Happy Monday, Blogger world!
I intended to do some serious Cafepress housekeeping today. I did work on my Cafepress, but mostly in the way of adding new products. It wasn't nothing, in fact I got a lot of work done, just not the work I intended. This brings to mind a blog post I read just today by a promising young blogger, which I will link to here:
http://jadarendir.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/a-guide-to-practical-procrastination/
This practical-procrastination thing might be a good way to deal with one of my least favorite chores/work day conundrums - something I call The Nesting Doll Chores Trap. This is when a task looks small, but leads to one extra job, then another, then another, and so on until you just spent half your day on this string of chores all in the name of getting one thing crossed off your to-do list.
Example: I go to put something in the compost. The compost is full, so I have to empty it out. Then I realize I'm out of compost box liners, so I get more of those. I do groceries at the same time, because I have to do that anyway. Ultimately, putting something in the compost took 2 hours.
I've run into a version of that in my Cafepress chores. I wanted to pare down the extra things in my shops, but first I must organizing my shops so I can keep track of what I've sold (so I don't delete any of those things). Organizing my shop has lead to having to open other shops because I've run up against the limit of how many sections I can have in a shop, not to mention the fact that going through my shops is making me noticing everything else that's missing/needs doing my shops.
Obviously these things can manifest any way. Want to do a quick repair job? A missing part leads to a trip to the hardware store, right after a trip to the bank, then leads to another trip to another hardware store if they don't have what you need, leads to a trip to the gas station because of all the driving around (or a trip to the corner store to get more bus tickets), etc...
There are ways of minimizing these repercussions. Only go to the grocery store for the compost bucket liners, or save the compost run for later. Prioritizing can feel a lot like procrastination when you've got more of a to-do-list than you can realistically do in a day. For me, it's gotten to the point where everything feels like procrastination, because everything ultimately 'needs' doing. I'd love to take the time to do a good job on things, and sometimes I can manage that. But the longer I take, the less worthwhile it seems. This goes double for things I don't get paid for - mainly cleaning. It doesn't matter how good a job I do, nobody's going to pay me to clean my own home. It's still important, but not as urgent as the growing vacuum in my bank account. Perhaps if I alternate between job hunting, cleaning my place, and working on something I actually want to work on, I'll feel like something got done in the end...:/
Anyway, that's my thought for the day. Thanks for reading! 'Till next time...
Showing posts with label cafepress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cafepress. Show all posts
Monday, August 19, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
Cafepress News & Stuff - The Admin Shop
Good Day Blogger world!
I may have mentioned that I'm on Cafepress, and I have a shop. Actually, I have a few - and there will probably be more because I've run up against the limit of sections for one shop (again :P). In case you haven't heard of it, Cafepress is a customization site with a marketplace component that allows users to sell things with their own designs on them. I've been a Cafepress shop owner since about 2010, and now I earn enough to cover my internet costs each month. Bear in mind, this is at the lowest price I could get internet, but there is often a little left over after that too.
Here's something interesting that Cafepress does, or has done for me in the recent past. Not too long ago, another shop appeared in my account, one that I did not create. I was taken aback at first, but apparently this is something Cafepress does if it (they?) feel(s) that certain of your designs would work well on products they don't currently appear on. I have actually had 2 sales result from that, so I'm cool with it. I try not to meddle with it too much, but I felt the need to spruce it up today as I was doing some Cafepress housekeeping. Here's the link if you'd like to see what it looks like:
http://www.cafepress.com/admin_cp14439106
Here is an example of one of the things that has sold through this shop.
Maiko Silhouette Dark Maternity T-Shirt Maternity Shirt (dark) Admin Store
These are not things I decided to include (although there may be some duplicates between my other shops and this one), and I wouldn't have guessed that a black on black design would sell (when this item sold, the shirt was only available in black). When it did sell, I realized that this particular design actually does look nice on a black background - it adds an air of mystery to it, which suits the subject matter. So I added a similar product to my main shop.
I don't know how much of this is an actual person stocking this shop and how much is automated. Not sure how well the white seahorse is going to work out on the white background of this phone cover, but that remains to be seen. I haven't changed any of the products so far , though I may decide to adjust some of them.
In other news (as I mentioned earlier), I'm going to have to put up a new shop to make room in my old shop. I've decided to make a few mini shops containing images from my calendars. This could get confusing. I will have to find a way around that, and for the near future it will probably involve links.
That's all the news for now! As always, thanks for reading! :)
I may have mentioned that I'm on Cafepress, and I have a shop. Actually, I have a few - and there will probably be more because I've run up against the limit of sections for one shop (again :P). In case you haven't heard of it, Cafepress is a customization site with a marketplace component that allows users to sell things with their own designs on them. I've been a Cafepress shop owner since about 2010, and now I earn enough to cover my internet costs each month. Bear in mind, this is at the lowest price I could get internet, but there is often a little left over after that too.
