Logos and logo designs.

I need some serious help here.  As some of you know, I work in the family run business Dryad Studios (we also have a Deviant ART page here)  This year, along with a lot of other stuff, we trying to do a major overhaul and update our look and web presence .  We will have to design a logo. Now, we're all very crafty in this family, but we've been struggling for YEARS to make a logo.  Google logo design leaves me feeling like I'm signing up for a yuppy self help class or something (what dose your logo say about you? how dose it make you feel? >_< )  And to put it bluntly, we can't afford to pay someone right now (not when tool need updating first) to make a really nice logo.  Which make me feel like a total dick for asking this, but.... Can anyone on here help?  ANY help, would be greatly appreciated. Suggestion, comment form pros (or not so pro). We've tried for year to may the whole "lovely lady in a tree" logo, and failed.  We've tried to work out businesses name in the the branches of a tree, and it look soooo cluttered.  I feel like we're missing the forest for the tree so to speak.