Welcome Janell & Victoria!

I'm pleased to announce two more additions to my CT!

In addition to Brandie, Janell and Victoria have agreed to work their magic with my kits. I'm just thrilled!

Here's some samples of their work:

Here's Janell's "Eye of the Beholder," created with Asian Spirit - Japan.



Here's Victoria's "Japanese Tea House," also with Asian Spirit - Japan.



And here's one of Brandie's - "Trinity & Great Grandma" using Summer Blossoms.

Introducing Asian Spirit - Japan

The first in a line of paper packs, Asian Spirit - Japan, features 10 patterned papers and 8 cardstocks, all 12x12 at 300dpi. To compliment it, and future Asian Spirit paper packs, is the Asian Spirit - Elements pack, which has 9 frames and several different elements.

Both will be up in the shop soon and on sale for 25% off during their first two weeks!

So much more to say!

It's been a while since I've updated my blog, partly because of problems with Blogger, and partly because I've been so busy.

First, I'd like to welcome my very first CT member, Brandie Hurst!

Brandie is a talented young lady and I'm excited to be working with her!

Second, you should see a sampler kit for my Comic Book line coming out on Digi Scrap Yard VERY SOON! Also, those of you who download the sampler kit will get a coupon towards the purchase of both the paper and embellishment kits. The sampler kit is sort of a stars and stripes tribute to your favourite super hero!

Third, I'm almost finished with my latest digi kit, Asian Spirit. Inspired by the classical artwork of Japan and designed around a rich fall palate of gold, merlot, rust and cream, it should satisfy the hunger for those with a passion for the Far East.

Here's a sample of one of the papers...


Finally, I'm still on the lookout for a couple of more CT members. If you'd be interested in working with a new designer, who is still only creating one or two kits a month, please contact me at bermudascrapper@hotmail.com.

Details are below.

CT Call

With venturing into the digital design world, I've realized that I need my own creative team. As a result, I'm seeking 2-3 people to join my brand new CT.

Please send 3 samples of your work, as well as a link to your most complete gallery. I'd also like to find out:

1) Why do you scrap?
2) What are your favourite subjects to scrap?
3) Why is it important to you to record family memories?

Send your information to bermudascrapper@hotmail.com. Please save your samples to 72dpi at 500x500 pixels.

As a member of the CT, you will be required to complete at least one layout with each kit, to be posted at at least 4 different sites, including Digi Scrap Yard. This will probably work out to 3-4 layouts per month.

Deadline for the call is September 15.

More new stuff!

I've just uploaded a new embellishment kit to compliment my Comic Book paper pack and it should appear at DigiScrapYard.co.uk very soon!

So be sure to check it out!!!

More new stuff!

Coming very soon at Digi Scrap Yard, I have a new kit and a new alpha set.

First, Alpha Cards - perfect for school-themed layouts:


Second, is Summer Blossoms:

I'm hosting my first Chat!

Be sure to check in at the NDISB.com chatroom!

Unfortunately, I can't post the ad right now (Blogger's not cooperating), but here's the details...

Friday, September 8, 2006
9pm-11pm
www.NDISB.com

Fun chat, challenges and even some prizes!

So check us out!

New site, new kits...

Well, there's been a bit of a change up with the website I started selling digi kits at, and now I'm selling through a cool, new site: Digi Scrap Yard! Lots of great designers, lots of cool challenges. I'm thrilled that I can even join up!

My Bermuda Beaches kit is finally available and here's the preview:
[IMG]http://digiscrapyard.co.uk/store/images/swesthead_BermudaBeaches_preview.jpg[/IMG]

Also, I have two paper packs. Sara's Closet:
[IMG]http://digiscrapyard.co.uk/store/images/swewsthead-sarascloset-preview.jpg[/IMG]

And Comicbook:
[IMG]http://digiscrapyard.co.uk/store/images/swesthead_ComicBook_preview.jpg[/IMG]

Check out the site to get those and my other sets, Wildflowers, and the freebie, Denim Determination.

Starting a new life

Over and done with - I finished up a very long, boring last day at the newspaper with little broohaha. My co-worker coordinated a card and picture frame as a little sending off gift.

So now begins a new life - hustling for freelance work, digitally designing and scrapping.

It's a bit scary, knowing the challenge ahead, especially in terms of money, but I'm sure that this is the right thing to do for my family.

I did it...

I did it. I finally got up the guts and put in my resignation letter.

It wasn’t going to work. I think I knew that from the beginning. I didn’t fit in.

