Razzle Zazzle Don't Get in a Frazzle

I've been selling on Etsy now for sometime.  I actually opened the shop in 2010 but that was just the beginning of my artist journey.  Back then I hadn't developed my skills or found my niche as an artist so the shop just set there until 2017. I had to work to create a brand and build an online following first.   In 2020 I opened a 2nd Etsy Shop so that I could add downloadable art and print on demand gift items.  

I had high hopes for both these shops and my partnership with Etsy.  I've done all the right things to get my shops off the ground and to sell my art on this platform. I made the decision to open and push my website shop and in 2022 put in the hard work to get all my listings up there.   This year of 2023 has been a tough one.  Etsy sales have slowed way down and just sort of trickle in.  I think it is the economy and the fact that the country is back open after the 2 year crazy COVID time.  

Whatever the reason, I've decided to reevaluate my time and focus. I spend far too many hours creating the art and marketing myself for such little monetary rewards.  I can't have all my eggs in one or two Etsy baskets.  Afterall, Etsy just isn't the only platform out there.  

This past month or so, I've gotten kind of excited about creating designs on the Zazzle marketplace.  I opened a Zazzle shop many years ago but found it not to be very user friendly and I quickly shut the door on that shop and let the cobwebs take over. The exciting thing about Zazzle is that they have over 1500 cute products that you can put designs on and they can all be personalized.  It's a go to site for fun gifts and invitations.  

Now with over 1500 products it is easy to go down a rabbit hole and waste a lot of time designing random products that just collect dust on the shelves of your Zazzle store.  I did some thinking at the beginning about what I'm passionate about and I just kept coming back to office supplies.  This girl walks into a store and heads straight to the office supply aisles.   I love looking at all the paper, pens and file folders.  I decided to focus right now on creating collections of desk accessories.  I mean, who wouldn't want all my cute critters hanging out with them at the office?  I think your desk could quickly become the envy of all your co-workers or the fascination of your students in the classroom.  I've got some pretty cute ideas.  

So far my focus has been on notepads, sticky notes, file folders and large desk mats but there are so many more things I can add to each of the collections.  I also want to expand to party supplies and garden decorations down the road.  

Go on a head and check out what I've been working on this past little while and be sure and follow my Zazzle store so you can keep up with all my new designs. Let me know what you think!

Julie Townsend Studio on Zazzle

BEE HAPPY Color Sheet- FREE

This is one of the Large Stickers on my "Bee Happy" Full Page Sticker Sheet that you can download on my Etsy Shop

Sketchbook Rough Drawing

Bee edited in Photoshop

I am having a blast and this is SO MUCH fun!  Actually, it is a bit of a challenge for me to draw a simple designs after years of trying to draw every small detail.  It's a different way of thinking but it is kind of freeing.  The designs are bare bones and on their own not too impressive, but add some color and create an interesting composition and their simplicity turns into their beauty.  This little bee may be simple and cartoon like, yet when I pulled him into Photoshop and gave him a little color with my paint bucket tool he is transformed into an attention catching illustration.

Arrangement consisting of the 2 flowers and the bee

The flowers are nothing special but I decided to make 2 different varieties of each design.  Once you have each element edited and color added you are now ready to create a composition.  I decided to surround the bee with colorful flowers.  I was careful not to let his wings be hidden by blending into the blue flowers.  I wanted every portion of the bee to stand out and not be lost.

Wrapping Paper available on my Zazzle Shop

Repeating pattern design

You can see that once you have your basic composition created that than you can work into creating a repeating pattern.  Repeating pattern designs can be used to create the artwork for many images including fabrics and wrapping paper.







Here you will see that I have added this pattern to a roll of wrapping paper that is available on my ZAZZLE SHOP along with a lot of other cool merchandise that feature my artwork.  Also check out my ETSY SHOP for more original artwork.





Yesterday, I turned my attention to one of my favorite subjects, FARM ANIMALS and created a series of drawings that included a cow, pig and a rooster.  I have the cow shown here.  I can now make a variety of colors but this one is of my Holstein.  I know for certain I will be creating a set of stickers using these comical creatures but really the sky is the limit on what I will eventually create.  That is the amazing thing about using my art in a graphics program like Photoshop.

Next I want to learn how to do more painting so that I can add some depth and contrast to these images.

