A Whole New Identity Thanks to Queen Bee Ink!

My New Logo!

Since my work is so personal to me, I always thought it would be impossible to relinquish any creative control to someone else and so my business logo has always been something of my own creation. That was the case until I did some work for Lindsey Kiniry of Queen Bee Ink, the star of my first ever trash-the-dress shoot posted below. After becoming very familiar with the products of Lindsey's imagination during a project I did for her, I decided I should let her have some fun with my logo. I gave her only a couple of instructions. First, the original concept of the sun and the spiral must be present in some form as both are personal reflections of myself- I am always happiest with the sun on my face and the spiral represents to me the way creative energy flows between my soul and the world around me. These elements have always been part of my logo and it is important to me that they remain so. Lindsey's second instruction was that I wanted my logo to convey that working with me is FUN. A couple weeks later, Lindsey sent me a sheet with nine different mock up designs, all of which beautifully met my criteria, but it was the one you see above that jumped off the page from the get-go. It's exactly what I had in mind without having any vision of it. It didn't take me long to decide it was THE ONE and the decision was driven home by the first people to see it. Hearing words like "whimsical" "fun" "sassy" and "very Sandi" told me Lindsey had accomplished everything I wanted, so much better than I ever could! Not only did she create my new logo but she put together a whole new "corporate identity" for both business entities. I didn't even know I qualified for such a thing! Take a look at the full complement of work Lindsey did for me. I must say... I LOVE IT and Linds says it's one of her favorite designs ever! I hope you love it as much as we do : )

Everything!
(Click to see in large size)

New Promo Post Card!

Of course my supply of business and promo cards ran dry while Lindsey was working on the development of the new logo, so I had a good excuse to order a second set of Moo Mini Cards while I waited! My first order of Mini-Moos received rave reviews from people I've handed them off to, so I was excited to have some made using photos of clients. I really love that Moo gives you the option of uploading up to 100 unique images to use on these fun little cards! Every time I give one out, I end up telling a little story about the person or people featured in the card which makes these simple little business cards doubly effective- not only do potential clients get to see a fun sample of my work but they quickly realize how much I truly love and care about my clients : ) Here are a few of the cards in my second order from Moo... maybe you'll recognize some faces in there!

As mentioned above, prior to the work she did for me I was busy doing a little work for the Queen herself. Lindsey is in the process of building a website to showcase samples of her work. After frustrating herself to no end trying to take pictures for the site, she finally decided to contact me. Let me tell you, there is a reason Lindsey was frustrated- this was easily the most trying photography project I've taken on. Give me a feisty two year old to work with any day... figuring out how to creatively shoot carefully arranged pieces of paper is a CHALLENGE! Thankfully the lovely work Lindsey has done for others kept me inspired and Linds now has the photos she needs to make her website look great. Take a look at some of the custom work Lindsey has created- I think you'll agree this girl has talent and I hope you will consider her if you or anyone you know ever has need for custom design work.

I was really stoked to find some newborn photos I had taken for clients among Lindsey's sample baby announcements! I think the two of us work quite well together : )


And finally... I'm running way behind on blog entries these days so this one is pulling double duty. I figured while I was introducing Lindsey's work to the world, I should share some shots of her greatest work of all- Parker! I first met Parker last summer when he was just six months old and fell in love with his great big eyes. You can see a picture from our first shoot both on my blog banner and my new postcard... that's Parker representing the "First Year" crowd! If you look closely at that shot you can see a little bubble resting on his tongue- bubbles happen often with babies but this is the only shot I've managed to get before the bubble burst, making it one of my all-time faves : )

Our second shoot was scheduled about a year later to capture Parks at 18 months. This time we met at Cornwall Park for a little summer fun on the playground- a playground which, I discovered yesterday, has been removed from the park and is being replaced. No more photos of kids on the tire swing, darn it! I'm so glad I chose this location for our shoot. Needless to say the four of us had a ball swinging and sliding and climbing all over and it was such a joy to see what a little go-getter Parker has turned into. He definitely keeps Lindsey & Jeremy on their toes! Here are a few shots from our second shoot...

Rocks provide SO much temptation, don't they?

You often see garbage and mail truck drivers taking their lunch in Cornwall Park. I know how much little boys love big trucks, so of course we had to go check this one out!

I'm still a sucker for plumber butt! After the playground we wandered over to the creek for some pictures by the bridge. Of course Parker was interested in being MUCH closer to (read: IN) the water. Lindsey & Jeremy were great about letting him explore while keeping him safe & dry! I love the look on Lindsey's face as Parker tries a taste of bark. Yuck, Parker!

To Lindsey... I can't thank you enough for creating such a beautiful work of art to represent me. I've said it before and I'll say it many times more: you did it better than I could ever do it myself. I love it and you are a joy to work with! I look forward to future collaborative endeavors : ) And to Jeremy and Parker, thanks for your patience while Mama helped me out. I'll do everything I can to make sure the pictures you get in return are well worth your patient efforts!

He's a 7th Grader Now

7th Grade

The beginning of a new school year always finds me reminiscing about how much my boy Asher has grown and changed in the past year. Since his first day of kindergarten, we've documented the first day of school in photographs and I thought it would be fun to share those with you today. I have a sad, sinking feeling this might be the last year I get away with this little tradition as this morning I was not allowed to cross the street to take the traditional picture in front of the school sign. *sigh*

I think this might be how he's felt about first-day-of-school photos since the beginning.

The mustache *really* freaks me out. Where did the little boy seen below go?

Kindergarten

I started taking pictures at the front doors of the school as a way to document his growth between school years. In kindergarten the top of his head reaches half way through the first set of windows. By fourth grade it's half way through the second.

He lost his first tooth the night before the first day of kindergarten. The gaping hole is proudly featured in every picture taken that day and he got to be the very first in the class to add his name on the "Who Lost A Tooth?" board : )

First GradeOn the night before the first day of First Grade, he did a face plant on the pavement. He was so mad about this he would never look at these pictures but it's that tie that gets most people's attention!

Second GradeHis birthday is November 23, so naturally this was his favorite shirt. He's forbidden me to ever get rid of it.

Third Grade

This picture of Asher & his dad riding the tandem to school on the first day of Third Grade has always been one of my favorites- despite it coming out blurry (I took it while riding my own bike!) I saved the image by putting a watercolor effect on it.

Fourth Grade

Fourth graders at Columbia graduated to an upstairs classroom. He looks pretty anxious to get up there!

Fifth Grade

Asher chose to attend a different school for his last elementary year. There are only a few pictures of him that don't include a neighbor girl who he "hates" so I better stick to these two : )

Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade means the big move to Whatcom Middle School and no hesitancy to show how he really feels about the tradition of photographing the first day of school.

He thought it was fun to make faces featuring his retainer. Until it broke.

Off he goes...