Rozanne Paxman

The Girl in the Window

The girl in the window wore a plaid coat with a tie around her waist. The girl in the window wore black suede boots that cut into her calves when she walked. The girl in the window carried two books, a pad of paper, and a tooled leather purse that held lip gloss, three pencils, a leaky blue pen, and a lunch ticket.

The girl in the window tried not to look at the girl on the street, and the girl on the street pretended not to look at the girl in the window. But they were drawn to each other like lint sticks to a dryer filter.

The girl on the street was far more prejudiced than her companion. She looked at the girl in the window and criticized how she walked, how she dressed, how she wore her hair, and even how she smiled. The girl in the window was far more accepting. She wished that the girl staring back would see that they could be best friends if only she'd try.

The girl on the street eventually grew into a woman, and as she matured, her mind began to be full of work, children, and duties at home. She stopped looking for the girl in the window when she walked down a street. She stopped looking for her in mirrors as she passed them in the hall, and she stopped wondering if the shine on the car was a reflection of the shine on her nose.

The girl in the window never forgot her friend. She waved hello as the woman passed. She smiled as she saw her carrying children down the hall, and she grinned up at her from the gleam of the shiny kitchen floor. "I'm here if you need me," she whispered. "I'll always be near because, my dear one, I am you."

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.

Would you like to earn a $20 Gift Certificate? Send your own muse to [email protected]. If it is selected for publication in the Scrap Girls newsletter, you'll get to have fun shopping!

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 Christy VanderWall using March'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 Template
1 ScrapSimple Embellishment or Word Art Template Set
2 Designer's Choice Items

A commercially licensed version of the ScrapSimple Club is also available here.

Layout by Cherise Oleson using February's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Cherise Oleson and Syndee Nuckles

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!

Using ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Painted Chipboard

Note: Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop CS3 with Windows Vista.

Almost every page you create will contain at least some text, even if it's just an initial! Learn some new and exciting ways to create customizable titles and word art.

You will be using ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Painted Chipboard to create a custom title for your layout. What is so great about these particular templates is that they were created along with three accompanying ScrapSimple Styles to give them the most realistic look of painted chipboard as possible.

Start by opening your letter of choice. There are only two layers to these templates, so they are easy to work with, but amazingly versatile.

Load the following styles into your Styles Palette: ScrapSimple Tools – Styles: Chipboard 6401, ScrapSimple Tools – Styles: Chipboard Shadows 6401 Mini, and ScrapSimple Tools – Styles: Stucco 6401 Biggie. These styles were made specifically to match these ScrapSimple Alpha Templates.

Apply your choice of chipboard style to the base layer of your alpha template. Then apply your choice of stucco style to the inner, painted portion of your template.

You already have a fabulous-looking painted alpha, but you can take it a step further by adding ScrapSimple Tools – Styles: Shadows Mini 6401. It will make your alpha even more realistic by adding depth and shadow.

On your Layers Palette, begin by adding a new layer on top of your base and inner layers. Select both your new and inner layers. Both layers should be highlighted if you Ctrl+Click on the layers (PC users) or Cmd+Click (Mac users). Right click with your mouse and select "Merge Layers." This combines your two layers into one and enables you to apply another style to your painted portion without altering the properties of the original style.

There are different shadow styles to match each color of chipboard (black, white, and neutral). Choose your appropriate shadow style and apply to your painted inner layer.

While handy, you certainly are not limited to these styles. Here are some more examples of alphas using the same templates.

You can use ScrapSimple Tools – Styles: Glitter Sparks 6401 for a glitter chipboard alphabet instead of a painted one.

Utilize the inside portion of the template as a clipping mask for photos or papers. Place your photo or paper above the top layer (Ctrl+Alt+G for PC; Cmd+Alt+G for Mac) and clip it to the layer below.

Check out MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for video tutorials on using a variety of templates in your digital scrapbooking layouts!

Layout by Amanda Sok
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Painted Chipboard, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Chipboard 6401, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Stucco 6401 Biggie and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Chipboard Shadows 6401 Mini are also available.

Tutorial written by Amanda Sok

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
NEWLY UPDATED! Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop Elements
Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Paint Shop Pro X (XI)

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

Now that you've learned the basics of digital scrapbooking with Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, you are ready to learn advanced skills for having even more fun while you create digital scrapbooking layouts!

Get a big boost learning how to use ScrapSimple products to make your own backgrounds, embellishments, and alphas with the MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop Elements movie tutorial series. You'll learn so much that your digital scrapbooking layouts will never be the same!

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:

Scrap Girls 2009 Digital Scrap Link Class:
Creating a Painting With Styles

Learn how to create the look of a painting with your digital photographs using simply styles and some filters. You can create the depth of an oil, acrylic, or watercolor painting with various style textures and techniques. You will also learn some other fun techniques to use styles to create real looking embellishments such as a rusted frame.

Ten Basic Design Principles eBook

Learn to design digital scrapbook pages like a pro! Learn to use a grid and understand 10 basic design principles shown through examples with grids and detailed explanations. Includes a 12x12 Grid in png format to get you started.

