THE QUEEN OF QUIRK

home stretch

Ok, I love a break, a vacation, a rest as much as the next person, but I am sooo glad the kiddos are going back to school tomorrow! We've been all lazy and sick and just generally unproductive. I'm tired of it! :) I need my schedule back. I need a routine!

I start to get cabin fever and the jitters. :)

Of course, tomorrow morning, I'm sure I'll be the last one out of bed. I do love my sleep!

And yesterday marked the end of my designing drought. It has literally been 2 months since I put anything new out. I'm sooo glad that is over. It felt so good to crank something out. I remember when I used to be able to design a full digital kit in less than a day (even with a newborn!). Now I'm lucky if I make 3 products a month. It doesn't help that I always have ideas on the back burner that I simply don't have time to develop. That's never a good feeling, ya know?

BUT that's in the past (for the present) because I have a ton of new stuff coming out in a couple of days. A template, a quick page, a paper pack, an embellishment pack... I've been a busy girl!

I can feel my inspiration slowly creeping back. I wish it would hurry up already! :) Happy Monday!

click HERE to snag this sneak peek word art. :)

ALSO!! If you haven't gotten your May kit over at Songbird Ave., the kit has been extended for a few hours! Our site is finally back online and, as promised, I've extended the kit for 7 hours! It's now or never! :) Click HERE to go straight to the Songbird shop. We're taking it offline at 6 p.m. EST. Hurry hurry! :)

songbird ave. is down

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. SongbirdAvenue.com along with many other digital scraping websites is down due to an emergency at the data center in Hawaii. I have zero access to the site, so I can do no admin or customer service for anyone at this time. As soon as I have access, the May kit will be available for 7 hours. That's how much time we lost yesterday and I intend to make sure everyone has another chance to pick up the kit. Thanks for your understanding. I will update as soon as possible. :)

exhale

You know that crazy-eyed, shaggy-haired, wild, mangy look you get when you complete something HUGE? Something that takes so much out of you? Something you think about non-stop for weeks? That's how I look and feel right now. I'm so tired. Exhausted. Yet....happy. Happy may not even be the right word. Proud comes to mind, too. But that's not quite right either.

I just don't think I'm gonna find the words right now. It's 6 am and I am going to crawl into bed and try to catch another hour of zzzzz's.

Just head on over to Songbird and explore. Roam around. Get cozy. Read a while. There's just so much to see and soak in. And did I mention the shopping? That's always nice, too. Read. Explore. Shop. Run. :)

sooooo close

I mean, I can almost taste it.

Songbird Avenue is getting a HUGE face lift and I am so freakin' excited to unveil it.

The end is in sight! :)

earth's edge

No, I haven't fallen off of it. Close, though. :)

Hopefully, on Thursday, my life will slow down considerably. I'm eyeballs-deep in the site revamp over at Songbird Ave. It's coming along nicely, but now it's down to the nitty gritty...with the details and the fine-tuning. Thank goodness I have Lauren on this job. She has been an invaluable person throughout this project. And I simply ADORE Majestic. Makes it easy for a non-html savvy person such as myself to get around a site and manage it with ease. LOVE THAT. Like I really have time to learn another thing, right? ;)

And I promise as soon as I am done with this stuff, I have a gazillion photos I have to show you! I have some more garden photos and we've been to Bekonscot, St. Albans, Burghley House, and Gibraltar Point. MUCHOS FOTOS.

K, so back to work....just wanted to check in ad say howdy. Hope your Tuesday is awesome!

taken at Gibraltar Point

hello, friday

I simply have two many plates spinning at once.

• my new site to finish, have built


• songbird avenue 1 year anniversary


• songbird site revamp


• may songbird kit


• 1 collab kit


• comb my hair

And most of this has to be done yesterday. Ugh. Still, I'm trying to keep my head on straight and tackle one thing at a time. That's all we can do right?

Remember yesterday how I said that my kids enjoy their lunches? They do. But, unfortunately, yesterday Lara was teased to the point of tears because of her Caprese salad. I have no idea what is so disgusting to her schoolmates about cheese, tomatoes and basil...but apparently the others were calling her "gross", "nasty" and "weird".

