Winners Announced!

Ok... so none of you will be reading this post, so I'm tempted to just go on and on and then slowly but surely weave in the name of the winners so that you HAVE to read this post, but then I think that all of you will hate me even MORE than you already will because I have been nominated to be the bearer of both the good AND the bad news of our So You Think You Can Design contest. . .

SO... without further ado... congratulations to not ONE, not TWO but THREE new designers who will be coming on board as the newest Orchard Girls!

Congratulations Kit Designers:

Tabrizia - Franziska Altmann

PDPlum Amy - Amy Brever

and our newest Template Designer:

Sine!

Welcome ladies! We're so happy to have you join us! For those of you who we were not able bring on board, we want to give you a huge pat on the back and a great big thank you for all of your hard work! We saw you all grow as designers and we're sure that it's just a matter of time until we see your gorgeous designs in stores everywhere!

We hope to continue to see you around the Orchard and we're always here to help in any way we can!

Aloha!

Shauna

Scrap Orchard Site Update: (seriously, this could ONLY happen to ME!)

Of all the nights for our site to go down...this might have been the worst! So here is the update from our Server Host:

From Doug Erwin:
This evening at 4:55pm CDT in our H1 data center, electrical gear shorted, creating an explosion and fire that knocked down three walls surrounding our electrical equipment room. Thankfully, no one was injured. In addition, no customer servers were damaged or lost.

We have just been allowed into the building to physically inspect the damage. Early indications are that the short was in a high-volume wire conduit. We were not allowed to activate our backup generator plan based on instructions from the fire department.

This is a significant outage, impacting approximately 9,000 servers and 7,500 customers. All members of our support team are in, and all vendors who supply us with data center equipment are on site. Our initial assessment, although early, points to being able to have some service restored by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Rest assured we are working around the clock.

We are in the process of communicating with all affected customers. we are planning to post updates every hour via our forum and in our customer portal. Our interactive voice response system is updating customers as well.

There is no impact in any of our other five data centers.

I am sorry that this accident has occurred and I apologize for the impact.


Um... so basically... our server has NO power because of an explosion! LIKE SERIOUSLY??? LOL!! If it weren't such bad timing I MIGHT just laugh!

Kami, Kim, Mel and I are working hard to come up with a plan on how to deal with the SO SUNny Scavenger Hunt, and when to post the announcement for our winners of the Design Contest.

As for the hunt (and the two great kits that are the "prize") we've decided that the hunt will start at Sunshine Studio Scraps tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. EST, and hopefully the Orchard will be back up and running to join them! If not, then we'll host the other half of the scavenger hunt ASAP after our site is back up and working!

As for the announcement of the contest winners, some of us say we should post here to get the news out, others say that might not be fair to those who might not know to check here... SIGH... should I post a POLL? LOL!) But as soon as we can figure this all out I'll let you guys know....

BUT I DO KNOW THIS! WE WILL ABSOLUTELY KEEP THE "SYTYCD" FREEBEE LINKS UP LONGER SO THAT EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO DOWNLOAD THEM! Have no fear! I've got your back (wink)!

I'm so sorry that this happened ladies... hang tight! I'll post here when I can!

NOT our fault this time! I promise!

SIGH... the orchard...! My lovely orchard! Unavailable again! But at least we can't blame you this time! he he he! (although the fact that we've had close to 200 people on the site at any given time lately probably doesn't help! LOL!)

This time it's our hosts' problem (ThePlanet) their server is down or something (Mel could probably explain it better than me...LOL, but nevertheless, it's out of our hands unfortunately).

No worries though, as soon as the site is back up we'll be on top of things! (cross your fingers!) in the meantime... here is a tiny peek at the Sunshine Studio's portion of SO SUNny! (here's hoping we're up in time to be there for the scavenger hunt!!!)




So please be patient! We're doing everything we can to get you all back in the Orchard!!! :)

Now you can have a Gecko TOO! (and a bunch of Freebees to go with it!)

Of course we have our contestants Freebees (but TRY not to immediately skip down to the bottom to nab them ok? ;) Because I have other important stuff too!

First and foremost, if you're a regular blog reader of mine you won't be at ALL surprised to see my new collaboration with Kami of Ziggle Designs...LOL it's named after my Little Man, Ethan and is SOOOO totally him! Thank you to Polka Dot Plum's Amy for even drawing me a little Gecko to add to the kit (PERFECT! LOL) It's called Ethan's Backyard and it's on sale THIS WEEK ONLY in the Fresh Fruit section of the Orchard (as our many of our newest additions...so check them out HERE ) and here is a peek at Ethan's Backyard... click the image to check it out at the market!

and the WordArt contribution from Bethany of Elegant Word Art!

Now on to our NEXT big news! (NOOOOOO we're NOT to the Freebee part YET!! Hang on already! he he he!)

The Orchard Girls are teaming up with the Sunshine Girls in celebration of the Grand Opening of their new store Sunshine Studio Scraps!! You will NOT want to miss out on this FABULOUS day of Freebies, Scavenger Hutns, Freebies, Chats, Bingo, Freebies, a ton of games and prizes ... oh and did I mention FREEBIES! he he he... so don't miss out

Check back for more info tomorrow!