I realize that I am just using the bare basics of the graphic capability of my software but keeping in mind that just 2 months ago all I used Photoshop for was to crop my images and now I am actually using it to create art.  To say I am thrilled about this new knowledge is an understatement.  I have had so many comments from other artists asking if I would teach a class or about how I learned to use Photoshop.  Well let me just state here that my path wasn't hard but I was determined.

First, I made a list of 5 things I wanted to learn how to do in Photoshop.  I picked something I really wanted to learn how to make and that was a page of stickers.  I started watching YouTube videos on making stickers in Photoshop.  I found one that seemed to make more sense to me and was very basic.  I took lots of notes and followed her process step by step.  Pausing the video so I could match what she had just done.  That wasn't always the easiest thing because I own an older version of Photoshop Elements and so many of the options are not the same but I looked around until I found it on my version.  The first thing I created was a bit crude but I felt that I had accomplished a great thing.  My advise to you is to GO FOR IT!  Carve out several days with just you and your computer and  YouTube.

Here is my first ever "Bee Happy Coloring Sheet" created just today. I have had so much fun working on this that I want you to BEE HAPPY TOO!   I am providing you as my blog reader a link so that you can download and print this out to color and enjoy.   (The Bee Happy Coloring Sheet is for personal use only and may not be reproduced or sold without my written permission)

FREE BEE HAPPY COLORING SHEET

I Love my RedBubble Bubblebees

A Bumblebee that I sketched

I am at about a week and half of my proclaimed "Art Sabbatical" and I'm trying to stay focused.  I have probably spent more time on the computer in Photoshop than I have creating art these past couple days.

My time has mostly been spent working out designs on a number of products to fill my Zazzle Shop.  While I have had no sales yet on Zazzle, I am having a lot of fun creating this unique items that feature my artwork. I do believe that if I keep creating cute designs that sales will come.  Right now I have mostly focused on t-shirts and coffee mugs, as these I would guess would be favorites for gift purchases.

Here is one thing I did manage to create in the past few days.  Just a little sketch in my sketchbook of a bumblebee.  Funny enough, I actually got a lot of positive response from this little sketch on my social media accounts.  One thing I do not have access to is my scanner/printer here on my little art get-away so I have only my cellphone to capture and share my artwork right now.  That didn't stop me as you will see further in this blog post all the designs I have created using just this one little lone bumblebee.

A t-shirt created from my artwork "Up, Up and Away" 

I'm trying the service out by ordering two matching t-shirts for my granddaughters whose birthdays are coming up in just a few weeks.  I was very pleased yesterday to find that I was ordering them just as Zazzle was offering a 50% off on all t-shirt orders.  That was a double bonus in my books.  I will blog about the quality of the t-shirts and how I feel as the artist when I see my design on printed fabric.

The one thing I really like about Zazzle.com is the ability to actually design your item.  You can upload multiple images and add text using a variety of fun looking fonts. This gives you the ability to make a variety of text or image changes to your product allowing for the ease in creating similar but unique products.  I like this freedom.   My other shops on Etsy and RedBubble do not allow this freedom.  You will have to work in Photoshop to have the designs completed first and then upload them for each item separately.  Etsy charges you .20 for each product and the stress there is having up to 10 really good photo images of your handmade item.

Redbubble.com, like Zazzle, offer a wide variety of products for you to put your image on.  It states on it's website that it is a Global Marketplace for Independent Artists.  What I really appreciate about Redbubble is the fact that it allows your image to be uploaded on all the products at the same time.  You just can work your way down the page making edits to the images based on each products. There is a wide range of products range so your image can be ordered on items like t-shirts, scarves, notebooks and clocks.

Bubblebees added to my pink peony design

Here are a few of the images that I created this week that focus on just that one bumblebee sketch.  I have added flowers of different varieties, scriptures verses and created a repeating pattern that would work well on gift bags, wrapping paper and maybe even tablecloths.  I fell I am getting one step closer to creating a portfolio for art licensing.

flowers from pngtree.com - bumblebee is my original artwork

 Artwork used to make the repeating pattern

Creating a repeating pattern using the Bumblebee

Email from RedBubble notifying me of 1 of my 2 sales for the day

I should note that I have had some of my images on RedBubble for quite sometime but have just recently started updating the site with my newest works.  I was beyond thrilled yesterday when I received notification not once, but twice that I had sold items on RedBubble with my images on them.  Now royalties are much to really write about, but the great thing about "Print on Demand" is that once you have taken the time to upload the image the money is really effort free.  I just wait to collect my automatic PalPal deposit.  The image "Bees in Flowers-Yellow", I had just uploaded a few hours before.  Here is the email notification I received.  I love how encouraging it is.  I'm hoping to start seeing royalties from both Zazzle and RedBubble become a monthly occurrence.

