<![CDATA[RED STONE ART STUDIO - Skipping Painted Stones Blog]]>

<![CDATA[RED STONE ART STUDIO - Skipping Painted Stones Blog]]>Tue, 12 May 2026 20:49:52 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[ACEOs]]>Tue, 12 May 2026 02:12:55 GMThttps://www.redstoneartstudio.com/skipping-painted-stones-blog/aceosArtist Trading Cards (ATC) have been around for over 20 years. But recently I've seen a lot of chatter on social media from other artists about ACEOs (Art Cards Editions Originals.) Basically the difference is that ATC are for trading only, and ACEOs are ATC that are for sale.

ACEOs (and ATC) are small, 2.5"x3.5" to be exact. That's the same size as other trading cards like sports or playing cards. ACEOs are typically sold on auction websites. Tiny Gallery was made for ACEOs, but eBay has a larger market. Since I'm already familiar with eBay, that's where I started my ACEO journey.

There's an artist, Nicole Carothers, who shares a ton of tips and information on selling ACEOs. Her videos were extremely helpful starting out. Also, her art is vibrant and colorful in ways I wish mine was! It's like if Lisa Frank grew up and painted realistically.

A selection of my ACEOs that I've posted on eBay.

One of my favorite things about making ACEOs is that they are small. Somehow they feel almost casual - not that my art was ever that serious to begin with. But you can experiment with them and try out new techniques and styles without the pressure of ruining a large piece. I've been using some of my "special" art supplies, like glittery or iridescent watercolors, name brand pens, or even new brushes! That all by itself is delightful.

Before I go on, I do want to say that I have some hesitations. This feels new, and exciting, much in the same way NFTs did a few years ago.

And let me be very clear - NFTs are a scam. They always have been, but nobody but scammers are involved in NFTs for the past few years. So the fact that this feels a little bit like that definitely gives me pause.

I jumped in anyway, made my first three ACEOs, and listed them on eBay. Two of them sold that first week!

When I list them, I know people love free shipping, but I just couldn't short myself. Blame Jon for it, who has told me a million times to "Stop giving your art away for free!" So I start my auctions at $0.99 with $3.00 shipping (buyer paid.) Some artists start their auctions at $0.01 with free shipping to encourage bidding wars, and if that works for them that's totally awesome!

Now that I'm a few weeks in, I have learned a bit more. For one week, I shifted all my prices to $3.99 with free shipping, and all I got was a chorus of crickets! So the next week I went back to $0.99 with $3.00 shipping, and had a bid within 24 hours of listing a new batch. I'll be the first to tell you that I do NOT have the secret to selling art!

I've also listed some 4"x6" paintings and drawings, which are not technically ACEOs due to their size. I started them at a higher price, but haven't sold any yet. So I'm still trying to find the sweet spot for them.

Circling back to my "is this a scam somehow?" feeling... I haven't paid any money (except to buy more stamps) and I've gotten three payments into my account so far. Maybe it's my imposter syndrome telling me it's too quick and easy.

At this point, I'm having a lot of fun creating these tiny little pieces of art. And I'm definitely enjoying getting paid for them. So I guess I'll need to do an update post in 2027 to see how things are going.

And finally, what kind of a small business owner would I be if I didn't share the link to my eBay so my readers could take a look at what I've been creating? 😉
https://www.ebay.com/usr/redstoneartstudio

]]><![CDATA[8 Self-Publishing Tips]]>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 23:30:00 GMThttps://www.redstoneartstudio.com/skipping-painted-stones-blog/8-self-publishing-tipsMy journey in self-publishing started back in 2021. I did hours and hours of research, and still very nearly got sucked in by a vanity publisher. Because I love sharing information (I'm happy to tell you what I know, so you don't have to make the same mistakes) I've put together 8 Tips for Self-Publishing, all learned from first-hand experience!

#1 - DO NOT PAY A PUBLISHER MONEY, EVER!!!
If a publisher charges you a fee, they are a vanity publisher and a scam! Real traditional publishers pay authors, not the other way around. In self-publishing, YOU are the publisher. The companies I talk about using below are DISTRIBUTORS - they distribute (aka print and/or sell) the books.

#2 – You can publish for free through Amazon KDP.
However, you won’t have distribution through other websites. You can only sell through Amazon. You will only pay the print cost for physical books that you order, and they are printed on demand. I get a little over a dollar per book sold through Amazon, but I also don't have to print, store, or ship the orders.

