Paixão Designs

Addie's Elmo Party!

2012-01-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

What a fun birthday party! I know my son would have loved going to an Elmo party too! I'm sure Addie loved her party as much as I loved making Addie's birthday party invitations! So much fun!

Viovio Part II: The End Result

2012-01-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

See part I for a description of the design process.

Exactly two weeks after I ordered my photobook, I got my book in the mail! I was so excited to open it up! The book was well packaged and when I pulled it out... I was immediately disappointed. Not with the quality of the book, because it was apparent that it was really good quality... but because of the cropping of every single one of my pages. The cover included. The cover was designed to look like this:

Since I wasn't aware of the cropping guides until I got it in the mail and logged onto viovio as mentioned in part I, my entire book was sadly disappointing. Given all the tremendous time I spent on designing every single page, I was really really excited for this book and the end result fell short. On other websites, this is not a problem because it's layouts are preset and designed so that it is not cropped improperly. My other experience with websites that allow custom inserts such as viovio also did a much better job by clearly showing the crop guides in the design editor while designing each page, as opposed to a separate feature inadequately labeled which I would have to know to turn on. I also noticed that the crop guides it did show online did not match what actually got cropped. It cropped far less than what was pictured but still managed to make my pages look cramped and unprofessional.

But, what's done is done. Next time I use viovio, I will never make the same mistake. I wanted to spend some time on the quality of the actual book. The premium photo printing really showed. My pages are thick and the colors turned out fantastic. I am very pleased with the quality of the pages and the vibrance of the colors. The binding also looks really strong and I think it will last a very long time.

In summary:

The ideal consumer for viovio's services is one who has the graphic design skills to create their own pages. This would be wonderful for a digital scrapbooker! They even have a 12x12 size photo book! Since you'd already have all your pages designed, you could just upload them all and print out the book! (Just make sure you watch out for the cropping!) This is not an ideal service for someone who just wants to drag and drop their pictures into an album.

Pros
- Great quality photobook
- Excellent binding
- Great pricing structure
- REALLY affordable shipping
- Huge range of printing options

Cons
- Clunky design editor
- Very difficult to use for drag and drop photobooks
- Additional costs for using different layouts
- Cluttered website makes it difficult to get the information you need

Now that I have gotten some experience with viovio, I feel like I understand how I can maximize its services! Although it was a painful learning experience, I know that next time the process will go much swifter and the end result will be much more satisfying. Hopefully, viovio will also make some design changes to their website and design editor to make the experience smoother but the quality of the book plus the affordable pricing will have me brave the clunkiness to make another book for sure!

Viovio Part I: Making My Photobook

2012-01-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

Quite some time ago, I was contacted by a wonderfully friendly representative from viovio asking if I would be willing to do an honest review of its service in exchange for a $50 gift certificate to viovio. I was totally excited and immediately said yes! I got started uploading my pictures right away and tried to make a book similarly to what you'd do on a website like Shutterfly or Snapfish. Then I realized, viovio is not like its competitors. Unfortunately, it's book editor is so clunky and confusing that I struggled to get even one page to look how I wanted it to look.

Drag & Drop Capability: D-
Unlike its competitors who provide a multitude of simple and attractive layouts for you to choose from in which you can just drag and drop your photos, viovio does not. Instead they allow independent designers to contribute their layouts for you to use at an additional cost. Viovio does provide one series of layouts for free but it was poorly designed and simply did not provide an attractive display of the photos I desired. And forget about adding any text! It was nigh impossible to get one caption onto my page without a large amount of effort and time. For example, instead of being able to edit the caption directly on the page, viovio requires its users to edit the text in a separate box and you are required to save each change before you can see the change reflected on your page. It adds a tremendous amount of time to something that should be much simpler to do. Simply put, this was not a user-friendly website for someone who wanted to just drag and drop their pictures onto a pre-designed layout.

Viovio's Template Marketplace

Flexibility for Scrapbookers & Graphic Designers: B+
I realized in order for me to have it look the way I would want it to look, it would require me to independently design every single page outside of viovio and then import each page as a single image. In other words, instead of uploading my photos and plopping my pictures into pre-set boxes, I had to design each page in an external program, add each picture and text desired and then save the page as one image which I later uploaded into viovio. In total, I designed 64 pages and it took a tremendous amount of my time to design them externally and then move them into viovio. For those who are digital scrapbookers or graphic designers, this would be wonderful because you'd most likely already have your pages ready. Therein lies viovio's greatest weakness and strength. For those who have the skill, the time, and the patience to design an entire book before even starting in viovio, this is great because you have all the flexibility to make it look exactly like you want! However, if you don't have the graphic design skills, I would never use viovio to make my photo books. There are many competitors out there that provide attractive and easy-to-use interfaces to produce your book.

Size Options for Printing: B+
Another thing that I also appreciated (but simultaneously found terribly confusing) was what size and style to print my books in. They have SEVENTEEN different sizes that one can choose to print their book in. In some ways, it's really overwhelming. In addition to the sizes, you also have a choice in whether you want hardcover or softcover, imagewrap or perfect bound style, and whether you want premium or express printing quality. For the average consumer, there are simply too many options. However, for the graphic designer, the multitude of options would be heavenly!

Viovio's photobook options...

Additionally, it's product descriptions are too lengthy... so lengthy that you are even more overwhelmed by the time you get through reading them. Viovio should instead have an image of each product with simple arrows or bullets describing the key features of each product. Also, for some reason, viovio allows users to post miscellaneous questions regarding the photo books immediately below their product descriptions. These discussions should really be placed somewhere else. It is incredibly distracting from what viovio is trying to do on these pages which is to give some simple information about the product I am going to buy and not to share every single question anyone has ever asked about viovio's photobooks. Simply put, viovio really needs to cut down the sheer volume of text it has on its website... more white space is desperately needed.

