Thursday, September 08, 2011

a little updated info

Hey there! I hope that this gorgeous September day finds you all doing well (and that it truly is gorgeous where you live as well!) and thriving! I just wanted to take a minute to update you on the status of my design biz.

I have left Funky Playground Designs and I am now selling exclusively at A Cherry On Top. My store over there isn't too full but you will find most of my more current items. I will be adding more very soon (some new, some stuff that is wasting away on my hard drive begging for some shelf time at the store). My decision to leave FPD was a difficult one as I really enjoyed being part of a great team and getting to know all of the designers and community members there. I found that I simply wasn't very productive these past several months and it didn't make since for me to take up space in more than one store when I am not actively designing (not that I'm 'not' designing, I'm just doing it every so slowly right now!). So, you can find my goods at my ACOT store and right now I have a huge $1 sale because I'm too lazy to switch prices back. LOL

In other news, my kiddos are both in school now. My son is getting ready to finish out his second week of kindergarten and my daughter has settled nicely in to 4th grade. I am struggling a little with the concept of being a stay at home mom without any kids to mother. I've had a little one in my care day in and day out for the past 10 years (even before my 9 year old came along I cared for my cousin's daughter) and suddenly here I am in this big, quiet house trying to figure out where I belong!

I figured that the natural thing to do would be to catch up on all those projects that I've been meaning to do the past several years but in starting them I am just creating more messes to clean up so I spend my day between painting this, fixing that, throwing out something else, sorting, organizing, creating, etc. I've been doing a lot of work in my office and I am starting to get really excited about my fun new space. This room before just screamed 'boring' and I am working to make it an inspirational place to work. I hope that in doing so my creative mojo will be overflowing and I will find the desire to work on all of these kits that are sitting in my head waiting to come to fruition.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

just a little bit HOT

I know hot. I grew up in Arizona. I have been outside when the temperature spiked to 122 degrees and it felt like the sun was going to bake the meat right off of your bones. I've had sunburns so bad that I blistered and peeled for weeks and had to live in my swim suit for days and slept with a bottle of lotion at my side for those middle of the night attacks of pain from the burnt part laying against my sheets for too long. As a child I once ran out to meet the ice cream truck barefoot. I thought I was going to miss him but it turns out that I had way more time than I imagined because in the end I stood on hot asphalt waiting for the other neighborhood kids to get their frosty treats and I bounced back and forth from one foot to another trying to cool my feet down for a few seconds. That was a disaster, as you can imagine. I spent the next week on the couch or in bed. Walking was excruciating. I had 2nd and 3rd degree burns on the bottom of my feet. To this day my feet are so sensitive that I don't much walk barefoot inside the house, let alone outside. Yeah, I know hot.

Now I live in Kansas and I've been spoiled by summers when it barely hits 85 on a good day and the public pool closes early (or doesn't open at all) because it just isn't warm enough. I've also had summers where the mere act of leaving the front door and walking to the mail box made me feel as though I was trying to breathe in a steam room because of the crazy humidity. We've always said that Kansas has crazy weather. Where else would you have rain, snow and then sunshine on Halloween with temperatures going from the 30's to the 60's in a matter of hours? Okay, I'm sure there are other places as well who share our crazy weather as we can't be alone in that but none the less, it gets kind of unpredictable at times. So, I suppose this summer shouldn't be a surprise.... but...

