“Summer 1967” layout by Janine Buckles
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:

In order to make the image on the journal page look like it was drawn on, I used Brandy’s “Sketch It” action. I must admit it took me three attempts to get the look I wanted, but what a fun action it is! When I had the sketch looking the way I wanted, I altered the colour by clicking on Enhance> Adjust Colour> Adjust Hue/Saturation (Ctrl + U), clicked on “Colorize” and moved the sliders until I had a sort of sandy shade. Then I placed the image on my layout, on top my journal page embellishment layer. Next I selected the sketch layer by clicking on its thumbnail in the Layers Palette, chose the Eraser Tool, set the Mode to “Brush,” the Opacity to 100% and chose a Grunge style brush. I then used it to carefully remove the edges of my image giving it even more of a sketched appearance.

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Nearly Taped, Brush Set: Grunge, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Beautiful Distress, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Shadowing Transparent Objects PSE 5301 and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Sketch It PSE 8501 are also available.

Software used: Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0

Name of challenge: Numbers

Other Ingredients:

• Font - Pt Banana Split
• Font - Journal
• Font - Saturday Sans

Journaling: I remember spending many lazy afternoons at the beach in the small town where I grew up. We would take a picnic and swim and play for hours. Back then, we had to wait an hour after eating lunch before we could get back in the water. It always felt like forever! On this day, Dad took a picture of all three of us putting suntan lotion on Mom.

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“Favor Family Vacation” layout by Kelly Favor-Chronister
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:

I wanted to photographs to tell the story of our vacations to southwestern Colorado, so I kept the journaling to a minimum. On the left hand side, I right justified the text, which is a list of the names of everyone in our family, and on the right, I left justified a list of activities that we do and places we visit every year. We have been visiting the same part of Colorado for over 60 years and have been staying at the same guest ranch for over 40 years. There are too many stories to tell for even a two-page layout!

Commercial license versions of Lettering Delights Elf Note Font, Lettering Delights Martian Mania Font, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Chipboard Distressed 4104 Mini, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Windowpane Frames and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Neutral Shadows 2801 Super Biggie are also available.

Software used: Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0, iPhoto

Name of challenge: Summer Traditions

“Summer Vacation 2008” layout by Amy Lemaniak
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:

To make my waves on the bottom half of my layout, I took the Custom Shape Tool and found the Three Wave shape and made it the same width as my layout. Then I duplicated the layer, so I would have two sets of them. I then brought my two blue papers onto my layout and put each paper above one of the wave layers. I then used a Clipping Mask (Ctrl+G) to clip the paper to the wave shape and added a slight drop shadow.

Software used: Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0

Name of challenge: Favorite Memory from 2008 (So Far!)

“We Couldn’t ‘Bee’ Prouder” layout by Stefanie Harris
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:

The color scheme I had in mind for this layout didn’t exactly “go with” the photos. By using Melissa Renfro’s Photo Basics Actions (Black & White with Color), I was able to get nearly a perfect match with the magenta and turquoise of Marnie’s background papers. (The original photos had red and blue, which are Haley’s school colors.) In order to soften up the photo with her teacher, I then applied Syndee Nuckles’ Dreamy Photos Actions. It turned into a soft and girlie layout... perfect for Haley!

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Extra - Ribbon Toppers Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Inked Edges Fun 4105, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Duo Tone Glitter Gels 6401 Super Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Snow and Ice 6101 Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Photo Basics 5001, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Dreamy Photos 6301 and ScrapSimple Tools - Shapes: Deluxe Tags Super Biggie 5401 are also available.

Software used: Adobe Photoshop Elements CS2

Name of challenge: Favorite Memory from 2008 (So Far!)

Other Ingredients:

• Font - LDJ Lefthand Jam
• Font - LD Vanilla

“First Grandson” layout by Pat Bowman
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:

Marnie’s Hugs & Kisses Word Art 1 Brushes are perfect for hand coloring. I started by stamping the Word Art in white. Then I created a new layer for each color that I wanted to use. Then, using the Magic Wand Tool, I selected inside the lines to select the area I wanted to color. Once I made the selection, I made sure I moved to the new layer I planned to use for the color, then I chose the color I wanted to use and filled in the selection with the Paint Bucket Tool. I continued until I had all of the areas I wanted to color filled in. Finally, I merged the layers together.