:(

So, Lara and I had a big, long talk about what she wants and how she thinks she should handle the situation. I managed to have a bit of progress. At first the conversation sounded like this:

"Can you just make me Caprese salad when I don't sit next to ______ and ______ in the lunchroom? Because they tease me and it hurts me."

Then by the end of the evening it was:

"If they say it's gross, I'll tell them to be quiet because they have never tasted it and I think it's delicious. And then I will eat it all up."

This was QUITE a leap. :) Because when I picked her up yesterday afternoon, she hadn't eaten 2/3 of her lunch because of the situation and she was ravenous when we got home. So, this morning, I asked her what she wanted for lunch and I made it all to order.

1 Caprese salad, comin' right up!

She had so much more confidence this morning and I am really hoping her lunch hour went well. It's so hard to convey to these kids a sense of independence and originality. Kids can be so cruel sometimes and it seems that these days it's easier to conform than to stand out. I just talked to her about doing what she wants to do and trying to talk to her about how real friends treat each other. I know these kiddos are only 6, but I really think they should start recognizing how people treat them and how they should treat others and that if someone says they are your "friend" then they should make you feel good, not bad.

UGH. I know I sound like such a softy right now, but this is just one of those things that gets me right here. I cannot stand it when children are bullied. And I don't want my kidlets to suffer because of anyone else's unhappiness.

So, BOO! on bullies! :)

And besides....my kiddos have grape trees for lunch. So, there. :P

:) Happy Friday, everyone!

only wednesday?

This week is creeping by at a snail's pace. And spring break is entirely too long here in jolly ol' England. 2 and a half weeks is just insane. I'm so thankful the weather has made a turn for the better. The kidlets have been outside all day, every day. I am so missing our routine! :)

On the bright side, I get to leave for Paris in 2 days. I've already picked out my outfits. And today I went and got my hair did. Chopped the heck out of it and went blonde.

Well, not totally....but enough. ;)

I've never been a crazy hair person. I've always been very conservative with my chocolate locks. But something inside of me just needed some blonde. A splash of yellow to spice up my life. A bit of zing to my otherwise humdrum do.

I'll post a better picture later. Ya know...when I have my face on. :)

The April Songbird Avenue kit is up! YAY! We teamed up with Leora Sanford who is a wonderful friend of mine and I'm so happy to help her donate to ProLiteracy!

Here's a layout I made with it. The colors are so fresh and fun!

Full credits HERE.

And I need to show off a fabulous kit over at Oscraps. A couple of my fave designers teamed up for one heckuva collaboration! This is B-Side by Paislee Press and TaylorMade Designs.

And here's a layout I made with it. :) Full credits HERE.

I just love this kit. You can't go wrong with aubergine and olive!! Almost good enough to eat!

I hope everyone's having a fabulous day!

Is it still Wednesday!?!?

the early bird

"This looks like a nice spot to rustle me up some grub."

"YES! SCORE!!"

"Let me strike a pose for the lady who should be working."

I just really don't get enough accomplished during the day. This is one of the drawbacks to being a room full of windows. The birds. These little turds are so darn cute and they play all day long and sometimes I just sit back and see what they're up to. This one was about to get a ticket for loitering when I finally realized that he was just hungry. So he's just hangin' out, waiting for that poor unfortunate wormy worm to dare and peek out. After her got his snack on, he noticed me (and the big huge black thing I was pointing at his head) and he decided to skedaddle on out of here. ooh..now's he back...my little feathery sentinel.

Ok, so on with things people actually want to hear about :)

First up, if you haven't checked out Songbird Avenue's February kit, you're missing out! It is jam-packed full of exclusive goodness. Susan Bartolini (Chef) is our guest designer and you really don't want to miss this one!

Also, there is a scraplift challenge going on over at the Songbird Blog. There are lots of prizes to be had! Hurry and don't miss out on this kit. Cuz come March 1st, it's gone, baby!

