Zazzle Blog

Check out this week’s Foto Friday Fun!

What’s Foto Friday? It’s our weekly blog post of customers enjoying their Zazzle products. Now, for the first time ever, we’re including products with stories! Read more below! Want to join in the fun and earn $5 towards your next Zazzle order? See details on how to participate in Foto Friday.

There is a joke in our family that my dad is utterly perfect and very important. He recently retired from an executive position with a national company, and one day he was telling his retirement stories about how he told some guy in the office off or fired someone or something. Anyway, at the end of the story I blurted out, “Yeah. I’m Mike Gorski.” Well, that totally stuck. So every time my dad tells a story, someone yells out at the end, “I’m Mike Gorski,” sort of like to the tone you would use at the end of a book when you’d read “the end.” It’s very authoritative.

So first we bought an “I’m Mike Gorski” shirt for him and then an “I’m Mrs. Mike Gorski” for mom (all from Zazzle–the quality was great, and these are on the value t-shirts!). Now, we’re all going to dress up in the shirts I recently made. Each shirt characterizes each member of the family. My mom is “I’m Mike Gorski’s bitch,” for example. And the attached photo is of his granddaughter, my daughter, as “I’m Mike Gorski’s newest entitlement,” since he utterly spoils her! We are all surprising Dad and wearing the shirts, and I plan to take a “family photo” of us all in them. I’ll send you that one, too! -Kelly

Join in the fun now! Learn more about submitting your photos and videos to Foto Friday!

The 100th Zazzle Bay to Breakers may be sold out, but there’s still a chance to get tickets! Zazzle has the last 30 spots in the race and if you’ve got the best crossing-the-finish-line pose you could win one of these tickets. Read below and check us out on Facebook to participate!

The Contest:
Enter the Crossing the Line Photo Contest with your best impression of a race-winning photo and you could win 1 of the last 30 spots in this year’s race. Send us a photo of yourself, your race group, or whomever you plan to race with in your funniest, most imaginative “crossing the finish line” pose. The most liked & creative entries win!

How to Enter:

1. Take the picture (Have fun, be creative, wear clothes).
2. Email it to community@zazzle.com (within 24 hours we’ll add your picture to Facebook.com/Zazzle)
3. Get friends (Facebook friends, not the real kind) to like the picture in the Facebook.com/Zazzle album called “Crossing the Line Photo Contest”
4. The most liked & creative pictures win entries in the race!

Mother’s Day is May 8th (which is right around the corner), so we compiled a list of the top 10 gifts you can get or create for your Mother this holiday with Zazzle.

1. #1 Mom Necklace – Add Mom’s favorite family photo to a necklace that will make her feel #1

2. Super T-Shirts for Mom – Tell Mom that she’s your hero with a Supergirl t-shirt from DC Comics.

3. Personalized Card – Add a sentimental message to a card that Mom will cherish forever.

4. Spa Bag Filled with Goodies – Pamper Mom with a cozy embroidered hoodie, travel mug, and gift certificate in a custom tote bag that she can take everywhere.

5. Keepsake Mug – Put fresh flowers or herbs in a custom mug that she’ll adore.

6. Mom = Wow Apron – Amaze Mom with a custom apron she’ll love to use while gardening, cooking or crafting.

7.  Monogram Stationery – Put Mom’s initials on a custom set of stationery with matching envelopes, labels, and custom postage.

8. Recipe Magnets – Make magnets using Mom’s favorite recipes, and you’ll have a gift that she’ll be proud to stick on the fridge!

9. Play Date Cards – Perfect for Moms with younger tots, play date cards make it easier to stay in touch with other parents.

10. Family Photo Album – Gather Mom’s favorite memories in one special place. Create a family photo album binder that she’ll flip through again and again.

Share how you’re planning on using Zazzle this Mother’s Day in the comments below!