This summer is HOT. It was pretty hot last summer too but nothing like this. Last summer I stalked my old home town on weather underground and watched as our temperatures and heat index soared above them. I commented a few times that it would be cooler to move home and I longed for the 'dry' heat of Arizona instead of the mugginess we had here. I don't think mother nature took kindly to me coveting weather elsewhere and making such comparisons because this summer is so much worse. This summer we have had crazy days of high temperatures and heat so dry it feels like you could cook a turkey on the front steps. We've had those humid days too, the sauna days when you are ringing wet but it isn't all sweat. We've had the days of burning your hands opening the car door or picking up a penny from a parking lot. Its been hot. Too hot. In fact, we recently went on record for having the 4th hottest day ever in our area and the hottest ever in the month of August. Last night the heat index was 124 and as we sat here sweltering I couldn't help but check out my old neighborhood to see how they were fairing. It was 4 degrees cooler by the thermometer and their heat index was 107, a degree lower than their actual temperature. I hate to mess with mother nature and all, but seriously? I am starting to think maybe we do need to move home... or at least take our cue from the snowbirds that visit the area every winter only do opposite and spend summers there. LOL

So, how is it in your area? Are you baking right along with me? I am dreaming of autumn and long sleeves, of crisp air and long walks. And to think, its only the beginning of August.

Monday, August 01, 2011

another passion of mine

I like to scrap (though I haven't in quite a while... see the post about longing to find inspiration), I like to craft (yep, there's a post about not being able to do that lately either) and I love to take pictures. I also love to decorate my home. I have such an eclectic taste and style that home decorating has been a long and tedious project with more misses than hits as I fumble around finding what works just right for me... well, for us, my family and I. I follow home improvement blogs and decorating blogs and watch design shows. In fact, I probably watch, read, devour too many because I see too many things that appeal to me. I love modern and contemporary and rustic and industrial and shabby chic and the list goes on. I have a hard time pinpointing my favorite style because I see beauty in almost everything. I don't like the dark and macabre and I'm not too fond of mid-evil but most other genres (if you will) of design appeal to me. I suppose you probably already guessed as much considering the eclectic nature of my designs though, right? LOL

Anyway, I had a fun weekend finding goodies at the flea market to transform for our home. I picked up an adorable little table that was sporting a very unfortunate coat of lime green paint. Actually, in the store under the fluorescent lighting I didn't find the color half bad. My husband thought I was nuts but I kind of liked it. However, once I saw it in natural light I realized just how appalling it really was and therefore my cute little table had to have a new coat of paint. It is now sporting a very chic coat of satin finish black paint. Every table can use a little black coat, eh? Yeah, I know, that wasn't a good joke. Its late, what can I say?

So, while I miss scrapping and crafting and designing, I am staying busy doing something creative at least. I am also counting down the days until the kids to back to school and I can get my design on!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

I miss crafting

We took a trip out of town today to get a little R&R and do some shopping for the kids for back to school. We decided to stop by Hobby Lobby because our couch pillows are in desperate need of some recovering and fabric was on sale. I tell you, I walked around that store drooling. I've been avoiding craft stores lately because I am working so hard to downsize and declutter and to simplify my life but boy... I miss getting all crafty! The fabric section could have easily been the destruction of my carefully planned budget. There were so many awesome prints and beautiful colors just calling my name. I seriously walked in circles looking at everything again and again while my family sat in chairs over by the patterns looking at me like I had lost my marbles and commenting that they were ready to leave. In the end I opted for some 'knotty' microfleece (raised circles in the fabric) in a plain brown. It is so fabulously soft and will make our couch pillows oh so comfy to cuddle with but boy... brown? I tried to get my husband to go for some awesome paisley print but he about laughed me out of the store. Just wait... I'll go back and get that paisley and recover the chair in our bedroom with it just for kicks. LOL

Anyway, I felt inspired as I left the craft store to open up photoshop and get my craft on in a more virtual, digital way. I think I'll work on a new kit inspired by some of the colors I was drawn to and maybe even create some new wall art for my home. My office is in the middle of a big remodel and the walls are currently a very pale gray with different colored swatches painted on here and there as I searched for that perfect color. The closest thing to art on the walls is a round chalkboard (made out of an old stool from my daughter's table and chair set she got when she turned 2!) hanging on the door. Perhaps the nothingness of my surroundings is contributing to the lack of inspiration elsewhere, eh?

