How to break the mold?

 I can't seem to get away from the 'traditional' styling of things? I keep thinking I need to be more edgy or modern in designing things but I can't seem to unlock myself...hahaha...does that make sense? An example......another card design.

As I mentioned below I used Shutterfly to print some cards for me and I stand by my critique of their work.  I want to mention that I also used Snapfish to print some cards and had a different experience. I'm waiting to see if I hear back from them. The print of the image was fine but the layout was not so much. A thin white border is visible on the left and bottom edges of the card (not on the right edge) and a larger white border is visible at the top of the card when it is folded and is very distracting. The bottom right corner of all the cards was visibly bent/damaged. I can trim away the side and bottom errors but it leaves that distracting white line across the top.....pretty disappointed. Just sayin :-(

I'm really hoping I can successfully and economically print my cards myself.

Getting The Hang Of It.....

 I'm beginning to get the hang of Canva, I just need to embrace the learning curve ;-). I do tend to get impatient. I like the simplicity of these and it will make printing them myself more practical......less ink!

And can I just mention I'm not using a fancy multi ink printer and I mention this because almost every website or video I've gone to, to learn from, its always about a fancy more expensive multi ink cartridge printer that cost several hundred dollars and up. My printer is an HP ENVY 5535 and I don't even remember when I bought it. You can find pre-owned (shop wisely) ones online for under $100.....I'm just sayin.  I also found a photo paper that I like and its not as heavy as a card stock so the printer doesn't choke on it.  Its Koala brand 72 lb, I'm using the (one sided) satin finish.  The weight is nice for my note cards, a heavier weight might be better for 5x7 cards.

Delivered!

 The mug I ordered arrived today and I was so pleasantly surprised! Excellent quality and wonderful colorful printing. I will definitely order more.

I also received the note cards I had printed and they were also done really well...great color, nice heavy card stock and again I will reorder from these folks as well.

I am though wondering if I need to add something to the design? a border? some text? Not sure.  I have finally learned how to print cards on my computer so I can try out different options before submitting a new order.  If you are wondering why I wouldn't just print cards from home rather than ordering, its because of the cost and my equipment. Proper card stock, envelopes, cost of ink, a printer that will not accept a heavy card stock are all on my list of why not. I ordered these cards from Shutterfly and their pricing is very reasonable. If I'm missing something though and there's a better way to do this please advise :-)

Below is a full size greeting card that I had printed via (don't hate me) Temu before I had the Shutterfly ones done.  I only had four prints made in total and it was only to see how they would look up close and personal. But its the styling that I'm wondering about, the framing and the addition of text. More sellable? Staring.......staring......staring? I'm thinking yes, it looks more professional. Thoughts?

what do you think?

 Silly question, no one has ever left a message here or even seen this blog for all I know 🫤. I'm still searching for ways to earn some money and I just keep getting lost and tangled in all the websites unable to make decisions. I'd like to be able to use all the years of artwork I've created and saved to generate a bit of passive income.  So I'm searching for options.  Here's one possibility. Thoughts? These are all just mock ups done on the website where I did order just one mug to see how they look and feel. I'm anxious to see how long an order takes and then just have orders taken through me and sent to a buyer. It just seems easier to do it that way than to set up an online shop.  I could be wrong?

                

The back of the mug is a quote from John Lennon.... Tame birds sing of freedom. Wild birds fly.