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Hugs & Kisses Word Art 1, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Borderline, Brush Set: Mixed Months Super Biggie, Brush Set: Mixed Years 2000-2010 Super Biggie, Brush Set: Pretty Primavera, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Photos That Pop B&W 1801 Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Vellum 5401 and AMC_Quirky Font are also available.

Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS3

Name of challenge: Favorite Memory from 2008 (So Far!)

“I Love U, U & U” layout by Armi Custodio
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Directions for one technique I did on this layout:

It was by accident that I discovered that the photo placements in Amanda Sok’s Digital Layout Template-Layered: Note Paper (Set 1-12x12) is an almost perfect fit to Syndee Nuckles’ ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Photo Clips (Set-Multi). I simply had to move one photo placement (Pic3 & Pic3BG) into the desired position and adjust the size of the photo mat (Pic3BG). Also, to reinforce the hearts theme of the layout, I replaced the circle photo clips with heart clips (Set-Heart). So keep on playing, you’ll never no what “happy accidents” you might encounter!

Commercial license versions of AMC_Chalk Talk Font, ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates - Layered: Note Paper, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Destinations 5401, Lettering Delights Underwood Pica Font, Brush Set: Stamped Dates, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Hugs & Kisses, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Photo Basics PSE 5001 and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Photo Clips are also available.

Software used: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0

Name of challenge: Favorite Memory from 2008 (So Far!)

If you have praise, comments, or questions for any of our Product Designers or Layout Artists, did you know you can send them a PM (private message) using the message board? It's easy!

If you are a registered user of the message board, just click on the "PM" box at the bottom of any of their posts to send them a message. Or, to check out more of your favorite designer's layouts, visit the Scrap Girls Design Team section of the Layout Gallery.

The Long Way Around

One thing I’ve learned in life: sometimes, the most effective route between two places requires taking the long way around.

During the last few months, we have been in the process of transferring from Hawaii to California. While it sounds easy enough, there has been a major detour in Oklahoma in between - not only to visit our families and take a vacation, but also to get our daughter settled into college. For those of you with a map handy, Oklahoma is no where along the path to “The Golden State” from the islands. But, after living in the middle of the Pacific for three and a half years, it was time to make an appearance in the land of our birth.

From Oklahoma City to Midwest City to Weatherford to Elk City to Perry to Edmond to Eufaula and back again, we have circled the state in a matter of days in a mad rush to see everyone. We have migrated so often from spot to spot, that after traveling to my brother’s new home outside of Austin, Texas, I told someone on the phone that I was in Oklahoma. In my mind we were visiting family, hence we had to be in Oklahoma.

The thing about traveling, especially by car, is that you never know which way you’ll end up needing to go. Quite often we try to take the most direct route to save time, but we’ve also found it is fun to take the back roads or to turn left instead of right simply to see where the route leads. I enjoy discovering new parts of my home on each trip here. It allows me to appreciate the uniqueness of our state and notice the qualities that make it different from other parts of the country and the world.

I always laugh when I think about our lives and travels since Michael joined the Navy eighteen years ago. I envision a map with a series of arrows showing our movement from spot to spot. (The Flash version would be a cartoon plane flying around the world just like in the Indiana Jones movies.) The arrows would repeatedly appear pointed towards Oklahoma – it is our center, our grounding spot. Like the old saying goes, “home is where your heart is.” Our “heart” is in Oklahoma.

Another joy about this time in our lives, for the first time since we became a military family, I have a job during our move! It is exciting to know that wherever I am currently residing, for a day or a week or more, I am able to work and create and play with digital scrapbooking from the comfort of my new laptop. And gosh, has my handy-dandy virtual friend been, well, handy. It has enabled me to work on my next book and make tutorials and participate in chats and create layouts to submit to scrapbooking magazines. How cool is that?

The funny thing is, the way I make my digital scrapbooking layouts is much like our Navy adventures: where I start and where I end up are not always managed by the shortest route.

Often my layout designs begin with a picture in my head of what I’d like to make, and other times I begin with a sketch. I pick out my pictures, the most important part, and slowly work out my color scheme from the colors within the photographs. Or, in the case of a black and white image, I work my color scheme from the background papers. I then add the embellishments, one element at a time. I save the words, my second priority, for last, so that I can think about the theme of the layout or the significance of the pictures while I’m creating the page.

