Green Elephant Designs

A CT for Me!!

2009-04-10T14:45:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned that I am forming another Creative Team? Yes, it's time to do that again. I feel ready. I know more now than I did with my first CT. Granted, I formed some wonderful friendships with a couple of the girls on my first team, but I just didn't feel I was organized enough myself to really keep track of things.

Quit laughing! I know I'm no more organized now that I was then, but at least now I have a place to host a forum! It should make things a little easier for us. So far, I've brought 3 girls on board...Kay, katina and Heide. I've loved the "test" layouts they did for me, and I'm looking forward to building a long lasting relationship with them! I'm so glad to have you gals helping me out! (Between you and me, readers, I hope they don't lose patience with my slow designing and my scatterbrained ways! LOL)

I HATE the End of the Month

2009-04-01T14:08:00.002-05:00

I do....I just hate it! It's so hard to keep up with things at work that I drive myself crazy. Plus, I just know that there's a whole new month full of responsibilities and deadlines just around the corner--both at work and online.

We recently upgraded our program at work, which has proven to make things even more difficult. Supposedly (and I stress that word!), it's going to give us an accurate csh flow with a push of a button or two. Problem #1...we have not kept track of any inventory at our warehouse. Problem #2...we have not been shown the proper way to handle our credit card sales, so we have tens of thousands of dollars showing unbilled. Problem #3...we keep a book with all our sales and it's not even close to matching what the computer tells us the total should be. Now, where do I come in? Well, I'm expected to find out where the discrepency is occuring between what the computer total for our sales is and what our manual book total is...down to the last penny!! I also need to figure out all the unbilled activity and how to show it being paid without screwing up the accounting system.

OK...so I could do this in a few days.....provided I didn't have my normal duties to take care of or a new employee to train as my replacement for my maternity leave. I have approximately 30 minutes per day to devote to figuring out the stupid accounting side of things. I hate the end of the month.

I'm also finding it harder to keep up with the day to day things I need to accomplish in my online, designing life. Between coupons needing to be made and PMed, collab kits to participate in and keep track of, my own stuff to get into both stores, CT work to do, a challenge to plan and scrap pages for and provide posting gifts for. I just really don't have enough minutes in the day. here's my normal weekday schedule...get up at 6am, get ready for work, get Emerson up, dressed and fed, leave the house by 6:45. Drop Emerson off at daycare and get to work for 7:30. Work (no breaks and no lunch, mind you, but with moments here and there to escape online for a bit) until 5pm. Pick up Emerson from daycare and arrive home at about 6pm. Cook and eat dinner, clean up afterwards and that takes us to around 7pm. Give Emerson his bath, read a couple books, get a snack, watch a Backyardigans video and get him into bed by 8:30. Fight with him until somewhere between 9 and 9:30 to STAY in bed (and all the lights need to be off in the house or he WILL NOT stay in bed because he thinks he's missing out on something. yes, he pretty much rules the house). Wait until he falls asleep (I have a booklight, so I can read in my darkened house while waiting for Emerson to fall asleep) and then go shower and get my things ready for the next day. This takes me to somewhere between 9:30 ans 10pm. I then try to get online to get done as much as I can. Unfortunately, with an unsupportive husband, I have made a deal to not be on the computer later than 10:30. Kind of presents a problem, doesn't it? On top of that, my son rarely sleeps through the night, and when he IS up it's for 3-4 hours at a stretch. I also happen to be in the last trimester of my pregnancy. Add those 2 things together and I'm often way too tired to even bother getting on the computer to begin with! So things just keep piling up around me and I keep getting more and more stressed about it. Again, I

But it has to get better, right? No. Because hubby says I can't do this forever and I'll probably have to give up designing after the baby is born. Say it isn't so! I'm sure going to try to keep going....even if it means really having to cut back on how much new stuff I can get out there and giving up the hope of selling at another shop.

You all need to buy more so my hubby sees that this can be a profitable second job for me! LOL Here's to hoping that April is a better month for me!

A New Look, A New Me!

2009-03-25T21:29:00.003-05:00

I've finally done it! I've finally managed to do a little research (and, really, as if it was hard to find the info!) and learn how to change the look of my blog. A bit more sophisticated, perhaps, but definitely more "me." Will I keep it this way? Only time will tell!

But it's a new look for a new me!

The new me is many things...soon to be a second-time-around mother (we're expecting our 2nd little boy at the end of May), trying desperately to scrap those photos collecting dust in my EHD, planning to advertise more and push my products under your nose until you notice them, hoping to be more regular in my kit releases, and praying that I find the time to keep this blog up to date! LOL

The next few months are going to be excitingfor me--both in my personal and on-line lives. I'm going to be forming a new CT to help me out, and did I mention I have both a personal use and a commercial use store now! Yep! Designs In Digital is, of course, still my home for personal use items and I'll be updating my TOU to include S4H/S4O use of my products. Just Digi Layouts, the sister site to Designs In Digital, is the place where I feature my commercial use items. Just textures and paper pattern overlays right now, but I do have some templates and brushes ready and maybe some stock photos from my sister that I'll be adding in the near future!

I hope you'll join me and keep an eye open for a newsletter sign up...still have to look into that!...sometime soon. In the meantime, click on either of the blinkies at the top to see my stores and go shopping!

Like a Chicken...

2008-09-10T08:14:00.000-05:00

...with it's head cut off! That's how I feel lately--running around like mad, flopping this way and that, with so much to do that I can't get anything done! KWIM? I have so much going on since the beginning of July, that it seems I can't stay focused long enough to complete a task because I'm always rushing off to check on something or thinking ahead to other projects I need to get done. And this is EXACTLY why I haven't come on to post recently.

I have tons of new products out, however, so I hope you'll head over to Designs In Digital to checkout my complete store. And I have numerous things in the works! I've left Hot Spot Scraps due to time constraints, but I still have my other 2 stores open and running!

I also have a new blogs in the works, and I'll hopefully be switching over to that real soon. So stay tuned, my patient and loyal fans (how many of you are there now...2, 3? LOL) and I'll post regularly again ASAP!

Birthday Bag #2 Revealed and Birthday Bag #3 in Store!

2008-07-24T08:51:00.006-05:00

Yipee! I've made it to Birthday Bag #3!! Check it out in my Designs In Digital store!

I hope to fit one more bag into this month (although it's going to be cutting it close!), so you'll only have until maaaybe nxt Tuesday to snag this goodie bag! After that, it will be revealed and you can still save on getting them all together, but it will be at a bit higher price.

Since I had to make room for this bag in my store, I decided to reveal Birthday Bag #2!!

Want a better look at the products inside? Well, ya know I'm gonna show them to you!

I had so much fun creating these items! Now that I've revealed Birthday Bag #2, maybe you've seen a trend in the types of items I'm sticking inside? Hmmm...maybe that will give you a clue as to the types of items I have in Bag #3?? Still don't like surprises? E-mail me and I'll give you sneak peeks!!

Birthday Bag #1 Revealed & Birthday Bag #2 Available!

2008-07-16T14:32:00.005-05:00

Have any of you been over to Designs In Digital lately? If not, you might want to head over...I revealed Birthday Bag #1 and it's still for sale at a discounted rate!

Want a better look at what's inside? Here you go:

For the rest of the month, you can get ALL these goodies in a sort of Bargain Buster pack for only $6.00. That's still a HUGE savings over regular store price (especially since I've been toying with the idea of increasing my prices by a few cents), and now you can SEE what you're saving all that money on! After the end of July, however, everything goes into my store as separate items for regular price.

And while you're over there picking up Birthday Bag #1, don't forget to snag Birthday Bag #2!

This one is jam-packed full of more great products, but you won't have as long to snag this one as I plan to reveal it sometime next week in order to try to get back on schedule with this Birthday Bash business!

I'll let you know something else...I'm almost done with Birthday Bag #3 as well! I'm hoping for a release sometime this weekend! So make sure to check back soon!

What a Super-Duper Deal!

2008-07-11T13:23:00.002-05:00

Have y'all seen this?

I know what you're thinking...just what I need, another digital place to spend money at! But let me tell you, this is a fab deal! And there's always a lot of fun stuff going on. No don't think that I'm just saying that because I design there! Designs In Digital is fast becoming one of my favorite places to be online. The designers in the store are way talented, the CT does amazing things with the products, so you can see everything "in action", there are TONS of challenges during the month (which works on a point system, so you don't get TOLD what you're winning by completing the challenges. You earn points and then go shopping and decide for yourself what you want!) Don't forget that there's a sale every Friday and, of course, I'm having my own birthday bash celebration there all month long with my own forum for challenges and special grab bags!

It really is a neat place to come visit and this sale for first time shoppers is a perfect excuse to finally come check it out for yourself. And you might want to stick around after the sale because you never know what kind of give-aways or special deals might pop up in our forum just for members! Interested? Send me an e-mail telling me that you're a 1st time shopper and I'll send you the coupon code!

Nicolina's Big Birthday Bash!!

2008-06-30T10:32:00.006-05:00

Guess what? My birthday is tomorrow (July 1st)!!! I'll be 33. I just can't believe it because I certainly don't feel that old! OK, OK...so 33 isn't old per se, but the point is that I certainly don't feel as if I'm in my 30s!

I want to celebrate. Will you celebrate with me? Great! I'm having sales at 2 of my stores (which reminds me that I need to get my ad together for Bits2Kits! Oops!) Anyway, at Bits2Kits, you can anything and everything in my store for 33% off July 1st thru the 8th. And that includes brand new releases that you can ONLY find at Bits2Kits! I'll have 2 Grab Bags offered there as well...one for July 1-15 and one for July 15-31! Don't miss out!!

The big Birthday Bash will be at Designs In Digital. Check it out:

Woohoo! This is going to be SO much fun, and I hope you'll all join me as I celebrate all month long! As the ad above states, I'll be taking 33% off everything in my store from July 1-8. There might even be a surprise sale later in the month, so you'll have to keep an eye open for that one!! Tomorrow, don't miss out on the RAK at DST. Look for a thread called "Scrap Me A Birthday Wish & Get RAKed" in The Happy Place forum and 3 lucky people will be randomly chosen to receive a $5 coupon to my DID store. There will be random RAKs and Give-Aways all month, so be sure to check back here frequently as I'll be posting a heads-up before I start a new thread with the Give-Away info.

I'm going to try to offer a new Grab Bag with never before seen products each Monday (except the first Grab Bag will be released tomorrow, of course!) in my DID store. Notice I say try because, let's face it, life happens and with everything that happened at the end of June for me and my family, I got WAY behind in this Birthday Bash planning and wasn't able to get all my Grab Bags completed. I will be trying my hardest, however, to make sure I get them finished in time to put in the store...even if it means lowering the price of the bag because I only have a couple items inside instead of the 4-5 I'm aiming for! After the Grab Bag's week in the spotlight in over, I'll be revealing it and, for the rest of the month, you can buy it as a bundle at a discount from the normal store prices.

