Scrap Girls Chit Chat Newsletter: March 6, 2009

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http://www.scrapgirls.com/NL/Chit_Chat_090306_Fri_Red.htm

What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique?

Life Muses by Ro: The Red Zone

Photo: No Stopping sign.

“The thing is, you can’t let yourself get in The Red Zone. You need to stop at Level One.”

A puzzled look washed across her face. “Level One?”

“You know,” I explained. “The Red Zone? Like on The Dog Whisperer?”

She shook her head, exasperated. “Mom, you have a story for everything.”

I shrugged. “Well, the story fits. If you are walking a dog, you have to stop the bad behavior early. When the dog’s ears go up or its hair stands on end is the time to act.”

I continued, “You need to do that, too. Instead of going to the black, depressed place, discipline yourself at the earliest warning sign to think about something else. Distract yourself.”

“You have lots of stories, Mom. You have more stories than anyone in the world.”

I stopped, opened my mouth, and then I shut it tight.

Her eyes opened knowingly and she nodded in her best schoolmarm manner.

“I guess I do,” I sighed.

She leaned forward, intent on her message. “And, something else,” she advised. “You watch far too many episodes of The Dog Whisperer....”

- Ro

Muse: To be absorbed in one's thoughts; engage in meditation. Not intended to solve the world's problems, another person's problems, or to cover topics completely. One does not have to agree with musings to enjoy them, just as one does not have to be the same as someone else to appreciate who they are.

Note from Ro: Would you like to earn a $20 Gift Certificate? Send your own muse to [email protected]. If it is selected for publication in the Scrap Girls newsletter, you'll get to have fun shopping!

Ro is now spotlighting various Scrap Girls members, showing layouts, and running contests in her blog. If you end up being spotlighted in it, you'll get a little gift from her. Subscribe to her blog so you don't miss what is going on!

Ro has recently spotlighted Soozlou, mtorres_usa, and teabaglady!

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: Using ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Old Chipboard

Note: Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 with Windows Vista.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: Select Magic Wand Tool.

To begin, open the ScrapSimple Alpha Template: Old Chipboard and select the Magic Wand Tool. Set the tolerance to 200 for maximum coverage. (To get a more distressed look, lower the tolerance number to select less of the distressed part of the black area.) Make sure the “Contiguous” box is checked.

Click on the black part of your letter template until you get the marching ants around the black area.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: Create a layer via copy.

Move your Magic Wand over the template, right-click, and choose “Layer Via Copy.”

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: New layer of only black.

This will create a new layer of the black area only.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: Change color with a clipping mask.

To change the color, create a new layer above Layer 1 and fill it with the color of your choice. (To create a new layer, click on the paper with the folded corner on your Layers Palette.) With your color layer selected (you know it is selected when the layer is blue) hold down Ctrl and hit G on your keyboard (Ctrl+Alt+G for Photoshop CS users). You now have the color clipped to the black area of your template.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: Add a layer style.

To add a style, click on Layer 1 and then click on your desired style. This example uses ScrapSimple Tools – Styles: Aged Metals 8501.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: Add a paper.

To mask a paper, drag your digital paper above Layer 1. With the paper layer selected, hold down Ctrl and hit G on your keyboard (Ctrl+Alt+G for Photoshop CS users). You now have the paper clipped to the black area of your template.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial: Repeat above steps to change white edges.

Do the same steps as above over the bottom layer to change the white area of the template. Again, you can either use a color, style, or a paper. For this layer, you will want to change the Blend Mode so you can see the shadows and rounded edges that make this template dimensional.

If you want to take it further, you can add brushes above Layer 2 or finish your letter off with embellishments.

Use these ScrapSimple Alpha Templates to create titles or monogram initials for your digital scrapbooking layouts, a personalized signature for message boards, or blog headers.

Computer scrapbook blog header by Brandy Murry

Blog Header by Brandy Murry
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Old Chipboard and Dynamic Brush Set: Paper Piercing 8201 are also available.

Brandy Murry

Tutorial written by Brandy Murry

What's Happening at Scrap Girls?

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

What's New in the Boutique Chat
Friday, March 6th - 11:00AM ET

Join Michelle (Shelbi) at 11 am EST Friday morning to chat about all the cool new things in the boutique. What are you getting? What did you Kaboodle? And most importantly, show us the layouts or other projects you made with your new goodies! There's a thread every Thursday and now there's a chat too!

