Ro Paxman

Crumb Counting

Gooey frosting stuck to the knife as my mother sliced through the remainder of the cake. There would be two pieces when she had finished her work and we waited to see which one would be ours.

My brother, his eyes barely peeking over the counter, pointed at the larger piece. "That one is mine!"

"Is not!" I retorted.

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is too."

My mother, acting as if she hadn't heard our bantering, placed the cake on two dessert plates and handed them to us with a remark about them being the same size.

I can't remember who ended up with the larger piece that day and it doesn't matter who did. But, there is always a larger piece, even if it is only one crumb bigger. Nothing in this life is exactly even, equal or the same size.

God doesn't hand out the same gift to each of us. We each have unique talents, blessings, opportunities, personalities and experiences. As a result, we end up with different piles of goodies.

That's life. It happens. We will never have every good thing we see other people enjoying and it is impossible for a single individual to have every good gift.

We know this in our hearts, right? And yet, we keep crumb counting...

She is prettier than I am.
Their children are more successful than mine are.
His house is bigger than my house.
I am being left out of the group that goes to lunch together every Tuesday.

Crumb counting.

Crumb counting leads to envy and the problem with envy is that it destroys the one thing that can make us feel truly happy in this life: thankfulness.

Crumb counting makes us feel afraid, left out, not good enough, and as if we lack something that is causing us to "get what they have." We feel jealous and many poor choices (such as unkind words or unethical behavior) are self-justified because jealousy has blinded our hearts. We fail to see that when we are grateful for the crumbs we have been blessed with and use them wisely, God tends to bless us with more crumbs. We don't have to worry one bit about it.

So, why don't we pull ourselves up to the table, pour a glass of milk, and enjoy the dessert that life has placed on our tables.

What flavor of cake do you have? Mine's chocolate.

- Ro

P.S. Here is the chocolate cake that threatens to send me into crumb counting frenzy. Andrew is the creator of this madness, as aided by the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa container. He's at college now. No more chocolate cake unless I make it myself.

Sigh...

Layout by Ro
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Lace Doodles 1, Brush Set: Digital Fancy Corners 1 and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Leather 4901 are also available.

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 Valerie Randall using August's Scrap Girls Club
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Created for you by Valerie Randall

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!

Scrap Girls Convention 2009 - Digital Scrap Link (Connections Live)

Welcome to Penny, known as pennynoel on the message board! We sat down with her to ask her questions regarding her experience from the 2008 Scrap Girls Convention and her excitement for 2009!

Tell about one thing that you learned at the 2008 convention:

Amanda McGee taught us how to make our own digital printed paper!

Did something make you laugh?

A lot of things made me laugh, but the team rap was especially hysterical! And this shirt worn by Amy's (mimes1) DH was a crack-up!

And this girl is pretty funny, too!

Food! What was your favorite dish or snack - besides the necessary Scrap Girls staple of chocolate?

I thought the food was really good! Even the box lunch for the field trip was gourmet! I think my favorite would be the veggie wrap that was made by the catering company. All the food was very flavorful and yummy!

Did you bring or wear purple?

Yes, I had found some really cute purple t-shirts at Old Navy that were a bargain price, and I wore one each day with my jeans.

What is your favorite memory from the 2008 convention?

I live in California - so when it started snowing, I went kind of crazy with delight!

Why are you excited about attending the 2009 convention?

I love digi-scrapping, and I never want to miss an opportunity to spend time with the fun & crazy girls that share my passion!

Do you have a favorite photo or layout you would like to share from the 2008 convention?

There was a message board challenge awhile back to pay tribute to Ro, and I made a layout from my convention photos. Caroline (Peppi) took the group picture standing on a table. It was all such a blast! And Ro featured it in her blog and I won a prize; that was such a wonderful surprise!

What advice do you have for people who are not sure about attending the convention this year?

