​I did my first pop-up of the season this weekend in beautiful downtown Palm Springs hosted by Interstellar Comic Books & Gifts. In the last year, I’ve only done a total of three pop ups and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every single one of them because of the connections and friendships I’ve made.
The first two times I participated in an event I was selling Lipsense and while I’m still a Lipsense distributor, I put that on the back burner to focus on the stuff that makes my heart sing; creating unique, colorful hand lettered gifts and greeting cards featuring puns and feel-good phrases in English, Spanish AND Spanglish.
Below is a short compilation of my Instagram stories that I shared the night before the event as I practiced setting up my display. Let me know what you think!

Aside from doing pop ups around town, I’ve also decided to host hand lettering workshops in my home and in the homes or business locations of friends and family.
So, if you’re in the Coachella Valley and you’re interested in hosting a lettering workshop or pop-up shop, please send me a note! I’d love the opportunity to co-create an event that is fun for all.

Just sharing a mini doodle demo to ensure you have lots of friendly ghosts greeting you this Halloween. 🎃 Have lots of fun and be safe today!

For more drawing and lettering tips, watch my Instagram stories at @PaisleyInParis

Halloween always inspires me, in so many ways. There’s LOTS of cute artwork out there already, but you know what? No one can do it the way YOU can.

Inspiration behind the illustration
Take this piece for instance. Sugar skulls have become more and more popular in recent years as America has embraced the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 2nd.

I began by looking at a list of prompts for something to draw and was inspired by the word “skull”. I started by drawing the frame and thought I’d draw a framed "photo" of a skull. Then I asked myself "what would a fancy guy wear for a picture?” then “school pictures” came to mind which automatically made me think of cool high school kids. A few minutes prior to drawing, I had been browsing Instagram and came across a video clip of Post Malone wearing a grill on his teeth. Haha! I thought “Hey, Malone is young(ish), popular and cool. Let’s give this little guy a gold grill too for his (and then it popped in my head) SKULL PICTURES” - gasp! I felt so clever, ‘cause you know what? I love puns! I felt the vibe of inspiration run through me and began to draw happily ever after.

What makes your artwork unique 
My point is, that it’s these personal experiences that add a touch of uniqueness to your artwork and creativity. Next time you’re doubting your ability to reinvent the wheel, think again. You CAN do it and you can totally infuse your style into it as long as you tap into your experience and let the thoughts flow.

So, just curious now... what would you wear on picture day in the afterlife? Leave a comment below to let me know.

As for me, I’d wear my LipSense for sure; probably draw flowers on my head with it ‘cause I’d have no lips, but that’s ok. Whatever makes a girl feel pretty, right? 😁

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Spent hours on the couch today drawing. It's, like, the only positive spin on staying home with the flu - ha!

On that note, here's a 17 second video of one of the pieces I created today. I liked the idea of drawing a moon with a witch hat, but I wasn't liking how dark and spooky it was turning out. You know I'm all about bright and happy artwork, so I redrew the moon with a bigger smile and changed the color of the sky to an untraditional color - peach! Never in a thousand years had I thought about drawing a peach sky before. But that's the beauty of art. Through trial and error, a bit of experimentation and stepping out of the traditional, you will find yourself with results that will delight you!

Also, I must add, I really like the way her hat turned out! I haven't yet mastered the art of adding textures and shadows to my work, so I do it sparingly.

​Baby steps, my friend. Baby steps. 

Is there anything you've been experimenting with in your creative journey lately? Please share in the comments below!

Also, if you are new to my website and would like to see more of my artwork, visit my Instagram page and say "hello" – I love making new friends. =]

In this digital era of curated images and selective story-telling through our social media feeds, it has become more and more important to let our personal quirks show through as a means to differentiate ourselves from the rest. All of a sudden we have all gone from being just people or business owners to “being” a brand.
But how do you become a successful brand? There are many things that lead to success, but one the biggest wins is to be memorable. How do you do that? Well, I’ll give you 3 quick tips to kick-start your imagination and inspire you to come up with other ways that are unique to you and your brand.

3 Ways to be More Memorable

1. Studies have shown that people always remember the way you make them feel. Remember this and find a way to spread good vibes that line up with your brand, products and services. Ensure that every interaction people have with you and your products leaves them with feelings of wellness, accomplishment (a solution to their problem) and positivity. This will be your biggest win of all!
2. We’ve all heard the term “your vibe attracts your tribe” and that is absolutely 100% true! So ask yourself, what kind of vibe are you putting out there? Do you swear, do you like dogs, are you creative, do you travel or run marathons? Share your passions; the more people connect with you on different levels, the more they will remember you.
3. Stay true to yourself. It is through authenticity that true connections are created. Forget the ol’ “fake it till you make it” – the moment you appear to be fake, you will make people cringe and lose their interest. Don’t be like the step-dad in the movie Liar Liar. Remember how lame he was at doing “The Claw” as he tried to win over the little boy’s heart and trust? All he got was an eye roll, because “The Claw” was authentic to Jim Carey’s character. It was an animated, fun and exciting playtime for father and son, but when the wannabe step dad tried it, the lack of authenticity was so obvious it could have put the boy to sleep.
4. BONUS TIP: For God’s sake, don’t have to tell people each time you share something “This is me being real…this is me being authentic and vulnerable.” If you point it out constantly people will begin to wonder why you have the need to clarify. Is it because you weren’t being real in the past?