What else is on the agenda? Meg, the awesome new owner of Designs In Digital, has given me a whole forum just for me to host some Birthday Bash Challenges!! I have 10 challenges planned and, after I post them this evening, you can find them under "Nicolina's Birthday Bash". Here's the rundown on the challenges:

1. Template Challenge (I'll provide the template, you do the layout)

2. Flatter Me Challenge (pick a layout from my gallery and scraplift it)

3. Green Goodies Challenge (use at least 1 of my products on your layout)

4. Birthday Bag Challenge (use an item from one of my grab bags to nake a layout)

5. Photos On Strike Challenge (no photos allowed! Use altered art, digi items and journaling only)

6. Font Challenge (I'll give you 2 of my favorite fonts; pick the one you want to use on your page)

7. Quote Challenge (use my favorite quote and create your page. I might even provide the quote as wordart for you to make use of, if you so wish)

8. Nicolina's Favorites Challenge (I'll give you a list of some of my favorite things; use 1 or more to include on your page)

9. Count Down Challenge (I'll give you 2 possible lists with specific quantities of items to include on your layout. Choose the one you want and use it as a guideline for your page)

10. Celebrating Myself Challenge (a special AAM challenge that you'll have to visit the forum for more information!)

The challenges will be going on all month long. Your deadline is July 31st and you can do some or all of them! Each challenge will have a separate prize...some will be QPs and some will be a piece of my brand new kit! If you complete ALL the challenges by the deadline date, you'll be entered to win my entire store for free! And that includes all new releases from July AND August! What an awesome deal for one lucky individual!

Later in the month, there will be a scavenger hunt hosted right here on my blog with 3 winners getting $10 coupons to Designs In Digital. Who knows what other surprises I'll come up with along the way for you? I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to find out! And here's my Fan Of blinky because, if you wear it, who knows when, where or with what you might get RAKed !!

Apologies, Explanations, & My New Wacom

2008-06-30T08:28:00.004-05:00

Once again Nicole had gone MIA with not even a note of explanation! What happened to blogging at LEAST every Monday? What happened to making sure I stayed in touch and let everyone know what was going on? It all flew out the window once we decided to sell our home and move into a new construction. Let me tell you, it has been nothjing but one HUGE headache!

The people who bought our existing home bought it for the husband's mother, whom they wanted living closer to them. isn't that sweet? I thought so too....until we realized they are selfish, petty people who are unwilling to give even a little. We did everything we could to make things easier for them, bending to almost their every whim. Won't make that mistake again! They gave us nothing but grief, made unreasonable demands, failed to get their paperwork done on time and kept pushing back the closing date. Now Thomas and I only had 2 days off from work. We were supposed to close at 10am on the first day which would have given us all that afternoon and the whole of the next day to unpack. Yeah right. They pushed back the closing until we threatened to call off the sale and sue them. Then, all of a sudden, the paperwork was magically completed! Unfortunately, that didn't happen until 4pm on the last day we had off. And can you believe the b**** (excuse the language, but I'm still angry) never once apologized? All she did was whine about how she had to pay for us to stay in a hotel overnight (yes, that's only right since it was HER fault we weren't able to close. The time and date was set up because the closing attorneys were told that everything was complete. It wasn't until 4pm the day before we were supposed to close that the woman's lender woke up and realized she didn't have all her paperwork in!) and complain about how inconvenienced she was!! Excuse me, but SHE still had a house to live in! WE were the ones who would be living out of boxes in a garage for the rest of the week because we had to go back to work the following day!!! How was she inconvenienced by this? Other than maybe she had to reschedule her manicaure.

OK...off my soapbox now. That's my explanation for why I went MIA. There was just so much to be done between getting all our ducks in a row, packing, and then living in limbo for a while (oh yeah, did I mention I ended up with food poisoning from the hotel room service? That was loads of fun.), and then trying to get somewhat unpacked so I could get my family comfortable in our new home. I'm a Cancer, a crab, my home is everything to me and I'm not doing real well without everything being in its place! I hope to have most of it done by the end of this week. Of course, all our spare cash is gone, so I'll have to wait indefinitely to decorate.

My good news is that I was talking to our custom sign guy at work and told him I was saving up for a graphics tablet. Leter, he came up with a Wacom Graphire 3 and told me I could have it because they bought it to try ages ago and no one liked it! Hoorah! I know nothing about this tablet and it's not what I was going to choose myself, but it was free! I downloaded the driver upgrade for Windows Vista and the tablet DOES work...I just have yet to play with it. Can't wait until I have a free moment to play! I also ordered a 500G EHD, which I found for just under $87!! That's my b-day gift from my parents. Yippe! I can FINALLY have all my purchased kits unzipped and in one spot. no more shuffling through disks, unzipping and erasing once I'm finished! Now I just need to find the time to do all THAT too! LOL

Well, that's it for now. But I'll be doing another blog post in a few moments with big news!!

50% OFF???!!!

2008-05-25T06:13:00.002-05:00

Now's your chance! This is the lowest price I'll probably ever have in my stores...and it's in honor of Bits2Kits 1 year Birthday Bash! But it's only for 3 days, so you gotta hurry! From today, May25, thru May 28 you can take half off ALL my products at Bits2Kits. I uploaded my new kits, so the store is full of great scrapping treasures!

While you're there, don't forget to head over to the grab bag area. I also have a Birthday Grab Bag for sale for only $1!! It's a great little Birthday/Celebration mini-kit and it WILL NOT be released anywhere else after the grab bag sale is over! This is your ONLY chance to get your hands on it!!!

Bits2Kits has a lot of fun stuff planned for their birthday celebration...the grab bags, awesome sales everyday and even a scavenger hunt with lots of great prizes! And did you know that you can get your name entered for an awesome prize drawing just by shopping! Go check it out!

Anniversary Freebie!

2008-05-22T07:48:00.005-05:00

4 Years...that's how long my hubby and I have been married! Today is our anniversary!! I have a freebie for you, but first I want to remind everyone about the big sale over at Hot Spot Scraps in celebration of my anniversary:

Remember, it's only from May 22 thru May 31! And at 40% off, there are some really great deals! So hurry over there and check out all the new goodies I managed to get into the store before the sale started!!

Now, onto the freebie (because I know that's what you'r really waiting for! LOL). I whipped up 4 (for 4 years together!) little love and marriage wordart doohickies for you to use. Hope you like 'em!

Pick it up here and happy scrapping! (Don't forget that sale now, OK? You can really give me a nice anniversary gift by picking up a few items! LOL)

Busy Bee, Me! And A Big Sale!

2008-05-21T08:54:00.006-05:00

I've been the proverbial busy bee this past week trying to get ready for a big sale! I tried my best to get a bunch of new products into my store and I think I succeeded!

First up are some new colors in my Glassy Alpha series. I heard so many good things about these, I just had to make more colors available! There are now 12 colors to choose from: black, blue, brown, gray, green, orange, pink, purple, red, turquoise, white and yellow! Each download comes with both the silver- and gold-edged versions, of course. For the sake of saving space on this blog (lol), I created a preview showing ALL the colors (they are each sold separately, however).

These are gorgeous alphas, if I do say so myself, and I'm quite proud of them! I love the colors and the slightly transparent nature. I think there real fun and very versatile. I hope you'll all check them out at one of my stores (click on a blinky to the left) and buy a couple to try!

I also have 3 cute little mini kits available. They're just the right size when you have a little project to do...you know, a gift page for someone or maybe you need to make some party invitations or little bag toppers. Each mini kit has 4 papers, 2 ribbons, 2 buttons, a flower, a frame, a journal plate and a decorated flourish.

Aren't those great colors?? My CT had lots of fun playing with the Frou-Frou kit. Right now, these are ONLY available at Hot Spot Scraps, but they'll be in my other stores soon.

Speaking of Hot Spot Scraps, get ready for a big sale starting tomorrow! It's my 4 year wedding anniversary, and I'm celebrating by having a sale from the 22nd thru the 31st! I'll be posting this again tomorrow, but here's the sneaky-peak of my ad:

Goodies From My CT Team and Some New Products!!

2008-05-18T16:22:00.006-05:00

Well, well...so it's been quite a while since I've posted you say? There's a reason for that, but I'm not telling you yet! I will, however, finally reveal what was in my Hot Spot Scraps Grab Bags!

Here's what was in the Boy Bag:

And here's what the Girl Bag had to offer:

Although these grab bags were only available during NSD weekend at HSS, now that I've unpacked them, they are available at all my stores! And I heard so many good things from my CT about the glassy alphas, that I decided to make a whole bunch more! I won't post all the previews here, but her's a list of all the colors you'll find once you head over to the stores (I have yet to put them in at Designs In Digital. They're uploaded, I just have to put them into the store. it's on my To-Do list tonight!): Black, Blue, Brown, Gray, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Turquoise, Yellow, White. Each has a complete uppercase alpha, a complete set of numerals, and a lot of symbols. Each download comes with both the gold and silver edged versions! The possibilities are really endless with these, so I hope you'll grab 'em all!!

And since it has been quite a while since I've offered a freebie, two of my CT gals have put together some goodies for you! Michelle has made a darling little element cluster made from my Girly-Girl Ribbons pack and Melanie has created 3 fabulous QPs...2 from the Girl Grab Bag and 1 from Nicole's Coffee.

Pick them up here and here. (Make sure to get BOTH links!)

There's more to come in the follwoing days (if I get off my bum and actually BLOG!!). I'll be uploading 3 cute little mimikits into the store soon and I hope to have a couple frame sets for you. And there's a big sale coming up in one of my stores. Which one and how much will you save on my goodies? Stay tuned to find out!

B2K Birthday Celebration!!

2008-05-09T13:18:00.003-05:00

Have I told y'all that Bits 2 Kits is turning 1 year old this month!! And they're having a huge celebration all month long! First of all, a different designer's kit will be offered daily at awesome sale prices (50% off). Second of all, spend just $5 by May 27th and get entered into a drawing to win...

1st Prize = $100 graphics tablet (can you believe that??!!!? Awesome!)
2nd Prize = $10 store coupon
3rd Prize = $5 store coupon

There are also gift cards of various amounts from different designers, challenges, games and a scavenger hunt planned. Be on the lookout later this month for grab bags and freebies as well! Lots going on, so make sure you pop in every day!

NSD Events

2008-05-02T07:43:00.004-05:00

(Inter-)National Scrapbooking Day is May 3rd and, to celebrate, Hot Spot Scraps is having a Grab Bag Sale! The designers have each out to gether 1 or more bags and they're on sale for only 2 Euro each! But you better hurry because this sale is only 3 days long...May 3-5.

Wondering what goodies I have out there for you? Well, I managed to put 2 bags together. One is geared towards the little girls in your life and one is geared toward little boys! Here's a look at the grab bag reviews:

Can't get enough of an idea from just the previews? Well, I'll let you in on a secret...just because I like to give you a peek at some of the goodies inside, I've asked my Creative Team to prepare some pages using the grab bags. They'll be releasing them throughout tonight and tomorrow. So if you know where to look, you're sure to figure out what's inside!

Designs In Digital is also having funa and sales on Saturday, May 3rd. Join them for a chat at 10am (keeping in mind that they are in Australia/Brisbane time zone, which is GMT+10) and get a prize just for being at the chat. Then have fun with the scavenger hunt. A picture will slowly be revealed, piece by piece, figure out the kit and you have a chance at winning the big prize! 6 photos total will be revealed. PM Peta with the correct answers for all 6, and if you're the first to do so---you win!! There will also be various prizes handed out (I'm giving away a 50% off coupon for a kit of your choice from my store!). Don't forget to check out the store while you're there because all the designers are having their own sales (mine will be 33% off) and we have lots of new designers to check out!