Here's something interesting that Cafepress does, or has done for me in the recent past. Not too long ago, another shop appeared in my account, one that I did not create. I was taken aback at first, but apparently this is something Cafepress does if it (they?) feel(s) that certain of your designs would work well on products they don't currently appear on. I have actually had 2 sales result from that, so I'm cool with it. I try not to meddle with it too much, but I felt the need to spruce it up today as I was doing some Cafepress housekeeping. Here's the link if you'd like to see what it looks like:
http://www.cafepress.com/admin_cp14439106
Here is an example of one of the things that has sold through this shop.
Maiko Silhouette Dark Maternity T-Shirt Maternity Shirt (dark) Admin Store
These are not things I decided to include (although there may be some duplicates between my other shops and this one), and I wouldn't have guessed that a black on black design would sell (when this item sold, the shirt was only available in black). When it did sell, I realized that this particular design actually does look nice on a black background - it adds an air of mystery to it, which suits the subject matter. So I added a similar product to my main shop.
I don't know how much of this is an actual person stocking this shop and how much is automated. Not sure how well the white seahorse is going to work out on the white background of this phone cover, but that remains to be seen. I haven't changed any of the products so far , though I may decide to adjust some of them.
In other news (as I mentioned earlier), I'm going to have to put up a new shop to make room in my old shop. I've decided to make a few mini shops containing images from my calendars. This could get confusing. I will have to find a way around that, and for the near future it will probably involve links.
That's all the news for now! As always, thanks for reading! :)
Monday, October 22, 2012
I am an (artistic) anxiety machine O_o!
Just give me a few crossed wires, a little pressure, work that requires speed and accuracy combined, some verbal cues to over-analyze, and off I go! You'd think after a while it'd just become white noise.....But no. How is it that I keep putting myself in jobs that require speed and accuracy? Not deadline speed, but spur of the moment speed. On the plus side, having an extra job means I have a little more freedom to look for a job that fits me a little better. In theory I have the skills and experience to do this job, but efficiency has been a problem in the past. Hopefully I'll get faster as I get used to it - more hopefully, I'll find a job that fits me better. I've got a job that fits me just fine, in addition. That's why I'm hanging on to the 2 shifts/week I'm getting from that one.
On the online front, I made another cafepress sale today :)! 2 of them in fact (2 different greeting cards) - first time in a while. Seems to happen every time I go into an extended frenzy of uploading - and it's almost never any of the things I upload O_o. Perhaps seeing my new items, customers also see some of my older stuff go by. Hey, I'm happy with that :). I also made an order of swatches to Spoonflower, so hopefully I'll have a lot more designs in my shop after that arrives. My exploration of Spoonflower has lead to one entry for my hitherto hypothetical list of dream jobs: Fabric print designer. I'd love to just make the designs, get paid royalties for them, and see them put on fabric to be made into all kinds of things by people all around the world. I'll have to develop this list.
And now, since you've been so patient, I have new work to show you :). Actually it's recent work colourized in Photoshop, but I feel really good about it:
Art Minis - Dragon I in Colour by ~Eseopia on deviantART
It is available on items in my Deviantart Printshop, and in my Cafepress.
That is all for now. Thank's for visiting today, and come back soon :)!
On the online front, I made another cafepress sale today :)! 2 of them in fact (2 different greeting cards) - first time in a while. Seems to happen every time I go into an extended frenzy of uploading - and it's almost never any of the things I upload O_o. Perhaps seeing my new items, customers also see some of my older stuff go by. Hey, I'm happy with that :). I also made an order of swatches to Spoonflower, so hopefully I'll have a lot more designs in my shop after that arrives. My exploration of Spoonflower has lead to one entry for my hitherto hypothetical list of dream jobs: Fabric print designer. I'd love to just make the designs, get paid royalties for them, and see them put on fabric to be made into all kinds of things by people all around the world. I'll have to develop this list.
And now, since you've been so patient, I have new work to show you :). Actually it's recent work colourized in Photoshop, but I feel really good about it:
Art Minis - Dragon I in Colour by ~Eseopia on deviantART
It is available on items in my Deviantart Printshop, and in my Cafepress.
That is all for now. Thank's for visiting today, and come back soon :)!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Extra Post: Blog Consolidation
I've decided to consolidate my blogs into one again. I tried making a go of a craft book review only blog, but that's slow going right now, and I think I might as well combine the traffic. I only got 2 posts in, so now is the best time to combine the two.
I'll still review craft books - in fact, I think I'll start reviewing a lot of things, art and craft related. Maybe I'll splinter the book review blog off again once I really get this one on its feet. For now though, my life is in a little bit of disarray. I'll be able to keep up the blogging, though perhaps not in an orderly fashion for now.
