In addition to being the founder of April plus Madison, one of the many hats I wear in my company is “Designer of Whimsical Things”. What this means in practice is that ideas come to me—a phrase and/or a visual—and I then proceed at some point to bring these non-physical things, these thoughts, into physical form. I guess big companies have a whole team of people who do this, but here in my Wonderland, it’s just me, myself, and I (plus Madison).
Here’s our latest creation: the “Practice smiling” mug.
The thought to pair the iconic John Tenniel illustration of the Cheshire Cat and Alice with a gentle affirmation came to me back in 2020, according to the date of the files on my Mac. At that time, the world of print-on-demand (POD) was relatively new, and I was excited by its possibilities.
I had crafted cards by hand for many years, and had considered making a greeting card line. In fact, back in 2012, I made a few cards that I liked so much, I couldn’t just give them away. So I scanned the originals, and then found a print shop in Queens, put the files into their greeting card template, and printed a run of 50 of each design, plus envelopes. I sold some sets, and kept some for my own use. (The print shop was 4over4.com, by the way, and they did a great job at a reasonable price.)
But besides not having to hold onto unsold inventory, the print-on-demand model allows me to take my design and make it available on lots of different products. It can become a greeting card, wall art, or go on a mug, tote bag, sticker, or notebook. Woo hoo! Another layer of creativiTEA!
“Practice smiling” had a brief life as wall art, a canvas wrap, in my late, unlamented Zazzle store. Here’s a photo of that.
My design looked fine on screen, but once I sent it along to be printed, something happened with the file and no one could fix it. You see the April plus Madison logo on the bottom right there? That was supposed to go on the canvas that wrapped around the bottom edge of the print, not on the front. After multiple attempts to get the matter resolved to my satisfaction, I gave up.
I closed my Zazzle store after years of frustration not only with its interface, but with the lack of discoverability of my store (at that time, it was “April plus Madison’s Whimsicali-Tea Shop”). The desire to do something with this design continued to burn within me, however, and now, thanks to Bandzoogle and Printful, I have a much better POD store—April plus Madison’s Whimsical Things Shop— that’s easily accessible through my website.
Printful’s design interface is easy to use. Case in point, creating this “Practice smiling” mug. In Canva, after cropping the Alice and Cheshire Cat image, I added the text (the font is “Alice”, of course). I modified the curvature of “smiling” to echo the Cheshire Cat’s grin. Once pleased with the results, I exported the file to my computer and then uploaded it to Printful. I chose a mug template with the appropriate color for inside and the handle. The finishing touch was duplicating and centering the design onto both sides, since I like my mugs to work both right- and left-handed. Et voilà! We have a mug for Alice fans as well as for those who simply like a little cheer with their cup of tea.
Feel free to purchase this Whimsical Thing for yourself or others by clicking this link: https://aprillynnjames.com/product/1494686-alice-in-wonderland-cheshire-cat-inspirational-mug
And, if you’d be so kind, please share the link with those who might appreciate it. As they say, word of mouth is the best advertising, and since April plus Madison has yet to become a household name, you are my public relations team.
Thanks, and see you next time! Comments welcome, as always.