​YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!! Amirite?!?

I hope you enjoyed this little illustrated story—and I hope that wherever life finds you as you read this, you yourself are living in a sock-box-less home ;) 

One of my favorite bigger-picture branding projects that I've worked on in the past 6 months or so is this one: Firefly Leadership's logo and website for Amanda Cutright, a DC-based Executive + Leadership Coach. Amanda is also a longtime friend and fellow mama, so it was extra special to work with her on branding her fabulous business. 

Amanda works with executives at large corporations, small businesses, and non-profits, and wanted a brand and website that felt professional but not stuffy—a brand that conveyed her warm, open, upbeat personality and her top-notch experience, approach, and qualifications—without feeling like "just another coaching site."

So, we dove into this challenge head-on and I love what we came up with together. You can check out Amanda's website here and view her brand logos below...

We also came up with the following brand icons to use throughout her site and presentations:

And because I love a good behind-the-scenes glimpse at things, here's the website mood board I created for Amanda before we started on her site (to make sure we were on the same page about the look + feel):

Fun, right? I'm so excited for Amanda as she makes her business more official (she's been out on her own for a while but now it's internet-official!). To learn more about Firefly Leadership and Amanda's coaching process, visit her website.

Interested in learning more about my design services? Reach out or learn more at Starr Struck Design Studio.

I've added 4 new greeting card designs to my Etsy shop, woop woop! 2 Pregnancy cards + 2 general life/encouragement cards bc LIFE IS HARD RIGHT NOW AND SNAIL MAIL MAKES EVERYONE FEEL BETTER.

You can view the new cards in my shop here or scroll on to view the designs here on the blog...

All 4 cards are available individually or you can build your own 8-pack out of any of the cards in my shop ;) 

As always, thanks so much for your support!

More logos coming in hot! Have I mentioned how much I love designing logos? I love how each logo, brand, and client is so different and poses a unique challenge...and I'm excited to tackle a bunch more logo design projects this year!

But first, as promised, here's Part 2 of my recent logo roundup series...

[FYI: where applicable, I've shared both the primary logo and some of the secondary logo variations]

ABOVE: Get Outside Cape Cod logo for Lissy Perna, a Cape Cod mom and lover of nature who shares amazing information, resources, and Cape Cod adventures on her Instagram page

BELOW: Beautiful, Bold, + Juicy logo for Emily Johnson, a local entrepreneur (and yoga studio owner), podcaster, blogger, mom, nurse, and more! 

BELOW: Wear Your Wish logo for Katie Marks, a local entrepreneur who has started an apparel business (she wanted all of her favorite wish-related iconography included, so that's we did!)

BELOW: Feng Shui Organizing logo for Debbie Wolfe, a local Feng Shui Master and Certified Professional Organizer. We'll be working on her website next, so I'll be sure to share that when it's done!

BELOW: MindBody Junkie logo for VA-based yoga teacher and certified mindfulness + meditation teacher, Dana Gill

BELOW: Pink Buddha Yoga logo for Dee Gard, an Alaska-based yoga teacher and yoga studio manager. We'll be doing her website this year so stay tuned for more from Dee! 

Everyone seems to need a new logo right now! And you know what that tells me? That just because we're in the middle of a pandemic doesn't mean people aren't following their entrepreneurial dreams...

In fact, I think people are following their entrepreneurial dreams *more fiercely* than usual because we're in the middle of a pandemic, which is awesome. 

So, because I've done so many logos design projects recently, I figured it was time for a quick round-up +  shout-outs to all of our amazing clients.

Here's Part 1; I'll post Part 2 next week...

ABOVE: Infinity Yoga & Birth Doula Logo for Austin, TX-based prenatal yoga teacher and doula, Allison Cline. {We also designed + built her website, which you can check out here.}

​BELOW: Logo for Jessica Avitabile, Cape-Cod based Health Coach & Nia teacher
{We built Jessica's website, too! You can check it out here.}

BELOW: Sarah L. Dickey Birth Educator + Soul Doula Logo (and accompanying sub-brands logos--see below)

BELOW: Logo for Amanda Wozniak, Maryland-based freelance Copy Editor & Web Content Manager

BELOW: Chef Koo's Kitchen Logo for DC-based, self-taught chef Niloo Naur

Fun, right? I cannot tell you how much I love the logo design process!! It's the BEST. 

