Lady in June

This is our dear Lady. Allyson got this cool photo of her a couple days ago and we framed it and put it on our kitchen wall. Lady isn't doing so well the past couple days...and we need some prayers for her!

Lady is almost 10 years old and has been with us since she was about 1 year old. She is the BEST dog we've ever had...just so good. She came to us as a stray, and she was totally trained! I knew she belonged to someone, but we couldn't find her owner. We put up signs and ran an ad in the paper. No one called. About 3 weeks after that, she went into heat, and then I took her and had her spayed. At that point she became ours.

Lady's been having such a rough time lately...please send up some good thoughts and prayers for her. She has a terrible yeast infection, and one of her front legs has a knot on it. Unfortunately I can't find out what's going on, because I don't have enough money for the x-rays or bloodwork or other things she needs done. We've had her on Ketaconzale for the yeast and then Vetprofen for the pain, plus I'd started giving her Cosequin (glucosamine) - all of which helped a lot!

But just the other day, she started having stomach issues. The vet said it's probably the Vetprofen as its hard on the stomach, plus the Ketaconzale depresses the appetite, which made her not want to eat her food (though she wants OUR food!) Now I've pulled her off all of her meds, the vet told me to give her Prilosec and boiled chicken and rice. At this point, it's not working well...she's still having issues. He told me it takes a while for the Prilosec to start helping and her stomach to settle down. This dog has always had an iron stomach, so I'm a bit concerned. She's been on Vetprofen and Rimadyl before for pain and never had issues with the meds...but then this time she'd been on it 3 weeks where before the longest was 10 days.

I really hope she can get better, but I'm concerned there might be an underlying issue...the knot on her leg really worries me. I've played the lottery recently using some of my change, hoping I could win enough money for the vet to do the necessary tests. Seriously...I did...went it there with rolls of pennies and nickels and dimes. I'm sure the lady thought I was NUTS. (she was right) Unfortunately, I didn't win!

All I have to offer at this point is prayers for her recovery from whatever this is. Maybe that will be enough. But it would help if my readers could say a prayer too. :)

P.S. If you look in her eyes you can see Allyson's reflection as she took the photo!

Hello? Hello? Hello!

Allyson got these shots of Nikko the other day...I think I know what she was saying! Click the link below to see the inside of the card....:)

Hello? Hello? Hello! (Cat) Cards by jaisjewels

And here's a new creature in our jungle here on South Dixie:

Isn't he (or she?) just adorable? Sat right up and posed for Allyson! I love rabbits...I hope we see it again!

Zazzle: A lesson in customization for customers

Zazzle is not only a great website to find unique art and designs on cool products, it's also a place where you can customize most things to fit YOUR needs! In this post, I'm going to show you just how easy it is to customize a product you find on Zazzle to suit what you're looking for. Not only does this customization feature help you create exactly what you want, it also helps you become a part of the creative process. Creating things is incredible self-satisfying and therapeutic - which is why I spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week doing it myself! Yes, I even create in my sleep. :)

So let's get started. Click on any of the images in this post to see them full size.

You're browsing around Zazzle and you stumble upon this fabulous art on a postcard :). You love apples, and you love the colors of this painting. As you're looking at it, you think to yourself, Wow...this would be great if I could put my recipe for my famous apple pie on it and give to the ladies at church at our next recipe exchange!

But this is a postcard. However - because of the customization feature - you can make this card look just like you want! Notice the customization button I've circled in the screen shot below:

Click the customization button. It shows you what's pictured below. Notice the "add text" button I've circled. Click that button to add some text to the front of the card.

Type your text in the box and hit OK.

You're text now appears on the front. You can now choose a font style, the size, and the color of the font. You can grab the text box and move it around where you want, or you can use the arrow buttons in the customization section to move the text around.

Select the font from the extensive list of offerings. I like script style fonts, so I chose one of them.

Adjust your font to the size you want as shown below.

Now that you have the front looking like you want, let's move to the back. Click the tiny card back image under the large image and it will appear. The back of this card has several elements. Since I'm not using this as a postcard, I don't need these elements here. In the customize it box, I can delete the elements I don't want to appear. I'm deleting them all so I can start with a clean slate for the back of the card.

