Need to convince your friends of something?

Nothing works quite like, well, propaganda… Especially if it has your face on it.

Maopost, a site dedicated to an extensive collection of Chinese propaganda posters, will seamlessly paint your face (or your friend’s) from any of your photographs into a classic propaganda oil painting.

You supply the photograph and choose one of the 35 suggested posters (or from their entire collection, over 1,500 posters), an artist hand paints you as a socialist hero.

It’s never been easier to insert yourself into (socialist) history. And you’ve never looked so convincing.

Be a Socialist (Poster) Hero!

p.s. Take part in the traveling photo notebook or share your panorama photos or storm photos in our forum!

Barefoot Betty’s been shoeless for years… And we can’t take it anymore.

If anything’s gonna convince her to slip into something, it’s the Keds Studio, where she can design her own shoes with her photos.

Each part of the shoe is customizable, from the canvas panels, the stitching, to the lining and midsole. There are four different women’s and kids’ Keds styles to choose from and Betty can include text, if she feels like it.

Our first design above (just for her) features one image of blurred headlights (sides and heel), jet black details, and a close-up of a scary plant (upper).

Some other ideas:

• Pics of your bare toes and sides of your feet, placed accordingly.
• Your loved one’s cheery face staring back up at you all day.
• Perfect for Halloween: skeleton feet as shoes.
• Do a handstand without moving!
• Take a picture of yourself from between your feet. Tada! Your shoes are mirrors.

First-Ever Customizable-with-Photos Shoe!

P.S. Dudes: not available to you yet, sorry. If you’re jonesing for unique kicks, check out Vans’ custom shoes, where you can at least choose your own colors. For hand-painted shoesies, try Your Kicks or Slip-Offs.

The printing press. The light bulb. Penicillin. The horse-less carriage.

Our seventh-grade history teacher was enthusiastic about these Very Important Things. He also played the flugelhorn and collected sad clown figurines. We didn’t put much stock in his opinions.

But now we understand the hubbub over innovation. Friends, we have seen the future. And it has a thin candy shell.

You can now print photos on M&Ms. Huzzah!

We think the possibilities are pretty well limitless. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Party favors. We’re thinking weddings, Bat Mitzvahs, your birthday party, your cat’s birthday party …
• Running for office. The other guy might promise pork, but everybody knows chocolate’s where it’s at.
• Tell your enemies to bite you. And mean it.
• Gifts. Plaster those chocolates with Zac Efron, a sad clown or your own mug and you’ve got a no-fail, any-occasion present.

Get Custom Photo M&Ms!

p.s. We just heard that MOO makes full-size business cards now! Get a different photo printed on every biz card and use your card case as a tiny portfolio. My word that’s stylish!

You know that Photoshop whiz kid friend of yours? The one that plays his keyboard like a Steinway as he dodges and burns his way to photographic perfection?

That could be you.

When we saw these custom-fitted keyboard skins for Macs*, we knew we had to have ‘em.

The color-coded covers show you all the hard-to-remember shortcuts for your favorite apps and are available for Photoshop, Aperture, Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools, After Effects, and Logic Pro.

You wouldn’t learn how to type with a keyboard with no letters on it.

So why learn key commands without seeing them right on your keys?

Photo App Keyboard Skins
$30 - $40 in the Photojojo Shop for Apple Laptops and Desktops

* Prefer Seattle to Cupertino? We’re on the lookout for something similar for you guys.

Ever since the Three Amigos brought gifts of gold, frankenstein and maple syrup to the baby Jesus the first Christmas so long ago, mankind has delighted in the swapping of neat stuff with loved ones come this time of year.

Frankenstein and maple syrup might not be on our list this year, but we still put the same careful thought into what gifts we give to our family and friends. Without further ado, here’s our gift-giving guide to what to buy, and why, for the coming holidays….

Uncle Herman may be a greedy, monopolistic tycoon, but you’re the one with the deed for your sister Betty’s dusty old garage.

In the game of Photo-opoly, it doesn’t matter if you own Boardwalk or Park Place – because it’s your photos and memories in the game instead!

Photo-opoly lets you make the game; with everything you need to make a customized version of your own ‘opoly, just add your photos!

If you’re planning on spending some time with the fam this holiday, you may have just found the perfect pastime.

Photo-opoly includes board, playing pieces, dice, cash and cards, a glue stick for adding your photos onto property lots and deeds, simple instructions, and a photo cutting guide to slice your photos to size.

