New Lease on Life

Do you always take care of everyone else, putting them first, thinking that your own needs can wait? Well, I do. I have thought this my whole life and it didn't change at all the moment I got married. Each day, I think about how to make my husband's life easier and fun. He works at a job that he hates, but it pays the bills. I stay at home worrying how to pay this and fix that.

Our journey has been 24 fantastic years together, 20 of which we celebrated this past June. We have been able to do things some people dream of... owning a house and taking vacations. Parenting didn't happen. (Not for lack of trying.) We have had the heartaches some people may never have come back from, but we fought and won as a couple.

Just this past weekend, we took a bike ride. It was something fun that turned our lives into turmoil. I didn't have a helmet on and I crashed, suffering injuries to my body and head. At this point, I have to say, please wear those geeky looking things. Seventy-two hours later, my headache wasn't better, it was worse. My memory is bad – I can't remember where my glass of water is. I knew I'd done something horrible and that only I can fix this. Apparently, that's why my husband married me - I'm the best fixer ever. Off to the hospital we go, as I can't drive myself. I did ask for help, almost a first for me.

The bottom line is that I now have this time bomb ticking in my brain commonly called a brain aneurysm. It is a large one that surgeons need to fix and I don't know yet which way it is going to be done.

Yes, I am mad at myself for not wearing the helmet I own, but my message is more important than this. We all say that life is short and to enjoy it, but do we? Do we really sneak the extras for ourselves and put ourselves first? I know I never have. I am not planning on leaving yet, but I need to put me first a few times. Yes, others depend on me for things daily, but so do I. This is my wakeup call. I am listening, God, to all You are telling me, with my heart, soul, eyes and ears, maybe for the first time in my life. This half-glass-full gal is reaching so far into her glass, to bring it up to three-quarters full and leave it there. People will love the new me better than the old one once I'm fixed.

Take the time to count yourself in your daily list of things to do. You matter more than anything in the whole wide world. Even if it means 10 extra minutes in the shower, it's your special time. Take it.

Hugs,

Lynda B.

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 Angie Briggs using September's Scrap Girls Club
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Created for you by Angie Briggs

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 Cherise Oleson 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!

Bamboo Basics for Photoshop & Photoshop Elements

University students have been incredibly busy! Our class offerings continue to grow and students continue to amaze and inspire the entire Scrap Girls team. Here's a peek at what my students have been learning most recently.

In this technique-based class, students learn to customize their graphics tablets to make them more digital scrapbook friendly. We discuss ways to program tablet and pen buttons in order to speed our workflows in Photoshop. Once students successfully customize their tablet settings, we learn to take advantage of those custom settings by pairing them with pressure-sensitive options inside Photoshop. Students practice various techniques for embellishing layouts with their pen tablets, such as stamping, chalking and distressing.

Layout by Tinkerbell11
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Character Borders, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Loose Glitter 6401 Super Biggie, Dynamic Brush Set: Inky 5001, Dynamic Brush Set: Variae Formae 8201, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Sketch It PS 8501 Mini and Dynamic Brush Set: Letterpress 2101 are also available.

Students have great fun pairing Scrap Girls dynamic brush sets with their Wacom tablets. We discuss various ways to accentuate digital scrapbooking layouts with tablet brushwork, such as how to use brushes as erasers to create torn edges, creative borders, and trim.

Layout by gracegirl
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Commercial license versions of Dynamic Brush Set: Inky 5001 and Dynamic Brush Set: Variae Formae 8201 are also available.

If you have a Wacom Bamboo tablet and missed the recent Bamboo Basics for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements online classes, watch the Scrap Girls newsletter for upcoming class schedules.

Happy digi-crafting!

Article written by Katherine Weaver

Weekly Layout Winners

Layout by dustytwos
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Layout by Joyce Schardt
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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!

August's Monthly Layout Winner

Layout by mbc72
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Seashells, ScrapSimple Type Paths: Shapes 2101, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Stitch and Holes PSE 8302 Mini and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Photo Clusters 2 are also available.

Congratulations to Melanie (mbc72) for winning the August Layout Contest. Melanie's beautiful and fun layout did an excellent job fitting the theme of staying cool. Melanie receives a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique for her efforts. Congratulations!

Congratulations to our contest winners! Please email [email protected] to get your prize, if you haven't already received it. Thanks for participating!

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

Member of the Month - September 2009

Congratulations Yvonne (Yvonne53)! The Scrap Girls Team has chosen Yvonne as the Member of the Month for September!

Yvonne has become a wonderful addition to the Scrap Girls Community over the last year. She was quick to jump in and continue the Birthday Wishes threads for all those birthday members. Yvonne keeps the games going and was incredibly helpful during the transition to the new message board. She truly is a wonderful addition to the Scrap Girls family.

Yvonne receives a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique and has the honor of wearing the Member of the Month blinkie!

