Add a little cuteness and an expression of your gratitude to your packages by adding these cute and inexpensive thermal printed shipping stickers. Please note they printed on my Rollo Thermal Printer*, which means the quality is a little rough...a bit pixelated on the edges, but they still look great.

• Stickers Measure 2.25x1.25 inches
• Available in Pink and White
• Hand lettered artwork by me, Dio Perez, ©2020 copyright
• Orders ship within 2 business days from Palm Springs, California

If there are any expressions you would like to have printed on a sticker, please let me know!

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. 

Hope you're having a great week so far. As for me, I'm drowning in numbers and paperwork at the moment and I'm telling you, save yourself - don't be like me! 

I totally dropped the ball this past year and didn't keep up with my bookkeeping. It's April 13th now and guess what? I haven't filed my taxes yet - yikes!

So in the middle of reviewing my paperwork in preparation to file my taxes, guess what I did? I took some time to reflect and make a short list of things you can do to prevent being in my shoes next year come tax time again.

Keeping your creative business tax-ready in 4 easy steps

1. Schedule some time on a daily or weekly basis to update your records and keep track of all your income and expenses. Get in the habit of doing it often so that you find yourself at the end of the year looking back, wishing you did.
   
   
2. If you are a part-time designer, just getting started in your stationery venture, you don't need to invest in any fancy software. A simple spreadsheet will do.
   To log your expenses, include a column to track the date, vendor, amount, description and category for each transaction. For income, include columns to record the date, amount, client name, description and payment method.
   If you have a tax preparer or accountant, they are way more qualified than I am to advice and suggest a method that will work best for you and your business, so please follow their advice in this area before mine. I used Quickbooks when I was designing full-time out of my home-based wedding stationery studio. Nowadays, I hear a lot of good things about Freshbooks too.
   
   
3. Always use ONE credit card for ALL of your business transactions. This way, if you ever lose a receipt, there will also be a record of your all your transactions on your monthly credit card statement. 
   
   
4. Create email folders each year to file that year's income and another for that year's expenses. Every time you receive an email receipt for an expense, or a payment notification for a PayPal transaction (cha-ching!), move that email into the corresponding folder so that you may record the transaction in your spreadsheet or bookkeeping software at a later date.

And there you have it. It's so simple, but for the same reason that it's such a simple task, it's easy to set aside when your focus is on keeping your customers happy. But you know what? You gotta keep the IRS happy too.

Well, duty calls...gotta get back to those numbers and spread sheets, but I'll be back next week with a few stationery design tips so stay tuned! I'll also be back in the "Training Field" with my Bootcamp students, ready to answer your questions and release a couple of new lessons - yay! 

Have a great week. 

Your Design Coach,
Dio Perez

Today I want to talk about a minor mistake I made when I first started my journey as a stationery designer. 

I had this client I met through a local wedding mixer. She was an event planner who hired me to design her wedding invitations.

"Sweet!" I thought, knowing that if I did a great job on her wedding stationery she'd refer me to her clients, so I was very excited to begin on this particular project.

Her budget was $200 and she only needed 12 invitations. Yep, 12. She was was having a destination wedding in Ireland inviting only a few family members and close friends. She bought silk boxes before she hired me which were to enclose the invitations I would design. 

I had a high quality laser printer which I used to print her invitations, allowing us to put most of the budget toward design, details and manual labor assembling layers of beautiful paper to create her one-of-a-kind stationery set. 

Everything was perfect, except for one small detail. She specified she wanted brown metallic reply envelopes on which I had to print her mailing address. Since black ink from my laser printer wouldn't show on the brown envelopes, I printed the address on gold foil address labels and presented her with a proof. She LOVED everything in the mockups except for the envelopes. And I don't blame her...everything was beautiful except for that fancy foil "sticker" with her mailing address. She didn't approve the stationery for production and requested that the envelopes be printed in gold ink.

"The stickers are not acceptable" she said.

So I did as she requested and sent the envelopes to the print shop. They came back looking great with gold ink and a thermography finish. Her stationery set was now perfect and I couldn't wait to meet up with her so she could approve the entire ensemble for production. 

