Promo Prep

> Is it that time of year again already? The piles assembly line in my studio says yes! I've got a bag full of blank padded envelopes, a box with finished, labeled envelopes, a stack of trimmed cards, with a bigger stack of cards still needing to be trimmed, and two boxes emitting a sweet minty, fresh aroma (wintergreen, of course).

> As much work as there is in putting all the pieces together—from trying to figure out what the gift will be, then designing all the individual components, then labeling and assembling all of them, and don't even get me started on the post office...(although I have figured out a pretty good way to lessen that negative impact)—it's definitely a labor of love. 

> Here's a sneak peek of part of this year's promotion. And stay tuned...in a couple weeks, I'll share pics of the finished gift.

Wanting to do Everything

> I've read from countless sources, that if a designer's prices are acceptable to everyone who asks for a proposal, they're not charging enough. Logically, I'm sure that's true. But I hate it! I design because I love it. Because designing is a part of what makes me feel like myself. If I was doing it just for the money, I'd be working more than full-time hours at an ad agency, trying for promotions and higher pay regardless of how much (or little) I enjoyed my work.

> I hate that feeling when I learn I'm outside of a potential client's budget. Especially if I really like the sound of the project. I want to say, "Oh, I'm sorry the price is higher than you expected. Tell me what your budget is and I'll make it work out."

> I've heard about a cafe in Salt Lake that doesn't have a typical menu. Each day, the chef/owner just creates what he wants to, and serves it to the customers, who are asked to pay what they feel the meal is worth. The friend who told me about the place said it was good food, so, kind of a neat idea, huh? Hopefully people are generous, but aren't there also plenty of people who would pay less just because they could?  

> It makes me wonder, could a design business work using this kind of pricing system? Would it start to devalue what I do? Or would it simply allow me to create whatever I want and feel good about it regardless of what I'm paid. Kind of an interesting thought.

Church Tourist

> Another batch of photos from my New York trip, featuring places of worship (the first photo is obviously not a church, but as we rode past on a bus tour, I was at first intrigued by the type that ran across the side of the building, then took a photo because I loved what it said. 

> Our first day, as we were coming from Rockefeller Center to catch the train back to our hotel, we saw St. Patrick's Cathedral. Have you ever seen it? In a word: wow! Even my husband (who's not much of a shutterbug) was dying to go over and take photos. However, because I had smartly charged my camera's battery the night before, then ever-so smartly left the battery in the charger, I told him we couldn't see it just then because I wouldn't be able to take any pictures. I'd spent all day cursing myself for my mistake, and knew my phone wouldn't be able to take the pictures I'd want. Thank goodness he's a good sport—we skipped it and went back later with a fully charged battery IN my camera.

> In our wanderings over the next couple days, I came across several other churches, and while not as ornate, they were gorgeous and inspiring as well.

St. Patrick's Cathedral. There was scaffolding around the front
so it's not as great a shot as I'd like to have taken. I couldn't
get the whole thing or get closer without the construction

Love the organ

Love the stars that were intentionally designed from the intersecting ceiling trim

Everything about this place makes you look upward.
Do you get a sense of how high the ceiling is?

Such beautiful and ornate detail—everywhere

Another church—can't remember where
I love the iron window trim

Another one...

...and another...wow...love the wood door on this one 

Inspired by...Design Seeds

 > In my work, I'm constantly looking for color combinations that are new, fresh, interesting, and sometimes—depending on the project—unexpected.

> I love turning to Design Seeds when I need color ideas. The blog creator, Jessica Colaluca, pulls color swatches from stunning photographs, creating a wonderful variety of color palettes that I love to wander through (I'd love to REALLY wander through the scene in this photo).

> Even when I don't have a project that needs color options, I waste spend a lot of time browsing the pretty colors and photos.

Bridges of New York

> The next batch of selected photos from my New York trip are of bridges. We went on a 3-hour cruise (not to be confused with Gilligan's 3-hour "tour") around the island of Manhattan (I know, I just dated myself). 