Mom’s all over will be smiling when they receive any of the amazing cards that were created in the Zazzle 2011 Mother’s Day Card Design Contest! The votes have been tallied and it was a close race! Too many great designs to choose from… but the winner is…

SalonOfArt - New Mommy Mother’s Day Photo Card

And here is the Honorable Mention -

UTeezSF

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and that means it’s time to get a great Mother’s Day gift and of course a great Mother’s Day card from Zazzle. This year, I’m creating my own greeting card with a funny picture of me and caption from one of my “standoff,” phases in my teen years (EXP: What do you mean I can’t go to the Chumbawamba concert?! It’s like we live in a prison! You don’t understand me!). Do you have a funny memory that would make a great Mother’s Day card? Share in the comments! Or if you’d rather not remember your teen years (can’t blame you), check out the top 10 funny Mother’s Day cards from the marketplace below.

Found another funny Mother’s Day card? Share in the comments!

Check out this week’s Foto Friday Fun!

What’s Foto Friday? It’s our weekly blog post of customers enjoying their Zazzle products. Now, for the first time ever, we’re including products with stories! Read more below! Want to join in the fun and earn $5 towards your next Zazzle order? See details on how to participate in Foto Friday.

Here is my boyfriend wearing the bulls eye shirt I made him for his birthday. We went paint balling. -Antoinette

I make and sell my 603 New Hampshire shirts on Zazzle and thought I’d share this picture of Colin Quinn and Norm Macdonald in Zazzle gear! Enjoy! – Jill
603 Dark Hoodie

I made my Baby Daddy shirt in honor of my first child, Anne, over two years ago. For my second child, not only did I wear my Baby Daddy shirt to the hospital again, but both grandfathers wore their Baby Grand-Daddy shirts as well. Usually you have to check into the nurse’s station or wave your badge when walking back to see your baby – but not if you have a Baby Daddy or Baby Grand-Daddy shirt! Once the nurses saw our shirts, they remembered us for the rest of our stay. -Bobby
Baby Daddy Tee Shirts
Baby Grand-Daddy T-shirts

Here is a picture of my sister and me with our cupcake display from our company Sweet Tooth. You can see our Zazzle note card prominently displayed at the top of the display! I love our note cards. Such a great accessory to our cupcakes. -Bharati

id omnom iphone 4 case

Vase With 12 Sunflowers By Vincent Van Gogh Poster

South Sister, Elk Lake, Oregon Poster

Solid Rowing Friend T Shirt

Sakura Business Card

Join in the fun now! Learn more about submitting your photos and videos to Foto Friday!

Cynthia, from the Zazzle store toxiferous, talks to us about her inspirations and who got her interested in Zazzle.  Check out the interview below and don’t forget to check out her store toxiferous!

Zazzle: Give us a brief bio, where you are from and when you started making art?

Cynthia: Hi there, thanks for choosing me! I’m a self-taught graphic artist from Ontario, Canada and I’ve loved creating art for as long as I can remember. I never really thought I’d be making art for a living, but here I am! I created Toxiferous Designs in 2008 as an outlet for my ideas and it’s become my passion. I love finding the fun side of things and have always had a delightfully strange imagination. It feels so good to know that my designs make people smile.

Zazzle: What’s your inspiration for your designs?

Cynthia: I’m inspired by classic cartoons, colors, relationships with people and the world around me. No matter where I am, I always let my imagination take me away. Daydreaming is the best.

Zazzle: What’s your favorite medium to use?

Cynthia: I’ve dabbed in many types of art, but I love making cartoony illustrations the most.

Zazzle: A lot of your work seems to be vector illustrations, when did you start doing illustrations? Are there any other styles of art you enjoy as well?

Cynthia: I started making vector illustrations three years ago and now they are my main focus, I also like to draw and paint occasionally. Origami is also a hobby of mine – there are few things that are more relaxing to me than folding cranes.

Zazzle: What has been your favorite design you’ve created, and why?

Cynthia: That’s a tough question to answer. I think it’s actually a tie between Geekicorn and Sis & P and the Mustached Dogs of Mystery! Sis & P features my brilliant best friend Jenny with her adorable basset hound and Geekicorn is ridiculous and awesome.

