Finding Joy

Starting a business, is a long and hard process.  It is definitely a roller coaster ride, up and down, up and down.  It's so easy to get caught up in the negative that you forget to find the joy.  And there is always joy to be found....it's the little things.

I love to help others, but I'm not so great at accepting help from others. Today I had wonderful friends who helped me with a difficult situation. Although it was humbling and hard to accept their help (I definitely don't like to be the center of attention), it is a JOY to know that I have loving and caring friends.

When I got home, my daughter presented herself to me with a bow on her head.  I told her she was the best present ever, and then she decided that she wanted me to have a gift to open, so she packed herself in a suitcase and I got to open my gift.

Her joy was contagious!  And the joy she shared made me remember one of the reasons I am working so hard.  I wish you a day filled with joy!

Inspiration

Inspiration often comes from unexpected places.....

The back story:  One of my biggest hurdles to overcome in life is fear.  I have a lot of it, and many times it keeps me from doing what I really want to do.  I am scared to do it (whatever that is), of what will happen if I do good, what will happen if I fail. It has been that way for me with Graphic Design and freelancing, mostly in finding the work.  I have been afraid to put myself and of course, my work, out for the public to view.  I have faith in myself my talent, and abilities, I do.  I do good, great and even sometimes even awesome work, but I let the fear of others not believing in me hold me back.

Now back to the inspiration:
My daughter Katy.  She is so fearless and inspirational to to me.  Yesterday she came home with all the information to sell Girl Scout Cookies (you can contact me to order after Jan 1).  She is so excited about this.  She loves to go and ask people if they will buy things from her.  She has fears too, she can be extremely shy at times, but she doesn't let that hold her back and not sell, or not ask for support.

So I am trying to learn from her and her example.  It's ok to have the fears, just don't let them keep you from doing something that you really want to do.

My goals for this coming year are not to let the fear keep me from putting myself out there and pursuing new work! Not to be afraid of failure or even success.

I'm Back in the Saddle Again!

...and it's a good feeling. After I started with promoting and truly establishing Visual Tapestry Design, I had some events in my life that caused me to take a "leave of absence".  But I am now back and working hard to get started again. I have made some big strides, and am trying to publicize my work as much as possible, so that I can continue to support myself and family while working at home and being around my kids as much as possible!  

A friend of mine has set forth some challenges to help to get me back in the saddle. One of the first challenges was to send out a news letter — I am almost set to send out the first one introducing Tapis Design to my friends an family. If you are interested in receiving future newsletters, specials and promotions sign up on the link to the right.

Social Media -- Finding a balance

I find the whole aspect of social media networking a bit overwhelming...facebook pages, twitter, linked in just to name a few.  I'm going to date myself here, but when I started in design, we barely worked on the computer, there was no internet much less on a phone, cellphones were the big handheld boxes, and you had car phones installed in you car and they weren't portable (told you I'd date myself) .

So skip ahead a few years (ok, more than a few) years, and I took some time off to have kids and be a work at home mom.  I kept up with technology as much as I could, and upgraded when I needed to, but had no idea of all the social media that is available.  I still don't understand some of the networks and how to use it effectively.  I am trying to get out of my comfort zone and respond to posts from other designers, enter competitions and join and participate in groups.  I like the social networking, and I love researching what other designers are doing, or how to do something.  What I don't like is how much time it takes to go through all my media outlets and wondering if it will pay off at some point.  I do think that it is a good tool, I have really been able to "catch up" on design issues, new techniques, and other designers and their styles. As a startup company I need to get out there as much as I can, let others see what I can do, but my problem is finding a balance. Is there a good way to balance the networking with working?  What are the best social media outlets for designers?  I'd love to hear your opinion!!

Inspiration

Lately I have been less than inspired, and that's not a good place to be.  When I thought of starting a business, I dreamed of immediate success....someone would see my designs, be just as passionate about them as I am and would have to have one immediately.  Then they would tell 2 friends, and they would tell 2 friends and all of a sudden I'm so busy, I can't see straight.  That is so unrealistic!!!  My husband often tells me self induced expectations lead to self induced frustrations.  And I did it....again! Although dreaming big is a good thing and necessary to succeed, false expectations can get us down. I think this is what is called a reality check.   So to get myself out of this place, I am going out to galleries to get some inspiration. Fresh air + fresh perspectives = motivation!!?!  I'd love to hear what you do for motivation and inspiration!

Hope Stout Montage

Well, it's done, framed and ready to go to the gala for the auction.  I'm happy, what do you think?

Almost forgot to ask, can you find these photos in the montage? Sorry no prizes for the winner, just a fun game of Where's the Photo?

Musings for the day & Leave a Trace

A busy day, but not enough design.  I'll be working late tonight as I finish up the Hope Stout Montage, another brochure for church, and paperwork....which is the part I tend to put off until last.  But alas, it has to be done, and I don't have anyone to delegate to  since I'm the only one working for me right now.  I hope that made (or is it makes) sense?!?   

I'm also working on a t-shirt design for Leave a Trace.net. Once it is approved, I'll post it with a link in case you want to order one.  Leave a trace is a Christian Ministry trying to make the world a better place by sharing God's love with others.

It is a “Go Green,” “Reduce Your Carbon Footprint,” “Leave No Trace” world today.  That is wonderful for our physical world.  But, here at Leave a Trace, we realize that Christians are called to do the opposite.  We are supposed to Leave A Trace of Christ with everyone we meet.  We are supposed to leave footprints on the world so that everyone can share in Christ’s love.

At Leave a Trace we want to help you find gentle ways to share your passion for Christ. Here at our website you will find stories of how others have shared.  You will find ideas and tools that you can use to help.  And most importantly, you will find others who want to share Christ and His awesome love.