Design Editor: C-

So, I just complained about viovio having too much text in its product descriptions, however, the actual design editor doesn't have enough text! Instead, it relies on icons to relay all the important information. As a result, I made a huge mistake which resulted in a disappointing result. You see that tiny little icon at the bottom which I highlighted in yellow? Yup, that's a VERY important icon. Never saw it before until I got my book in the mail and went back online to see what I missed.

It shows me where the pages may get cropped. Of course viovio says, "Safety guides are estimates only, do not use for positioning." What does that mean anyway if I'm not supposed to use it to position my photos for? Either way, I saw the icon only after it was too late. As a result, my final product did not look the way I had created it.

There were a couple other things about the design editor that I did not like. I took care to title each page as a number so that I could take advantage of the auto-fill feature it provides. Each page was titled page 1, page 2, and so forth. However, when I uploaded all my pages, it uploaded them out of order so that the autofill function would not work properly. Instead I had to manually drag and drop each page. Another minor detail, the design editor allows you to use the same image twice. This just opens up more room for errors. I wish the editor would not allow images to be used more than once in the same book.

Costs & Shipping Options: A+

Once I had decided on my specifications for the book (8.5" x 11, Imagewrap Hardcover, Premium Photo Printing), I got ready to pay for my book. I was shocked at how inexpensive it would have been to print my book using the express photo printing... only about $30 for my 64-page book! So I upgraded to the premium photo printing which brought my total to $52. I was also super surprised with my shipping options! They were very inexpensive. Since I had no rush for the book, I selected their super saver shipping option which only cost me $1.99! You seriously can't beat that!

Our Christmas Cards

2011-12-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas, I sent out two different cards. I could not settle on just one, so I went with these two. Merry Christmas!

Pictures by Katrina Takahashi

The Lau Family

2011-12-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

Hands down, one of my favorite families in the whole wide world. I was so glad to be able to help out with their Christmas cards this year.

Picture by Lau Lau Photography

The Gillespie Family

2011-12-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun helping the Gillespie's with their christmas cards this year! They wanted their cards to all say, "Simple Joy" on them. I thought it was fantastic because that's what Christmas should always be: simple and joyful!

Picture by Katrina Takahashi

Christmas Cards!

2011-11-23T13:48:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas card season!!! We just got our family pictures taken (by the fabulous Katrina Takahashi) and I can't wait to get our Christmas cards all ready to go!

If you'd like your own custom Christmas card done by yours truly, I am charging only $20 for your very own design! Here's a few examples I've done in the past. Contact me at paixaodesign@gmail.com if you'd like to get some designed! :)

baby catherine

2011-11-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

oh baby.

i love these sweet moments.

i don't think anything can beat watching your little baby sleep.

welcome to the world beautiful catherine!

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2011-09-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Babiators (using random.org) is... LAURA!

I'll be sending you an email today!

Thank you to all of those who entered!

Pretty Things

2011-09-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

Image via The Beauty Department

So, what should I be doing? I should probably use this time to paint my nails. They totally need it! It's one of those things that always falls to the side when I'm busy. Instead, I am going to blog about doing my nails. Ha ha! I love this tutorial for mixed metal nail polish! It's totally simple to do and I've really been wanting to do this. See the tutorial here. There's also another great one here.

Image via AZ Central

Aren't these pumpkins absolutely fabulous??? It's inspired by the Missoni for Target line. This woman used paper and mod podge to apply the chevron print but I think painting it would be so much easier. Must try for Halloween.

Image via Ampersandity

I have always had a soft spot for calligraphy. I wish I was more skilled at it! Well, maybe I can just borrow someone else's skills with this super cool custom rubber stamp! Someday when I get my house, I am totally going to get one of these!

Last Chance!

2011-09-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Last chance to enter yourself in the super cool Babiators giveaway!

http://paixaodesigns.blogspot.com/2011/09/babiators-giveaway.html

These would be a great gift for a friend or for your own kids!

Babiators + Giveaway!

2011-09-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

My son rocking his Babiators!

A few months ago, I came across a little blurb on another website about Babiators. I was immediately interested in the glasses and was dying to get a pair for my son to try out. Luckily, Babiators was kind enough to send over two pairs of their fabulous Babiators in "Black Ops Black".

Here's why I love these glasses:

They look FABULOUS! Really, I love their design! I love how modern and fresh it looks! Tama seriously loves wearing them! The glasses also come in Blue Angels Blue, Rockstar Red, and Princess Pink!

They claim to be super durable and as a result, they offer a one-year wear and tear guarantee on their sunglasses! So, if my kid breaks them through his regular usage of the glasses, I just ship them back to them and they'll send me a brand-new one at no charge! Tama has had these for about three weeks now and they have survived Tama twisting them, sitting on them, and throwing them on the ground... they still look brand new!

They are super safe for your kids. I'm super impressed that the glasses are made from materials free from BPA, phthalates and lead-based paint! I'd be hard pressed to find anything else in the market that can say that! I'm also impressed that the sunglasses protect your kid's eyes from 100% of UVA and UVB rays! Our skin is not the only thing our kids needs to be protected from the sun, their eyes do too!

The price is great! At $19.99, it's a great deal! Think about it... if you bought one of those flimsy character sunglasses that you'll end up paying a little less for, you'll also get less protection from UV rays, and will probably end up having to buy another pair a couple weeks down the road (or days if we're talking about my kid!) since they broke at your kid's first attempt to use them as rocket launchers!

So... Babiators was super generous to send over an extra pair of their Babiators in black for one lucky reader! This pair comes in Black Ops Black and is sized for kids 3 years and older. However, I must say that they fit my 2 year old too. If you'd like to win a pair for your little future Babiator, you have two ways to win!

Leave a comment on this post with your name and email address for me to contact you if you win.
Add my blog to your blog reader and come back leave me a comment letting me know.