So, as of next Friday, I’m home with the boys again. They are actually still enrolled at school until the end of the month, even though they won’t actually be there the whole time. I think I might keep them in a few days past my last day, this way I can catch up on things around the house without worrying about them getting in the way or undoing things.

Laundry is the biggest of the pileups.

I’ve already contacted several local advertising agencies and they now have my name and number for future copy work. I’ve also contacted friends at other places for freelance writing jobs. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

While I can’t wait to be done, for some reason I don’t feel quite as worried about leaving. I know I’m doing it for the right reason – to be home with my boys – and that God is going to meet our needs through side-work in writing and scrapbooking.

Horrible day...

Today has been horrible... I had a car accident on my way to work this morning.

Fortunately, I had already dropped the boys off at daycare. I came down the road the school is on and stopped to look before turning onto the main road. It was clear, so I progressed, only for my tires to spin out on me and the car go into a skid (it had just rained). I tried to compensate (thanks to cars, I remembered how to compensate). I missed going head first into a wall. I put the front corner of the car into the side of a parked van.

The van has hardly any damage on it (although the quote - yes I already have a quote!) is for $885 (remember, this is Bermuda... $50 in parts, $835 in labour... figures). My car, on the other hand, crumpled. The front left fender is shot.

I'm alright, for the most part. Really badly shaken up and I'm starting to feel the pain in my back - Sucks having Fibromyalgia. It really doesn't like the sudden, swift movements of an uncontrollable car.

Fortunately, I am getting a small bonus at work - looks like it'll used up almost completely to fix the tiny dent and paint scratches on the other car, or for DH to fix our car. He's planning on doing it because it's an old car (1997 or 98) - I think he's hoping to find another old car like ours and "buy" the particular section...

At least the guy who owns/drives the van (it belongs to a business) has been pretty good (other than rushing to the auto shop...). Young guy (not too bad looking either) and you could see he didn't know what to do with a woman who was crying like a baby... He patted me on the shoulder...

I had two angels come to my rescue. One was a gentleman who looked at the car and said, "Look, don't worry - it's just a thing. Things can be fixed. You need to calm yourself down." The other was a woman who works in a nearby office. She brought me inside for water and Tylenol to wait until DH came and so I could sit and try and calm down...

I did manage to make it to work. And now I'm sitting here, in pain, wanting to just cry and wishing I had just gone home like DH suggested (he left work in a friends car to meet me). Of course, at least my boys weren't in the car. I can only imagine how terrified Tommy would have been because he normally sits in the front passenger seat (old car, no seatbelts - Tommy sits up front with the shoulder belt and we installed a lap belt in the back for the baby's seat. DH finally managed to find more belts for the back after a 2 year search and was half-way done installing them when he broke his wrist).

I'm so lame...

You’d think I’d toot my own horn, but I’ve been signed on as a designer for a new start-up digital shop, Scrapdragon Designs! I have two kits available on the site – one is a mini 8x8 freebie, called Denim Determination. The other is called Wildflowers. There is also a doodle kit called Love Notes.


Denim Determination is currently the #1 best seller on the site (probably because it’s free!), but Wild flowers is also doing well.

So, be sure to check it out! There’s a link on the side of the page…

Why does this feel so… well… weird?

I’m a mom and my children go to school. Okay, they go to daycare, but, I still have to remain in communication with their teachers, letting them know when they are sick, if we have to leave early for something, how and when to administer medicine.

Most of the time, I am able to do this verbally, in person or on the phone. I can handle that. What feels really strange is writing notes to the teacher.

You’re probably saying, “Why? You’re a writer – letter writing should come easy!”

It does – I can blend pretty posies of prose when I want to – but there is something about writing:

“Dear Miss ~. Jonathan is teething. To help ease him through the process, please administer 1ml of Tylenol at 11am and 3pm. SIGNED Mrs. Sara Westhead”

It’s so lacking in creativity; so pedestrian. Plus, it feels just plain weird to be writing notes to the teacher!

I guess I better get used to it. My oldest is only JUST starting is educational career, so I still have YEARS of boring note writing ahead… Or maybe he’ll just learn to write his own notes early…

Cuteness Factor

We had a big, busy, long weekend this past weekend.

Central to the whole weekend was my oldest’s 4th birthday. The celebrations began on Friday when he brought ice cream sandwiches and a piñata to school. On Saturday, I took him and his two best buds to see the movie “Cars,” which was excellent, by the way.

Sunday was his actual birthday. Other than church and a last chance to get ready for his party, we had nothing planned except him opening his presents from us, which he loved, particularly the Mr. Incredible suit.