I just wanted to show off one last thing I created in Zazzle yesterday.  I created buttons for Brad and I to wear at art shows or festivals that identify who I am as the artist just like a name badge would.  The button I made for Brad is rather humorous so I just had to share.  He claims he WILL wear it but we shall see.








To check out all my products just click on these links and let me know what you think.

Julie Townsend- Zazzle Shop

Julie Townsend- Redbubble

Julie Townsend- Etsy Shop

Trying to Capture Silly With My Pen

Trying to capture humor and silliness with just a ink pen can be a challenge.  I'm working on some ideas for a solo show I have coming up in March 2018.  I'm sort of known for creating art that results in some smiles and sometimes out loud laughter.  For a theme, I'm considering calling the show, "I Dare You Not To Smile"

Now that is a tall order but here in the past 2 days I've picked up the challenge and decided I would share a couple of the pieces I have made. Let me take a minute and introduce you to my growing menagerie of silly creatures.

Claire the Cow

First off, we have Claire the Cow.  Created with mostly scribbles or stippling of my pen she has a rather long narrow face and blank stare that is sure to cause a chuckle.  Not to mention that double, triple, quadruple chin action going on there.

There is just something about cows.  Even though they are very large and rather intimidating, they have a sweetness about them. They have the largest brown eyes and the most interesting nose.  I LOVE drawing and painting their noses.

Rusty the Rooster

Next we have a feisty fowl that rules the coop.  Rusty the Rooster is one comical cock full of attitude.   Look into his eyes and you will have to decided if he is thinking either "What are you laughing at?" or "You had better get ready to run!"  He is lightly tented with colored pencil to show off his amazing comb and wattles.

Lily the Llama

The ink may still be wet in spots on my newest drawing.  Here is Lily the Llama.  What a funny face that llamas have. I mean I knew that they had goofy faces but it isn't until you start to study them to actually draw them that you realize just how goofy they really are.  Two large yellowed teeth protruding out from their bottom lips, giant bug eyes and hair sticking out everywhere.   Not the typical farm animal, but I have seen a number of them in pastures as I drive across rural ranch land so I decided to include her in my silly farm animal lineup.

Just as I did with Rusty, I have tinted Lily with blue colored pencil to enhance the shadows of her face contours.

Now what shall I draw today...?











If you like my artwork consider checking out my Etsy Shop, Zazzle Shop or my Website.  All are available by just selecting the tab above.

NO LIMITS in Sight

Just Like in This Image....My Art is Now FREE TO FLY

I am on a SABBATICAL....well that is what I have been calling it but I guess it is more correct to say that I'm on an art vacation.  When I looked up the definition of sabbatical and I found out that they last usually a year.  I don't see me putting aside my other obligations for that length of time, but I am determined to make the most of this small window of time I have carved out to really produce more art and to improve my online presence.

I will be blogging regularly, showing off my newest art creations.  I will be working on making some holiday collections along with images for my March 2018 show..."I Dare You Not to Smile" that will be presented at the Boulder City Art Gallery in Boulder City, Nevada.

For the past month I have been learning to combine my artwork and digital enhancements using Photoshop.  I love the freedom that this program gives me with my artwork.  I can fix things, combine separate elements together to change up the compositions and add backgrounds or foregrounds.

Up, Up and Away

Digitally Improved

Here is an example of what I worked on yesterday using a painting I did a year ago.   Up, Up and Away was painted especially for my grandson Hunter.  His nursery was decorated in elephants and my daughter asked me to do a special artwork piece to hang there.  This painting was done on a 16 x 20 canvas in Acrylics.

Because of the way I had painted the balloons I felt that I wasn't really able to produce prints or add the image to cards and magnets as I usually do with my work.    Yesterday afternoon I pulled up the image onto my laptop and began working some Photoshop magic on it.  I removed the original balloons and the little mouse I painted hanging on the elephants tail.  I then downloaded some royalty free png file  images of balloons, a stowaway mouse and the blue sky background and I now have a great image that I believe very marketable.