First and last posts of the Art Rat Craft Book Review:
Post 1:
Hello Blogger world :)! I am sitting here surrounded by stuff, because I’ll be moving out soon. I hope to sell at least some of it to defray the costs of my new condo. As I pack up, I’m looking at all the craft books I have. Barely used, most of them. I have a lot of craft books, and a lot of craft stuff. I find it very hard to resist buying them, especially when they’re on sale. I guess there are a few reasons why. All those possibilities, all the ideas and little gems to dig up….like catalogues of things I can make exactly as I want them. Somehow I underestimate the time, energy, and (frankly) excuses I'll have to use these books on a regular basis :P. BUT, all that is about to change...
This blog is going to be dedicated to reviewing craft books. I will endeavor to make my reviews as informed and objective as possible – yes, you guessed it – by doing the crafts. Will I become a better craft person from this? Hopefully. Will I become rich? No, but with any luck my growing skills will at least help defray material costs through Etsy, or the occassional craft market. And who knows? I may well end up making something I need every now and again.
I think the most appropriate book to start with will be, “It’s a Wrap – Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, and Bowls”, by Susan Breier. I’ve chosen this book for a few reasons. Firstly, I’ve already tried the crafting technique described in this book, and I like it. This will make it easier to keep up with my blogging responsibilities while moving, having done some of the work already and still having supplies left over.
I was fortunate enough to have come across the book as I was wishing I could somehow convert my leftover fabric stash into something useful that wouldn’t take that long to produce. This book offered an unusually fitting solution. It does require many yards of cotton clothesline, and many more yards of sewing thread, but it’s pretty satisfying to be able to cut those old remnants into a pile of strips and watch that pile dwindle away to nothing. In the end I am left with a flexible but relatively solid vessel, and since I'm often looking for things to put other things in, this is actually pretty practical.
I will be documenting my work as I go through this book. I won’t be doing every single design in the book, but I will try to at least do one craft from each section. At the end of the month I will write a full review. In the meantime, I will also use the time between the beginning of the month and the end to review other craft related products. These may or may not be related to the book of the month – they are simply to keep this blog interesting.
I'm starting this blog with the hope that I'll be able to sustain it within my means. I currently have a pretty good surplus of crafting goods, but I will be on a limited budget as to what I can afford, at least at first. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up for more than a little while. At any rate, I feel like it's worth trying. If you are reading this first entry, thank you kindly for stopping by. Until next time, blogger world! :)
Post 2:
Good day blogger world!
It's been a week of crafting for me. Between "It's a wrap" and a knitted birthday gift project, I have spent the time being crafty. Here is a peak at some of the wrap craft work I've been doing: So far it's an enjoyable book, now that I've got a an excuse to read it in depth. Still fighting the urge to jump ahead, but as always, it's worth it to read the preamble. And, the directions - that too.
While I'm on the subject of fabric crafts, I'd like to showcase a site that came to my attention a little while ago, and which I'm still pretty psyched about. It's called Spoonflower, and I love it! It's like the best parts of cafepress and deviantart, in a site that allows you to design your own fabric. To explain what I mean: like on Cafepress, and to a lesser extent Deviantart, you can upload your designs for use on printed product - in this case, various natural fabrics. There are a number of repeat options (for creating patterns with your designs), and the option to size your fabric design too. Like deviantart, you can follow different designers, giving and receiving feedback on your work. And like both sites, you can have your own shop, where other users can purchase fabric with your designs on it. You do also have the option of keeping your designs private, just for you to purchase, which one may have reason for. I've worked up a modest collections of designs myself, and the samples I've bought have been pretty satisfactory (particularly now, with the new & improved colour system). I should also mention that they have a designer tool built into the site as well, though I havn't actually tried it yet. Anyway, this is Spoonflower in a nutshell. Here is a link if you'd like to see for yourself:
...and, if you're curious, here is the link to my shop:
I do so like widgets ^_^. They make a blogger's life much more enjoyable.
This has been the second instalment of The Art Rat Craft Book Review. Still getting a feel for this project, so I hope you'll bear with me. I'm already reconsidering how I originally planned to structure this, but I will do my best to keep the content coming, and interesting. Later bloggerverse!
I'll still review craft books - in fact, I think I'll start reviewing a lot of things, art and craft related. Maybe I'll splinter the book review blog off again once I really get this one on its feet. For now though, my life is in a little bit of disarray. I'll be able to keep up the blogging, though perhaps not in an orderly fashion for now.
First and last posts of the Art Rat Craft Book Review:
Post 1:
Hello Blogger world :)! I am sitting here surrounded by stuff, because I’ll be moving out soon. I hope to sell at least some of it to defray the costs of my new condo. As I pack up, I’m looking at all the craft books I have. Barely used, most of them. I have a lot of craft books, and a lot of craft stuff. I find it very hard to resist buying them, especially when they’re on sale. I guess there are a few reasons why. All those possibilities, all the ideas and little gems to dig up….like catalogues of things I can make exactly as I want them. Somehow I underestimate the time, energy, and (frankly) excuses I'll have to use these books on a regular basis :P. BUT, all that is about to change...
