Rozanne Paxman

Count on Change

During the 1980s, Gary and I lived in the great state of Oklahoma for two-and-a-half years. He was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base while I completed my Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Oklahoma. We truly loved it in Oklahoma because Oklahomans are some of the friendliest people we've ever met.

I have to admit that because I am from Utah, where weather changes occur in an expected manner, the fickleness of Oklahoma weather unnerved me at first. I should have realized what it would be like when the realtor who helped us find our first apartment said, "If you don't like the weather, wait a little bit. It will change." Yes, the weather changed. In fact, it changed so rapidly that I quickly learned to carry an umbrella with me everywhere I went.

I learned that changes in the weather are appreciated in Oklahoma. Umbrellas are required because one never knows when a rainstorm will arrive. But rainstorms are the lifeblood of the area, and so they are welcomed. The people there don't rely on irrigation to water their lawns and agriculture, as we do in Utah. Oklahoma relies on rain and when a drought hits the state, it is a serious matter.

As I began to appreciate this fact, I realized that, sometimes, events that appear at first glance to be negative are actually blessings. Sure, it is a terrible thing when a tornado rolls through Oklahoma. People are rightfully afraid of them. But it is the same volatility of the weather that sometimes spawns hailstones or tornados that brings great, soaking rainstorms to make the state green.

Isn't this how our lives are? The stormy times in our lives bring forth the most fruit. While we don't enjoy life-tornados, the whirling about straightens us out. Illness teaches us to appreciate good health. Financial storms teach us to celebrate times of plenty. When we lose love or friendship, we begin to understand how valuable relationships are. When we suffer, we gain compassion for others, losing judgmental feelings that separate us from our true selves. When we face the limits of mortality, we appreciate the fact that our lives are meaningful.

The funny thing about change is that when we stop trying to keep ourselves still, we open the door to deep, meaningful improvements in our lives. We begin to understand that everything in this life is transitory. We discover that if we don't like the weather of our current experience, just be patient because just as surely as the moon spins around the earth, change will arrive to thrust us into something new.

Sometimes, I dream that I am still in Oklahoma, listening to the sound of a thunderstorm roll across the state. But then I wake up and realize it was the sound of change rolling through my life.

What will happen next? Only God knows. But whatever might come, it will be a change. Change... something you can count on.

- 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 Ariadna Wiczling using August's Scrap Girls Club
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Created for you by Ariadna Wiczling

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 Thao Cosgrove using August's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Thao Cosgrove and Brandie Valenzuela

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!

Library Visits

It's so great to be able to wander through the Scrap Girls Boutique and find digital scrapbooking supplies for whatever theme I'm working on. Today I was working with pictures of a recent visit to the local library. As I started looking at the options in the Boutique, I realized that there were several looks my layout could have. I'll share some of the supplies that I came across.

There are numerous collections that include books or library cards. Here are some of those:

Literature Collection Biggie
Lawfully Collection Mini
Chronicles Collection
Story Time Collection Mini
Bookworm Collection Biggie
Learning Curve Collection
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Keepsake Library Cards

If you are looking for something with an architectural feel to it, especially if you have been to a grand or historic library, here are some ideas:

ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Columns
Brush Set: Columns Mini
1 Scrap Girls Grace Collection Biggie
ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Moulding
ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Look Up

Layout by Charlene Crowder
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Moulding, Dynamic Brush Set: Rubber Stamps, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Emboss 5401, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Frame Decor 6301 and Lettering Delights Timely Font are also available.