Monday was the big day. Fortunately, it was Queen’s Birthday holiday here, so I took advantage of having the long weekend as an extra day to get ready for the party – a Pirate spectacular.

As the kids arrived, they were fitted with bandanas and given an inflatable snake-sword and sent outside to splash in the wading pool until everyone arrived. Our activities included decorating their own treasure chests, which doubled as their party bag, pin-the-pirate-on-the-X, a water balloon toss, a treasure hunt for “gold dubloons,” and a peg-legged pirate piñata. We opened presents and enjoyed a yummy cake from the bakery.

By the end of the day, the kids had a ball. We had enough activities to keep them going all afternoon without getting bored and everyone thought it was a wonderful time. In fact, most of the other moms now want me to do their kid’s parties…

Of course, the baby, it seems, didn’t want to be out done and competed with his brother for cuteness factor. On the oldest’s birthday, the baby decided to achieve THREE firsts in one day. He cut his first tooth. He discovered the word “Da-da.” And he stood up in his crib for the first time.

I asked my 4 year old how he felt about Jonathan trying to “out cute” him on his birthday. He turned around and said, “But mom, he IS cute!” ‘Nuff said…

Really cool kit

Hi all!

This really cool kit will be available shortly through the Natural Designs in Scrapbooking June ND*ezine. Be sure to visit their website to sign up!

Designing on my mind...

I haven’t scrapped a lick this weekend, although I got awfully close. I plotted and planned to my hearts content but I haven’t actually created a page.

And I really need to get cracking… Why?

I only have a couple of weeks to complete my pages for the Memory Makers Masters contest, get colour copies and get them mailed out to wherever they need to go for the July deadline. On top of that, the KI Memories deadline is looming as well. Not to mention the one-off page contests for ACOT and beginning my CT duties at NDISB.

This is what I DID get done this weekend though – I know exactly what my pages should look like for the MMM and KI contests. I’ve sketched them out, now I just have to find the right photos for them.

Also, I continued working on my very first digi kit, “Wildflowers,” and started working on another new kit “Bermuda Blue.” As soon as Scrapdragon Designs is up and running, they should be ready for sale. I’ll try and post a teaser, at least for “Wildflowers,” later…

Totally Chuffed: My Big News!

It feels like I’ve made it, or something… A few months ago, I would never have guessed that I’d be where I am now.

I’ve been scrapbooking for years, back when it was just a little hobby, long before it became the national pastime of women everywhere. I’ve always been drawn to paper – in stationery stores, card stores, craft stores – so it’s easy to explain what is now an obsession for me. But, it was still a ‘back-burner’ thing for me – something I wanted to do, but never had time for. That is, until I rediscovered one of my favourite scrapbooking websites – A Cherry On Top.

I had been shopping there for a couple of years, but I finally started getting involved with their message board around Christmas last year. Before very long, I discovered something very new to me, new, but equally enticing as paper – digital scrapbooking.

I did my very first layout in January and posted it to the gallery. I started trying my hand at it more and more. I scoured the internet for every free kit I could find and downloaded every one that I remotely liked. Then, ACOT started selling digital kits… WARNING WILL ROBINSON… DANGER… DANGER…

I played with it. I carefully studied other people’s layouts. I asked questions and looked for tutorials on how to do things on the computer that you would think could only be done with paper.

And now, I’m feeling pretty chuffed about my abilities. I was just asked to join the creative team of digital design company. I can’t wait – this is so exciting.

My dad’s response to the news was: “Who'd a thunk somebody could ever possibly become a "profeshunul" crapbooker! Gaah-lee!”

So, am I a “profeshunul”?? I don’t know, but this is going to be so much fun!

Gag order...

I have awesome news, but I can't share yet... Will post later!

Work sucks

Being a working mom sucks. I'll divulge later...

Hopes & Dreams

With Mother’s Day just passed, I think about the people who made me a mother – my two darling little boys.

Neither have started school yet, and one is still in diapers, but I still like to think about where they will be in 20 years. Where will they be? What will they do? How will life treat them?

When it comes down to it, I have two major goals for them.

The first is that they will be happy. I want them to enjoy life. I want them to find wives that will compliment them in every way. I want them to do something that they love to do.

The second is more important. I pray that they will always be in the centre of God’s will. It’s no use doing what you like if you are not doing what God wants you to do. You cannot be happy and disobedient at the same time.

Contentment

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you." -Lao-Tzu

This is such an interesting quote as it sums up one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned and reflect on now that I’ve celebrated my thirtieth birthday.