Here is a mockup I created using my Up, Up and Away artwork. Mockups are made to help you visualize just how this image would look if place in the environment of it's intended use.  I think this is now such a cute image that your imagination doesn't really need the extra help to know that this little flying elephant would be perfect hanging in a nursery or child's bedroom.  If you are an elephant person I suppose that any room might work for you.   I have added this print to my Etsy Shop and it will be available for order at this link:  Etsy Shop- Elephant Print



I've added this image with different sayings to both a Child and Toddler T-shirt.  I'm planning on ordering them for my two granddaughters birthdays coming up next month.
 

Zazzle Shop-Elephant T-Shirt 
Zazzle Shop-Elephant Toddler Shirt 


Making the effort to learn just a little Photoshop has opened an ability for me to take my art to a new level.  In my heart I knew it would but each time I tried to learn to use the program for more than cropping the photo I grew frustrated.  I tried on several occasions to learn from my children, which resulted in...INSTANT FRUSTRATION!

What was different this time?  First I made a list of about 5 things I really wanted to learn how to do and then I started watching YouTube videos.  I know this may sound funny, but I have been fascinated with stickers for sometime and I really wanted to learn how to make them.  I watched several videos before finding one that made sense to me.  I took notes and then spent a whole day working on making a sheet of poorly done stickers, but I learned how the layers work.  This had always been the mystery to me and as you know if you know anything about Photoshop, it is ALL ABOUT LAYERS.

I have also been taking my edited JPEGS of my artwork and adding them to a number of products in my Zazzle Shop.  Mostly coffee mugs and T-Shirts at this point, but I think they look great and am confident that I will be earning some small royalties on these images soon.  Here is several examples of my coffee mugs and an easy to use link in the event you might just want to order one for yourself or to give as a gift.














Zazzle Shop- Online Dating Sparrow Mug

Zazzle Shop- 5 Sparrows on Fence w/Wildflowers

  Zazzle Shop- Rooster & Hen in Love Mug

Beets are a Beautiful thing

Awe....The Beautiful Beet

I am pretty excited to combine both my artwork and what most would call a quirky sense of humor all on the front of a blank t-shirt.  I love puns and I can think of a number of puns when considering these beautiful root vegetables of beets, turnips and radishes.  Now carrots are a different story.


I am at a loss for anything cute and witty when it comes to carrots.  They seem to have me stumped currently and I would love to hear any clever phrases that you can come up with that I could attach to these long, sweet and beautifully orange produce.

There is my very first t-shirt design and I am just pretty excited so I just had to share it with you this morning.  Here is the link if you would like to order this cute shirt for yourself or to give as a gift

My Zazzle Shop 

I made this magnet to give to my hairdresser just yesterday when I arrived for my only 2nd visit in 2017.  I so appreciate how she can take my limp and lifeless and WAY TOO LONG hair and transform it into something that actually has sparkle.  Thank you Heather for making me feel so good about myself.  I felt like I looked great last night at my show opening of Fur, Feathers and Fins and it is all because of your creativeness.

I'm thinking that this might make a cute t-shirt directed to those hardworking and often under appreciated hairdressers of the world.

Hairdresser or not, you need to keep checking out both my Zazzle and Etsy Shops as I add new products often.

Link to my Etsy Shop

Etsy or Ebay....That is an Excellent Question????

Way back in 2010, when I had just begun to paint, I thought the thing for me to do was to open an Etsy Store.  I think I uploaded a total of 3 paintings, got a few page views and one comment and quickly I became disinterested in the whole thing. Frankly, the thought of paying $ .20 for each listing and the fact that poorly painted canvas pieces were not a good match for that platform.  Fast forward 6 years and today I'm chopping at the bit to get my artwork out there on Etsy. 

My artwork has changed a great deal and I feel that with these changes the pieces are much more suitable for an online marketing venue.  My illustrations and drawings are becoming more popular.  I have chosen Etsy along with FineArtAmerica.com, RedBubble.com and Zazzle.com as platforms to get my images out there.  Etsy is a bit different than the last three vendors I mentioned.  With FineArtAmerica, Redbubble and Zazzle I just upload my images and if that image is chosen by a customer to be added to some merchandise such as a pencil bag, pillow or a shirt, they handle the whole process and just mail me a commission check. This is pretty sweet way to make some money with just a little effort up front but so far I haven't made enough money to even blog about it.

Etsy is more like a real store that I am in control of.  I handle all the orders and inventory and I stand to make much more profit on each sale. It's constant work and needs weekly attention from me but I think it will be way more satisfying overall.   Again, like anything worth while, it takes time.  I understand very well that this isn't an overnight process but rather a slow building of a fan base.  