#3 – ISBNs can only be purchased through Bowker.
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It’s the barcode/registration number for the book. It is over $100 for one ISBN, but you can get a bulk discount when you buy multiple ISBNs. In the USA, only Bowker sells ISBNs. Any other company selling them is a scam!

#4 – Don't pay for an ISBN UPC barcode.
There are many free UPC barcode generators online, don’t pay to have one made for your ISBN. (I'll never get the $25 back that I spent on my first one. Never again.)

#5 – ISBNs cannot be transferred.
If you buy an ISBN, it cannot be transferred. It belongs to you. If a company gives you a free ISBN, it belongs to that company, not you. You can use the free ISBNs provided by distributors (like Amazon KDP) but you don’t own and can’t use that ISBN with any other distributor (like Barnes & Noble.)

#6 – Each format needs its own ISBN.
Each format of a book needs its own ISBN. So a paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook for the same book = four ISBNs.

#7 – NEVER SHARE YOUR LOGINS WITH ANYONE!
Especially KDP, which uses your personal Amazon account. If you create a login for distributors, YOU are the publisher and you “own” the books. This means you can’t upload books for someone else, and nobody can upload your books for you. Anyone who claims they can upload your books for you is a scammer!

#8 – You may need to claim sales on your taxes.
If you have book sales, that's awesome! Congratulations, and you may need to claim that income on your taxes. If you have enough sales, the distributors may send you a 1099.

Other notes:
I use Draft2Digital for ebooks. They charge a $12 yearly fee (unless you have enough sales) but they distribute to many different companies, plus library apps. They take part of each sale.

I use IngramSpark for paperbacks. They also offer ebooks. They don’t have setup fees, but may have revision fees. You pay for the physical copies that you order to sell yourself. Be cautious when accepting returns through IngramSpark. Many brick and mortar stores won't stock books on their shelves if they don't allow returns, but you could potentially get stuck with a hefty bill for returned books. I personally don't allow returns through IngramSpark.

I use KDP for my ebooks and paperbacks specifically on Amazon. D2D and Ingram SAY they distribute to Amazon, but Amazon hates it and will list your book as “unavailable.” They do this to force you to use KDP.

I use Findaway/InAudio to distribute my audiobooks under my pen name, D.C. McAndrews. I hired my narrator through Fiverr. It's expensive, but I think it's worth it.

I do my own formatting and design for all my books, but I have also done a lot of printing in the past. If you don't have experience with it, you can either hire someone to format your book for you or you can look up some tutorials online and learn to do it yourself.

PLEASE DO NOT USE AI FOR ANY PART OF THIS PROCESS.
Your story deserves better than AI generated slop!!!

]]><![CDATA[Knitting, Because My Soul is an Old Lady]]>Sat, 14 Mar 2026 05:36:35 GMThttps://www.redstoneartstudio.com/skipping-painted-stones-blog/knitting-because-my-soul-is-an-old-ladyHave I ever told you how much I enjoy knitting? Because I love knitting!

Let me share a story from my childhood. When I was in second grade, my class did a knitting project. We used handmade wooden circle looms and our fingers, and we each had to bring yarn from home to make knit hats.

My mom, clearly the best mom in the world, took me to a store and bought me variegated yarn (you know, the kind that changes colors without you having to change literal colors of yarn.) The pattern transitioned from stark white to deep purple to white to forest green to white and repeat. It was beautiful. I was the only kid who had variegated yarn. Everyone else in my class had brough solid colors. We did have a big black trash bag of community yarn that if you wanted you could donate your spare yarn into and anyone could pick out and use whatever was in there.

My hat had a really cool spiral striping effect to it, like a candy cane, and even though I have no clue what happened to it (probably lost like 75% of the hats I have made for my kids) that project has stuck with me for over thirty years.

So on January 1st, 2025, I started knitting. I had ordered a plastic set of four circle looms (different sizes) and it came with a pointy tool to use instead of fingers (a game-changer,) and some rainbow variegated yarn. My first hat was completed in four hours.

I currently have THREE official knitting bags (but one is very small!)

I was making so many hats that I quickly ran out of heads to wear them, so I put them up for sale at my art events. For each hat I sell throughout the year, I donate a kids' hat at the end of the year.

At this point, a little over a year in, I don't just make hats. I also make scarves, scrubby washcloths, and as of December 2025, have taken on the project of making a king-sized blanket for our bed because I'm a sucker for punishment. (It's already big enough for me to use as a blanket while I am knitting it! 😁)

I've done a few fun designs with the hats, and have ideas for others sketched out on graph paper.