The day came and I happily presented the mockups along with the price list. I was so used to having happy customers all the time, that I felt myself turn pale when she exclaimed "I am NOT going to pay $70 for 12 envelopes!!!"

Aaack! I felt like someone punched me in my stomach. I just took a deep breath and I explained that she had already declined to approve the previous option and in order to give her the gold ink she requested, the envelopes HAD to go to the print shop, which came along with print shop pricing. She still refused to approve the ensemble so we ended up switching to pearlized ivory envelopes which I ran through my laser printer and printed with brown ink. 

I had a knot in my stomach for a week. Thing is, I included the reply envelopes on the estimate AT COST. I wasn't making any money on them, AND I had already paid the $70 for the envelopes and thermography printing. Now I had to eat that cost, which was really upsetting considering that was almost 50% of her original budget. 

My mistake was that I focused so much on giving her exactly what she wanted that I proceeded to follow her instructions without further discussing the consequences of her request. A mistake I never made again because it helped me develop a process supported by a set of documents that I used on each and every project thereafter.

In the end, she was BEYOND satisfied with her stationery, and I was happy that she was happy, but I was also pretty darn disappointed in myself for not having known better. 

And you know what? This was just ONE of the many mistakes I made at the beginning of my journey. But I must say, a $70 mistake is NOTHING compared to my $800 printer mistake. But I'll tell you about that one another time. I just know that both mistakes could have been avoided if I had some sort of mentor at the time, someone to introduce me to the tricks of the trade and guide me through the process. Instead, I had to discover things for my own, which is okay, but not as smooth of a ride as it could have been.

You on the other hand, HAVE that opportunity today. Along with the opportunity to save $20 on Stationery Boot Camp when you use your Early Bird coupon code: SBCFORLIFE2016 
Coupon expires today (Saturday, March 19, 2016) at 11:59 p.m.

If you're still on the fence, I'm hoping the following questions will help you decide one way or the other. 

• Do I have about 2 years worth of time and patience to discover how to run a successful stationery business on my own?
• Is an investment of $169 going to affect my finances as the hundreds of dollars I might lose in the future by opting to learn the business on my own, by trial and error?
• Do I want to have access to an experienced designer who will answer my questions relating to stationery design and production? 
  
  

As you go through your journey, you will inevitably make mistakes too. It's part of the process. But it does help to embark on a journey with some insight and tools that will ensure a successful arrival to your destination. 

I leave you with these words from one of my students who enrolled last summer:

Thank you Kimberly for this wonderful testimonial, and a big thank you to those who have enrolled this week and are already devouring the content. I will be answering your questions soon and uploading those video tutorials I promised. 

And thank you, my blog readers and email subscribers, for allowing me into your inbox to share with you every now and then a little bit of wisdom and knowledge gained from my 20 year long career. (Yikes! feeling old now...) 

What do you say when someone casually asks you to work on a logo or draft up a few layout ideas for a marketing piece? You channel Jerry Maguire, of course - but much more tactfully! 

1. Ask them to view your portfolio
   
2. Ensure your design style meets their needs
   
3. Ask questions to make sure you're a perfect designer/client match
   
4. Be clear about your rates
   
5. Ensure you have enough time in your production calendar to meet their deadline
   
6. IF it all checks out, ask them to sign a contract
   
7. Request a non-refundable design deposit before starting to work on the actual project
   
8. NEVER work for free! You've already provided a complimentary consultation, therefore you should never start the design process without receiving a design deposit first.

This is the quick and short version of a more extensive client qualification process. But if they show interest after you mention the process stated above, then they are ready for a full-blown consultation where you will discuss the project goals in greater detail and fill out a creative brief (step 3). 

Today, I just wanted to remind you not to fall for the old "design something, and if I like it, I'll buy it." If they hesitate or decline to follow your process, it just means they weren't ready to work with a professional. This is good news for you, because it will free up your time to work with someone who truly values your work and appreciates your talent and professionalism. 

Join the mailing list for more design and business tips delivered right to your mailbox. Please feel free to leave your comments or questions in the comments section below. 