Using the Add Text box, I've added a text box for the title of my recipe (Apple Pie), and then I added another text box for the ingredients. I've chosen my font styles, size and colors. Now I'm getting ready to add a third text box to feature my instructions:

After typing my instructions in the text box, adjusting font style, size and color for the third text box, I hit okay and take a look at the back of my card:

I like it! It's time to place my order. Notice the red asterik I've made by the words "Buy in Bulk". Since I want 50 of these cards to pass out at the recipe exchange, I click the link to see how much I'll save on this card and then I'll select the quantity in the box - which will automatically reflect my discount for ordering so many!

Now I can add my cards to my cart, and check out. Easy-Peasy! And how fun that at my recipe exchange, I'll have a cool card with colorful art I can pass out without having to have done the work of printing the cards myself here at home. And because Zazzle processes orders so quickly, I know I'll have these cards in my hand long before my upcoming event. :)

P.S. I have published the above Apple Pie Recipe Card in my Zazzle store, just in case you'd like to order this one for yourself. :)

Cafepress vs Zazzle: Features & Benefits for Artists & Consumers

In this post, I'm comparing the features and benefits I've noted in Cafepress and Zazzle for both artists and consumers.

My Cafepress list is very short: Cafepress has better (more clear) organization in the artists' shops and Cafepress has a larger product selection.

Now here's where Zazzle excels as opposed to Cafepress:

Features & Benefits for Artists

• Better income - on Zazzle, you as an artist set your own markup versus Cafepress only pays you 10% of a retail price they set.

• Ease of getting your art on products: Zazzle is amazing at this, and I didn't realize it until I began moving all of my art over there. At Cafepress, to make your art "fit" a product, you often have to use their templates and design and upload several different images with the same art to fit the different products. At Zazzle, it's all done onscreen. You can upload one image which you can alter (right onscreen!) to fit most of their products. And at Zazzle, it's faster. I can place my image on all the products in less than 1/2 the time it takes me at Cafepress.

• Design choices: At Cafepress you must upload your image exactly as you want it to appear. For instance, if you have a painting and you decide you want to place a red border around the edge, you have to design it that way *before* you upload it. At Zazzle, you can do this on-the-fly - all onscreen! You upload ONE image, and can choose borders and background colors when making the product.

• Zazzle has a much better design editor than Cafepress. Here's an example - let's say you upload an image for a card to Cafepress and it's not quite reaching the edge of the card. Too bad - you have to re-do the image and re-upload. Of course, if you use their templates, you can get it right the first time. But at Zazzle, you don't have to worry about it! If your image doesn't reach the edge of the card, simply hit the + button in their editor to make it extend to the edge. Viola! You're done. No need to re-design and re-upload another image.

• Zazzle offers onscreen, on-the-fly CUSTOMIZATION. This is a biggie! Let's say you upload a photo and think of a good quote to put on the photo as you're looking at it on the product. At Cafepress...too bad! You have to re-design the image with the quote and re-upload. Not at Zazzle! Right then and there as you stare at your photo on the product, you can choose to ADD TEXT and put your quote in whatever font and whatever color you choose onto the product with your photo. No need to re-design and re-upload an image.

• Card printing options: Cards are important to me - I love them! At Cafepress, you can only print on the front and one inside panel of a card. At Zazzle, you can print on ALL FOUR AREAS of the card (front, 2 inside panels, and back). This is amazing!

• Search engine results: Very often, search results which show up for Cafepress take you to their *marketplace*. (where you make less money, and you're competing with hundreds of other designs) I've noticed many of my Zazzle items which show up in searches take the customer *direct to my item in my shop*, rather than to page with tons of competition. Here's an example: I ran a search for the words exhausted bulldog painting in Google. Click here to see the results. Notice the 3rd link takes you DIRECT to this item in my shop on Zazzle. A few results below that, you'll see this

#16 Exhausted (Bulldog) Framed Tile - CafePress

This link is pointing here: gifts.cafepress.com/item/16-exhausted-bulldog.../384776086

Which was a link NOT to my direct item - but to the item in the Cafepress marketplace. Of course, since I've closed my shop, it doesn't take you anywhere now. But it did take you to the CP marketplace (where my income was drastically reduced) and where it showed the work of other artists alongside mine. Zazzle is clearly trying to help artists get traffic to the artist's own works, rather than put you in competition with many other artists.

• Zazzle has much better marketing plans and other gems in the place which benefit the ARTIST. For instance, people may leave comments on your work at Zazzle. As an artist, it's always nice to get feedback and pats on the back! It's also a way to network with others on the site. Cafepress has nothing of the sort. Zazzle has "fan clubs". When people like your work and join your fan club, they are notified (if they choose to be) when you list new work! Great, fabulous, terrific marketing idea! Another cool gem on Zazzle is this - let's say a customer puts your product in their cart, but then they get called away or their computer crashes. After about a week of that item still being in their cart without a purchase being finalized, Zazzle will send the customer an email, which briefly says something like "You still have this item in your cart - would you like to purchase it now?" Another FABULOUS way of helping to make a sale!