Interested in learning more about my design services? Reach out or learn more at Starr Struck Design Studio.

​Pre-orders for my new sweatshirts are now live in my Etsy shop! I have 4 new designs available in multiple colors :)

Pre-orders are open until 12pm on Tuesday, 11/17 and will then be closed, so order yours now to ensure you get the size/style/color you want.

Other imp details/FAQS:

• Sizing: I'm 5"8 and around 140lbs and usually wear a M top. I have this sweatshirt in both a M and L and love both, but the L is definitely MUCH roomier. If you want it to fit looser, size up. If you want a normal fit, go with your regular size.
  
  
• If you've ordered one of my past recent sweatshirts (BlossOM, Legs Up the Wall, or Om Shanti Mandala) this is the same top, so you should order the size you have in that sweatshirt (if you like how it fits). 
  
  
• Fellow Cape Codder? Use code LOCALPICKUP at checkout to save on shipping + arrange pick-up.
  ​
  
• All pre-orders will ship out starting the first week in December. 

DESIGN 1: The Rose Family (shown above)

DESIGN 2: Cape Cod Towns (below)

​DESIGN 3: Just One More Page (below)

​DESIGN 4: RBG/Super Diva (below)

Although the pandemic has crushed many small business (especially in places like Cape Cod where we rely so much on tourism), seeing new businesses continue to pop-up despite the pandemic gives me great hope.

One of these businesses is Fig Tree Cafe, a local eatery (formerly "The Mills") that was purchased by my client Maria Ferguson during the heart of the pandemic. Maria officially took over and rebranded the business in early September and it has been a total honor working with her on everything from the logo and website, to signage, business cards, menus, and so much more. 

For those who are local, this weekend is Fig Tree Cafe's Grand Opening Weekend so I encourage you to stop by to enjoy their AMAZING food and new look+ feel!

Here's a glimpse at some of the branding projects that I've done for Maria and Fig Tree Cafe...

ABOVE: Full logo

BELOW: Website (click on the image below to visit the live site)

BELOW: Menu (click on the image below to view the menu online)

Don't you love the fun colors that Maria chose for her brand? If you've been to this restaurant in the past (when it was The Mills) I think you'll be shocked at how different it looks now! I absolutely LOVE what she's done with the place (insert heart eyes emoji here). 

It's been a blast working with Maria on this project and I'm excited to continue working with her as she further develops the brand and look...

Interested in learning more about our design services? Reach out or learn more at Starr Struck Design Studio.

I made this short series of illustrations for Instagram but thought it was worth sharing here, too, since I spent *a little too much* time on it (I can't help it--it's a creative compulsion!)... 

For some, Labor Day weekend looks + feels different than other weekends—for me (and for many other moms with young children), it looks just about the same.

Here's a short illustrated explanation of what I'm talking about:

Fellow moms with young kiddos, does this resonate? I hope so. 

Also: I KNOW I am going to look back on these days and miss them fiercely. I can already feel it in my bones; even as I'm living these moments and wishing for a bit more space, I know they are precious, precious days. 

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!

Y'all: running a small business that works with other small businesses during a pandemic has been no joke. 

I've been really worried about all of my brick + mortar clients making it through this tough time--and while it's definitely been hard for a lot of them (and many have had to make changes to their business models in order to stay afloat), I'm glad to say that most of the businesses I work with have been able to keep things going...

As for my little business, things were touch-and-go for a while (and my revenue has definitely been way down this year!) but I'm slowly easing back into a *somewhat regular* work-from-home-mom schedule and am beginning to feel truly productive again. I'm also very grateful for all of my amazing clients who have kept me plenty busy over the past almost 6 months of craziness. 

Since I already gave some of my recent web design clients a shout-out, I figured it was time I give some of my pandemic logo design clients a shout-out, too! Thus, here are some of the recent logo design projects I've been working on over at Starr Struck Design Studio:

-(Above) The Naptime Writer Logo
I made this sweet logo is for my dear friend and book reviewer/blogger, Jessica Christensen. She's the best. Check her out here. 

-Wear Your Cause Logo (below)
A brand new logo for a brand new biz! Wear Your Cause is a conscientious jewelry brand focused on inspiring, doing good, and giving back. Check out their gorgeous bracelets here.