I love NSD as it comes each year. There are so many fun events and so many sales. My only 2 problems are #1-Keeping track of all the sites I just HAVE to visit and #2-Finding enough money to pay for all the goodies I just HAVE to buy!!

Hope you all have a fabulous day and happy scrapping!

Emerson's 2nd Birthday!!

2008-04-25T08:24:00.011-05:00

My little boy turns 2-years-old today!! I can hardly believe it! Is he that old already??!!! Thom remarked just a few days ago that it seems as if we just brought him home from the hospital. So true.

I was looking at the walls in his bedroom this morning, looking at the pics I have of him in there from his first few weeks of life, and started getting misty-eyed. How tiny he was, how helpless, how much in need to be taken care of. Certainly that's not the same baby who has turned into a little boy overnight and no tells us "No!" and "Em-son do it". Certainly this little boy who now cries "Down!" when I hold him is not the same baby who use to want to be carried next to my bare skin while I paced up and down the floors all night.

Now don't get me wrong...I absolutely adore my little man...of course I do! I love the things he says now that just make me laught right out loud. (After getting an especially irritating knot out of his shoe laces while trying to undress him, Emerson gives me a big smile, claps and says "Yay Mommy! You dood it! Good job." or while standing next to daddy in the kitchen and hearing daddy "break wind" for the first time, Emerson turns to me, waves his hand in front of his face, wrinkles up his nose and says, "Smelly noise!"). He amazes us with his ability to speak so well and clearly, and with the things he just seems to know without us telling him (like "smelly noise"...he knew exactly how to express his thoughts, his observations...and that incident happened when he was only about 18 months or so!). But there's a part of me that does, and probably always will, miss that bitty baby and his dependence on me...on ME!! Maybe it's time for another baby...you think?

Before I wax nostalgic anymore, let me get to the real point of this post....a freebie! And because I got caught up last night with baking and decorating cupcakes to bring to daycare today, it's something I had to throw together something pretty quick last night at quarter to 11! maybe that's OK because I happened to pull things (with the exception of the paper-fold flowers) that I created around the time Emerson was first born! They're in shades of orange and blue...2 colors I LOVE to dress him in...and, since Emerson is 2 today, everything y ou'll receive is in the same quantity! 2 solid papers, 2 striped papers, 2 polkadot papers, 2 grosgrain ribbons, 2 ricrac ribbons, 2 buttons, and 2 folded flowers! I hope you enjoy it. Download it here!

(And because I had some pircay issues, I had to remove all my old freebie links. I changed things around a little and will be fixing past posts with new links. So don't worry, if you didn't get them the first time around, they'll be available again soon!)

Please leave my little boy some lovin'! Happy Birthday, Emerson!

And I'll let you know something else, go to Designs In Digital, (see the Interesting Things thread) because Emerson is giving away 2 coupons for his Mommy's products! 22 people will receive 2 coupons for 25% off anything in my store!! And if you hold onto those coupons for a bit, I'll be uploading new things real soon!

My Super-Duper Creative Team!

2008-04-23T15:59:00.007-05:00

Hooray! I have a Creative Team!! And they are WAY more efficient than me. LOL

While I've been taking my sweet time announcing them here, they have already scrapped a few layouts using the free mini-kit I sent them, spotted a couple files of mine that had been pirated and made me aware of it, and created a total of 6 layouts from my kits already! Talk about a fantastic group of women I have been lucky enought to find!!

So, without further ado, I'd like to announce the women who are going to make you all want to run out and buy my kits! Andrea (Arizona, United States), Angie (Queensland, Australia), Ann (Arizona, United States), Helen (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand), Lisa (Michigan, United States), Melanie (Texas, United States), Misty (Texas, United States). Apparently, SouthWest U.S. likes Green Elephants! lol

I'll be updating my blog here with links to those CT members who have blogs of their own. And you'll soon (OK...you all know me, maybe not-so soon!) notice both a CT blinky and a Fan Of blinky floating around out there. I'll make sure to post the "Fan Of" blinky here for y'all to snag!) I'll also be posting a link to the Green Elephant Designs CT blog, but in the meantime, you can check it out right here and see what they've been up to!

I also have been lucky enough to find someone who is willing to put together my previews for me! With all 3 stores requiring different previews, and hating to do them in the first place (simply because they take SO long and I have such little time as it is), previews have always been a thorn in my side. Luckily, Michelle enjoys doing them! She herself is a designer, Mellow Butterfly, and you can see her store right here!

With all these talented women on my side, how can I go wrong?!!!

Piracy Stinks

2008-04-22T09:52:00.003-05:00

Just a quickie to let you know what you already know...piracy stinks! I have been lucky so far and haven't had a problem...at least not one that I knew about. Until this morning.

While trying to get my new CT going, I uploaded links to a kit into 4shared. That sucker wasn't up for even 10 hours and when I checked it this morning, it had been downloaded 9 times already!! Obviously, someone got it somehow because I only e-mailed the links to one person. These people work fast! There must be a team of them who regularly go through checking for new things that have been uploaded. It makes me sick.

So, if you have files that belong to me, Nicolina, or you've seen them someplace, PLEASE do the right thing and notify me! If you see my kit Black Tie Affair somewhere other than in my stores, PLEASE leave me a message here on my blog.

And if you're the person who stole this from me...just who do you think you are? How would it be if I came over and stole something belonging to you? Something you created, something you spent hours on? You're an ass, and I hope someday you get what you deserve.

A Whole Lot of Rambling & Some Exciting Store News!

2008-04-21T08:40:00.004-05:00

I really and truly meant to post all this last night. However, Sunday night is Masterpiece Theatre night on PBS and I try to never miss it. I usually work on the computer while I watch, but last night was different. For one thing, Emeerson had gone to a birthday party in the afternoon for his bestest little buddy, Hunter, who turned 2! There were lots of people, a fun jump, dogs, things to ride on, push around and get pulled in...all of them things Emerson is NOT used to (nor is his Mama! I'm one of those people who gets absolutely drained by having to spend any amount of time with a large group of people). And even though Emerson was the one who was playing hard all day (he would NOT get out of the fun jump...even when it was time for Hunter to open presents!), I was just as exhausted as he was (and he didn't get to nap, so he was pooped!) Being outside all day wreaked havoc on my sinuses (due to allergies) and I felt miserable with watery eyes and congestion that made my head feel like a boulder. Here come the meds!! I was still hurting and did NOT feel like sitting in front of a computer screen, so I sat down to start watching Masterpiece Theatre. "My Boy Jack" was on...the story of Rudyard Kipling's son and WWI. Fascinating and very well done, BTW. Towards the middle of it, the meds began to work and my sinuses were clear as clear could be, but I was so enthralled with the show that I couldn't tear myself away. And by the end, I was bawling so hard that my sinuses filled up again! (And I am NOT one to cry, usually, but having Emerson obviously did something to my hormones because there are times now when I cry during diaper commercials!) I completely forgot about the computer. I turned the TV off, got my luch ready for today, and went to bed on the couch (so I could sleep semi-erect....my head was pounding was pounding so much that sleeping prone was not even an option!). So, the point of all this rambling is that I'm not getting to posting until this morning!

Now on to some store news! And I have news/info for all of my wonderful "homes" today! First, let's start with an unbelieveable sale....

From now until the 27th, Hot Spot Scraps is having a 1 Euro sale. On what? On the ENTIRE store (OK...with the exception of the Mega Kits)!! Can you believe that? It's unheard of!! You have to hurry over and check it out. There are so many talented designers there. I'd spend a small fortune if I let myself! The last time they had a sale, I snagged a lot of great stuff, but they keep coming out with more and more that I add to my "Must Have" list! Don't miss out on this deal, folks! A sale like this doesn't come by everyday!

And after you buy a bunch of new goodies, you'll need to do some scrapping to justify all your purchases! Did I tell you that I'm one of the challenge hosts over at Designs In Digital? Go check out the challenges! They're loads of fun. The challenges I host are the Monthly Color Challenge (I give you a color swatch and some kit suggestions that match the swatch and you scrap something fabulous!); the Bi-Monthly Photo Challenge (twice a month I give you a photographay theme and you use the theme to come up with photos for your page); the Weekly Scraplift Challenge (I provide a link to a member's gallery, you go search for some inspiration and voila! you have the basis for a page); and the Weekly Font Challenge (for all you font junkies out there! I find a font and all you need to do is incorporate it somehow on your LO). Janie hosts the Bi-Monthly What's My Theme Challenge (she provides a theme--right now it's scanned items--you use it for your LO, and you can even discuss the theme in the forum thread) and Kirsty hosts the Monthly Sketch Challenge (where you get a template for free and all you need to do is scrap a page using it). The prize system is a little different...all you need to do is complete 3 challenges for the ENTIRE month, post your links in the appropriate thread, and you get a free kit from the month's featured designer! It's a great deal and a super easy way to add some really fab kits to your stash! Head on over and check it out!

Lastly, keep your eyes open for an exclusive kit I'll be adding to my store at Bits 2 Kits! You won't be able to get it anywhere else! I'll be going through my contribution to the March Mega Kit along with the bonus freebie I offered to anyone who e-mailed me the special code (provided in my TOU when you purchased the kit ) and choosing papers and elements (and a complete alpha!) to create an entirely new kit! The color theme is so pretty and perfect for Spring that I'm calling the kit Oh So Springy. But remember...you'll ONLY be able to find it at Bits 2 Kits! I'll post, of course, once it's in the store. So check back soon!

That's all the news for now. But I'll give you a hint for an upcoming post....I've e-mailed invitations to a few of the gals who applied to my CT call! I've heard back from 3 (out of 8) and I'll be announcing them soon!! I am SO excited and the gals I chose all do awesome work. I can't wait to get to know them better and to see what they'll be able to do with my lil' ol' kits! Oh gosh, this means I need to do a CT blinky...and that will get my butt in gear for finally doing a "Fan Of" blinky as well! Have to start brainstorming.....

Bits 2 Kits April Mega Kit

2008-04-14T10:03:00.007-05:00

Ladies and gentleman, I am so sorry that I am a forgetful person who is super-behind in her posting! Can you remember way back to the beginning of the month? Well, I can't! And apparently I couldn't remember that a new month was even STARTING because I completely forgot to post previews for the Bits2Kits April Mega Kit!

It's bad enough that I was having...well, let's just call them "issues"...in my personal life, but I really neglected my posting in my stores and the responsibilities I have with them as far as helping advertise and whatnot. I feel bad about it, but I guess "real" life often interferes with what we'd rather be doing. So, without further ado, and with many apologies to Sarah and the terrific designing crew at Bits2Kits, I give you....dum-da-dee-dum...the Bits2Kits April Mega Kit! Pick it up here!! It's a HUGE download! You get SO MUCH for your money. It's truly a fantastic deal!

And I can tell you something, boys and girls, the designers at Bits2Kits just can't be beat. They are not only talented, but also extremely friendly, supportive, and more generous than I can even say! I'm honored to be among them.

Tune back later today or tomorrow for other news that I really should have posted at the beginning of the month as well! (I promise that I'll try harder to be more timely with this stuff, o ye faithful blog readers! Look...I've already gotten better about posting more regularly!)

