CRAFTS :: Finding some wonderful old notes about crafting goals!

I have been sorting through LOTS of my "historical records" this month.  In that process I keep finding old notes for crafting projects and videos I watched.  So amazing.  I remember some of them, others are like I am just seeing them for the first time.

I have to make new piles for all the sites I have been trying to build.

These are quite old, today's at least...  2014, 2015, 2016, and even some 2013's here and there.  I can't remember what other dates I have come upon.  I am shredding the things I can't make into scratch paper...  another two shopping bags full so far, going on three.

It is so sad to me that I wasn't able to use many of the things I saved.  I look at them now and I have to say to myself, 'Will I be able to use this NOW?"  Some of my saved papers are only on temporary status.  I have to read them first, then decide.  It is an emotional process.  Good memories, bad memories.

I wasn't able to achieve the goals I had for 2020, but I am finding the problems to fix and working on those.  Making work spaces is beginning to happen.  

I wonder how long business information is good... I'm working on that answer.  I will try to let you know if I find the answer.  I always tell my sons and others that some business information (tips) are just renewed for each generation.

I hope your efforts to make MONEY are doing better than mine!  :-)   With FAITH all things are possible, and Christmas isn't over yet!  I am still working on my selling path and what to focus on.  Maybe by the end of this year I will figure it out... something I can replicate easily, sell a lot of, and make some great profit.  That would be nice!  :-)

In Christ, 

Deborah Martin

https://etsy.com/shop/work2gather

CRAFTS :: Trying to get some designs online with what I have to work with...

Finding the fastest way to sell online is quite a challenge for my life.  I have been trying to list products that are available to me with drop-shipping through PRINTFUL (.com) - this link is connected to my first affiliate link, another effort to increase my income.  

My newest efforts are POSTCARDS, but tonight I added an 18x18 inch framed poster to my ETSY shop as my November discount item.  I want to add more color and other elements to my designs, but don't have that option yet.  I definitely am learning the limits of text-only designs and the Printful design tools.

This is one design I made tonight.  This is a postcard format. I think it can be small art  (4x6)  messages.  I'm trying to get messages that work on mugs, too.

I tried some of the color options for this one.  I don't like the text now that I have it saved.

I was trying to make this POSTCARD design into a listing and noticed the citation text at the bottom got messed up somewhere from design to save.  It has to be done over.

What I ended up for now is this logo design element for Working Together that is also a major statement on our relationship as Christians.  I made it when I first started WT back in 1987.  It represents the theme of what WT is trying to do... get us together as ONE Body of Christ.

This is a POSTCARD format.  I focused on the major words only in the square POSTER I listed.

I may get this onto a t-shirt as a wearable statement for all to see and think about.

I guess I get upset when I see the wonderful colorful art in Christian shops on ETSY.  I wonder what software they have.  I am not able to print in color right now... not sure why my printer suddenly stopped printing color even though all the setting are set right and it has a new ink cartridge.  One of my goals is to get a better computer system, including a better printer. 

It has occurred to me since starting this learning journey that digital art is not as good as selling physical art products.  I want to have some digital listings at my shop, but more individual physical items.

When I can find the best format for my creative expressions, I will not feel so futile in my efforts.  Finding my "zone" is the quest.

Well, this is my first post of November.  My effort to post more often is beginning to take shape.  I want to share my efforts more... and to learn in the process.  I'm moving into video as an online tool.  Once I learn the smartphone, that will be easier.  :-)    So MUCH to learn.

If you have any suggestions for my selling (income) quests, let me know them.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

This statement helps me to keep going...

CRAFTS :: Searching for my creative spark...

I was posting a previous blog post (POLITICS) and quickly added a small note about my problems trying to make art at my Art, Crafts, and Recycling page at Facebook.  Now I am here, listening to my playlist at YouTube and thinking I will share another blog post about my creative challenges.

It amazes me how hard it is to find space to do my projects, how easily I can be distracted by the computer, the Internet, and all my online activities... except the ones I really need to do.  I know others fight these battles, but they are new to me.

What can I do to overcome these assaults on my dreams?  

I'm not sure.  

Making ART is new to me.  I haven't done a lot of serious practice with it... just spurts here and there.  I was an "Art Major" in high school... it mattered to me in my young years.  It just wasn't a "job" I thought would make money I could live on.

Now, looking back, I see some things that could have changed a lot of my hard times and made them a different result in my past... and where I would be today.

No one really knows how their life might have turned out if they chose a different path at certain places in their lives... we always imagine the best possible result, but there is no way to know for sure.

So we try to "warn" the kids who still have their future ahead of them.

I have some art memories I kept from one time I sat down in my van (as a homeless person with no gas parked in the desert) and started to see what I could create with the paints I had.  I look at them when I can.  They remind me I have potential.

Now, when I want to actually SELL something through my online spots, I sit down and look at a blank page.  Then I put it all away and try to find something less threatening to do... like the dishes or the laundry.  

I did go on a faith travel sometime before the desert event.  I tried to stop at churches and sell small pieces of art I had made - to pay for my gas and food needs.  I don't think I even remember what I painted anymore.  

Prior to these recent art efforts, I didn't do much with my creative talents.

I am getting to the point of just letting the paint fall on the pages I have and posting them with the phone listing option I currently can access.  Once I get going I KNOW I will begin to make and post more.  Getting that process going is my challenge.  Right now.

I suppose I am venting, looking for some kind of internal relief.