-Sarah L. Dickey Brave Birthing Logo (below)
I created this logo for longtime client Sarah L. Dickey--before she found out that she couldn't use this business name due to trademark issues. We're now working on a new logo and business name but I thought this logo was so pretty I had to share here, anyway ;) ​

-Zen Mother Hen Logo (below)
Somehow I completely forgot to share this logo WAYYYY back in January when I finished it (I blame #momlife)...I made it for a fabulous local yoga teacher, Danielle Ayoette (we made two versions, both of which you can see below). Check her out here. ​

-Educational Alchemist Logo (below)
I just finished up this logo (and website) for Laura Purnell, the inspiring coach, consultant, teacher, and healer behind Educational Alchemist. Check her out here. ​

Teddy turned one on Sunday. {I know! This life is crazy!} And although I've already splashed birthday pics of him all over social media, I feel like I need to honor his birthday by posting a few pics of his actual party here to the blog too.

[So many of Charlie Mae's big milestones have been captured here, so it's only fair that I write a little bit about Teddy as well, right!?] 

But in classic second child fashion, I have WAY less pics of Teddy's first birthday than I did of Charlie Mae's (whoops!) and I completely forgot to take a picture of his cake. We also didn't get a picture of him being sung to because all of the family members in attendance were social distancing and couldn't get a good angle. But hey, at least we had a party during COVID! And it was a lovely one at that...

Thus, here are some pics of my #1 boy at his first birthday celebration (I've also included a pic of his bday invite bc I think it's hilarious):

Above: we had a fruit-themed party because Teddy is OBSESSED with fruit. It was Charlie Mae's idea and she was sold on it so we went with it...but I'm glad we did because it ended up being easy and fun. 

Above: Teddy making it VERY hard to get a first birthday pic of him + Ben measuring him against the door frame as he's been doing for Charlie Mae every year of her life. Straighten those legs, kiddo! 

Above: Charlie Mae and I made all of these fruit banners together over the course of last week...I think she loves this kind of stuff as much as I do so it was a win-win ;) 

Below: Of course I had to do a little digital collage of all of Teddy's monthly pics so we could see how much he's grown in the past year...

And there you have it: our precious little goober and adored last child (if life doesn't throw us any curve balls, ha!) is no longer an infant.

Although it feels like I just had him (you can read his birth story here), a whole lot has happened in his life and in our world during his first trip around the sun. Let's hope that things get a little easier and better for everyone during his second year...

I know this might sound obvious to many of you, but I'm going to say it anyway: websites are more important now than ever before. 

Whether you're using your website for selling online, sharing your work, or marketing your services, having an online home that explains more than your IG bio or FB page can express is crazy important. I've been *so* grateful for my existing online presence during this pandemic and I'm sure that many of you have been, too. 

Similarly, I've been so thankful for the many clients who have still been using my design services during these difficult times! While things have definitely slowed down for us over at Starr Struck Design Studio (because so many of our clients are small businesses who were shut down for a few months), we've been hard at work for clients who were able to take advantage of the past few months to finally get their sites up and/or new branding created.

So, here's a shout-out to some of our recent web design clients; I've included a little blurb about each of their projects below but you can also click on the website image or link to visit the live site and learn more...

(Above) Stephanie Lombard-Foster
Stephanie is a super talented local health coach, fitness trainer, and reiki master who teaches Pilates all over Cape Cod and provides a number of other self-care services, as well. She needed a site that would enable her students and clients to learn more about her offerings and view her full class schedule all in one place. It was so fun working with her to create this sparkly new website and logo--I can't wait until she can get back to teaching live classes!

(Below) Artisan Skin Care
Angie, the owner of Artisan Skin Care, is a longtime client who decided that this downtime was the perfect chance to combine her two separate websites (one for her products, one for her in-person spa) into one cohesive brand and business. Bringing these two sites together under one "roof" was quite the undertaking, but we're extremely happy with how her final website turned out.

(Below) Zawn Villines
Zawn is another repeat client (we created a website for her nonprofit, Georgia Birth Advocacy Coalition, in early 2019) who is VERY busy and VERY talented and needed a website where she could easily link to all of her online work/activity as a writer and activist. In addition to pulling together her site, we also created a simple logo and homepage watercolor for Zawn in order to make her brand a little more personalized and fun. 

