Scrap Girls Chit Chat Newsletter: April 8, 2009

Occasionally, email clients or Internet Service Providers have email delivery issues that are beyond our control. If you are having issues reading the newsletter or viewing any of the images, you may find it is easier to read the web page version. It is available here:
http://www.scrapgirls.com/NL/Chit_Chat_090408_Wed_Recipe.htm

What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique

Digital scrapbook layout by Janine Buckles

Layout by Janine Buckles
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Commercial license versions of Brush Set: All Stitched Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Stitching And Holes 4102, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Vintage PS 6502 Mini and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Edge It 5001 are also available.

Digital scrapbook layout by Durin Eberhart

Layout by Durin Eberhart
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Commercial license versions of Dynamic Brush Set: Sponge Painting 5101 are also available.

Digital scrapbook project by Amanda Sok

Project by Amanda Sok
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Euphoric Acrylics 6401 are also available.

Digital scrapbook layout by Laurel Lakey

Layout by Laurel Lakey
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Digital scrapbook layout by Caroline Kaiser

Layout by Caroline Kaiser
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates: Stylish Frames, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Packaging, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Freezer Pops 6101, ScrapSimple Tools - Shapes: WaterDrops 5301 Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Water 6101, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Aged Metals Biggie and Lettering Delights Scratchy Pen Font are also available.

Digital scrapbook layout by Cherise Oleson

Layout by Cherise Oleson
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Rubber Bands, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Black and White Plus, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Stacked Photos PS Mini 6501, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Label Maker 5001, Brush Set: Journal Bits, Brush Set: Beautiful Distress and Texture Set: Paper are also available.

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.

Life Muses by Ro: Corn Chowder

About a month ago, as I considered my life, I realized that I had fallen out of the small-town girl habits and values I was taught by my mother and grandmother.

I have been so busy being busy that I haven’t gotten much done.

I have learned that the best way to motivate myself to action is to share my experiences with my readers. Because this effort focuses on home and family, I decided that I needed to start a blog that talked exclusively about these things. I’ve named it, “Small Town Girl Ro.”

Here’s the mission statement for the blog:

I’m a small-town girl. I grew up eating inexpensive meals, baking, sewing, crocheting, knitting, bottling fruit, gardening, scrapbooking, making my own clothing, and quilting.

We waved flags and marched in parades.
We worshipped God and valued integrity.
We gathered as a family and listened to stories about our ancestors while drinking lemonade and eating homemade ice cream.
We went on picnics, fished, camped and took drives in the car while eating the lunches my mother packed.
I helped my family by doing chores around the house while my mom and dad ran the family business.

This was my life and I continued doing the same during my married life - until 1995. Then, life became complicated when I went to work in the corporate world and I turned to fast food and an even faster life.

I gave up bottling and gardening. I stopped baking and making homemade meals. We stopped gathering as a family around the dinner table, going on picnics, and telling family stories.

This blog is about my journey back to my life - a small-town girl with small-town values. This blog is about slowing my pace and spending time with my family. This blog is about remembering why I used to like to clean my house and cook my food. This blog is about celebrating crafts and hobbies that make me feel warm and cozy.

So far, reporting my actions in the blog has helped, particularly in the cooking front. As I have specifically looked through my massive collection of recipe books, I have found myself excited by the challenge to come up with the quick and inexpensive meals I used to make when my family was young. I have been taking a lot more photographs, making digital scrapbooking layouts, and cleaning my house.

I’ve even come up with a way to allow myself to get a lot done while enjoying myself. (More about that another day...)

Here’s one of the first recipes I shared in the blog. It’s a family favorite and, from what I’m hearing, my readers’ families love it, too!

Here’s the recipe...

Recipe by Ro: Cutting board

Cut about 1/2 cup or 1 cup bacon or ham into small pieces. We usually use turkey bacon or ham. It only takes a few slices.

Recipe by Ro: Onions

Chop up a little onion - we like green onions - and fry with the meat. (I always do this in the pan the soup will be made in. No reason to dirty two pans, I say.)