And I'm still busy as all heck gearing up for a bit of a birthday bash. And I guess I should have clarified yesterday about my age. :) I'm not actually turning 30. I'll be 28, but it's still getting closer to 30 than I would like. I can hear you now... "Geez, lady! Get over it!!" But I'm not one of those chicks who accepts age with grace. No siree. I'll be fighting it tooth and nail until I'm too old to move. And then I'll have my wrinkly old head transferred to a hot chick's body when I can no longer walk.

It's nice to have a springtime birthday, though. Spring is when I feel all refreshed and such. My body and mind move in time with the seasons and it seems like each year I start fresh and rejuvenated with spring and end up old and cranky by the end of it come winter. So, as much as I dread the birthdays, it's nice to know that winter's almost over and I move on.

As speaking of all that, here's a sneaky peeky  of what's in store...it's a teeny peek, tho...don't wanna give too much away. ;)

Ooh, I can't wait!! :)

a wee contest

In the spirit of fresh starts, all things new, and a desire for change, I've decided to have a bit of a contest on the old blog.

We digi scrappers have a really bad habit about keeping our lovely layouts hidden in our computers, far, far away from would-be admirers. I think it's about time to change that! Usually, I view a layout as "finished" when I get it uploaded and credited properly in a gallery. Well, no more! I want "finished" to be "printed"! So, in an effort to spread this fervor around, I'm giving away a gift certificate for 6 layouts from PrintMyKeepsake.com.

The price is really amazing and it's nice to have a company offering this service that has been in the "scrap biz" for quite some time. It just feels all nice and cozy over there. :)

So, after you check out the site, leave me a little comment here on this post. And to spice it up a bit, try posting how many digital layouts you have yet to print out (I know...scary, right?!?!). My count is around 50 and that's ONLY because my other hard drive is ruined...if I was counting that, I'd have at least 200. Yikes!

So, here are the deets: Visit printmykeepsake.com, tell me what you think and post your unprinted layout "guestimate" (or the actual number!) on this post by the 25th of January. The winner will receive a gift certificate for 6 layouts in a single order with free shipping (in the USA) from www.printmykeepsake.com. The winner will also receive a $10 gift certificate to my shop at Oscraps.com and a SongbirdAvenue gift card.

So what are you waiting for?!?! :)

happy monday!

Lots of things today! :)

First, I am Oscraps' first Designer Spotlight for 2008! How fun! Come stop by the site and participate in the challenge and you just might end up with some goodies from me! :) You can read about it on the Oscraps blog or in the forums. To celebrate, I have 3 new kits and a downright quirky new gift for you all! First up, Cabana Loca...I hope everyone likes it! There's no need to rush, this kit will remain free til the cows come home! :)

Next up, 3 new goodies for your shopping cart! I've been busy,busy behind the scenes! :)

Here are direct links to purchase

SPACED OUT

SHY GUY

CARAMEL SWIRL

CABANA LOCA

Next up, the new Songbird Avenue kit is on sale! Our fabulous guest designer is none other than Shabby Miss Jenn herself! I absolutely adore this woman both as a person and as a designer, she's just amazing! The proceeds will benefit the Lupus Foundation of America, an organization that is close to Miss Jenn's heart right now. Let's all help her raise money for this amazing charity, shall we?

We also have the blog challenge going on over on the blog and we'll soon have a scraplift challenge, too! Miss Jenn is also a fabulous scrapper, so be sure to check out her gallery when we post the challenge! You don't want to miss out on the prizes!

In other news, I am planning a trip to California in February. I'll be at CHA on Sunday and Monday (Feb 10 & 11) and I'll be trying to find everyone! It will be so exciting to meet all my friends in real life! :) And as if that weren't enough, I am also going to get to hold and love on a precious little baby. A dear friend of mine was just blessed with a bundle of pink joy and I get to snuggle with her while I'm in LA. :)

So, I'm busy, busy planning and getting ready...the trip will be short, but international traveling is NEVER simple! :) I have a few more goodies in the works. I hope everyone is doing well!

This layout was created using the fab Shabby Miss Jenn's Shabby Snow Kisses kit. Go check it out! :) Ciao, all!