Graphic Design in Sherwood, Oregon

AND we're back from the tangents off of tangents. Point of this Post: Attribute yourself for your photos and designs, your work may end up detaching itself from your name otherwise. ALSO, if you would like the fish print, you can find it in my Etsy Shop. Free printables can be found elsewhere on the site, but this one took much more time than free will buy. 

Every Thursday, Cox's Corner and Artsy Fartsy host a joint link party where you can post links to some crafty things you've done. Remember this post? It was featured at Cox's Corner today! 

If either of you end up reading this, Thank You!

So I'm wondering... do you prefer black and white printables like this one, or would you rather I design them in color like this one? 

Now, you've got to think about your readers. To keep them coming back, you need to post 2-3 times weekly. As an incentive to come back, I am beginning to post free printables. I also want people to spread the word if they "like" my blog, so I am on twitter, facebook, linkedin, pinterest & google +. My sister told me about Google+. Google Plus has different communities based on specific topics. Join the communities based on the topics you discuss on your blog and share, voilà, more people will click on the link because they are share that interest. To add pinterest buttons to pictures on my blog, I use the handy tool found half way down the page here. Pinterest will have you put in the url and image and even suggested comment of the pin and then will give you the code for the button, which you can copy & paste in Weebly by clicking Elements>More>Custom HTML.

Another way for you to get yourself out there is by linking back to other posts or pages on your site every 200 words or so in your blog and commenting on other blogs. You can also link back to your blog by participating in link parties.  According to the professionals over at HitBridge.com, you also want to have a phrase that people would google to find you at the very top of your blog and every page on your site in the header section - notice "Graphic Design in Sherwood, Oregon" at the top of this page? That's what it's there for. 

Be "social". Pin your posts, get a Facebook page, Tweet, and join Google Plus. My sister told me about Google Plus. Google Plus has different communities based on specific topics. Join the communities based on the topics you discuss on your blog and share, voilà, more people will click on the link because they are share that interest. Facebook works well if you create a page for people to follow. Weebly has an option for social sharing every time you update your blog. I linked my twitter page to my Facebook page so that now, whenever I post, both are automatically updated. 

After they've found out about you, readers may not want to have to check your site for updates. That is where RSS feeds come into play. 

What is RSS anyway? According to Mail Chimp (the best website for sending mass email newsletters) "RSS stands for 'really simple syndication,' and it’s an easy way for people to follow updates to your blog without having to check in routinely to see if you’ve posted anything. It’s a great tool, but many people prefer to receive updates in their inboxes instead." I am one of those many people who prefer to receive updates via email. So I found it frustrating when Feedburner was not cooperating and Aweber was asking for money before I even knew how they worked. Well, Mail Chimp is awesome and free and they've outlined all of the details for turning RSS into email newsletters here. Just to show you how awesome the people at Mail Chimp are, I'm also including this link to a fun printable found randomly on their site.
Let's talk about ads. If you use google adsense, you have very little control over what happens on your sidebar as well as the constant changing ads that distract from the very content you're trying to get people to read.

A great way to earn money through advertisements is to follow the example of Jessica Cox. People pay to put their logo on her sidebar and she also offers to review products and blog about giveaways. Lastly, she likes to do guest posts and blog swaps.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you found this helpful and wish you the best of luck!

Today, we miraculously found a hole in the rain for family photos thanks to Annie Ruden (If you're reading this, I'm sad you're moving). I'm excited to see what she got, she has such a talent for finding great lighting and making you feel comfortable. It's no wonder she chose to have a mass family photo session at this time of year. Fall is pretty. Fall in Oregon is BEAUTIFUL! I had to take some photos myself. I only have an iPhone with Instagram, but I'm happy with how they turned out.

In this day and age, there's always something new to talk about, so you may be surprised to find that I'm still talking about last week's Art Summit. It was awesome! Still impressed by the gathering of all the eccentric people who do what they can to steer clear of being grouped or labeled and what they had to say, I decided to create the following printable.

I'm a huge fan of hand lettering and typography in general, so this made sense.

This was my first assignment for my capstone Advertising Class in 2009. I found it while looking for a PDF of the BYU-I brochure I had created around the same time. The brochure ended up somewhere between ones and zeros on an old computer, never to see the light of day, but I was happy to uncover this ad assignment again. After presenting this, my professor asked me to sing, so I stood at the front of the class and sang summertime a cappella. Never thought I would do that for an Ad class. I'm really glad I had Kerry Marsh coach me on that song a few years before, having him as a vocal teacher was an experience I will always be grateful for, thanks mom.

Many of my friends know I sing jazz, but it's not a subject that usually comes up in light conversation. I was really lucky to marry into a family that plays jazz professionally — I must say, by being around them, I found out just how much I didn't know about jazz...

