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...

Wednesday, 3 FEB 2016 :: Photo tips

I was sorting through some of my many "piles" of papers last weekend and came across a page from eBay about creating good photos.  I thought I would share it with you.  It was a PDF I think, and I can't find a web reference on the page, but the title appears to be "Top Tips for Great Photos."  A search at eBay should bring up something...  I hope.  :-)  I seem to have discovered the information on the 5th of November in 2015.

Anyway, here is a list of the points on my reference page.  It is better to see the photos that go with them, but that is beyond my skill at this point in time.


Elements of a great listing photo.

• Use a plain uncluttered backdrop to draw attention to your item.
• Turn off the flash.  Use diffused lighting to prevent shadows and reflections.
• Use a tripod to prevent softness and blur.
• Capture high-resolution pictures.
• Fill the frame with the item.
• Capture all angles, details, and blemishes.
• Show the scale.
• Keep your photos from tinting.
• Capture detailed close-up shots.
• Avoid using props.
• Optimize the quality of cell phone camera photos.
• Use eBay picture hosting to optimize your listing for mobile buyers.

There are differences between selling sites, so it is important to notice that this information is focused toward sellers at eBay, which include used items.  Etsy would have VINTAGE items that might be the same category.  I am referring to the suggestion to capture all the blemishes in your listing photos so as not to deceive the buyer.

I think another important photo tip is the suggestion to show the scale of your item.  As I look at more and more photos while I browse Etsy, I am finding it harder to know the size of an item being offered.  Photos can be enlarged, reduced, and doctored in many ways... for buyers to trust you and buy from you, they need all the little details that matter.  Scale is one of them.  I think jewelry is where I notice this most.  Art could be another product that is easily deceptive.

I think it was this PDF that taught me about turning the flash off.  I tried it and was AMAZED at the difference... and is the reason I had to buy a new camera with that function.

Another tidbit I learned with this resource was the effects of lighting... that different light bulbs cause tints in the photos... yellow and blue tints... and why "natural light" is so important to your photos.  (I am working to find the best place to take photos in my environment.)

I hope this helps you to create better photos for your listing items.  There is so much to learn.  I will try to share my process of learning with you so we can all become great together.  :-)

Monday, 28 SEP 2015 :: What matters in SHIPPING online?

I am beginning to make purchases more often at Etsy because I actually have money now and have been trying to budget for supplies.  It helps me to see the buying process at Etsy, the difference between shops, and the details that matter most.

The first thing I noticed is the shops that don't provide tracking for their shipments.  I just assumed everyone provided tracking.  Not having a place to check on your package left me hanging as a customer... wondering where it was, what day to watch for it, how long it would take to travel from another part of the country, and more.  This is all a learning experience for me as a seller as much as it is a learning experience for me as a buyer.


After the first few packages, I began to notice the shipping labels on the packages when they arrive.  I began to see Etsy shipping labels, and which carrier was chosen to deliver it, and what kind of shape the packages arrived in.  I tried to see the actual costs of mailing to compare with the charges I paid (not really available, and a wise route to go in because shipping is also about the packaging).

The product was part of the equation for packaging, so I had to keep that in mind.  The better packaging made me think of gift delivery, offering choices with a listing, and considering it a "branding" effort.  I am really working toward better solutions for my products and shop/s.


With the newest crime (especially at holiday times) being package theft at the delivery door, this issue of package tracking is very important.  We like to think that our neighborhoods are safe, but thieves don't care where you live or even know what is in an unwatched package.  I imagine the "nicer" neighborhoods are targeted more than poverty neighborhoods, but I don't really know.  Poor-on-poor crime is just as bad in some statistics.

Thieves steal first, and then discover what they got.

Wherever you live, the main problem is that YOU are the one that loses the item you have been waiting for, you or someone else paid for, and you want (hopefully).  As cybercrimes increase, thieves may begin to know what is coming and follow your tracking themselves.  I don't know what the perfect solution is, but tracking helps me.


A bad shopping experience really leaves a bad taste in your wallet.  It makes me not want to buy from any stores on the site.  I found it hard to buy online again after I had a bad purchasing experience.  What we do affects everyone else on our sales site.

It takes time to find the sellers you want to continue doing business with.  I am thinking that once I do find those online stores I like and want to buy from, I may not venture too far from them.  I won't have to worry about a new shop, if it's a fake, if it's a scam, etc.  I may only need to browse for items when I don't already have a source for it. 

Know this in myself makes me want to make sure my shop is consistent and trustworthy in lots of ways, including policies, shipping prices (and methods), listing details, and sales processes.  Once I get it all figured out, I want to be able to build on that foundation, to find permanent customers for my products. 

I think that is part of the reason I have been moving so slowly to build my Etsy shop and other online sales points.  I want income, I desperately NEED income, but I am hoping for long-term benefits instead of instant sales.  I am trying not to fret at the time it is taking, and hoping it will work out better in the future.



If you have a shop, I hope you provide package tracking for your customers.  I think it is a great investment.

11 MAY 2015 :: Checking in for now

Just wanted to share the things that I am doing in the crafts and online selling areas.

I have been trying to sort through all my collected notes and have been transferring the details from my scratch paper to notebook pages I can eventually organize and review.  It has been reminding me of all the things I searched for and studied for last Christmas.  I am going to use this information to review my current listings and then work harder to create better listings in the future.

I have been sorting through my small space to make more room for crafts and artworks, trying to get more listings online.  It seems like a difficult task, but I am making a space that will last for some time.  I am also figuring out the right pieces of furniture and shelving that will fit in here and allow me to accomplish more.  Hopefully, it will all come together soon.

In the search for the best products for me to focus on, I am making a list that will provide a lot of options... in several craft categories...like art, fabrics, food, digital, etc.  I am searching for listings that will just need to be renewed, which means they will be available year-round and continue until deleted.  That will help my shop content and allow people to search my shop categories rather than browse page by page from the shop homepage.

It is a huge learning process to sell online...but it is beginning to make sense and all the pieces are coming together, including keywords and photos and shipping and pricing and sections and....  :-) 

Soon, I hope to build up regular customers at my etsy shop and other places on the internet, like fiverr.com and eBay.

And I am going to learn video!  (which I will learn to upload to my YOU TUBE account and other places.  :-)   There's always more to learn, to buy, to save for, to pray for, and to do.