Rozanne Paxman

I'm So Glad You're Finally Here

I saw her feet run back and forth. I heard her call my name. I felt the cold beneath my skirt, and yet, I did not move.

I saw her feet stand on the grass. I heard her worried sound. I felt the branches scratch my arms, and yet, I did not bend.

I saw her shoes pass once again. I heard her call once more. I felt afraid to reappear, and yet, I cried her name. "I'm here. I'm here," I said aloud. "You can find me under here."

I saw her hands move through the limbs. I heard her grateful sound. I felt ashamed I'd hid, and yet, relieved she loved me still. "You're here. You're here," her soft voice said, "I'm so glad you're here."

Sometimes, I run from Him - from He who calls my name. I feel I should return again, and yet, I hide my face.

I know the truth. I know His love. I feel inclined, and yet, my pride is strong, my heart is hard, and so, I do not move.

But patiently He stands and waits. He never goes away. At last, my heart yields up to Him and then, I cry His name. "I'm here. I'm here," I humbly pray. "You can find me kneeling here."

Someday, I'll see His loving face. I'll hear Him speak my name. I'll feel His hands and feet and side. I'll be gathered in again. "You're here. You're here," His voice will say. "I'm so glad you're finally here."

- Ro

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 Valerie Randall using May'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 Template
1 Brush Set
2 Designer's Choice Item

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

Layout by Angie Briggs using April's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Jan Hicks and Shalae Tippetts

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 Tools - Actions: Stroke 9901 PS

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

When I created this product, I imagined a lot of uses for it. I love to use it on my pictures and to play with various brushes to see the different effects I can achieve. In this tutorial, I will show you how I used it to grunge the edges and add an overall grungy look to this beautiful picture I took of my son, Frederic, when we visited the tropical aquarium recently.

First, I opened the JPG photo in Photoshop.

I loaded the ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Stroke 9901 PS and applied the action CKA_SSTools_Actions_Stroke9901-Custom Color Cutout to it by following the instructions.

I dragged both layers which resulted from the action on a new blank 12x12 document, resized the layers, and placed them on my layout.

I turned off the visibility of the top layer and applied the Brush Set: Stamped Cardboard (Opacity of the brush, 100%) to the edges of the bottom layer mask.

On the top layer mask, after turning on the visibility of the layer, I applied the same brush. This time I played with the Opacity of the brush to achieve different looks.

I duplicated the top layer and added some more brush work using Dynamic Brush Set: Splotches 9901 Mini.

I placed a background paper under my picture to see if I was happy with the results. Finally, I added a title, some embellishments, and journaling.

Check out Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed and MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for video tutorials on using brushes in your digital scrapbooking layouts!

Layout by Caroline Kaiser
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Stroke 9901 PS, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Stroke 9901 PSE, Brush Set: Stamped Cardboard, Dynamic Brush Set: Splotches 9901 Mini, Dynamic Brush Set: Bubbles 9901 Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Bubbles 9901 Super Biggie and AMC_Friendly Font are also available.

Tutorial written by Caroline Kaiser

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:
Using Silhouettes in Scrapbooking

Learn to make and use silhouettes with Using Silhouettes in Scrapbooking written by Brandy Murry. Learn the history of Silhouettes, different ways to use them in scrapbooking as well as how to make a digital traditional style Silhouette using Photoshop programs.

Perfect Memories for Photoshop eBook

In her debut eBook Perfect Memories: Creative Solutions for Less-Than-Perfect Images, Katherine Weaver introduces her latest design-based secrets for overcoming the most common photo flaws, as well as additional ideas for getting your digital scrapbooking projects off and running in no time.

Scrap Girls Tutorials & Way Cool Stuff eBook Set
2009 - 4th 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 4th Quarter of 2009 in one convenient PDF format.