This blog is going to be dedicated to reviewing craft books. I will endeavor to make my reviews as informed and objective as possible – yes, you guessed it – by doing the crafts. Will I become a better craft person from this? Hopefully. Will I become rich? No, but with any luck my growing skills will at least help defray material costs through Etsy, or the occassional craft market. And who knows? I may well end up making something I need every now and again.
I think the most appropriate book to start with will be, “It’s a Wrap – Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, and Bowls”, by Susan Breier. I’ve chosen this book for a few reasons. Firstly, I’ve already tried the crafting technique described in this book, and I like it. This will make it easier to keep up with my blogging responsibilities while moving, having done some of the work already and still having supplies left over.
I was fortunate enough to have come across the book as I was wishing I could somehow convert my leftover fabric stash into something useful that wouldn’t take that long to produce. This book offered an unusually fitting solution. It does require many yards of cotton clothesline, and many more yards of sewing thread, but it’s pretty satisfying to be able to cut those old remnants into a pile of strips and watch that pile dwindle away to nothing. In the end I am left with a flexible but relatively solid vessel, and since I'm often looking for things to put other things in, this is actually pretty practical.
I will be documenting my work as I go through this book. I won’t be doing every single design in the book, but I will try to at least do one craft from each section. At the end of the month I will write a full review. In the meantime, I will also use the time between the beginning of the month and the end to review other craft related products. These may or may not be related to the book of the month – they are simply to keep this blog interesting.
I'm starting this blog with the hope that I'll be able to sustain it within my means. I currently have a pretty good surplus of crafting goods, but I will be on a limited budget as to what I can afford, at least at first. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up for more than a little while. At any rate, I feel like it's worth trying. If you are reading this first entry, thank you kindly for stopping by. Until next time, blogger world! :)
Post 2:
Good day blogger world!
It's been a week of crafting for me. Between "It's a wrap" and a knitted birthday gift project, I have spent the time being crafty. Here is a peak at some of the wrap craft work I've been doing: So far it's an enjoyable book, now that I've got a an excuse to read it in depth. Still fighting the urge to jump ahead, but as always, it's worth it to read the preamble. And, the directions - that too.
While I'm on the subject of fabric crafts, I'd like to showcase a site that came to my attention a little while ago, and which I'm still pretty psyched about. It's called Spoonflower, and I love it! It's like the best parts of cafepress and deviantart, in a site that allows you to design your own fabric. To explain what I mean: like on Cafepress, and to a lesser extent Deviantart, you can upload your designs for use on printed product - in this case, various natural fabrics. There are a number of repeat options (for creating patterns with your designs), and the option to size your fabric design too. Like deviantart, you can follow different designers, giving and receiving feedback on your work. And like both sites, you can have your own shop, where other users can purchase fabric with your designs on it. You do also have the option of keeping your designs private, just for you to purchase, which one may have reason for. I've worked up a modest collections of designs myself, and the samples I've bought have been pretty satisfactory (particularly now, with the new & improved colour system). I should also mention that they have a designer tool built into the site as well, though I havn't actually tried it yet. Anyway, this is Spoonflower in a nutshell. Here is a link if you'd like to see for yourself:
...and, if you're curious, here is the link to my shop:
I do so like widgets ^_^. They make a blogger's life much more enjoyable.
This has been the second instalment of The Art Rat Craft Book Review. Still getting a feel for this project, so I hope you'll bear with me. I'm already reconsidering how I originally planned to structure this, but I will do my best to keep the content coming, and interesting. Later bloggerverse!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Lots of things (new structure)
Good day again, blogger world! :)
What's new
I've decided to divide up my subjects so that it's easier to get to everything I want to talk about. My last post was pretty much entirely a news post - but it was big news, as least for me ^_^. In other news, I'm going through a bunch of my old paintings, mostly from 2007, from Advanced Painting, Intro Figure Painting, Largescale painting and Intermediate Painting. Some of them still look pretty good. I've let some auctions go by already, which is a shame, but hopefully something will come up where I can donate a piece or too. I'm having to move them out, you see. This is hopefully just a precursor to moving myself out, but that's a whole other story. I'm not sure all of these are exactly auction or art store material. Some are more fleamarket grade, now that I look at them again. It's sometimes hard to know what to do with the nudes. The ones that don't show faces can be sold (though you have to be careful what you post online), but the ones that do require a little more though. Some of these are just so big I don't know how I'll get them from point A to point B. Hopefully I can get someone else's help with that, if need be. Right now I'm getting them cleaned up (painting the edges and whatever else needs doing). Hopefully I'll be able to sell at least a few, and find good homes for all of them, (or at least a fitting end, in one or two cases).
Shown first here is "Baby Puppet". Possibly the best of the bunch. Always hard to part with those ones, but that's what makes them good enough to sell. It's 4X4', which might make it a little bit harder to find a home for, but we'll see. Below is a study I was doing for a larger work. Unfinished, not really a sale item (though I am noticing it looks alright in this post). I may simply get rid of the canvas and keep the stretcher - always a little bit painful, but sometimes that's what has to happen.
