I've scaled back on my computer time because I thought it was consuming me... So, I picked up the vacuum cleaner and let it suck up all dirt around my house. That's what I do when I'm having one of my reflective moments. I like to drown the noise inside my head with the actual whir of the vacuum cleaner. I've also started to whittle down the clutter in each room while I muse on existential questions such as, why do I have so much stuff? Why do I hang onto it? Do I think it will generate a life of its own?

Yesterday was the first day that the sun did not beat down on my favorite spot in my backyard. Consequently, I went out for a spell and weeded the jade plants that have been growing fat leaves - oh, so profusely - in their yellow, ceramic pots all summer long. A thought suddenly hit me... I realized I grow them because Dad grew them in little, clay pots when he lived with Melle in San Jose. Then I thought about the last time I visited Aixa in Boston... we started five spears of jade trees in a pot for her sun porch. She tells me they're doing well. What goes around comes around.

My contemplative mood brought me to a spot I've been before and remember well, yet have not been in awhile. Contrary to my effusive, boisterous persona, I am really an introvert. It's the ying-yang of my Gemini personality. It feeds my soul when I go to this spot. It is my still point.

Today, I am neither here nor there. I am at my still point. I can see forever.

- Elizabeth Almonte

Layout by Elizabeth Almonte
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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.

Just a reminder: Ro is running a contest in her blog that ends on August 25th.

One grand prize winner will receive a Logitech Webcam Pro 9000.


Two runner-up winners will receive a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique.


To enter, add a comment to the contest post in Ro's blog. It will be pinned to the top of the blog so that you can see it easily.


In your comment, complete this statement to enter the contest:

If I was ruler of the world and could change at least one thing about digital scrapbooking, I would...
The winner will be announced in Ro's blog so you will need to check back with it to see if you won. The easiest way to do this is to sign up for either the RSS feed or the email alerts.


For complete details, please visit Ro's blog.

Scrap Girls is looking for qualified digital scrapbooking teachers to teach online Photoshop and/or Photoshop Elements classes.

The position involves:

Developing interesting and creative classes
Creating detailed PDFs for each class using either Adobe's InDesign or Serif’s Page Plus
Timely interaction with students in both chat room and forum situations
Providing kind and constructive feedback on student gallery homework
Timely and consistent creation and scheduling of classes

Candidates should have the following skill sets:

Comprehensive knowledge of Photoshop and/or Photoshop Elements - ability to easily handle questions that arise regarding their particular software area of expertise.
Excellent layout design ability
Attention to detail is a must
Excellent communication skills
Ability to handle fast-paced chat room situations
Warm and friendly personality

Applicants will be required to audition for this paid position using a class that they've developed.

Please contact Jan Hicks at [email protected] if you would like more information.

If you are interested in applying, please forward an up-to-date resume as well as a sample tutorial you have written to Jan at [email protected] and Brandie Valenzuela at [email protected]. Please include a link to your online gallery showing a sample of your layout designs.

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 Kim Meeder using August's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Keri Schueller and Cherise Oleson

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!

Thanks for the opportunity to provide feedback about my experience with Scrap Girls. I had a GREAT experience and wanted to answer your questions specifically.

Did you have any problems that needed addressing that we didn't help you with at the time? No, I didn't. In fact, it was exactly the opposite. I had questions regarding buying commercial licenses to do a project for our parent/teacher organization. I sent an email and thought I'd hear back in a couple of days. I got a response THE SAME DAY! That's awesome. Angie Briggs answered my questions completely and allowed me to make the right purchases for both my commercial project and my own personal use.

Do you have any questions that we can help you with now? I think that the tutorials you send with product purchase are very, very helpful. I know that they guided this novice through the process well. I'm having so much fun playing with the products that my project almost doesn't seem like a project anymore!

Are you satisfied with the products you received as a result of your order with Scrap Girls? Absolutely. The directions are clear and easy to follow. The products themselves are well designed and coordinated.

Thank you again for a great product and great customer service! Also, the free try-it pack (Refresh, I think) is brilliant! It allowed me to check things out first and that really helped. That was Angie's suggestion to me, too. She's a smart woman!

Yes, everything is better than expected. I purchased your videos, Secrets for PSE6, and I am delighted. Simple, clear and I have learned so much. It was my second "beginner" class, but this one goes far beyond the basics. Previously, I was afraid to add drop shadows because they looked so fake. Your lesson gave me confidence to trust my eye and the skill to do it right.

Thanks for all the cool freebies you send daily in the newsletter. I love the tutorials and the "one-technique-I-used" information, too. I have become a big fan of Scrap Girls.

Thanks for such a great reminder for us to be thankful for what God has given us. So often we just keep thinking that if we just had one more thing we would have everything we need - and then that is repeated over and over. In cleaning out a closet, I have found several of those things that I had forgotten I even had. Each day, I look forward to reading the muses and I especially love Ro's.

Since you changed your newsletter format (I guess it is almost a couple of months now) I've wanted to write and say thanks and tell you how great it looks and how much easier it is to read. I really enjoy your site and newsletter, even if I don't participate much. The newsletter still provides a super morning read and I love how thought-provoking the new techniques, layouts and muses can be.

