I need MN wisdom to help me with my tentative New Idea....

[Greensleeves]

OK I have made a collection of Christmas card and gift-tag designs with pencil and watercolours

my plan was to photocopy them in colour on card and give them to friends etc

but dh and one of my friends say they are good and I should sell them

can this be done? How? and where would I go if I wanted to turn them into "proper" cards rather than just copying them onto cheap card for my own use?

please don't be too withering if it's a shit idea...

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I'd take your designs to a commercial printer on the high street and price up the cost of printing in quantity. Then go round a few independent outlets (gift shops etc) and gauge their interest. They'll take a cut though. See if it's worth your while financially before taking the plunge, but remember you can sell online too, through sites like etsy etc.

Oh, and if you want to sell by post, using your contacts on MN (and why not?), think about donating a percentage to something like the Anthony Nolan Trust, or another cause close to MNers' hearts. That would boost interest a lot. You won't make much, but cover your costs and time, and enjoy the experience.

You're welcome

Sorry BOF, minor family crisis there!

Thanks very much for your advice, which I will be taking

I was joshing really, and keeping it bumped

Do we get a preview? I'd love to be artistic.

You could sell them via eBay or Folksy or Etsy.

For a more personal touch, you could buy a stall at a school Christmas fair and try selling them there. However I did have a friend who did this and considering the amount of time and effort she had gone into making the cards, the return wasn't very good for her. Probably not helped by the fact that Phoenix cards were also selling at the same fair. But it all depends on what you have to offer and what people want to buy. I would think online is an easy way to start, as you don't have to convince anyone; if they like it they will buy it with very little effort to sell them on your part.

Yes, I've heard good things about Folksy.

Might not work for this year, but talking of Phoenix cards, they do put adverts in their catalogue calling for artists, maybe you could send a sample to them.

facebook page- set up one for the cards and shamelessly plug them! Look up a site called creative connections they run an online event called craftfest, it's a craft festival where you pay £5 for a stall, there's one in november.