How to be a Great Family Photographer

By Kirstey, May 16, 2012

It’s wonderful to share your pics! Adding a photo makes your invitations, gifts or T-shirts that much more personal. Except for when a photo has a few flaws. Like, oh man, red eyes! Or the fact that your aunt always smiles so awkwardly in the photos.

To help you take the best possible photos, here are some tips:

- Reduce Red Eye.
Most cameras have a function that prevents red eye. Check your manual and don’t forget to use it!

- Think Happy Thoughts.
The best piece of advice I’ve heard about loved ones who smile strangely in photos (which they never do otherwise!) is to suggest that they imagine they are smiling at someone they love as the photo is taken. Hopefully this simple trick will relax the person, and their smile will warm up.

- You’ve got a Photo of the Family – and the Neighborhood, too!
This one has an easy solution: zoom in. A good photo can be just from the waist up, or head and shoulders – and that means the faces of your loved ones will be center-stage.

And if you haven’t done that, well, when you load your photos to your Vistaprint product, you can always crop the photo (a window that says “crop and rotate” will automatically pop up).

- Stand to Attention.
People often “lean in” for a pic – it’s cute when intentional (like the image below), but usually it looks awkward. Or, if someone thinks that because they are taller than everyone else, they need to bend their knees, and that has the same results. If you spot someone doing that, take a moment to ask everyone to stand up straight and reassure them that you will make sure no one has a chopped off head.

Other quick tips:
- Try not to cut off any appendages half way. Get either all or none of fingers, hands, and feet.

- Check that there are no strange intruders, like random branches, wires or other things in the photo.

- Don’t let the horizon line (if you can see it) be in the center of the picture. Most images look more interesting and dynamic when things are not perfectly balanced.

- If the photo opportunity is planned, go for coordinating outfits. As cheesy as it sounds, just making sure your outfits look good together (they don’t have to be perfectly matched, but try keeping the tones the same) helps the focus be on the people and not your brother’s bright orange hoodie.

Jumpstart Your Job Search — 5 Tips for Recent Graduates

By Caitlin, May 14, 2012

Thanks to Rob for today’s tips…

Are you a new grad looking for a job? Keep up the momentum of graduation as you hunt for employment. Here are five tips to help you jumpstart your search.

1.) Create custom networking cards.

You don’t need to be a high-powered executive to have your own business card. In fact, they’re a must for all job seekers. Create a clean and simple card that includes your basic contact information, your field and links to your website, blog or LinkedIn page. Leave a card with everyone you interview with and ask for one of theirs in return.

1.) Have a stellar resume.

Resumes are such an important part of the job search, especially for recent grads without tons of professional experience. Remember these tips:

- Edit your resume to more closely reflect each position you apply for
- Stand out with custom letterhead
- Use a format and font size that’s easy for anyone to read.
- Omit names and phone numbers of references. These should be in a separate document.
- Create a simple, professional email address. Go with Jane.Doe@web.com rather than cutiegurlie@web.com.
- Have someone else proof your resume. Never rely on spell-check alone.

2.) Your appearance matters.

Make sure you have a suitable interview outfit. Although some workplaces aren’t as formal as others, it’s always smart to look your best and dress conservatively. You can’t go wrong with solid suits, limited jewelry, simple ties, and tidy hair and nails. You want a professional appearance that won’t distract from your qualifications.

3.) Send thank you notes.

Set yourself apart from other candidates. Send a custom, handwritten thank you note immediately after every interview you attend. Thank the interviewer(s) for their time and express your interest in the position, once again. Cite something specific from your conversation that excited you. Sending thank you cards is a personal touch that never goes out of style.

4.) Consider a temporary role.

Find a company that excites you and inquire about part-time or temporary positions. Make everyone realize what a valuable asset you are and you’ll land a full-time job before you know it.

Graduates, remember these tips and go forth with confidence!

Three Typography Tips

By Kirstey, May 11, 2012

As a graphic designer, I know it can be a real challenge to create a picture-perfect invitation. The toughest part is getting the letters, numbers, spaces and paragraphs to look just right. So, I thought I would pass along some helpful tips to get your invitation from looking lovely to looking fantastic!

Let’s use this fun dinosaur party invitation as our example:

Tip #1: Highs & Lows.

Sometimes it looks great to make some sentences all lower case (as in “it’s a party!” below) and sometimes it’s impactful to make the most important things all CAPITALIZED (like the birthday boy’s name).

When doing this remember two things:

1. If you are wondering if you’ve lower-cased and capped too much, you probably have. A light hand makes it look effortless.