If you are able to attend, you won't regret it. It is a really special event and the friendships that are formed will last a lifetime! I'll continue to come every year that Scrap Girls hold it! It's just so much fun!

Layout by Trish Yochum
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Want to share your memories from the Scrap Girls 2008 Convention?
Click hereto visit the message board and find out how!

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 Melanie Johnson
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Designer Freebie by Melanie Johnson coordinates with
her ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 8x8 Photo Calendar 2010

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 8x8 Photo Calendar 2010 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

New Member Chat
Tuesday, August 11th - 7:00PM MT

Join Pat (PBarnes) and Carol Ann (Zaz) for the New Member Chat at 7pm Mountain Time 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.

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, August 12th - 10:00AM MT

Join your guest host April Showers for the East Coast High Noon Crop every Wednesday at 10am Mountain 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! You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour! We hope you'll join us!

Journaling Chat
Wednesday, August 12th - 6:00PM MT

Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Becca for a Journaling Chat at 6pm Mountain Time. 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!

Sketch Challenge Crop
Thursday, August 13th - 7:00PM MT

Join Marnie (sprinklz) for the Sketch Challenge Crop at 7pm Mountain Time 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, Marnie will 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!

What's New Chat
Friday, August 14th - 9:00AM MT

Join Michelle (Shelbi) and Sherry Lynn at 9am Mountain Time 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!

ScrapSimple Club Chat
Friday, August 14th - 1:00PM MT

We know everyone is excited for the new ScrapSimple Club to come out August 15th. Join Sherry_Lynn on August 14th at 1pm Mountain Time for a ScrapSimple Club Chat and Crop! We'll be discussing ideas on different ways to use the current club. As a challenge, let's create one more layout using July's ScrapSimple Club before the next one arrives. One of July Club Designers, Theresa Kavouras (wxchic), will be joining us for this chat!

Recipe Card Swap Crop
Saturday, August 15th - 8:00PM MT

Please join Danna (scrappylibrarian) and April Showers in the chat room for our Monthly Recipe Swap chat at 8pm Mountain Time. Please check the message board on Thursday, August 13th for this month's theme!

UFO Chat & Crop
Sunday, August 16th - 1:00PM MT

Please join Sherry_Lynn and special guest co-hostess Janine Buckles (J9Buckles) from our Layout Artist Team in the chatroom. Let's complete or revamp some of those layouts that are sitting in your "Layouts to be Completed" folder. Post your layout in the UFO Gallery and meet us in the Lobby at 1pm Mountain Time to get some inspirational suggestions from our incredible professionals here at Scrap Girls!

AUGUST EVENTS

August Message Board Game: Embellishment Hunters!

Calling all adventurous souls! Join us for the August Message Board game - Embellishment Hunters! This month, we're playing an old game with a new twist and hope you'll join us for fun and of course... prizes!

Your task is simple! Imagine a dartboard with 100 targets. To find the target hiding the embellishment of the day, simply guess a number between 1 and 100. The first person to guess the correct number is the daily winner and will be showered with applause and will proudly enjoy bragging rights PLUS the possibility of prizes at the end of the month!

All daily winners will be included in a month-end drawing with prizes including one $10 gift certificate and five $5 gift certificates to the Scrap Girls Boutique! Visit the Monthly Message Board Games Forum on the message board for specific rules and instructions about game play.

Layout Contests:

August Monthly Layout Contest: Be cool! Since we're in the middle of summer here in the U.S., thoughts of staying cool are at the forefront. For the August Challenge, we want you to scrap your photos of your favorite ways to stay cool during the hot summer months. Create your layout and post it in the August Layout Contest Gallery before Midnight MT on August 31st. Be sure to list your credits in the description or under the details tab. If your layout is chosen, you will win a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

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 MT 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 Mountain Time Zone unless otherwise noted. Need help converting time zones? Check out the World Clock - Time Zone Converter. (Use 'USA-Utah-Salt Lake City' as the location for the Mountain time zone.)