Recipe by Ro: Cans of corn

Add one can of cream style corn. We usually double the recipe, so we used two. (I have no idea why Andrew got out three cans. I took the photo without thinking about it. I thought I’d clarify this point so I won’t confuse you.)

Add three cups of milk and one cup of mashed potatoes or dried potato flakes. (Potato Buds work, too.) The potato thickens the soup.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat and serve.

Recipe by Ro: Corn Chowder

If you decide to try the soup, let me know how you like it, okay? You can do that here.

Small Town Girl 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!

Important to Know: Retirement Sale

We've just opened a Retirement Sale section of the Boutique. Items in this section are always on sale for 30% off. The items you will find during any particular month will be discontinued permanently on the 5th of the following month. So if you see something you like, grab it while you can!

Digital Scrapbooking Tutorial: Making a Custom Vintage Frame

Note: Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 with Windows Vista.

Have you ever had a photo that just didn’t fit into a premade frame? Sometimes, it is hard to find the perfect frame for square pictures, extra long photos or even a round or oval photo. In this tutorial, I will show you how to use the Dynamic Brush Set: Frames 5001 Mini with the ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Edge It PSE 5001 to create a custom frame to fit any photo.

I will make a frame to fit this oval photo.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial Screenshot: Oval photo.

Make sure your actions and brushes are installed according to the directions.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial Screenshot: Dynamic brush set.

In the Dynamic Brush Set: Frames 5001 Mini, you have three options for frame types. You can choose a scalloped edge, a deckled edge or a rounded corner look. They don’t look like frames until they are drawn around an object.

To get a deckled edge, you will select the deckled edge brush. With the photo layer selected, you can resize your brush to the appropriate size for the photo. The actual frame will be half the size of the brush and it will go all the way around the photo. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the very first time. You can easily erase the frame and start over.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial Screenshot: Marching ants.

To run the action, you will need to direct select your photo so that the marching ants can be seen around your photo. The easiest way to do this is to hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click the thumbnail of your layer on the Layers Palette. Once you see the marching ants, you are ready to start your action.

Digital Scrapbook Tutorial Screenshot: Run action.

Go to the action in the Effects Palette and click on the “Exterior” action. This will cause the brush to move around your photo, creating a frame, and it will cut out the part in the middle, creating a smooth edge on the inside of the photo frame. When the action is complete, you will see your new frame layer on your Layers Palette. I made my frame in black because I like to apply a paper type layer style to my frame at this point. For this layout, I use ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Aged Folds 5001 for my frame.

Your frame is now complete. Because the frame is created on a new layer, it is easy to delete if you don’t like the look and want to try again. Now you are ready to make frames for your digital scrapbooking layouts for any photo of any shape or size.

Digital scrapbook layout by Melissa Renfro

Layout by Melissa Renfro
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Commercial license versions of Dynamic Brush Set: Frames 5001 Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Edge It PSE 5001, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Aged Folds 5001, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Magnetic Poetry 5001, Lettering Delights Timely Font and Lettering Delights Debonaire Font are also available.

Melissa Renfro

Tutorial written by Melissa Renfro

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

High Noon Crop
Wednesday, April 8th - 12:00Noon ET

Join your guest host April Showers each Wednesday at Noon ET for a fun chat and crop. 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 April 8th, we'll do a pastel challenge! Create a layout using pastels! You'll have one hour to create a humorous layout, and upload to the special High Noon Crop gallery. You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour! We hope you'll join us!

Journaling Chat
Wednesday, April 8th - 8:00PM ET

Join Becca and angelaNussbaum for the Journaling chat at 8pm ET. Are most of your layouts decorative? Do you have stories to tell, but 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?

