Relaunch: What's New From Arianne's Joy!

RELAUNCH: WHAT'S NEW FROM ARIANNE'S JOY!

By Arianne Plehandzic

It has been a busy couple of weeks reorganizing my Etsy shop. I made some great changes and I have some fun new products for you! My shop is now a better representation of my style and work. I feel very proud of my new look and listings. I have also added a couple of deals I know you will enjoy as well. SO LET'S GET TO IT, SHALL WE?!

(All artwork, listings and product ideas belong to Arianne Plehandzic. Please see my disclosure page for details...thanks.)

PERSONALIZED WATERCOLOR COLLAGES

If you have seen my shop before, you know my signature look are watercolor collages. Good news!! Now you can get your own original personalized watercolor collage! You tell me what you want and I  will paint it for you. You can make a collage about your favorite things, your favorite hobby, a favorite memory, for a gift...whatever you want! This listing also includes my hand lettering labels to make your painting unique.

SEE LISTING HERE: PERSONALIZED WATERCOLOR COLLAGE

PERSONALIZED NAME CHARACTER WATERCOLOR

I am so happy to introduce my personalized name character watercolor! I sketched and painted these three name character paintings for my children and suddenly all my friends wanted one too. They are such a wonderful and amazing gift for family members! Each watercolor features their name, theme elements and hand written adjectives that describe their character going across the painting. I know my children will cherish these paintings forever. Now your family member can do the same. Their very own unique, original painting!

SEE LISTING HERE: PERSONALIZED NAME CHARACTER WATERCOLOR

SEASONAL WATERCOLOR CARD COLLECTION

I am so proud of my seasonal greeting card collection! It is so beautiful and will get you through the year! It features seven seasonal cards and one free birthday card. 

FEATURED CARDS:

-HAPPY AUTUMN

-HAPPY HALLOWEEN

-HAPPY THANKSGIVING

-MERRY CHRISTMAS

-HAPPY WINTER

-HOME SWEET HOME

-RAINBOW HYDRANGEAS

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY

(free bonus!)

SEE LISTING HERE: SEASONAL WATERCOLOR CARD COLLECTION

SEASONAL WATERCOLOR BOOKMARKS

I am so happy with my new bookmarks! Not only are they sweet, but they are seasonal as well! They would make a great gift for a book lover or a teacher. They feature my beautiful artwork and come laminated to last for a long time. Theme artwork is the same as my seasonal watercolor cards.

SEE LISTING HERE: SEASONAL WATERCOLOR BOOKMARKS

MATCHING WATERCOLOR CARD & BOOKMARK:

You can now buy some of my watercolor greeting cards with OR without a matching bookmark!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WATERCOLOR CARD & MATCHING BOOKMARK

MERRY CHRISTMAS WATERCOLOR CARD & MATCHING BOOKMARK

HAPPY WINTER WATERCOLOR CARD & BOOKMARK

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WATERCOLOR CARD & BOOKMARK

HOME SWEET HOME WATERCOLOR CARD & BOOKMARK

My shop also features card and bookmark sets for Autumn, Spring and Summer!

PERSONALIZED CHRISTMAS CARD PRINTS

I am happy to present you with my sweet and unique Christmas card prints! They feature my special Christmas illustrations and beautiful hand lettering labels! Something your family would love to receive!! See listing for more details.

SEE LISTING HERE: PERSONALIZED CHRISTMAS CARD PRINTS

***COME BACK TO SEE MY NEXT POST ABOUT 

ALL MY CHRISTMAS PRODUCTS!!***

NEW SPECIAL DEALS!!!

BUY 2 PRINTS, GET THE 3RD PRINT FREE!

BUY 3 WATERCOLOR CARDS FOR $8

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed all the new listings I have. I also just created a YOUTUBE channel featuring work-in-progress and my nature journal...check it out!

xoxo, Arianne

Giving Your Small Business The Value It Deserves!

GIVING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS THE VALUE IT DESERVES!

By Arianne Plehandzic

Let me tell you about the excitement of growing as an artist!

When you first start out...you feel unsure and nervous about where you fit in as an artist. I have tried doing other things like nursing, hair dressing, computer graphics designer, jewelry making in my life. It was not until I picked up that paint brush that it just FELT RIGHT!! It came easily to me... it relaxed me... it made me very happy! It started as a relaxing hobby and has become a passion. It was tough for me personally to put my work out there. I don't have the greatest self esteem. Once I had the courage to put my work out there, I was so delighted by the response. Everyone loved my art and they said 'You have talent!"...!! So you mean everyone likes something that I love doing?! How wonderful!!!

My very first watercolor painting!

The next natural step for me was to sell my art. My husband works hard as a pipe fitter/construction plumber. He never complains and is always willing to work overtime. We both enjoy the idea of having me home to take care the kids and our home. Call us 'old fashioned'...we don't mind. The idea of making extra income sounded good to me anyway. However, my problem was that I didn't put any real value to my hard work and it showed. Listing products much lower than what they were worth. Selling products at the price that it cost me to make them. I was just thinking about making a quick buck and trying too hard to be 'nice' to my customers. 

My 'Wild Flowers' painting!

It has taken me almost a year to learn and accept the true value of my work. Seeing that hard work should be paid just like any other job. Understanding that what I was doing was unique and one-of-a-kind. Only I can paint the way I paint...and no one else! Which is true of any craft or job. Be happy about what you have to offer. When others see this joy, they appreciate your work even more. Your confidence helps a customer feel a sense of trust with you as a business person. 

A day spent painting a bird is a day well spent!

Another problem I was having before was trying to please the customer by not taking in account all the extra things I was doing for them. I was trying so hard to please, that I was taking money out of my own pocket to pay for that extra shipping cost, or giving away free products that were worth the same price as the product they paid for. Sometimes being 'too nice' is a good way to go out of business. Remember that the product they paid for is good enough for that price. Adding a couple dollars for shipping so that you aren't losing your profit IS OKAY! 

My art studio giving off a rainbow effect! :)

You have to remind yourself that what you do is handmade with love! Yes in this industry we use that term a lot, but IT IS SO TRUE!! We are not a factory popping products out by the minute. We are passionate people who work very hard on a single product. And the silly thing is many of our customers already know this. That concept took me so long understand. I have an Etsy shop and almost everyone shopping on Etsy are looking for handmade items. Keep this in mind when you are pricing and putting together your product. Don't try to compete with Wal-mart or Target. That will just cause you frustration and profit loss. An art print in Target can be bought at $12. An art print in my shop starts at $15 and up. The difference is my art prints are unique and one-of-a-kind. Plus I have put in hours and hours of sketching, painting, scanning, editing, printing and packaging. All those things need to come into account when I list my print.

My shop display at a local farm.

Every small business has to go through a learning process and it involves a lot of hard work. The true joy comes from finding the value and pleasure in your small shop. Knowing that what you have to offer is special and you enjoy sharing it with the rest of the world. So please take a tip from me...don't take your value away to make your customer happy. You will have a more success and be a more profitable business giving yourself the credit you deserve!

Here's to you and your success!
xoxo, Arianne