Zazzle Blog

Dio (Paisley in Paris) always knew she was creative, and worked as a full-time graphic artist for well over a decade before stumbling onto Zazzle. She soon found her niche in stationery. Dio took some time to talk to us about her background and her favorite products.

I love stationery — invites, stickers and address labels. I love designing for baby showers and birthday parties, while keeping the designs minimalistic and whimsical with a pop of color.

I’ve always been a doodler and it shows in my work. I keep my designs the focal point and include minimal text.

Here are my favorite products:

TEA SET INVITATIONS

I like the versatility of this design. It’s great for a Mother’s Day tea, a Baby Shower or “Sip and Sea,” and of course, a Bridal Shower.

Pink Flowers, 5×7 Tea Party Invitations by paisleyinparis

COUPLE WITH BABY

I created this thank you note card for a customer who had used my “Expecting Couple” design for her baby shower invitations. It’s basically the same design, except that the mom-to-be displays a lovely baby bump. My customer liked that design so much, she requested thank you cards, with the couple and their newborn baby.

New Parents with Baby Girl – Thank You Card by paisleyinparis

MOMMY’S LITTLE PUMPKIN

A couple of years ago, one of my cousins asked me to create a “Mommy’s Little Pumpkin” invitation suite for her sister’s baby shower. This design is special to me because it was created with my cousin and mind, and because there’s nothing I love more than family time! Most baby showers in my family are coed. An event like this (an addition to the family) is something to be celebrated by all!

Mommy’s Little Pumpkin Baby Shower Invitations by paisleyinparis

BABY IN TEA CUP

This is one of my favorite designs. I love that it came about through a friend’s request, and since then, has become one of my popular designs. It just proves that no matter how creative you are, friends, family and customers will always be there to provide inspiration — with their input, requests, stationery needs and just by being who they are.

Baby in Tea Cup Baby Shower Invitations by paisleyinparis

ALLIGATOR BABY SHOWER

I’m big on recycling. This little alligator was originally created as part of a mock-up for a customer who hired me to design his business logo. He opted for another design and this cute little fella, combined with whimsical font and bright colors, made for a cute baby shower invitation and postage.

Alligator Baby Shower Postage Stamps by paisleyinparis

TOTALLY 80′S PARTY INVITATION

Not only is this one of my favorite designs, it’s is also my best seller. I created the invitation for my sister’s 30th birthday party and we celebrated 80′s style! I believe that the invitations are the first glimpse your guests get of your event and I think this design definitely set the tone for this wonderful night!

Totally 80′s Birthday Party Invitations by paisleyinparis

WHIMSICAL HOUSEWARMING PARTY

This design will always remind me of the day I discovered my own style. It was from this point on that I feel my work became a bit more refined and easier to identify as a Paisley In Paris™ piece. I still have quite a way to go as an artist. Creating is my passion. It takes me on a journey of growth and I can see myself evolving through my artwork. It’s what keeps this all fun and interesting.

5×7 Whimsical Housewarming Party Personalized Invitation by paisleyinparis

Shannon (wasootch) has quite a varied background. She started her career in the electronics field, providing technical support and programming for a variety of tech companies. She then decided to pursue psychology — but always kept an interest in art and design. She never thought to pursue art as a career until she stumbled upon Zazzle. Shannon took some time to tell us about her background and favorite products.

I found Zazzle in 2009 and decided to give it a try. It was a great way to hone my design skills and get an idea of what customers like and are willing to purchase.

My style:

My style varies depending on what I’m trying to accomplish, so I guess it’s fairly eclectic. I tend to do a lot of girly designs, but I love getting a chance to work on something more “man-focused,” as well as something cute for kids. I also like trying to get “out of my box” so to speak and will intentionally try to work on a different design style from time to time. I love designing for Zazzle because it gives me a lot of freedom and is suited to my personality.

My inspiration:

Nature inspires me. I love getting outside to hike and walk. I’m also a bit of a photography fan, so I like getting out to take photos. I love to travel. A couple of years back my husband and I went on a trip to Namibia and Botswana and it inspired a lot of my designs.

