Archive for the 'TSD' Category

New Site & Birthday Shout Out!

I’m back! The updated site has been long overdue and I’m super excited to have it up and running, so take a peak around. A huge thanks goes to my husband, John for getting it up and making it look all spiffy. Speaking of John, I want to wish him a fabulous birthday today! Looking forward to spending a fun evening with you at the Mets game and then seeing INXS on Thursday! Happy Birthday!

Blog Break

I’m taking a short blogging break to work on updating my new site. I hope to be back in a few weeks with the new site and I’ll resume blogging regularly then. In the meantime please fan me on Facebook or visit my Pinterest boards to stay in touch and keep up with things from me.

Stay cool and enjoy the next few weeks!

Changes


I wanted to let you know that I’m making some changes here at TSD and starting today I am cutting back on the freelance design projects I take on. Don’t worry as I’ll still be taking on new clients and creative projects but on a limited basis. So the reason I am cutting back is that I’m going back to work full time for a great ad agency. I’m super excited about the new opportunity and can’t wait to jump in.

I also will be continuing at Pink Ink Studios as well so stay tuned for new products in the next few weeks! Anyways, please continue to contact me for your design quotes for your projects and if the timing works out for both of us then great!

Word art used above from Weeds & Wildflowers Design.

Fresh Start & Refocusing


This blog post is WAY over due but here it is! As you can see Tara Sroka Designs is going through a brand redesign, which I hope you like as much as I do. The past few months I’ve been really loving the retro old school designs I’ve been seeing all around. I felt it was fitting to update my graphics at the same time I am refocusing my services.

Last year I really focused on offering custom designed scrapbooks and was a huge advocate of documenting your memories. I love scrapbooking and plan to continue with the custom scrapbooking service upon request but I am shifting my design gears to offer more design services. Services will include marketing & branding for small business, blog/website/e-commerce/social media design services, resources for photographers and cards & invitations.

Now you might be thinking, “You did all those things before anyways, so what’s different?” Well, yes I did but I never really marketed myself as doing all of things but now is the time! I love scrapbooking and really enjoy doing it but feel I can do more for people in regards to other services. I don’t want to limit myself as a designer.

I will continue to blog about scrapbooking but along the way you’ll see more design inspiration, products for photographers and more examples of my design work from all mediums. More or less you won’t notice that much changing with my blog content, as I’ve always been true to myself on here.

So I currently am taking on clients/projects for April on. I am working on a price list for basic services but since I specialize in custom designs/services most projects will be estimated on a project to project basis, so contact me for a quote. I will be adding to the contact form soon a more detailed question area to get a better idea of your projects.

Please be patient while I redo my website. I want to make sure to do it right, so it will take some time. My main focus is jumping into client work and projects, so the site will eventually get done.

Speaking of rebranding, all of us at Pink Ink Studios just revamped everything and it’s looking awesome! The site has been redone and we’re working hard on revising products and adding awesome products for photographers! I’m really loving the new look over there as well as mine. It feels good to start over with the start of a new year! If you are a photographer and are interested in having custom designs done please contact me. I can help you with cards, marketing/branding materials, logos and any web needs.

In the meantime, I am super excited to bring you Wedding Week coming Jannuary 31-February 4. I am working hard on gathering lots of fun eye candy, resources and fabulous wedding inspiration. I hope you will join me and stay along for the ride as I reinvent myself.

Here’s to a fabulous 2011!

Small Business Saturday

Celebrate Small Business Saturday today by shopping with Tara Sroka Designs – either order a scrapbook or a product at Pink Ink Studios! “Like” Small Business Saturday and American Express will donate $1 to Girls Inc — up to $1,000,000.

So it’s time to think BIG, shop small!

Holly Berry Boutique

Last week I had the opportunity to be apart of the Holly Berry Boutique at my nephew’s school. It was great to meet people and introduce them to my service of custom scrapbooks.

The biggest hit of the night was my new service – kids art books. Recently I scanned a ton of my nephew’s artwork to preserve it in scrapbook form and also to help his parents save some space. Well a lot of parents could relate with needing more space since their kid’s artwork takes up a lot of real estate.

And Jackson was thrilled to see his artwork in a book. He didn’t want to stop looking at it – too cute! So if you are interested in doing your very own art scrapbook of your child’s art please place an order through the new store! Once your order is placed I will contact you to start your book. You can see more of the photos from the boutique on my Facebook fan page.

Happy Fall Freebie


Happy Fall! I’m so excited because today I sent out my first newsletter!! Are  you on the list?? If not, you should be! To celebrate Fall and my 1st newsletter I designed a free iphone wallpaper for you to customize. But ONLY newsletter subscribers have access to it though. If you need help setting up or customizing your wallpaper please let me know. And even if you don’t have an iphone like me feel free to customize and use this on your blog or post on social media!

I’m working on some fun things for the blog and lining up several wonderful guest bloggers to share some tips and tricks for documenting your life! If you have an idea for a post or want to be a guest blogger please feel free to contact me.

Show & Tell: Cyrano Layout

I’m a huge Jennifer Garner fan so when she was in the play Cyrano back in 2007 I had to go! I recently JUST scrapped this page and I’m very happy with how it came out. I started the layout back in 2007 after seeing the show which is good because the journalling is very authentic. The design however took awhile to come together. Sometimes I start a layout and come back to it months later. I really do like to have my layouts “just perfect” so I don’t try to rush them or my creative process if I don’t have to. In this layout I used my scanned tickets and the Playbill to add a personal touch to the digital design. I think this is a great way to add more personal meaning and context to your layouts which I try to do often, especially with ticket stubs (working on an upcoming blog post on ticket stubs – stay tuned).

Back-to-School Giveway

My nephew, Jackson from last’s year 1st day of kindergarten.
I love seeing all the back-to-school photos this week and it makes me wish I was going back to school. To celebrate heading back to the classroom for all the moms out there I’m having a little giveaway. Simply submit a photo to Tara Sroka Designs of your child or children heading off to school for their first day and you could win a FREE back-to-school scrapbook layout! I want to help you preserve your child’s school memories this is a great way to do just that! Just send me one photo that captures the moment and I’ll randomly pick one winner to have a custom layout created. Scrapbook layouts are great ways to share with friends and family the big moments in your life – plus they are super easy to email and post to social media as well! Email me by September 14th at tara at tarasrokadesigns dot com (no spaces) to be entered.

That Evening Sun

I’m so excited the movie That Evening Sun starring Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter is finally out today on DVD! This was the last movie that Hal and Dixie starred in together (Dixie sadly passed away earlier this year) and it’s a very touching performance.

After seeing the movie last year in NYC, John and I had the honor of meeting and talking with Hal for a few minutes. He is a true gentleman and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to meet him. I did this layout to capture the excitement of that night. Can’t wait to get the DVD and watch the 4 extra hours of special features!

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