For me, making a layout is a very slow process. Most folks could make two or three in the time that it takes me to put together one. That is okay. I plod along at my own pace, adding an embellishment here, trying out a style there. I’ll trade things out, layer them, move them around – it’s a very fluid process that evolves as I go along. Sometimes, what I have in mind doesn’t really work so I try something else. My goal is to create something visually stimulating that challenges my knowledge and skills in Photoshop. I want to learn and improve and explore the possibilities of the program because digital scrapbooking to me means playing with a giant puzzle which includes a zillion pieces. The beauty of it all is that it is complete when I want it to be.

So what if it takes me hours to finish my page? The adventure, the excitement, of digital scrapbooking is not in the final product - not at all. The wonder of digi is the journey itself. Quite often, the best trips are the ones where you take the long way around.

- Marnie

Favorite product I've designed:
Scrapbooking 911 - 20 Sketches to Revitalize Your Digital Scrapbooking - Book 2 eBook

Designing for my second book of sketches was even more fun than the first. I also invited two layout designers to create layouts from some of the sketches to give digital scrappers lots of inspiration for their own pages.

Layout by Marnie Adams
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Chipboard 1801 Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Peeled Paint 5701, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Felt Biggie 6501, Lettering Delights Sweet Potatoes Font, Lettering Delights Long Hand Font and Lettering Delights Mother's Typewriter Font are also available.

The Scrap Girls Monthly Club allows you to get all of the newest looks while saving money! It is perfect for anyone who wants beautiful, coordinated digital scrapbooking supplies that are easy to use. You get all the products shown above, a $29.33 value, for $9.99 or less! Plus, each month we will help you find new ways to use your club contents to the fullest with this article full of ideas, tips, and projects to get your creativity going!

August’s Scrap Girls Club’s featured designer is Angie Briggs. This club is another in the long tradition of Angie's winners! She has a gender-neutral palette and fun and funky, yet totally useful embellishments. Let’s look a little closer and see what ideas we can come up with for this club.

Layout ideas:

• Anyone who loves butterflies
• Opposite “his” and “hers” perspectives
• Pool party
• Birthday
• Flower garden
• Easter
• Babies and toddlers
• Summer
• Messy kids (use “Mischief Maker” word art in the His and Her Collection Biggie)
• Story time at the library or school (using the alpha in the His and Her Collection Biggie)
• Girls' Day Out
• Sibling relationship
• Layouts with small photos clustered with small embellishments and lots of “white” space (see Sarah Batdorf's gallery for examples)
• Playing in the rain (using the Dress Up Word Art Mini)
• Prince and Princess (using the Dress Up Word Art Mini)
• Heritage photos (use cardboard paper and some of the solids along with the flowers from the His and Her Collection Biggie)
• Tea party
• Grandmas
• Flea market shopping
• Bubble blowing
• Recipe layouts of sweet treats
• Scrapbook a fun photo of you and your significant other

Layout by Designer Ali
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Project/Printable ideas:

• Wall art for a child's room
• Use Dress Up Word Art Mini to make printed stickers, then use stickers to add a little personality to a notebook or folder for school.
• Print paper and wrap birthday presents.
• Create party favor boxes.
• Make mini treat bags.
• Spray mount backgrounds onto a photo frame's mat board for a pretty frame around a photo.
• Wrap a small book with a background paper for a pretty book cover
• Cover (decoupage) a gift box or jewelry box (check dollar store for little wood ones).
• Create a new avatar with the little buttons (such as the “hello my name is” or “here comes trouble”) that are in the Assemble Your Own Pages: His and Hers.
• Print out the circle embellishments in the Dress Up Embellishment Mini and decoupage them onto a plate set to make your own dinnerware.
• Use pink and blue frames from His and Hers Collection Biggie to create placecards for dinner guests, or for a children's tea party -- pink for girls and blue for boys.
• Print out papers from His and Hers Collection Biggie or Dress Up Super Paper Mini and create clothes for paper dolls.
• Use the His and Hers Embellishment Mini or the Dress Up Embellishment Mini sets as a border on a family newsletter.
• Print out a His and Hers Embellishment Mini or Dress Up Embellishment Mini borders on sticker paper and use them on the outside of an envelope.
• Create a cute blog banner for your blog (use Dress Up Embellishment Mini or His and Hers Embellishment Mini) and use papers from the His and Hers Collection Biggie as the background.