Black Tie Affair QP Freebie

2008-04-13T07:10:00.002-05:00

I did it! I finally managed to get a new kit into my stores! Woo-hoo! I'll let you in on a secret...I was a little preoccupied with the Amazing Digi Scrap Race...shhh. Put that on top of health, family and work issues (which I'm just NOT going into!) and it was almost a lethal combination for my poor fledgling designer career! I'm ready to get back on track, though, with tons of ideas written down (or I'm liable to forget them!) and lots of creative energy!

To celebrate my new kit, Black Tie Affair, I'm giving you some QPs I made with it. If you like them, and I hope you do, please head over to one of my fabulous stores and pick it up! I'll let you in on another secret...it's on sale until next Thursday at Bits2Kits! And all my goodies are on sale every Friday at Designs In Digital for their Friday Frenzy sale! Here's a preview of the QPs:

There's 4 total and you can download them here and here.

Don't forget to leave me some lovin' and let me know what you think of the new kit! Here's a peak at the full kit (scroll down to see previews of separate packs, which are also in my stores).

And don't forget to check back later for an announcement about my new CT and for some exciting sales news!

Happy scrapping!

My Very First CT Call!!

2008-04-10T13:58:00.002-05:00

I've finally realized that I need a Creative Team! I really should have known better right from the start because I have such precious little computer time as it is that there was NO WAY I'd be able to do everything on my own! C'mon, Nicole! Try to be a little realistic about this! With only 2 to 3-1/2 hours per day (depending on how tired I want to be the following day!) to do ALL my computer duties, which includes designing, advertising (which I've done practically NOTHING with so far!), my own CT layouts (for DF), posting to forums, freebie assignments, collab kits, "research", not to mention trying to scrap my personal pages and return personal e-mail....well, you can imagine how much I would appreciate a Creative Team helping me out a little!

So, if you read this blog, or were directed here by one of my CT call ads, here's the scoop. Requirements would be at least 2 layouts completed from each kit/alpha, paper or element pack that you're assigned or choose posted to at least 4 different online galleries (one of which would be DST for sure). I'm not a very prolific designer--at least I won't be until I figure myself out and find my designer's legs so to speak!--so the work shouldn't be too difficult! This is perfect for those of you who want to be on a CT, but don't have a lot of time on your hands either. The demands definitely will not be great (except maybe at the start when I would like a bunch of stuff done to start getting it out there!) I'd also love for my CT to do quality checks, offer suggestions for improvement, point out problems, give ideas for new products, etc. I'd also love to have someone do my previews for me. All 3 of my stores require different preview formats and it eats up A LOT of my time, as you can well imagine!

So what do you get out of this? Well, you'll get the kits that you work with for free, of course! And I'll give out store coupons that can be used for any of my stuff you don't use. I also plan to offer Thank You freebies from time to time that won't be issued in my stores. I would also love to form a deal with another designer (who has yet to be approached or even found, truth be told!) where their CT gets coupons to my products and my CT gets coupons to theirs! How cool would that be?

So, a little about the gal you would be working for....I already told you that I have very little time to design, so I don't have a lot of stuff out there right now. That's not to say that I don't have a billion ideas written down! I just don't have a lot of time to create them, unfortunately! I don't think I have a "style" yet, I'm still too new to really find my digi niche. I try hard to come up with new ideas while still trying to provide trendy items. I have a fabulous sense of humor (if I do say so myself!), I'm lots of fun, very easy-going, and I don't make a lot of demands!

So, please help out a newbie! Short of getting on my knees and begging, I don't know what else to say. Don't make me look pathetic and needy! (even if it IS kinda how I feel in regards to trying to sell my products!) Send me an e-mail to greenelephantdesigns @ yahoo dot com with a little about yourself, a link to your most up-to-date online gallery, along with any CTs you're currently on. I look forward to hearing from lots of you. I'm going to start by carrying this to April 19th to see what kind of response I get by then. All e-mails will be responded to!

Thanks everyone!

New Kit Coming Soon!

2008-04-07T23:45:00.003-05:00

Wondering what I've been up to? Well, I found my desigining mojo--briefly--but enough to finish an entire kit, complete with alpha, in only 2 days! OK...the alpha took another day, but that's still REALLY good for me! Since then, my mojo has been a little down due to family and work issues, but I feel it stirring deep inside, ready to awaken and send me into another designing frenzy, so I'm going to try to complete all the collaboration kits, freebie obligations, sales flyers, donation kits, CT assignments, etc that I have lurking around so I can get to work on the billion and one design ideas I have finally gotten written down on paper (before I forget them) and get those puppies into my stores!

Back to the issue at hand! I'm really proud of this kit, which I'm naming Black Tie Affair...not only because I was able to finish it so quickly and still produce what I think, at least, is beautiful work, but also because I have created something simple yet elegant, sophisticated yet fun. It was a blast to create, and I was really challenged trying to stick to a black and white color scheme and still produce something interesting that really "works". You know what I mean??

I'll be selling it as a complete kit, a paper pack, an element pack and an alpha pack. With the complete kit, you'll receive 2 solid papers, 10 patterned papers (all with a light satiny texture), 2 glittery border overlays, 2 glitter swirls, a bookplate, 2 half-knot bows, 2 full bows, 3 cufflink brads, 1 closed envelope, 2 pieces to make an open envelope, 1 invitation with a cut-out design, 1 eyelet, 3 flowers, 1 oval frame, 1 square wrapped frame, 2 decorative journaling tags, 1 silver key, 4 photo corners, 2 prongs, 2 wide ribbons, 1 thin ribbon, 1 ribbon wrap, a complete alpha with upper and lowercase, numerals and some symbols! Wow! I think that's everything.

Here are some previews. First the Complete Kit:

Here's the Alpha Pack:
And now for the Element Pack:

And lastly, the Paper Pack:

I'll post again once I get it into my stores. I hope to finish the previews and get it uploaded this week. Please check back so you know when t go buy it! LOL And here's a little insider info just because you're kind enough to read my blog...I already have plans for a companion kit to this! It's one that can stand alone--like BLack Tie Affair--or it can be combined with this to create countless beautiful pages. More on that later (as I actually get something other than IDEAS down for you to see!).

Thanks y'all and good night!

Challenges #11 & #12

2008-04-05T12:10:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm posting the last two layouts for the Amazing Digi Scrap Race. I can't believe it's over already! It went very quickly. Part of me is gald because I can now focus on other things (designing and something I almost forgot about--my "real" life! I need to get back on a regular schedule), but part of me is sad too. It will feel as if I'm forgetting to do something! LOL Anyway, here's #11:

The only requirement was to use wings. This is a pic of my granmother as a babe. Cute, huh?

#12 was for both partners. Since my partner was unable to complete her layouts and was disqualified, I had to find another. Luckily, one came to my rescue. One of us had to provide pic(s) and journaling and the other did the layout. So, I did the journaling and found a pic (the theme was "A Great Moment In My Life") and sent it to my new partner (whose name is also Tanya!) and she did the page. Here's the result:

The journaling reads: Meeting my future husband was the catalyst for a major accomplishment in my life--growing up! Before Thomas, I was stuck in a life of parties. I had no direction, no goals. Relationship after relationship was with the wrong man, the wrong friends. Most of my friends wanted to do nothing more than drink and party. My boyfriends were either losers, users, beaters or cheaters. Meeting Thom changed all that. He didn't put up with my temper tantrums, my attempts at picking fights. He told me that when I was feeling adult enough to talk, I would know where to find him. He taught me how to control my temper and deal with our problems in a calm and collected manner. He explained that my low self-esteem was what was unattractive--not me. He taught me how to find my self-worth. He was an example of someone who could do for himself and didn't need to rely on others for a good time. He showed me that I could stand on my own two feet. He taught me the meaning of trust--a hard lesson for me to learn.Meeting Thomas brought me direction, it set me moving forward. At the same time, it brought me stability, a safe haven. Meeting Thomas was the cornerstone of my change from an immature youth to a promising young woman!

Well, that's all folks! The next post should be back to designing! (And maybe a little freebie, if I can get my act together!)

Challenges #9 & #10

2008-03-31T08:41:00.001-05:00

Here I am back again with Challenges #9 & #10 from the Amazing Digi Scrap Race. They were both challenging for me because they required things I normally don't do!

Challenge #9 was an altered art challenge. We could scrap whatever we wanted as long as it included altered art. Now, mind you, I've never done altered art before. Had no clue how to even begin! I've always admired the altered art items I've seen, really admired them, but have never tried any on my own. I really like Alice In Wonderland and I imagined this awesome page of ALice from Through The Looking Glass with the Red Queen, the talking flowers, a rockinghorse fly, and verses from the Jabberwocky poem. OK...so the actual page turned out nowhere near the way I imagined (!), but it sure was fun. I think I'll try my hand at it again sometime. Take a look:

Challenge #10 was another tough one. It required the use of 50 DIFFERENT elements from at least 10 DIFFERENT designers! I'm just not used to that. I use 2 or 3 designers per page and always have trouble including lots of elements. Messy is just not my style forte, although I love how a lot of other people's "messy" layouts turn out. I saw tons of great designs for this challenge (several of which I saved in my "Favorites" so I could lift them later!). Here's my attempt:The journaling reads: Where is my life headed? What does the future hold in store for me? It’s something I often wonder about. Wonder and worry. My life seems so chaotic most of the time...with things that need to be taken care of and things that constantly need attention. I feel overwhelmed most of the time as I try to fulfill all the roles that I’m expected to play...mother, wife, daughter, friend, designer, secretary, creative team member, financial organizer...and those are just some of my duties, not any of my hobbies! Sometimes I feel as if my life is out of control...something I have a lot of trouble with because I’m a bit of a control freak! There are days when the chaos seems to overrun everything and I just can’t seem to catch-up. Then there arethe rare days when it all seems to go my way. I know I worry too much. I know that my future, which hopefully includes another child and a larger home, will turn out just the way it’s supposed to whether I choose to obsess about it or not. I know that whatever the future holds for me, I’ll be able to handle it. And I’ll set it to order...one day at a time.

I can't believe there are only 2 more challenges to go!

Challenges #7 & #8

2008-03-28T08:39:00.004-05:00

Where have I been? It seems like forever since I've posted last. I'm definitely falling behind on that, but I have an excuse...Emerson and I flew up to Wisconsin to spend Easter with my parents and sister.

I'll make this a short post. I really just wanted to come on and show you my LOs for Challenges #7 & #8 for the ADSR. I had to do them on my sister's computer, which is slower than I'm used to, so it took a long time.

Challenge #7 was a tough one. Each member of the team had to scrap in a different style. Mine was to a messy style, no journaling (just a title) and everything had to be from the same designer. We had numbers as guidelines (1 paper, 2 ribbons, 3 buttons, 4 bling pieces, 5 frames, 6 pics, 7 different alphas, 8 flowers or cardboard pieces, 9 staples, 10 misc. elements). Whew! Here's mine:
Challenge #8 was MUCH easier. We had to scrap a meaning ful trip (or fantasy vacation), use black & white photos, and include at least a few lines from a song. Here's mine:
Obviously, mine is a fantasy vacation because I've never been to Italy. I had to use stock photos, which is a shame because my sister is going at the beginning of May and I could have used some of her pics!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T07:30:00.001-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I hope you're all wearing your green today! I wish I could go to a local pub for a pint of green beer, but there isn't anyplace around here that would really fit the bill!

