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...

Print on Demand - Drop Shipping - Passive Income Option

I thought I might share my newest discoveries with you today... something I am working on.

Income from home can seem so overwhelming to create, so any idea that involves less work and money and time is great to me.  I have known about drop-shipping for a long time, but wasn't able to focus on it and didn't know WHAT I would even try to sell that way.

Drop-Shipping is happening a lot these days.  I suspect all those "shipped by" notes at Walmart's site are examples of drop-shipping connections.  I have also seen some videos and checked out the income/sales option in other places.  Awhile back in this year I watched a bunch of videos from and about Drop Ship Lifestyle (.com) and decided to start looking for something I could try to sell as a drop-ship item.  I think I have found my answer in print-on-demand (POD) designs at Printful (.com) !!!

I just want to start learning about drop-shipping with ONE product.  I became interested in Printful because of something I saw about t-shirt designing... probably on YouTube, but I can't remember.  I am always browsing the web and don't keep track of all those details.

It seems that Printful integrates with Etsy shops, which is ideal for me.  I did see one video that said it can be a problem setting it up, but I haven't reached that point in the process yet.  I am trying to get my first design effort ready to upload, which is a PDF format so far.

I have also seen someone at Etsy selling posters via Printful, and lots of cup design options (in photo templates, anyway).  These three selling options are ideal for my plans.

I don't have any real design software, but I always wanted to be able to create with Adobe products.  In my explorations, I discovered  https://www.fmexpressions.com  and their FREE online course for Adobe Illustrator to design for t-shirts.  I am in the process of going through the course now.  It takes about 2.5 hours if you do it all at once, according to the site.  It is five segments so you can do one segment at a time if you want to.  I have finished the first segment and it was fine... easy to understand.  I will probably do the whole course again, or parts of it, but it is a great resource.

It is also good for me to go through this free course because I am interested in Teachable (.com) as a resource for making online teaching courses for any topic.  That is a future goal, in progress.  Experiencing online courses help you to decide what you want in your own.

As I search for ways I can increase my income, a smartphone continually surfaces as a MUST-HAVE item, which I don't yet have.  I think I need to move it up to a higher place on my list... maybe first place.  To make a tablet into a phone, you have to have the phone account first, then add the tablet as a second line... etc.   It is all connected... income, supplies, equipment, technology, success...  trying to figure out what to do first is such a hard challenge at the poverty level.  This is why I am hoping my Printful with Etsy effort will help solve some of those problems.

I know I will be working on a marketing strategy, too... getting all these tasks organized.  :-)  I am seeing that the monthly costs are going to be huge once you connect to all these separate websites.  I may need to figure out the best financial commitments and what can be done by me.  All these site charges also help me think about my own selling choices... for my crafts and for my WT products.  I am not sure what this trend means for the future.  Poor people cannot afford all these necessary internet tools.

I better get going on my goals...

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

etsy.com/shop/work2gather
Currently a work-in-progress !!