I made this layout the other day:

(click here for full credits)

I just sat down without any idea of what kind of layout I wanted to make and this is where my creative subconscious led me. I guess I’ve been feeling kinda happy lately. So as I pondered this I realized I do in fact have lots to be happy about:

1) My designing venture is going relatively well. I’m making enough to make it worth it to continue. But more importantly, I am having SO MUCH FUN doing it!

2) My new creative team is more than I could have ever asked for (seriously, have you seen this gallery?)and I’m having a ball getting to know these girls!

3) Remember that job I was nervous about not getting? The one I had to interview for? Well, I GOT IT! There’s nothing like a little job security to take the weight of the world off your shoulders!

4) I got my income tax return cheque last week. I was already getting a butt load of money because I still had some tuition/school related things I was able to claim on there. Then I opened my envelope and saw that they made adjustments and I ended up getting $500 more than I was expecting!

5) May is one of those rare months where we get 3 pay cheques so that means MORE money in the near future :)

 and last but not least,

6) Sanjaya FINALLY got kicked off American Idol last week! 

Yep. Lots to be happy about. So what does a girl do to celebrate such happiness? Why, she goes on a $1000 shopping spree that’s what!

I’m still a bit in shock myself but yes, I did indeed blow a thousand dollars in 2 days! LOL! But I promise it was all practical stuff! Not frivolous wasting!

I figured since I’m spending so much time in my home ”office” now it was about time I make it liveable. I moved into this apartment last October but up until this weekend it still looked like it did the day I moved in! Partly due to sheer laziness, but also due to the fact that I had to save up my money for fear of losing my job (which is no longer a concern as mentioned above.) The temporary paper blinds that went up that day were still hanging there and all kinds of crap was still sitting on the floor for lack of furniture to put it on. So I bought curtains for ALL the windows in the apartment and some furniture for my office. See, practical right?

Next on the list was a new desk chair. My old one was so uncomfortable my back was breaking and wrists constantly on fire from bad computer posture. Surely that was a necessity too

And finally, the most important purchase of all. Since I started spending my evenings designing, I’ve found it difficult to keep up with my fave tv shows. I hate that I have to leave whatever creative train of thought I’m running on to go to the living room to catch my shows. So as you can see, it was an absolute practical necessity for me to buy a 20″ LCD flat screen tv and DVD player for my office :)

Wanna see some pictures? Here is your behind the scenes virtual tour of my Creative Studio

Now let’s zoom in for a closer look and I’ll point out all the new stuff:

Yes, I have two computer monitors. If you have not tried this, you MUST! You will never be able to go back to one! It is the coolest, handiest thing in the world!

And notice the colour of my curtains!

I chose the tackiest ones I could find in the store! They are the gaudiest coral pink you’ve ever seen and are the curtain equivalent of shag carpet in terms of texture and the whole room has a hazy pink glow now and I LOVE them

And for the furniture:

(the pink glow from the curtains is really noticeable in that photo above LOL!)

You will notice all the walls are still bare. That’s my next priority. Rather than buy stuff I plan to print and mount my own artwork. Like on these cool canvases from Shutterfly for example.

So there you have it. The real world Studio Michelle and the fruits of this weekend’s labour (yes, there was lots of labour involved because I bought Ikea furniture!) I must admit the tv raised a few eyebrows amongst family and friends . . . but nonetheless, I think I spent my money wisely

 Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to turn on American Idol and watch that while I finish up my next kit and bask in the garish glow of my new window treatment

Cheers!

Well folks the sun is shining a little brighter in QuirkLand today! I’m SO excited to present to you my fabulous new creative team!!!!!

It was really important to me to pick a variety of different scrappers. From seasoned pros to total beginners, from traditional style to quirky to hybrid and everything in between this team has got it ALL and I LOVE that!

Not everybody has had a chance to make a layout for me yet. I didn’t exactly give them very much notice! LOL! But some of the girls did and I wanted to show you the eye candy! (click on their names to visit their galleries for complete credits)

 Jaime (aka jooms)

Emilie (AmyPunky)

Brittany (brittanylyn)

Rachel (Chaich)

Aja (ajaabney)

Cathy (cayla73)

Desiree (desi)

Cassie (HillsCass)

Amy (AmyK)

Denise (dee-dee)

Sabrina (Sabrina0268)

Robyn (happyrobyn)

Victoria (mizamigo)

Am I a LUCKY girl or what!? I still can’t believe these amazing artists agreed to work for me!

