Archive for September 2010 | Monthly archive page
Sep 07
Logo Design: Regent Estates
I hit the mother-in-law jackpot! I happen to have two mother-in-laws and both of their names are Nancy! How lucky am I?
For the sake of keeping this easy, I’ll name them Nancy #1 and Nancy #2. Not because one is better than the other, but because one came first. Nancy number 1 is Lincoln’s Mom. She happens to be a graphic designer. I love that I can bounce ideas off of her. She just started a digital scrap booking site that deserves it’s own blog post. Stay tuned for that post!
This post, however, happens to be dedicated to Nancy #2. Nancy number two is Lincoln’s stepmom. She happens to have amazing taste! For as long as I’ve know her, she’s bought and sold antiques. Currently, she is doing Estate Sales and Liquidations.
Regent Estates is the company that she works for. She asked me to print more business cards for them and letterhead. Regent Estates already had a logo of sorts. After looking at their current logo, I was inspired to create something new. The concept was perfect and I just put my own spin on it.
A company’s logo is a reflection of the company’s image, style, product, etc. A good logo can help a company sell their product. A well branded company sets that company apart from their competitors. I personally buy products based on a company’s logo or packaging. Branding is one of the most important aspects of a business and is commonly overlooked. With that being said, I will show you the comparison of the before and after.
Here is the before of both their business card and letterhead:
Here is what I came up with. I think it gives their company a very different feel. What do you think? See for yourself. . .
It’s much cleaner, crisper, elegant, and it totally makes a statement. Here is the letterhead too!
These are the signs I designed for them. We had them printed by Impact Sign Company. We stayed consistent with their corporate branding. These signs were super easy to spot and lead me right to the estate sale.
If you live in the area and would like to check out one of Regent Estates’ Sales, take a look at Estate Sale Finder. Click on the Estate Sales button on the left hand side. Look for Regent Estates. It looks like they will have a sale coming really soon. They also advertise in the Oregonian, so look for their logo.
I went to their last sale and had a blast. I am going to start going to these more often. Here is the vintage stroller/buggy that I fell in love with at the last sale. If I was a photographer, I would have bought this and used it for a fabulous photo prop!!! Oh, I’m always thinking! Isn’t this beautiful?
**Please excuse these photos. The lighting was all over the place. I was shooting inside at 7pm. Not the best light for photos. Sorry. Carry on with your reading enjoyment. Thank you!**
Hello. My name is Jessica. I am a member of a wine club. I don’t like wine. Okay, I feel better now that I’ve confessed. What’s a girl to do when it’s her turn to host wine club and she doesn’t even like wine?? Naturally, I hosted the party! Since my favorite thing to make are desserts, I thought that would be an appropriate “menu” of sorts. I have little knowledge of wine, but did know there are dessert wines and told everyone to bring a bottle.
I had a ton of yellow and orange decor left over from Linc’s Surprise 30th Birthday Party. I thought I could somehow incorporate all the items into my wine club night. I added hot pink to the color palette and was ready to start planning!! Yay! My favorite part of party planning is doing the research and finding as many inspiration boards/ideas as I can. I love the planning!! I know, I know. I am a total nerd. What can I say?
Before every party I throw, I get some ideas and sketch them out on a sheet of paper. Yes, I really draw them out and label them. Someday I will include my awesome little sketches. Did I mention that I can’t draw at all?? Then I make a ton of lists. Without lists, I wouldn’t be able to function or keep anything straight. I wouldn’t be able to sleep either. All my ideas keep me awake at night if I don’t organize them! Stop bugging me ideas, I’m trying to sleep!
I also created a “logo” that I included on all of my party decor. What? Did you expect something else? Planning. . . check. Paper decor. . . check. Now, onto baking!
I spent a few days baking and dipping various items into chocolate. It was like a chocolate lovers haven. I don’t really love chocolate either, but it sure looks pretty. Okay, I take that back. I do like chocolate a lot more now! Plus, anything is better if it’s dipped in chocolate, right?
Here are some photos of the dessert table! Enjoy. . .
A dessert party wouldn’t be complete without cupcakes now would it? I made these Pink Champagne Cupcakes (thanks Jen for the tip on the recipe). I thought they were fitting. I found this cute cupcake “paper” at Paper Zone. I couldn’t resist it!
I also made cream filled macaroons, brownie pops, marshmallow pops, peanut butter bon bons (get these at Costco around the holidays. No baking required and they are like heaven rolled up in a ball. Unless you are allergic to peanuts and then they are like little balls of death.), chocolate covered strawberries and more. See for yourself.
I tried my hand at Double Stuffed Oreo Pops. Let’s just say, I will probably leave this one up to Kim at Sweeties By Kim. They tasted good, but they didn’t look very pretty!
I saw this awesome idea in one of the party planning books. We did this for Lincoln’s party too, but didn’t get a photo of it. You put cupcake liners in your muffin pan, pre-scoop the ice cream, and leave it in the freezer until you are ready to serve it. Genius. Isn’t that the best idea ever? Then there is no waiting while you are dishing it up! Just grab a muffin liner full of ice cream and eat away. I also made homemade cake batter ice cream. Yummy!
You’ll notice that the oranges are “recycled” decor from Lincoln’s party!
It was a super warm day and I figured that we could always use some non-alcoholic drinks on hand. This was the first time I’ve made water bottle labels. They were so easy and I think it was a wonderful touch. This is going to be a must at my future events.
I saw these adorable Chinese-style take out boxes at Paper Zone and I’ve been dying to incorporate them into one of my parties. I always make way too much food and if I had to-go boxes ready for my guests then I wouldn’t be stuck eating all of this yummy food, right? Well, that plan worked out better than I had expected and my guests cleaned me out! I have pictures to prove it. Thankfully, they left the kitchen sink 🙂 I put different labels on the boxes. It was my attempt at humor.
Okay, you’d think these people had never eaten before. They were like hungry animals. This is how they left the place. Maybe to-go boxes were a bad idea? I kid, I kid! It was a great idea!!!
Off to bed I go. I’ll be dreaming of all of these yummy treats and gaining weight while I sleep!
Jessica