I have a cute little freebie for you today!

7 (my lucky number!) St. Patty Day charms! Download them here.

Now, charms need a charm bracelette to hang off of, don't they? Never fear! I have just the thing!! Head on over to Designs In Digital and pick up my Simply Charming Easter charms and you'll get 2 charm bracelettes and 4 chains to hang your charms from!

I think these Easter charms are so precious! And they're all oversized so you can size them to whatever size you need for your page. You get your choice of bracelettes--straight or wavy--and there are even 4 different charm chain lengths so you can have full control over how far they hang down from your bracelettes. Oh yeah...the bracelettes are 17" in length to give you tons of options for page placement!

I'm also coming out with a silver pack, so keep your eyes open for that if you're not a gold lover (I prefer silver myself!) Hopefully, I'll get it finished before Emerson and I head up to Wisconsin to spend Easter weekend with my folks. (We leave on Wednesday, so that gives me a little while at least!)

Enjoy the freebie, and show you support me and want me to continue these freebies by heading to one of my stores to pick up an item or two! Hey...a girl's gotta make a living! LOL

Challenge #6

2008-03-16T22:39:00.003-05:00

Well, here's the scoop on Challenge #6 for the Amazing Digi Scrap Race....

Only one partner in the team had to complete it. Whoever was chosen had to choose a layout from their partner's gallery and flip it--90 degrees, 180 degrees, to the left or the right, whatever--and ten scrap the OPPOSITE of what the original page was theme-wise. FOr example, if the page was about summer, the person completing the challenge would have to scrap about winter. Kind of fun, huh?

I did this challenge and picked this LO of Tanya's:

Her's is about laughing, using a sepia tone photo and softer colors. So I chose to do a layout about crying, using a color pic and bold colors! Here's my lift:

Poor, Emerson! It was a fun challenge as I hadn't done a lift in a long time. It was also fun trying to find one of Tanya's pages that Iwould fit photos I already had of an opposite theme!

Challenges #4 & #5

2008-03-11T21:09:00.007-05:00

Goodness. Where have I been? I'm a little behind in my bloggingand tonight I have both challenges #4 and #5 to share with you.

Challenge #4 was a "Spill It" challenge. We could scrap anything as long as we were sharing something...good, bad, or ugly! We also had to use at least one blending technique, have a minimum of 1 large photo, and our journaling had to be 1/4 of the page. Here's what I came up with:
The journaling reads: CONFESSION I am an addict. A bookaholic. I don't "do" libraries. I feel the need to possess, to own. I have to BUY that book. Don't ask me if I want to borrow a book from you...I don't. If you say it's good, I'll go buy it. 2/3s of my books are in storage. I have about 300 that I own and have not read yet, but my "To Buy" list is still 250 books and growing! I can't stop...I have a serious problem!

I'm nearing the 1,300 mark with my books, I believe, but my purchasing has definitely wound down quite a bit. Actually, my problem now is with digi scrap products!

Challenge #5 was different. We had to interview an inanimate object! I chose to do a conversation with my bathroom scale and I did the journaling as if it was a play we were acting out. Here's the LO:

The journaling reads: CONVERSATION WITH A SCALE A Play In One Scene Scene: A bathroom. Nicole stands at the sink brushing her teeth with her back to the audience. The scale creeps up until it is directly behind her.

Nicole (turning around & tripping over scale): Aack! You scared me! Why are you creeping up on me like that?

Scale: I haven’t seen you for a while. I thought you might want to weigh yourself before you go.

Nicole (looking down with hands on hips): Well, I don’t, so will you please go back to your corner?

Scale: But I’m lonely! I need the company.

Nicole: Shall I get my pedometer to keep you company? Or maybe my heart monitor?

Scale: No! I want you! I really think you ought to weigh yourself right now just to see how much weight you’re putting on. I’ve been watching you, you know.

Nicole: Do you really think I’m going to step on you after a statement like that?!!

Scale: Just one quick little peak! I promise I won’t tell anyone. Besides, maybe it won’t be as bad as we both think it will be. C’mon.

Nicole (stepping over scale to leave bathroom): Absolutely not. I want to forget all about you. Now, will you please go back to lurking in the shadows? Or would you rather I throw you out?

Scale (shaking fist at Nicole’s retreating back): Just you wait! I’ll get you yet and you’ll rue the day you ever decided to ignore me! I’ll double your weight the next time you step on me. No, I’ll triple it! I’ll make you think you’re so heavy you’ll never want to leave the house....

(fade to black as the scale continues to issue hollow threats)

Oh that was too much fun. Challenge #6 is up, but you'll have to waita while for that one!

A Cathartic Challenge #3

2008-03-06T16:04:00.009-06:00

Challenge #3 for ADSR was therapeutic for me and a cathartic experience. We had to do a page about ourselves. It could be anything, but half the page had to be journaling. Mine is a page that I've wanted to do for a very long time, so I took the plunge. It's not how I originally pictured it. I certainly never intended to make it so personal by using a picture of myself (and you would have fallen over laughing if had seen me trying to set up the camera, run in front of it and pose before the timer went off! I don't know how many pics I ended up taking, but it was a lot before I found one I was almost happy with!) I originally planned on using a model. Using my own photo definitely made it more personal, however. I'm also not real happy with the scars. They didn't turn out half as well as I would have liked!
When posting in my galleries I had to blur out the objectional words, but I'm posting it uncensored here. I apologize if the words offend you, but it IS an ugly subject and fit for ugly words! Here you go:

The journaling reads:

When I was a freshman in college, a 4 four year relationship with my high school boyfriend ended violently. He came home drunk one night, punched me about the thighs and stomach, ripped off my clothing, and choked me until I passed out. His roommates were home, listening, but hid in their rooms...pretending nothing was wrong. Luckily, he had too much to drink and had to run to the bathroom to vomit. Another of the roommates came home, heard the tail end of what was happening & half carried me out of the room and into her own. She hid me in the closet until he left the house to search for me, then transported me to her boyfriend's house. The weekend ended with a police report, photographs of the bruises, & a restraining order on the only boyfriend I had ever had. Looking back on it now, I see that the last two years of the relationship had been abusive...both emotionally & mentally. I was young enough when he & I started dating that I believed it when he told me that he would be the only man to ever love me. I believed all of the bad things he said about me. I believed them for many years. A month after this incident, I was raped by three men at a frat party. A friend & I always went together. We had gone to a few parties there before, but on this night-for whatever reason-my friend left me there. I happened to be friends with one of the people who lived there &, being too drunk to make it back to the dorms on my own, he told me I could crash on their couch. After everyone else had left, he along with two of his friends raped me. They held me down, violating me orally and vaginally. By the time I made it back to my dormroom, somehow finding my way through the tears & fear & shock, I was stumbling & only half-dressed. I fell into my room & my roommate was already awake. When I told her what had happened, she looked at me in disgust, telling me I let it happen. Her words scarred me even further. Because of them, I was afraid to tell anyone else. I was ashamed of myself, of what had happened, & the men got away with it. I believed all those things that were implied by my "letting" the rape happen...I was a slut, a tramp. I kept my silence for more than two years. I was so afraid of the men, whom I still saw around campus, that I dropped out & transferred to a different university. It was there that I couldn t keep my silence any longer. In a speech class, I described the rape. More than a few people cried, the professor had tears in his eyes when I finished. Several women came up to me at the end of class to tell me their similar experiences. It was an eye opener & it was as if the flood gates had been opened. After that, I told of my ordeal whenever it was appropriate, I wrote about it in my prose classes, I shared my thoughts & my feelings with whoever wanted to listen. I have had women tell me of their own rapes, & even inspired some of them to speak out themselves. I still have nightmares from time to time & still struggle occasionally with the feeling that all those things once said about me really are true afterall. But although both experiences were traumatic, now that I ve found a voice I have become a much stronger person. I am finally strong enough to let the scars heal at last.

One thing I noticed while doing this layout....my tattoo is pretty faded and shabby looking! Almost time to touch 'er up! LOL

**Note to the daughter whose mother left the comment about sending a link of this page to you: Please, please, if you want to talk to someone who has been through this and who also made some incredibly stupid mistakes afterwards (and still regrets them and is ashamed of them), PLEASE feel free to write to me at my e-mail: triplegoddess1@gmail.com And that goes for anyone else who wants someone to talk to and feels like they have no where else to go or is afraid to tell anyone else. I get lots of junk mail, so please put something in the subject line to catch my attention like "Abuse" "Rape" or something similar. Even if you just want to share your experience because it is so therapeutic, feel free to write to me! I am a survivor and I'm always here to support others**

And to all of you who have been leaving me comments here and in my galleries -- thank you thank you thank you...You have brought tears to my eyes with your words of support and encouragement. I love you all for the kindness you're showing and wish I had the same support while I went through all of this!

ADSR Challenge #2

2008-03-05T19:50:00.000-06:00

Forgot to post this awesome LO for Challenge #2 with the Amazing Digi Scrap Race! Oops! So, here it is: We each had to do half a layout and then put them together. We could do top and bottom, left and right, diagonal...whatever. We, obviously, opted for diagonal. We wanted to do something crazy and fun, as well as something that kind of tied into our team name, Creative Chaos. We decided to do a fun page with random facts about ourselves. How fun!

Tanya did the top half and her fun facts are:
As a teenager I had rat tail that I kept braided, and almost died hot pink.
I have one itty-bitty tattoo.
My fantasy job is to be a long distance truck driver.
I contemplated exotic dancing as a means to earn extra money when I was younger, but didn't.
I am a terrible liar.

I did the bottom half and my fun facts are:
I had a pet rat named Samson who looked like my tattoo.
Every night I write a New York Times Best Seller, but I forget it by the time I wake up.
I want to be abducted by aliens and spend the rest of my life traveling the galaxy.
At one point in my life, not too long ago, I had my inner conch, tragus, nose, tongue, left nipple and bellybutton pierced.
I want to be a bellydancer at the local Greek & Lebanese restaurant.

Tanya also did the center part and stitched our halves together. The center quote reads:
Art itself, is an attempt to make order out of chaos. -Stephen Sondheim

I think we did a fabulous job!!

Bits 2 Kits March Mega Kit Freebie

2008-03-02T20:35:00.004-06:00

Hey everyone! Want to get this for free?

It's an awesome add on kit to the Bits 2 Kits March Mega Kit! In this free addon, you get 10 patterned papers, 2 wrapped frames, 2 funky metal frames, 6 eyelet ribbon bows, 6 colored eyelets, 1 journaling block, 1 complete lowercase alpha and number set! How do you get this awesome freebie? Simple--go to Bits 2 Kits and buy the March Mega Kit. In my TOU (see the Nicolina folder), scroll to the bottom and you'll find a special code. E-mail me the code (my e-mail is in the TOU too!) and I'll e-mail you the links for this kit!

Hurry, though, because at the end of March this freebie will disappear. You won't see it again until I combine it with my share of the Mega Kit to sell in the store. Even then, not everything will be included! So get it now while you can still get the whole kit and kaboodle!

On Your mark, Get Set, GO!!!!

