Note from Ro: I found this recipe on the Scrap Girls blog. Do you see me drooling all over my keyboard now? I have some zucchini in the kitchen, so I guess I'm going to make this today. The anticipation is killing me! (Thanks, Angela!)

Angela Blanchard

I planted only one zucchini plant this year, but it is already putting out more than my family can eat! Besides grilling it, my family likes it made into zucchini bread, so I dug out my mom's old recipe:

Beat three eggs and one cup of sugar together.
Add one cup of oil, three teaspoons of vanilla and two cups of peeled, raw, grated zucchini.
Blend in three cups of flour, one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon baking soda, three teaspoons cinnamon and one-half teaspoon baking powder.
Fold in one cup chopped nuts if desired. Divide batter into two greased and floured loaf pans and bake in a 325 degree oven for one hour.

It turns out really good and I'll probably freeze some loaves for this winter. But, I think I'm going to need more ways to prepare zucchini because my plant looks really healthy!

- Angela

Layout by Angela Blanchard
larger view

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 Armi Custodio using October's Scrap Girls Club
larger view

Created for you by Thao Cosgrove

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 Brandy Hackman using October's ScrapSimple Club
larger view

Created for you by Brandy Hackman and Erica Hite

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!

Brushes

Take a stroll through the brush section of the Scrap Girls boutique and you will find text brushes, grunge brushes, word art brushes, scribbles, doodles, alphas, ornaments and much, much more! The list is endless!

To say I love to use brushes on my digital scrapbook pages would be an understatement. I probably use at least one brush on 90% of my layouts. There are many different ways to use brushes. For this layout, I will show you how to use them in as many ways as possible. I use brushes to create a layer mask for my photo, to embellish and edge my background paper, as a flourish that frames my photo, as an eraser and as my title and date, too!

I create a photo mask by erasing parts of a rectangle with the Eraser Tool set to brush. For this example, I use Brush Set: Cracked.

Next, I use Brush Set: Grungelle as an eraser, Brush Set: Chain Link and Brush Set: Misty to embellish the background paper, and Brush Set: Decorative Swirls Grunged to frame the top and bottom of the photo.

My photo is overpowering and my layout is not quite balanced, so I simply reduce the size of the photo and move it into the bottom corner. Now, I am able to use my brush work to draw attention to the photo in a more subtle way.

I hope this helps you see just how amazing and fun brushes are!

Layout by Janine Buckles
larger view

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Cracked, Brush Set: Chainlink, Brush Set: Grungelle, Brush Set: Inked Edges, Brush Set: Misty, Brush Set: Words To Live By, Brush Set: Decorative Swirls Grunged, Brush Set: Stamped Dates, Dynamic Brush Set: Naturally Handmade Additions and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Metals 5001 are also available.

Tutorial 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.

Colour (me) Creative eBook with 36 color swatches

Learn about the color wheel, color terms and their meaning, how to load the colour palettes in Adobe or use the colour strips with a colour selection tool. You get both valuable lessons and inspiration in this book filled with 48 layouts showcasing the use of the colour palettes along with links of all the products used to create the digital scrapbooking pages.

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

Now you can have all the past Scrap Girls Newsletter tutorials and Way Cool Stuff articles of the 2nd Quarter of 2009 in one convenient PDF format. It's easy to find those helpful hints with just the click of your mouse. You get two eBooks for the price of one!

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 Keri Schueller
larger view

Designer Freebie by Keri Schueller coordinates with her ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Broken In 3

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Broken In 3 and Brush Set: Words To Live By 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

NSBR Chat - Early Edition
Thursday, October 15th - 2:00PM MT

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. So, join Shari (Shari PV Mom) and Michelle (Shelbi) on October 15th at 2pm MT, in the chat room Lobby! Hope to see you there!

Heritage Crop
Thursday, October 15th - 6:00PM MT

Do you have boxes of heritage photos just waiting to be restored and scrapped? Are there family stories just waiting for you to write down and preserve? Then this is the crop for you! Join April (April Showers) and Carla (CRS) for the Heritage Crop and Chat! We'll help you get motivated to scrap those heritage photos and record your family stories for future generations to enjoy.

What's New Chat
Friday, October 16th - 9:00AM MT

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

Back-Up Party and Chat
Friday, October 16th - 8:00PM MT

Need a little extra motivation to back-up your layouts and stash? Join April Showers in the chat room on Friday, October 16th for a Back-up Party and Chat. We'll also go over several different ways to safeguard your files. You won't want to miss this one!

Recipe Swap Chat
Saturday, October 17th - 8:00PM MT

Join Danna (scrappylibrarian) and April_Showers in the chat room for our Monthly Recipe Swap Chat. Hopefully all of our Scrap Link attendees will be recovered by then! Check the message board on Thursday, Oct 15th for our theme of the month. See you then!

Scraplift Chat
Sunday, October 18th - 3:00PM MT

Join Becca and angelaNussbaum for a Scraplifting Crop. A few hours before the crop we will tell you the name of a Scrap Girls Team Member, and you will be able to choose one of their layouts to be your inspiration. During the crop, we will also help explain about scraplifting, how to use a layout as inspiration, and the importance of giving credit. Scraplifting is a lot of fun! So come join us, you're sure to enjoy it!

Quote Challenge Crop
Sunday, October 18th - 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!

Coffee Break Chat
Monday, October 19th - 4:30AM MT

If reading the Scrap Girls Newsletter and having a cup of coffee, cocoa, or tea first thing in the morning is a part of your daily routine, join Sherry_Lynn on Monday at 4:30 Mountain Time for this month's Coffee Break Chat. We'll chat over the latest issue of the Newsletter for a light and fun way to start off your week! Hope to see you there!

OCTOBER EVENTS

October Message Board Game: Posting Challenge

It's time to put those fingers to the test and get chatty. This month, everyone who posts at least 250 times will have their name entered in a drawing for one of five $5 Gift Certificates to be used in the Scrap Girls Boutique. In addition, the one member who posts the very most in October will receive a $10 Gift Certificate! To be included in this month's game, you must post to the October Posting Challenge thread in the Monthly Message Board Games folder on the message board and include your starting post count as of Thursday, October 1st. Once you have reached 250 posts during the month of October, email Ang at [email protected] and include your forum user name, starting post count and your new post count total. Contest ends on Saturday, October 31st at Midnight MST!

Layout Contests:

October Monthly Layout Contest: You might be a city girl or maybe a country girl, but even those that live in the city can enjoy time spent in the country. For the October Layout Gallery Contest, we want you to scrap a page about time spent in the country. It could be a visit to a farm, or a state or national park, or maybe you live in the country. Create your layout and post it in the October Monthly Layout Contest Gallery by Midnight on October 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!

October Mid-Month Layout Contest: Anniversaries are very special times. For the October Mid-Month Gallery Contest, we want to see your layouts about an anniversary. It doesn't have to be a wedding anniversary. Birthdays are anniversaries too. Anything that you remember annually is an anniversary. Create your layout and post it in the October Mid-Month Layout Contest Gallery by Midnight on November 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.)