By contributing columnist Michelle, aka: littletoad

The Daily Foto Project is the unique brain child of Melissa Azizi a self-taught Australian photographer. So what is exactly is The Daily Foto Project? It is a 365-day photo project where Melissa takes a photograph everyday for a year. But, that’s not all. She lists each image on Etsy and donates 5% of sales to a charity of the buyer’s choice. I have been following Melissa’s work for a while now and she was nice enough to answer some questions I was dying to know about her and this project.

So how did you come up with this idea? I’m from Sydney and my partner and I arrived in Berlin in May 2009. I broke my foot 2 months later! So, I pretty much spent my first European summer indoors and immobilized. Of course, I was down about it as my partner had also started a new job working really long hours and we had just moved into a completely empty apartment. The ordeal was a bit stressful, but ultimately being immobilized gave me time to reflect, especially about those that are really in a less fortunate position. I wanted to turn my little foot misadventure into something more positive for me and for others. Personally, I needed a way to happily re-acquaint myself with Berlin again and to develop my creativity.

How did the charity aspect of the project come along? I didn’t want the project to just be for and about me. It’s been done before, I’m sure. I thought it would be a great idea that when people buy a photo, that they’re also giving something positive to the world too. So, I donate 5% of the buyers purchase to a charity of their choice. I like to call it being a ‘Conscientious Consumer’.

Are there days when you really don’t want to take a picture? Not at all! I always think it’s interesting to see what I can come up with, especially on those days when I haven’t left the house until later in the evening and I’m losing light.

Is photography a hobby or do you do it professionally? I’m not professionally trained as a photographer, but I always treat it professionally.

What do you do when you aren’t taking pictures? I’m a film producer!

How many pictures do you take in a day to get the one you plan on using?There’s no limit, but I have taken anywhere between 5 to 50! I take my camera everywhere as I never know when I’ll need it!

Do you have a plan of what you are going to shoot for that day or do you just wait to find inspiration? It’s a mix. There are days where I’ve planned to visit a certain area, such as the Charlottenburg Palace, so I know I’ll use a photo from there. But, I take my camera with me everywhere, even up the road to the grocers. Who knows where inspiration may hit?

How have you been promoting this project? Mainly online and word-of-mouth. I have my own website, use Twitter, have a Facebook fan page and of course, my Etsy shop.

What kind of response from fans and Etsy sellers have you gotten? Positive responses. The good thing about Etsy is that it’s community-orientated and if you need advice or tips, other sellers are happy to help out. And many Etsy sellers are also on Twitter and Facebook, and they happily give their thumbs up too.

Why did you choose Etsy as your platform for your project? I wanted to find a site that was already established as a place for people to visit if they wanted to buy photographs. With an established site comes the pros, such as high traffic and a community. I received an email from someone who happened to have their Etsy store link in their email signature. I clicked on it and discovered a whole new world!

Can you give us a few examples of the charities that have been chosen through your sales? We all know about the recent devastation in Haiti, so the project has donated to American Red Cross for Haiti & Habitat for Humanity for Haiti. A lesser known charity has been the German Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired and even the Wikipedia Foundation.
And now the BIG question,What are you going to do after the 365 days are up? A big party, perhaps? Or, an exhibition? Or, a photo book collection! Too many ideas right now!

A huge thanks to Melissa for taking the time to answer my questions and for the good work she is doing with her talent. Looking at her site I hope will inspire us as artists to not only be creative but to also find ways to use our art to help others.

Image courtesy of  TheDailyFoto.

Camera imageNYLightMetals

By contributing columniss Cynthia Nodland aka Puddinpies

Recently while browsing on Etsy I discovered a great little shop that teaches you how to make everything from dim sum to cappuccino to ice cream cones—but no cookbooks are involved. How could that be, you ask? Well, it’s because all the items in this shop are made out of felt!!!

UmeCrafts creates and sells patterns for felt food, toys, dollhouses, and more! I had a chance to interview Jeanette Lin, shop owner, who lives in Singapore. She has her Diploma in Business Administration and opened her shop because she “loved crafts as a kid, but it wasn’t until 3 years ago in 2007 when I was having a difficult pregnancy & couldn’t work that I started making craft items & selling them online to help out with the household expenses.” Jeanette has come a long way, from growing up with a single parent, and being an introvert and poor achiever in school, to now becoming a successful Etsy seller and happy work-from-home mother of a beautiful girl, Megan. Her shop allows her to help support EMCEE and Club Rainbow for the past few years, which are charities that support abused and homeless children.

In addition to Etsy, Jeanette has also recently begun selling on Ebay. Her advice to other online business owners is “Believe in yourself and stay true to your own style. Read up on the useful tips on Etsy’s Digest (Etsy Success). Participate in the Etsy community where you can get advise & support.”

