Checking out the market

I'm aware that there are a LOT of people out there making cards and other papercrafts for sale. I figure this means 2 things:

1. Loads of people to share ideas with and create a supportive network
2. Competition

So far people in these circles are proving to be remarkably friendly and willing to share their ideas. Its amazing what I've already found on YouTube in terms of tutorials for various techniques and on blogs by way of instructions and measurements for making particular types of cards. I've learned loads this way already.

I've also been paying attention to handmade cards that are on sale in local shops and I've been impressed on the whole by the quality of them but I've also found a few examples where things aren't quite right (wonky embellishments, inaccurate cutting etc.) and it makes me think it is probably very difficult to keep up very high standards of product when you are producing enough to supply a shop.

A lot of handmade cards seem to sell online rather than in shops and I wonder as well if this is because of the quantities that would have to be produced to keep bigger shops happy - and presumably people are making less profit this way as well because the shop takes a cut?

It's made me think a lot about how I might work this if I am going to start selling. A few things currently on my must-bear-in-mind list:

• how much profit should I be looking to make per card? 
• what cut is taken by various sellers (includes both physical and online shops)
• what is a reasonable price to charge for a handmade card?
• the more complicated cards are the more interesting and impressive ones - but also the more expensive to produce - are they going to sell for a higher price? Are they worth the time and cost to produce? 
• what kinds of cards catch people's attention? there is a lot out there to chose from already!

If anyone has any comments on any of these questions I'd love to hear them. Or if you have more questions along these lines that I should add to my list at this stage do let me know.

A little help from my friends

Well, things have been busy, between going to work, going on 2 holidays (yes, 2!) and spending a lot of time sorting out my flat (I moved in a year ago and things are just about getting into shape) I haven't made a single thing out of paper in quite a few weeks.

I have had some really helpful info from some friends though:

Shelly, an old school friend who now makes a living from her artwork over at Live Art Breathe Art has given me some information about suppliers for packaging materials etc. and even given me a few catalogues so I have a better idea of the kinds of things I might need / want.

Here's the picture I commissioned from her when my baby niece was born...

A more experienced craft blogger called Lisa left me a really helpful blog comment back in February explaining about the envelope sizes I was having difficulty with. Its a shame I have been so busy that I only just picked it up! (I also need to check whats going on with email alerts from my blog).

A mate of mine suggested I need to start really small so that this is all less daunting and I should just make 2 or 3 things and stick them on ebay and see how the process really works, "even if nothing sells, you are bound to learn something useful". I think this is excellent advice, and its what I intend to do next. Also it will be easier to do now that I know about the envelopes - thanks Lisa!

A few friends have also looked at some of my cards after I posted pics on facebook and have been very encouraging saying that some of them are good enough to sell. This is great - but of course you can never be entirely sure that people are being really honest - I guess there's only one to find out if things will sell...

Breaking radio silence with a song from Bonnie Tyler

Having asked if there was anybody out there in my last post I then promptly, and ironically, disappeared for nearly 3 months! I've been really busy and not very well, and I have had almost time to even think about making anything. And once something stops it can be hard to get it started again.

Then, this week I went to visit an old school friend and we got chatting about how she might want to use Twitter and Facebook to promote her artwork. It reminded me not only that I should be getting in some practice on making stuff, but also that the only way I am going to make any online connections, (which is worth the effort, even if I can't manage to source envelopes!) is by being online.

So I'm back. I'm going to set myself some goals and see if I can keep to a few basic targets. . .

1. Write one blog post a week - even if its really short
2. Check Twitter twice a week
3. Make a card for any big events coming up for my family

Hopefully these 3 targets will help keep me on track both with developing paper craft skills, and with building an online network of interesting people. 

How do you keep up your motivation with card making / crafting / artwork? Even when other things take over your life from time to time?

Got any tips for finding interesting, crafty people online?

Anyway it's time to check in on Eurovision - I think I'm allowed a break for such a bizarre spectacle. Here's a bit of Bonnie in the mean time...

Is there anybody out there?

Going back to my earlier post about social circles, I've been doing a bit of searching on line for people who are just starting out in papercrafts, learning to make cards, thinking about maybe selling them later, people like me.

I'm finding loads and loads of people who know what they are doing, who are posting video tutorials, talking about the top ten this or that, and doing give-aways of things they have made. These people are great in terms of learning techniques and seeing how things can be done really well. But I feel a little lonely out here in the blogosphere as a newbie.

It would be really good to be part of an online community of people in the same boat as me. I wonder if there is a directory anywhere of papercraft bloggers, or a good twitter list of newbies to follow?

Enveloped by envelopes

I'm a little bit confused by envelope sizes - if anyone can advise me I'd be very grateful!

I've been making a few cards but I haven't been making envelopes - I should probably learn but I just haven't got round to it yet. I was hoping I could buy some plain ones the right size - particularly to go with an A6 butterfly card I have just finished.

A few searches on line seemed to indicate that I needed to buy C6 envelopes for A6 cards, so that's what I ordered, but when they came they were just a little too big.

This first one shows the A5 card laid across the front of the C6 envelope (it's plain silver card - ignore the reflections!). 

This one shows the same card laid across the back- it's easier to see in this one the difference in size. 

The envelope will certainly hold the card and will probably be ok in the post, but it doesn't look quite professional, it looks a little too obvious that the envelope wasn't made specifically for this card. 

I'm a little bit confused, and like I say - if you can advise on what envelope size I should be buying for A6 cards - or even better if you can recommend somewhere to get them from I'd be really grateful. 

In the mean time here's the front of the butterfly card I'm hoping to find an envelope for...

Early explorations into crafting social circles

I've been having a look around at who is out there, and what they are doing. There are, as expected, LOADS of people making and selling handmade stuff, including cards and other things I am thinking about.
Twitter has been a great way to find them already! And I'm looking at other ways of networking with likeminded people.

Obviously I've already started a blog, and set up a twitter account, and I've also started to save useful links to Delicious.com so I can keep track of interesting websites I find and hopefully share links with other people who are tagging stuff I will find useful as well. And I've started posting a few photos of things I have made for friends and family to a Flickr stream.

It feels a bit odd trying to break into new online social circles. It feels a bit like being a party where you don't know anyone but you are fairly sure you would be interested in what most the people there have to say. Especially as these people could be anywhere in the world, and you're not sure if what goes in in the USA, for example, is the same as what goes on here in the UK. Can I buy and sell on the same sites they can? Do they use the same terminology used over here? Do the same rules apply with copyright etc?

As well as learning my craft I have a lot to learn about how to connect with other crafters, where to buy supplies from that it's OK to use to make items for sale, how to avoid breaching copyright, how best to package items for dispatch, and more and more and more.

It's all starting to feel a bit scary, so I'm going to stop thinking about that now and instead show you a pic of  a Halloween card I made last October...

In the beginning...

Well, here's my first ever post on the Monkey Mementos blog. I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and now seems a good time to start setting up social networking so it's all here ready and waiting when I am in a position to start selling my cards.

I've been making cards for family and friends for a little while and people seem to like them so I'm wondering now whether I can sell them. This blog is here to keep track of how things are going and hopefully to share some ideas and get some feedback on what I make.

Here's a wedding card I made for my cousin recently to give an idea of what I'm talking about...though I've made things in many different styles - they are not all pink fluffy!


I would really appreciate any comments and feedback, positive or negative, as I am here to learn and to develop cards and crafts, hopefully to a point where they are good enough to sell.