If you're looking for a fun and affordable way to liven up and/or add more personality to your invitations, envelope liners will always do the trick! You can use anything to line them with such as maps, wrapping paper, comics, music paper, wall paper - any kind of paper that adds interest to the design and reinforces the mood or theme you are trying to bring forth through your design. 
Just make sure there's enough contrast between the two. If you're using multi-colored or heavily patterned liners, opt for a minimalistic invitation design for best results. And if your invitation design is very intricate, then you'll be better off using a liner that is more subtle. 
Sure, it might take a bit longer to sit there an manually line the envelopes, but if you're a true paper lover, you'll enjoy the working with the paper in your hands and transforming each individual individual invitation set into an individual piece of art. 

Hi there! I was out on vacation since last Wednesday through Saturday. I had one day to settle in at home, and absolutely no time to settle in at the office. Within minutes after walking through the door, my boss asked me to join him, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors in a meeting to discuss a Save the Date card I've been working on the last couple of weeks. In the 5 years that I've been employed at this place, I have NEVER been in the same room with these three gentlemen at once. I was nervous, but confident and excited for the opportunity to talk directly to the man who will ultimately approve the project I'm working on - the Chairman! 

Every time I begin a project for my design studio, I start with a creative brief where I have an in-depth conversation with the client about the project and their vision. I ask questions like: What is the project for? Who is the target audience? What kind of event is it? What type of mood are you trying to evoke? What message are you trying to convey? And so on. The more information you obtain at the beginning of a project, the better! You'll save so much time in the proofing stages because you'll be able to start the project with a clear understanding of the client's vision, which will lead you to accurately translate it onto ink and paper.

THE CHAIN OF COMMAND IS SOMETIMES "NO BUENO"
Unfortunately, when you work for a company where you follow the chain of command, you're not always able to sit down and discuss the project with the one person who gets the final say. We designers get the watered-down version of whatever communication took place amongst department leaders, which will often keep the project in the revision phase for a few days - even weeks! 

This is why I was excited to go into the meeting on Monday morning and get right to the point. I was nervous however, because I had been gone for a few days and I had no clue if anything had happened during my absence. 

THE ISSUE
As it turns out, the issue with the layout was the performer's face. Yep, his face. 
(You have my permission to "Lol") The Chairman made it very clear that he didn't like the performer's face because it looked like he'd had a lot of work done. "It doesn't even look like him!" he exclaimed. (YouTube showed me otherwise, but um, okay...)

Yes, it was a relief that my work wasn't being critiqued in a negative way, but the "issue" at hand struck me by surprise. Every performer sends us approved images to use in our marketing materials so there was no other image I could use. It was understood that the artist had to be featured on the cover, but not his face. Not as much of it, anyway. 

MY APPROACH
I tried to gather more information from the Chairman as far as what he liked/disliked from the previous two layouts I had worked on to see what I can focus on instead. The first draft was too modern for him (our company caters mainly to senior citizens), and the second draft was not approved because of "the face" still being too dominant. I was asked to shrink the picture and to "just pick a color" to make the card more festive. There wasn't any more information to extract from him despite several of my attempts. Only vague directions to pick a color and shrink the performer's face. And just like that, I was back to square one. 

A COMPLETE REDESIGN
Below are a couple of quick sketches illustrating how the layout changed from the 1st to the 2nd draft:

Here's what I hope you learn from my experience: 

• THE CREATIVE BRIEF: Always, when possible, interview the client on many levels regarding the project. As you talk to your client you will begin to see images and designs forming in your mind. As these images enter your mind, ask more questions to see if your vision aligns with theirs. Remember, you are the expert. Even if it doesn't align 100%, take as much information from them as you can so that you can bring their vision to life, but use your expertise to enhance that vision. If you can't talk directly to the person who will be making the final decision, extract as much information as possible from the project manager.

• CRITIQUE: Never take a critique as a personal attack. A critique no matter how harsh or inappropriate, is never about you. It's about a communication gap. You are a visual communications architect. The client provides some tools and direction, but often times they are communications challenged. It will take patience and guidance from your part to extract their vision and goals in a clear and concise way that will allow you to transform the information into a kick-ass visual communications piece. 