Now tell me, do your business cards match your style? Does your design or lettering style match your personal vibe or are you imitating others? Does the work you’re putting out match the work you want to attract? Are you doing a good job interpreting the vision of the people you are doing lettering/designing commissions for while infusing it with your own creative vibe?

These are topics I can dive into a little deeper in the coming weeks, but for now, I want to show you a little something I created a few days ago.

It's my latest business card template (shown above), which I created for color-loving hair professionals. The hand lettered design and bright colors are attention grabbing while the tad bit of humor are sure to bring a ready to a smile and spike their interest. Of course not all hair stylists will “vibe” with this card, but for those that do and combine it with a memorable interaction you bet people will want to hold on to it as a tiny little keepsake in remembrance of said interaction. Now assuming you were a hair dresser with a creative business card and tag line along with your stylish sense of fashion, your unique vibe that makes people feel beautiful even BEFORE they sit on your chair – it’s all an expression of creativity and authenticity. And we all know creativity is a lifestyle not just hair style, right?

In this same way, I invite you to look at the way you interact with your tribe and customers. What about your business cards, do they match your vibe/style? It reality, business cards are not that big of a deal anymore being that we can reach thousands more people through social media, but for those that do still use business cards I’m sure you’ll agree that there’s something magical about being at a networking event and seeing people’s face light up when they see your card and ask more questions about what you do or who designed them. Business cards have the power to keep the conversation going and when done well, they add to the “being memorable” factor which may result in new friendships, connections, referrals and hopefully more business.
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Thanks for spending time with me today. Now, I know this has been a one sided conversation so I’d love it if you share a bit of insight with me so that I can finetune the way I design my business card templates. If you have a minute, I’d appreciate you answering the questions below. 

Thanks a bunch! Till next time.
Xoxo, Dio 

I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to filing my taxes. Mostly because I'm a full-time employee with a side gig so at the end of the year I have a lot receipts to add up to enter all my deductions. I used to be HORRIBLE at keeping organized but along the years I've discovered ways to make the process a lot less painful, thanks to technology. If you're not a numbers person and are having a hard time like I did, here are a few tips to help you stay on track. 

1. Use one credit card or bank card for all your business transactions. 
   I didn't do this at first. I get 1.5% back on my personal credit card, so I used to charge a lot of business expenses to it in order to get cash back. But keeping a separate business bank account and only using your banks debit/credit card for all of your business transactions makes the process a lot easier. You'll have access to all of your expenses in one place
2. Use the QuickBooks Self Employed app
   This has been a Godsend for me! It's linked to my business account and after every transaction I get a notification to review the transaction on the app. When reviewing, it gives me the option to categorize that transaction as: income, software, transaction processing fees, etc. The best part, I can "work" during my downtime. I often review them while I'm in bed at the end of the day, or in the afternoons while waiting for the barista to hand me my mid-day latte, or even at the dealership while my car is being serviced. It's sooo insanely easy and it doesn't even feel like work. 
3. Use a mile tracker
   I don't mean to sound like an ad for QuickBooks Self Employed (trust me, this isn't a paid advertisement) but I like that it has a feature that tracks your miles. I actually turned off the feature because I don't travel much for my lettering side gig. I do it all from the comfort of my own couch, so rather than having the app alert me to review each trip, I turned off the feature on the app and I created a Google spread sheet instead. I'll make sure to share my template on here shortly...after I finish my taxes of course! Cause it's April 14 and that's what I'm supposed to be working on today, instead of blogging. Yikes! 
4. Use spreadsheets
   If you don't want to invest in QuickBooks, I strongly recommend using a Google spreadsheet to keep track of all your income and expenses. You really don't need anything fancy, just a place to list and ad. The only reason why gravitated towards QB is because of the convenience. I know I'm not disciplined enough to enter every transaction into my spreadsheet on my own. However, you could set a reminder on your phone every couple of days and schedule time to enter your transactions. In a perfect world, that would totally work. In MY world, I'd be all "yeah, but let me check my Instagram first" and I'd find myself crying on April 15th once again lamenting the fact that I ignored all those reminders. But not you, of course. You are much more mature and disciplined than me! ;-)
5. Keep all your receipts in a binder
   I keep my binder at work 'cause that's where I"m at all day. If my receipt is 8.5x11 in size, I just use my 3-hole punch to puncture the receipt and file it in my binder. For smaller receipts, I use scrap paper from the office, like old proofs or extra copies that should be thrown into the recycle bin. I punch holes in them and keep them in my binder and when I get a new receipt like the ones from all pen purchases at Michael's Arts & Crafts store, I just tape the receipt onto the scrap paper. 

Hope this helps! Do you have any super duper tax time strategies for staying organized? IF so, let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear about it.