Zap Blog
Welcome to our blog where you will find a variety of tutorials plus all of the exciting news and developments going on at Zap! HQ.
SMALL BUSINESS FEATURE: MEG SAYRE
Posted on December 03 2021
⭐ We love your work, but would love to know more about you. Tell us all there is to know about you and your business? My name is Meg Sayre, I am a US-based illustrator who loves coffee, cosplaying, and collecting. I love superheroes and fantasy, but lately I have...
How to create iridescent stickers using Photoshop
Posted on November 11 2021
The following steps show you how to create your own custom shaped iridescent vinyl sticker designs using Adobe Photoshop. 1. Download our sticker templates Download our sticker templates >> here << and open your chosen sticker size. 2. Importing your Artwork Select the 'Artwork' layer in your layers palette and...
How to create iridescent stickers using Illustrator
Posted on November 11 2021
The following steps show you how to create your own custom shaped iridescent vinyl sticker designs using Adobe Illustrator. 1. Download our sticker templates Download our sticker templates >> here << and open your chosen sticker size. 2. Importing your Artwork Select the 'Artwork' layer in your layers palette and either draw...
How to create clear vinyl stickers using Illustrator
Posted on October 26 2021
The following steps show you how to create your own custom shaped clear vinyl sticker designs using Adobe Illustrator. 1. Download our sticker templates Download our sticker templates >> here << and open your chosen sticker size. 2. Importing your Artwork Select the 'Artwork' layer in your layers palette and either draw...
How to create clear vinyl stickers using Photoshop
Posted on October 26 2021
The following steps show you how to create your own custom shaped clear vinyl sticker designs using Adobe Photoshop. 1. Download our sticker templates Download our sticker templates >> here << and open your chosen sticker size. 2. Importing your Artwork Select the 'Artwork' layer in your layers palette and...
SMALL BUSINESS FEATURE: MEGAN BURCHELL
Posted on October 08 2021
Our latest of Small Business Feature is here! To continue celebrating creativity let us introduce you to Megan Burchell! ⭐ We love your work, but would love to know more about you. Tell us all there is to know about you and your business? Thank you! I’m Meg from...
Small Business Feature: Beth Wilson
Posted on August 06 2021
Our Sixth instalment of Small Business Feature is here! To continue celebrating creativity let us introduce you to Beth Wilson! ⭐ We love your work, but would love to know more about you. Tell us all there is to know about you and your business? Doodlecats started ten years ago...
Zap! Creatives launches new, eco-friendly Metal Pin Badges
Posted on July 01 2021
After years of research, development and testing, Zap! Creatives are rolling out this new and unique product to the market. The ultimate eco-friendly alternative to enamel pin badges, designs are printed onto custom shaped, 100% recyclable, nickel free, hypoallergenic stainless steel using VOC free inks, before being finished off...
Small Business Feature: Eli Hayter
Posted on June 18 2021
Our fifth instalment of Small Business Feature is here! To continue celebrating creativity let us introduce you to Eli Hayter! ⭐️ We love your work, but would love to know more about you. Tell us all there is to know about Eli Hayter, and your business, Eli Illustrates? Hi I'm Eli...
Small Business Feature: Norah Collier
Posted on June 10 2021
Our fourth instalment of Small Business Feature is here! We're loving introducing you all to some Small Business Owners, so to continue celebrating creativity let us introduce you to Norah Collier! ⭐️ We love your work, but would love to know more about you. Tell us all there is to know...
Small Business Feature: Jon Turner
Posted on June 04 2021
Our third instalment of Small Business Features is here! Continuing our theme of celebrating creativity, we're having a chat with Small Business Owner, Jon Turner. ⭐️ We love your work, but would love to know more about you. Tell us all there is to know about you and your business?...
Creating the 'Stardew Valley Collectors Edition' with Fangamer
Posted on May 28 2021
Some of you might have heard about, or played the game 'Stardew Valley'. We're interviewing Tony Kuchar who played an integral role in the creation of promotional merchandise for the game - including the wooden standees & pins from the Collectors Edition. We had the pleasure of being chosen...
Small Business Feature: Yavannah Pelgrim, KillVannah
Posted on May 19 2021
Our second instalment of Small Business Features is here! Continuing our theme of celebrating creativity, we're having a chat with Small Business Owner, Yavannah Pelgrim. ⭐️ We love your work, but would love to know more about you. Tell us all there is to know about Yavannah Pelgrim and...
Small Business Feature: Neil Hampton, 14EIGHT
Posted on May 12 2021
We love celebrating creativity at Zap! Creatives and supporting everyone that buys from us. That's why we've started our Small Business Feature, where every week we'll have a chat with a small business owner who uses Zap! to help create their products. Our first instalment is with Neil Hampton,...
Make Your Own Wedding Favours
Posted on March 17 2021
Homemade jams, mini gins, jelly sweets and just about every shade of sugared almond imaginable; these are just some of the classic items that feature in so many wedding favours, but what if you want to stand out from the crowd? Many wedding guests go to great effort to make...
