what happens . . .