ScrapGirls 52 Chat
Thursday, April 9th - 8:00PM ET

Calling all SG 52 participants and anyone else who wants to join in or learn more about it! Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Becca at 8pm ET (that�s 5pm for those of you on the west coast!) for this month’s Scrap Girls 52 Chat. We’ll discuss more ways to keep this challenge fresh and fun, as well as a list of products in the boutique to help your layouts come together with this month’s theme “Learning” in mind. It’s never too late to join, so we hope to see you there!

Sketch Challenge & Crop
Thursday, April 9th - 9:00PM ET

Join Marnie (sprinklz) for the Sketch Challenge and Crop at 9pm ET in the Scrap Girls Chat Room! Like getting a little jump start on your layouts? Then this challenge is for you! A few hours before the challenge begins, I’ll post a sketch for you to use as the starting point for your page. You can be inspired by the basic arrangement, the amount of photos, or copy it literally. All interpretations are welcome and encouraged! Looking forward to seeing you there!

What's New Chat
Friday, April 10th- 11:00AM ET

Join Michelle (Shelbi) and Sherry_Lynn at 11am ET 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 Challenge & Chat
Monday, April 13th- 9:00PM Australian Eastern Standard Time

Please come join Karen (kazbar73) and Jo (ScrappingJo) at 9pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Monday 13 April for the Colour Challenge Crop. Keep an eye on the boards on Sunday 12 April for the Colour Challenge. Create a layout and come along and chat with us about your creation on Monday night. For our International ladies, the chat will be on at 6am New York time.

Baby Album Crop
Tuesday, April 14th- 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 us, Carla (CRS) and Shari (Shari PV Mom) in the chat room at 1pm 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. This month, we challenge you to create a layout about your child’s first word(s) or phrase!

ScrapSimple Club Chat
Tuesday, April 14th- 4:30PM ET

We know everyone is excited for the new ScrapSimple Club to come out April 15th. Join Sherry_Lynn at 4:30pm ET for a ScrapSimple Club Chat! We’ll be discussing ideas on different ways to use the current club. As a challenge, let’s create one more layout using March’s ScrapSimple Club before the next one arrives. March Club Designers Melissa Renfro (LissaD) & Mel Johnson will be joining us for this chat! It’s sure to be a blast! Hope to see you there!

New Member Chat
Tuesday, April 14th- 9:00PM ET

Join Pat (PBarnes) and Carol Ann (Zaz) for the New Member Chat at 9pm 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.

April Events

April Board Game: The Alphabet Hunt

We're taking your ABC game skills to a whole new level this month... and tacking on some prizes as well! This month's message board game is The Alphabet Hunt. Each week we'll give you a theme and a searching task and then set you loose to start building our list in alphabetic order! For each item you correctly add to our alphabetic list in the game thread on the message board, your name will be entered into a drawing which will be held at the end of the month and the TEN winners of the drawing will each win a $5 gift certificate to the ScrapGirls Boutique!

Participation is what counts big this month, so join us on the message board for the detailed rules, weekly specifics and LOTS of fun!

Layout Contests:

April Monthly Layout Contest: With April 1st being April Fools Day we've decided to get Silly. If you have kids or grandkids, or even spouses, that like to mug for the camera, then you have what you need to do a layout for the April Monthly Layout Contest with the theme of Silly Faces. You could win a $10 gift certificate to the boutique if your layout is chosen! Just post your layouts in the April Monthly Layout Gallery before April 30th at Midnight ET and you will be eligible to win! Be sure to include the credits for items used in the description area or under the Details tab.

March Mid-Month Layout Contest: Time marches on in our lives. Scrapbooking gives us a way to track that time. For the mid-month layout contest, we want you to create a layout that shows a timeline of events or a then-and-now contrast. Post your Timeline layouts in the Mid-March Layout Contest Gallery before April 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

Digital scrapbook layout by Amy Flanagan

Layout by Amy Flanagan
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Designer Freebie by Marnie Adams coordinates with her Jelly Beans Collection Biggie




Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Oil Slick 6401 Super Biggie, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Shapely, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Lifted Photos 2 Biggie, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Artsy - Watercolor 1 and AMC_Happy 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