Ro Paxman

The Wild River Rages

Children rebel. The wild river rages.
Good jobs have gone. The wide river rages.
Illnesses come. Marriages break.
Possessions get old. Friendships are lost.

The river, the river, the river it rages. The river it rages and cries.

The current moves faster, deadly with anger.
The water gets higher, darker, and deep.
It washes its temper. The frenzy is frightening.
The willows bend over and weep.

The river, the river, the river it rages. The river it rages and cries.

But, over the river stands tall, steady oak trees.
And rippling fields stretch out far.
Homes on the hillside look down on the river
And twinkle like Bethlehem’s star.

Calm can be found above the wild river, in houses where small children sleep.
They dream of a new day with teasing and laughter
And floating on rafts in the deep.

The river, the river, the river it ripples. The river it ripples and sighs.

After the storm passes, calm returns. Always.

So, please... if you are currently sitting in a tiny boat being tossed about in a wild river, keep paddling, okay? Eventually, you’ll arrive on the other side of it. The storm will end and then you will be able to climb into a warm bed with cocoa and a good book... and rest.

All the best to you,

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.

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 Trish Yochum using July's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Trish Yochum and Theresa Kavouras

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!

Gardening

I found 625 pictures of our garden on my laptop. Over 2GB of memory devoted to the one outdoor activity that I would call my passion and it seems like an appropriate use of hard drive space, considering the amount of time I spend in it!

Creating layouts of gardens can be a real challenge since there aren't usually any people in garden photos... just plants and the odd furry or feathered creature. Still, I photograph my gardens because they represent time spent on something I enjoy. I then create layouts to showcase the beauty I see.

There are several gorgeous collections designed specifically with a garden theme. Here is a list of just a few of them:

A Gardener's Diary Collection
Beaute Botanique Collection Biggie
Country Garden Collection Biggie
Garden Plot Collection Mini
Greenhouse Collection
Handpainted Flowers Collection Mini
Poppy Passion Collection Mini
Victorian Garden Collection Biggie

Here are some products that, while not all specifically garden themed, would be fun to use. Think fences, gates etc.:

Brush Set: Le Jardin
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Wrought Iron
Young At Heart Collection Biggie
Touches of Mexico Collection
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: House and Home

Achieve the look and feel of peeking into a secret garden with borders and floral overlays. Place a border along the bottom of your layout, add color or clip papers to it, then tuck a large photo on the layer beneath it, add an overlay or a window and... instant secret garden!

ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Borderline
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Borderline 2
ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Flower Garden 1
ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Flower Garden 2
ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Flower Garden 3
The View Embellishments
Take Wing Collection Biggie
Tuscan Dream Collection
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Windowpane Frames

Want to add a tree to your garden? You can do that, too!

ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Go Green
ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Greenhouse
ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Family Branch
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: A New Leaf
Brush Set: Naturescape

Look at these awesome alphas I found! They would add a great finishing touch to your title.

ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Ornate Leaf
Go Green Collection
Brush Set: Spread Joy Lowercase Alpha Biggie
Brush Set: Spread Joy Alpha Biggie
Brush Set: Collage Alphabet Biggie

These would be cute to use as garden markers:

ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Directional
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Journaling Highlighters Biggie
ScrapSimple Layer Your Own Brushes: Point Tabs
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Labels

Don't forget the gardener's journal!

Journaling Paper Biggie
ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Life Journals

There are so many things available for garden layouts that I've barely scratched the surface before I've run out of space for this article. Search through the wedding and Mother's Day themed collections and you'll find even more inspiration. Oh and you still need bugs, butterflies, bees and sunshine! Don't worry, just search for them and you'll see that they are flying and crawling all over the boutique!

Now, let's see your gardens... big or small, there is beauty in them all.

Layout by Janine Buckles
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Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Garden Plot 8301 Biggie, Brush Set: Spread Joy Alpha Biggie, Brush Set: Spread Joy Lowercase Alpha Biggie, Dynamic Brush Set: Stitching 6401, Dynamic Brush Set: Textured 8201, Brush Set: Edgy LINES, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Spackling, ScrapSimple Layer Your Own Brushes: Fragments, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Edge It PSE 5001, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Stitching And Holes 4102, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Well Loved 5001, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Basic Shadows 6501, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Deep Shadows 6501 PSE and PS Biggie and Lettering Delights Becca Font are also available.

Article written by Janine Buckles

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!

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 Janine Buckles
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Designer Freebie by Jacelen Deinema coordinates with her Watercolor Spring Collection

* 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

New Member Chat - Early Edition
Tuesday, July 21st - 3:00PM ET

Join April (April Showers) at 3pm ET for a fun chat to get to know our newest members. We will discuss the message board, gallery, chocolate and so much more! Everyone is welcome, new or not so new! Not sure how to get there? Just click the "chat room" button at the top of this newsletter; you will need JavaScript enabled to access the chat room.

Musing about Life with Ro
Tuesday, July 21st - 9:00PM ET

As you might be able to tell by now, I spend a great deal of time thinking about how I can become a better person. (Thus the muses...) I hear from a lot of you that you feel we have a lot in common because you recognize the circumstances or emotion I am expressing. I thought it may be nice for us to get together once a month and lift each other.

This will be a private chat so that we can share our feelings, hopes, dreams, and more with each other in a safe way. If you would like to come, send me a private message on the board and I'll give you the room name and the password. Just send the message to Ro.

High Noon Crop
Wednesday, July 22nd - 12:00Noon ET

Join your guest host April Showers for the High Noon Crop every Wednesday at Noon ET. 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 July 22nd we'll do a Circle Challenge! Create a layout using at least one circle. Anything goes! You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour! We hope you'll join us!

Journaling Chat
Wednesday, July 22nd - 8:00PM ET

Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Becca for a Journaling Chat at 8pm ET. Struggle to find the right words for your layouts? Are your layouts more decorative than descriptive of the moments you're trying to capture? Then you won't want to miss this chat - we'll have a special challenge to encourage you to journal on your pages more! See you there!

NSBR Chat - Early Edition
Thursday, July 23rd - 4:00PM ET

What is NSBR? It's a non-scrapbooking related chat! We talk about everything, including some scrapbooking and usually chocolate. It's a great chance to meet new friends, catch up on what everyone is up to, and just relax! If you have a problem, we'll lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on. Have some great news to share? We'd love to celebrate with you. Join Michelle (Shelbi) and Shari (Shari PV Mom) at 4pm ET in the chat room lobby! Hope to see you there!

Ad Inspiration Chat
Thursday, July 23rd - 9:00PM ET

Join Pat (PBarnes) on Thursday, July 23 at 9pm ET for an Ad Challenge and Chat. A few hours before the chat, a magazine ad will be posted on the message board to use as inspiration for a layout. You can use whatever you want to from the ad - the colors, the shapes, the composition. There are no wrong answers!

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.

July Mid-Month Layout Contest: Ah, vacations! They're so relaxing and fun, but can be expensive, too. For the Mid-July Layout Contest, we want to see your layouts featuring your vacation or staycation photos! If you don't have any vacation plans, what will you do instead? Scrap those plans! Post you layouts in the Mid-July Monthly Layout Gallery before August 15th at Midnight, EDT and you could 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.)