• YOU'RE AWESOME!: Many think of us as "simply" artists, but graphic/stationery designers are a pretty awesome breed! We bridge communication gaps, we are problem solvers, we make things look pretty, we are tech savvy - there is so much more to our job than just art! Even more so if you're planning on operating your own design studio. So don't become discouraged when you encounter a difficult client. I admit, I was a bit frustrated yesterday after my meeting. I came back to work after my vacation expecting to get approval on the save the date card, not to spend another day on a redesign. But guess what? Had it been approved, it would have meant nothing to me. But because I put so much effort into solving an issue I felt I had very little control over, I felt pretty good about myself when I figured out a way to please the Chairman without sacrificing design. Because at the end of the day, you have two main goals to achieve, #1) make the client happy, and #2) put out work that you are proud of. 

Talk to you soon! 

The previous two layouts featured the performer as the main focal point, but now I had to rethink everything and come up with an entirely new color scheme.

SO HERE'S WHAT I DID
I had recently purchased a set of gold style swatches from Creative Market that I was dying to use. Also, I've noticed that whenever I want to get anything approved around this place, all I have to do is use the color blue, so I searched Shutterstock for a blue and gold background and found the one shown below - it was perfect! The wreath hints at the holidays that will be soon approaching around the time of our gala and it also highlights the copy inside of it creating a new focal point – yay! I can't show you images of the approved save the date card, especially because the information hasn't been released to the public yet, but below is a rough sketch of the third and final proof that solved the "face" issue. 

I used the Shutterstock background shown below on the left along with the wreath, and I applied the gold styles to the "Save the Date" wording on the left of the card so that it matches the gold wreath. The artist was still present on the cover, but because of his placement he was no longer dominant in the layout. I strategically placed his face over the wreath, so it blended-in even more, making his face less noticeable. It turned out perfect and I am proud to say that the card was approved within minutes after I submitted the redesign. Whew!

I'm so happy to announce the launch of the 5-Day Stationery Crash Course! Often times, the only thing separating people from their dreams is not knowing where to start, which is what inspired me to create this course in which I will share the tools required to pursue a career in custom stationery design. I will break down information and lessons into steps that are easy to complete and understand, as well as provide insight and design tips. I also mention a few lessons I learned the hard way, allowing you to learn from my mistakes so you don't have to make them yourself. 
Upon registering for the course, you will receive your first lesson, and one daily thereafter for a total 5. Here's a list of the topics we will cover:

Daily Lessons

• The tools of the trade: Introduction to the tools every designer should have
  
• When to put forth your BEST work: Because sometimes the project comes with limitations
  
• Designing with purpose: Setting project goals so you know when you have achieved them
  
• The elements of good design: 8 design guidelines you must follow at all times
  
• Pre-press terminology and how to submit a quote request to a print shop: An accurate quote request will result in accurate estimates, pricing and client invoicing. 

Who is this course for?
This course is for entry level graphic designers, digital scrapbookers and any paper lover who wants to learn the business of designing custom invitations & stationery for weddings and special events. The Crash Course does not include software tutorials, so you much already be comfortable behind the computer in order to benefit most from this crash course. 

Value
I am currently working on a 7-week in-depth course that will be worth 12 times more than The Crash Course available today. By enrolling in The 5-Day Crash Course at an introductory rate of only $29.99, not only will you gain momentum in your journey to becoming a creative professional, but you will be a few steps ahead of those who sign up for the full-course once it opens for enrollment later this summer. Students of The 5-Day Crash Course will receive special early bird pricing for the full-course, where I will guide you through the entire process involved in the creation of custom design work. Because running a design studio takes a lot more than sitting down at the computer working on your designs, as you will soon find out.

Ready? Grab your favorite drink (I'll take a soy vanilla late please), click on the button below and let's walk you through the door that leads to this amazing career that 18 years later I still love and enjoy – and I hope you will too!

One of the most important, and sometimes most difficult lesson to learn when freelancing, is how to be true to yourself and know your worth. Worst yet, is when you know your worth, but are not charging accordingly and you begin to feel disenchanted with a project, client, or even your career. Now imagine working on that same exact project while earning a fair and well-deserved salary. Your spirits would lift, your energy levels would rise, and your ability to focus and quickly deliver drafts would allow you to thrive as a designer and excel in customer service. 

