Note from Ro: Even though I’ve worked with the Scrap Girls designers for five years, I am still astonished at their creativity. Brandy, I wouldn’t have thought of this in a trillion years. (A million sounds so small now...)

Brandy Murry

It’s always fun to think of new ways to use our digital scrapbooking products. After all, we can use them over and over again. I had some of those large candle jar lids hanging around the house and I was about to throw them away when a light bulb went off... Hey, I think I can use these!

I made myself a souvenir from a trip to Tybee Island with Jeroen just to try out the idea and then made a Christmas gift for my neighbor at the time, Joyce.

Here’s how you do it:

First, create the circle that will be adhered to the bottom of the jar lid.


Measure the lid. Of the two I had, both seem to be 3.5 inches wide. The space for the interior is 1.75 inches wide.


I create circles in those dimensions to use as clipping masks for my papers and pictures. Then, attach embellishments and photos and print them on 4x6 photo paper.


After allowing the photo to dry, spray a clear-coat of acrylic to set the photo and keep it from smearing.


Wash the lids and remove the plastic stopper with an X-acto knife.


Once the printout is dry, cut the circles out and use them as a template for cutting the felt. Apply Mod Podge to the bottom of the glass lid and position the mini circle layout so that it can be seen through the glass. You get a really nice effect because the glass jar’s edges act like a magnifying glass!


Allow that to set for about an hour. Gather up beads, ribbon, tags and stickers to decorate the lid. Finally, glue the felt to the bottom of the jar lid and decorate it.

It gives me a lot of joy to give personal gifts. These can be used as paperweights, ring holders or for storing small things such as paperclips on a loved one’s desk. They can be further personalized using alphas for initials. They could be great gifts for teachers or even a great Mother’s or Father’s Day gift.

- Brandy

Project by Brandy Murry

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Glittered Gelly 6401 Super Biggie are also available.

Other Ingredients: Glass Candle Jar Lids, Mod Podge, Tags, Ribbons and Beads, X-acto Knife, 4x6 Photo Paper, Clear Acrylic Spray, Printer.

SCRAP GIRLS CLUB

Join the Scrap Girls Monthly Club and you can have fun with the newest traditional digital and printable scrapbooking looks while saving! (A $27.94 value for $9.99 or less!)

The Scrap Girls Club contents are released on the 1st day of the month (or the closest business day to the 1st).

With the Scrap Girls Club, you will receive:

1 Collection Biggie
1 Paper Super Mini
1 8.5x11 Sheet of Word Art
1 Embellishment Set
1 Assemble Your Own Zoom Page Set
1 Designer's Choice Item

Layout by Brandy Murry using July's Scrap Girls Club
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Created for you by Brandy Murry

If you prefer not to join a club, the Scrap Girls club contents are available at regular prices in the Boutique. You can easily find them right now by checking the What's New? section of the Boutique.

Note: The Scrap Girls Club contents are always available for sale elsewhere in the Boutique at their regular prices once the associated club month is released. But all club contents are totally brand new, never seen before product releases for each month!

SCRAPSIMPLE CLUB

Join the ScrapSimple Monthly Club and you can enjoy the newest ScrapSimple looks while saving! (A $13.95 value for $6.99 or less!)

The new ScrapSimple Club contents are released on the 15th day of the month (or the closest business day to the 15th).

With the ScrapSimple Club, you will receive:

1 ScrapSimple Paper Template Set
1 ScrapSimple Embellishment or Word Art Template Set
1 Brush Set
2 Designer's Choice Items

A commercially licensed version of the ScrapSimple club is also available here.

Layout by Laurel Lakey using June's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Paula Wright and Syndee Nuckles

If you prefer not to join a club, the ScrapSimple club contents are available at regular prices in the Boutique. You can easily find them right now by checking the What's New? section of the Boutique.

Note: The ScrapSimple Club contents are always available for sale in the Boutique at regular prices once the associated club month is released. But all club contents are totally brand new, never-seen-before product releases for each month!

Easy Pages

What are your first thoughts when you hear the words, “Easy Page?” Is it too easy? How about cheating? Or, maybe, no challenge? Well, I cringe to admit that those were some of my first thoughts... emphasis on the word “were!” A little investigating has changed my mind set. By the end of this article, I hope to change any misconceptions you may have and make an Easy Page true believer out of you, too!

Chances are you already have several Easy Pages in your digital scrapbooking stash - especially if you are a Scrap Girls Monthly Club member. But, if you don’t, you will find an entire section in the boutique devoted to Easy Pages. In these boutique aisles, you will find Easy Page albums, Easy Page calendars, Easy Page photo cards and Easy Page digital layouts.