2. Don’t capitalize script fonts (the ones that look like cursive handwriting). It makes it very hard to read.

Tip #2: Move lines closer together.
Sometimes you won’t need all the potential options you’re given. If you fill them out and there will be strange gaps, like this …

… So to get rid of them, click on “advanced editing” (look below the invitation).

Here you can click on the lines, and drag them up or down (or use your arrow keys instead, for more controlled movement).

This looks so much better! (While you’re at it, writing out abbreviations looks nicer – like “3 o’clock in the afternoon” instead of 3 pm. It just fills the space better.)

Tip #3: The Rule of Two – keep it simple.

You may have noticed that most Vistaprint party invitations have only one or two typefaces, in one or two colors. This helps people to read the words easily and see which information is more important.

When in doubt, trust your Vistaprint designer. Use the typefaces original to the design, because they’ve been carefully chosen to suit the images that go with it.

But most of all – enjoy creating your invitation!

Work/Life Balance: Vistaprint Working Moms Share Their Stories

By Cristina, May 8, 2012

In honor of Mother’s Day, we asked a few Vistaprint moms about how they find a positive work/life balance, and what advice they might have for other moms (and dads!). Here is what they had to say:

Kelli Connors (Manager Planning & Strategy, North America Marketing), Mother of Three, Pictured Below
A few months ago, I rushed my 5-year-old son into a bagel shop to grab a quick breakfast before school. While waiting in line, I typed furiously on my Blackberry, oblivious to my surroundings. My son tugged on my shirt and said, “Doesn’t that smell good?” I had no idea what he was talking about and asked him what he meant. He replied, “Mommy, if you look up from your phone and pay attention, you’ll smell the yummy bagels.” I realized immediately that I was missing an opportunity to share an experience with my son. However minor, it was together time and I should have been enjoying the moment, not typing. Though finding work/life harmony is a never-ending struggle, and I always feel like I’m rushing from business meetings to soccer games, I now make time to stop and smell the bagels whenever I can.

Alex Taylor (Senior Administrative Assistant/Project Coordinator), Mother of One
For me at least, I don’t think there is really such a thing as a work/life “harmony,” because both aspects are always changing and growing! Whenever you think you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll have three work projects coming to a head at the same time someone at home gets chicken pox or cuts a tooth and the washing machine floods the kitchen, then your car breaks down. Once you finally get to work, you realize the cat has somehow left you a little gift in your handbag and the WebEx information to your early morning meeting has Cheerios stuck to it. Once you deal with all that, another challenge comes along, guaranteeing that you’ll never have a dull day again. It’s called life and I wouldn’t have it any other way! That being said, if anyone knows of a plumber that has had chicken pox and wants a cat, do let me know.

Diane Swint (Senior Director North America HR), Mother of Three, Kids Pictured Below
I love my family AND I love my job AND my house is a mess. And for me, that is OK. I have three children (ages 7, 5 and 3), my husband and I work full-time, he goes to school part-time and we have no family closer than a 13-hour car trip away. Some days are less graceful than others, but I adore our chaotic and nutty life. After my son was born, I got used to unfolded laundry, toys scattered across the carpet and, at times, a fairly large stack of unopened mail. I know I can’t have it all, so the house gets the short end of the stick (sorry, Mom). Most nights our kitchen is loud and full of silly stories of our zany days, there are probably a few dirty dishes too, but we usually spend the last hour before bed playing monsters — it is so much more fun than cleaning up.

Trynka Shineman (Chief Customer Officer and President of Vistaprint North America), Mother of Three, Kids Pictured Below
There are days I come in really early. There are days I work really late. But I know I am out of balance when I am coming in early and staying late. When I’m not traveling, I make sure that I have at least one meal a day with my kids (breakfast, or dinner).

Nancy Brown (Associate Director, Quality Assurance), Mother of Two
Being a working mom really isn’t the same as “having it all.” I had two sons and a career, but I didn’t have time. There was no time to sleep, to meet with friends, to read a book and at the beginning, hardly enough time to take a shower! But as my boys have grown older, I’ve found that making deliberate choices is critical. I made time to go to their school functions, I made time to go to their baseball games and I’m glad that I made those choices. Now that they are both in college, I’m finding I have a lot more time, but I’m also happy for the summers when they are both back home.

Teacher Appreciation

By Caitlin, May 7, 2012

Happy Teacher’s Appreciation Day!

We’ve shown you how to use Vistaprint postcards & posters in the classroom and how to make gifts for teachers, but today we simply want to say thanks!

