So, its been a long time since I've blogged.  Sad really, and I had such great plans for my blog posting as we entered summer...and then it happened.  Life trickled in and then gushed right over consuming every spare moment leaving none for me to be creative or clever at all.  Of course Facebook shares some blame....that amazing little window into the rest of the world that tells you about everyone all at once, can be quite a time killer.  No that's not quite right, its more of a hypnotic, cult-leading, murderous time thief.  Yes that seems a harsh enough description.  Even still, I will probably pop in and blow an hour of my precious time wondering what everyone else is doing.

I feel the need to bring readers {all 2 of ya'} up to speed, without boring you completely.  So here goes.  Summer blew by way too fast.  My garden was overwhelmed with flooding and an invasion of hideous stink bugs making it impossible to kill them off by normal means (you  know smashing or squashing them).  I was able to harvest a bit before the bugs won out.  From what I hear it was not uncommon around here.  The kids started school in Aug/Sept.  I'm the mom of a 2nd grader and a 7th grader.  I've been immersing myself in cooking and have even managed a cooking class here lately.  My digital creativity came to a grinding halt somewhere over the summer(which is why I haven't posted much here).  The boys and I took a little trip to Washington D.C. in September, which was quite invigorating.  

And now we are here, knocking on the door of November and it seems as though change in the seasons has begun to pique my creative side once again.  I will be opening up a new shop at Inspiration Lane on November 7 and will feature at least one brand new kit, along with some that have been hanging out at Digital Freebies.   I'll post more details about that soon.

Also I'm working on the newest newsletter and will be giving away something special for my newsletter subscribers so make sure to subscribe, if you haven't already.

Thanks for stopping by.

~Tanya

Click here to download.

It's also New Release Tuesday over at Digital Freebies!  Which means all new releases are 30% off til the next Tuesday!  This week I have released a quick page album created from my Rustic Spring Kit.

You can buy the album or each page individually.  The album includesall six png album pages as well as two additional cover pages that are not available otherwise.  You can pick it up here.  It's the last week of school for my kids this week, so I am off to conjure up some sort of thank you gift for teachers.  If you have suggestions, please leave them.

download it here

and on to your next stop:

AmyM Designswww.amymdesigns.blogspot.com

get back to the blog train here.

Have a great day.

Download here.

And if you are really wanting more freebies, sign up for the Simple-Girl Newsletter.  This month, subscribers are receiving this sweet Quick Page(minus my adorable little cowboy)!  You can sign up using the little form located to the left.  Its only available during May for free, to Newsletter Subscribers, then it will join the other Quick Pages in my Digital Freebies Store.

Its made from my new kit, Rustic Spring.  There are some coordinating glitter styles that are also available.  Scroll down to the previous post for all the new release info!

Pick it up here.

Don't forget, there's still a free template from Template Tuesday-yesterday.

Have a great Hump Day!

~Tanya~ {Simple Girl Designs}

 Its been a hectic spring in our house.  What with my husband's new work schedule, which has me single-momming it most evenings now.  And then there was my little slipped disc incident.  Yeah that was not much fun.  And before I could really get over that it was planting time for our little garden out back and about a month ago I decided the time was ripe to re-style our little powder room.  I'm nearly finished.  Perhaps its the madness and mayhem that is spring baseball season.  Its coming to a close and I just now am beginning to feel like I can breathe again. I don't know...but I'm thinking I need a couple of clones of myself, just to get everything done that I'd like to.  Ok....enough whining.

So, I'm trying to organize my little blog world.  Thought we'd try with some Templates on Tuesdays.  Here's how it will work.  I'll release a template for free each Tuesday.  The link will be viable for a couple of weeks and then I will take the link down and put the template up for sale in my store at Digital Freebies.

To get us started here is this week's free template for Template Tuesday:

Download no longer available

I'm happy to announce that I have a new kit, Rustic Spring, which I had great delight creating.  You can pick up this new kit at Digital Freebies where it is on sale at a 30% discount for the first week(5/19-5/25).  Take a peek at the previews below.

Also new this week are sets of glitter styles that coordinate with Rustic Spring and are available in both Personal Use and Commercial Use versions.

I've also got some templates out this week:

And its all 30% off this week.  Check it out and hope you have fun with it.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow, when I post the coordinating Rustic Spring freebie.

~Tanya~{Simple Girl Designs}

Download here.

Your next stop down the line: Snowraven's Cave Designshttp://silversnowyraven.blogspot.com

If you need to get back to the Blog Train Blog click here.  

Enjoy the ride!  And don't forget to sign up for the newsletter to find out about more Simple Girl Design freebies!

This will be a quickie post.  Just wanted to remind you that I released the Lucky One kit and all the coordinating products today at Digital Freebies and there is a free gift with purchase the first week its in the store, so you want to head over there and grab it.  Plus all new releases are 30% off the first week, so its an extra sweet deal!

Don't forget to scroll down and pick up your coordinating freebie!  It will only be here a few more days and then it will be gone, gone, gone!

