album design and whatnot.

I feel like I'm still coming up for air after a whirlwind of holiday business. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or anything....after all, that is how I purchased my pimp camera. But in the midst of the chaos I never had time to show a few pages of each album and that's just not fair, is it? Plus, I like to look at these to gear up for another wedding season/warm weather/pretty colors/flowers/etc. I just love it a lot.


First we have Michelle, who just so happens to be my new cousin. Remember when I blogged about their wedding? We ran their photo booth and had a ball. She adores purple in case you couldn't tell:)









Then we have Christy who is basically the sweetest person ever. She is the sister of a previous client and they both used SJ Macky as a photographer, who is also the sweetest. Sweet, sweet, sweet.











And lastly we have a very special album and one that I think is a FABULOUS idea for all daughters out there. Stacy contacted me to make her parents a 30 year anniversary album. She did lots of work on the front end by gathering up photos and letters from her parents' friends and family. Then she sent everything to me and I worked my magic:) The end result was a super cool album that Stacy surprised her parents with over their anniversary dinner. Some of the letters from their friends made me get a little weepy. Thirty years together is freaking amazing and I hope Nate and I maintain friendships over the years just like they did. And if my Mom wasn't album obsessed and already made her own variations of their lives together, I'd be all over this one. Enjoy!







Of course, all of these albums are now up on my website in their entirety.

I'm going to be honest here: I feel like my little business is at a crossroads. I've gotten to the point where I have to turn clients away because I simply to not have the time. I've experienced some intense deadlines which obviously strips me of my creativity. I feel torn between focusing even more time and energy on the biz in hopes that it grows enough to allow a decrease in my 'real career' hours. How freaking sweet would that be?

But honestly, I don't make near enough money on these albums to drop a day at work....it's just not realistic. Another option would be to quit the biz altogether so I can spend more time with my new camera and possibly training for another marathon [gasp!]. I am slowly realizing that I only have a few precious hours each evening that I can devote to myself....the rest of the day is sucked up by work, the gym, dinner, chatting with the hubs, and sleeping. Album design used to be my creative outlet and now with the new camera I feel like album design can sometimes feel like a 'job' and not as much fun as it used to be.

I just don't know, you guys. I'm torn. I have to make a decision one way or the other pretty soon just to appease myself. But either way I won't be accepting new orders until April or later....I've already got about 6 albums lined up in front of me again! Any suggestions for a struggling business owner?

Anyway......onto another album: our 2008 everyday album is officially complete! It was a whopping 87 pages which basically qualifies as ri-DONK-ulous. I think the largest one prior to this baby was around 50 pages. But then again, this covered 365 days instead of just one day:)

I'm quite proud of it and cannot wait for it to arrive. Here is my front cover.....it's a take off from that blog post everyone did about 'a picture for each month' or whatever.



And then because we all need a shot of four seasons, I included some more of my favorite pages for your pleasure:






















What a year. What an amazing year, huh? Man, Photoshop has really been earning it's keep around here lately. And my head kind of hurts now...but you likey?