YIKES!! I am holding my breath as I hit publish, because this is personal and I don’t want to come across as a drama queen. Heh. So where have I been this last year? Why haven’t I posted much on anything?

BURNED TO A CRISP

I DID IT. I did what every (I’m sure) small business does at one point or another OR knows to stay clear of. I BURNED OUT!! BUUUURRRNED OUT!!! Burned to a crisp. And it was all my fault. I wanted to please my clients. I had many of them. I wanted to do good work. Do it well. I wanted to please the people that would inquire. I felt like something was wrong in my business structure if I had to turn people away. But we had to. By the masses. Alex Evjen (my asstant/project manager) is the WE. She is amazing and I couldn’t ask for anyone better to work with.

IT ALL STARTED MY LAST YEAR OF COLLEGE

It all started my last year of college when we were supposed to write out the dreaded 5 year goal plan. We went around the room and people said things like “I want to be a freelancer”, “I want to have my own business”. You get the idea. By the time mine came around I said ” I want to have so much work that I get to choose what projects I want to do”. The only reason I remember that moment is because it kinda stopped my professor in her tracks, she paused and thought about it. She had a smile on her face and told me it was an interesting one. I didn’t really know what to think and just kinda moved on. I was semi serious about that goal plan though. Didn’t know how I was going to make it happen, but it sounded liberating and free.
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WE ARE SO EXCITED TO RELEASE THE FALL 2011 COLLECTION OF SITEHOUSE STYLEGROUPS!!!

We have been waiting and waiting to release this new collection of website designs. There have been online giveaways, design previews, and all kinds of tricky teasers before the official release!! YAY! The collection is finally here! TODAY! And we are sooo excited. Alex and I did research, preparing, and planning for this new collection. We really aimed to create something for everyone in this collection. We have clean and modern, sweet and pretty, classic and simple, edgy and stylish, artsy and grunge…You name it! We have also added some fun new things to some of the designs such as Pinterest buttons, killer transitions and favorite things pages. We have shown a couple of our favorites below:

Go check them out RIGHT NOW, and tell us which one is your favorite! www. sitehousedesigns.com
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OH BOY! We are SO excited to share our latest website design and branding project!

Gabriel Ryan Photographers came to us this year wanting branding and website redesign, and we couldn’t have been happier to work with one of the nicest and talented photographer duos out there -Gabriel and Carlie. They are extremely passionate for about what they do. And they have flawless taste. And their style and aesthetic is extremely important to them. That made designing their brand and site really fun. It was a true collaboration. I love the way their minds think.
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YOU GUYS!!!! WE ARE OFFICIALLY ON THE ROAD on the PASS PREMIER TOUR!!!! We are having an amazing time so far and have lots more coming in the weeks ahead. For now we’re trying to adjust to life on a bus, a really nice one might I add, but, with 9 people… It’s like life in an above ground submarine.

I am also REALLY excited to be officially releasing the Creative Branding E-Course that I have been working on. It’s my way of sharing some of my design/client process with the masses. It also includes a section on ‘tips/tricks’ for Showiteers…which is the web platform that all of my Sitehouse Designs are built in. It is currently only available EXCLUSIVELY for Pass Premier Tour peeps when we arrive in your city and we’ll do a full public launch on it later this Summer, post-tour.

It’s been another little labor of love and I’m hoping that it will be a helpful resource for businesses/creative people who are trying to get to the essence of their brand and identity. I’d love to meet you while we’re out on the road. Grab a ticket to one of the shows soon…we are selling out in a lot of the cities…so don’t wait. Here’s the link: http://boxoffice.passpremiere.com/

Stoked to get this resource out to the rest of you SOON SOON SOON!!!! CHECK out a description of the course in the graphic below. More photos and videos of the tour coming soon.
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IM ON PINTEREST!! and I am actually pinning things now. I am loving it. so fun. I am totally diggin the bright brights this season. Lookin for bright lips, bright bathing suits and sporty stripes mixed with feminine details. Come check out what I am layin the pin down on!! hahaha. I have a category for graphic design I am loving, home inspiration, and personal fashion!! Check it out.

Do you have a Pinterest account? Leave the link in the comment section so we can all follow each other! Cant wait. Hope to see you over there.

I am excited to share this new project that I have been working on. AHH it always feels so great to release a project. Kara from Vintage View is SUPER unique and TOTALLY knew the vibe that she was going for. This girl is what I like to call a dream client. She did her research, sent me a TON of inspiration (i mean a TON), She knew the vibe she wanted, and she gave me total freedom to run with it and control to make executive decisions. There is a fine line between having the client know what they want.. and having the client dictate what they want. I LOVE it when a client knows the vibe of what they want… and gives me the freedom to GET CRAZY!! And that was totally Kara. and I believe it was a match made in Heaven.

I don’t always connect with my clients personal style, but i did with kara. She loves vintage mixed with modern. She loves eclectic textures and patterns that tell a story and have personality. ANd she likes to break the rules. PERFECT!!! From the moment i saw the direction Kara wanted to go, it clicked and i was hooked.

PROJECT SCOPE:
Kara came to me with a logo already designed (which was great)… and she wanted a website, and only a website. So i got to take her logo, and branding and really play with it and make it what it is. I LOVE the logo that she had so it made the experience so much more fun.
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A couple of weekends ago, Brian and I flew out to My Father-In-Laws 60th birthday party. I got to design the invites for it. And I really enjoyed it. We wanted the invites to be a little quirky and funny. And this photo of him fits perfect. haha. It really means so much to me when I can contribute to a special event using my gifting for family or friends. Because, honestly, I am a terrible cook, or house keeper, or hostess. BUT I CAN make something. haha.
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