More Logos!

Here is the new logo for Diva's Dance Studio Boy's Hip Hop Team:

 

Stars are a part of the main logo, so Andrea, the owner of the studio, wanted to incorporate them into the design here. We went with greys instead of black for the details beacuse this will mainly be printed against black. I'm SO happy with how it turned out, but even more excited that Andrea loved it so much!

And seriously, if anyone is looking for a fantastic dance studio for your kids (or even for yourself, there are adult classes available!) look no further than Diva's. I had taken my daughter to another studio that I went to as a kid. This studio is very well known in the dance and performing world now, but I was thoroughly unimpressed by their teaching methods. They didn't break down the steps for kids who hadn't been in dance all their lives already. So for kids like my daughter, who got a "late" start at dancing, they were constantly behind. The thing I loved about Diva's was there is SUCH a feeling of comraderie and true welcome into the dance family there. And they taught each dance step by step! What a novel concept for a dance studio, right? hahaha!

Thanks, Andrea, for letting me play with your logo!!

Oh yeah. . . I was going to start training. :S

I've been so focused on creating new projects and having a lot of fun doing that side, I almost forgot I wanted to incorporate my training blog into this one.

Oops.

Ok. To be 100% honest, I haven't been training lately. UGH! I miss it. I seriously miss how good I was doing! What happened? I have no idea. Lost my training time, got sidetracked, got lazy. All the above. SO. Part of why I'm making this my training blog, in addition to crafting, is to keep me accountable.

First it starts with diet. I will never go on a "diet" diet. It's all about truly changing habits. Diets end. My brother is working on talking me into the HCG diet. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I have been completely against this diet. Like, just saying "HCG" sends me into a soap box tirade against it. Sigh. . .  I may have to eat some words here, but I've started researching the pros of this diet. That being said, I'm still against the highly commercialization of the diet. My family doctor, who was my doctor when I was a kid, the one who had to hold me down in addition to my dad and two male nurses to give me a shot, worked for the actual, original HCG diet. (I'm not exactly sure the details of what he did, but he's worked with the diet a lot, how it was meant to be used.) When used correctly, it seems like a good way to jump start changing habits, getting the weight down so its easier to exercise.

I still need to do more research to be fully comfortable doing this along with my family. I'll keep ya'll updated on that.

The next hurdle is finding time to train. Between taking on more responsibilities at work, having to commute to work now, as opposed to just living up the street from work and everything else that has gotten in the way. . . my training time has been cut to nothing. I used to train in the morning and then again after work while the kids played in the gym playroom. It was my heaven! Now I'm limited to only being able to train before the kids wake up. :S

Last week I tried it. I planned to wake up at 4 and get to the gym by 4:30. I ended up waking up at 3:30. I made my 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg breakfast. (Just a sprinkle of salt and pepper for flavor.) Got to the gym a little after 4.

• 20-30 minutes cardio (elliptical)
• Stretch
• Core
  - 30 crunches
  - 12 planks
  - 30 oblique crunches (right and left)
  - 12 planks
  - 100 penguins (lay on your back, feet on the floor, knees pointed up. Lift upper body and alternately   touch each foot with your hands. I'll try and post pics of this later. lol)
• Weights x 3sets (In between each set, jump rope for 1 minute)
  - Shoulders (12-20 reps)
  - Chest (12-20)
  - Biceps (12-20)
• 30 minutes swim laps
• 10-15 minutes in the sauna, stretching some more.

What's super important on weights is getting full extension. For example, if you're doing curls for your biceps, take your arms all the way down, not just waist level. You're only cheating yourself of a full, effective workout if you do it half way. Makes sense, right?

After that workout, I got home in time to shower, get ready, jump on facebook for a bit and finish designing a logo. It was SO nice being so productive by 6am! Now I just have to get myself used to waking up that early and it will be second nature.

Wish me luck! LOL

Meals the rest of the day consisted of:
• Greek yogurt (check the carbs and protein ratio. You never want double the carbs to protein.)
• String Cheese
• Orange
• Salad with Turkey
• Broccoli & Cauliflower
• Grilled chicken with herb stuff on it. (My mom made it. It was so good, I'll track down the recipe.)

Next day weigh in: down a full pound. I may get addicted to waking up ridiculously early. ;)

Change of Plans

Sooo. . . before I went and finally registered the name "Vintage Poppy", I did one final Google search to make sure no one else had that name, that I could find online. I had done it before, when I first thought of it, and came up with nothing. On this search, I found scrapbook lines named Vintage Poppy, and an etsy store by the same name as well. I didn't want to be seen as copying or stealing that name, so I decided to just change it to

Vintage 53

I wanted to keep Vintage in the title, because that really describes me, I think. I've always been drawn to the vintage styles and designs. I wanted my name to be personal, and include things dear to me. I thought about using 84, which is the year I was born. But that didn't quite feel "vintage" enough. LOL! So I wanted to go with a number, and keep it with birth years of a family member, to keep my name personal to me. I decided to go with 53, the year my dad was born. I didn't want to offend anyone by going with one year or another, so I almost didn't go that route. I decided to go ahead and honor my dad, who died nearly 6 years ago now. Without going into details, I choose his year because when I think of my dad, I think of how much he worked, how hard he worked, to give my siblings and I everything we wanted. He would go without so we would not. After my parents divorced, it still took him a while, but he changed his temperament, his goals and dreams and just went for life with gusto. When I think of my dad, I think that anything is possible, and that is what I really want to emmulate. If I could choose one thing for someone to see when they get to know me, or that I can teach to my kids, is that ANYTHING is possible. With a good attitude, big dreams and a willingness to humble one self enough to be taught lessons along the way (and to truly learn something from those life lessons) anyone can get anywhere they want to be in life. I believe that, and whether my dad knew it or not, he taught me that.

Love you daddy!!

P.S. To the rest of my family/friends: With any amount of luck and hard work, I will eventually create lines of things to be named after each of you. No worries! :D lol You are all dear to me in ways I could never fully express in words.

Another Logo

Here's the logo I designed for the children's line my sister and I are making. It's going to be SO cute and fun! I can't wait to get it going.


The name Ollie Bug comes from her son's name, and the nicknames I call my kids. They all have some type of "bug" nickname. It started with my daughter. I call her Bugaboo. (My dad calls her Hugaboo.) The boys are always my snuggle bug or tickle bug. LOL They change with their mood. ;)