I hesitated to send this e-mail to you. With all of your CEO responsibilities, plus trying to just live life, you certainly don't need more stuff in your inbox. But, a thank-you always should be expressed and you deserve a humongous one.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for the new transcripts of the PSE 6 tutorials. Yesterday, I started to go back through all of the videos and make my own extensive notes. It's a slow process for me to learn PSE, but I'm determined. I take one step forward and then my forgetfulness takes me two steps back. You have solved this problem for me in one miraculous download. Having the transcripts to refer to when learning PSE will make all the difference.

Thank you for Scrap Girls and for knowing that a PDF file of your lessons was just what your students would need to help them finally "get it."

Weekly Layout Winners

Layout by Katie Mac
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Photo Clusters 3 and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Butterflies are also available.

Layout by dorasinger
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Fancy Folds 4 and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Ribbon Wraps are also available.

Want to see your layouts make an appearance in the Scrap Girls newsletters?

Simply post your digital or paper layouts that use Scrap Girls products in our online gallery, and if we choose your layout to be featured in the newsletter, you'll win a prize! To be considered, don't forget to list the Scrap Girls products that you used in your layout.

Congratulations to this week's selectees. Please email [email protected] to get your gift!

Want to see past winners of the Weekly Layout Contest? Visit the Weekly Layout Winners gallery on our message board here!

July's Mid-Monthly Layout Winner

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"Old Fashioned Fun" by Bobbi Jo
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Edge It 5001 and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Well Loved 5001, are also available.

Congratulations to Bobbi Jo for winning the Mid-July Layout Contest. Bobbi's fun layout did an excellent job fitting the theme of scrapping your favorite vacation photos. Bobbi receives a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique for her efforts. Congratulations!

Want to see past winners of the Monthly Layout Contest? Visit the Monthly Layout Winners gallery on our message board here!

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.

Colour (me) Creative eBook with 36 color swatches

Scrapbooking 911 - 20 Sketches to Revitalize Your Digital Scrapbooking - Book 4

Scrap Girls Tutorials & Way Cool Stuff eBook Set
2009 - 2nd Quarter

Start to Finish eBooklets

Start to Finish eBooklet - PS: How to use ScrapSimple Tools: Custom Shapes & Patterns

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 Jan Hicks coordinates with her ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Summer Borders

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Summer Borders, Dynamic Brush Set: Stitching 6401, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Curled Edges, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Deep Shadows 6501 PSE and PS Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Curled Edges Shadows 3201 and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Sew Doodly Biggie 3201 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

ATC Swap Crop
Sunday, August 23rd - 1:00PM MT

Please join Sherry_Lynn in the chatroom for our August ATC (Artist Trading Card) Swap Crop/Chat on Sunday, August 23rd at 1pm Mountain Time.

Aussie Chat & Challenge
Monday, August 24th - 9:00PM Australian Eastern Standard Time

Come join Jo (scrappingjo) and Karen (kazbar73) for our next edition of the Aussie Chat & Challenge. This week's challenge is to search the gallery for a layout that stands out for you and then scraplift it. Of course, you will need to give credit to the orignal creator of that layout. Come along on Monday 24 August at 9pm Australian Eastern Standard Time and show us your scraplifted layout. For our international ladies, the Chat will be on Monday 24 August at 7am New York time.

Life Moments Chat
Tuesday, August 25th - 2:00PM MT

These crops are about building a scrapbook all about you, one layout at a time. Did you have a favorite teacher or someone else who made an impact on your childhood or teen years? Write down your stories, find some pictures and join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and April Showers for the Life Moments Chat and Crop on Tuesday, August 25th at 2pm Mountain Time.

New Member Chat
Tuesday, August 25th - 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. You do need to have Java installed on your computer to access the Live Chat.

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, August 26th - 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! On August 26th, we'll do a "Clean Lines" Challenge. Create a layout - any topic, theme or color - using clean lines! You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour! We hope you'll join us!

Journaling Challenge
Wednesday, August 26th - 6:00PM MT

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

Desktop Challenge Crop
Thursday, August 27th - 6:00PM MT

Are you bored with the simple backgrounds that your PC or MAC came with? Want to learn more about using your Scrap Girls products to make exciting and colorful new desktop wallpapers? Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Becca at 6pm MT for this month's Desktop Challenge Crop. A few hours before chat time, we'll give you some details on how to get started, plus a technique challenge and a theme for an extra dose of motivation!

Ad Inspiration Challenge
Thursday, August 27th - 7:00PM MT

Join Pat (PBarnes) at 7pm Mountain Time for an Ad Inspiration 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!

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!

August Mid-Month Layout Contest: Everybody loves dogs – right? For the August Mid-month Challenge we want you to scrap photos of your dog(s) – current or past. Not a dog person? Then you can scrap your photos of your cat or any other pet. Create your layout and post it in the August Mid-Month Layout Contest Gallery by Midnight MT on September 15th. 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!

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.)