Team Spotlight! AnikasArt!

This week we are very happy to introduce you to yet another of our wonderful team members, Anika of Anikasart! She uses her wonderful imagination to make some amazing fantasy creatures (like the one below) and beautiful jewelry.

1. Tell us your name, nickname and a little about who you are.
My name is Anika. I am working as an Architectural CAD Technician when I do not craft. I am in my thirties. I am married and don't have children yet.

2. Surprise us with something about you that you think will shock us!
I have been a volunteer firefighter.

3. What is your main craft or art?
Gourds, paintings and jewelry are my main focus in my art.

4. How did you start with Etsy?
A friend of mine ,who is a gourd artist, told me about Etsy and encouraged me to open a shop.

5. Any secrets to share for success?
I keep on going even when sales are not at their peak. I craft what I enjoy doing and always try to be open for suggestions.

6. Hobbies or pastime when you are not doing Etsy.
I love horses and horseback riding when I am not crafting or painting.

7. Where would your dream vacation be?
My dream vacation would be to travel America from coast to coast to see more of this beautiful country.

8. What do you hope to contribute and gain from Hearts and Hands United?
I hope to be able to be there for others and to have great friendships in Hearts and Hands United.

9. Where can we find you?
Your shop address: www.anikasart.etsy.com

10. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Your strength?
My inspiration comes from nature, friends and family, movies and books.

11. Free writing anything you want to say
I feel truly blessed finding such a wonderful group of people! Thanks for being there and making Hearts and Hands United what it is.

Mission Treasury Results! Hippity Hoppity Easter On its Way Treasury!

The Easter Bunny must be tired after hopping along all of the bunny trails! These are the great entries from last week's mission treasury!

Nancysbagsetc created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4dac1c6830176d91a73a7290/time-to-set-the-table

bluevelvetheart created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4dac45ade6a38eefbbc0e170/super-sweet-easter-treats

FabricGreetings created
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4dac6e3736dd6d918f4a350f/hopping-by-with-an-easter-hi

Robinsflight created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4dae0eba00cb8eefbfd04b9c/here-comes-peter-cottontail

RitzeeRebel created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4dae79d5d83e8eefb52cc20f/hip-hop-hooray

TopazTurtle created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4db1679466628eefa9ee7eb0/spring-freshness

And the winner .... BlueVelvetHeart

'Super Sweet Easter Treats! ' by BlueVelvetHeart

Featuring members and friends of HHU Team, members of EUC Team and other talented Etsy artisans. So far, one sale from this treasury.

12 inch x 12 inch Magn... MooreMagnets $30.00	Easter Chick - Felt Bir... myhideaway $13.00	Spring Is Here Easter B... MaskedRabbitCr... $11.99	Personalized Pink Suede... jewelrybyjakem... $15.00
Yellow Acrylic Bracelet babbleon $10.00	Purple Happy Easter Qui... FabricGreeting... $9.25	Spikes and Sequins Orna... luniunni $13.00	Easter egg basket bag, ... NancysBagsEtc $8.50
A Small Bouquet of Rose... HomeDecorating $10.00	Easter Egg Freestanding... Ayoka $15.00	Miniature Eggs and Chic... wildfire96 $14.00	Vintage Scrap Kit Rabb... headchange $5.00
yellow peep earrings thelittleschre... $12.00	Easter Basket or Bunny ... RitzeeRebel $7.00	Easter lilies and daffo... creativelycaro... $30.00	Spring Cookie Mix - Chi... rollinindough $

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE EFFECT

I will admit straight away that I am looking forward to watching the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine (Kate) Middleton. That said, I will be viewing the event with a certain amount of cynicism as well. One cannot help but recall what happened to William's mother following her fairytale marriage ceremony. Yet, the hope for a "happily ever-after" lives on in many hearts. All these years following the Women's Liberation Movement, little seems to have changed in the way marriage and romance are viewed. Young women have plastic surgery, dress like their favorite celebrity icons, whiten their teeth, and scan the horizon for princes or knights in shining armor. They wait to be rescued.

Is it in a little girl's best interest for society to perpetuate fairytales that set up unrealistic standards for husbands and marriages? I am not against marriage; I have been married for many years. However, the road to find my husband was filled with many obstacles for which I was not prepared. A couple of men I believed to be princes (at heart) were not. One boyfriend especially became physically and emotionally abusive. I concluded there was something wrong with me. A prince doesn't act that way unless provoked, right? Luckily, my sense of self preservation kicked in, and I took a Kung Fu class. Not only did I meet my future husband in that class, but I also gained enough confidence to leave my abusive boyfriend.

Interestingly, the classic fairytales known now are not the same as when they were written. Not all the tales had happy endings. At the conclusion of "The Little Mermaid", by Hans Christian Andersen, the Prince marries another, and the Little Mermaid turns into sea foam. In the Grimm brother's version of "Rapunzel", Rapunzel is separated from her Prince, gives birth to twins, and lives in terrible conditions for many years until he finds her.

I do not have a daughter, so I am not sure whether I would encourage her to read or watch fairytales. Could I deny her the fantasies and dreams of happily ever-after? Probably not. What I would do is tell a daughter that even happy endings take work to maintain. And if her prince or knight turned out to be a villian, I would damn well make sure she knew how to rescue herself.