In the spirit of green and celebrations, I have a recipe link to share with you!  I came across this recipe/picture today and just had to share.  Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Don't they look delish?  I may have to try these really soon(like today?).  In the article on Simply Recipes they are described as a "Thin Mint reincarnated as a cupcake".  Yum!  And it is Girl Scout Cookie time, ya know!! Head over to Simply Recipes right now and maybe you can add them to your St. Patty's day party menus....they do sport some green.

Enjoy! and stop by soon.

Driving around town this week, barely one week after we were rendered homebound, if only for a day, by a quickie snow storm unloading 4 inches, I find many of our flowering trees are in full bloom.  And the blooms are giving way to that precious sparkling green, that can only be described as new growth green.  That bright, vibrant green that will only last for a few weeks while the new leaves mature into the summery green that is inevitable.

<deep long sigh> I truly love that new growth green.  I find it inspiring and comforting at the same time.  It inspires me to dig in the dirt, to plant seeds, to grow things which will in turn bring more of the sweet green in my view.  It comforts me in the knowledge and routine that the seasons bring with them.  That soon the grass will be lush and my roses popping with pink.  Soon there will be shade from the trees and kids running amuck in the sunshine, coming home tired at the end of the day coated in layer of powdery dirt.

And in the spirit of "Goin' Green" (and trying to afford organic produce as much as possible) I am planning a series of gardens for my back yard.  So I am inspired to plant things and have procured quite a little stockpile of seed catalogs and seed packets and gardening books.  Two of my favorites after reading so many, are All New Square Foot Gardening and Lasagna Gardening(see links in sidebar).  They both offer alot of help, especially for gardening in small spaces, like I will be doing this year.  I used earth boxes last year with great success and I am looking to expanding my harvest this year and would like to plant a substantial strawberry crop.

So the gorgeous green that has been in my eye's view of late has given way to celebrating the wearing of the green!  And to do that I have produced a new scrap kit called "Lucky One".  Rich in the greens of spring and it includes enough gold to satisfy your hidden leprechaun.  

The full kit will be released along with a coordinating alpha, glitter overlay pages and glitter styles this Tuesday, March 17 at Digital Freebies.  I'll post more previews next week as we get closer to the release.  To sweeten "the pot"  there's a free gift with purchase!

And to thank you for indulging me with my spring green ramblings, here's a little freebie for you...so you can be "Goin' Green" too!

click here to download.

thanks for stopping by, 

Tanya

Suffice it to say I am aghast that it is the first week of March and my little blog has been so horribly neglected.  2009 has been a complete whirlwind for us, so many personal changes going on in our lives, that it is almost too much to begin to even listen to the socio-economic-cultural firestorm abrewing out there since Obama took office.  It is not my desire to turn political here...not at all...but there's been a whole lotta CHANGE and not much HOPE in a very short amount of time and its a bit mind-numbing...so there...that's all I'm gonna say.

I know for our family the weeks leading up to March have stormed through like a hungry lion on the prowl.  March has definitely reared its blustery head in our lives and forces me to contemplate its recent historical impact.  I have come to approach the month of March with a bit of trepidation.  Just as it is a seasonally tempetuous month....over the last few years it has proven no different in my personal life.  March has been added to my exhausted brain's tickler file, under the category "get ready, here it comes".

It's the month wrought with more significant life altering events for me more than any other month of the year.   Some of the changes have been good ones, like in 1996 and 2001 both during the month of March, I found out I was pregnant with my children.  And again in 2005, my (now) husband and I had our first date...in fact it was March 5.  Many of the changes have been less joy filled.  It was in March 2000 that I returned to my first husband(now ex) after separating for a while because of his anger issues...big mistake.  March 2002 found me in court in a highly emotional and expensive custody battle for my step-daughter forcing me to be separated from my breastfed infant and other small son for three days.  March 2003 I left the ex with my kids for the final time and did not look back....even though I had no job at the time...that was tough.   March 2004 my beloved Aunt Judy died after a four year battle with breast cancer(and I think she was diagnosed March 2000...but I'm not sure).  Oh yeah and I experienced my first (and hopefully the last) firing by a crooked real-estate appraiser a week later, because I missed work for the funeral, nice guy, huh?(huge blessing in disguise).  March 2007, my mother, my fiance and my best friend's hubby were all laid off in the same week!  Last year the events were not quite as drastic...I think my husband suffered a couple of injuries and was visiting the urgent care every week.

I'm kinda nervous about March 2009....go figure?  Perhaps this year, March will mark itself as a jumping off point for renewed creativity.  That's what I'm going with.   And in the spirit of that notion, here's a freebie for you!  I've made a delightful desktop wall paper for you using the my New Bloom Add-on kit.  Its an add-on to the March Club Collab kit at Digital Freebies.  Dielle Designs and I(Simple Girl Designs) worked up some pretty fabulous kits and add-ons to celebrate the month of March and season of Spring which it ushers in.

Upclose and personal of Simple Girl Designs portion of the kit.

You can pick up the Club Kit and all the Add-ons by clicking over to Digital Freebies here.

Ok...thanks for indulging me.  Remember to send folks to the page and not to hot link, also it is not ok, for you to give this away on your own, send them back here.  Thanks!

HERE'S THE NEW LINK....TINY LITTLE ERROR ON THE FIRST ONE:)