Revving up for the new year

[galadhir]

Frustratingly unable to get back to my regular routine of cycling Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, as DH was ill yesterday and today it's raining. Hopefully I can start again tomorrow. It does make me feel better as well as keeping my knees in working order.

Made my first combination of signwriting and Roses & Castles decoration to go in my Etsy shop:



I find it very hard to do something just for the sake of it. I only manage to cycle three times a week because I linked it with the task of getting groceries, so I know I need to cycle into town or we won't have bread. So I'm hoping that as far as signwriting goes, I'll get some commissions of the Rose & Castles stuff and that will also force/help me to practice signwriting from the drawing out stage to the painting stage.

I'm going to make a few ready made things too that can go in the shop, and that too will force/help me to keep up my practice and continue to improve. People have bought the plain Roses & Castles stuff, so it seems to me that having the option to have words on it as well can only be a bonus :)

Waiting for Snowflake Challenge #2 to come up...

Comments

[ex_flameandsong751]

That's so pretty!

[galadhir]

Thank you! :)

[mistressofmuses]

Aw, I love the heart! It looks great!

[galadhir]

Thank you :) I'm going to make a couple with slogans as well. I've just roughed out the pattern for a 'No Fucks Given' heart which I think might be fun :)

[mistressofmuses]

"No Fucks Given" is an excellent one for the heart sign! I'm a sucker for things like that - rude or snarky or blunt phrases on cute or pretty craft settings.

[galadhir]

Oh good, I'm glad I'm not completely off base with that thought :) I follow someone on Mastodon who makes a living carving stone plaques with snarky phrases. (I presume people put them in their gardens or on their walls or something.) And I thought that was very refreshing, and it might be a thing to try. It's certainly a contrast to the flowers!

[mistressofmuses]

I love snarky phrases on unexpected things. Rude cross-stitch, embroidery, or like your painted hearts strike a certain sarcastic note for me that I love... the intersection between either very classy or rustic crafts with swearing and snark is perfect, lol.

[galadhir]

Yes, I do love all those snarky embroideries I see on Tumblr. I'll have to try something like that :)

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>So I'm hoping that as far as signwriting goes, I'll get some commissions of the Rose & Castles stuff and that will also force/help me to practice signwriting from the drawing out stage to the painting stage.<<

Remember that thought if someone asks you to make 500 of the things for wedding favors. Because that's what it looks like to me, pretty roses and all. Well, maybe with a white background, but still, it looks like the things people hand out at weddings.

Re: Well ...

[galadhir]

LOL! Honestly that's what I wish would happen. Otherwise I may be tempted to keep putting off the signwriting in favour of doing something more urgent in the moment. I might try one with a white background though, because that sounds like a grand plan! :)

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Think of wedding colors -- white, pearl, silver, gold -- and then how you are going to create contrast against that. Red and green roses would pop right out.

If you're sure, really sure, that you're up to doing such things by the hundreds, now is the perfect time to start. Make a ton of romantic things, post pictures, give them out as gifts. We're coming up on Valentines Day, people love that stuff -- and then spring is peak time for weddings. Find ways to get your stuff out there so people will see it and want it.

Re: Well ...

[galadhir]

I will definitely try out white and gold. I could see red and white roses looking nice on the gold and red and yellow roses on the white. But you're right, I'm going to have to ramp up production if I'm really going to get anywhere with them. I hadn't thought of Valentine's Day either, which I probably should have, given that it's heart shaped :)

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

If you put in some practice promptly to decide on designs that are quick and pretty, then you could do a Valentine's sale in late January-early February. Offering cheap generic ones and pricier custom ones would maximize audience appeal. Some people really like handmade stuff but can't necessarily afford a big piece. Something small enough to hang on a bud vase is just right. At least, that's typical around here; your market may differ.

Oh, and if you haven't discovered this bit yet: mass production of small craft painting projects works really well with an assembly-line approach. Paint all your backgrounds first. By the time you get to the end of the line, the front ones are probably dry. Add the next element, and so on. I've seen some good examples in terrain-painting tutorials for roleplaying terrain. So far I've only seen you post individual projects so I don't know if your teacher covered this or if you'd found it on your own. I've done it with Christmas cards where I was drawing holly bunches: signature, holly leaves, holly berries.

Re: Well ...

[galadhir]

Thank you! Yes, I'm thinking about designs right now, and starting on making some pre-made ones, which is why I'm doing lots of individual stuff. I don't honestly envisage there being a rush on them, as the Rose & Castles style is not very popular off the canal, but if I am inundated, I'll be surprised and gratified, and will happily switch to doing them mass production style.

I have discovered the mass production thing! That's also partially why I've gone for the three roses all being the same colour. In traditional Rose & Castles style, you would have one red, one yellow and one white, but doing that more than triples the time you have to spend. (Because of all the brush washing and stuff.)

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Yes, I'm thinking about designs right now, and starting on making some pre-made ones, which is why I'm doing lots of individual stuff. <<

Yay!

>>I don't honestly envisage there being a rush on them, as the Rose & Castles style is not very popular off the canal, but if I am inundated, I'll be surprised and gratified, and will happily switch to doing them mass production style.<<

You can always play around with different styles to see what proves popular. Start with Rose & Castles, then switch to a new one. I think this one is cute, and people love roses.

>>I have discovered the mass production thing!<<

That's good.

>> That's also partially why I've gone for the three roses all being the same colour. <<

Logical.

>> In traditional Rose & Castles style, you would have one red, one yellow and one white, but doing that more than triples the time you have to spend. (Because of all the brush washing and stuff.) <<

If people want the full traditional style, then they can pay 3-4 times the price for it. Maybe do one to illustrate the difference, if you feel like exploring that. Some people love a bargain, and others want something extra-special.

*ponder* In fact, some people are crazy about roses, if they grow them. They might like a garden sign with the name of their roserai and pictures of a few different roses they grow. Signs are more stylized than nature paintings, but a tea rose and a floribunda look pretty different.

[sunshine304]

This looks really lovely!

I love the tips ysabetwordsmith gave you! I hadn’t even thought about trying to maximise the profit by using Valentine’s Day or all the upcoming weddings! XD What a great idea! I hope this takes off, even if only moderately at first, to get your started with it!

[galadhir]

Thank you so much :) I have to admit that one of my drawbacks with this stuff is that I make it and then I just want to keep it. But it helps that the hearts are all more or less alike. I'm definitely going to try making a couple of gold and white ones like ysabetwordsmith suggested - I just don't have suitable gold and white paint at home atm. I'm going to get some tomorrow. (And a few more hearts to paint on!)