Contest ends next Wednesday, September 28th!

I love Target... or not.

2011-09-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Target is one of my favorite stores... great designs at reasonable prices. What more could you ask for? Well, better customer service for one!

I purchased a super cute Missoni for Target baby shirt for my girlfriend who is having a baby shower next month, but I got two emails from Target saying that the order was delayed and that it wouldn't be arriving until after the baby shower. So I went online to cancel it so that I can get her something else in time for the shower.

Imagine my surprise when I logged online to realize that Target does not allow you to cancel an order online!!! So I was stuck calling their phone number and waiting on the looooooong wait to talk to a person since their automated system doesn't allow you to cancel either. When I finally got to talk to someone, they told me they could not cancel the order yet because I only had 30 minutes from the time I ordered to cancel. Never mind that their email very clearly states that I can cancel the item if they haven't shipped and as you can clearly see below, my item has not shipped yet.

I of course asked to speak to a supervisor. Gratefully, it was an American this time and I thought, surely, they will be more reasonable. No such luck. The person claimed that the item was already in the "shipping queue" and therefore I was unable to cancel the order. I responded by saying that the company's policy is not, "if the item is not in the shipping queue, you can cancel your order", but rather, "if the item has not shipped, you can cancel your order"! I told him, there is no gray area here, either the item has shipped and is currently on its way to my house or it is still in the warehouse. He then tried to say that the item had been shipped for all intents and purposes of canceling the order. I immediately refuted that by saying that he was completely contradicting himself... first he told me it hasn't physically left the warehouse but was in the "shipping queue" but then told me that it had shipped. It was absolute bull. So I asked to speak to his supervisor... he tried to tell me that I was the end of the road for this matter. I responded by saying, "So are you telling me that you are the CEO of Target because clearly, you have a supervisor and I want to talk to him!" He said that for this purpose, he was. After some more back and forth, he agreed to put me through to his supervisor.

Enter second supervisor. Same response. Although he did add that the email was worded improperly. He said all he could do was"attempt" to call the warehouse and see if he could cancel the order. But, I wouldn't be able to find out the result for another five days (not business days). I was appalled. I told him, this is one of the most basic things I should be able to do and instead I have to spend an inordinate amount of time on the phone in order to still not get this resolved????? Yes.

ONE HOUR AND SEVEN MINUTES LATER.... I'm stuck waiting for five days for an answer that I'm sure will saying something like... "Sorry, but we just want to stick it to you so... no, we can't cancel your order." To say I'm disappointed in Target is an understatement. I expect greater customer service from a huge company like Target. They failed to uphold their end of the deal (e.g. deliver their product as promised) and failed to uphold their claim in their email that said I could cancel if the item had not been shipped. And really, isn't EVERYTHING purchased online in a "shipping queue" was it is first purchased? It's just a way for them to screw people over.

So lesson of the day: Don't purchase anything from Target online unless you're ABSOLUTELY SURE you won't need to cancel the order for any reason, even if they are unable to actually deliver the product to you in time for whatever event you purchased it for!

Update: Minutes after posting this I got my email from Target. I'm so shocked by their response. Not.

October!

2011-09-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

As I'm sitting here in my living room, I have all the windows open and the crisp air is blowing through the window... I love it! Although I love the warm weather here in California, I also really love the fall. Most notably because of all the great celebrations that happen in the fall... our anniversary, my husband's birthday, my son's birthday, my birthday, and HALLOWEEN!

I've always loved halloween, maybe because growing up my family never really celebrated halloween (my parents are from outside the country and halloween was never a big deal), but since I have my own kid, I love halloween even more! I can't wait for my son to enjoy halloween this year... last year he was still a little too young to really understand what was going on.

I'd love to make him a little halloween meal like this. It's so cute and so simple!

Image via Another Lunch

I also think we'll make this banner for our fireplace together. I think he'd really enjoy it.

Image via Organize Your Stuff Now

I have no idea what to dress my son up for halloween this year! I just can't bring myself to buy one of those store bought costumes at this point!

I saw this the other day and just died with laughter imaging my little Tama in a costume like this. My husband totally vetoed it. I don't blame him entirely.

Branching Out...

2011-09-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

For quite some time, I have used this blog to just post samples of design work that I had done. However, I am thinking it would be fun to branch out this blog to include some of my favorite things which are design and/or kid related. Hopefully, you guys will find something fun and worthwhile for yourselves too!

For those of you who might not know, piano has always been a huge part of my life. I've been playing since I was three years old and have had opportunities to play in several symphonies along with other fun experiences. The piano is an intimate part of who I am. I can't quite put into words how therapeutic it is for me to sit at my piano and pound away at the keys. Currently, my piano still lives with my mother in another state since I am currently renting our house but eventually, when we buy a house, we'll finally be able to move the piano into my own house. I literally cannot wait for this day! I think about my "piano room" all the time, and here are some of the things I'd love to incorporate for my piano's room!

I love the idea of somehow incorporating my favorite piano sheet music to create something like this!

Image via Pinterest

Of course, one must always think about the acoustics of the room in which the piano is placed. When I was growing up, we had my piano in the living room which was also surrounded by window on the sides and on the ceiling... I LOVED it and I hope that someday when I get into the house of my dreams that I can have a similar room that I could put my piano into. This room below is gorgeous and those floors??? Be still my beating heart! I love this!

Image via House of Turquoise

One thing I've amassed over the years are lots and lots of music! And since my piano is ivory and not the traditional black, I think having one wall like this for my music would not only be convenient but help set apart my piano apart from everything else.

Image via Pinterest

Unlike most rooms, I would ideally like to keep the room totally free from other furniture. I play for me, not for anyone else really so I would want it minimally furnished like this.