Blog by Angela Nussbaum
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Quote ideas:

• The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
  ~Rabindranath Tagore

• It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
   ~Berke Breathed

• Joy is a flower that blooms when you do.
  ~Author Unknown

• Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons.
  ~Author Unknown

• In time of test, family is best.
  ~Burmese Proverb

• It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
  ~John Leonard

• Pray continually
  -1 Thes. 5:17

Prayer Book Layouts by Christy VanderWall
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We hope this article gives you some ideas to get you scrapping! We’d love to see what you come up with. You can share ideas and tips on the message board, plus there’s a special gallery available for you to show off your Club creations and inspire each other, so start creating!

And remember, this club will be expiring in just a few days! So if you like these ideas, don't hesitate to sign up today, or you will miss your chance to get in on these tremendous savings! It's like buying the Collection Biggie and getting the coordinating Paper Super Mini, Word Art, Embellishment Set, Assemble Your Own Zoom Page Set and Designer's Choice Item for free! Now, that's a bargain. Don't miss out!

Have fun!

P.S. We hope you are enjoying one of our newest articles, Club Concepts. Each Monday, we give you ideas on how to use your current club selections in many different ways. We give you ideas for layout themes, embellishments, tips, cards, quotes, projects, and more! Well, we have realized that in creating these articles, we were leaving out one of the most important voices in our club... yours! So, we would like to announce that we will be looking for your help in creating these articles. And, of course, there are prizes involved!

How can you get involved, you may ask? Simply post your new layout using the current club selection (either the Scrap Girls club or the ScrapSimple club) in our Scrap Girls Club Members Gallery. Be sure to list all of the Scrap Girls products you used, as well as a short (1-2 sentence) description of the unique idea or theme your layout shows off. If your layout and its corresponding tip is chosen, they will be showcased in our Club Concepts article, and you will win a $5 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

If you have never been to the Scrap Girls Chat Room before or have questions about it, this tutorial, Chat Basics, will provide lots of helpful information.

Crops and Chats

Aussie Chat & Crop Monday, August 25th - 8:30PM *Australian Eastern Standard Time* Please join Jo (ScrappingJo) and Karen (Kazbar73) for our next Aussie Chat. As this is the last week of Winter for us Aussies, we thought it might be nice to create a new "Spring Desktop" to celebrate the end of Winter. Create your desktop, then come and meet Jo & Karen in the Chat Room at 8.30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (please take note of the time change). For all our other International Ladies, the chat will start at 6.30am New York time on Monday, 25 August. Not sure how to create your own desktop layout? Then come along and we will go through the steps so that you can create an outstanding desktop. We look forward to seeing you all there. NSBR Chat - Early Edition Monday, August 25th - 1:00PM ET What is NSBR? It’s a non-scrapbooking related chat! We talk about everything! It’s a great way to meet new people and get to know everyone. Catch up on what everyone is up to, and just relax! If you have any questions, we'll try to answer them. So, join me, Launa, for some fun on August 25th, at 1 PM ET, in the Chat Room! Hope to see you there! New Member Chat Tuesday, August 26th - 9:00PM ET Join Pat (PBarnes) and Carol Ann (Zaz) for the New Member Chat at 8 PM ET in the Live Chat room lobby. This is a great place to ask questions about getting around the Scrap Girls site or about digital scrapbooking in general - and a great place to make some new friends. All are welcome, new and long time members included. You do need to have Java installed on your computer to access the Live Chat. High Noon Crop Wednesday, August 27th - 12:00Noon ET Join your host Betsy for the High Noon Crop every Wednesday at Noon eastern time. These crops are designed to allow you to work on your own photos and themes, simply giving participants a one hour goal, and a fun, new challenge each week! On August 27, we'll do a favorite things challenge! Create a layout about one of your favorite things! Any color, any topic (other than your kids!). Maybe your love of a particular movie or song, a certain flower, your addiction to Diet Coke, whatever! You'll have one hour to create a layout and upload to the special High Noon Crop gallery. You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour! Meet new friends and have fun in the chat room! We hope you'll join us! Desktop Crop and Chat Wednesday, August 27th - 9:00PM ET Please come join Angela (angelaNussbaum) @ 9PM ET for the Desktop Challenge Crop. Tired of your desktop being some graphic that you would've liked to make? Tired of a solid background? Did you know with your digital scrapbooking skills you can make a fabulous background for your enjoyment? A few hours before the chat, we will provide you with a source of inspiration, so stay tuned. Swap Crop Chat Thursday, August 28th - 9:00PM ET It's time for the Swap Crop Chat! We've done the swapping, and created the layouts, now it's time to chat about all the gorgeous layouts! I don't know what it is, but these swaps bring out the best in everyone. This is the time to chat about the theme, the beautiful layouts and learn about the swap crop if you haven't participated before. I'll even reveal the theme for next month! Join me, Carla, for a fun chat at 9 pm et on Thursday, August 28th! Life Moments Chat and Crop Tuesday, September 2nd - 9:00PM ET Join Pat (PBarnes) for our next Life Moments Crop and Chat. These Crops are about building a scrapbook all about you, one layout at a time. This week we will do a layout about our first car. It doesn't matter if you don't have a photo. You can see if you can find an image on the Internet or just do a journaling layout. Hope to see you there! High Noon Crop Wednesday, September 3rd - 12:00Noon ET Join your host Betsy for the High Noon Crop every Wednesday at Noon eastern time. These crops are designed to allow you to work on your own photos and themes, simply giving participants a one hour goal, and a fun, new challenge each week! On September 3, we'll do a monochromatic challenge! Create a layout using shades of yellow! No other colors except black and white allowed! You'll have one hour to create a layout and upload to the special High Noon Crop gallery. You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour! Meet new friends and have fun in the chat room! We hope you'll join us!

