I would like to announce the launch of Hannah Rose Beasley Art & Design! *cue happiness and big smiles* It’s been my goal to solidify and simplify my brand by re-focusing what I do and love most – working with people on their branding. So the focus of my business is just that – the creation and fun of taking who you are as a person and putting it online in a beautiful way. (I will still be doing blog designs, though! Check out the website for more info) I can’t say how excited I am to be sharing the new site with you. It’s been a labor of love (and a long one at that!) but it’s been totally worth it. I’ve had so much fun and have completely enjoyed the process.

How better to celebrate than with a giveaway? And you won’t want to miss this one! Nisse from N2Design and Kay from Carlin Card Creations have donated beautiful art for you to win! The Adventure print (from N2Design) is a lovely black and white, 8X10 print; and the adorable notecards (from Carlin Card Creations) are printed on paper from grocery bags, making them unique, crafty, and green. ;)

In addition to these two prizes, I am giving away two branding experiences, each valued at $450. They include everything from discussing who you are as a person to creating a website, and even more! Now, because I really want the people who need this the most to be the ones who win, you’ll be entering by telling me why you need this. The two people that have the greatest need for solid branding will win! (I realize there isn’t much space to type in the actual entry, so if what you want to write won’t fit, feel free to write it as a note on facebook or as a blog post and just post the link)

Some of you may have read the latest post on my design blog. (Hop on over and check it out if you haven’t already! ;) ) In it I announced that Beauty Design Studios will be closing down forever tomorrow, and that I will be launching a new venture – something similar to what I did before, but new in its own right. This is a big change, something I’ve mulled over and planned for months (hence my recent absence from this blog), and I didn’t want it to happen without holding a giveaway – something fun to celebrate.

So. The fabulous giveaway will begin tomorrow, and the new website will be launched! I’m not telling any details about either, so you’ll just have to come back tomorrow to see everything and enter. ;)

Have you ever gotten that feeling, right in the middle of life, that the door is shut on your past? That what happened a week, a month, a year ago is irrevocably gone? That no matter how hard you wish, no matter how hard you try, that part of life is gone forever?

Until now I’d never felt this way about my past, never felt the finality of knowing that a new chapter in my life has begun, and that the past chapters have been written, read, and closed. It’s kind of sad, you know? I miss the people who were a part of my life a few years ago, who are gone now. I never thought I’d say that about some of them, but there you have it. It really is true that you never fully value or love a person until they’re taken away from you – and that’s when you realize how much you loved them.

Sorry for the rather sad post. But I’ve been thinking about these things recently, especially since I’ll be eighteen tomorrow, and I just wanted to share that with you all. What are your thoughts? Have you ever felt like that before?

*And I just have to say it – ♬♫I am seventeen going on eighteen!♫♬*

In the last few days I’ve re-discovered how much I love branding, how important it is to show who you are throughout an entire website, and how fun it really is. After having listened to people like Jasmine Star and Promise Tangeman talk about showcasing who you are as a person through your website and not just presenting hard facts about yourself, I decided to try my best at re-creating my personal website to more accurately show who I really am in a fun way. I’ve always loved dark colors – red and black, specifically – and have stuck with colors like those ever since I started designing. But this time I decided to branch out – and I am so glad I did! Who knew that the black-and-red-color-scheme-girl would use blue and yellow for her website. ;)

Art really is about stepping out and trying different things. So. If you’re working on a design project my advice to you is this – do something different, even if it doesn’t feel like it’s “you.” Who knows, the very thing you don’t think will work could turn out to be the perfect creation!

 
It was picture-taking week a few days ago. I think we all enjoyed it.

Thanks Joy for the tag! The Rules:

1. Post these rules
2. Post 11 random things about yourself (optional)
3. Answer the questions the tagger posted for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people to answer.