When you have a few minutes, Yvonne, please tell us a little about yourself and share a link to your favorite layout! Thank you for making Scrap Girls a wonderful, friendly place! Congratulations!!

Contest Winners

August Message Board Game Winners:

Congratulations to the following members who played our August Message Board Game: The Embellishment Hunters and whose names were drawn randomly from the list of daily winners to receive a gift certificate to be used and enjoyed in the Scrap Girls Boutique!

$10 Gift Certificate

CM Silly

$5 Gift Certificate

no_idea
dukebballfan
Nadine80
alycya
WendyTN

Congratulations to our contest winners! Please email [email protected] to get your prize, if you haven't already received it. Thanks for participating!

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 Carrie Stephens
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Designer Freebie by Carrie Stephens coordinates with her Easy Going Collection Biggie

* 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

Labor Day Chat
Monday, September 7th - 7:00PM MT

Join Carla (CRS) in the chat room at 7pm Mountain Time for a fun Labor Day chat! Not only does Labor Day honor the working force, it's the unofficial end of summer in the United States and Canada. It also is the unofficial start to the National Football League and College Football seasons! So, take some time to come chat about your summer, football or work! Hope to see you there!

New Member Chat
Tuesday, September 8th - 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, September 9th - 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 September 9th, we'll do a surprise color challenge! Create a layout predominantly using a color to be chosen by the group at the beginning of the crop! You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour! We hope you'll join us!

Journaling Chat
Wednesday, September 9th - 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!

Scrap Girls 52 Chat
Thursday, September 10th - 6:00PM MT

Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Becca on Thursday at 6pm MT for this month's Scrap Girls 52 chat, as we discuss this month's topic and ways to stay motivated to scrap those daily photos!

Sketch Challenge Crop
Thursday, September 10th - 7:00PM MT

Join Marnie (sprinklz) for the Sketch Challenge Crop on Thursday at 7pm MT 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, a sketch will be posted 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, September 11th - 9:00AM MT

Join Michelle (Shelbi) and Sherry_Lynn at 9am Mountain Time on Friday mornings 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!

Recipe Card Swap Crop
Saturday, September 12th - 8:00PM MT

Please join April (April Showers) and Danna (scrappylibrarian) at 8pm Mountain Time in the chat room for our Monthly Recipe Swap chat. Please check the message board on Thursday, September 10th for this month's theme!

Quote Challenge Crop
Sunday, September 13th - 6:00PM MT

Come join Pat (PBarnes) for the Quote Challenge Crop at 6pm MT. Including a quote on your layout can be a touching and meaningful addition, especially if you use the quote to create your own word art. Here's how it will work - on Sunday, Pat will post a thread on the Chat section of the board giving you the quote that you will use to make your own word art. It's not hard, and she will have a layout with a Word Art example in the gallery. Then we'll meet in the chat room to have fun, chat, and create our Word Art layout! Everyone can participate and create a layout, even if you can't make the chat. Hope to see you there!

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

September Message Board Game: BINGO!

It's that time again! Join us for an exciting game of BINGO on the Message Board in September! Pick 25 words from the list provided in the Monthly Message Board Game forum and send them in an e-mail to [email protected] with a subject line that says "BINGO CARD" and your message board user name by Wednesday, September 2nd (11:59pm MT) in order to play in the first round which will begin Thursday, September 3rd. Each day, members of the Welcoming Committee will call 5 random words from the BINGO list. Match just 15 of those words to win a BINGO. You must be first to call "Bingo!" in the game thread to win that round. After a winner is called, the boards can be cleared and a new round will begin the following day. All winners win a $5 gift certificate to the boutique! We like to see lots of winners, so please remember that each person can only win one round during the month. Have fun!

If you miss the first round cutoff date, you can still play! Just send in your Bingo card at any time during the month and you'll be eligible to begin playing when the next new round starts. Everyone who sends in a Bingo card will receive a confirmation email that their card has been received. If you do not receive confirmation within 24 hours, please re-send your list of words.

Layout Contests:

September Monthly Layout Contest: We're coming up on the date 09/09/09. For this layout contest, we want you to create a layout using repetition. It can be a photo that is repeated, an embellishment, a color... the possibilities are many. Create your layout and post it in the September Layout Contest Gallery by Midnight MT on September 30th. 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!

Signature Contest: Season of Change

Summer is coming to a close with Fall just around the corner in the Northern hemisphere and weather is getting warmer in the Southern. Kids have gone back to school and before we know it, the holidays will be upon us. It's time to update those signatures. The guidelines for signatures and instructions for linking can be found here. Create your signature using mostly Scrap Girls products, following the guidelines, and upload to the Season of Change Signature gallery by 11:59 PM Mountain Time, September 30th to be eligible for the contest. Two winners will be randomly selected - one person will receive a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls boutique and a runner-up will receive a $5 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls boutique! It's time to replace those crazy monkeys before they're gone for good!

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.)