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?

Brag and Tag

BRAG: another album design completed!

Abbey is an East Coast girl who married at Miami Beach, Florida. She is celebrating her one year anniversary next week which is perfect timing for her wedding album to arrive at her doorstep!

Abbey's photographer was Amy Hill and I love her artistic style. I suppose it doesn't hurt to live in Fort Lauderdale with nice weather and lots of sunshine, either.

Here are some of my favorite designs from Abbey's album and you can see the rest on my website under 'examples. All of these photos are by Amy Hill.

TAG:

I was tagged by the fabulous Grosgrain Lane a while ago and I'm never the best with responding to tags. So I'm making it a point to participate in this one.

All you have to do is list 6 things that bring you happiness. So here it goes:

1. Sleeping in on a non-work day, then bundling up in my warm fuzzy robe and making lots of coffee. Then sipping it throughout the morning while I work on the computer. [This is exactly what I'm doing right now, in case you were wondering] :)

[photo by Michael Browers. Note the warm fuzzy robe]

2. Laying on the beach, under a hot sun, with a good book and good tunes. It ups my happiness if I have a fruity cocktail in hand...preferrably one with a tiny umbrella.

[our honeymoon in St. Lucia, fruity drinks included]

3. Wet, slobbery kisses from one Mr. Henry every night I come home from work. These include butt-wiggles and excited leaps towards my face. Bad puppy breath is part of the deal, too.

[Henry's first Christmas back in 2005. One of our first pictures together].

4. Trips back home to my parents' house, complete with home-cooked meals, girl talk/father-daughter time, and the familiarity of my home town. Hugs from Mom and Dad upon arrival are mandatory and thoroughly enjoyed.

[Christmas at home in 2007]

5. Reuniting with my St. Louis girlfriends after too many months without a visit. Reminiscing about the good old days and pondering the future. The feeling that you have the best friends in the world and knowing that will never change.

[Part of the crew]

6. Spending quality time with Nate--whether it be chatting during a long run, or standing at the sink to do dishes together. During a six hour road trip back to Missouri, or relaxing on the couch to watch TV. I value this time in our marriage before kids when we can focus on "us time." I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[Engagement pics by Michael Browers. I like this one and felt like posting it again.]

So that's it: 6 things that make me happy. Feel free to post your own list if you'd like!

How many days 'til Christmas?!?!

I've decided that I love Wisconsin Autumns. I have pictures [coming soon!] to prove that it truly is one of the most beautiful places to see the leaves change. I don't even mind that it's getting colder and darker in the evenings...not just yet, but give me another month and I might be sobbing all over the place again.

You see, Christmas is RIGHT around the corner. No joke. I can't even bring myself to count the days....although I love Christmas, I know that means Wisconsin winter full of reDONKulous amounts of snow. Sob.

I say all this because of my album design business [bear with me a second, I'll get back to Christmas in a bit]. I have to show off an album I completed some time ago, but never had a second to gather my thoughts and post about it. Jenna is a bride with stellar tastes: she got married and had her reception at the very same location as moi, just a mere five days after me. We met through wedding planning and it was quite the trip down memory lane to design her album. Jenna used SJMacky, one of the most popular St. Louis photographers, whose talent has grown with her booming clientele. Did I mention that I love to stare at wedding photographer's blogs?

Here are a few of my favorite layouts from Jenna's album, but as always....go to my website under 'examples' for all of the pages.






Fun, right?

But what about Christmas? Since the season is upon us and my side business seems to be taking off, I need anyone who wants an album by Christmas to get on the ball. I'm thinking the beginning of November [a few weeks away!] is a realistic deadline because I only have so much free time to devote to J.Lorene [although if I had it my way, you know I'd ditch the full time real job in a second for this fun stuff.]

So here is my plea: if you are considering using my services for a Christmas gift album, contact me a.s.a.p. [julia@jlorenedesign dot com]. And be prepared to get your images organized and sent to me by the beginning of November. Mama Clause might need to make a few hot dates with Mr. Computer before Christmas....the whole idea of 'sharing the computer' is a little rough lately. I miss the days of our dual-computer household:(

[As a side note, I finally raised my prices ever so slightly. It's about time I took the plunge so take a look on the 'investment' tab. Yay for business growth!]

Eye candy, etc.

If you are like me, you've always drooled over dreamy destination weddings. Nothing says fabulosity like getting married on a sandy beach, with the ocean as a background, and the sun shining down. Ah, pure paradise.

I got the pleasure to design my first destination wedding album for Brigid---who also happens to have her own photography business called Ramblin Rose Photography. It's a bit nerve wracking when you design a photo album for a photographer: their attention to detail can be more precise than non-photographer brides. But after tweaking her layouts so that both of us are satisfied, her album is officially ready for print!

Brigid's photographer was Eric Dahl from Maui Wedding Photography. Now THERE'S a career that makes me jealous enough to cry...taking gorgeous photos of weddings in Hawaii? Yes, please!

Here are a few of my favorite layouts but you can see the entire album under 'example's at J.Lorene Design. As always, click the images to make them bigger.









____________________________________________________
On a completely unrelated note [something that should probably be it's own post, but I'm feeling lazy right now]: Keri is scheduled for a lung biopsy on Monday. The re-read her CT scan and cannot deny that the spot is bigger, so they feel a biopsy is the only way to properly diagnose her. You can read more about it at her journal but please keep her in your prayers [thank you for doing so even before this new discovery!]. I spoke to Keri last night and she was rightfully overwhelmed by all of this new information. I simply cannot imagine. Ugh.

One positive bit of news is that she WILL get her boob job on Tuesday! Yay for new boobies:) I know she's been looking forward to the new girls and after much discussion the doctors decided she could go ahead with the original surgery date. Needless to say, Keri has a big week ahead of her.

Not to sound like a broken record but please let Keri's story impact your life in some way. For me, the recent events have brought me back to reality again. It's made me reasses my priorities in life and has helped me let go of the little things that seemed so important last week. Looking at the big picture that is life, and stepping back from the daily grind has helped me appreciate life's little blessings. And I hope it's done the same for you.