While perusing her shop I also noticed Jeanette offers a free macaroon pattern when you join her Mailing List. When on her shop page on Etsy, just convo or email her with the heading “MAILING LIST” along with your name & email address. And while all patterns and tutorials are created by Jeanette and are strictly not to be duplicated in any form, you are allowed to make and sell items made from the patterns, as long as you give credit to the original patterns at http://umecrafts.etsy.com.

If you have a little one that loves playing chef, and you want them to have play food that lasts that you made yourself, make sure to check out UmeCrafts today!

a href=”http://www.indiesmiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/heart2.jpg”>

By Contributing columnist LindaGJ aka LindaGJ

“Happiness…it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
Vincent Van Gogh

Seven year old twins, Kate & Emma, were watching the Haiti Telethon on tv called “Hope for Haiti”, and the unbelievable sadness inspired them to do their own part to help out. These two miraculous girls, along with their mom, came up with a fantastic way to do this, all on their own. They would create hearts and make them with pretty colors and designs as well as write messages on them! Along with their hearts they could get other people to do it too!

Kate felt that when she saw a colorful picture, it made her smile. So this idea was born & ever since, these wonderful twins and their mom have been donating their time to making the ‘Dream Idea’ come true!

Their sponser is “Let’s Gogh Art” which is an awesome business who comes to your location to have a creative adventure, all picked out by you, from the programs they have to offer. Let’s Gogh Art’s website is: http://www.letsgoghart.com/art-hearts.html where you can find out more information about the girls and their sponser as well!

There is no deadline as the girls will be mailing the hearts out as they get them.
Many of the hearts that are made will be scanned and posted on this website as well, for all the world to see.

“We both love art. It makes us feel good. We hope that the hearts we collect and send will make the children and people of Haiti feel good too. As our Mom says, the art hearts will help people feel a little less alone, a little more hope, and a lot more loved.”

Love, Kate and Emma
<

All the girls suggest, is that you create a beautiful heart and mail it to:

Art Hearts for Haiti
c/o
Let's Gogh Art
P.O. Box 664
Lunenburg, MA
01462

You can also print out the flyer for Hearts for Haiti and circulate it at your school or group!

So, please circulate the word and help these two gals send hope to Haiti! Have your group create some arts and send them along to the twins or you can help by sharing this article with Facebook and on Twitter.

Together we can all help these caring girls with their wonderful and much needed cause!

Share

By contributing columnist Linda GJ aka Linda GJ

A Beautiful Artist Blooms

behind The Fibro Diaries

You never know who you will meet in a Blog & I met someone very special amongst many that I would love to write about. I have chosen Meghann to write about today as we both have something in common. We both suffer from Fibromyalgia.

On one of the blogs I frequently go to, I saw a blog named “The Fibro Diaries“. I thought, I must go check this out and found, not only a beautiful 25 yr. old woman named Meghann, that suffers from fibromyalgia like me, but she was also an extremely talented jeweler and photographer. I have a wonderful bio coming up about her later in this article along with her gorgeous art work! But I first wanted to share a little about Fibromyalgia, a disease we both share and I want the public to be aware of this disease.

Read more...

I’m Linda Gay Jones and here is a brief bio of me! (And I know it’s longer than I expected it to be though! Hey, I’ve lived a long time!
I’ve always done a variety of art related jobs, so that makes me a jack of many trades. I’m an illustrator 1st with watercolor, but recently I work with acrylic paints and I have become a mixed media artist. My work is very whimsical and is intended to bring a smile on people’s faces! I went to The High School for Performing and
Visual Arts when it was just a pup. There were only 400 people in the entire school that means 20 people accepted in each department. That was an accomplishment for such a big city like Houston! I also got my
BFA at East Texas University with a 3.8 GPA but I sure had to work for it! I’ve lived in several places, Oahu,
Commerce, TX for collage, New York city for 12 years, LA, and Washington State. My work had me travel all around the world, not everywhere, but a lot of places. I worked in Special Events in the Art department and wardrobe, props in theater, commercials, touring with celebrity musicians, art teacher etc. Adventurous life & I’m being brief!!! Well now I end up back in my home neighborhood near my elderly parents, which is very nice, yet I am on disability for many reasons, but mainly a severe case of fibromyalgia. My art keeps me going, along with a lot of Faith. Being involved with Etsy, the Etsy Texas Crafters team, a member of a mini Art group, my blog, Flickr, fests and the wonderful artists that I’ve been meeting has done wonders despite my set backs with my health issues. My shop is LindaGJ & if I had to chose a favorite of mine it would be: Listing # 10654725 I also have a Flickr page which is & my blog. I also have a facebook page and twitter, but I don’t know their addresses. I love to promote other artists and since Houson is my hometown I make Treasuries for Etsy with Houston artists! Charities are a plus! And I give 2 dollars for each item of my pieces to Pet Smart. I also donate many times for other artists I’ve met on my blogs. If anything, art is my passion and I also love to collect other artists work, as long as I can afford it. My walls are one big art gallery!
Share LInda GJ’s bio on Facebook!!!