Latest work
Still working on the silk painting. I'm feeling good about how recent experiments have worked out, particularly this sample.
Shop
I continue to do housekeeping in my Cafepress. Going back through the sections of my shop, I can see how my process has become more streamlined. I've learned a few things about what works and what doesn't.
-Wide boarders work well. Having a lot of room between the edge of an image and the subject of an image makes things a lot easier in terms of having room for "bleed" (the sides of the image overtaking the sides of the printable area. Also...
-Images without backgrounds work well too. You can't do this with a jpeg, but you are allowed to upload photoshop files to Cafepress, and that means you can have the edge of the subject be the edge of the image, making the surface of the product itself the background.
-Certain shapes (particularly circular and square designs) work well for printing on multiple items. Particularly because a lot of items have print areas that are specifically circular or square (patches on shirts, for example). Sometimes a square image can be used on circular print areas as well, as long as it has enough of a bleed edge.
One thing I haven't done yet is work with the templates for each product. That will add a whole new dimension to the work, I'm sure.
Before I move on, here is a recent addition to my shop, just posted today:
IB Wine Glass Jewelry Case Inkblot Wine Glass Inkyboots Designs (by Robyn MacKinnon)
The design isn't new, but it's one of my more popular ones. The jewellery case is one of the newer products on Cafepress. A nice little thing. Lends itself to a lot of designs.
Book review
Still getting through "Generation T". My disintegrating pink nightgown is now a pile of pink yarn, which I've decided I will turn into a sachel, with the pocket sewn on the side. Or maybe on the inside, where it won't get ripped as easily. This might be the most versatile idea from this book (T-shirt yarn). One things they should have mentioned, though, is how to pull the individual pieces of yarn so they curl in on themselves, making more convincing yarn. I actually learned this from a youtube video (0:39). It's a little thing, but it makes all the difference.
Haven't tried this particular craft yet, but it looks like fun. The web is such a great resource these days, for everything, but definitely for arts and crafts.
Alright, I'm going to wrap this up here. Gotta love a good long blog post (as long as it has plenty of visuals ^_^). Later blogger world!
What's new
I've decided to divide up my subjects so that it's easier to get to everything I want to talk about. My last post was pretty much entirely a news post - but it was big news, as least for me ^_^. In other news, I'm going through a bunch of my old paintings, mostly from 2007, from Advanced Painting, Intro Figure Painting, Largescale painting and Intermediate Painting. Some of them still look pretty good. I've let some auctions go by already, which is a shame, but hopefully something will come up where I can donate a piece or too. I'm having to move them out, you see. This is hopefully just a precursor to moving myself out, but that's a whole other story. I'm not sure all of these are exactly auction or art store material. Some are more fleamarket grade, now that I look at them again. It's sometimes hard to know what to do with the nudes. The ones that don't show faces can be sold (though you have to be careful what you post online), but the ones that do require a little more though. Some of these are just so big I don't know how I'll get them from point A to point B. Hopefully I can get someone else's help with that, if need be. Right now I'm getting them cleaned up (painting the edges and whatever else needs doing). Hopefully I'll be able to sell at least a few, and find good homes for all of them, (or at least a fitting end, in one or two cases).
Shown first here is "Baby Puppet". Possibly the best of the bunch. Always hard to part with those ones, but that's what makes them good enough to sell. It's 4X4', which might make it a little bit harder to find a home for, but we'll see. Below is a study I was doing for a larger work. Unfinished, not really a sale item (though I am noticing it looks alright in this post). I may simply get rid of the canvas and keep the stretcher - always a little bit painful, but sometimes that's what has to happen.
Latest work
Still working on the silk painting. I'm feeling good about how recent experiments have worked out, particularly this sample.
Shop
I continue to do housekeeping in my Cafepress. Going back through the sections of my shop, I can see how my process has become more streamlined. I've learned a few things about what works and what doesn't.
-Wide boarders work well. Having a lot of room between the edge of an image and the subject of an image makes things a lot easier in terms of having room for "bleed" (the sides of the image overtaking the sides of the printable area. Also...
-Images without backgrounds work well too. You can't do this with a jpeg, but you are allowed to upload photoshop files to Cafepress, and that means you can have the edge of the subject be the edge of the image, making the surface of the product itself the background.
-Certain shapes (particularly circular and square designs) work well for printing on multiple items. Particularly because a lot of items have print areas that are specifically circular or square (patches on shirts, for example). Sometimes a square image can be used on circular print areas as well, as long as it has enough of a bleed edge.
One thing I haven't done yet is work with the templates for each product. That will add a whole new dimension to the work, I'm sure.
Before I move on, here is a recent addition to my shop, just posted today:
IB Wine Glass Jewelry Case Inkblot Wine Glass Inkyboots Designs (by Robyn MacKinnon)
The design isn't new, but it's one of my more popular ones. The jewellery case is one of the newer products on Cafepress. A nice little thing. Lends itself to a lot of designs.
