Evolution of a Brand: Cari Hollis

Cari has been a dear friend of mine for more than a decade and, funny enough, we were friends long before we ever met in person. We “met” on an online, wedding-planning forum. We got married within a few months of each other and formed a friendship with a large group of women. She started her photography business shortly after her wedding and she asked me to design a logo and branding for her. We finally got to meet when I hired her to shoot some family photos when my oldest was about nine months old.

The flower motif and colors were inspired by the custom camera strap she found on Etsy. We designed a bunch of logo variations, business cards, website buttons, and more. We even did gift certificates and advertising graphics for social media.

A few years later, Cari was ready to rebrand and she had NO idea what she wanted for her new logo. She had also added the role of a birth doula and birth photographer to her repertoire. We tried a lot of different concepts, color schemes, fonts, and graphics and, after a lot of back and forth, we finalized this design. This is still one of my favorite logos that I created for her.

After many years as an amazing photographer, she decided to hang up her camera and delve into a couple of different direct sales companies and social media consulting, and since they usually require you to use their pre-designed graphics, we went a different direction and branded Cari all on her own.

This way, her brand remained the same no matter what kind of business she was working on. The bokeh backgrounds paid homage to her background as a photographer.

Earlier this year we rebranded again. Cari wanted to keep the gardenia as a graphic element and we kept the typewriter font because it’s a favorite of hers. We went with the same color scheme for the most and will keep the bokeh backgrounds, but added new fonts and a watercolor motif too.

She hasn’t been able to update her website with her newer branding yet because she’s busy running Direct Creatives!

You can watch the TikTok video I made documenting how I created her new logo here.

I love how Cari maintains the same general color palette with the purple and aqua.

I’m curious where her branding will head next!

Holiday Season 2019

It’s December 20th and we’re winding down the school week and getting ready to head to northern California to spend Christmas with family. As of today, I’m no longer accepting custom orders for holiday cards for 2019. If you card is already in progress, then I’ll get your order finished before we leave. All listings in my Etsy shop are either Instant Downloads or calendars. I can still handle orders for custom family calendars since I will have my laptop with me when traveling.

In the meantime, both my Hanukkah and Christmas cootie catchers are on sale for just $1 in my Etsy shop. Show your kids how much fun these were when you were a kid. The Christmas cootie catcher will remain $1 until December 25th and the Hanukkah cootie catcher will be $1 until December 30th. A page of folding instructions is included with your instant download. You know… in case it’s been a while since you’ve folded one of these. They look best and are easiest to fold when printed on plain paper.

Click on either image to get to the listings in my Etsy shop.

For our family holiday card, we’ve been going to a local photo studio for Santa photos for the last six years called FotoFly. They have one of the parents wear the Santa suit so the kids are comfortable and your chances of getting smiling faces is much higher. It’s been a family tradition to figure out whether our boys will wear matching clothes or PJs or if we’ll do a theme or not. This year, both boys wanted to wear their taekwondo uniforms and we borrowed a black belt from our studio so Santa could wear it. Because, of course Santa would be a black belt.

I had actually created a more traditional design with a lovely script font and Christmas-y plaid background, but it was way too serious for the photo. A comic book theme just worked the best. I had these printed at Office Depot instead of my usual Overnight Prints because I ran out of time. Gotta love having them ready in an hour.

Wishing you and yours a joyful and peaceful holiday season, no matter what you celebrate.

Happy Hanukkah!

Last year I created this fun Hanukkah-themed cootie catcher. My youngest loved figuring out how to make it work. Today through Monday, December 10th, it’s just $1.00 in my Etsy shop. After purchasing you just download the file and print as many as you need. The file is sized to print on 8.5x11 paper and folding instructions are included… you know, in case it’s been while since you’ve folded one! If you live where A4 paper is the norm, shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to send you the file at that size.

Here are the “fortunes on the inside:”

·Keep your head high and watch birds soar, keep your head low and find four-leaf clovers.
·Let your heart make decisions, it does not get as confused as your head.
·Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.
·Sun always shines after a downpour.
·You will see something today that will make your heart shine.
·Today is the day to show someone you care.
·Happiness is hidden everywhere, you just have to look for it.
·Your life will be healthy and harmonious.

Enjoy!!

Smith's 3rd Birthday

Smith turned three this spring and his mommy, Jessica threw him a dinosaur-themed party for the big day. We went with lime green, yellow, and shades of blue for his custom birthday items. Jessica was gracious enough to send me a few photos from his party too, check it out!

Custom invitation:

I love the wording!

Cupcake toppers:

Penant Banner:

Thank you card:

It looks like your party was a blast, happy birthday Smittysaurus!

Jackie & Michael's Baby Shower

Jackie and Michael had a super fun, camping-themed baby shower with Jackie's family and friends. But before that shower, they had one with Michael's family and friends at his mom's home. It was low key and really casual, and they didn't want to do any specific theme, but they still wanted to send an invitation. 

Here's what we created for the shindig:

It's a straightforward design that is similar to the Panda baby shower invitations, I created a while back. It's a fun invite that I can create with lots of different color combinations. I may add it to my Etsy shop later this month.  

That isn't their real address.