Start to Finish eBooklets

Start to Finish eBooklet - PSE: How to Emboss & Texturize with ScrapSimple 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 Chere Edwards
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Designer Freebie by Chere Edwards coordinates with her Bliss 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

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, May 5th - 10:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) on Wednesday at 10am MT for the East Coast High Noon Crop. All coasts and time zones are welcome! 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 May 5th, we'll do a Details Challenge. Create a layout showing a unique detail. It can be a close up photo or a layout focusing on a narrow subject. It is up to you. Have fun with it! Upload your layouts to the special High Noon Crop Gallery. You'll be amazed what you can get done in just one hour, but there is no High Noon Sheriff timing you!

NSBR Chat - Early Edition
Thursday, May 6th - 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!

National Day of Prayer Chat
Thursday, May 6th - 7:00PM MT

Join angelaNussbaum at 7pm MT for a chat honoring the National Day of Prayer. We will talk about things we can pray for from our families, to our communities and even our world. All faiths are welcome!

What's New Chat
Friday, May 7th - 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, May 7th - 2:00PM MT

Need a little extra motivation to back-up your layouts and stash? Join April Showers in the chat room on Friday, May 7th at 2pm MT 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, May 8th - 8:00PM MT

Join April (April Showers) at 8pm MT in the chat room for our Monthly Recipe Swap Chat. Please check the message board on Thursday, May 6th for this month's theme and the swap details!

Aussie Challenge and Chat
Monday, May 10th - 9:00PM Australian Eastern Standard Time

Please come join Karen (kazbar73) and Jo (scrappingjo) at 9pm Australian Eastern Standard Time on Monday 10 May for a chat all about Mothers. Create a layout all about Mothers and then join us in the Live Chat Lobby for lots of fun and laughter as we talk about how we celebrate Mother's Day. For our International ladies, the chat will be on at 5am MT or 7am New York time.

New Member Chat
Tuesday, May 11th - 6:00PM MT

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

Baby Album Chat
Tuesday, May 11th - 8:00PM MT

Do you need some motivation getting those baby albums done? Children grow so fast; Let's get those baby memories scrapped! You can scrap your children, grandchildren or even your own baby album. Join Carla (CRS) and Shari (Shari PV Mom) in the chat room on Tuesday, May 11th at 8pm MT to work on those albums! You can start from fresh on a brand new album, or jump in where ever you are in your project. We'll provide an optional challenge each crop for motivation if you want one. For this month's challenge, let's scrap about Mom and baby!

MAY EVENTS

May Message Board Game: Geocaching - Scrap Girls Style!

There's no need for maps and compasses for this month's Geocaching trek! The object of the game is to correctly guess an item within a product in the Scrap Girls Boutique by solving clues and discovering the stars.

Each day, you will be given two clues: The first clue will be to the product (you will know you have found the correct product because there will be a star on the page.) The second clue will be to find a particular item within the product!

Send an email with the EXACT item name (within the product) and the link where the product is found to [email protected]. Use the subject line: Geocaching Scrap Girls Style in your email entry, and be sure to include your message board name and real name. Entries must be received by Midnight MT on May 31st.

Everyone who correctly identifies all 29 items will be entered into a random drawing for one $15 Gift Certificate!

Everyone who correctly identifies 19+ items will be entered into a random drawing for one of two $10 Gift Certificates!

Everyone who correctly identifies 9+ items will be entered into a random drawing for one of two $5 Gift Certificates!

For complete details and examples of game play, visit the Monthly Message Board Games folder on the Scrap Girls message board.

Layout Contests:

May Monthly Layout Contest: Summer is right around the corner for some of us and winter for others. What is your favorite part of that season? For this month's layout contest, scrap your favorite parts of the upcoming season. Maybe you enjoy swimming in the pool, boating or hiking the trails. Or, maybe it's building a snowman, skiing or sledding. Whatever you love, scrap it for us to see! Create your layout and post it in the May Layout Contest Gallery by Midnight MT on May 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!