Image via Pinterest

Now, if only I can manage to get my piano to where I live! I'd really like to start teaching my son how to play starting next year so hopefully I'll be able to get it sooner rather than later!

Alyssa + Michio

2011-09-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

A recent wedding invitation I did for my friend's brother.

Photos taken by Katrina Takahashi Photography.

Tama's Airplane Party!

2011-09-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Tama's airplane party was this past weekend and it was a BLAST! I knew that I wanted to keep it very small and was limited to the amount of chairs I had at home! Plus, since his 1st birthday was super huge with lots of guests, I wanted to keep it intimate and make it really all about Tama this year. I made airplane themed invitations and hand delivered them to just a handful of Tama's friends. Luckily, Tama has a bunch of little friends that were all born really close together and he has become really close to a lot of them.

I had gotten these cute little foam airplanes at Target off of their $1 bins and thought they would be the perfect addition to the table. I wrote each kid's name on the airplane and tied it to a balloon floating over their plate.

I also made some simple wraps for the water bottles for the kiddies. Since I couldn't find the mini- water bottles with the sports lids, I had to buy another pack of larger bottle waters and swapped the tops on them. It was so much easier for the kiddies to drink out of without having to worry about straws etc.

I used scrapbook paper from Michael's as the place mats for the kids.

The menu was super simple! Just some home made pizza and yummy cupcakes. I was a little concerned how the kids would do with sitting at a table all by themselves, but honestly, they were so amazing! They all sat there in COMPLETE SILENCE as they gobbled up their pizza! It definitely was a hit! In all the excitement, I forgot to get a picture of the pizza!

These yummy red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting was made using this recipe. It was super yummy! The cupcake toppers was made using the same atlas used for the pennant banners.

The birthday boy waiting for his friends to show up!

My husband found this great airplane at Wal-Mart of all places! I loved it! It was the perfect size for the room that I was having the party in and added just the right touch to the whole party! Plus, for less than $10, it was the perfect addition to the decor and the right price! It came with some really atrocious stickers (as if I would really want a plane that says AIR HOG on it!) so I used some acrylic paint I had at home and painted it in my party's colors.

The banners were made by my friend who had an old atlas that she used to make the pennant. Inspired by this site.

The map was something I had purchased a while back from this website and went great with the rest of the decor.

For party favors, I made airplane sugar cookies using this cookie cutter. I used a great recipe of my friends and managed to decorate it all on my own! It was my first time really making sugar cookies and decorating cookies. Signage inspired by this website.

I put the cookies in these little plastic bags and used the same scrapbook paper I used for the place mats and folded it over on the top and added the "thank you" sticker I made.

Each kid also got a mini-suitcase of goodies. I made these little luggage tags using the printables here and got them laminated at the local Office Max. I got the boxes from Michael's and each box had a little race car, ball, silly putty, crayons, and a slinky.

We only played one quick game called, "Pin the Propellor" (the r got cut off on this picture). I got the idea from this website. I used brown craft paper and painted the little plane. I made the propellors and had them printed in color on card stock. Each propellor had each kid's name and in the center said, "Tama is Two". It was a great little game. Since all the kids were 2 also, it was just the right game: short, easy, and fun.

The birthday boy, mama, and Elmo!

My best attempt at getting all the kids to stop running around long enough to snap a picture of them!

They had a blast and Tama was the happiest little kid all day!

Glimpses

2011-09-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

My son's two-year birthday party is coming up on Saturday and I am working to get all the final touches together. Here's the great banner that my friend made out of old atlas pages! I love this and will definitely be exploring more applications like comic book pages and old books.

My husband also found this great styrofoam airplane that I was able to paint in my color scheme and hung it from the ceiling. There's still lots to finish but I'm really excited to get everything done and in place for his party!

Tama's Birthday Party Invitations

2011-09-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

I love planning for Tama's birthday party. Although I made Tama's invitations over four months ago, I only got them finalized a couple weeks ago. If only I had more time to do stuff like this. Anyways, for Tama's upcoming birthday, we decided to just invite 5 or 6 boys that are all Tama's age from church. Since his 1st birthday was more for me and Bill, I thought I'd have this party more for him and his little buddies.

Since we're doing a little airplane theme, I made little boarding passes as the invitation. This was my inspiration for the invites.

I also added custom lining for the envelopes using this tutorial as a guideline.

I really wish I was skilled in calligraphy, but I did my best with the invitations using white graphite instead of ink.

I also added some custom stamps using a photo I took of Sacramento's riverwalk as the primary stamp.

Only one more week until his birthday! I hope he has fun.

Baby Shower Invitations

2011-08-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

One of my dearest friends is having a baby boy! These were the invitations that I made for her fun day!

Designs inspired by this site.

Shadow Painting Tutorial

2011-07-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

The other night, I posted a picture of the shadow paintings that our young women had done. Many of you asked if I would do a tutorial, so here it is! For those of you who are readers of our private blog, you can see the other pieces I've done here and here. I'm sure this isn't the only way you can do it, but I found that this was a really simple way for people to do the same thing.

This project really doesn't take very long. Maybe a couple hours for your first one. It took me about 40 minutes to do everything and I had frequent interruptions from my little Tama. :)

SUPPLIES NEEDED

- Canvas (any size) Michael's always has really affordable prices for their canvases. Very cheap! Especially with their weekly 40% off coupons.

- Acrylic paint: I've used black, but I've seen lots of cool ones using gray or other colors.

- Black carbon paper: Also available at Michael's

- Paintbrushes

- Photoshop: I used Photoshop Elements (PE) and the steps that follow are for this program.

-Your printed picture

-Masking tape

STEP 1: Prepare the photo

Open a new blank file by clicking on File -> New -> Blank File.

Select the size of your canvas. I had an 8x10.