(Below) Carol J. S. Nickerson
Carol is a Clinical Social Worker based on Cape Cod who needed a website that would share her services, approach, and background with potential clients and colleagues. We worked with Carol to create an informative, welcoming website that is both professional and caring. 

(Below) Sharing Her Dream
Deb, the talented entrepreneur behind Sharing her Dream, is a Cape Cod-based brand story strategist and videographer who is passionate about creating brand videos for small businesses and female entrepreneurs. Deb came to us with a clear vision of how she wanted her site to look (and how she wanted it to work with her existing branding) and we were able to bring her vision to life through our collaborative design process.

Thank you again to all of our wonderful clients for your business over the past few [tough] months!

Interested in learning more our website design services? Reach out or learn more at Starr Struck Design Studio.

​Despite feeling a deep yearning to do so, I haven't attended a single #BlackLivesMatter protest because I have an infant at home and am scared exposing him to COVID-19. 

But to those who are protesting, I'm there with you in my mind, soul, and spirit. I'm watching the protests--riveted--and am thinking about this movement while pushing the kids in the stroller, while lying in bed at night, while teaching yoga, during Teddy's middle-of-the-night feeding... 

I've been googling images from the protests, watching the news coverage, devouring the articles, following every BLM activist I can find on Instagram and reading what they have to say about how I can be an ally, but it's just not the same as showing up in person. 

My hope is that everyone in our country is being so deeply affected by the protests. And I truly hope that supporting this movement isn't just a trend among white people, but that we all start to do the real work that we need to do in order to support the incredible BIPOC in our nation (who have been alone in their efforts for FAR, FAR too long).

To those of you who have attended a protest: thank you for putting yourself on the line and showing up physically. For those of you who, like me, can't be there in person: remember that you still have a voice and you can use it from home. How can you use your gifts, privilege, status, and/or profession to help make real change? 

I'm still figuring out how best to serve this movement (above + beyond making calls, writing emails, learning, reading, donating, and talking), but part of my way of processing is to create images like these in order to capture this moment in history. [If you need an image for personal web use on social media, in your newsletter, on your blog, etc, feel free to use one of these images without asking my permission.]

FYI: The first two drawings above are inspired by a striking photograph taken by the photographer Jason Armond. Seeing people protesting in their face masks makes all of this so much more intense and powerful, doesn't it? I am so moved by images like these; thank you to this beautiful, brave, strong woman and the photographer who captured her in all of her glory. 

​BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Cape Codders: show your local love with my new CC towns tee! For every tee purchased I'll be donating $5 to the Cape Cod Resilience Fund (powered by LoveLiveLocal and the Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District).

The tees come in Navy + Grey (both designs pictured below) and you can pre-order yours in my Etsy shop through Wednesday, 5/20.

I'll be printing the tees locally, of course (shout-out Kaleidoscope Imprints) + they'll be available in 3-4 weeks. Enter the coupon code "LOCALPICKUP" to save on shipping and pick yours up in Centerville when they're ready. 

This is parenting during a pandemic. It's toys covering the floor, caffeinated beverage in hand, tired eyes and unwashed hair, all while trying to stay positive.

It's attempting to squeeze in work when the kids are sleeping or staring at a screen or—if you're lucky—you have a partner who can take them outside for a walk.

It's doing everything at once while also feeling guilty for doing everything poorly. It's a quick craft project followed by quick snacks followed by a quick client meeting followed by a tantrum.

It's never going to the bathroom alone—not once—throughout the entire day. It’s having a child bouncing on your lap as you try to finish one last email.

It’s layers upon layers of crushed Cheerios ground into the rug and no time to vacuum. It’s trying to function “normally” while dealing with the constant hum of underlying anxiety about how long all of this will last...

And yet, here we are, parents: we're doing it. Some days we can connect with a kind of intense gratitude for all that we have during this trying time. Some days we watch our children doing something magical, hilarious, creative, or intelligent, and we feel so lucky to have this unexpected, precious time with them.

But some days we get frustrated and angry and snappy and overwhelmed and that's okay, too.

We're doing it. And we’re only human, after all.

So no matter what, remember that you’re not alone in your mixed emotions. We WILL make it through this crazy time—we may emerge a little more frazzled and unkempt than usual (lol)—but we will emerge. And the return to normalcy will be that much sweeter.

Sending love to all of my fellow exhausted parents today!