Book review
Still getting through "Generation T". My disintegrating pink nightgown is now a pile of pink yarn, which I've decided I will turn into a sachel, with the pocket sewn on the side. Or maybe on the inside, where it won't get ripped as easily. This might be the most versatile idea from this book (T-shirt yarn). One things they should have mentioned, though, is how to pull the individual pieces of yarn so they curl in on themselves, making more convincing yarn. I actually learned this from a youtube video (0:39). It's a little thing, but it makes all the difference.
Haven't tried this particular craft yet, but it looks like fun. The web is such a great resource these days, for everything, but definitely for arts and crafts.
Alright, I'm going to wrap this up here. Gotta love a good long blog post (as long as it has plenty of visuals ^_^). Later blogger world!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
On to the next thing....
Good day, Blogger world!
As I type, I'm watching Mythbusters, with a laptop resting on 3 boxes full of fabric strips. These will appear in this blog again at some future time, if all goes according to plan. The silk veil from post 2, and its subsequent twin, worked out well, though they also yielded some lessons and things to try next time. Next time I need to paint two of anything, I'll have to see if I can't do it by letting the paint saturate through both layers (suggested by a friend). Silk saturates pretty fast, so I anticipate interesting and unexpected effects.
On to the next thing. I have this book. Actually, I have lots of books. Craft books. I can't get enough of them! They're like catalogues full of customizable goodies! Also tricks, secrets, and ideas to try in my own experiments. This particular book is big on those last three, though it's got some good full-length projects too. This is something I'd love to start doing on this blog: Craft book reviews. Not just reading them and writing about them, but making the projects and writing about my experiences :). I've already started the review for this one:
The book is "Generation T: 108 ways to transform a T-shrit" by Megan Nicolay. Like most people, I've always had T-shirts. I have a couple of old T-shirts that I’ll wear right out before I even think about cutting into them. My beloved “Summer Rock Camp ‘95” T shirt, which I’m wearing right now, is one of them. It’s comfortable, loose, and comes with good memories of the Rock and Roll music camps I went to as a kid.
The other is one my Mom found at a flea market. Splashy red to purple dye job with black outlined stars and moon, plus a large red comet-blob above text pronouncing a fiery end to the cow that jumped over the moon. The back simply says 1988 Jason J. Brown (upside-down, as I just noticed :P).
These are my sleeping shirts, and I am so very proud of them ^_^. I had (and still have) a large number of T-shirts I was sentimentally attached too, but didn’t wear nearly as often as I do my sleep shirts. Many of them went into the first project I completed out of this book (yes, I’ve already gotten some use out of it) - the Quilt that now covers my bed (must remember to get a snapshot next time I make my bed).
On to the book! Right off the bat, I am assured that I’ll find something to inspire me in “Generation T”. This has already proven true. I am also told that I won’t have to learn a new skill (many of these projects don’t even require sewing) and I won’t have to shop for materials at “specialty stores”. Rare is the craft book that can promise that (we’ll see if it holds true). With any luck, the farthest I’ll have to go is Value Village (what would really impress me is if I managed to explore this book in full without making one shopping trip). I may have already defeated that hope by picking up those Neon Ts from Michaels a while back, but if I don’t have to go shopping during the course of this exploration/book review, I’ll still consider it a success.
(Note to self - plug my Cafepress T-shirts at every opportunity! @_@)
It isn’t often that I read the preamble at the beginning of a craft book (even if it’s for my own good :P). It’s all I can do not to plunge ahead with this one too (I suppose I have already, having already done the quilt). It occurs to me that they aren’t including a sewing machine in the list of tools I’ll need. I may end up going to the machine anyway, though I’ll be relieved not to be restricted to the sewing room. The explanations of different tools are detailed, even going so far as to explain what things like needles and straight pins are. At least it's comprehensive.
(Note to self - I can design pins - as in buttons - in my Cafepress to…O_o).
I'm now writing this entry a few days later than I started it (in fact the review itself is something I started writing a while ago). So I'll wrap this up here, with a little more self-promotion for good measure ^_^. As I mentioned before, I have a Cafepress shop featuring products with my designs on them. And yes, many of those products are T-shirts. I promised myself I would avoid making new purchases during the course of reviewing this book, but really, it's all I can do not to think of the possibilities where DIY meets customization :D.
Cafepress has a widget generator, but I seem only to be able to get a few products on it, all with the same design. No sense is being made by this, but at least I can (hopefully) show you this adorable pet T-shirt with my Inkblot Dragon design on it :).
It turned out to be a button instead. Fine, Cafepress, fine >_<. I hope you like my self-designed dragon button :P! I also hope that it actually turns out to be linking to something, because otherwise it isn't all that useful. More mysteries to be solved....
On that note, before I do injury to this innocent computer monitor, later Blogger world!