I hope you are all busy scrapping and crafting and being inspired by whatever it is you love!

Friday, July 22, 2011

longing for inspiration

I am in a slump big time. This a slump that has haunted me for years now. Its not a designing slump as you might think (given my lack of new products recently) but rather a scrapping slump. I long to sit down with photoshop, my photo files and an awesome kit and create beautiful art full of memories and stories. I think about scrapping often but can't bring myself to actually start a page. It feels unnatural to me, as though I am a newbie who has never scrapped a page and just isn't sure where to begin. I look at galleries for inspiration but I just end up realizing how much out of the loop I am when it comes to the scrapping side of this business. I design kits and I usually create a few quickpages to go with them (that I actually use for my own photos) but I never sit down and work on a page simply to scrap. I miss it. Once upon a time I was a layout a day kind of girl. There were days I did 4 or 5 layouts even. I used to get so excited and couldn't wait to share them in my gallery and with my husband and kids. Now its so rare that I actually scrap that I don't even bother putting anything in a gallery (not to mention my 'home' gallery closed along with my beloved Elemental Scraps last December) or even show the family. Yep, I'm definitely in a slump.

I have 4 8x8 frames hanging on my wall in the living room. Right now they hold layouts that were created using some Shabby Princess Piece of Cake quickpages. I love them but they are several years old and hold pictures of my kids back when they were 4 and 6 months (before I began designing!). I spent hours and hours recently sanding the walls in the living room to remove some poorly placed wall texture and then repainted. I love the color, I love the new knock down texture and I love the fresh white trim but I'm tired of looking at the same art work! I keep thinking I will make a canvas or at least replace the layouts in my 8x8 frames but when I sit down to work on it I freeze up and give up.

So, what motivates you? What starts you scrapping and keeps you scrapping?

Sunday, July 17, 2011

summer sizzles, blogger fizzles

Ah, so my anniversary celebration kind of fizzled out. May isn't a great month for me. June and July haven't been much better. Well, I take that back, they have all been great months, just not productive months when it comes to keeping up with my design business. My kids got out of school just 2 weeks in to May and its been a crazy ride since. We had soft ball and t-ball and swim parties and summer events and a birthday... the list goes on. My baby (he's 5.5 but still my baby!) starts all day kindergarten in the fall and I'm one sad mama. I have had a child by my side nearly 24/7 for the last 9 years. The prospect of having 7 hours a day ALONE is both scary and exciting at the same time. I am sure I will miss the kids dreadfully but I am looking forward to having a little time each day to just be Sherri and not mommy. I dream of going to the library by myself... how crazy is that? I hate the thought of being in a quiet house all day with no one to talk to but I do look forward to being able to jump back in to designing without it taking away time from my family.

So, for my fellow SAHM friends who have school aged children, what do you do when your kids are in school? Do you catch up on sleep, read, pursue a hobby, waste time online, try new culinary dishes or tend to your house?

Monday, June 06, 2011

another anniversary and a freebie!

I realized this morning that today marks another June anniversary for me. June has been a month that has held many events throughout my life that have molded me in to who I am today. Its a pretty significant month for me. The only two that come close are May and November. Are there any months that stand out more than others for you?

19 years ago today my grandma, two younger brothers and I boarded a plan in Phoenix and made the 2 hour trip from Phx to Tulsa. We left behind our lives in Arizona and made our way to Kansas with only what we could carry in suitcases and a few boxes shipped through UPS. It was a huge change for us as a family and a real culture shock for me. I was excited for the new adventure but couldn't help wondering if we were making the right decision to move. In the end, that decision changed the course of my life and since I love my life it was obviously the right move. Had I not moved my husband and I would not have ended up together and I wouldn't have these two awesome kids that I have. For someone who doesn't always deal well with change, I'm glad I took a chance on making a huge change 19 years ago!