Hunt around for the picture you'd like to use and open it in PE. I wanted to do one for my co-worker as a house-warming gift. This is her cute dog named Boulder. Tips for types of images you want to use:

Choose a simple photo. A photo with lots of people in it is not a good choice. Pick one that is relatively close up with a simple background.

Click and drag the photo onto your blank white file. Resize the image to fit onto the parameters, in my case, 8x10.

Enhance the photo, by adding a little more contrast in the picture. This generally makes the dark parts darker and the light parts lighter.

Play around with it for a bit and see what you like. Doesn't have to be dramatic... just a little boost.

Then go into Layer, and New Adjustment Layer, and select Threshold.

Click ok.

Play around with the threshold level to get the right balance of dark and light. Take particular note of the face. You want to make sure the eyes are relatively obvious.

Save your file as a .jpg.

Make sure you change the format as .jpg.

You'll get a pop up for jpeg options... pick whatever size you'd like. I went with 4.

This phase only took me about 4 minutes... but it may take you a little longer to get your image just right. I find that this is the trickiest part for me. If you need help, let me know.

Once you're done, print the picture out as an 8x10 but don't trim the picture to size.

STEP II: Tracing the image.
This phase is also very quick and easy. Get your picture and tape it down on two sides to the canvas using masking tape. This will help keep it in place.

Grab your black carbon paper and slide the carbon paper (dark black side down) in between the picture and canvas.

Use a sharp pencil to trace the image onto your canvas. Don't spend too much time on it. It really is just a guideline for you. Once you get that done, take off the carbon paper (save it for another time) and the picture. Keep the printed picture close.

STEP III: Paint!

Grab a thicker paintbrush and fill in the large dark parts of your painting with your acrylic paint. USE VERY LITTLE WATER, IF ANY! You want to keep the brush as dry as possible. Stay away from the lines/edges for now... just get your big black spots started. Make sure you always look on your picture before you paint... you'll be amazed at how easy it is to make a mistake at this point.

Then, grab a crappy brush. One that isn't in the best condition, a little frayed.

Use your crappy brush to do the edging by dabbing it on the edges rather that gliding the brush. As you can see, it add some great texture to your painting. The rougher the edges, the better it looks. Don't be scared. :) Also, keep in mind that while you're doing the painting, it will look weird! Don't be discouraged!

For the more defined areas, grab a really tiny brush to get the detail right on the face. DO YOUR EYES ABSOLUTELY LAST! Don't forget to stay away from using water! By the time you get to the eyes, you'll be more comfortable with what you're doing and the eyes are the most important part.

Here's how it looks after I filled in all the parts! You'll notice that I did the right eye as little differently than the picture. Take liberties as you feel comfortable. I wanted the eye to be more obvious than my computer generated image.

Once your canvas dries (it should be really fast if you didn't use a lot of water), take a thick brush and paint the sides of your canvas. Take care to only paint the sides where the black is supposed to continue on.

Wrap it up and give it to a friend!

If you have any difficulties, let me know! :) Good luck!

Young Women Theme

2011-07-18T22:34:00.000-07:00

I've been working on decorating our young women's room and I really wanted to make up a more modern version of the young women's theme. I prowled online but couldn't really find anything I loved so I made this one. If you're interested in using this for your own private purposes, just click on the image and you can save the original file. This file is formatted as a 16x20 print.

Cousins Baptism

2011-07-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

One my friend's asked if I could help her with her son's baptism invitation. I taught her son when he was first in sunbeams class in my church. I can't believe he's already 8! Time has flown by so quickly! Anyways, she told me that there are four cousins that are all about the same age so they decided to all wait until they could get baptized together! What a fantastic idea! What a great way to share and celebrate one of your most special days!

Graduation Party Invitation

2011-07-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous Kelsie knew exactly what she wanted her grad party invitation to look like! She asked it to have a masquerade theme and wanted gold and black to be prominent. This was a fun invitation to do! I love this picture of her too!

David of LauLau Photography took this fantastic picture of her!

Youth Conference Poster

2011-06-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

This year for my church's youth conference, we are having a dance festival where all the youth will be performing various dances! Here is the poster that will be going up soon! They wanted to incorporate little things from the various dances that will be performed... the plumeria is for the tongan number, the feather for the salsa, the couple is doing the waltz, the stars are representative of the hmong candle dance and the patriotic number that will be performed.

Lau Lau Photography Ad

2011-05-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

David is one of our dearest friends out in Hawai'i! You might recall that I also did his logo way back when I was just starting to do these projects. Well, he was in need of a black and white ad for some promotion he's doing for his photography business, and I was only too happy to do it for him. David is super talented and for all of you out there in Hawai'i, you should totally book him for anything you might need! Check out his website here!

Sweatshirt Design

2011-04-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am loving this fun design! Each year, my church has a girls camp for our youth that is always super fun. This year, our camp's theme is "Celebrate Life" which is using the game of Life as a reference. Our youth decided to name themselves "the Students" as our ward theme. I'm loving the potential for this... the nerdy glasses... suspenders... it'll be so much fun!

Camp Fundraiser

2011-03-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

I needed to design a flyer for our church's camp fundraiser for our youth, but wanted it to be just black and white for easy printing. I thought this was a fun way to make a big impact without having to use a color printer.

Montgomery & Wetenkamp

2011-03-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

One of our good friends is starting a new law firm! We are super excited for their newest adventure and wish them the best of luck! Here's a couple logos I've been working on for them.

Quinceañera

2011-03-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

This mom is planning a super fun "winter wonderland" themed birthday party for her lovely daughter. What a unique idea! :) Happy birthday Leslie!

Amanda + Jared

2010-12-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world is getting married to her eternal companion! I am SOOOOO happy and excited for her and was only too happy to help with their wedding announcement! Can't wait for your wedding day!

Tama's Dol | First Birthday Party!

2010-09-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we celebrated our Tama's 1st birthday with a super fun party!

