HannahMericle
Thanks for the Daily Deviation
Special thanks to
for suggesting my work and 
for featuring.You all just made my day
Thank you!
Blogging it
I'll be posting weekly updates, doodles, and resources to my new blog page. My hope is to eventually streamline all my journals to this blog. I'll still link back here with the really good stuff
PWP - Five Lies of Creative Block
I feel the same as Chris O. I hardly ever get creative block, more often I get overwhelmed with too many ideas and not enough time and resources to accomplish them all. So when I get asked about overcoming artist's block I'm never really sure what to say. But this podcast has some great answers!
chrisoatley.com/pwp-12-the-fiv…
Arting on a Budget - Issue 3 - Ebay
What do you do when you're low on cash, and need art supplies? You need a tablet, but don't have the money to buy a brand new one. You're going to run out of acrylic paint soon, but there's no room in your budget for fresh tubes. I wanted to write a few journals and share some tips and tricks that can save you money and keep you making art even when the cash is tight.
A little bit of background first:
I didn't grow up with internet in my house. I grew up in the days when online shopping was seen as risky business. It wasn't until college that I discovered the joys of ebay. Most of you are ebay shoppers, like myself, but it wasn't until my husband showed me a few of the following tips that I was able to up my ebay game. I've used it to fund my art projects at a fraction of the retail cost. I set out to learn the mystical ways of "Arting on a Budget". Here is what I found *magic magic sparkle sparkle*
Quick Budget Tip: Did you know that you can completely avoid paying interest on credit cards? Some of you are going, "Well, yeah. Duh." But it's shocking how many people don't know this simple fact. Good credit is essential, and yet so many people are scared of credit cards and debt. But it doesn't have to be this way. Pay your credit card bill ON TIME and IN FULL every single bill. If you do this from the beginning, you will never pay interest. It's a simple way to put good marks on your credit score. If you find that you can't pay your bill in full, you're likely living beyond your means, and need to reevaluate your budget. If you are paying interest on your credit card, struggling to catch up on payments, or in severe debt already please seek professional credit counseling.
- Using Ebay for Research: Why do we use Ebay for research? Its a great tool to see what buyers are willing to pay for a particular product. It gives you a general idea of what things are worth in the current market. This is great if your looking to buy, or sell (even if its not on ebay). When you start a search be sure to use the search filters on the site to narrow your results. This allows you to pinpoint the item you want to research without all the extra clutter that shows up on a generic search. By far the best filter to apply to your price search is the "Sold Listings" in the "Advanced" tab next to the search bar. This will give you the truest picture of what people are willing to pay for your item. Now you are ready to buy that awesome tablet because you know what it's truly selling for! Also, pay attention to the price of shipping. Sometimes people sneak the extra cost into the shipping price. Be wary of cheap items, they often have outrageous shipping costs.
- Buying on Ebay: My golden rule - "You don't have to win the bid. There will ALWAYS be another auction." Unless it's a rare one-of-a-kind collectors edition whatever, there will most likely be another auction... tomorrow in fact. Patience. Don't jump the gun and spend more than your set price. Just rest easy knowing that another one of those marker sets will eventually pop up for sale again. Also, sometimes sellers post items at a ridiculously high price that no one is willing to pay. Just wait for the seller to re-post the item at a cheaper price the next week. The countdown timers at the end of auctions are supposed to induce impulse buys. Channel your inner bargain hunter and just wait. There will always be another auction. Another quick tip on getting the best price: Look for auctions ending on weekdays. Less people shop Mon-Thurs so these are good days to snag a deal. Fewer people to compete with means a last minute bid on one of these days will have a higher chance of getting you that airbrushing kit delivered to your door.
- Selling your stuff on Ebay: Sell stuff you don't want anymore to fund your art addiction! You don't have to price your item as the cheapest to sell it. If you do, you're likely undercutting yourself. You're probably competing with other sellers' items of lower quality. And there will always be someone who will try to sell their item cheaper than you. That's fine. Let them sell their item for that price, and then your item is next up for grabs. Simply do your research and price your item at a median price and hold tight. Depending on the item for sale or the market demand, it may take a few weeks for this tactic to work, but you'll end up with more money in your paypal if you practice this technique along with a little patience. Be aware that if you sell an item, the combined fees of paypal and ebay (at the time of writing this journal) equal 14% of your final sale price including shipping.
True Story: My husband buys and resells items on ebay for double profit. If you get proficient at ebay it can be a nice way to make a few extra bucks. This take some research on your part. Google it!
What's your best ebay buy? Please share it with us! My best buy: "Broken" Paintball Marker - $50 Just needed to correctly reinstall the parts. Resold for - $200
Can I get some feedback?
Recently I put together a website and online portfolio: hannahmericle.com/
Can I please get some feedback from you guys about the website and the pieces I've chosen to represent my portfolio? I'm just looking for a few people to take a peek at it and let me know if all looks copacetic.
I just want to make sure it looks clean to you, it's showing up and running smoothly for others besides myself, and that I've chosen (what you would consider) strong art pieces for my gallery.
I'm also interested in fixing any typos or grammatical errors you may run across.
Thank you to anyone kind enough to take a look at it!