As I type, I'm watching Mythbusters, with a laptop resting on 3 boxes full of fabric strips. These will appear in this blog again at some future time, if all goes according to plan. The silk veil from post 2, and its subsequent twin, worked out well, though they also yielded some lessons and things to try next time. Next time I need to paint two of anything, I'll have to see if I can't do it by letting the paint saturate through both layers (suggested by a friend). Silk saturates pretty fast, so I anticipate interesting and unexpected effects.
On to the next thing. I have this book. Actually, I have lots of books. Craft books. I can't get enough of them! They're like catalogues full of customizable goodies! Also tricks, secrets, and ideas to try in my own experiments. This particular book is big on those last three, though it's got some good full-length projects too. This is something I'd love to start doing on this blog: Craft book reviews. Not just reading them and writing about them, but making the projects and writing about my experiences :). I've already started the review for this one:
The book is "Generation T: 108 ways to transform a T-shrit" by Megan Nicolay. Like most people, I've always had T-shirts. I have a couple of old T-shirts that I’ll wear right out before I even think about cutting into them. My beloved “Summer Rock Camp ‘95” T shirt, which I’m wearing right now, is one of them. It’s comfortable, loose, and comes with good memories of the Rock and Roll music camps I went to as a kid.
The other is one my Mom found at a flea market. Splashy red to purple dye job with black outlined stars and moon, plus a large red comet-blob above text pronouncing a fiery end to the cow that jumped over the moon. The back simply says 1988 Jason J. Brown (upside-down, as I just noticed :P).
These are my sleeping shirts, and I am so very proud of them ^_^. I had (and still have) a large number of T-shirts I was sentimentally attached too, but didn’t wear nearly as often as I do my sleep shirts. Many of them went into the first project I completed out of this book (yes, I’ve already gotten some use out of it) - the Quilt that now covers my bed (must remember to get a snapshot next time I make my bed).
On to the book! Right off the bat, I am assured that I’ll find something to inspire me in “Generation T”. This has already proven true. I am also told that I won’t have to learn a new skill (many of these projects don’t even require sewing) and I won’t have to shop for materials at “specialty stores”. Rare is the craft book that can promise that (we’ll see if it holds true). With any luck, the farthest I’ll have to go is Value Village (what would really impress me is if I managed to explore this book in full without making one shopping trip). I may have already defeated that hope by picking up those Neon Ts from Michaels a while back, but if I don’t have to go shopping during the course of this exploration/book review, I’ll still consider it a success.
(Note to self - plug my Cafepress T-shirts at every opportunity! @_@)
It isn’t often that I read the preamble at the beginning of a craft book (even if it’s for my own good :P). It’s all I can do not to plunge ahead with this one too (I suppose I have already, having already done the quilt). It occurs to me that they aren’t including a sewing machine in the list of tools I’ll need. I may end up going to the machine anyway, though I’ll be relieved not to be restricted to the sewing room. The explanations of different tools are detailed, even going so far as to explain what things like needles and straight pins are. At least it's comprehensive.
(Note to self - I can design pins - as in buttons - in my Cafepress to…O_o).
I'm now writing this entry a few days later than I started it (in fact the review itself is something I started writing a while ago). So I'll wrap this up here, with a little more self-promotion for good measure ^_^. As I mentioned before, I have a Cafepress shop featuring products with my designs on them. And yes, many of those products are T-shirts. I promised myself I would avoid making new purchases during the course of reviewing this book, but really, it's all I can do not to think of the possibilities where DIY meets customization :D.
Cafepress has a widget generator, but I seem only to be able to get a few products on it, all with the same design. No sense is being made by this, but at least I can (hopefully) show you this adorable pet T-shirt with my Inkblot Dragon design on it :).
Make Custom Gifts at CafePress
It turned out to be a button instead. Fine, Cafepress, fine >_<. I hope you like my self-designed dragon button :P! I also hope that it actually turns out to be linking to something, because otherwise it isn't all that useful. More mysteries to be solved....
On that note, before I do injury to this innocent computer monitor, later Blogger world!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Inaugeral Post (also, reveiw of cafepress.com)
Good day, blog world!
My name is Robyn MacKinnon, and this is what will become my arts, crafts, and design blog. More likely it will become a "my life in art, crafts, and design" blog. With any luck I will find lots of material, stories, and anecdotes to keep my potential readers interested :).
I am an art school graduate of 3 years at this point. Not yet "making it work" as such. I'm living at home, shifts at my day job aren't currently plentiful (though the way the job market is right now, I'm grateful to have a job at all), and income from my creative exploits has been residual at best. In light of this situation, I will be plugging my creative exploits when appropriate (ie at every opportunity). These include such things as Cafepress, Spoonflower, and Deviantart at the moment.