I was inspired by STRIPES! Many hanboks (traditional Korean costumes) have stripes on the arms and I thought it would be a fun way to do lots of color!

Here's the invitation that I created for Tama's birthday party. TinyPrints had a similar invitation but I wanted to adjust the colors to match the colors I had selected.

Professional images taken by Angella Dawn Photography!

For the dol table, I decided to go with a dessert and candy bar!

Needless to say, the children LOVED it!

Cupcakes by Cupcake Craving

My mother-in-law made a rainbow cake and had an edible image placed on top of the cake.

Lollipops were from Oriental Trading.

Rainbow jello. Time consuming, but beautiful!

I am also half Brazilian and made my favorite Brazilian dessert which are brigadeiros de coco. So delicious!!! It is made up of sweet condensed milk, coconut, and chocolate!

Happy birthday banner from Draw Pilgrim.

Lanterns from Target.

Candles from Target.

For the photo wall, I decided to print my favorite pictures of Tama for every week for the first year of his life. This project was much more emotional for me than I expected. When they say, "time flies!", it really does fly by way too quickly. For the banner, I used the template from the Happy Birthday banner and plugged in "52 Weeks".

These were my shoes that I wore at my dol back when I lived in Korea. I had to scrub them for a good hour to get them to be white again!

We got Tama's hanbok from a friend in Korea. We loved the vibrant colors!

I love this closeup of Tama! He's too cute!

I made these pennant banners out of construction paper, raffia, and double sided tape. Out of all the hand made projects, this one took the most time to do by far! But, it was ultra cheap, high impact, and relatively easy to do. It just took lots of my time. I tried to do a little bit every night after Tama went to bed. The alternative would have been to use fabric, but I didn't want to pay for fabric, cut it, and then find a sewing machine to borrow in order to sew it together... so I went with construction paper! I was very happy with the result.

For party favors, guest got a swirl pop and the kids also had these mini-takeout boxes which I got from World Market that they were able to fill with their favorite treats before they left.

I apologize in advance for this horrible picture. I took this picture with our really crummy camera. This setup was right next to the door for people to grab party favors on their way out. The picture above the lollipops is an image of Tama holding the same lollipop.

At a Korean 1st birthday, an event called the doljabi occurs. The baby is placed in front of several items and the crowd urges the baby to select the item that they have bid on. At our party, we gave away a iHome alarm clock for ipods. For the doljabi board, I decided to design my own. I then had it printed at Costco to poster size. It was less than $20 to have a big poster printed and the quality was top notch!

Here's what the final setup looked like. (Picture taken with my horrible camera!) Buckets were from Target. I also made the raffle tickets too.

For the doljabi, Tama picked rice, which mean he'll have prosperity in his life. I was really surprised that he went with the rice because he's not really a fan of rice. I think he was just really hungry!

Of course, immediately after the rice, he went for his favorite book, I am the King. Tama LOVES this book. I thought for sure he'd go for that one. He decided to take a few minutes to look through the pages.

Another prize we gave away was a Target giftcard for completing a crossword puzzle that I came up with that was all about Tama. Table runners were cut out of a plastic tablecloth that I had found at Target.

Here's a couple of my favorite pictures of the kids at the party! It was so fun to see them having such a blast!

The big cake moment! Tama was a little unsure of the whole cake and candles, people singing, and all the kids crowding him however as soon as I walked away with the cake, Tama totally started crying. It was too cute.

We also had a secondary baby cake just his size. He still had tears on his face but he quickly got over it as soon as he tasted the yummy cream cheese frosting!

Yummy!

He is so happy right here! Totally focused!

Coming up for air.

Going back to grabbing fistfuls of cake!

I love the green booger of frosting! Too cute!

And then, the unthinkable happened, Tama dropped his cake on the floor.

He was devastated!

But playing in the sink quickly made the tears go away! He had so much fun playing in the sink!

Here's me and Tama after his "bath".

Our little family plus Bill's mom.

Princess Grace Photography

2010-06-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

One of my dearest friends asked if I would make her some business cards for her photography business and I was only too happy to be able to make them for her! :) We wanted the emphasis to be on her name as it is most unique! Check her out here: HERE

Baby Rosaleen

2010-04-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

Baby announcements for little Rosaleen! So cute she is!

Photography by Maka

2010-03-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

A fun project for my friend Maka's photography business. I love how this logo came out... it's so clean and fresh! He's super talented... check him out here.

Baby Shower Invites

2010-02-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

Katrina is one of the most genuine people I've ever met. She is such an amazing example to me. I hope I can be as good of a mom to my kids as I know she is with her three - soon to be four - kids!

Baby David

2010-02-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Baby announcements for my co-worker Laura! He looks so angelic in these pictures! Congrats Laura! He sure is a handsome looking boy!

Peace of Life Chiropractic

2010-01-25T20:17:00.001-08:00

A logo project for Peace of Life Chiropractic, a fantastic husband and wife team! Best of luck to them in their newest business endeavor!

Hiatus

2010-01-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I had a baby a few months ago and with all the demands that come with being a working mom, time has been something that seems to quickly disappearing. As such, I will be taking a hiatus for a little while from design work in order to spend more time with my son. I have a few more projects that I have already committed to but I will not be taking any additional projects for a little while. Thank you to all those who have supported me and referred me to friends! I hope to get back to designing in a couple months.

Thanks!

Beka

Jessica & Stephen

2010-01-17T01:03:00.001-08:00

I served with Stephen's mom in the stake YW's presidency. His mom is so amazing! Congrats to the whole family!

This is an outake of Jessica & Stephen's wedding invitation. However, I loved it so much I decided to post it anyways. I love weddings... so much fun!

Front and back of the invite.

Oops! I failed to mention that this ultra-cool photo was taken by Katrina Takahashi Photography!