1. Who are your top 3 favorite classic fiction authors and your top 3 favorite modern fiction authors? (by the word ‘classic’, I’m referring to authors of the past up to the mid 20th Century, and by ‘modern’, I’m referring to authors who wrote and lived from the 1960s and up)

My top 3 fav classic authors are Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Victor Hugo. My fav modern authors would have to be Suzanne Collins, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Bodie and Brock Theone. (Two people, but they co-author most of their books. ;) )

2. Which character in John Bunyan’s immortal classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, do you identify with the most in their/your spiritual journey? (Christian, Faithful, or Hopeful)

Hopeful, I suppose…

3. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, we see that Sam’s and Frodo’s responses to Gollum-Smeagol are different.  If you were in either character’s position when they had a chance of killing him, would you have done so and rid yourself of his wickedness and treachery, or would you pity him, having carried the burden of the Ring yourself, known its temptation, and shown mercy? (P.S. if you haven’t watched/read The Lord of the Rings, you can skip this question)

No, I wouldn’t have killed him. He has a good side (in Middle-Earth; of course no one is good in reality) that just makes me feel sorry for his misery. He can’t resist the “darker” side of himself.

4. Which do you enjoy more: reading a book or watching a movie?

Don’t get me wrong – I love reading books! I love books so much that I’m actually writing two at the moment. But really, I would rather watch a movie. I’m a big movie person. ;)

5. What is your favorite kind of music to sing, hear and play and who do you think was the greatest music composer of all time?

Well, I have two types of favorite music to listen to – scores and modern songs in general. I can’t get enough of either one! I personally think Hans Zimmer is the greatest composer of all time. I know that technically I should say Bach or someone else…but Bach, Handel, and composers of their time haven’t moved me like Hans Zimmer’s music has. He is absolutely amazing!

6. Which 2 books of the Bible do you tend to read from the most?

Right now it’s Hebrews and Romans. They are so packed!!

7. Is there a figure in history (outside the Bible) that you love the most? And why?

Yes! There are quite a few, actually. Stonewall Jackson and Agnes Lee (One of Lee’s daughters) are my absolute favorite. Stonewall because he was such a noble man, a solid believer, and such an amazing man. Agnes Lee because I really feel like we would have been friends – I read her journal and couldn’t believe how similar we are. I admire her for her honesty  and her personality, as well as her very open faith in Jesus.

8. Is there a book or movie that you’ve read/watched and you’ve wished something had gone differently and would like to re-write it?

Yes. I hate the ending of Cast Away, when Tom Hanks is just standing at the crossroads!! =D It’s just so sad and depressing.

9. What are your 2 favorite scenes in The Chronicles of Narnia (taken from either the films, books or both)? (P.S. if you haven’t watched/read The Chronicles of Narnia, you can skip this question)

I actually don’t like the books at all, but I guess my favorite scenes from the movie would be at the beginning, when the kids are on the train and that beautiful music is playing, and also when they enter Aslan’s camp.

10. What are some of the books (fiction + non-fiction) or movies that have inspired and changed your life?

LoTR (books and movies), Gods and Generals, Gettysburg, Braveheart, Les Miserables, Persuasion

11. What do you love most about the place where you live?

I suppose the colors – they do seem to be very bright here! =D

I tag…YOU! Feel free to answer these questions on your own blog if you want to! =D

1. Favorite movie?
2. Biggest dream?
3. PC or Mac?
4. Favorite website?
5. Silliest thing you’ve ever done?
6. Pens or pencils?
7. Favorite book?
8. Coffee or tea?
9. Favorite color?
10. Favorite composer?
11. Opera – yes or no?

Today we hung out at Starbucks, drinking coffee, eating Cold Stone ice cream, and taking photos of each other. Because we’re cool like that.

Be jealous.

Somehow those are the best days – when not much really happens, but we are just all together not worrying about life. Those are the times that will become the priceless memories that I know neither I nor my siblings or parents will forget – and I’m glad that’s how it is. I’m glad we have these times right now, because I know they’ll only be echoes from the past one day, that I will only be able to remember them but not go back.

{I was thrilled to get the photos of Lydia, my seven-year-old sister (the one with the red hair), because she usually hides from the camera! This time, though, she had no clue I was taking photos and I was elated to get these! Talk about those tiny moments that mean so much.}