And last, but certainly not least... what you have ALLL been waiting for...the freebees! Be sure to register in the Gallery to see and download them! Click on the image to link to the Gallery, click on the kit of your choice and find the download links in the description! Don't forget that these links will ONLY BE UP UNTIL TOMORROW NIGHT! So get them while you can!

Enjoy! And don't forget to check back this weekend for more fun, freebies and the announcement of the So You Think You Can Design contest!!

Aloha! Shauna

Oops! I almost forgot... he he he!

WOOOO HOOOOO!

Like seriously? Are we running a store or a FREEBEE Galleria!? LOL

OMGosh... we might just go bankrupt over there at the Orchard if we don't stop giving so much stuff away! LOL Please remember to come by and take a look at our shops when you're doing your freebee downloading ok? LOL!

BTW... Poor Kami, she's been a bad bad blogger and she's feeling a bit lonely over there at her blog, so run on over there... pick up her freebie and leave her some love? Tell her Shauna sent you and it will drive her CRAZY! he he he!!! Here's her BLOG (www.zigglescraps.com) head over and grab this wonderful Alpha!

And now two freebees from our WONDERFUL contestants!! As always, remember to register in our GALLERY before trying to view or download the freebees!

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO BE TAKEN TO OUR SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DESIGN GALLERY

and for the surprise...HMMMM... take a look at THIS and stay tuned to find out how to get it and MORE for free this weekend!!

See you all tomorrow!!!

And even more!

Click on the images below to take you to the So You Think You Can Design gallery! (don't forget to register in the Gallery FIRST or you'll miss out!)

Enjoy!

Shauna

Gimme Gimme Gimme some more FREEBEES!

And here is how you do it!

1. Register at the Scrap Orchard Forum/Gallery

2. Log in

3. Go back to the Gallery by clicking HERE, choose the kits or templates that you like and start downloading! (oh and don't forget our little ol' Free'Bee' Gallery with tons of Free'Bees' there too!)

Here are today's posts by our fabulous contestants!!

And hey everyone! Don't forget to leave our designers some love when you download their kits and templates! ;)

And Week 4 of So You Think You Can Design Contest Begins!

And so do the FreeBees! Here is our first kit submission by Scrapalinquent! Not only did Liz create this kit, she had to create it quickly as she's getting married next weekend! Congratulations Liz!

Click on the image to visit Scrap Orchard's Gallery and download this gorgeous kit for FREE!

Yuck! Summer Cold! But Shopping Made Me Feel SO Much Better! OH! And a Surprise!

I'm fighting (and losing apparently) a bad summer chest cold! Yuck yuck yuck, but I did find the BEST new grab bag and HAD to share it with you, and NO (if you can believe it) it is NOT from anyone at Scrap Orchard! he he he!

It's from one of my OTHER Favorite designers, Bren Boone (BrenBooneDesigns.com) and it was FUUULLL of great stuff! (makes me think I need to do one of these Grab Bag things! he he he!) Here's her preview (unlike SOME blogs that's all you'll get from me! LOL!!) But click on the preview and go check it out for yourself!


Thanks Bren for something to do while I'm laid up in bed feeling yucky!!

Oh? You want to know what the surprise is? HMMMMM... I'll give you a hint! Here it is....

any guesses????

Tons of Orchard News!

Ok... much to share with you guys!

*I have some new Commerical/Personal Use Overlays in the store
*Kami has a GREAT cute new rainy day kit called "Doldrums" (and Bethany of ElegantWordArt
has some matching WordArt for it!)
*YAY! We have a new designer at the Orchard

AND ALL OF IT IS ON SALE!!! CLICK THE IMAGES TO CHECK THEM ALL OUT!
(AND COME BACK TOMORROW FOR A BRAND NEW FREEBIE!)

Check it all out!

WELCOME BECKY!!

What can I say? We have some GORGEOUS submissions ladies!!! Here are just a few of them! Click HERE to visit the So You Think You Can Design Week 3/Assignment 3 Gallery (or click on the previews). (Once you're registered and logged into the gallery, simply click on the photo of the submission/submissions that you would like to download and there will be a download link in the description.)

Don't forget! These links will only be available until Saturday Night (EST) so download them now while you can!

5,000 Members and Growing! And some new Freebee's Too!

My oh my! Our little Orchard is growing and growing by leaps and bounds! Today saw us hit the INCREDIBLE 5,000 Member mark! A simply unheard of accomplishment for a site that has been open for just over 6 weeks! Thank you to all of who you have been a part of this wonderful store and helped to make it the great place that it is!

And what better way to celebrate then with some FREEBEES!! And so without further delay... More "Love in Paris"!

(p.s. I'm getting a bit lazy in my old age... so rather than posting individual links I'll just say "feel free to click on an image below to take you to our fabulous So You Think You Can Design Gallery for week 3".) LOL!

And as always... (all together now) do not forget to register in our Gallery in order to see and to download these and all the other freebees!

See you all around the Orchard!!