I started by working on their logo.  They wanted something that would be an icon and easily identifiable to those who see it. After many sketches, this is what I ended up with. My intention for this design is that it is supposed to be an oak leaf, in the shape of a footprint with a cross in it....although some actually see a fish which is really which is really cool, since Jesus tells us we should be fishers of men, and Leave a Trace is a .net company, and fish get caught in nets.  So what do you think?  (I love hearing feedback and it helps me be a better designer even if it hurts my feelings and makes me think I am fooling myself)

March Forth with Hope Montage

You might remember that I am creating a Visual Tapestry Design for the March Forth with Hope Celebration Gala's Silent Auction (www.marchforthwithhope.org).  The design is actually for Stuart and Shelby Stout (Hope's parents), and will be used as a sample of what the recipient will receive. Anyway this one has been a tough one to design. In doing this montage I have had a glimpse into their lives with Hope.  There are quite a few photos of Hope that I look at and think  Katy (my daughter) is just like that, or I have a photo just like that one of Katy.  I just can't even begin to imagine how tough it was and still is for Stuart and Shelby!  They are truly amazing people! That, in addition to the help they provide to families with children who have cancer and other life threatening diseases, is probably why I am so passionate about the March Forth with Hope Foundation!

If you don't know the story of Hope it is a truly amazing, loving, and selfless story of a 12 year old girl who had terminal cancer and was offered a wish by the Make A Wish Foundation.

Hope’s wish was a unique one…it was to help grant the wishes of 155 other children like her.  She was a special young lady whose compassion touched many hearts and inspired hundreds into action to raise $1,000,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central & Western North Carolina.  Subsequently all the wishes on the waiting list were granted.

Although Hope’s battle with cancer ended on January 4, 2004, her spirit keeps rocking on!

So, back to the montage!  Here are several photos that are included in the Visual Tapestry Design.  In a couple of days, I will post the montage and you will have the chance to search for those photos in the final design.  Hope you enjoy!

As always, feedback and comments are appreciated!  I love hearing your comments!

(OOPS!  It would help if I post the photos!!!)

New Brochure

Hi all, sorry it's been so long!  While working on starting up my company, I still need to do freelance work, so I've been working on another logo and brochure for my church.  They wanted something that was similar to the Starting Point (see image below) brochure yet different.  That sound a bit contradictory, but actually I understood what they were looking for.  They wanted a contemporary, modern looking piece that had a different look from the "Starting Point".  These are two classes that are sequential, but separate from each other.

When I was brainstorming on this one, I thought about things that symbolized group and came up with a person coming into a group of people with their arms opened and welcoming, also, with ball games and the hands going up a bat, then to all the hands in a circle.  The client chose the hand in a circle, so I scanned in my hand, and my kids hands and put them in a circle.  It was OK, but too realistic so I started playing in photoshop and came up with the following image, I just loved the neon glowing look.  I then created a background to complement the image, and went from there. This was a fun project to work on!  As always, let me know what you think! Oh, and sorry for the photo quality....a new camera is on my wish list.

Visual Tapestry for Hope

I have a new project that I am going to be working on.  It's a Visual Tapestry Design for the parents of Hope Stout.  If you don't know about Hope, this is a short description of her story:

The story of Hope's battle, and the compassion and caring she showed towards others until her death, sparked an unprecedented outpouring of support from her community. When given the opportunity to have almost any wish fulfilled by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Hope's wish was that the other 155 Wish kids would be granted their wishes. The story of Hope's life and her wish captured the Charlotte-areas hearts and souls and the legacy of her wish continues still today.

Hope's parents, Shelby and Stuart, have continued to carry out Hope's wish by establishing a foundation in her memory.  This year the March Forth with Hope Foundation is hosting a gala event to raise funds for the foundation.  If you are interested in attending, you can link to the MFWH website.

During the evening they will have a silent auction and I will be donating the services for a Visual Tapestry Design piece.  As a sample to put out at the auction, I am using photos and images of Hope and her family.  I am picking up the photos today and will post some of them for you to see if you can find them in the final design.  That's one of the things I love best about these designs, you can look and see a totally different picture each time.  Blessings All!!!

Social Media Networking

When it comes to social networking  --  the LinkedIn, Twitter and others (and a shout out to my friend is just in process of starting New Panda which should be launching in Feb or early March) -- I am so clueless.  I understand, and yet I don't understand. I'll admit it, I'm a social networking flunkie. Even though I don't quite get all the social networking, I do have twitter and LinkedIn accounts and have been exploring their sites.  If you have any advice on what I need to do for these social networks, please don't hesitate to let me know, thanks!

Brochure for Church

Yay! I finally finished the brochure for church! On this job, I created the logo and the layout and design of the booklet, which then evolved to all kinds of other coordinating pieces. Even though this project is a volunteer job, I am still freelancing until Visual Tapestry Design starts taking off.  Freelance...what I call my regular design work...is any print design piece from logos to booklets to letterhead and stationery, or anything else printed that is 2-d or 3-d.  I just love to design and allow my creative talent to take over. I found on this project I was just thinking about it too much and once I started working on it, it started flowing!

A funny thought as I am looking for fonts...

I had a funny thought when I was looking for fonts for my logo.

"This must be like looking through mug shots." 

It can be boring, and it makes me tired!  I look through endless samples, knowing again and again it's not the right one.  Then BAM! there it is, the one I've been looking for.  It's a great feeling when I finally find what I have been looking for -- although I didn't know exactly what I was looking for until I find it.  So cool!  But, I haven't had that feeling since I found the first font.  I will persevere. My logo awaits!