Rozanne Paxman

Opportunities for Growth

We live in a troubled world. We hear rumors of war rumble from various parts of the globe. We witness countries and individuals struggle with economic difficulties. We see people suffer as a result of natural and man-made disasters. We observe disruptions in family and personal relationships. We see people mistreating other people.

The confusion around us can confuse us.

As I have struggled to understand how I can personally manage in this increasingly-difficult world, I find myself turning more and more to the Lord for guidance. Through His mercy, He has taught me that while every challenge cannot be removed, I can grow because of them, if I am willing.

One morning, as I considered my challenges, it occurred to me that I should list some of the opportunities I was being presented with. Here are some of the opportunities I came up with:

This is my opportunity to practice patience.


This is my opportunity to practice faith.


This is my opportunity to practice faith in Heavenly Father's will for me.


This is my opportunity to practice thankfulness and joy in the blessings I receive.


This is my opportunity to practice hope in the Lord.

I'm grateful that the Lord taught me this lesson, and I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to share it with you. I hope you find it useful.

Have a great day!

- 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 Armi Custodio using June's Scrap Girls Club
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Created for you by Syndee Nuckles

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 Brandy Murry using May's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Brandy Murry and Paula Wright

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!

Shape Shifter

Note: Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop CS4 with Windows XP.

Unzipping a folder full of digital scrapbooking supplies is like opening presents at Christmas, unwrapping and drooling over each new treasure - complete with "oohs" and "aahs." In particular, I enjoy the beauty and texture of the patterned backgrounds, but sometimes the paper's design has such a visual impact, it can distract from the focal point of the layout. What's a digital scrapbooker to do?

One option is to use the Custom Shape Tool to create a new center of attention and shift the focus from the pattern to your photos.

To begin, add a paper to your empty canvas. Next select the Custom Shape Tool (U) and hold down the Shift key while clicking and dragging your mouse across the page; the goal is to create a shape wider than the background. Use Ctrl+T (Cmd+T on a Mac) to rotate the shape by five degrees.

For the sample, I used the "Beautiful" paper from A Mother's Love Collection Mini and "Butterfly 3" from ScrapSimple Tools - Shapes: Butterflies 7201.

Use Ctrl+J (Cmd+J on a Mac) to copy the shape layer. Note: The Shape Copy Layer is colored yellow in the screen shots for visual clarity.

Make the Shape Copy Layer smaller by hitting Ctrl+T (Cmd+T on a Mac). For the sample, the Shape Copy Layer was resized to 95%.

In the Layers Palette, right-click on the Shape Copy Layer and choose "Rasterize Layer" from the pop-up menu. Note: In Photoshop Elements, the menu option will be "Simplify Layer."

After the Shape Copy Layer is rasterized, notice the change to the layer in the Layers Palette.

For this technique, the open sections of the butterfly wings in the Shape Copy Layer need to be filled. Choose the Magic Wand Tool (W) with Tolerance set to "0" and Contiguous checked.

Next, hold down the Shift key as you click on the blank areas outside the butterfly shape. For the sample, I had to click three times - once above the butterfly, once below left, and once in the lower right corner. The "marching ants" will be visible.

Now use Ctrl+Shift+I (Cmd+Shift+I on a Mac) to inverse the selection.

Go to Select> Modify> Contract, and in the pop-up menu, select an amount to shrink the selection. For the sample, the setting was 5 pixels.

Make sure the Foreground Color matches the Shape Copy Layer or use the Eyedropper Tool (I) to sample the color. Use Alt+Delete (Opt+Delete on a Mac) to fill the selection and make a solid butterfly.

Use Ctrl+D (Cmd+D on a Mac) to deselect or turn off the marching ants.

To make the sample page, I included a few more tricks to give my new focal point even more interest.

For the brown Shape Layer, I used ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Chipboard 1801 Mini to add texture and more dimension.

For the Shape Copy Layer, I used a layer mask to hide the butterfly's antennae. Then, I lowered the Opacity to 75%. Next, I layered Flowers paper (from Assemble Your Own Zoom Pages: Easter Morning) on top of it and created a clipping mask between the two, which imitates the look of vellum.

On top of the Flowers paper Layer, I added a new layer to the layout. I completed the look by creating a 12-pixel stroke and using ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Mixed Metals 6401 Biggie on it.

Now, you can see how this shape-shifting technique not only provides a visual impact, but also allows the pretty, patterned paper to shine through as well.

Explore the secrets used by our professional designers and layout artists to make amazing digital scrapbooking layouts! Check out the incredible tutorials in Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed and MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed!