Speaking of anniversaries... we're still in the middle of celebrating 5 years of Designs by Sherri Tierney!! If you have not been to the Funky Playground Forums lately, I suggest you hop on over there and check out my challenge in Inspiration Station. Each challenge participant will receive a $5 coupon to my store (good on PU or CU so designers, feel free to play along!). You can also visit my facebook page to pick up a special facebook exclusive party favor quickpage. It is one in a set of 4. These will only be available for free in June and will be released to my store in July so pick them up now 'cause free is a good thing. ;) If you like free, you may want to subscribe to my newsletter if you haven't already because one of the 4 pages from the quickpage set will be a newsletter exclusive. In addition to this 4 page quickpage set there will be other freebies and giveaways throughout the month so be sure to keep stopping by!

And now, the freebie I promised.... this one is a blog exclusive good through the month of June. After June it will join the others as a set in my store so be sure to grab it now and to look for the others. As I mentioned, the first page can be found on my facebook page. Click on the picture to download page #2!



Photobucket

Now, I'm off to work on some other fun things for this month and get a few more products released to my FPD store. See you in digi-land!

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

5 years and a new release



Good morning, digi-land! Can you believe it is June already? I really can't figure out where the time has gone this year. January seems like it was just days ago. As a kid I used to think time went by so slowly and could never figure out why adults said it flew by. I sure get it now!

Our summer break is off to a good start here. We are working through the first few weeks of craziness that comes with the sudden change in routine but I am planning things to keep my kids occupied and we are looking forward to a nice summer filled with lazy days and evenings at the ball park.

So, let me address the elephant in the room (or on the blog!)... yep, I fell behind in blogging, again. I'm not so good at this blogging thing, am I? I am going to try, once again, to be more diligent about posting here and we'll see how I do. Feel free to scold me if I disappear again!

This month is my 5th anniversary as a designer. That statement takes me right back to the notion that I can't believe how fast time flies. Five years ago when I started this journey I had two little kids, one not much older than 6 months. My oldest was starting her second year in preschool and the thought of my baby being in preschool was beyond imaginable. This fall my baby starts kindergarten and my oldest is off to 4th grade. My life has changed in so many ways since those early days but I love that I have had the digi community to be a source of support and friendship during all of that. I have lots of fun stuff planned this month to celebrate my 5th. I hope you will follow along with me, participate in my challenges, join me for a chat, and snag a few deals and freebies along the way.

Now for the good stuff... I have a new kit! Okay, its more than a kit, its a whole collection. I have been busy. This collection occupied my time for a couple of months. That's pretty unusual for me as I'm typically pretty quick when it comes to designing but this had to be just perfect. My daughter is turning 9 at the end of this month and she requested this kit for her birthday party. We had her party last Friday (early, but much more feasible with everyone's summer plans) and it was perfect. We made hybrid decorations, banners, pinwheels, invites and more from this collection and I was so pleased with the results. I will probably release the printables to my store later in the month but I am excited to present Fruitalicious (and the Birthday Girl add-on)!


Isn't that collection all bright and pretty? I love it! It prints up just gorgeous too. I made my daughter a photo book through Shutterfly using bits of all of it and it looks amazing! Right now my entire store at Funky Playground Designs is on sale for 30-50% off so hurry on over to check it out! The value bundles are a particularly good deal right now. The bundle base price is 40% off the retail of the individual pieces AND the bundles are on sale right now making the discount even greater!