If your life is anything like mine, it is filled with special occasions that require last minute gifts. Easy Pages to the rescue! Need a quick bridal shower gift? How about Amanda McGee’s Easy Page Pro Album: 8x8 Cherry Kitchen Cookbook? Want to give a special first birthday gift? Look no further than Brandy Murry’s Easy Page Pro Album: Baby Chronicles. Would you like to get a head start on holiday gifts? Keri Schueller’s Easy Page Album: 4x6 Holiday Time or Amanda Sok’s Easy Page Pro Album: Glitzy Christmas Mini Tag would be just perfect. Are you celebrating a special friendship or trying to cheer up someone? Ariadna Wiczling’s Easy Page Pro Album: CD - Fleeting Moments should do the trick. Weddings? Children? Vacations? Graduations? Rest assured, you will find an Easy Page album to fit any occasion, subject or theme.

Easy Pages are also economical. Unfortunately, I’ve had to tighten my belt during the past several months. Single page layouts are an incredible value. By purchasing a single Easy Page layout at less than $2.00, I am able to enjoy a new collection without buying the entire collection.

Lastly, what about those lingering thoughts you might have that an Easy Page will limit your creativity or make you feel that you have not created the layout? Push those thoughts aside and own it! Use a photo you may not have had time to scrap. Try a new design style that you haven’t tried before. Or, concentrate on journaling thoughts and feelings without even having to think about the design aspects of the layout. You’ll find that Easy Pages will expand your horizons, rather than limit you.

I chose to do a layout highlighting a photo from my daughter’s wedding that I probably wouldn’t have thought to scrap. In this case, I added some strokes to the photo, a thought bubble, title and border. I love the speed with which I was able to complete this layout. I challenge you to use an Easy Page in your next layout or project. An Easy Page will have you finished in two shakes of a monkey’s tail... a little boutique humor!

Layout by Kim Meeder
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Old Chipboard are also available.

Article written by Kim Meeder

FREE STARTER KIT

Free eBook "starter kit" turns your dreams of digital scrapbooking into reality today!

This dynamite eBook is 65 pages - packed full of the information, ideas, and help people need when they are about to dive into this great hobby. It answers all of the important questions new digital scrapbookers have. They are all here for you - in one easy to use eBook!

Bonus! Download the free "Warning" Label, too. It was created for you by Valerie Randall as a little bit of extra fun!

Would you like a chance to try digital scrapbooking yourself?

Scrap Girls' Refresh Collection Biggie offers you free samples of some of our most popular product types. Try making a layout, your own paper with a ScrapSimple Paper Template, a fast layout with a ScrapSimple Digital Layout Template, or experiment with a brush.

We know you'll love digital scrapbooking as much as we do, and we have thousands of products to feed your new addiction!

Ready to Take Off? In-depth Tutorials Help You Become a Great Digital Scrapbooker

Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed!

NEWlY UPDATED! Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop CS4, CS3, CS2, and CS
NEWlY UPDATED! Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop Elements 6.0 and 7.0*
Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Paint Shop Pro X (XI)

(*Have Photoshop Elements 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0? We have a tutorial program that will work for you. Please visit the product details page for more information.)

Find out what tens of thousands of people have already learned: Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed is the fastest way to learn how to create digital scrapbooking layouts. And because this series covers so many topics with one purchase, it is a bargain!

No wonder tens of thousands of people have chosen Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed as their method of learning to scrapbook digitally!

In the tutorials, you'll see Ro working on her computer and hear her talking about why she is doing what she is doing. It's like having Ro come to your home and give you private scrapbooking lessons. You can create digital scrapbooking layouts today!

Download and CD versions available.

Photoshop and Photoshop Elements users receive:

30-31 movie tutorials
Companion eBook(s)
Collections
Other supplies

Paint Shop Pro users receive 31 movie tutorials.

MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed!

MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed! for Adobe Photoshop
MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed! for Adobe Photoshop Elements

It's time for you to stop playing catch-up in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and start having a blast creating your own digital scrapbooking supplies! You'll also learn all sorts of tricks that professionals and advanced digital scrapbookers use in their layouts. And because Ro covers so many topics in the series, it is one of the most cost-effective methods of moving your skills to a higher level. Join in with the thousands of digital scrapbookers who have chosen to learn advanced skills from Ro. You'll be happy that you did!

Note: These are NOT beginning tutorials. If you get this training and you have never used Photoshop or Photoshop Elements before, or if you aren't pretty sure of yourself in the software, you are going to be lost. You simply have to understand layers, where things are located, and all of the basic, important skills that Ro teaches in her Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed series before you try to use it.

eBooks

Scrap Girls offers a large catalog of eBooks covering topics that will expand your digital scrapbooking abilities to new heights. Here are just a few samples:

The Virtual Canvas eBook

What happens when you move digital scrapbooking beyond the basic page? What happens when you allow the layout to blur the edges between keepsake and art? The Virtual Canvas: Celebrating The Art of Digital Scrapbooking eBook will provide those answers for you.