Not only do I love the sheer variety of yarns that I can buy new, I also have a winder to reclaim yarn from sweaters or blankets, which has taken this hobby to a whole new level.

What is it that I love so much about knitting with circle looms? It's so physical. My mind can be anywhere, or nowhere, and my hands are busy doing the work. My favorite times to knit are while watching TV in the evenings and when I'm in the car (as a passenger, obviously!)

I can't honestly say that it's mindless, because it can get complicated when you are going back and forth or even using multiple yarns at the same time - and that's its own sort of accomplishment. But my scrubby washcloths? They're meant for cleaning, so they are pretty simple and small.

It's a hobby that's just so soothing to my grandma-esque soul. 🧶

]]><![CDATA[February 2026]]>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.redstoneartstudio.com/skipping-painted-stones-blog/february-2026In addition to my visual arts, I've found myself reading voraciously. I can't get enough, and by the end of February I will have finished reading over a dozen books. I don't have a set number of books I want to read each year and it's not a competition. Most are audiobooks (which is why I release my own books as audiobooks) although I have read two ebooks and even one hardcover (with REAL pages) this year.

My preferred genre is fiction, specifically fantasy, and even more specifically romantasy (romantic fantasy.) I don't mind a little spice, but I want character development, world-building, and plots even more.

I've also been writing more under my pen name, D.C. McAndrews. I've got over 35,000 words written on my first full novel, and have also been working on another short story that takes place after the novel (so far, the two I've released happen prior to the events in the novel.)

All of these are fine stats, but why am I bringing it up?

I'm trying to escape.

My home life is fantastic. My husband is amazing, and my children are thriving. Even our house plants are doing extremely well (except for my hibiscus, RIP.) My job has been a bit chaotic, but delightfully. So what's the problem?

Everything else. The wrong things are being focused on. Violence against innocent people (including children) is rampant and unchecked, misinformation and blatant lies are call truths, and it all makes me sick to my stomach. I try not to get political when it comes to my art, but those who know me personally know I have strong opinions.

I thought we, as a country, were better than this.

I believed that good would triumph over evil.

I am extremely disheartened that I was wrong.

I crave a happy ending, because I'm afraid we might not get one. Yes, I still have hope in my heart, and it's that hope that mourns every time I watch the news. I had to take a break from social media at the same time as I was releasing a new book - it's the absolute worst marketing strategy ever, but I desperately needed the break. My algorithms were betraying me. So I immerse myself in worlds where the hero struggles but wins in the end. Good defeats evil. I write my own stories in such a way, control my own made-up world, because the real one is out of control.

And each day, I continue going through the motions, trying to raise kids and stay positive and sane in an unstable and terrifying world.

"What are we holding onto, Sam?" "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."

]]><![CDATA[Big News!]]>Sat, 25 Oct 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.redstoneartstudio.com/skipping-painted-stones-blog/big-newsMany of you know that in my twenties I ran a privately owned art gallery called A Piece of Work, Inc. It was my dream job, and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity at such a young age.

I learned so much about networking, event planning, advertising, and more! It turns out I truly love the business side of art!

This is the water cup I use at work!

Since that gallery closed its doors in 2014, I've wanted to work in a gallery again, and in more recent years, I've been dreaming about owning my own gallery.

Now there are pros and cons to owning an art gallery, as there are in all things in life.

Pro - I already have the knowledge and experience to run it.

Con - I already have a full time job, so would this be a second job with limited open hours? Would Jon run it for me while I'm at work? (The answer to that is NO.)

Pro - I'd have my own space to host art events, and wouldn't need someone else to host me. (Shout out to Lee Shiney though - the old school he lives in is AMAZING and you should go see it!)

Con - I'd have a mortgage, utilities, property taxes... Would my sales each month be able to cover that?

Pro - If it's windy or raining, I don't have to worry about a tent.

...And on and on and on in my inner monologue. I did talk it over with Jon, but nothing was really decided... until recently.

What if I had a mobile gallery?

I could get a trailer and remodel the inside to be a clean, classy space for art display! And bonus, I get to use it to store my display tables, easels, tent, card rack, etc. which gives me more space in my home studio - and trust me, square footage in my studio is limited and PRECIOUS.

That shape reminds me of something... ;)

Allow me to introduce MAGS, my Mobile Art Gallery! She doesn't look like much now, but I'll document my journey from start to finish with the remodel. I don't have a specific date for completion, so I'm just working on it as I have the time.

I am so excited to be taking on this project, and I can't wait to share it with everyone!

]]>