Have a great Tuesday! I hope your June gets off to a fabulous start!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

pardon the dust

I am making a few changes to my page so I do hope you will excuse me if you come by and things don't look quite right. I should be finished with the changes soon though and back with something NEW. The creative juices are flowing and I'm excited about this new kit. :)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

a new adventure


I'm starting a new adventure! I love new beginnings. I didn't always like change so much but I am learning to appreciate change and though I am sad about the closing of Elemental Scraps I am excited about this new chapter in my design adventures. Its great to branch out and meet new people, get new ideas, learn new perspective and challenge myself to go even further. Thus, I am super excited to announce my new store at Funky Playground Designs! I am working on some brand new goodies to be added soon as well as doing a little face lift of my logo, blog, etc. You may have noticed some changes already. With these changes I have a lot of hope that I will be able to keep up with blogging a little better than I did in the past. However, if I fall behind, just catch me on facebook because I'm always there. LOL Anyway, head on over to my new FPD store and check out some old (well, not really old but previously released) favorites that have made their way to FPD. I'm having a grand opening sale-a-bration! I will be sending out some random coupons to customers who purchase during my grand opening as well!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Terms of Use

I thought it was time I posted my TOU where it is more readily available. If you have any questions about my TOU or my products in general you can always contact me directly through my facebook page or email me. I try to keep track of comments posted on the blog but some do slip by so anything important should be directed to me elsewhere. And now... here are my terms of use.


License Agreement _ Personal Use Products

These images are Copyright © Sherri Tierney, 2011 (all rights reserved). By purchasing these images you are obtaining a "license to use" these graphic images and designs and are agreeing to the terms of this user license. These images are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced for sale or redistributed in any way. No commercial use is permitted. If you have questions concerning this license agreement, please use the information below to contact the designer.

What you can do:

* Use these graphics for your own personal layouts.
* Recolor, resize, and otherwise change these graphics for your own personal layouts.
* Submit your layouts using these graphics online
* Submit your layouts using these graphics to publications as long as credit is given to the designer as required by the publication.
* Use these graphics in your scrap for hire or small photography business. Please see details below.
* Use these graphics for use on your personal blog or non-commercial website. If you are creating blog or website graphics for others to use on their personal, non-commercial blog or website a copy of the kit must be purchased for each blog and or website that it will be used on.

What you can NOT do:


* Change these graphics in some way and claim they are your own.
* Resell or redistribute these graphics in any way.




**** Guidelines for Scrap for Hire or other small business owners ****

You may use these graphics in your business without any additional licensing fees provided you follow these simple guidelines:


~ Any graphics provided to your client must be either printed or presented in a flattened version (.png or .jpg).
~ If you have an online gallery of design examples available to your clients, I ask that a small line of credit be given when my kits are used. If, however, you are providing your clients with physical prints, no credit is required.
~ My quickpages may be purchased to use in your business but the license shall only extend to one customer at a time. If you wish to use the same page more than once, I ask that you purchase the quickpage set again. Using one page for one customer and a different page from the same set for a different customer without purchasing a second set is, however, acceptable.

Basically, I ask that you be respectful and not use my products in a way that will compete with my business. I ask that you provide your customers with a print ready image (or a print) with the exception of journaling that they may need to include themselves.


License Agreement _ Commercial Use Products

These images are Copyright © Sherri Tierney, 2011 (all rights reserved). By purchasing these images you are obtaining a "license to use" these graphic images and designs and are agreeing to the terms of this user license

Short and sweet... :)

No credit required when using my CU products. You may use these products in the creation of your own kits, element packs or alphabets. I ask that not more than 30% of your product be created from my product (with the exception of alpha templates and then I just ask that they be altered in some way (filled, recolored, etc.) so that they are your own. Please do not use my product to create other CU products. These products MAY be used for collaboration contributions to store kits, personal collabs, etc. They may also be used for freebies.

My Scrap Maps page templates are CU friendly. You may use these templates to create quickpages to sell in your own digital design store or you may use these to create freebies to showcase your designs.

In the case of my Fill Your Own Alphabets, here are my terms as taken from the product description.

**Designers, with this commercial use version you can create alphabets to sell in your digi shop! My terms are simple. No credit is required. You must actually 'fill' the alphabet with something, paper, elements, photos, etc. The finished product provided to the customer must contain the fill. These may not be resold without something under the top layer. These may also not be resold as commercial use items. By purchasing this product you are agreeing to the proceeding terms. **