Aussie Chat & Challenge
Monday, 9 March - 9:00PM Australian Eastern Standard Daylight Saving Time

Please come join Karen (kazbar73) & Jo (ScrappingJo) at 9PM (Australian Eastern Standard Daylight Saving Time) on Monday, 9 March, for the Desktop Challenge Crop.

Tired of your desktop being some graphic that you would've liked to have made? Tired of a solid background? Did you know with your digital scrapbooking skills you can make a fabulous background for your enjoyment? Come join us in the Chat room and learn how to jazz up your desktop.

For our International ladies, the chat will be on at 6am New York time.

Card Chat
Monday, March 9th - 8:00PM ET

Do you use your digi-supplies to make cards? Do you want to? Instead of going to the store every time you need a card, we thought it would be better (and more fun) to use our digi stash to make any cards we might need for the upcoming month.

Birthday Cards, Thank you Cards, Get Well Cards, various holiday cards.... We will be posting our cards in the gallery. See you there!!

Baby Album Crop
Tuesday, March 10th - 1:00PM ET

Do you need some motivation getting those baby albums done? Children grow so fast; let's get those baby memories scrapped! You can scrap your children, grandchildren, or even your own baby album.

Join me, Carla (crs), in the chat room on Tuesday, March 10th at 1 pm et to work on those albums! You can start from fresh on a brand new album, or jump in where ever you are in your project. I'll provide an optional challenge each crop for motivation if you want it.

This month, I challenge you to create a family tree for the star of your album!

Life Moments Crop and Chat
Tuesday, March 10th - 9:00PM ET

Join me, Carla (crs), for another installment in our Life Moments Crop and Chat. This crop challenges you to focus on yourself and leave a record for future generations.

Watch the message board for this week's topic! I'll see you in the chat room on Tuesday, March 10th at 9 pm et!

Card Chat
Tuesday, March 10th - 8:00PM ET

Join Michelle (Shelbi) and Ngaire (Ngaire) for our new monthly chat.

Birthday Cards, Thank you Cards, Get Well Cards, various holiday cards.... We will be posting our cards in the gallery. See you there!!

High Noon Crop
Wednesday, March 11th - 12:00Noon ET

Join your guest host April Showers 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 March 11th, we'll do a tag challenge! Create a layout using at least one tag as an embellishment!

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!

Journaling Chat
Wednesday, March 11th - 8:00PM ET

Join Shari_PV_Mom and angelaNussbaum for the Journaling Chat @ 8pm.

Are most of your layouts decorative? Do you have stories to tell, but are just not motivated enough to make a layout with journaling? We are going to challenge you to do a layout with your Journaling in mind. Come join us and tell your stories.

March Events

March Board Game: Posting Contest

This month, post to your heart's content and potentially win a prize because of your chattiness! That's right folks... it's time for one of those infamous posting challenges! We want to see you post the most! The top 10 posters this month will each win a gift certificate to the boutique! (Top 1-3 will each get a $10 GC, 4-6 will each get a $5 GC, and 7-10 will each get a $3 GC!)

We've got a system to keep track of your posts throughout the month. If you want to keep your own tally, feel free to note your post count here in this thread before you start posting on Monday, March 2nd. Contest ends on Tuesday, March 31st at midnight MST!

So go on with your gabby self! This is the month for you!

Layout Contests:

March Layout Contest: Mesmerizing, hypnotic, charming, spellbinding.... These are all words that can be used to describe things we might take photos of or do scrapbook pages about, from a mountain vista to a new baby’s face. For this contest challenge, we want you to do a layout about something that you feel fits these words. If your layout is chosen, you will win a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique. All layouts must be posted by midnight Eastern Time, March 31st and credits listed to be eligible.

February Mid-Month Layout Contest: Did you know that February is International Friendship Month? Let's honor the special people we call friends by featuring them in a layout! Post your Friendship layouts in the Mid-February Layout Contest Gallery before March 14th at midnight eastern. You will be eligible to win a $10 gift card to the Scrap Girls Boutique! Let's get scrapping!

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.)

Today's Freebie

Computer scrapbook layout by Kara Swanson

Layout by Kara Swanson
larger view

Designer Freebie by Erica Hite coordinates with her Dear Diary Collection Biggie


Commercial license versions of Lettering Delights Mother's Typewriter Font 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.

1 8.5x11 Sheet of Word Art

1 Assemble Your Own Zoom Page Set

1 Designer's Choice Item