I am no Etsy expert so this past week to help my store performance I started to do some research. Why re-invent the wheel when there are some really successful stores out there who have all four wheels rolling at full speed?  I want to sell art prints, cards and magnets that feature my artwork.  So I found a store called Paper Llamas that had digital prints of baby animals along with a number of other subjects.  I checked their sales statistics and was very impressed that they had sold nearly 9500 sales since opening their store in 2011.  Compared to my 1 sale these guys are Etsy giants.  I noticed that I posted just a single high resolution image of my art while they often posted images that showed their work framed and matted hanging on the wall.  They sold their prints both individually and in groupings.  Having them framed and matted gives the buyer a chance to visualize the art nicely displayed on their own wall.  That was smart!

Yesterday, I set up a staging area and tried to get that same hung art feeling by adding a few Christmas props and a nice wooden frame.  I used the camera on my cell phone but for my effort I think I got a much better image to compliment my work and promote my listings.  My shop received 3 favorites just yesterday alone.  That is a good sign.

My titles were a disaster.  I thought they wanted the title of the artwork but I realized after studying this successful store that this is where I need to get creative and add as many searchable phrases as possible.  I just made the artwork title the first line in the description because the image is from an original piece of art that I have taken the time to give it a name I want to include that name in the listing, just not on the title line.

They also used a variation drop down menu that gave them the ability to offer different sizes and prices for their work.  Seeing this was like a light bulb going off in my head.  Why have a separate listing for a card, a magnet or a print when I could accomplish it all with one listing?  My store will forever be much tidier and easier to manage thanks to this light bulb moment. 

My goals for 2017 for my Etsy Store is 75 products in my inventory, 500 individual sales and 100 favorite rating for the store.  I am going to also give ebay a try and see if the potential for art sales is there also.  Some artists swear ebay is better than Etsy and so I need to figure this out for myself.  

As I learn from my experiences, I will be blogging about what I have found to be successful and what has worked for me.  To sell an original canvas painting for several hundred dollars is great and I surely appreciate those moments.  They just don't happen nearly enough.  I want to supplement our retirement income with art sales and perhaps even allow additional income to continue even when I am no longer able to create.  I want to never be tempted again to take an accounting or tax preparation job. 

I have come to the conclusion in my own art path that brick and mortar galleries can only do so much to get my work out there.  I have to take ownership of my own promotion and art destiny and those small sales, I believe will add up and surpass any sale of the original piece.  I am going to be building my business one greeting card, one magnet or one print at a time.

Here is the link to my Etsy Store if you are interested in checking it out.  Remember it's a work in progress and this progress has really just begun.

Here are some images I took yesterday for my Etsy Store listings:  

Zazzle Your Holiday

Check out how awesome this coaster puzzle looks with my own  "Except For the Mouse" Christmas design that is now available on my Zazzle store.  I think these coasters add the perfect touch while protecting your beautiful wood furniture.  Because of the puzzle aspect, they offer an element of entertaining for the younger members of your family.  These would make great gifts and stocking stuffers.

Here is a link that will take you to this item in my Zazzle Store:
http://www.zazzle.com/holiday_cheer_coaster_puzzle_set_puzzle_coaster-256636727658322620?CMPN=emc_ProductCreationForStore_Html_blogger&rf=238584376346894601&lang=en

I'm Partial but These are Just Stinking Cute

For the past 6 months I have been painting a number of pieces with the idea they would all be part of a collection that I'm calling "Down Country Roads". The artwork is a combination of large acrylic paintings and pen and ink sketches that have been embellished with color pencil.  All the pieces focus on a country or farming themes.  To see the whole collection please feel free to take a peek at my website gallery.  I would love to hear what you think.

Now I'm new to the whole Zazzle market but as an artist I want to try to tap into any market that will get my artwork out there.  So the other night I was adding a few of my "Down Country Road" images to a puzzle coaster that they offer.  I thought this was about the cutest thing ever and so I thought I had better share it in case someone else decided this was the perfect gift.  

I can just see this as a great gift for friends that enjoy a touch of country.  Also young children would love the puzzle aspect and who can resist cows, pigs and bunnies?

Feel free to look up my Zazzle store and order your very own coaster set.  I would love to hear if you do.

       

                 I see......COWS!

Order a Cow Puzzle Coaster Set

and PIGS!

Pig Puzzle Coaster Set

and BUNNIES!

Bunny Puzzle Coaster Set