Mission Treasury! Create a Let's Go to the Beach Treasury!

Mission Treasury is all about getting you, our readers, in on the treasury making fun! We also hope that you will find a shop or two to introduce us to that is fun and exciting!

So, we will be posting a theme and 4 shops each Monday - and challenging you to create a treasury that fits the theme and contains at least one item from one of the 4 featured shops.

You will have one week to create your treasury, and come back to the blog post and leave your treasury as a comment.

The best treasury will be featured, and all treasuries submitted will be mentioned!



The results of this weeks Mission Treasury will be posted on May 4th 2011!

Mission: Create a Let's go to the Beach Treasury!

Shops to choose from (you must include at least one item from one of these shops)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ConfectionsInGlass

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NancysBagsEtc

http://www.etsy.com/shop/20thCentury

http://www.etsy.com/shop/willajunejewelry

Thanks to Sewsouk and FabricGreetings for coming up with these great themes!

March Challenge (No. 12, Part 3)

We have reached the end of our March challenge, Cinco de Mayo! For our final week, we will be featuring our jewelry entries. After all, you can't attend any Cinco de Mayo festivities without the appropriate bling!




Take a look at this gorgeous necklace from Jewels by Trish! Exotic, red, and perfect for putting you in the party mood!



















This final entry by Jewelry by Jakemi says it all! Fiesta!!









I'll be back in two week with our April challenge entries. You have another week to submit your entries so get cracking!
http://heartsandhandsunited.blogspot.com/2011/04/april-team-challenge.html

Team Member Spotlight! Fabric Greetings

We would like to introduce you to Fabric Greetings! Look at this wonderful fabric postcard! I wonder what special person will receive it in their mailbox?




1. Your name, nickname and a little about who you are

Alyce, wife, mother, fabric lover and probably "granny" of this wonderful team

2. Surprise us with something about you that you think will shock us!

Well, you already know I love chicken livers, but here is a fun fact. If I am going on a boat, it had better have a captain, chef, and cabin steward who are not the same person.

3. What is your main craft/art/collectible?

Fabric Postcards

4. How did you start with Etsy?

An offline customer asked me to consider Etsy so she could see what I had for cards more often than at the shows I do in her area.

5. Any secrets to share for success?

My secret for success is to do what you like and be good at it.

6. Hobbies or pastime when you are not doing Etsy.

I still sew and read and I am back to walking. I also try to keep Mr. Fabric happy by accompanying him to the bagel shop several times a week.

7. Where would your dream vacation be?

I am fortunate in that I take my dream vacation every September. We rent a small house in mid-coast Maine. I walk, I watch the ocean, I sew (yes, my sewing machine travels with us), I cook easy meals and I eat a lot of lobster.

8. What do you hope to contribute and gain from Hearts and Hands United?

I am hoping that I am able to help others with problems they are having with tagging, titles, etsy in general. New eyes looking at something see things you have missed. I know this team has been a tremendous help to me.

9. Your shop address

FabricGreetings.etsy.com

10. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Your strength?

Life is my inspiration. Strength comes from family.

11. Free writing anything you want to say

This team has become a real part of my etsy life. They are there to pick you up, urge you along, offer a laugh, and just generally be a friend. For that I am eternally grateful.


* Update from Alyce since this was originally posted " I had my wonky knee fixed and I am back to walking again. Only getting 3 miles a day in, but that is a start."

Mission Treasury Results! Knight in Shining Armor Treasury

This week was REALLY tough to choose a winner! There are so many things that I love about each one of these treasuries!

Thank you to:
Fabric Greetings created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da3079798378eef0a8800fd/my-knight-in-shining-armor-would-bring

RitzeeRebel created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da624a9b5e28eef50c2d3a4/knight-and-day

BlueVelvetHeart created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da309e813d86d91e1b0eb2b/medieval-love-story

alohaletterpress created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da34759d3386d91006763ea/my-knight-and-camelot

TopazTurtle created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da8ef4d47766d9100b7fb3a/a-knight-in-shining-armour-prove-it

RobinsFlight created http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da626f46ef98eef2816ac11/once-upon-a-time

and the winner ...

'Medieval Love Story' by BlueVelvetHeart

Enjoy this fun collection of knights, princesses and all things medieval. Featuring members and friends of HHU and other Etsy artisans.Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

TierraCast Antique Silv... ShoshiPo $10.00	Princess Bride Iocane P... fidgeters $7.99	Felt Scarf Black Grey a... BeljaysFeltnAr... $58.00	Thru the Leaves PotomacRiverCr... $12.00
Sir LANCELOT as TIE TAC... FunckyTieTac $9.00	Gold Satin Flower StitchesByJeni $3.00	Cowl scarf and wrist wa... CatsMeowArt $50.00	Celtic Princess Vintage... WomanWithTools $49.00
Lyonesse - Handspun Art... WeirdAndTwiste... $39.00	Inigo Montoya - Wooden ... matesrubbish $10.00	Guinevere fine art g... ImagineStudio $28.40	BOGO SALE. Glastonbury ... Lhosphotograph... $16.00
Breakup Card Knight in ... SweetandSassyC... $5.00	Marie Antoinette Corset... PunxxxStyle $15.00	your knight in shining ... FauxKiss $10.00	May I Have This Dance P... UglyUnicorn $8.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.