Layout by Marnie Adams
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Shapes: Butterflies 7201, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Chipboard 1801 Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Mixed Metals 6401 Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Stitch 'n Holes 8301 Machine Stitch Mini, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Destinations 5401 and Lettering Delights Architect Font are also available.

Tutorial written by Marnie Adams

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: Combining ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates

Learn how you can combine ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates to create your own unique layout template written by Angie Briggs. You will get step by step instructions, with screen shots to follow and several sample layouts giving you even more ideas. You'll also receive ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 Album Series 7, so that you may easily follow along with the instructions.

Scrapbooking 911 - 20 Sketches to Revitalize Your Digital Scrapbooking eBook

Are your creative juices drained? Need help finding ideas? Want a great starting place? Scrapbooking 911 - 20 Sketches to Revitalize Your Digital Scrapbooking is the answer to all of these questions. With twenty original sketches to work from, you'll be creating exciting, dynamic, and creative layouts 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

Step by Step Movie Tutorial: How to Create An Old Wall Mural

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 Marnie Adams
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Designer Freebie by Marnie Adams coordinates with her Grand Old Flag Collection

Commercial license versions of Lettering Delights Scrap Casual Font 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, June 9th - 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 June 9th, we'll be doing a Brush Challenge. Try to use at least two brushes in your layout. Create your layout and upload it 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!

ATC Swap Crop
Wednesday, June 9th - 4:30PM MT

Please join Sherry Lynn and Elisha (elibar) in the chatroom for our June ATC (Artist Trading Card) Swap Crop/Chat on Wednesday, June 9th at 4:30pm MT. We're looking forward to seeing you there.

Sketch Challenge Chat
Thursday, June 10th - 7:00PM MT

Join Marnie (sprinklz) for the Sketch Challenge and Crop on Thursday, June 10th 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, June 11th - 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!

Quote Challenge Chat
Sunday, June 13th - 2:00PM MT

Come join Pat (PBarnes) for the Quote Challenge Crop at 2pm 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. 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!

ScrapSimple Club Chat
Monday, June 14th - 2:00PM MT

We know everyone is excited for the new ScrapSimple Club to come out on June 15th. Come join Sherry Lynn on Monday, June 14th at 2pm 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 May's ScrapSimple Club before the next one arrives. It's sure to be a blast! Hope to see you there!

Photography Focus Club Chat
Monday, June 14th - 7:00PM MT

Join Mary Elizabeth O’Toole (NS_Scrapper) and special guests for a monthly conversation about photography on the second Monday of each month. Do you want to challenge yourself and improve your photography? Check out the Scrap Girls Photo Focus Club. No membership required - Everyone is welcome. Note that this is not a class but an opportunity to share ideas, ask questions, and try something new. If you are looking for tips, techniques or inspiration to help you take better images, this is the chat for you.

New Member Chat - Early Edition
Tuesday, June 15th - 1:00PM MT

Join April (April Showers) at 1pm 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.

Faith Journey Chat
Tuesday, June 15th - 5:00PM MT

Join Elisha (elibar) and Sherry Lynn for a Faith Journey Chat on Tuesday, June 15 at 5pm MT. All faiths are welcome! We'll be chatting and scrapping about our individual faith walk and how we also walk together. Watch the message board for this month's topic of discussion, and if you like - create a layout based on the topic!

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, June 16th - 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 June 16th, we'll do a white space challenge! Create a layout using white space. This "negative" or blank space guides the eye to the important areas of your page. Remember, it certainly doesn't have to be the color white! Create your layout and upload it 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!

JUNE EVENTS

June Message Board Game: Quotable Quotes

The object of the game is to correctly guess the layout (created by either a product designer or layout artist) that contains a quote or journaling. Each day, you will be given a word found in the clue. We will keep giving words to the clues until a correct guess is made.

Be the first to answer it correctly and win a $5.00 Gift Certificate to the Boutique! You are only allowed ONE guess per daily clue, and you are only allowed ONE win per month. When you make your guess, you must link it to the correct layout in the Boutique. We will play the game daily during the entire month of June. When a correct answer is given, the new puzzle will start the following day.

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

Layout Contests:

June Monthly Layout Contest: June is National Candy Month and who doesn't like candy!? For this month's layout contest, use the wrapper of your favorite candy for inspiration. Does your favorite candy have a great color combination, cool fonts or a fun striped pattern? Use whatever inspires you about it to create your layout. You don't have to include the candy's wrapper in your layout but you might mention it in your description. Create your layout and post it in the June Layout Contest Gallery by Midnight MT on June 30th. 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!