At the beginning of my journey as a custom wedding stationery designer, I used to spend a lot of time and energy trying to find ways to make a client’s small budget achieve similar results to that of a client who had significantly more to spend on their wedding stationery. Why? Well, first of all, I’m genuinely a nice person. I’m confident in my abilities as a designer and I’m very passionate about what I do. If I had a connection with a client who valued and appreciated my work, I found it difficult not to go the extra mile to ensure they got the most bang for their buck and provide them with the best customer service possible. 

“
Self-care is just as important as providing great customer service.
Don't overwork yourself, especially if you're working for free.
”
– Dio Perez, Design & Illustration

One way I would save my customers money was by doing a lot of printing and cutting in my studio instead of sending the project out to the print shop. I didn’t have a stack cutter, so I would print the invitations on my laser printer and trim the edges with a rotary paper cutter, 2 sheets at a time. This would add at least 3 hours of manual labor to the project and I wasn’t able to bill manual labor at the same rate as design hours, so I was saving them money, but I was charging less while working longer hours, which eventually added more stress and frustration to my work day. I also spent a lot of time preparing estimates, sometimes up to 6 hours, for people that weren’t paying customers yet. Many times, because I had already spent so much time on the quote, if it was slightly over budget, I would offer discounts as an incentive, just to make sure I got the job and earn some kind of compensation for the hours I had already invested in the project. I would like to say I learned my lesson quickly, but the truth is I didn’t. For the first year or so, I just assumed this was the nature of the beast. I treated each project individually, assessing the needs of my clients first, then trying my best to give them the most value for their budget. 

You see, when I first went solo 10 years ago, there wasn’t so much information available on the web, nor was there such thing as The Custom Stationery Course where I could learn all about running a custom stationery business. I learned all about it on my own, by trial and error, and it took a good year and half before I realized I could productize my services – and that, my friends, was liberating! 

The power of productizing your services
Instead of spending an entire work day putting a quote together (for free) I took the guess work out of pricing by standardizing the process. My once hourly design rates were woven into a flat rate for the creation of a basic stationery ensemble. My price list clearly stated a starting budget requirement that covered the cost of this basic stationery set, which I would design and send to a professional print shop for production. This  new pricing structure also included a price list for additional goods and services that would transform that basic design into a more detailed, customized piece of art, IF their budget allowed. Some of those add-ons included: computer calligraphy, wrap-around address labels, additional ink colors, rhinestones, card stock layers, etc.  

Productizing my services allowed me to stop selling myself short and enabled me to focus on things that mattered without losing so much of my valuable time on tasks that drained me. The quoting process became so much easier, to the point where clients themselves could come up with a pretty close estimate of what the final cost would be, just by looking at the price list. They knew from the start that they needed a budget of at least $500 to work with me, and the price went up from there.

I know you’ve heard this before, but time is your most valuable asset. Time is money. Spend it wisely. Outsource the tasks that slow you down and those that pay you less than what your services are worth. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Find ways to simplify the process and free up your time to do the tasks that bring you joy.

Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) files are a convenient way to save and share color swatches (also referred to as color libraries, or color palettes) that can be easily loaded into Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and/or Photoshop swatch palettes. This makes it very easy to access specific colors when switching back and forth between any of the three software applications. 

Video tutorial for loading ASE color files into Illustrator
In the second half of the video you can see me using the freshly loaded swatches to change the color of my puppy illustration. 

When and how can I use ASE color files?
ASE color files can be created for technical use or simply for reference/inspiration, such as:

• Branding - send out the ASE files along with your company logo to ensure that only those select colors are used on all print/web projects related to your business. 
  
• Party Inspiration - use them as reference for mood boards and party decor
  
• Fashion - use them as a reference guide to mix and match pieces of your wardrobe
  
• Surface Pattern Design - experiment with different color palettes when creating patterns
• Graphic Design - avoid busy and distracting layouts by adhering to a few preselected colors
• Custom Stationery - create consistency with all your stationery pieces, from invitations to menus, place cards, programs, signage, etc. 

Below are the before and after shots of the puppy illustration. On the left is the original image, and to the right you see the new version featuring colors from my new "Pepper Berries on Gravel" color palette, available as a free ASE file download in my Monday Hues library.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If so, please share. 
~ Dio Perez, Design & Illustration