Alex, my husband, doesn't practice on a regular basis (due to the time constraints of his day job) but has a built-in metronome and plays bass very well. His oldest brother, Justin, is an arranger, professional jazz pianist and co-founder of Eagle, Idaho's Fresco Arts Academy (their dad is now the principal of said academy). Ryan plays trumpet, just got his doctorate and is a professor at BYU-Idaho. Nicole is living in Iowa and performing in 2 bands while raising a family, she sings, plays the unlikely banjo (which blends well with the piano), guitar and writes beautiful lyrics. Eric plays drums and is studying computer-technology and sound engineering in Iceland. They have all swallowed some magical metronome that I can't begin to comprehend. This past summer, we had a family reunion and they recorded an album. I've created a site for the album they've created in the past, but I'm excited to hear Eric's mix of this most recent one. Their band is called Second East because it's the street they grew up on in Rexburg, Idaho.

Someday, when the tracks are all mixed and we're ready to really launch the album, I hope to work with Ryan's wife, Holly, to illustrate and create the most awesome parallax website ever. 

Before I say anything else, I must say THANK YOU to Robyn Folsom for this great opportunity. 

I am still young and naive. Had I known what I know now, I would have taken a laptop and a whole stack of business cards. The laptop to take better notes (luckily I had a pencil and a notepad and was able to type them out here), the business cards (the four I had were gone in 10 minutes & I'm not one to hand out business cards to everyone I meet) to take advantage of the great opportunity to meet people with a common goal. You live and you learn though, right? 

All of this was very last minute. Alex had decided to take our daughter to Boise and I was planning to get my house in order and have a weekend to myself. The house may or may not still be in shambles, but I still have a little time to take care of that. ANYWAY, Robyn's recently ill son was out of school for the day and his sister was gone. Being the great mom she is, Robyn decided to stay home. I felt uncomfortable taking her place due to the circumstances, but eventually decided to take advantage of this great opportunity. I missed the morning session and was just able to get there in time to eat Robyn’s lunch (almost as good as the summit itself, thank you again!). During lunch, we had a question/answer session with Max Williams. 

Max Williams, CEO of Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)
Before becoming CEO of OCF, Max helped create a program to teach the arts to the inmates in prisions and other institutions.

• The arts are a powerful tool in helping someone find something out about themselves that will transform their future.
  
• The arts spur creativity and are essential to the health of the community as a whole.

• OCF just received the Fields Fund, 1.3 million dollars towards arts and education.
  

Things to consider when writing a grant application to OCF

• Think Arts Education, though the fund is not limited to that direction.
• They are also looking for programs that have 3 to 5 year horizons.
• OCF wants to make an impact with the communities of Oregon over time.
• OCF wants to create jobs and help with children’s education.
• Go and meet the people you’re applying to and run through the guidelines with them.
• This is a good mantra: Don’t chase the money. If it’s leading you away from your goal, it’s not really worth it. In other words, don’t bend your project too much around the guidelines of a grant.
• Be passionate about what you do and let it speak for itself.
• OCF goes to great lengths to match donors with organizations. Get to know the OCF advisors.
The Speed of Trust Stephen R. Covey

• The higher the level of trust in any organization, the quicker things get done. The opposite is true for people who can’t trust other people. .

Claudia Alick Curator of the Green Show - Oregon Shakespeare Festival

• We study math, but no one expects us to become mathematicians, why then, are we expected to become artists when we study art?
• Arts are necessary to the health of the community.
• Never give up on people
  

Ryan Pierce Signal Fire

• Signal Fire is a program for artists to camp out in the wilderness for FREE, check it out.

Ryan had to create a slide show and was told about the deadline very last minute, so during his presentation, he talked about getting back to nature and staring at the fire... 
we stared at a slide of a picture of fire for 20 seconds. 
It was hilarious and awkward and then hilarious and then we all realized how 20 seconds can be a really long time.

• This is a great opportunity for artists to network, build confidence, leadership skills and problem solving.
• There will be an art show featuring artists who participated in Signal fire in February.

Michael Fisher School Director, Academy of Arts and Academics

• Kids will live up to your expectations whether they are high or low. 
• Expect Excellence 
• Take them seriously and tell them they can be serious
• Whether you like it or not, your are going to lead something
• Collaboration is key
• Get the youth involved

Summit Reflection Crystal Williams, Mistress of Ceremonies

• Our society is belligerently against reflection. We're always looking for new things and trying to move forward without ever looking back.
  
• Create a place where others can live up to their potential
• "We cannot be like pheasants in the field, standing still, hoping people won't see us and shoot us." Dr. Rudy Crew

Another great thing about this event was that it was held at the Oregon Convention Center. I have always wanted to go into that building! The building is beautiful and the art installations were also great, I had to take and post a photo.

I can't thank Robyn enough... Thank you again Robyn!