Angella Dawn Photoraphy

2010-01-09T23:11:00.001-08:00

A new logo for my sweet friend's newest endeavor! Photography!

She's super talented, has a great eye for capturing kids and I'm so excited to see more of her work Check her out here.

Here's one we didn't end up going with but I loved it also. :)

My family...

2009-12-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

This is our Christmas card this year... love these pictures taken by Sarah Blair Photography.

The Bartolome's

2009-12-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

So much fun working with this family! Their kids are so cute!

The Hoculi's

2009-12-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

What a great looking family!

Pictures taken by Lau Lau Photography!

Jo's 21st

2009-12-06T10:27:00.001-08:00

A project for family... :) This looks like it's going to be one happening party!

The Dunaway's

2009-12-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

Photos by Lau Lau Photography

The Kauwe's

2009-12-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

BSA Anniversaries

2009-12-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

This is actually an old project but I'm just updating this blog with projects that I've completed.

Sarah Blair Photography

2009-11-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

Sarah is a super talented family photographer! I got a chance to work on a new logo for her! So much fun! I love how the flower kind of reminds you of a camera lens. For those interested in checking out her work, go to her website and blog.

Another out take. :)

Katrina Takahashi Photography

2009-11-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

Potential logos for the amazing and beautiful Katrina Takahashi.

Lennon's Birthday

2009-11-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

One year birthday party invitations for an adorable little girl. Sounds like a super fun birthday party! Photo taken by the awesome David Lau.

Matching Thank You Cards!

Beautiful Nadya

2009-11-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm a mother, I have a greater appreciation for the precious smiles you get from our little ones. Nadya sure has a gorgeous smile! Photo was taken by her father, the ever talented Ivan Makarov.

Baby Taitama

2009-10-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

Our son's baby announcement! I couldn't decide which picture to use for quite a while but ended up going with the beach shot. :)

Misti & Richard

2009-10-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

I love weddings! So much fun!

Baby Levi

2009-09-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

His eyes are just so beautiful! What a handsome fella! I'm so glad I got to do his baby announcements!

Kaia's Birthday

2009-09-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Isn't she so freaking adorable! I love this picture! Hope you have a super fun birthday Kaia! Hope I get to meet you soon!

Baby J

2009-08-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

I love his facial expression! Congrats to the proud parents!

Baby Shower Invitations

2009-08-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Jenn is expecting a baby boy about two months after me and it has been so much fun to have a friend to talk and ask questions to as we have gone through this pregnancy together. I'm so excited for her!!!! Hopefully I'll be able to make it to her shower as it's the weekend after my due date!

Twins

2009-07-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Aren't twins just the cutest! Congrats to the happy parents!

Photography done by the ever-so-talented Ivan Makarov.

Baby Shower Invitations

2009-06-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hank's Birthday Party

2009-04-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

My stepfather's birthday is coming up next month and my mom is throwing a surprise party for him. Here's the invite for the get-together. Since I'm pretty sure he never goes online, let alone to my design blog, I thought it was safe to post online. :)

Ryan McIlvain

2009-04-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Ryan for his Masters also! Ryan was also lucky enough to get the Stegner Fellowship at Stanford! Muy impressivo!

Robert Jenson

2009-04-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year... graduation! So much fun and so exciting! Congrats to Robert in getting his masters degree! Such a great accomplishment!

Hmong Women's Heritage Association

2009-03-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to work with a wonderful non-profit organization called Hmong Women's Heritage Association to create a logo. They provide great services for Hmong families! It was a fun project for sure. :)

Ivan Makarov Photography Logo

2009-03-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ivan and his wife are good friends of mine from grad school and they have been so much fun to work with the past couple years. It's funny because I think Ivan and I have kind of both done the same thing... he's an accountant in his "real" life but found a passion with photography and taught himself along the way! He has really developed this talent and takes gorgeous pictures! Check his new website here: Ivan Makarov Photography

Logan Dean

2009-03-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

What a fun couple to work for! Isn't their baby boy so cute? Congrats you guys!

Brittany & Russell

2009-02-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

Weddings are so much fun! Starting a new life together!

Congrats to Brittany and Russell as they embark on their newest adventure!

Wedding Announcements

2009-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's the day you've been waiting for! The day you marry your best friend! Whether you know exactly what you want, or don't have a clue, I can help design for you the perfect announcement!

HOW IT WORKS

We meet together to discuss exactly what you're looking for and establish a deadline for when you need your designs by.
I'll put together several options for you to look at and send them to you via email.
You will pick one design that you love, along with any suggestions for modifications that you would like.
I'll finalize the design, send them off to print at your local photo center (e.g. Costco or Wal-Mart) and then you can pick them up at your earliest convenience!

Inserts are available at an additional cost.

Note: Cost of printing is paid by the customer. Prices depend on the location where they are printed. For example, Costco prices are as follows: 4x6 - 0.17 ea, 5x7 - 0.39 ea, 8x8 - 1.49 ea.

Kaia Noelani

2008-12-31T19:01:00.000-08:00

My good friend Lynsey from my college days had a beautiful baby girl about 3 months ago and I had the privilege to do her baby announcement. Isn't she so cute?

Sione Pita

2008-12-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

Isn't he so darling? I can't wait to meet him next week! :)

Lau Lau Photography

2008-12-13T21:43:00.001-08:00

Looking back, I realized I never posted the logo I recently did for my good friend David! David is getting back into photography and wanted to make it official with a logo. He honored me by asking me to help him. David had a really specific idea in mind: He wanted to do a play on his last name by using the image of a lau lau. This is our end result. Also, check out his website: Lau Lau Photography

The McGougan's

2008-12-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

Hands down, one of my favorite families in the world. Chris is one of Bill's good friends from the college years and they now live in the Bay Area. When we first moved to Sacramento, they were the only friends we had... they were so awesome, always driving us around to see all the cool places in the city and for teaching us never to say "San Fran". :)

Larissa & Ignacio

2008-12-07T23:21:00.001-08:00

I had so much fun doing these wedding announcements! Although these weren't the ones they ultimately picked, it was my favorite to do. :) Best of luck to Larissa and Ignacio!