Zazzle: What is your favorite Zazzle product to create?

Cynthia: I love the new iPhone and iPad cases… they’re fantastic!

Zazzle: What got you interested in selling your art on Zazzle?

Cynthia: My supportive and incredible boyfriend encouraged me to try it out. He has his own Zazzle store too! Designing at Zazzle is great, and I’ve always felt that it’s a very warm and creative place.

Zazzle: What tips can you give someone who is just starting out on Zazzle?

Cynthia: Be original and be yourself no matter what, keep things fresh, always keep your personal goals in mind, and stick with it! Also, try not to get discouraged if you fall into a slump, we all have them!

Thanks Cynthia!

We’ve had Spanish on our Zazzle.es domain for some time now, but what about serving those that are more comfortable speaking Spanish domestically? Well, thanks the hard work of our ENG Team and Spanish translator Marcos, we’ve launched Spanish on Zazzle.com! This was a big day for Marcos and he wanted to share a few thoughts on it. Read more below.

Mi director favorito Federico Fellini, una vez dijo: “Un idioma es una visión diferente de la vida”. Así que podríamos decir que hemos añadido una visión diferente de Zazzle cuando decidimos añadir el español a nuestra página de los Estados Unidos. Mientras que Zazzle continua en el camino de expansión mundial, hemos notado la importancia de poder atender y adaptarnos a un Mercado multilingüe. Si tomamos en cuenta de que hay 35.5 millones de hispanohablantes en los Estados Unidos, hemos decidido que sería una buena idea agregar la lengua española a nuestro portal de los Estados Unidos. La version de Zazzle en español se podrá acceder aquí:
http://www.zazzle.com/?lang=es

Ahora los Zazzlers en los Estados Unidos podrán buscar, navegar y comprar en español. También estamos muy contentos de que la agregación de esta nueva lengua permitirá a artistas hispanos, miembros de la comunidad y organizaciones a acceder y aprovecharse de la plataforma de Zazzle. Estamos ansiosos a ver lo que la comunidad hispanohablante añadirá a Zazzle. Estamos seguros de que una versión multilingüe de Zazzle nos hará una plataforma más fuerte para todos nuestros consumidores.

Asi que si estás buscando invitaciones para una quinceañera, un cumpleaños o regalos para cualquier reunión familiar no se olivide de considerer a Zazzle como el sitio para crear y comprar regalos personalizados. De todas formas, mi nombre es Marcos, todavía hay mucho trabajo que hacer en este sitio, así que nos veremos por ahí.

TRANSLATION:
My favorite director Federico Fellini once said “A different language is a different vision of life”. So you could say that we’ve added a different vision of Zazzle by adding Spanish to our US site. As Zazzle continues to expand globally we’ve also noticed domestically the importance of being able to cater and adapt to a multilingual market. Given that there are 35.5 million people in the United States who speak Spanish, we thought it just might be a good idea to add the option to experience Zazzle in Spanish. The Spanish version of Zazzle on our US domain can be accessed here:
http://www.zazzle.com/?lang=es

Now Zazzlers in the United States will be able to search, browse and shop in Spanish. We are also extremely excited about the fact that this will allow Hispanic artists, community members, organizations, and many others to be able to tap into the Zazzle platform. We can’t wait to see what the Spanish speaking community adds to Zazzle.

So if you’re looking to celebrate a quinceañera, a birthday, or family get together don’t forget to consider Zazzle as your one stop shop for customized gifts. Anyways, my name’s Marcos, there’s still a ton of work to do on this site so I’ll see you around.

The submissions for this contest were fabulous! They would make any new grad proud to announce their achievement! Thanks to everyone that participated! It was a close race but the winner of the Graduation Invitation and Announcement Design Contest is…

starzraven - WARNING: Graduate – Party Invitations

And here are the Honorable Mentions -

wasootch

kat_parrella

eatlovepray

mousearte