2008-02-25T21:30:00.001-06:00

Let the Amazing Digi Scrap Race begin! This is my first year racing, and my partner is the fabulous Tany aka Simple Girl's Scraps O' Life! I think is her first year too. I'm excited, but a little mervous because I have a lot on my plate these days! I think if I try to do my LOs on the day each challenge is released, I'll be OK. I just need to designate "jobs" for each evening...and then the trick will be staying on top of it all!

And even though this blog is SUPPOSED to be for designing only, I am breaking my rule by also posting info about the ADSR. Challenge #1 is hosted by Digital Scrapbooking Classes. Our challenge is...using the template provided, we are to scrap our favorite person or animal; at least half of the layout has to be in our favorite color; and we have to find one of our favorite elements and use it at least 3 times on the LO.

I decided to do my favorite animal (let's face it...I do plenty of LOs with Emerson as it is!), which is the elephant. And my favorite color is green (hmmm...green elephants....sounds familiar! lol). I really had a hard time choosing a favorite element, but finally decided on a piece of tape by Lara payton's kit "Amid Memories" because I find myself coming back to it over and over. It's perfect for heritage pages, grungy pages, "realistic" pages, etc. Here's the result:

The journaling reads: I started collecting elephants when I was in high school. There was something I just loved about the animal...its strength tempered with great gentleness, its massive bulk matched by the graceful movements of its trunk, its loyalty to family, its ability to remember and pass down those memories to new generations. Shortly after I began collecting, I found out that my great-grandmother also loved elephants. Once people found out abou my collection, Istarted receiving various pieces that my great-grandmother had given as gifts from her own collection. I hope to someday inherit all of them from theaunt who inherited them from my great-grandmother. Until then, I’ll continue to add to my stash, so I have even more to pass along to my grandchildren!

My First Grab Bag!

2008-02-22T12:31:00.002-06:00

Clearly, I've lost my mind! $20 worth of goodies for only $1??!!! What was I thinking? I'll tell you--that everyone loves to get lots of stuff they can use for next to nothing! This being my first grab bag and all, I really had no idea what to include! How much was too much? How do I avoid disappointing people by putting in too little? I finally decided to err on the side of generosity and I crammed as much in there as my little bag could hold!

This bag is on sale at Bits2Kits along with lots of other grab bags--each for only $1!! This is in honor of the Trash to Treasure hunt at DST this weekend (the treasure hunt starts 6pm EST tonight...so go check it out!), and the bags are only going to be on sale until Monday night around midnight EST, so hurry over to get them before we open them up and stick the contents into the shop at regular price! We've figured out that if you buy all the bags, you'll bespending $11 and receiving over $100 worth of scrapping goodies! How can you pass that up???

I may not know what the other bags hold--and I wouldn't tell you if I did! LOL--but I can give you some hints as to what mine has hidden away. I have prepared 5 paper packs that contain 6 patterned papers (all the same pattern in various shades) and 6 coordinating solids. Can you do the math? (Hint: that's 60 papers! 30 patterned and 30 solids!) There's also 2 sets of Easter elements...22 elements total (11 in gold and 11 in silver). That's all I'm going to tell you about those except to say they're charming! Finally, there is a designer sampler pack that has 4 papers and 6 elements. let's run a tally on all this: that's 64 papers and 28 elements! Even if you're just curious, you can hardly pass up a deal like this!

Piracy

2008-02-18T21:59:00.002-06:00

I don't know how many of you out there are really aware of the problems designers are currently dealing with in acts of piracy. Before I became a designer, I saw the No Piracy statements and thought they were all about friends who got together and swapped kits with each other. You know, each one buys a certain number of kits and then they get together and share them with one another. A definite No-No! But, man, was I naive when I thought this was what the problem was! But I'm here to tell you folks, it's much worse than that! There are computer hackers out there who think it's OK to go into someone's store and take every kit in there and then share it online with whoever happens to stumble upon it! There are people using Commercial Use items without paying for them to create their own things to sell! There are people who have been given special access to kits for free, who are then sharing them with people they know! No...I don't know names and I wouldn't name anyone anway because I'm not the one with proof of it all. But it's happening.

I feel so sorry for the designers and stores this is (and has) happened to. This isn't just a one time thing...it has happened before. They must have someone on the inside that is feeding them information. It's the only thing that makes sense to me! And these pirates are ruthless. They don't care about the people they're stealing from, they don't care what happens to that designer, that store. They actually think they have a RIGHT to do this! They think that the kits they steal should be shareware!! Let me tell you something...designers work DAMN HARD to make the things they sell. They pour there hearts and souls into their designs! What right is it of somebody else to come along and decide that it should be offered for free all over the web? The designers to whom this is happening have been violated, raped, abused...and none of us are going to stand for it!! To do this to a person and then laugh at the pain you inflict is cruel, heartless and insensitive. If you want to give something away to the digital scrapping world, then get off your butts and design it yourselves. Don't steal something that someone else has created and declare it free game!

I have read some statements by people (I'm not sure if they were pirates or just people complaining) that designers charge too much for their products...that they're greedy. You know what? Designers spend hours on they're kits...even days. Just be glad they're not charging an hourly rate!! Most digi sites have sales fairly frequently. Make a list of what you really like and then check the site regularly for a sale. That's how I did it when I first started scrapping. Or, like I said before, get off your lazy bum and design it yourself. Don't know how? There are plenty of tutorials out there. Find them.

Some of these designers use the money they earn as supplemental income because they're stay-at-home moms or, like me, come home after working 8 or 10 hours and spend the evening designing in order to earn a little extra money for spending or (in my case) saving up for household repairs, childrens' futures, a new vehicle, etc. For all I know, there might be some out there who rely on this as a main source of income! Why do these bandits think they can come in and take that away from us? Would you like me to come in and steal that painting you made for a client? That webpage design you just put together? Your paycheck???

Some of you may be thinking, what's the big deal if I share a kit I just bought with a friend? Well, it is a big deal. You purchased that kit for YOUR use. What if the friend you share it with shares it with her friend, and that friend shares it, and then that friend shares it too? You see the pattern here? How many potential sales are you taking away from that designer by "just sharing it with one friend" ?? If your friend likes a kit you bought, tell her where you got it. The same goes for freebies. A lot of designers give out freebies because it gets their name out there, it brings people to their blog or store or whatever to check whether or not there have been new freebies offered. It's how we generate interest in our work and a way that we give back to the community who supports us. Please don't take that away from us either!

Are you unsure about what exactly is considered an act of piracy? Check out this blog. It's an excellent source of information. Do you know a pirate? Have you seen a site that is offering free kits from designers other than themselves? Or is giving info on how to find kits for free? Report it. It doesn't matter which digi store you report it to...just tell someone so we can put an end to this. There are people out there getting seriously hurt by this, folks, and we all need to do our part in stopping it. Please help to put an end to piracy before more and more designers throw in the towel. We can't afford to lose any of that talent out there!

And Last, But Certainly Not Least!

2008-02-11T22:32:00.000-06:00

Whew! I've FINALLY done it! I have my third store open!! It was a long haul getting here, but now I feel as if I can sit back and start enjoying the actual design aspect of things again! So, my store at Designs In Digital is open. Check it out here. I still have 4 things to upload, so my work's not done yet, but I'll get there! To celebrate this final store, I'm offering another freebie! Take a look:

You get 3 items made with my Words To Live By collection, which is a set of mat and frame templates with inspirational words. I took one item from each set and made you a silver frame (Faith), a pink enamel plate (Imagine), and a Quick Page (Play). Download here. And don't forget to go pick up the template sets so you can get the rest of the pieces!

Now, you've probably noticed that I have the same thing in all my stores. This is true! however, I will work on exclusives for each (more than likely) in the months to come. For example, my part of the monthly mega kits I will be releasing 2 months after the mega kit is released, and those kits, of course, will be exclusive to the store they were created for.

That brings up a question...Why is it that my best designs seem to be the ones I'm doing for the mega kits? Hmmm....

Enjoy the download! I'd love to see any LOs y'all are making with this stuff!

Another Store Open! And That Means Another Freebie!!

2008-02-10T23:38:00.000-06:00

Woo Hoo! I have another store open! Go check out www.hotspotscraps.com and look for me in the designers section. I have just a few things up for the moment. I'm having a really hard time finding time for all my projects! I hope I haven't over extended myself.

Back to Hot Spot Scraps....to celebrate finally getting some merchandise uploaded (LOL), I'm giving you this freebie:

All the items come as separate files, so you can have your way with them! It's just in time for you to make some Valentine's Day cards and/or pages! Pick it up here. And then make sure to head over to Hot Spot Scraps and pick up the coordinating kits:

I still have one more store coming... www.designsindigital.com . The people there are fabulous and are being so patient with me! I only have a 3 month "trial" before they can vote to give me the boot, so I better get going! LOL I've had quite a few problems getting stuff into the store because they do it completely different than the other 2 sites. First, I hadn't been given the administrative permissions I needed and the rest has been my own stupidity and the fact that someone changed a day from being 24 hours long to only 12 hours long! At least it seems that way!! The simplest things are taking me SO long that I can't find time for everything. I need to get organized. Actually, someone suggested I find someone to do my previews for me (I hate doing them and they take me SO long) in exchange for the kit for free. I might just do that. It would certainly savve me a lot of time!

I'm making it my top priority to get things into my store at Designs In Digital this evening and then I'll prepare a freebie to celebrate that Grand Opening as well! So check back!!

Seriously!

2008-02-06T15:31:00.000-06:00

Really now...how pathetic am I that I can't keep my word for even a week?!! I promised to post every Monday and here it came and went with no blog completed! In my defense, I was toally thrown off kilter this week. You see, I live in Louisiana and Mardi Gras creates havoc. I didn't grow up here, so I couldn't care less about parades and all that, but my daycare is closed (Monday AND Tuesday because they're near the parade route!). That means I miss work because I'm home with my boy, and I forget what day it is because I'm too busy glorying in my 4 day weekend! So, here it is--Wenesday--and lots of catch-up blogging to do!

I realized last night about 1 am that I neglected to post pics of the kits I have in the Bits2Kits store. Here they are:

Don't forget to pick them up soon while they're still on sale! And remember you can purchase the papers and elements separate, if you don't want the complete kits!

I also uploaded several new products, which include Valentine themed stamps just in time for your Valentine's LOs!! Here's some previews:

Don't worry...I'll have a freebie for these to hand out either tonight or tomorrow, so check back!

The other new additions are templates. There are 3 packs in my "Words To Live By" collection so far. Each has 3 mats that are sized 11" or larger that feature a different inspirational word. There's also 3 coordinating frames. Use your own papers and be creative! I have plans for at least 3 more template packs, so please let me know how you like them! Here's the preview for the 3 that are already in the store:

In other news...I've been accepted as a designer in 2 more stores!! Yipee!!! www.designsindigital.com and www.hotspotscraps.com will soon house my products as well! I'm not quite there yet, so hold off visiting them! LOL

I've also been asked to stay on permanently for the Digital Freebies CT team (I had been on a 3 month guest spot), and I'm really excited about that! They're a fabulous group to work with! And I've been contacted by a designer from another site because she saw one of my galleries and liked it so much that she wants me on her personal CT team! Boy, when it rains, it pours!! With all this wonderful digiscrapping fortune heading my way, I sure hope some of it runs over into sales! hee hee The only disappointment I've had is not making it as Eva Kipler's new description writer. I made it to the top 5, but did not make the final cut. She's one of my all time favorite designers (goodness, I have almost all of her kits), so it would have been a dream working with her. However, I'm sure whoever she chose will be fabulous!