> I've always loved and been fascinated by bridges, so I had a lot of fun photographing them as we approached and went under each of them.

> I must note that while I tried to keep track and remember which bridge was which so I could properly label my photos, it didn't take long before I knew there was no hope of that. But I easily consoled myself when the tour guide told us near the end of the trip that we had gone under 20 bridges! 

> I don't have photos of all of 20, but I have a multiples of a few of my favorites—hope you enjoy my photos of these wonderful structures. We especially enjoyed a closer look of the Brooklyn Bridge (the last 3 pics). We took the subway to Brooklyn and walked back to Manhattan across it and took photos as we made our back. What a great walk!

See the little red lighthouse at the base of the bridge in the above two photos?
(sorry, my watermark covers it on one pic). Because it's the subject of a 1942 children's book, a large group of fans were able to keep it from being dismantled by getting it
listed as a New York City Landmark (read more).

This bridge was one of my favorites with the brick and multiple arches,
but I'm bugged it's not better cared for...there's litter, pollution build-up, spilled paint,
graffiti, and junk dumped around it...still, it's an awesome bridge.

Manhattan: Ornate Appeal

> My husband works for PepsiCo, and was recently the recipient of the award they give to their top salespeople (I'm tooting his horn for him). They flew us to NYC and treated us to several days of amazing food, and experiences we'd never have been able to have on our own. It was absolutely wonderful. We stayed for 2 extra days on our own in addition to the days they hosted, and we loved exploring this awesome city.

> I was inspired by so many things, and as I sorted my photos, I decided to categorize them rather than just post everything randomly.

> Following are photos of how much ornamentation there is—everywhere. I love the historic architecture, and between the mix of old and new, it's a visual feast. For once, my husband didn't have to indulge my inner-amateur-photographer completely, because he was taking tons of photos too! [Gotta apologize for the blown-out sky in some of the photos. If I knew more about anything other than the auto feature on my camera I might be able to adjust for a bright but overcast sky...I did admit I'm an amateur, right?]

> Hope you enjoy these. Future posts will include churches, bridges, the 9-11 memorial, and more.

my cute husband Gene (and don't you love the added detail on the exterior of the tunnel?) 

Museum and Mosaics

> I LOVE mosaics. I think my first exposure was in elementary school. I don't remember what grade I was in, but the school was creating a huge mosaic, and each child was able to place one tile. The finished art was hung in the auditorium/lunch room. I remember thinking how neat it was that my little tile square was part of that huge image that I looked at each day. I didn't think much about mosaics after that until years later...in Chicago, I fell in love with a huge mosaic by Marc Chagall. It was gorgeous, expressive, and surprisingly (to me) was a great medium for his work. Ever since then, I've been drawn to mosaics.

> My husband and I just returned from a trip to Newport, CA with my sister and her husband. While there, we headed up the coast and visited the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades. What a fantastic place! It displays Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities within Roman-inspired architecture, and is surrounded by beautiful courtyards and Roman-style gardens. It was a wonderful collection in a gorgeous setting, and even my husband (who is not a huge fan of museums) loved it.

> I took lots of photos (flash off, of course!) and wanted to share several of the mosaics that I fell in love with. There's so much more to see there (this is really not representative of the collection at all!), but these are photos of some of the things that caught my eye.

The first 2 images are from the borders of huge mosaics. While I didn't necessarily love the subject matter of the actual pieces, I just LOVE the borders.

The next 2 images show inlay in one of their garden seating areas. The second image shows a little more of the area for context (as seen from above).

Yes, I'm one of those people who take photos of the floor...when it's this cool, I have to! The flooring is custom. And see the curved lines? Yep, tile inlay.

A mosaic and shell fountain in one of the gardens. The second photo shows detail of another part of this same fountain, and you can see the shells better.

> Beautiful, aren't they? It makes you love mosaic and inlay a little more too, right? Well, that concludes our tour for today. Thanks for joining me.