I’ve always been extremely competitive. I wanted to be the tallest, fastest, smartest kid in school. Settling for second best to me was the equivalent of settling for first loser.

Those desires still gnaw at me today. I want to compare myself to others, compare my work, my abilities, my talents.

It can even extend to my children – I sometimes secretly wish my children to not only be successful, but to do everything faster, earlier and better than all the other children.

Needless to say, such motivation can leave you blind-sided by the threat of others being equally or more qualified than you. Sometimes, the collision is really only a dent to your ego, but the initial shock of the incident can completely throw off your day.

As I grow older and wiser, I am learning that I need to mellow out, and when I do, the stress of life tends to have less impact on my being.

“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Corinthians 6:16.

Summer is here

Summer is officially here.

How do I know? Especially as neither June 22nd or May 24th (the ‘official’ start of summer in Bermuda) hasn’t arrived?

Well, I woke up to ants all over my kitchen.

For anyone living in civilized countries, i.e. the US or Canada, the thought of bugs of any kind living along side of you is, well, enough to give you nightmares. In fact, for most of you, just seeing one little bug in your house will probably give you reason to call an exterminator. But on an island, bugs are a part of life.

In fact, I don’t often disturb some of the spiders we find tucked up in the ceiling corners as they’re supposed to get rid of some of the bad bugs, but I always try to get those nasty cockroaches when they appear – and of course they’ll appear more and more now that summer is here and they seem get through the screen door on my sliding glass door, no matter what you do.

I even find churchworms and caterpillars – my son and I rescued three caterpillars, and as a sort-of science project, put them in a jar. One died, but two managed to cocoon themselves and emerge as… moths, of course… We made a mini event of letting them go, too.

But, back to the ants… They are (I would say the single, but, in reality they number in the millions) the most irritating pest in Bermuda, even more so than mosquitoes that leave me itching for weeks on end.

You see, Bermuda is really a giant ant hill. They probably outnumber the people by a trillion to one, if not more (we have a population of about 65,000), and they certainly act like they own this little piece of rock in the middle of the Atlantic.

Fine, they can have Bermuda – as long as they leave my jar of peanut butter alone.

The big 3-0

So, here it is. The big 3-0.

In spite of the normal daily morning routine, I awoke with a small sense of excitement and wonder. It’s hard to believe that I’m actually 30; it’s even harder to believe that I’m actually starting my 4th decade…

My day has been relatively quiet, although DH went out and bought a ton of balloons, party hats, party masks, blowers and a birthday banner and decorated the living room. DS#1 thought it was just brilliant.

I made cupcakes to take to work today as well – chocolate cake with cream cheese icing and yellow cake with chocolate icing. I did make sure to keep a few at home for tonight, though.

I opened my cards from DH and the boys this morning. DH hasn’t bought my present yet – he’s still avidly shopping for it, trying to decide whether it’s better to buy the digital SLR camera here or bring it in from away.

When I got to work, I had a delivery of flowers from my parents.

Tonight, we’re planning on getting take-away and DH is taking me out for dinner tomorrow night. He’s even already arranged baby sitting! Now, if I could find something to wear.

I went shopping during my lunch hour, but didn’t have much luck in finding something I liked AND something that fit AND something that wasn’t too revealing. Will try a couple more stores tomorrow, so I can hopefully find something. Otherwise, I did find a top I liked, which I could get away with, but it really was a little too tight.

What a coincidence...

My birthday coincides with National Scrapbooking Day. Where's the surprise in that?

Well, they're not on the exact day - they're just a day apart. And I plan on celebrating both with an online crop at my favourite scrapbooking website - A Cherry On Top.

Wanna check it all out? Click on the link on the right side bar - the NSD button!

They're offering over $2000 in prizes this weekend, plus tons of fun. You're sure to get a lot of scrapping done.

Feeling mellow yellow

I'm feeling kind of mellow today. Not depressed, but certainly not what you might call happy. Somewhere in the middle.

I've not really had that much to do today. Kind of sitting around, tweeking stories, playing with ideas. Surprisingly, though, the morning went by fairly quickly.

I want to be creative, I feel the juices mixing, but there doesn't seem to be much output. Not sure where it's going to pop out, but, it better do soon. Maybe I should sit outside tonight with a notepad and doodle, write and just do whatever pours out on the page.

I was thrilled over the weekend to discover that one of my scrapbook layouts was selected as a grand prize winner in a contest. The funny thing was I really just threw it together at the very last possible minute before the deadline. Nevertheless, it was a nice feather in my hat.