Digital Photography Simplified

Colour (me) Creative eBook with 36 color swatches

Scrapbooking 911 - 20 Sketches to Revialize Your Digital

Start to Finish eBooklets

Start to Finish eBooklet - PSE: Making a Just Because Card Using ScrapSimple Card Templates

Nothing could be simpler than learning to scrapbook digitally with Scrap Girls Start to Finish eBooklets. Step by step written guidelines and detailed screenshots will help you learn new digital scrapbooking skills. Included with the eBooklet are the actual digital files you need to create a finished project!

See more titles

Layout by Jan Hicks
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Designer Freebie by Jan Hicks coordinates with her ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Curled Edges

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Curled Edges, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Curled Edges Shadows 3201, Brush Set: Living, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Epoxy 1801 Mini and Lettering Delights Painter's Hand 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.

CROPS AND CHATS

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

Join Michelle (Shelbi) and Sherry Lynn at 11am ET Friday morning to chat about all the cool new things in the boutique. You never know who else is going to show up! 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!

Back-Up Party and Chat
Friday, July 10th - 4:00PM ET

Need a little extra motivation to back-up your layouts and stash? Join April Showers in the chat room Friday July 10th at 4pm ET for a Back-Up Party. We'll also go over several different ways to safeguard your files. You won't want to miss this one!

Recipe Challenge Chat
Saturday, July 11th - 10:00PM ET

Please join Danna (scrappylibrarian) and April (April Showers) for our Monthly Recipe Swap chat at 10pm ET. The theme for the month will be posted on the Message Board on Thursday, July 9 so be sure to watch for it!

Aussie Challenge and Chat
Monday, July 13th - 9:00PM Australian Eastern Standard Time

Please join Jo (scrappingjo) and Karen (kazbar73) on Monday 13 July for our next edition of the Aussie Chat and Challenge. We will meet in the Chat Room Lobby at 9pm Australian Eastern Standard Time for a Quote/Word Art Challenge. Watch the boards on Sunday for the quote, create a layout around this quote and then join us in the chat room. For our International ladies, the chat will start at 7am New York time.

Baby Album Chat
Tuesday, July 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 Carla (CRS) and Shari (Shari PV Mom) in the chat room on Tuesday, July 14th 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. We'll provide an optional challenge each crop for motivation if you want one. This month, let's scrap about the big arrival!

ScrapGirls 52 Chat
Tuesday, July 14th - 8:00PM ET

Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Becca for this month's ScrapGirls 52 Chat at 8pm ET. We'll discuss this month's theme "Relax" and ways to help keep you on track with your SG 52 layouts! See you there!

JULY EVENTS

July Message Board Game: Hide and Seek!

Join us this month on the Message Board for a month long game of “Hide and Seek!” The designers have each chosen their favorite product that they've designed and it's your task to find each one! Every day from July 1-31 a member of the Welcoming Committee will post up a designer's name (or two!) and a clue to their personal favorite product that they've designed. You'll get a special peek into the minds and inspiration of the Scrap Girls designers as you search for their favorites contained in the boutique. When you find the correct product, you'll know it because a special little sunny marker will be waiting for you to let you know “You found it!”

Compile a list of links to the correct products throughout the month and send the list to [email protected] by August 1st at 11:59 p.m. (MST) for your chance to win a prize! Everyone who finds all THIRTY-SEVEN products will have their name added into a drawing for one of seven $5 gift certificates to the Scrap Girls boutique! Happy hunting, enjoy getting to know your designers and HAVE FUN!

Layout Contests:

July Monthly Layout Contest: In the good ole summertime, we see lots of lightning. Summertime also brings out the fun side of friends and family members. For the July Monthly Layout Contest, we want to see your layouts featuring photos of lightning or scrap someone with an electric personality! Post your layouts in the July Monthly Layout Contest Gallery before July 31st at Midnight, EDT. The winning layout will receive a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique! Be sure to include the credits for items used in the description area or under the Details tab.

June Mid-Month Layout Contest: Did you know that June is National Candy Month? To celebrate this wonderful month, we'd like to see layouts inspired by your favorite candy bar! Just post your layouts in the Mid-June Monthly Layout Contest before July 14th at midnight EDT and you will be eligible to win a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique. Be sure to include the credits for items used in the description area or under the Details tab. Good Luck!

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.)