Eco-Friendly Wedding Ideas
Posted on March 17 2021
Despite people's best intentions, weddings are ordinarily pretty wasteful occasions. From copious amounts of squandered food to discarded decor and more, as a general rule of thumb, weddings don’t tend to be especially eco-friendly. However, with the increase in environmental awareness across the world, particularly concerning the effects and usage...
JOURNAL SERIES: EVY BENITA
Posted on March 02 2021
A huge thank you for taking part in today's Journal Series entry Evy! We love your work but we want to know more about you! Tell us all we need to know! Thank you for having me! My name is Evy, and I design products inspired by wildlife and nature....
JOURNAL SERIES: MEG GARROD
Posted on February 24 2021
Welcome back to another Zap! journal series entry! For today's post we had the opportunity of speaking with Meg Garrod - Full time student, Full time business owner. Meg walks us through her day as a small business owner whilst also juggling her life as a full time student....
How to create custom engraved metal charm designs
Posted on February 16 2021
Create your own custom engraved metal charms and pendants with our bespoke manufacturing service. The following tutorial will show you how to create your own custom brass and stainless steel metal charms.
JOURNAL SERIES: YEISY
Posted on January 21 2021
If you are a regular reader of our blog posts, you'll know by now we love connecting with all kind of designers, illustrators and artists! For this feature, we had a chat Yeisy, an established Miami artist who promotes wild life conservation. Yeisy has recently started to turn her art...
JOURNAL SERIES: SARA HJARDAR
Posted on January 08 2021
We had a chat with the talented illustrator and small business owner Sara Hjardar about her journey into digital illustration! Read below as she shares her Etsy top tips and inspiration behind her magical pieces. Hello Sara! Thanks for taking the time to speak to Zap! Creatives for this blog post. We...
JOURNAL SERIES: ABBI LAURA
Posted on November 19 2020
Hello! Welcome back to another Journal Series. Are you an illustrator wanting to start selling your products on Etsy? This week we chat to Abbi Laura from Abbi Laura Designs who does exactly that! Read below to find out more. Tell us about your background Hi! I’m Abbi Laura, my...
JOURNAL SERIES: SPOOKY DOODLE CLUB
Posted on October 29 2020
We had to do a feature with our favourite spooky designer Elaina from the Spooky Doodle Club.New to Etsy or just starting your small business? Read on to find out more about Elaina's journey as a small business owner. Hello Elaina! We totally love your business Spooky Doodle Club. How...
JOURNAL SERIES: AMY HOLLIDAY
Posted on October 22 2020
We love celebrating creativity at Zap! Creatives. When we first saw Amy Holliday's bee-utiful charms we just knew we had to do a feature with the talented illustrator! Hello Amy! Let’s start by getting to know a little bit about your background? Hey! I’ve been really into drawing...
JOURNAL SERIES: COURTNEY BLADES
Posted on October 15 2020
We are back with another feature! This week we chat to Courtney, a designer who has turned her passion for illustration into a business! Hello Courtney! Tell us a little bit about what you do! Hello! I’m an illustrator and designer of cute and quirky jewellery, gifts, cards...
JOURNAL SERIES: THE PUNKY BUNNY
Posted on October 02 2020
Hello and welcome back to another instalment of our Journal Series. This week we chat to Emma, AKA The Punky Bunny about all things design, veganism and sustainability. Sounds like your cup of tea? Read on for more punky, vegan goodness! Hello Emma! Talk me through a typical day for...
JOURNAL SERIES: CONQUER LAKE DISTRICT
Posted on September 24 2020
We chat Caroline from Conquer Lake District, a one women business who is killing it! What made you start your business, Conquer Lake District? I never intended to start a business. I bought a camper van, and whilst it needed tyres and seatbelts all I was interested in was...
JOURNAL SERIES: SIAN ELLIS
Posted on September 17 2020
It may seem a little early for spooky season but this week we chat to Sian Ellis, an artist who creates cute and spooky illustrations all year round! Hello Sian! Let's start by you telling us a little bit about your background and how your business started? Hello! I...
JOURNAL SERIES: AICEEBZ
Posted on September 10 2020
This week we chat to the talented Aiceebz about her journey into digital illustration. Let's get straight into it! Who is Aiceebz? Hey my name is Vanessa, but my work is found under the name Aiceebz. I am 25 (for now) and I am a Sydney based illustrator/artist. ...
Journal Series: Beverly Salas
Posted on September 04 2020
Welcome to our new journal series, where we post a customer feature each week. We want to use this space to celebrate our talented customers and share their work. We chat to the wonderful Beverly Salas, the artist talks about her work and what its like to run a...
How to create your own custom metal charm designs
Posted on July 28 2020
Create your own custom metal charm designs with this handy tutorial, detailing everything you need to know to convert your vector and pixel based files into quality stainless steel and raw brass charms.
Calling all creatives...
Posted on June 03 2020
We're thrilled with our first client interview, featuring awesome indie brand Misfit Makes & we're looking for more artists to take part.
