🤖 Use Canva inside ChatGPT: You can now design directly in ChatGPT without switching tabs. Here’s how: Open ChatGPT, go to Tools > Run deep research > Sources and connect your Canva account. From there, you can pull in brand assets, reuse existing designs or whip up something new based on your current chat.
Holiday cash: How to create & sell T-shirts without ever touching inventory
ChatGPT
Let’s talk T-shirts. Not the boring kind. I’m talking about clever, seasonal, giftable shirts people actually want to buy.
Whether it’s a “Dear Santa, I Can Explain…,” “Sleigh My Name, Sleigh My Name” or “Resting Grinch Face” tee, custom tops make great holiday gifts. And thanks to AI and print-on-demand, you can start a T-shirt side hustle from your couch.
No design skills, inventory or shipping labels required. Yes, really.
🧠 Step 1: Brainstorm ideas
Start with a tool like ChatGPT to generate concepts and slogans. Prompt it like “Give me 15 funny Christmas T-shirt ideas for dads.”
Want niche ideas? Ask for Christmas wear for gamers, teachers, dog moms or pickleball fans. AI is a gold mine of clever copy.
🎨 Step 2: Use AI art tools
Use Canva, Kittl or DALL·E to design a shirt graphic. You can even generate original art like “a cool cartoon Santa lifting weights” or “retro-style gingerbread cookies doing yoga.”
Keep your designs clean and high-contrast. Save as PNG files with a transparent background and 300 DPI resolution.
🛍️ Step 3: Make money
Upload your design to platforms. They list the items for sale, print the design on the item, ship it, collect the taxes, and the rest. You make the money.
- Amazon Merch on Demand: You earn $2 to $8 per shirt, depending on the sale price and type (standard, premium, long sleeve, etc.). It’s on Amazon Prime, which boosts visibility during the holiday shopping season.
- Redbubble and TeePublic: Set your own profit margin. Most creators make $3 to $10 per sale.
- Etsy + Printful: Combine AI art with Etsy traffic. After production and fees, you’ll typically earn $5 to $15 per shirt, depending on your pricing and upgrades (like organic cotton). Btw, this is how I run my Etsy store that, wow, needs love. I promise to work on it!
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5 free resources to grow your business
Entrepreneurs and small business owners need all the help they can get. When you’re a self-starter, you’re constantly on the go, multitasking and doing all you can to grow your company quickly. Luckily, there are a ton of free small business resources that can help you along the way.
5 small biz freebies to save you some cash, from shipping materials to logos
Owning or working for a small business is full of joys: Seeing your business take off, working closely with a small team and watching your ideas flourish.
It’s not all a walk in the park, though. Small teams, limited budgets and not enough time in the day can make things challenging.
Looking for work? 3 sites to find free resume templates
If you’re looking for a new job, you have a long road ahead of you. Not only do you have to hunt down the perfect position, but you also have to craft the perfect resume, which means hours of formatting and designing. Luckily, you can save yourself a lot of time with free resume templates you can find online.
Freebie for teachers: Need posters, worksheets or slides that actually look good? Canva’s got loads of templates made for teachers. Go to canva.com/education and click Get Verified with your school info.
🖼️ Bring doodles to life: Got a great idea? Canva’s Sketch to Life app turns your drawings into AI images. Go to Apps > Sketch to Life > pick either Use in existing design or Use in new design. Then, draw your idea, describe it and tap Generate. You get seven free credits per day.
💸 Educator freebie: If you’re a teacher, you get Canva Pro for free. The rest of us pay $120/year. School librarians and specialists can join, too. Go to canva.com/education and click Get Verified. Log in or sign up (use your school email if you can). Then, upload your school ID, teaching certificate or a link listing your job. Approval may take a few days.
💌 Create a custom invitation: No graphic designer or Photoshop required. Canva has free templates for almost any occasion. Want to try it? Log in to Canva with your Google account > go to the search bar > type “invitation” > pick one you like > and hit Customize this template. One click, and suddenly you’re organizing “BrunchCon 2025” like it’s a presidential campaign.