Now, another approach is to focus on a theme. Is there something in particular you were going to the library to research or learn about? Since I am usually there to help my boys find books they are interested in, I tend to look in the Scrap Girls Boutique for digital scrapbooking supplies that match their interests at the library. Here are some ideas:

Science Collection
Extinct Collection Biggie
Pirates and Mermaids Collection Biggie
Wild West Collection
Combat: International Collection
Planes Trains and Automobiles Collection
Shark Lagoon Collection

Now, if I had a girl, I imagine that I would be helping her find books about princesses or fairies or such. These would work well:

Storybook Castle Collection Biggie
A Fairy Story Collection
Avalon Collection Biggie

If I were going to check out books at the library about camping trips or traveling, here are just some of the digital scrapbooking supplies available in the Boutique that would work with that theme:

Campfire Collection
Nature Parks Collection Mini
Destinations Collection
Well Traveled Collection
Australia Collection
A Tour Across Europe Collection Biggie

I hope this gives you some ideas of how you can document your library visits. There are many more supplies available in the Scrap Girls Boutique. I'm sure you'll find just what you need.

Layout by Charlene Crowder
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Commercial license versions of Tender Moments Collection, Dynamic Brush Set: Grids and Lines 8201, Brush Set: Time Traveler - Clouds Biggie, Bookworm Collection Biggie, Bouncing Baby Boy Collection, Lettering Delights Painter's Hand Font, Lettering Delights Slender Font, Wild West Collection, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Burned Corrugated Cardboard 6301, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Metal Edge 6301 and Shark Lagoon Collection are also available.

Article written by Charlene Crowder

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 2008 Digital Scrap Link Class: Understanding and Creating Color Sets

Learn to create perfect color palettes on your digital scrapbook pages with Understanding and Creating Color Sets written by Trish Yochum. Learn color terms, how to put together color palettes, how to mix and match colors by hue and how to create winning color combos every time.

ReMix: (Digital Scrapbooking) From Ordinary to Extraordinary! eBook

Have you ever wanted to get a makeover - A layout makeover? Do you ever wonder how someone might decide to make certain changes and why? In ReMix: (Digital Scrapbooking) From Ordinary to Extraordinary! eBook, you have the opportunity to virtually "look over the shoulder" during the remake process, as Scrap Girls Product Designer Marnie Adams takes member's pages and plies her design magic.

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 - 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 Julie White
larger view

Designer Freebie by Julie White coordinates with her Beautiful Garden Collection

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Time Traveler - Clouds Biggie, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Birds Nest, The Weather Outside Collection Mini and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Metals 5001 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

New Member Chat - Early Edition
Tuesday, August 17th - 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, August 17th - 5:00PM MT

Join Elisha (elibar) and Lei (Bride) for a Faith Journey Chat on Tuesday, August 17 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, August 18th - 10:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) each Wednesday at 12 Noon Eastern Time 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 August 18th, 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. 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!

Heritage Crop
Thursday, August 19th - 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) at 6pm MT 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.

Ad Inspiration Chat
Thursday, August 19th - 7:00PM MT

Join Pat (PBarnes) at 7pm MT for an Ad Inspiration Challenge and Chat. A few hours before the chat, a magazine ad will be posted on the Message Board to use as inspiration for a layout. You can use whatever you want to from the ad - the colors, the shapes, the composition. There are no wrong answers!

What's New Chat
Friday, August 20th - 9:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) 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, August 20th - 8:00PM MT

Need a little extra motivation to back-up your layouts and stash? Join April (April Showers) in the chat room on Friday, August 20th 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, August 21st - 6:00PM MT

Join April (April Showers) and Lei (Bride) at 6pm MT in the chat room for our Monthly Recipe Swap Chat. Please check the message board on Thursday, August 19th for this month's theme and the swap details!

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, August 25th - 10:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) each Wednesday at 12 Noon Eastern Time 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 August 25th, we'll do a patterned paper challenge! Create a layout on any theme, any topic, and any colors - using multiple patterned papers - at least 2 different patterns! Mix it up! 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!

AUGUST EVENTS

August 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 August 1 when we post the thread to August 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 August 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 screenshot 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.

For complete details, visit the Monthly Message Board Games folder on the Scrap Girls message board.

Layout Contests:

August Monthly Layout Contest: For August's layout contest, we want you to scrap about what you do to "get away from it all" when you can't get take a big vacation. Do you play tourist in your own town, do you pamper yourself with a spa day, do you just take a weekend day to do nothing? Post your layouts in the August Gallery before Midnight MT on August 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!