We'd love our blog to be as diverse as possible, with the hope of shining a spotlight (as small as our light may be) on people of all races, colours & backgrounds.
We'd love our blog to be as diverse as possible, with the hope of shining a spotlight (as small as our light may be) on people of all races, colours & backgrounds.
Customer Interview - Bex Ling AKA Misfit Makes
Posted on May 27 2020
We chat to Bex Ling, designer, maker and founder of jewellery brand 'Misfit Makes, who has kindly agreed to share her experiences of what it's like to own and run an independent online business.
Switching To Online Selling From a Brick and Mortar Store
Posted on March 24 2020
Many companies are looking to either make the switch from their physical premises permanently or complement their existing business plan by investing in an online store. Thanks to the ease of online shopping, Internet sales have boomed over the last few years, and with plenty of relaxed return policies and...
Making Your Own Jewellery
Posted on February 19 2020
Jewellery making is a popular hobby with countless people across the world. The reason it’s gained so many fans? Through being both a fun and creative activity that also leaves you with an end product that you can be proud of! Whether you wear your DIY jewellery creations or design...
Eco-Friendly Marketing Ideas
Posted on February 07 2020
Many companies profess to be eco-friendly, but how many can prove that they actually practice green marketing? Being environmentally friendly is at the forefront of many brand’s minds, and in a time wrought with issues including the effects of global warming and the impact of plastic in our oceans, it’s...
Graphic Design Trends for 2020
Posted on January 24 2020
Each year we see the emergence of brand new graphic trends as brands and companies tussle to capture the attention of their clients and customers. They look to introduce new colours and prints as a means of refreshing their designs and catching the eye, and with so many companies mixing...
Choosing the Right Typography for Your Designs
Posted on January 16 2020
Similarly to when we gesture or use facial expressions while talking to one another, the typography used in our print and designs is able to reflect different tones and emotions to the reader. Getting your choice of fonts right is just as important as picking the right colours and...
Creating Characters for Merch Designs
Posted on December 17 2019
The world of merchandising can open up a whole new stream of revenue for your business. If you’re a pretty established brand and you’re looking to promote your business and get your image and brand message out there, creating characters can be a great means of connecting with your customer...
New Year More Instagrammable Than Christmas
Posted on December 12 2019
Instagram users are more likely to post on New Years Eve than Christmas Day, research has found. It seems social media users would rather post about ringing in the New Year than their festive activities. The research looked at the number of photos posted with the hashtags #christmasday and #newyearseve,...
Colour variations in printing
Posted on November 13 2019
Colour variations in printing We use digital printers to process your custom merchandise. Merchandise from each department is produced using different printers and different printing processes. This means that our products can have some, minimal colour variations when compared to each other. Our stickers for example, are printed on large...
Make Your Own Save The Dates
Posted on November 07 2019
Getting married is an expensive business; from the perfect wedding dress for the big day to the countless intricacies such as catering, flowers and entertainment - there can be plenty to keep on top of as well as a lot of expenditure. It’s no surprise then, that many couples who...
Creating & Selling Christmas Products
Posted on October 30 2019
Creating and selling products during the holiday season can be a stressful time, so making sure that you’re in gear before going ahead with your marketing efforts is incredibly important. It definitely pays to be prepared during the festive period, and planning out creating and selling Christmas products will benefit...
Christmas Packaging Ideas
Posted on October 23 2019
Christmas is a fantastic time for companies both small and large to capitalise on the festive marketing fever. As December 25th rolls around, many businesses will design specialised Christmas packaging with a view to capturing the hearts and imaginations of customers new and old. From the bevvies of Starbucks Christmas-themed...
Halloween Marketing Ideas
Posted on September 26 2019
Halloween is one of the most important dates in the marketing calendar, presenting an opportunity for both large and small businesses alike to capitalise on increasing their brand awareness and sales. It’s always a good idea to prepare for this promotional window by readying your materials and capturing the imaginations...
Creative Ways to Present Your Products
Posted on September 24 2019
In any walk of life, first impressions count. Whether that’s the first time you shake hands with a stranger or eating with your eyes as your much-anticipated plate of food arrives, we’re a species that often makes an initial judgement based on appearance. It’s no surprise then that product presentation...
Sustainability in a Business
Posted on September 12 2019
As green practices grow increasingly popular and awareness is raised on recycling and the effects that waste is having on the environment, sustainable companies are cropping up and shouting about their own business practices. One massive cause of waste lies with unused or discarded promotional materials, particularly card, paper and...
Setting Up A Business: Tips and Advice
Posted on September 04 2019
Setting up a business can be a daunting task. Once you’ve had your initial spark of inspiration to start selling your own products, there’s a whole world of other aspects to consider before you serve your first customer. If you’re looking to start selling your pins, keyrings or stickers online,...
How To Come Up With A Logo
Posted on August 28 2019
Your logo should capture the essence of your business, letting your audience know exactly who you are. If you need a new logo, or you’re setting up a business for the first time, we’re going to look at how to create a logo that really stands out from the crowd!...