I know what I need to do.

I have to force myself to actually get it done.

If I find my way through this, I will try to share it with you.

Pray for me.  I need to overcome my small, small, small budget.  :-)

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

CRAFTS :: Getting busier and feeling the pinch of poverty

 I'm working on my goal to post more often, so this month I am trying to make at least one post almost every day.  Every day is too much of a commitment, so almost every day gives me some flexibility and takes away that "failure" issue.  :-)  

Today I want to share some of the things that I have been working on in my ART and CRAFTS efforts.  I noticed it has been awhile since I was here.  I have been doing a lot of supply gathering, thinking about what I can sell, what I can make and ship easily, and lots of details that go with my online selling quests.

I recently purchased a UV Light and some UV Resin to try out.  That is next on the list of things to do.  I understand that UV Resin dries (cures) very quickly under that UV Light, but stays liquid until you place in the UV Light.  I also understand that the layer of resin you use in your projects have to be very thin.  These are some important differences between 2-part epoxy resin and UV Resin...and the kind of project you are doing will let you know which kind to use.

I am in the learning and experimenting phase with resins.  I don't know what my final choices will be for selling products made with resin.  I have tons of ideas to try... and I have to find the space to make things out of resin.

Last month, I think it was, I tried painting on a stretched canvas.  I was surprised at how different it is.  I used acrylic paints that I had available and started a flower design.  I still have lots to do on it.  I am thinking I can gesso my canvas to use it again... as I practice.  I don't know if that will work for long, but we'll see.  :-)

I need to set everything aside and focus on one thing at a time... somehow, housework and paperwork get all my attention.  And the internet. 

One exciting thing that I started last month was getting my designs into products that are manufactured by others... like Vistaprint, and Moo, and other places like them.  Below are two products I can share graphics about.

This is an updated version of my CHOICES design, but I had it made into refrigerator magnets.  I like them.  I'm working on getting this design produced.  (This version has my author and contact line.

This design turned out much darker than this photo... so it isn't good for selling.  I had it created on "paper coasters" to see what it would look like.  I like the idea of creating designs on these coasters.  I'm working on what to do next, trying to find out what designs would be better.

I also created ONE window cling to see how that might work.  I used this design for it ::

I LIKE IT!  I will eventually create more designs for this format.  I put window clings on my fridge and other smooth surfaces.  I think I first had them on my metal filing cabinet.

My biggest hesitation is trying to find the best design options... And it may have to be ADOBE's suite of products.  They require about $60 a month to subscribe.  I also need a better computer system, and printer, and other equipment.

This is one reason I started my PATREON page... to see if I could find funding options beyond my approximately $400 retirement income.  (https://patreon.com/DebsRetirementPlan)   If you can afford $5 a month, I would love to find your name on my membership list.  The $5 tier is my General Support tier, and the benefit is keeping up with all my tiers via updates.  This tier will let you explore my other tiers and help you decide if you want to support a different tier in the future.

I am working on making POSTCARD designs at Printful, too.  My first one is below.  Getting better designing options is part of this product quest, too.  I guess we need to remember this is a (the rest of my) lifetime quest, so it's an ongoing process.  Money is the key... getting more of it to invest in my supplies and equipment and working spaces.  :-)

This postcard design is the discount item at my ETSY shop this month... https://etsy.com/shop/work2gather

CHRISTMAS  is  NEAR !!

That's about all I am working on these days... beyond life needs.

How is your Christmas crafting going?

What kinds of things are you working on?

PLUS, share any tips you have for selling at Christmas and building your retail options every year.  :-)  Thanks for any ideas you can share.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

FYI on Everything !!!

Hello again!  
Time just keeps getting away from me!


My goal for this month was to post more... at my Patreon tiers, my blogs, and anywhere else I have to post.  I have increased my posting, but don't know if I can get to every single space this month.  

I am, however, making a plan, making a schedule, finding a way to keep track of everything, and trying to create notes for each space with reference points for the topics I might write about.  This is good.

• I have finally begun making my polymer clay molds again... it's a start. 
• I am using up my supplies so I can get new stuff and organize it better.  
• Photos are still a big issue, but I am finding a way through... trying some possible ways to upload, and edit, and create.  
• I am learning how to do video and upload it for YOUTUBE. Slowly I am getting a plan for affiliate marketing (and income).

This week I am working on my shipping options.  ETSY has shipping profiles, so I am trying to get the details on my products right now.  I haven't made a shipping profile before, but I have tried.  I remember it was a moment of frustration.  I hope I can get it done this time.

Those are the quick facts about what is going on with me and my crafting efforts.



#My2020PatreonChallenge is keeping me moving forward just with all the things I have to learn, or remember, or review. It will be a good thing to have done when the year is over, but it is a big pain sometimes.  :-)   

CHRISTMAS is looming... just the thought of where I wanted to be by now, and where I really am, is potential panic!  I have begun to speed up my efforts to get things made.  

Patreon Christmas items will not be needed because I didn't have any Patron sign-ups.  There are time limits there.  I don't know if I will make some for late sales anyway.  I will have to decide when I get to that point.



By Christmas I hope to have it all come together... Patreon, Etsy, Ebay, Dropshipping, WT Membership Drive, YouTube, email lists, and anything connected to those activities.

Pray for me!  :-)

I will try to post at least once a month, more if I can.  Now that I am "getting my craft on" there will be more to share.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
and more...