Photo-opoly – Yeah, it’s like the original. Only way more awesome.

Photo-opoly – Custom Board Game from Your Photos
A customized photo-opoly board is the perfect “warm, fuzzy memory”-inducing gift for even the grouchiest in your life.

Cassette tapes. Pop tarts. Refrigerator boxes. Your photos.

Rectangle and Square might have dibs on a lot of neat stuff, but that doesn’t mean Circle has to put up with it.

We think it’s high-time our pal Circle got some of the photo love. Luckily, we’ve got the perfect tool to make it happen: The Circle Cutter.

Using it is simple: adjust the (aptly-named) Circle Cutter to the size you want (it’ll do several, up to about 4″), put it on a regular ol’ dull rectangular photo, then turn the Cutter all around as it cuts. In no time flat, you’ve circle-ized your photo – not a 90-degree angle in sight!

Round just opens up a wide new realm of cool possibilities for photos – photo curtains (clip ‘em together with the 30 included Foto-Clips), photo badges (circle-ize your photos and pin ‘em on proudly), photo mobiles (cut ‘em then hang ‘em with some thread)… heck, Circle-izing makes the whole world possible (quite literally.)

We love you, old Circle friend. We’re right there with ya, and now, we’re pleased to say, our photos are too.

The Circle Cutter
Now on sale for $14 in the Photojojo Store!

There’s nothing like a big “Say cheese!” to bring out the pearly whites.

But all this talk of grinning reminds us of one of our life-long curiosities — what about our teeth’s perspective? What it’s like looking out from inside our mouths?

At long last, we’ve found an answer: the Smiley-Cam!

Pinhole photography enthusiast Justin Quinnell has perfected the art of using bite-size pinhole cameras to get those difficult but illuminating inside-your-mouth-looking-out perspective shots. Even better, Justin’s selling his pinhole ’smiley-cam’ cameras for cheap.

Finally, you can turn the tables on Uncle Herman the next time he shouts, “Say cheese!”

The Smiley-Cam — The In-Mouth Pinhole Camera
Check out Justin Quinnel’s Smiley-Cam pics or get your own from Justin for $23 bucks.

Before we even start to tell you what this thing is, we have to tell you: it’s amazing, we LOVE it, and it makes us feel like we’re living in the future.

Also, let us answer up front, with a dandy little mini-FAQ, what you’ll soon be asking:

Q: Is this really as awesome as it sounds?
A: Yes. Maybe awesome-er.

Q: Wait, are you serious? Is this for real?
A: You betcha.

With that out of the way… the Eye-Fi Wireless memory card adds Wi-Fi to any camera that uses SD memory. It’s orange. It looks like a normal SD camera memory card. It holds 2 GB of photos. And it wirelessly uploads your photos to your computer and to Flickr or one of 16 other photo sharing sites.

We always dreamed that someday, we’d merely turn on our cameras and all our photos would be invisibly downloaded to our computer and uploaded for our friends to see. It’s someday.

No buttons, no antennas, and no wires. Just modern technological magic.

Wi-Fi SD Memory Card
$99.99 at the Photojojo store for 2GB of storage and antenna-free, cable-free, subscription fee-free wifi heaven.

p.s. We’re the first to ship this little bugger (we started last night) and we’re already sold out of half of our inventory. We think it’s gonna be a hit!

p.p.s. Wish there were a CompactFlash version? We do, too. We’re testing adapters and expect to have one for sale next week.

p.p.p.s. To our friends abroad, the Eye-Fi is not yet certified for use outside the United States. They’re working on it!

There’s something special, even magical about the printed page. The Internet makes anyone a publisher, but seeing yourself in print is a whole ‘nother story.

But that’s just one of the many reasons why we adore flattenme’s custom photo children’s books.

Flattenme’s storybooks are full-color and have a thick, hard cover just like the kind you’d find at the bookstore or the library.

Except these books feature your kid (or niece or nephew or 8-year-old version of your pal.) Just send them a photo (online or by mail), your child’s name, and a dedication message, and they do the rest — creating a personalized storybook where your kid’s the star.

The result is stunning and endearing. The storyline is fun, and their magical elves do a topnotch job working with any skin color or hairtype. It’s a gift that would make any youngster smile.

Flattenme — Personalized Children’s Storybooks
Books cost $33 + shipping. They ship to the U.S. and Canada but will do their best to accommodate other destinations if you email them.