August Events

August Board Game: BINGO! It's that time again! Join us for an exciting game of BINGO on the Message Board Forum in August! Pick 25 words from the list provided in the forum and send them in an e-mail to [email protected] with a subject line saying “BINGO CARD” and including your message board user name by Sunday, August 3rd in order to play in the first round which will begin Monday, August 4th. Each day, members of the Welcoming Committee will call 5 random words from the Bingo list. Match just 15 of those words to win a BINGO. You must be first to call bingo in the forum to win that round. After a winner is called, the boards can be cleared and a new round will begin the following day. All winners receive a $5 Gift Certificate to the boutique! We like to see lots of winners, so please remember that each person can only win one round during the month. Have fun! If you miss the first round cutoff date, you can still play! Just send in your Bingo card at any time during the month and you'll be eligible to begin playing when the next new round starts. Everyone who sends in a Bingo card will receive a confirmation email that their card has been received. If you do not receive confirmation within 24 hours, please re-send your list of words. We cannot be held responsible for misdirected emails. Layout Contests: August Layout Contest: We all have had some magical events in our life. We want to see your layouts that describe a time before or during a magical event in your life like a wedding, a prom, a special vacation, or maybe the birth of a child. Upload your layouts to the August Layout Gallery by August 31st at Midnight, and if your layout is chosen, you will win a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique! August Mid-Month Layout Contest: The story of your life is unwritten. We’d love to see a layout that has a story of something in your life most people don’t know about you. Do you have a hidden talent to share, a special award you received, or maybe an embarrassing moment? Upload your layouts to the August Mid-month Layout Gallery by September 15th at midnight and you will win a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique if your layout is chosen!

Check our message board calendar if you have any questions about what is happening at Scrap Girls. All event times are given in Eastern Time Zone unless otherwise noted. Need help converting time zones? Check out the World Clock - Time Zone Converter. (Use 'USA-New York' as the location for the Eastern time zone.)

Layout by Ariadna Wiczling
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Designer Freebie by Ariadna Wiczling coordinates with her Little Zoo Collection

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Stamp A Date and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Photo Basics 5001 are also available.

* There is a “free download” button on the details page for each gift. You don't need to put them in your shopping cart unless you are shopping for other items. Also note that if you are slow reading your newsletter, you may find this freebie has already been retired, as the freebies are only available as gifts for about two newsletter cycles.