LindaGJ is also the Columnists Interaction Rep for Indiesmiles!

ARTICLES by Linda GJ
Primitive Frights

The Yellow Roses of Texas

The Texas Renaissance Festival of 2009

The Fibro Diaries

blogs and their kitties

Etsy Lights

Lights in the Heights

Kitty Helper – Killy Greetings

A Hero, An Artist & the Permission to Fail

Hearts for Haiti

Mama Knows Best

Happy Hearts for Haiti

The Wizard behind Indiesmiles

The Indie Mascot Kitty Katie

By Bette Miles-Holleman aka BadMsM’s Gift-O-Rama

Contributing Columnist

Think about things in life that grab and hold you attention, especially the things you buy. What guides you to purchase one brand of peanut butter over another, a pair of jeans, a car, or anything else? Chances are the company told you a story that closed the sale.

People like to buy things they think it will make the most impact, so good online sellers tell you WHY and HOW your purchase will help a person, charitable cause or the environment. It strikes a chord with you because it’s real, and you can identify, or empathize with the story in a way that’s meaningful and relevant to you. They evoke an emotional response.

In August 2009, I started a challenge called 500 Hats, in a bid to knit and sell 500 hats to help keep my home out of foreclosure. People can buy a hat for themselves, or one to donate to a person at a homeless shelter in my hometown. It was amazing! To date, I’ve sold 172 hats, and expanded my line into scarves and socks.

People connected with my story because either they know someone who is in our shoes, or are themselves. They shared their stories, prayers and encouragement with me, and bought hats to help me out. Then they told others about it, and the story grew, and continues to grow. People can look at their hat, tell other people my story, and know their purchase made a difference. It just keeps going.

Stories can be inspirational, funny or cute. It can tell what happened while you were making breakfast that day, something your spouse or kids said, or the time the cat ate your project.

So, what’s the history of those earrings you made? What song reminds you of rainy days in front of a fire? What smells take you back to your Grandmother’s kitchen? Tell anecdotes that tie in with your products, and keep it real!

Til Next Time!

Read the amazing story of 500 hats

Share this article on Facebook!

VOTE FOR THIS ARTICLE!

Image courtesy of Dover Publications

Blue Whimsy is one of those shops that if you adore animals and nature it’s a must visit, for all of her items seem to reflect her love for both!

I originally stumbled upon Blue Whimsy as I was looking for hand felted embellishments for one of my bags I was creating for my shop, Tackyhandmade. I purchased an adorable hand felted raccoon postcard that I used to embellish a fantastic vintage bag. It was a marriage made in heaven. The proceeds from the embelishment went to help the Raccoons at AWBAR.  And once the bag was embellished, we found a home for it in the EFA Etsy for Animals Shop,  where all of the proceeds from the sale of the bag went to the EFA Charity of the Month.

At Blue Whimsy, 100% of the profit from the sales of all black, brown and tan fabric goes to the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina, A Chance for Bliss in California, or the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Montana. Felicity, the owner of Bluewhimsy, is such a sweetie!!

If you are lucky, when you visit Blue Whimsy you will find one of Felicity’s hand felted postcards, brooches or ACEOs: they are some of the prettiest work of art in needle work that you will find. Resembling works of art that even a brush would envy, each and every one of these items are designed and hand made by Felicity. When you see one in her shop, grab it! Because if not, it soon will be gone. Trust me, you will be happy I gave you this tip!

Visit Blue Whimsy

Indiesmiles donates ad space valued to $25.00 to help Carole’s cause. Carole is related to Sue’s (interactive marketing consultant for Indiesmiles) cousin by marriage. This is no cure for her liver cancer except a transplant. Please join us and take part in this contest!

Contest details and pics of all the awesome items you can win!!!

$1.00 will get you a entry ticket! Every little bit helps!!

This Gift *Basket filled with Handmade (and vintage) goodies is to Benefit Carole Stites-Luka who is in desperate need of a Liver Transplant.

ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER!!!!!
OPEN TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES!!!
Some of the items are pictured here, there are many more, so please see Carole’s blog for more details and view all the items you can win!

See all the awesome items that you can win, by checking out Carole’s blog! A Paper craft kit subscription for one full year, valued at $150.00 plus two gift certificates valued at $20.00 each and many…items donated by various artisans. PLUS, free advertising space from Indiesmiles. Valued at up to $25.00 (for your shop or blog!)


Liver4carole

Read more on Carole’s story:
Carole’s Story

ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER GETS ALL!