• Zazzle offers other fun ways to recognize artists - for instance they have what's called a "Today's Best Award". Every day, they choose around 30 new designs listed that day to feature, and they put an award icon on your item page showing you have won. All of the Today's Best Award winners are featured for 24 hours on the front page of Zazzle - helping you to get exposure! Since June 10, I have been award 4 Today's Best Awards, and been on their front page on 4 different days. In 7 years on Cafepress, my work was NEVER showcased on their front page.

Features and Benefits for Customers

• Customization is at the top of my list here. Zazzle has it - Cafepress does not. In my next blog post, I'll show you an example of just how easy it is for a customer to make a product their own - to fit their needs - on Zazzle. As a customer, I like the ability to add a favorite quote or personal message in a greeting card, for instance. Also, if I'm ordering products for my business use, Zazzle's customization makes this a BREEZE! You can see exactly what your product looks like before it's produced. Zazzle offers business/calling cards - which are super for customization. Cafepress doesn't offer business cards.

• Product options: Here I'm specifically thinking of the prints. As an artist, I create and sell a lot of prints. Cafepress has few options here, and each has to be set up as separate products. On Zazzle, when the artist sets up a print, all the options, such as sizing and type of paper, appear right on the screen for the consumer to choose from. Zazzle has more selection in paper types (from basic poster paper to fine art prints to canvas) and they also offer matting and framing options - where YOU, the customer, choose exactly how you want this print to look. You can create a total, custom, finished product in a matter of minutes with your specific options to suit you and your budget. LOVE THIS!

• Ordering quantity: As a customer, sometimes I see a card I like, but I only want to order one. At Cafepress, you're out of luck on this. Cards come in sets of 10 or 20, so even if you only want one, you have to order at least ten. Not the case at Zazzle! If I see a card I like and only want ONE, that's all I have to order!

• Bulk discounts: At Cafepress there are some bulk discounts. At Zazzle, however, these bulk discount rates and even the fact you can GET a discount when ordering in bulk, is shown to you right on the item page. Consumers just ordering one of something might not care about this, but if you have a business, and you're thinking BULK, you see the discount is there and what it is right on the page, eliminating the need for having to email and ask, and enabling you to order right then and there.

• Speed of shipment: All of my Zazzle orders have always - always, always, always - been in my hands faster than my orders from Cafepress.

• Better art/design selections: While Cafepress has some very good artists and designers who have made products there, some designs are crap. I'm sorry, but they are. It's clear some who have made products on Cafepress put little to no forethought into their design. As a customer on Cafepress, you have to wade through the crap to find something decent. Zazzle seems to have higher quality art and designs available, and the amount of items you have to look through on Zazzle to find what you want is less. Of course there's some designs that stink (in my opinion) on Zazzle as well, but overall, I've found the quality of art and designs to be better on Zazzle. Just my personal opinion.

This is all I can think of right now relating to the features and benefits for artists and consumers in regards to these two companies. If I think of more later, I'll edit this post to reflect what else I've come up with. Stay tuned for my next post, where I show exactly how easy it is for a customer to make a customized product on Zazzle!

Cafepress vs Zazzle: Why I've Moved to Zazzle

Today, July 1, 2009, is the start of a new era for me. I have closed my Cafepress shop I've had for 7 years. I have moved all of my artwork, photography, and designs to Zazzle.Com. Why? Because the features and benefits of Zazzle seriously outweigh those of Cafepress - for both the artist and consumer.

Both companies are print-on-demand companies (POD). A POD company gives an artist the opportunity to put their art and designs on products and offer the products to the public. You know when you're shopping in a store, and you see cool art or cute sayings on a mug? And you realize your designs would look great on those kinds of products as well? These companies give you the ability to do that - without having to go through the excruciating process, long wait times, and sometimes huge expense of production, marketing, and distribution.

At a POD company, you art is not placed on the product until it's ordered by the customer. It's *shown* on the product, thanks to amazing advances in technology - but the product isn't made until it's ordered. And you can publish your art on a product instantly. No long wait times.

Up until June 1, I was a die-hard Cafepress artist. For 7 years I've been placing my art on products using their service and selling my art to the public. Cafepress and Zazzle have "base product prices", which are charged for each product. The artist marks up the price of each individual product to make their "royalty" when a product sells. This is how the artist makes a living.