I'm currently doing some Cafepress housekeeping. This has recently become one of my residual income streams. Very residual so far, but becoming a more steady trickle as time goes on :). It's particularly satisfying to see what my designs look like on various items, and so far Cafepress seems capable of delivering a good product. The one time I had to ask for a replacement of an item, my request was met with speed and courtesy. Cafepress has its ideosychrosies - certain functions may not work depending on your browser (I've heard Google Chrome works best). They change things as often as Facebook, though usually not drastically. The addition of new products usually makes me feel like a kid playing her favorite video game, I must admit. However, my favorite feature by far is the fan portal feature. There are certain brands (TV shows and movies, mostly) connected with Cafepress, and the fan portal feature means that fans like me (in this case, a rabid Dancing with the Stars fan) can upload their fan art and put it on T-shirts and other merchandise (following specific rules, of course). I can't tell you how excited I was to find out about this O_O. This function has contributed to my sales, and it feels pretty good to occassionally see my products there among other DWTS merch. I'd love to link you to a page that emplains the fan portal function further (I know it exists!) but I'm having a peach of a time finding it >_<. Here it is! (I had to Google it XD.) http://www.cafepress.com/cp/shopkeepers/index.aspx?page=fan-portals Anyway, that sums up my review of Cafepress: An exciting innovation, not without its quirks, but with plenty of possiblitities. I'm going to show your my latest upload to Cafepress:
http://www.cafepress.com/inkybootsdesigns/8978399 Is where you can go to see the stuff I put this design on :).
It think this is a good place to end this first post. I'll be giving you more of what this blog is about as I go (ie, as I myself figure it out). It's easy to start out with one idea as to what a certain project will be and how it will go, but when you actually get down to it and the possibilities start multiplying, it can be hard to restrict it to being just one thing. The trick is to know when not to restrict it, to let it grow into what it will be.
If you are curious, here is the link to my Cafepress shop. It is an ongoing work in progress, and I will be adding designs and products regularly, so stop by when you get the chance :)!
http://www.cafepress.com/inkybootsdesigns
Later blog world!
PS: I've been trying to dig that URL to the fan portal page out of that paragraph, but it doesn't seem to matter how many page breaks I put in, it insists on being mashed together with the lines on either side >_<. Maybe it will all be better when I publish the page. That'd be cool.
My name is Robyn MacKinnon, and this is what will become my arts, crafts, and design blog. More likely it will become a "my life in art, crafts, and design" blog. With any luck I will find lots of material, stories, and anecdotes to keep my potential readers interested :).
I am an art school graduate of 3 years at this point. Not yet "making it work" as such. I'm living at home, shifts at my day job aren't currently plentiful (though the way the job market is right now, I'm grateful to have a job at all), and income from my creative exploits has been residual at best. In light of this situation, I will be plugging my creative exploits when appropriate (ie at every opportunity). These include such things as Cafepress, Spoonflower, and Deviantart at the moment.
I'm currently doing some Cafepress housekeeping. This has recently become one of my residual income streams. Very residual so far, but becoming a more steady trickle as time goes on :). It's particularly satisfying to see what my designs look like on various items, and so far Cafepress seems capable of delivering a good product. The one time I had to ask for a replacement of an item, my request was met with speed and courtesy. Cafepress has its ideosychrosies - certain functions may not work depending on your browser (I've heard Google Chrome works best). They change things as often as Facebook, though usually not drastically. The addition of new products usually makes me feel like a kid playing her favorite video game, I must admit. However, my favorite feature by far is the fan portal feature. There are certain brands (TV shows and movies, mostly) connected with Cafepress, and the fan portal feature means that fans like me (in this case, a rabid Dancing with the Stars fan) can upload their fan art and put it on T-shirts and other merchandise (following specific rules, of course). I can't tell you how excited I was to find out about this O_O. This function has contributed to my sales, and it feels pretty good to occassionally see my products there among other DWTS merch. I'd love to link you to a page that emplains the fan portal function further (I know it exists!) but I'm having a peach of a time finding it >_<. Here it is! (I had to Google it XD.) http://www.cafepress.com/cp/shopkeepers/index.aspx?page=fan-portals Anyway, that sums up my review of Cafepress: An exciting innovation, not without its quirks, but with plenty of possiblitities. I'm going to show your my latest upload to Cafepress:
http://www.cafepress.com/inkybootsdesigns/8978399 Is where you can go to see the stuff I put this design on :).
It think this is a good place to end this first post. I'll be giving you more of what this blog is about as I go (ie, as I myself figure it out). It's easy to start out with one idea as to what a certain project will be and how it will go, but when you actually get down to it and the possibilities start multiplying, it can be hard to restrict it to being just one thing. The trick is to know when not to restrict it, to let it grow into what it will be.
If you are curious, here is the link to my Cafepress shop. It is an ongoing work in progress, and I will be adding designs and products regularly, so stop by when you get the chance :)!
http://www.cafepress.com/inkybootsdesigns
Later blog world!
PS: I've been trying to dig that URL to the fan portal page out of that paragraph, but it doesn't seem to matter how many page breaks I put in, it insists on being mashed together with the lines on either side >_<. Maybe it will all be better when I publish the page. That'd be cool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)