The funny thing is we all have a lot in common too. Somehow I managed to attract a dozen LOTR-loving, Arrested Development watching, LOST addicted, quirkalicious computer GEEKS! We are seriously the biggest lot of nerds the digi-scrapping world has ever seen LOL! Except for poor Robyn and Brittany. They are not as nerdy but sadly for them they are now nerds by association :) 

And now, for the funnest part of all!!!

I’m so excited about my CT I decided we needed a SALE to celebrate!!!!!! In honour of this special day, head on over to Studio Michelle and enjoy a 40% discount! No coupon necessary! I just switched it on now and I’m turning it off at midnight EST so you have roughly 16 hours to shop!!! ENJOY!

*** Click here to go to my store! ***

I’m still a little in shock over the response for my CT call. Not just the number but the quality of applicants! I wish I could have kept everybody!

Everything is done and over with now. Everyone has been notified either way but I’m still waiting on some answers back from people so I can’t announce anything just yet.

Let me tell you it has been a LOONNNGG night! On the one hand I am SO excited about the girls I chose. But it really made me sick to my stomach having to turn so many great scrappers away! I honestly contemplated having a team of 35 for a few minutes but then common sense kicked in LOL! This was just a really bittersweet experience.

So I just want to say once more for the public record a big THANK YOU to everyone who applied. It really takes guts to put yourself out there like that and I promise that it did not go unappreciated.  

Well I am a total newbie designer and my Studio @ SBG has been open for less than 2 weeks but I think the time has come for me to get a CT!

In case you couldn’t tell, I have a healthy sense of humour, a quirky spirit and I like to have fun! I think you will find this is reflected in my designs. You can see them here.

Since this CT thing is as new to me as my designs are to you I decided to make this a quasi-temp call. Your term will run from the end of the call until May 31st, so about a month and a half. After that you are free to leave but if you decide you like me then you will probably be invited to stay

I don’t have many requirements:

1) make at least 1 layout (or ATC, hybrid project, etc.) with every product you download, with at least 2 layouts or projects per month
2) posting layouts to SBG and DST is mandatory, other galleries optional

If you are interested, please email me: michelle @ scrapbookgraphics DOT com with:

- your name and username(s)
- a link to your gallery
- a few words about yourself
- special things to mention: if you hang out at DAQ; if you enjoy doing digital ATC’s/collage/altered art; if you do hybrid projects

I will accept applications for one week, so until Monday, April 16th.

If you have any questions, don’t be shy! Shoot me an email. I will be acknowledging receipt of applications but please give me at least 24 hours. If you haven’t heard from me after that, better send again

I am SO looking forward to hearing from you!!!

I just finished putting a few things in the shop this morning.

 First another installment of the Quirktionary.

I have to admit this is a pretty self-indulgent product I’m just a geek for Roman history. That’s what I studied in university so I took Latin and just loved it! Even though it is HARD to learn and I only got a C+! LOL! Anyway. . .I digress. Click on the image to be brought to the product description in the store to see what words are in it. There are a few religious-natured words/phrases that might come in handy for your Easter or any spiritually themed layouts.

Sidebar: 10 gold stars for anyone who recognizes ”Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus” without looking in the product description for the answer!

 Ok and the second thing is the Grunge City Add-On I gave away at my debut chat a while ago. If you missed out on it then, you can get it now in the store:

 And I also just put up a new freebie in the download section. I don’t know why but I actually felt like scrapping yesterday! It’s been *forever* since I made a layout so I guess I wanted to see if I actually still could LOL! So I made this:

And then I thought it would be fun to give it away as a quickpage. So I made 3 more:

They are 8×8 and saved in .png format, and they are waiting for you in the download section! (oh and by the way, these are made with stuff from my Girl Experiment kit)

Well that’s all I got for today! If you celebrate Easter I hope you’re having a good one!