In May, however, Cafepress made an announcement that they were only going to pay their artists 10% of the retail price (a price they set, rather than the artist). This new plan was going to only be in effect for their "marketplace" - a common area on the Cafepress website which shows millions of products by millions of artists. If a customer purchased direct from the artist's shop itself on Cafepress - and not through this "marketplace" - the artist will still receive the markup he/she set. But if the product was sold via this "marketplace", the artist's income was now dropped to only 10% - not to mention the product price is also set by Cafepress in this marketplace.

Let me show an example of how this affects the artist's income:

Let's say the base price of a framed print is $35. I decide I want to sell my framed prints for $50. This would mean that every time a print was sold, I'd make $15.

Under the new plan, let's say Cafepress sets the price of a "framed print" to $39 in their marketplace. They're going to pay me a generous (ahem) 10% of retail, meaning I would make $3.90 instead of $15.

That's a huge drop in income. Of course, if the customer comes into my store itself - directly - NOT from the Cafepress marketplace - I'd still make my $15. This means I'd have to get my store in the search engines DIRECTLY, which is virtually impossible, since almost every Cafepress link appearing in the search engines brings the consumer to their "marketplace" rather than direct to my shop.

In order to make sure the sale came to my shop, I'd basically have to duplicate my shop in its entirety and have it on my own website so the search engines could pick it up there. There are programs out there to help you do this - but they all cost money. Not a lot of money...but with the extreme drop income I've had since this all came about, it's a lot of money to ME. Not to mention the time involved in setting it all up, and doing all the search engine optimization. And time is money to me as well.

Still, even with doing all that, Cafepress's marketplace links which also appear in the search engines can get in the way. I've even done searches for my exact products, seen a Cafepress link and clicked on it, only to be led to a page with hundreds of other designs by other artists, and mine nowhere to be found. So basically they were using my search tags and descriptions to draw people into to pages which didn't even include my art.

For a period of time, I tried setting up my Cafepress items on my website myself without the help of other software. Needless to say, it was exhausting, and I really thought it was stupid to have to duplicate all the work I'd already done on my CP store originally.

Due to these changes, thousands of Cafepress artists are losing thousands of dollars. The company's response? NONE. And it was that specifically - the lack of response - which helped me make my decision to move to another POD.

This decision by Cafepress reminds me of the decisions Ebay has made over the past couple of years. I think Cafepress will go downhill as a result, just as Ebay has for so many. I no longer sell on Ebay due to their decisions which seem to not take into account at all the people who made them what they were. Cafepress's recent decisions are clearly detrimental to artists. Even though I didn't come close to feeding my children with the income from there, several artists did and are now having to face financial ruin just because of the decisions.

A print on demand provider should be attempting to help their artists succeed - not be competing against them. My income at Cafepress - which has steadily increased to several hundred dollars a month over the years - dropped to under $20 for the month of May after the announcement of these changes. In June, my income was ZERO for the entire month. Why is this? I think it's mainly because people shop where they sell. I have no doubt several of my sales were probably to other CP artists. Since many artists are leaving or already have left, those artists will shop where they sell NOW.

I've had a small Zazzle store for many years. I haven't worked on it much, but being Zazzle is a great POD, gaining huge strides in the market over the years, I decided this was my best bet. In fact, in the 3 weeks I've been moving my art, I've made what I made at Cafepress in the month of May. I expect that to steadily increase as I continue to upload my art, photography, and designs, and as I network within their community.

And in moving my art to Zazzle, I discovered a lot of benefits, both for artists *and* consumers - that Cafepress just doesn't offer. I'll cover these in my next post! In the meantime, I invite you to stop in and take a look at my Jai Johnson • Art | Photography | Graphic Design Zazzle store.

Hope is like the sun.

Little Oreo is the subject of this inspirational photo design I just completed. Take a look at the cards:

Hope (Cat) Cards by jaisjewels

The verse reads: Hope is like the sun. As we journey toward it, the shadows of our burdens fall behind us.

Say few prayers for Oreo, please...she has a cold and she is still coughing some. I hope it will clear up okay without a vet visit. I'm kinda "vetted out" lately with Lady's vet visits and medicine. Lady is feeling better (because of the pain meds), but the problem has still not been solved, and unfortunately, I can't afford the x-rays needed to find out what's going on. I hate it when my babies aren't well. Just like kids...you just want them to feel better and be okay!