New branding...Martha Stewart style

For some reason I've become very crafty lately. I don't if it's because I'm approaching my 30th, or if I saw a random infomercial on some craft-related item, but in any case, I've been making a lot of random "things" lately.

For years, I've been delivering my client's CD's and albums to them in just regular, plain gift bags. None of my logos were anywhere, CD covers were just a picture from that particular session...in a nutshell, it was a dull way of delivering my products. So I wanted to change it up and personalize it a bit more.

I looked into ordered pre-made bags with my logo on them, but after researching several different companies, I realized I was going to be paying about $200 minimum for a pack of 12 bags, or from some cheap-o company who offered a minimum order of 1,000 bags. I just wasn't happy with what I was finding, so that's when I got the idea to start making my own gift bags.

I went to Big Lots (love, love, love that store) and purchased a bundle of plain white bags for $10. I believe I got 24. Deal! Obviously I'll need more, but this was just a test run, and if it didn't work out the way I wanted it to, I didn't want to be stuck with 100 plain white bags.

After that, I purchased some plain card stock paper, regular Elmer's Glue and random ribbon colors and designs. Then, I put on my Martha Stewart pants and went to town. The logo on the front was just printed off of my printer, and the CD covers were also made on my computer.  It really only takes about 5 minutes to make a bag.

So, there it is....my newly branded gift bags for my clients. I couldn't be happier with them and so far, the feedback has been wonderful.

Just Fishin'

NOTE: If you are any sort of PETA person, you probably won't want to read this blog. 

While creating this post, the song "Just Fishin' by Trace Adkins automatically pops in my head :)

My Labor Day weekend kicked off Friday evening with a fantastic salmon fishing trip on Lake Michigan, thanks to Bud, who is not only my parents' neighbor, but also a family friend. This man truly knows his stuff. He's an avid outdoors-man and if it weren't for him, I wouldn't know how to properly filet a fish or see first hand what it takes to stuff a giraffe (yes, a giraffe! I had the honor of shooting some video for one of his past television shows and we went to a company that stuffed any animal you can imagine.)

This is the second time I've been out salmon fishing on the lake. On the first trip, we went in the morning. And if you know me, you know I'm not a morning person, so having to get up at 4 a.m. was a task, but I did it, and on that trip we caught three King Salmon. It was also my first time seeing a Lake Michigan sunrise!

This time around, we went in the evening, which my mom and I both agreed we liked better. Not that we didn't have fun on the morning trip, because we did, but this time we were awake enough to remember the adventure!

Friday was absolutely perfect on the lake. The temps were pretty scorching that day (high was 95, with heat index of 100-105), so being 5 1/2 miles off shore, on water that was almost as calm as could be, was a perfect way to avoid the sauna we felt onshore.

Not only was this another successful trip (with 4 salmon caught this time), but we got to see one of my absolute favorite things about living in this part of the country - a perfect Lake Michigan sunset :) And it was so much more beautiful being on the water.


Here's my momma and my step dad.

My boyfriend and I. It was his first time out. He didn't reel in a fish, but he sure did a heck of a job killing flies! No joke, we were getting attacked by flies. It was insane. Bud said it's because they're born on the lake.

My mom and I agreed to let Conrad reel the first catch in. Last time we were out, my mom and I were the only ones who caught fish. Thank goodness Bud knows what he's doing, because salmon fishing is NOTHING like regular fishing, where you have a bobber and a worm and you know you have a fish when the bobber goes under. We had a total of 9 poles on the lake, and some of them were as far as 475 feet out. Basically, you have to watch the poles and look for a difference in the way they are bobbing. I still don't have an eye for this. Maybe someday. 

Here's 2 of the 3 fish he reeled in. So proud :) 

Our captan filleting the fish right on board. 

My catch for the evening (yes, it was bigger than all 3 of Conrad's!)

Absolutely, without a doubt, my most favorite thing to photograph. Sunsets are so peaceful and mesmerizing.

It was completely dark when we came back in. Such an awesome feeling to be on one of the biggest lakes in the world at night time, when there is nothing surrounding you but the open waters and a moon-lite sky. 

On Sunday, we grilled our catches. We cooked them two different ways. For this one, we just wrapped a fillet in foil and covered it with EVOO, rosemary, butter, garlic powder and lemon wedges. Yummy!!

For the second batch, we smoked the fillets on a cedar plank and seasoned it with the same ingredients above. We all agreed this was the better way to go. The smokey taste was soooooo good! 

Hope everyone is having a relaxing, stress-free Labor Day weekend!