So, thank you educators. For your wisdom, inspiration, knowledge and patience. We can’t fully repay everything you’ve given us, but we’ll at least give you a gift! Customize note cards for your classroom or personalize use! Get 10 free, 20 for $5 or 30 for $7!

Click here to be appreciated!

¡Vamos a celebrar el Cinco de Mayo!

By Caitlin, May 4, 2012

Today we’re joined again by our friend, Jen H.

Let’s celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

In honor of tomorrow’s holiday, we thought it would be fun to give you guys a short quiz to test your Cinco de Mayo knowledge and give some fun facts you can share with friends tomorrow. Are you ready? (Dancing image from wikipedia)

1) What does Cinco de Mayo stand for?

The 5^th of May
The 15^th of May
The 5^th of March

2) What is the origin behind the Cinco de Mayo holiday?

Mexico’s surprising victory over the French
A need to improve salsa dancing
Mexico’s Independence Day

3) What year does Cinco de Mayo date back to?

1662
1762
1862

4) What colors are featured on the Mexican flag?

Blue, White, Red
Green, White, Red
Green, Yellow, Red

5) Cinco de Mayo celebrations usually combine food, music and ________?

Singing
Dancing
Sports

Answers: A, A, C, B, B

That wasn’t too hard, was it? Did you learn something new? We’re not only here to fill your brain with knowledge. Nope — we’re going to fill your bellies, too! Here is a delicious, easy to prepare, five-star recipe that you can make at home to celebrate: Chicken Burritos with Mojo. – Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Ingredients

Mojo Sauce:

4 garlic cloves
2 serrano chilies, seeds removed
1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves
Juice 2 limes
Juice 1 orange
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large flour tortillas
1 (3 to 4 pound) whole roasted chicken, shredded
Yellow Rice, recipe follows
Spicy Black Beans, recipe follows
2 avocados chopped
1 cup grated queso blanco or Monterey jack cheese
Sour cream, for garnish
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish

Directions
Make the Mojo Sauce: Put the garlic, chilies, cilantro, lime juice, orange juice, and olive oil into a blender and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

To make the burritos: Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds in a dry skillet or on the grill until pliable. Place some chicken down the center of a tortilla and top with rice and beans, avocado, grated cheese, and Mojo Sauce. Roll up the burrito and serve topped with a generous drizzle of sour cream; garnish with cilantro leaves and a squeeze of lime juice.

Yellow Rice:

2 cups long-grain rice
4 cups water
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf

Put all the ingredients into a heavy bottomed pot, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice has absorbed the water, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard the garlic and bay leaf, fluff with a fork, and serve.

Yield: 8 servings

Spicy Black Beans:

2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Quick soak the beans: Put beans in a pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let soak for 1 hour. Drain the beans.

In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste the beans and season them with salt and pepper.

Yield: 8 servings

A Mother’s Day Brunch – Party Pack

By Kirstey, May 2, 2012

Today is hopefully the first of many Party Packs on the Vistaprint Home & Family Blog. From big to small, your celebrations are important, and we’re thrilled to provide some inspiration so you can party in style. So every now and then we’ll be providing a Party Pack: a downloadable package that gives you the foundations on which to build your own amazing party.

How to Throw a Casual Mother’s Day Brunch.

Mother’s Day is just a heartbeat away. How will you be celebrating the day? If I were to imagine the perfect Mother’s Day celebration, it would be a brunch, with all the important and beloved women in my life, where I could spoil them and show them how much they mean to me.

Everything would be in spring colors – yellows, oranges, greens, whites, a bit of light blue or a bit of red. Yes, it is cliché but there’s a reason. These colors work!

I’d start, of course, by sending a lovely Mother’s Day note card, inviting the ladies to the brunch. Sometimes small efforts like sending a paper invitation (rather than a phone call or electronic invitation) goes a long way.

Those spring colors we mentioned before can show up in the décor – put your usual flowers on the table (in a short vase, so you can see each other) and then buy a few potted daffodils, or other spring flowers, from your local supermarket and place those on the buffet table (maybe these can go home with some of your guests?). Keep the flowers in the color range listed above.

Welcome your guests with a cocktail when they arrive. We love this recipe for a Blood Orange Sparkling Wine Cocktail from Martha Stewart, which is a great twist on the traditional Bellini or mimosa (substitute white grape juice for the non-alcoholic version). Put sparkling lemon or lime water on the table.