My tips for other designers:

There is no magic bullet for everyone. I’ve always tried to be as original as possible and offer designs and products that customers can’t easily find anywhere else. Others follow trends and seem to do well with that. In my opinion, you should try to design with integrity and not copy the designs or design styles of other sellers because you just end up undercutting yourself and the other designer in the process. There are always niches that you can look for and you should design for those. I also believe that having relevant titles, descriptions and keywords are just as important as the design.

Elephant Floral Yellow Grey Baby Shower Invitation by wasootch

I like elephants and I was playing around in Illustrator… just trying out the swirl tool options. I like this elephant design because the colors (yellow and grey) are unique. It’s not your typical baby shower invitation.

A group of Zazzle designers have started a blog and we hold “design challenges” for blog posts. One of those challenges was gender reveal party invitations. Now, most of these are all baby pink and baby blue variations on baby shower designs. I thought I’d do something different and make a “secret agent” version. I figured why not? After all, these parties are for adults, not for kids.

Kid’s Easter Activity Fun Sheet 8.5″x11″ Notepad by wasootch

Sometimes I just want to try out new ideas on Zazzle’s different products. In this case, I used a notepad to create an Easter kid’s activity and coloring sheet.

Green Brown Personalized Bridal Shower Bingo Letterhead by wasootch

This is a new design where I used Zazzle’s letterhead paper to create a bridal shower bingo game. There is a matching brown and green floral bridal shower invitation for this design as well.

Tropical Toucan Destination Wedding Reception Only Cards by wasootch

Post-wedding reception only invitations are for couples who have had a destination wedding or a private ceremony, but still want to have a reception celebration at home with family and friends. A lot of the destination style designs feature beaches and sand. I wanted to do something a little different by designing a jungle featuring a toucan, butterflies and greenery.

Paper_girl has loved art as long as she can remember. When she was young, her parents and art teachers were often impressed by the amount of details she put into her artwork. While most kids were drawing a rainbow or a doodle of a sun, Paper_girl was sketching countryside wineries or a 3D view of her bedroom.

I feel very lucky to have found what I love to do at such a young age. I found Zazzle 4 years ago when I was looking for an outlet to showcase my designs. Since then, I opened two Zazzle stores that are both very successful, Paper Girl Stationery Shop and Paper Girl’s Wedding Boutique.

Everything that I see inspires me. Once, I went to a wedding and fell in love with the bride’s dress. I decided to draw it for this Couture Gown bridal shower invitation. I do what I do because I love designing more than anything else. It’s my true passion and I feel very blessed to be able to do what I love.

My style is funky, modern, colorful and full of personality. Here are some of my favorite products:

Bring A Book Baby Shower Invitation

Bring A Book Baby Shower Invitation (Blue) by paper_girl

Both of my kids love books and have read on their own since they were 4 years old. It inspired me to create Bring A Book baby shower invites to help new moms introduce a love of reading to their babies.

So Proud Graduation Invitation

So Proud Graduation Invitation by paper_girl

I remember the graduation announcements that my school offered for purchase. I couldn’t pick one since they were not me at all! Each grad has their own style and I wanted to offer them options, whether their style is simple and modern, funky and colorful, or vintage and unique.

Stylish Starfish Wedding Invitation

Stylish Starfish Wedding Invitations by wedding_boutique

I love beach weddings! I didn’t get married on the beach, but if I did, this is what my invitation would look like: modern and elegant with the perfect coral and ocean water color schemes.

Cocktail Glasses Bachelorette Party or Bridal Shower Invitation

Cocktail Glasses Bachelorette/Bridal Shower Invite by wedding_boutique

Planning a wedding can be stressful and brides-to-be deserve a fun night out with friends. This idea inspired me to design this particular invitation.

Ice Cream Sunday Birthday Invitation

Ice Cream Sundae Birthday Party Invitation (Pink) by paper_girl

This was inspired by an ice cream party that I threw for the neighborhood kids a few summers ago. The party was a big hit!

Modern Band Save The Date Postcard

Modern Band Save The Date Postcard (Turquoise) by wedding_boutique

Sending out save-the-dates is more important that most people think. I’m glad I sent out mine since most of my relatives live far away and they told me the save the dates helped them make early travel arrangements and save money!