That's all for now, kiddos. Don't forget to look for that upcoming freebie! I'll even try to do a couple LOs with some of my products so you can see them in action! Till then....

My Store Is Open & I'm Giving You Freebies!

2008-02-02T21:24:00.000-06:00

That's right...my store is FINALLY open at Bits2Kits. It took me forever to get some kits togather, but I've finally done it. OK, OK, I know what you're thinking...2 kits, big deal! But give me a break! I'm new at this!! Hopefully I'll be able to get more in there soon.

I have 4 QPs to offer you today as a little celebration freebie. There are two from each of the 2 kits I have in my store. Here's the first set:

You can download it here.

And this is the second set:

You can download it here.

This is the first Collection I'll be working on..."My Friends & Family" because where could I find an easier source of inspiration? I hope you enjoy the QPs and, if you do, head over to my store and look for new items soon!

Pledge for 2008

2008-01-28T08:16:00.000-06:00

Well folks, I am a pitiful blogger! It's been over a MONTH since I've posted any new messages--and it's not like there hasn't been plenty going on! I have THOUGHT about posting, I have INTENDED to post...but neither of those count for much, do they? So my pledge to myself--and to all of you--for 2008, is to post more frequently. I'm designating Mondays as my posting day. I'll start there and, as time goes on, maybe I'll manage to post more often. With that said, let me get on with it!

My big news for this year is that I've been accepted as a designer at www.Bits2Kits.com !!! How exciting is that? While I absolutely LOVE to digiscrap, I think I like designing even more. let me rephrase that, I love everything about digiscrapping...working with other designer's items and coming up with my own. I have SO many ideas for kits (the themes behind them at least) that I figured I might as well share with the digiscrap community! I love the feeling of knowing that there are other people out there who enjoy my work and can make good use of it...and why not make a little extra money in the meantime?! At least then I won't be spending TOO much on digi products. I can use my earnings and reinvest them!!

With all the ideas I have, I lack the technique, the skill to pull it off. At least in my opinion, I am unable to make it look on the computer the way I see it in my mind. All that comes with time, I'm sure. And as I learn, I hope to branch out to other stores in the hopes of reaching a wider audience.

As I release kits into my store, I'll be offering freebies here to help promote it, so check back often! Also, complete the survey included with any item you purchase and receive a free Thank-You gift!

Hope to hear from a lot of you soon!

Where, Oh Where Have I Been?

2007-12-14T15:39:00.000-06:00

Has it really been almost a month since I've posted??? How is that possible? Where has the time gone? Where have I been? Rest assured, I'm alive and kickin'! Just terribly busy with all the holiday crazies!

Emerson and I went home to Wisconsin so he could visit Papa, Mia and Auntie Cali for Thanksgiving. And since our return to Louisiana...well, work has been a madhouse, holiday shopping is a nightmare, and baking is a distant thought at this point! I've been trying to design and I know I need to post freebies for my alpha and first round of patterned papers, but with all the above and then my CT spot at Digital Freebies (loving it! and so excited to be a part of the CT there...wish I could stay on after my 3 month stint is over!!) I just have not had the time. Oh yeah, and I have a nasty cold that I just can't seem to shake.

Of course, these days I seem, to be full of excuses. It's much too easy to say, "You're not feeling well, Nicole. Just take it easy and veg in front of the TV tonight" instead of getting a head start on the weekend laundry. Or "You worked hard to get those 2 LOs done for your CT requirements. You need a break from the computer" instead of working on my son's baby album (20-months-old and his baby album is just now scrapped up to the day we brought him home from the hospital! I'll never finish it at this rate!)

As my hubby says, though, "It will get done when it gets done." Life is too short to stress about little things, and I try not too. I do regret not finding more time to design, however. And I'm still wondering how all these designers do it!! If anyone knows...please tell me their secret! I already go to bed and lie awake brainstorming layout designs, page kit ideas, etc. My problem is that I can't seem to find the time to execute my plans!

Finally! A Freebie!!

2007-11-17T11:37:00.000-06:00

Well, well...what do we have here? A freebie! Finally!!!

Yes, I finally got my act together, joined 4shared, and prepared at least one thing to share with all of you. I don't know what took me so long! Here's the preview of what you're getting:

Download here.

If you use these papers, please e-mail me at triplegoddess1@gmail.com because I'd love to see them! Also, please leave me a comment here. If I'm going to continue desigining, I'll need the encouragement. Plus, if there's something wrong with my work, I need to know so I don't continue to make the same mistakes and so I can fix what's wrong. THanks!

I almost have the alphabet/numbers/symbols ready for download too. Maybe tomorrow? Let's hope. I changed them a little from my original sneak peek (see older posts). I'm currently working on patterned papers, but I'm a long way off on those so it will be quite a while bfore you see that freebie!

I hope you all enjoy the download!

Taking TIme To Design and The Meaning Behind The Name

2007-11-16T20:47:00.000-06:00

2 things I want to talk about today: taking (and making) the time to design and the meaning behind my designing names. Oh yeah...and reveal what my first series of kits is all about!

First of all, how do all those fabulous designers find time to actually DO the designing??? I just can't figure it out. Of course, I still have no idea how to do half the things I want to, and since I'm just starting it takes me twice as long to make something, but it's still taking me forever to get things done! I have to wait until my son is in bed (hubby goes to bed at the same time because he gets up at 3am for work) and after I've done all my chores and showered and all that, so it only leaves me about 1.5 hours (sometimes 2 if I stay up until 11pm) to participate in challenges, work on pages for Emerson's baby album, and design! There just aren't wnough hours during the day.

*****

I was recently asked how I came up with the name for my designs--Green Elephant Designs by Nicolina. Well, it's fairly simple. I wanted something other than my name (Designs by Nicole Birdeau-Rabalais just didn't have the right ring to it), so I took my favorite color--green--my favorite animal--elephant--and the name my paternal grandmother called me by quite often as a young girl--Nicolina. And there you have it!

*****

Finally, the BIG reveal. (OK...not so big since I have barely scratched the surface on it! lol) I have a plan for the kits I want to create.

I don't know if any of you have seen my blinkie or read the little description beneath my blog title, but I love a world where reality and fantasy overlap. A world where gods and godesses walk the earth, where fairies flit from grove to grove, where mermaids swim the oceans, and dragons fly through the skies. A world where witches cause havoc, where monsters hide in unlikely places, where giants becomefriends and where mythical creatures cause mischief.

My first series of kits, my first collection I guess you'd say, is going to be called "The Goddess Within Collection" and each kit in the collection will feature a different goddess from a different culture. I have the basic ideas in my head for at least 5 kits. SInce I can't really scrap an entire goddess (much too complex!), each kit will focus on some aspect of that goddess.

For example, the kit I'm starting out with, and the ones I've provided previews for, is Hera from Greek mythology. Remember how I said I hoped the colors of my solid papers reminded some of you of a peacock? Well, that's because the peacock is one of Hera's sacred animals. So the kit will feature the colors of the peacock, some peaock images and peacock inspired patterns, and gold accents because Hera was a queen.

Look for my first freebie for this kit tomorrow! It will be the solid papers!

Recruiting

2007-11-14T13:23:00.000-06:00

I love recruiting newbies into digital scrapbooking. I always send my new pages to friends and family after I post them into my gallery (see link below), and I recently had a friend write and tell me she wanted to start digi scrapping! I immediately sent her a message with all ym favorite did sites, advised her on which ones had the best freebies to help her get started until she could build up an inventory of products, and a list of some of the blogs out there that I visit pretty regularly. I'm so excited to think I might have a scrapping buddy close by! It would be great to get together and scrap.

Now, if only we could find a way to afford a laptop and a Wacom tablet for me, I'd be set! Where did I put my Santa list???....

I Love Digital Freebies!

2007-11-13T13:09:00.000-06:00

Have I told you all how much I loooooove www.digitalfreebies.com? I love that site! Maybe it's because it's one of the first digital scrapbooking site I visited and joined, maybe it's the awesome products in the boutique, maybe it's the fabulous designers or the wonderful members, but it feels like "home." If you haven't been there yet...you have to stop and visit. And, while you're there, check out my gallery. make sure to check out some of the other galleries as well. There are some really amazing layouts in there!

Extra love goes out to Digital Freebies today because I was one of the winners in their "Why I Scrap" contest!I received 2nd place in the 12x12 category and Grand Prize in the Hybrid category! Hooray for me!

Look What I Did!!

2007-11-11T22:52:00.000-06:00

OK...so I'm not so good at this blog thing. I get busy, I forget to log in and write. I also, you'll notice, fail to share any freebies. But enough of my shortcomings. Let me show you what I did tonight:

This was inspired by a layout that gavins mom (Tiffany) did at Digital Freebies. I had never thought about doing an animated layout before, but it's pretty cool, huh? Check out Tiffany's LO here. Thanks for the inspiration!!

[Credits for the kit I used go to Knetfeder's Kits "Recycling the Rainbow", which you can see here. The font for the title is Painty Paint, which can be found on dafont.com]

Not bad for my first try, if I do say so myself!! I'd love to hear what you all think, so please leave a comment!

Hope you'll all leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Self-Proclaimed Procrastinator

2007-11-10T12:59:00.000-06:00

For years I've been trying to figure out just what exactly my problem is with putting things off! Am I lazy? Do I foolishly believe that I have all the time in the world? Am I the world's most forgetful 32-yr-old? The answer is a respounding yes. Yes to all 3 questions. So what do I do with my time...the time I'm supposed to be spending designing, doing the monthly finances, planning next week's menu (which I really never HAVE actually done.I always SAY I will and I really do intend to do it...someday!), catching up on my son's journal (I am now closing in on 7 months behind on it!), and completing his baby album? Well, no one really knows for sure what I do with that time. I have a sneaky suspicion that I spend a great deal of it surfing the web and completing layouts for challenges. While I love to do the challenges and receive the posting prizes, I really do need to focus more on other things--chores, hobbies, family. My husband is getting fed up with all the time I spend on the computer. I keep telling him that once I get this designing thing off the ground and going, he'll be glad I'm spending so much time on it. Just wait until that extra cash comes rolling in! Ha ha...OK maybe "rolling" is not the term to use, but it really would be nice to make a little extra on something I spend so much time doing anyway!

With all that said, I'm close to getting a few more patterned papers and a couple elements ready. Since I'm pretty much caught up with the challenges, I should be able to post previews by next weekend! Unless, of course, I get caught up in another project!

First Set of Patterned Papers

2007-11-06T13:26:00.000-06:00

So, I'm sure you've noticed that I failed to get anything ready to share as freebies. Are you surprised? Because I'm not. But it's actually not because I've been procrastinating; it's because I've been incredibly busy. First of all, Digital Scrapbooking Day!! There were WAY too many fun challenges and awesome sales to worry about anything else! And I've been focusing a lot on playing with my son lately and I've put in a few extra hours at work, as well. I did mange, however, to produce some patterned papers for my kit. Now, I don't know if I'll offer ALL of these if I ever get a chance to start selling my kits, but I wanted to try all sorts of colors so I had plenty to choose from once I get around to assembling my final pieces. Here's the preview:

Once again, I'm going to promise you that I will at least think about preparing all these items for freebies. LOL Sooner or later, you know it's gonna get done!