To get the party started, hand out some paper flower pins you made before the day (template in the download package), each tailored to the wearer. Does your grandma love pink? Make hers with shades of pink paper… or add glitter to your aunt Mary’s, you know she’ll love it!

With the idea of spending as much time as possible with your family and as little time in the kitchen, set up the buffet beforehand: you will find a trusted recipe to a delicious sausage and mozzarella casserole in the Party Pack, that came recommended by a Vistaprint Creative team member. Accompany this with your favorite salad, and maybe a hearty bread. Spread out platters of fruit on the table.

Finally, prepare the dessert before the brunch, too. I’ve included my favorite lemon bar recipe in the Party Pack: it’s delicious and easy to make. It’s based on this recipe I found online, but has changes to it.

Then sit back and enjoy the company. It’s seldom we get together and savor one another’s company or get the opportunity to say thank you. Happy Mother’s Day!

Download the Mother’s Day Brunch Party Pack here.

Spring flowers image from Pinterest.

A Perfect & Personal Mother’s Day Gift

By Caitlin, April 30, 2012

A special Mother’s Day post comes from Matina F.

One of the dozens of New Year’s resolutions I made this year is to not procrastinate. I tend to do my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve and I’m always frantically buying shower gifts the morning of. What can I say, I like the thrill of the last minute.

Determined to not let Mother’s Day sneak up on me, I’ve already been hemming and hawing over what to get my mom this year. Mom, if you’re reading this, please stop now!

My mom means the world to me. She also lives halfway around the world (in Greece – jealous!). So, I have to make sure my gift says “you’re the best, mom!” and “I’m thinking of you and miss you tons!” Easy, right?

I happened to be on our site looking at tote bags for a project I was working on when it hit me. My mom lives on an island and she loves the beach. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have a carry all for her British royalty magazines. So why not personalize a cute little tote for her?

I sneakily asked my Dad to send a picture of my Mom’s favorite beach in Greece. Check out a few of them here…so gorgeous!

It was hard, but I finally picked my favorite, uploaded a jpeg of it, added a cute saying and voila – an instant, one-of-a-kind beach bag that my mom is sure to love. And since it is totally personal, I know it’ll mean more to her than one of those generic bags you can buy right off the shelf.

And on a personal note, this is a huge step for the last minute shopper in me. I don’t think I’m officially cured, but certainly on my way…

What about you? What are you thinking of getting or making for your mom this year?

Spring is for Baptisms, Christenings and First Communions

By Caitlin, April 27, 2012

If your family is celebrating an important religious milestone this spring, get some inspiration for the party here:

Blue Tweet, Blessed Bonnet, Blessed Booties, Prayer Doves, Pink Communion, Faithful, Communion Reading, Communion Portrait.

Ways to Go Green with Vistaprint

By Caitlin, April 23, 2012

Jen H joins us to today to share some eco-friendly tips.

What do aluminum cans, cold water and tote bags have in common? They all can play a part in going green!

Once I graduated college and jumped out of the nest, I’ve lived in five different “barely-there” apartments. Without a lot of space, it can be hard to find ways to go green. Some suggestions, like creating a compost pile in your back yard, aren’t feasible for a city gal like me.

When I started doing some digging for easy ways to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” I found a plethora of information. For example, did you know that recycling just one aluminum can saves the amount of energy required to run a TV for 3 hours? Or that washing your laundry on cold will save you 80% on your laundry energy? Finding facts like these are interesting, but all of the information can be a bit overwhelming. This article by The Daily Green contains 10 easy tips that anyone can do and is a great place to get started on your green journey.

What I found through my research, is even though I’m greener than I thought, I still have a long way to go before I can say I’m truly living a green lifestyle. To lead by example, I’ve decided that starting this Earth Day, and each year moving forward, I’m going to choose one new way to help the environment and add it to my lifestyle. For my first year taking on this endeavor, I’ve decided to start with something fun to create – reusable grocery bags! Using these tote bags I found a few green inspired designs I thought were really cute.

Here are my top two picks:

Tote bags, however, are not the only way that you can get your green on with Vistaprint. Did you know that we offer customizable mugs, which are a great alternative to using disposable paper or Styrofoam cups, as well as recycled paper stock for some of our top printed products? If you need invitations for a party, business cards for networking, postcards to promote a yard sale or note cards to send someone a little love in their mailbox, choose the recycled paper option. Not only will you look like a pro with our products, but you’ll be doing something good for the environment at the same time.

Have other ideas you’re going to use for Earth Day? Leave a comment below letting us know how you’re doing your part to keep the earth in tip top shape.