I certainly feel like my scrapping is about to jump to the next level. I was looking at my online gallery the other day and just saw a huge transformation in the quality of my work. I've been spending a lot more time really looking at other people's work and asking questions about where some of the "pro" girls get their inspiration, how they do their work, and the like.

I've sort of re-started a crop night at church for the ladies and DH would like me to expand it, to try and get more outsiders to come. He's even thinking advertising. It'd be a lot of work, and, well, would require me to start my own business, pretty much, because I'd have to start bringing in products for the ladies to use - the available selection here is negligable at best.

Hopefully, I'll be able to break through this creative block soon.

A new look

Today, I got to spend the entire day at the salon, but before you get excited, I wasn't the one getting the makeover.

We had a competition to find a new mom that needed a makeover and, I must say, the transformation was phenomenal! As the day progressed, you could even see the stress melt away from the winner's face, and by the end, she was rip-roaring ready to go.

Mind you, as she was having her hair, eyes, feet, hands, makeup and wardrobe done, I looked in the mirror and thought, boy do I need some new clothes...

Well, at least I can make an appointment to get my hair cut sometime in the near future...

Found

I found my keys... They were in my son's Bible bag. How they got there, I don't have a clue, but he did apologize...

Anyway, when it rains, it pours, and, quite literally, we've been having deluges here. Of course, the baby is sick and needs to go to the doctor. In this weather. Oh well... Guess it'll get me out of the office for a while...

Lost keys

What do you do when it's 8 o'clock, you have 2 kids to get to school and your keys are missing?

Call a Taxi...

After tearing the house apart, I still couldn't find my keys this morning, so, I called a cab. Amazingly enough, it was at my house within 10 minutes and I managed to get the boys to day care AND get to work on time.

I hate days like this, but at least I got in to work on time...

Now, to figure out how to get back home again tonight...

A new day...

It's so hard to believe it. I'm a working mom again.

And of course, now I have two little boys to shuttle around.

The job came up pretty quickly and almost unexpectedly. And they needed me to start right away because my new manager was about to go on maternity leave.

I'm doing the same thing that I used to do at that other paper, only, now, it really is easier because I have WAY less responsibility. I'm not doing everything anymore and I don't have to worry about leaving on time to go pick up the boys.

The hardest part about all of this is getting used to the schedule. That was only compounded by the fact that just days before I started, my hubby had a bike accident and fractured his wrist. So, of course, he's not really much use to me, especially when it comes to the chores around the house. He can run the bath for the oldest and do a few things, but, needless to say, our home looks like a hurricane hit it.

By the time I get home from work, I'm really too exhausted to do much more than the stuff that HAS to be done - make dinner, clean up the kitchen, make lunches for the next day, and iron my clothes if I have a chance. It's one big continuous cycle that never seems to end... Oh, well... at least it means a weekly paycheck that we didn't have before.

Lego my eggo...

I'm developing a love-hate relationship with my son's favourite toy - Lego.

For Christmas, he received not one, but two, giant boxes filled with assorted Lego (actually Duplo blocks) pieces that I keep finding all over the house. You never know what you might step on in the dark when travelling from my bedroom, down the hall, to the boys' room to pick up a crying baby while half-asleep. They're also in my recliner, and worst of all, my bed!

The other night, my son was enjoying playing, building and creating while watching a movie in my bedroom (the only DVD player is there). We had a bit of a temper tantrum when it was time to pick up the 100 or so pieces off of my bed, so the two boxes were put aside and out of reach for a couple of days.

Tommy promised he had learned his lesson, so we gave them back. Needless to say, I found more Lego between the sheets...

It's all over...

Well, Jonathan is now 7 weeks old, as of tomorrow...

Boy, has it been a challenging time. I was put on bedrest in September, due to complications, and Jonathan was delivered by Cesarean 4 weeks early on November 16.

This will be my last baby, unless God provides us with the funds to adopt in the future. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Jonathan and I have had a bit of a bumpy road since his birth, but we are slowly beginning to bond. He's a strong little one, holding his head up and even rolling over (from front to back) as early as 6 weeks.

His big brother, Tommy, just loves him to death and is very helpful, for the most part. It's sometimes hard to remember that Tommy is only 3 years old as he seems more mature than that most of the time, especially when it comes to his vocabulary.

We've been enjoying having the Logos II in Bermuda the last 2 weeks and have helped out with errands and transportation while they have been here. We've also gotten to know a few of the crew. I've thoroughly enjoyed the international environment!