Solid Papers

2007-11-01T22:34:00.001-05:00

Well, I've finally settled (I think) on a color scheme for my first digital kit, and I've created some solid papers to get me going. Here's the preview:

I hope the colors remind some of you (at least one of you!??) of a peacock. They're not supposed to be just like a peacock...just reminiscent of one. Did I succeed in that? I hope so!

I'm still not giving away too much about the future completed kit because who knows? it might change as I go along. But now you know it's loosely based on the colors of a peacock. I still have the patterned papers to ponder and the elements to worry over. I think for my first kit, I might have to do real simple elements. Either that or I'll have to finally break down and purchase some Commercial Use products and templates. I'm stubborn, though! I want to do it all on my own!!

Please leave me some comments and let me know whether or not I'm still on the right track here. I think this weekend, in honor of Digital Scrapbooking Day tomorrow, I'll finally get these papers and the alpha ready for a zip file that I can then share with all of you. So check back soon to see if I've really done what I said or if I'm still procrastinating!! lol

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T22:33:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween everyone! We had such a nice time trick-or-treating with Emerson--much better than I had hoped. He was a lion this year and the first time we put the costume on him, he cried--kicking and screaming, of course--until I took the thing off. I thought, oh Lord, this should make Halloween night real fun! But guess what? I started putting it on him and all he said was "roar, roar." The only fussing he did was when i was trying to hold him still to draw his nose and whiskers on (with Mama's eyeliner because I forgot to buy face paint!)

He really enjoyed going out trick-or-treating. Actually, what I think he enjoyed was running around waving the little pumpkin flashlight my co-worker gave him. He wasn't afraid of any of the other Halloweeners--even the ones in the scary masks! We only stayed out for about an hour and a half, but we really enjoyed ourselves.

Emerson also had his Halloween party at daycare today. I was even able to leave work to attend. It was a hoot watching all those kids go nuts about their snacks (ever see what unlimited cookies, cupcakes, Cheetos and juice does to 17 toddlers?) He was a mess! And forget dinner! he was definitely NOT interested in eating again that night!!

My Poor Baby

2007-10-30T21:15:00.000-05:00

You all need to feel sorry for my poor little boy today. Why? I'll tell you...

Emerson had his 18-month well-baby check-up this morning. After the check up, the doctor told me we had to go to the hospital and have lab work done to check for iron definciency and lead content in he blood. I had no idea that we had to have this done at this visit--she hadn't mentioned a word of it at his 15-month check-up--so I hadn't brought any Tylenol or Motrin with me. I thought I was doing good by remembering an extra diaper, some snacks, and a few of his books. (Our doctor is notorious for keeping her appointments waiting. We were her first appointment of the day, and she was 15 minutes late for that! How can you be behind before you've even had any appointments???!!)

Anyway, off to the hospital we went. We got called into a room where they had me hold Emerson's body still by laying my chest over him, while a nurse held his arm out and another nurse took the blood. To get to the point (because I'm known for rambling and I can see already that that's where I'm headed), he was stronger than they expected, and he twisted his arm when they stuck the needle in. They ended up tearing his arm a little where the needle had entered. Picture blood streaming down his arm ad onto the nurse's glove and then onto the table; Emerson screaming so much that his eyeballs are rolling back into his skull because he's about to pass out (he holds his breath when he's really upset and we haven't found anything to make him breath again until he's ready); a bruise forming where the blood from the damaged vein is pooling under his skin; Mama crying because her baby is crying so hard....oh my friends, it was not fun at all. After it was all over, one of the nurse's tried to give him a little treat, but he just threw it at her (rude, yes, but he's 18 months old...what do you expect?) He was fine by the time I got him back to daycare and had gone to buy some Motrin to give him. Thank God toddler's don't have very long memories!

In other news, I totally forgot to carve the pumpkin for Halloween tomorrow and I didn't especially feel like doing it tonight. Instead, I took Emerson's finger paints and a sponge brush and painted a little Halloween scene on it. We're not even going to be home, so I guess it doesn't matter except that I want pics of him with his Halloween pumpkin.

I also got his little goody bags ready for his daycare party tomorrow. We signed up to bring treat bags, and I did simple ones for that, but Emerson also wanted to give his little friends a treat. We bought special bags, some individual boxes of raisins, stickers, and I created fridge magnets by scrapping with some Halloween kits I had, printing them, gluing them onto some magnetic material, and cutting out holes to put a pic behind. They're 4x6" and the picture openings will fit a wallet sized pic. Each one has the child's name and "Halloween 2007" on it. I think they're cute. Here's the one I did for Emerson and a few of his little friends:

2007-10-29T10:35:00.001-05:00

It didn't take me long to forget to post, did it? LOL Actually, we had quite a busy weekend. It was a wonderful weekend! Emerson and I had a playdate on Saturday with a friend who lives in the country. Oh, it was so nice and quiet! We rode around and saw some horses, a bull, lots of dogs and a pong complete with turtles. Emerson was quite impressed with all the trees and kept pointing them out to me. It was a beautiful day. Sunday we went to the park, and Emerson had lots of fun going down the slides, running around like a mad thing, and watching the ducks in the duck pond. (He called all the white ducks, "Fix-It Duck" because he has a book with the same name. Too cute) He only threw one fit--when I wouldn't let him continure running back and forth over the bridge--but considering his fits consist of lying silently on the ground looking up at me, well, have at it kiddo!

Needless to say, I did not have any time for designing. Well, I didn't have time to complete anything, anyway. I'm currently trying to figure out how to make gems in Photoshop. I found a tutorial, but I'm not real happy with the results. I got so frustrated with it that I gave up doing any computer work at all. Hopefully, I'll either figure out how to do a gem I can be satisfied with or I'll move on to something else! Either way, I'll try to get something posted for you all to look at and comment on soon. Oh yeah, and I think I'll look into the 4Share website to see if I can figure out how to start sharing some freebies. I don't know what kinds of freebies, but I've gotten so many great ones that I'd like to offer something back. Hope you all have a great week!

My Very First Alpha

2007-10-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

Wow!! Two posts in one day! I can see where this is going to get addictive! If I'm not careful, I'll spend all my time posting and let all my other hobbies fall by the wayside!

I started this site with the purpose of asking others to preview my design attempts as I start in my quest to learn digiscrap kit designing. So, without further ado, below is an image of the first piece to my first kit...my very first alpha! I have a name picked out for the kit already--but I"m gonna keep you hanging for a while--and I have ideas for a color scheme, most of the elements, and the solid papers (still brainstorming on patterned papers). Unfortunately, I have precious little time on my hands, and I get distracted WAY too easily, so it might take me a while to get my first digi kit completed. Not to mention the fact that I'm still learning and experimenting with how to create everything! Anyway, here's a sneak peak at the alpha, which also includes numbers and a few symbols:
Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I'd hate to get the entire kit finised only to find out that's people think it's not any good!! Thanks a bunch!

Little Man

2007-10-25T09:45:00.000-05:00

My son is 18 months old today! In honor of the occasion, I've decided to write a bit about him and even squeeze in a little bragging (as is my right as a mother!)

My little man's name is Emerson. I wanted a name that reflected my first great love (literature), but one that wasn't too off-the-wall. So we came up with Emerson (as in Ralph Waldo Emerson). The clerk at the doctor's office keeps referring to him as "she" when I call to make an appointment, but I understand that it's because the name--although traditionally a boy's name--is being used as a girl's name more often of late, so I try not to get upset!

My son is simply amazing (warning: here comes the bragging). He surprises me every day with what he's learning. He's in daycare from about 7am-5pm (I know, I know...I hate to have him there so long), and they really teach him a lot. Much more han I think I could teach him at home. Of course, we reinforce at home everything that daycare is teaching him, which really helps with the learning process. We even bought some color crayon decals to put on the wall as well as different shapes in bright patterns. Emerson loves to go up to them and have us ask him what each shape or color is as we point to them in turn.

And the words he knows!! He knows way more than I think an average 18 month old does, so we made a list of all the ones we have heard him say (not the ones he parrots when we say it, but the ones he uses on his own) and came up with 241!! Is that normal? Or is my child exceptionally bright? (Guess which one I'm rootin' for?!! LOL) He just picks up new info so easily, it seems. Kids are amazing.

Emerson likes to clean. Let me put that another way--Emerson likes to pick-up. If I tell him "It's time to pick up!" he does it right away, saying the whole time "nee up, nee up, nee up" (translation: clean up). This past weekend we were playing with blocks, but I needed to run to the grocery store real quick, so I told him, "Let's go bye-bye." He looked at me standing by the door and then down at the blocks scattered around the floor. He started picking them up and putting them back in their travel bag, saying "Nee up, nee up" and wouldn't leave until the floor was clean! How many 18 month old toddlers do that? It's a trait he definitely gets from his daddy!

OK...I won't pretend that Emerson is perfect. He has started hitting recently. He especially likes to hit the little girls at daycare. Bully!! When I catch him at it, I make him look me in the face and I tell him, "No hitting. It's not nice. It hurts ______" (fill in blank with child's name). He just looks away, runs over, and hits the poor kid again. Hmmm...have to work on that, I guess.

All in all, he's an awesome kid. With his big blue eyes and his ready smile, he wins over everyone's hearts. My one lament is that he seems to have inherited the same fine, thin hair my mother and sister have whereas I was hoping he'd get my thick, brown curly hair. But he's still young, there's still time for it to start curling...and then look out ladies!

A Brand New Day!

2007-10-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

OK...so I guess introductions come first, right? My name is Nicole and I'm 32 years old. I'm starting this blog because I have become obsessed (really...just ask my husband) with digital scrapbooking, and I hope to get into the designing aspect of it. Hopefully, this blog will give me the chance to let people check out and comment on my works in progress, and I'll even offer some freebies from time to time!

I want to warn you now that I will NOT be a frequent blogger! Sure, I'll post every other day or so at first, but then I'll get busy or I'll forget or I'll realize that no one is reading the thing, so why bother?!! LOL

Back to introductions. I am a wife and mother. My husband and I have been together for 7 years--married for 3-1/2. My adorable son will be 18 months old tomorrow! (How can time slip by so quickly?) I graduated with a degree in English, but I'm working as a secretary (never did like the term administrative assistant. Secretary is much easier and faster to say) for a company that sells municipal traffic signs and worksite safety products, flags and banners, commercial Christmas decorations, and advertising specialty items. I mainly take care of invoicing, accounts payable, and call-in sales, but I DO get a chance to design every so often (which is good because otherwise I'd go mad!).

I love to read, but rarely find the time anymore, and I love to do digital scrapbooking. I enjoy spending time with my son, of course. He is a constant source of amazement. In the future, I hope to do a lot of international traveling and explore the world, finish my ever-increasing need-to-read book list, sell my digiscrap designs online, learn another language (preferably Italian or Spanish), lose 20 pounds, get my Masters or PhD, and buy a bigger house! Sounds like I'll be busy for quite a while, and that's only PART of my "To DO" list!!!

So...that's me. I hope you all come back from time to time to check out what's going on in my world and to see whether or not I've managed to post any freebies! I'm new to this whole blogging thing, so I have lots to learn. It's a brand new day and I'm ready!