Scrap Girls Tutorials & Way Cool Stuff eBook Set
2009 - 3rd Quarter

Subscribers to the Scrap Girls Newsletter have one thing in common: they love to learn new techniques! Each issue shares ideas, tutorials, and new ways to use Scrap Girls quality digital scrapbooking products. Now you can have all those past tutorials and Way Cool Stuff articles of the 3rd Quarter of 2009 in one convenient PDF format.

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 Syndee Nuckles
larger view

Designer Freebie by Syndee Nuckles coordinates with her
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Frame Decor, part of this month's ScrapSimple Club offering.

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Penned, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Cocoa Couture, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Butterfly Shadows 6301 Mini, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Accents of Love Biggie and Brush Set: Tapestry Alphabet Super Biggie 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

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

Join your host April Showers for the East Coast High Noon Crop every Wednesday at 10am MT. 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 March 10th, we'll do a geometric challenge! Create a layout using at least one triangle somewhere on your page! You'll have one hour to create a layout and upload to the special High Noon Crop Gallery. You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour!

Journaling Challenge Chat
Wednesday, March 10th - 12:00Noon MT

Join Becca and angelaNussbaum for a Journaling Chat at 12Noon MT on Wednesday, March 10th. 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!

Leaving Love Chat
Wednesday, March 10th - 4:00PM MT

Please join Sherry (Sherry_Lynn) for a Leaving Love Chat at 4pm MT! One of the greatest things about Scrap Girls is the generosity of our members... don't you agree? This goes for the Layout Gallery, too! Everyone likes to see a little "love" in the form of comments on a newly uploaded layout, so let's give it our all today and bombard the gallery with some purple fuzzies!

NSBR Chat - Early Edition
Thursday, March 11th - 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 Michelle (Shelbi) and Shari (Shari PV Mom) at 2pm MT in the chat room Lobby! Hope to see you there!

Project SG Chat
Thursday, March 11th - 5:00PM MT

Have you heard about Project SG yet? This challenge is all about creating an album for 2010 and scrapping your most current photos. Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and April (April Showers) on Thursday, March 11th at 5pm MT for this month's Project SG Chat! Hope to see you there!

Sketch Challenge & Crop
Thursday, March 11th - 7:00PM MT

Join Marnie (sprinklz) for the Sketch Challenge and Crop on Thursday, March 11th 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, 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, March 12th - 9:00AM MT

Join Michelle (Shelbi) and Sherry (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!

ScrapSimple Club Chat
Sunday, March 14th - 4:00PM MT

We know everyone is excited for the new ScrapSimple Club to come out March 15th. Come join Sherry_Lynn on March 14th at 4pm MT 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 February's ScrapSimple Club before the next one arrives.

New Member Chat - Early Edition
Tuesday, March 12th - 1:00PM MT

Join April (April Showers) at 1:00pm MT 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.

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, March 17th - 10:00AM MT

Join your host April Showers for the East Coast High Noon Crop every Wednesday at 10am MT. 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 March 17th, we'll do a quote challenge! Create a layout using a meaningful, inspiring or funny quote. It can be in place of journaling, or use a beloved quote as a starting point for your journaling. Any quote is OK! You'll have one hour to create a layout and upload to the special High Noon Crop Gallery. You'd be amazed what you can get done in just one hour!

MARCH EVENTS

March Message Board Game: Posting Contest!

It's that time again - Posting Contest time! This is where you are rewarded for your flying fingers and chattiness. The contest will run from March 1 when we post the thread to March 31 at 12:00 midnight (MST). We are doing things a little differently this time, so here are the rules:

1) To enter the Posting Challenge, reply in the game thread with your CURRENT post count. This is the number under your Avatar that shows when you post. Do not post the number found on your profile; it is a different number that is calculated differently.

2) During the month, chat your fingers off!

3) On March 31, BEFORE midnight (MST), go back to your original post in the game thread (the one with your starting post count) and take a screenshot of it. Send the screen shot to [email protected]. The screenshot is your contest entry! We will calculate your post count based on the numbers on the screenshot. (Directions for taking screenshots will be posted in the game thread.)

Prizes: The top poster gets a $20 Scrap Girls gift certificate. Everyone over 250 new posts will be entered in a random drawing for a $10 Scrap Girls gift certificate. Everyone over 100 new posts will be entered into a random drawing for a $5 Scrap Girls gift certificate.

Layout Contests:

March Monthly Layout Contest: Smile! The month of March includes Smile Day. Does seeing someone else's smile make you smile? For this month's contest, we want to see your layouts featuring a smile. Create your layout and post it in the March Layout Contest Gallery by Midnight MST on March 31st. Be sure to list your credits in the description or under the EXIF Properties. If your layout is one of the two chosen, you will win a $10 gift certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

Club Concepts Layout Contest: Post your new layout using the current club selection (either the Scrap Girls Club or the ScrapSimple Club) in our Scrap Girls Club Members Gallery or the ScrapSimple Club Members' Gallery. Be sure to list all of the Scrap Girls products you used. If your layout is chosen, it will be showcased as a Club Concepts layout winner, and you will win a $5 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.)

Haven't received your prize as a contest winner? Please send an email to [email protected] and we'll get it out to you right away!