Thursday, January 3, 2013

3 BIG REVEALS!!!



Okay so things didn't turn out like I hoped they would with the big reveals. I wanted to post this on New Years day! It didn't happen obvisously, my SIL and her family were over for a good part of the day and we were having fun rearranging my house while the men folk were outside chopping wood. Some days you just have to let go of what you want to get done and embrace the now. It didn't help that it took me so long to make the banner on Monday and I ended up re-doing the whole thing yesterday morning before they got here, I just ran out of time.

Reveal 1 - The new banner! So what do you think about the green? I'm on the fence about it. I also remembered after I finished making the banner that green is one of the worst colors to deal with on blogs because of how it can appear on peoples screens. Should it stay or should it go now??? I wanted a banner that reflects more of the whole scope of The SIP project not just portraits I have taken. I don't want it to look like just a photography blog. Does it get the point across?  I think I may have to re-do the color anyway (which means I have to re-do the whole thing) so if you have any suggestions speak now or forever hold your peace. I also want to have new tabs for my blog but don't know how to write in HTML so if anyone wants to help with that or knows someone who would you would be doing me a great service :)

Reveal 2 - New contributor  Cami Showley will be heading up Dish & Serve. The goal is to have a Dish & Serve post once a week. They have been pretty sporadic up to this point and I just don't have the time to do two posts a week very often. If you have been following my blog from the get go you will know Cami was one of the first people to participate in The SIP project. I was taken by her enthusiasm to serve. She is just a pure hearted chica, she's always seems happy and has a real love and zest for life. "Hi, I'm Cami and I'm very excited to be involved in the SIP project and more specifically Dish and Serve. I am a New Mexican at heart who now lives in Minneapolis with my husband, son (due March 3, 2013), and cat Bentley. I love to write and have been keeping a journal since I was 11, I also enjoy learning and some days I miss college, but not the homework and stress! I love surprising people with delicious food and hope I can help spread this amazing idea around for more to enjoy!"



Reveal 3 - New photo package up to this point the only option available for getting your photos taken has been to do a full on service project of your creation. I know it can be hard to come up with a service project from scratch and though I feel it is important to serve using your talents it's just as important to serve in any capacity. This is an opportunity for you to get great photos and to have the experience of pushing yourself and finding ways to serve. I know this can be challenging and has overwhelmed some people to the point of not wanting to participate, I know how hard it is and how busy life is. Due to this I am changing things up and you will now have two distinct options. My hope is that if someone does the mini package one year it will be the catalyst for them wanting to go for the bigger package next time they want photos.


Package 1 - All the Small Things - In a 4 week period you will need to complete 12 acts of kindness and Volunteer 2-3 hours at a food bank or any place that is set up for regular volunteers. After you complete this you will get a 45min to one hour photo session and 15 edited photos on a CD. I will be putting up a detailed out line of each package on my blog very soon.

Package 2 - Go Big or Go Home You will complete a 7-10 hour service project of your own creation. After you complete this you will get a 2-3 hour photo shoot. If you need help with hair, make-up and what to wear it will be included in this package. I will also sit down with you and help you figure out how to display your new photos in your home, if you want my with that. You will receive 40+ edited images from your photo shoot on a CD. I know this is a very basic outline, details will be put up soon. I will also being doing one or two service projects from conception to carrying it out so that the process of coming up with such a project can be seen and hopefully make it easier for anyone who wants to participate.

*You cannot use a service project that you are already in the process of doing. Just as I wouldn't give you someone else's family photos, your service project needs to be created specifically for participation in The SIP Project.*

I hope these changes are just as exciting to you as they are to me! It means progress and I love to see progress! Alright I need feedback here don't let me down!

All my love,

           DeAnn


9 comments:

  1. I don't talk to you for a week and you change everything?! Goodness gracious! I think everything looks fab and I'm super excited you got someone to do the dish and serve. I wish I were more a foodie, but alas I am not, so I'm thankful I don't feel guilty since you got a full time gal, hehehe ;)

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  2. A new contributor! How exciting!! You guys are just moving right along aren't you?! Awesome!!

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  3. Loving the new banner, but the green does look a little weird on my ipad screen...maybe you could pull the pink color from your daughter's sweater and the pink in the rainy day project..might be easier on the eyes. But I love the way I can tell what you are all about! Good job! And hooray for a new contributor to lighten your load! And the new options for the photo shoot just may help me get my feet wet! Also the photos in the banner aren't as clear as the photo of the new contributor, don't know if it is just my computer though. Good job DeAnn!

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  4. Not a huge fan of the green (especially with your background being yellow and gray). It just seems to busy and bright and it overpowers the photos and text. Maybe just leave the background white and put a border around the whole banner? That could really make the photos and text pop out more rather than people's eyes being drawn into the green right away.

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  5. I don't know how to do html, but I know you can edit which pages show up by editing the gadgets in blogger. Maybe for the tabs up top...pick just 3-4 crucial/key pages to highlight in the tabs at the top and then add a 2nd page gadget to the sidebar with the full list of pages.

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  6. Love the reveals! Think it is great to have a contributor and looking forward to seeing all that you are able to accomplish through serving! Great idea in changing the photo package options. Love it! Good luck!

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  7. I really like how you've spelled out the project in this post. Very clear and easy to understand. Love the new banner...shows it's not just about the photos. :)
    YAY!

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  8. I must've missed the whole green debacle...but from what I see, the new banner is kickin'! (c; I love it and I really spells out what the blog is all about! And btw, what do you think about me counting volunteering in Caden's classroom as a service project? I got every Monday for an hour to do reading groups with the kiddos...I dunno...excited about all the newness coming up here!

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  9. Love the new banner and all the reveals. Glad you were able to get some help with the blog and the dish and serve section of it. You are one amazing woman and an inspiration to me to always try to do better and serve my neighbors.

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I love to hear what your thinking and appreciate your taking the time to comment. Thanks for stopping by :) Come back soon! (I respond to every comment via e-mail so it won't show up here unfortunately)