The Makarov's

2008-12-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

Ivan is so super talented! Great pictures make my life so much easier! Becca and Ivan are good friends from grad school who now live in the bay area... I love this picture of their family!

The Johnsrud's

2008-11-30T15:57:00.000-08:00

Melissa is probably the longest friend I have had in my life and I just loved being able to do her Christmas card for her adorable family! I hope you liked them!

These were inspired by this site.

Joree & Kody

2008-11-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun helping my friend Jamie's little sister Joree with her wedding announcement! Congratulations Joree! Best of luck with your upcoming wedding!

Fall Party Potluck

2008-11-02T00:37:00.000-07:00

Alyssa Cadence Hand

2008-10-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

These designs were inspired by this site.

Piano Recital

2008-10-17T17:43:00.001-07:00

Piano Recital Invitations

Custom Announcements

2008-10-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!!!! Do you have exciting news that you'd like to share with all of your friends and family? Let me make your announcements for you! Whether you know exactly what you want, or don't have a clue, I can help design for you the perfect announcement!

HOW IT WORKS

We meet together to discuss exactly what you're looking for and establish a deadline for when you need your designs by.
I'll put together several options for you to look at and send them to you via email.
You will pick one design that you love, along with any suggestions for modifications that you would like.
I'll finalize the design, send them off to print at your local photo center (e.g. Costco or Wal-Mart) and then you can pick them up at your earliest convenience!

Note: Cost of printing is paid by the customer. Prices depend on the location where they are printed. For example, Costco prices are as follows: 4x6 - 0.17 ea, 5x7 - 0.39 ea, 8x8 - 1.49 ea.

Baby Announcements
(Here's some examples of the variety you can get from just one picture)

Graduation Announcements

Other Design Projects

2008-10-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Do you have something else in mind that I haven't already addressed? If so, feel free to contact me at paixaodesign@gmail.com to discuss the possibilities. Here's a couple examples of some different projects that I've done.

My friend's son ran for office secretary in his elementary school and I made up these posters for him to pass out at school.

For Christmas last year, our family was curious as to what gifts we wanted. So we made these catalogs for our families to help them in their gift-buying endeavors.

Open house flyer for my church.

For my mother-in-law for her birthday.

T-Shirt Designs

2008-10-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of having boring t-shirt designs for your events? I can help!

HOW IT WORKS

We meet together to discuss exactly what you're looking for and establish a deadline for when you need your designs by.
I'll put together several options for you to look at and send them to you via email.
You will pick one design that you love, along with any suggestions for modifications that you would like.
I'll finalize the design and send to you a high-quality version of your design.

Note: Customers are responsible to find their own screen printer for the printing of their shirts. I will make necessary adjustments for any preferences by your screen printer.

Logos

2008-10-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Need a new logo for your company or organization? Let me help you!

HOW IT WORKS

We meet together to discuss exactly what you're looking for and establish a deadline for when you need your designs by.
I'll put together several options for you to look at and send them to you via email.
You will pick one logo that you love, along with any suggestions for modifications that you would like.
I'll finalize the logo and send back to you a high-quality version of the logo to use as you choose.

Note: Price is for one logo. If you would like a more than one logo for your organization, pricing can be discussed.

Christmas Cards

2008-10-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Christmas is the only time of year that you get a chance to tell people how you're doing! Do you notice how everyone always seems to have the same boring template for their photo cards? Impress your friends and family this year with a custom Christmas card!

HOW IT WORKS

Pay through paypal or contact me for alternative payment methods.
We meet together to discuss exactly what you're looking for and establish a deadline for when you need your designs by.
Send over any pictures that you would like to use.
I'll put together several options for you to look at and send them to you via email.
You will pick one design that you love, along with any suggestions for modifications that you would like.
I'll finalize the design, send them off to print at your local photo center (e.g. Costco or Wal-Mart) and then you can pick them up at your earliest convenience!

Note: Cost of printing is paid by the customer. Prices depend on the location where they are printed. For example, Costco prices are as follows: 4x6 - 0.17 ea, 5x7 - 0.39 ea, 8x8 - 1.49 ea.

Custom Invitations

2008-10-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows that the key to getting people excited for your super awesome event is to have a great invitation! Whether you're celebrating a birthday, the birth of a child, getting married, or just having a party, a custom invitation is just the thing you need to get people excited to come to your get together!

HOW IT WORKS

We meet together to discuss exactly what you're looking for and establish a deadline for when you need your designs by.
I'll put together several options for you to look at and send them to you via email.
You will pick one design that you love, along with any suggestions for modifications that you would like.
I'll finalize the design, send them off to print at your local photo center (e.g. Costco or Wal-Mart) and then you can pick them up at your earliest convenience!

Note: Cost of printing is paid by the customer. Prices depend on the location where they are printed. For example, Costco prices are as follows: 4x6 - 0.17 ea, 5x7 - 0.39 ea, 8x8 - 1.49 ea.

Birthday Party Invitations

Baby Shower Invitations

Miscellaneous Events

Scrapbook Pages

2008-10-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Scrapbooking is a wonderful way to memorialize the wonderful moments in life. However, sometimes, we're too busy living our lives to stop and document it! That's where I come in. I have been doing digital scrapbooking for almost five years and can do pretty much anything you'd like. If you already have a concept in mind for some pictures, or if you'd like to put together a picture book for a special someone, I can design all the pages for you and all you have to do is pick them up at your local photo center. Here's a sample of some of my personal scrapbook pages. Please contact me directly at paixaodesign@gmail.com for any questions you may have.