Heidi Dillon

Holiday Kit Overload! – Fun & Funky

So, I don't know about you, but I absolutely love this time of year in the Scrap Girls Boutique. It seems like our designers have pulled out all the stops and are creating absolutely breathtaking, must-have holiday digital scrapbooking kits and collections. I can't help it! I want them all, even though I know I will never have as many pictures to use with that many kits as I would like.

Each year, I tell myself that this will be the year that I finally start taking photos of getting the house ready, baking holiday cookies, visiting light displays in our city, decorations, shopping, wrapping gifts, visiting friends and family, and all the millions of other things that come with the busy holiday season. And every year, the holiday season ends up being so busy that I'm usually lucky to simply remember to do most of these things, let alone photograph them!

So what's a girl to do with all of those holiday kits she simply had to have? And how can I justify getting more this year? (Because you know those girls are designing up a storm as we speak....)

My solution is to think outside the holiday box and find other uses for those great holiday scrapbook kits. This week I created a digital layout about my niece's second birthday using some of the more fun and funky holiday kits I had in my stash. A bunch of the collections had pink, cream, lime, and turquoise papers and elements in them, which were perfect for showing off the little princess's party. A quick search in Picasa showed me some presents, candles, swirls, borders, and journaling blocks that emphasized the party atmosphere. Finally, a simple and fun alpha gave me a great title.

This kind of scrapping can be easier to do if you look at the items individually instead of as a whole collection. Try searching for items in your organizing software by color or specific item type (present, candle, star, swirl, etc.) to help you see past the theme. Look to your photos for inspiration on colors and to your story for ideas on types of embellishments.

Take a look and be inspired to use some of your holiday kits for other types of pages. You'll feel better about the things you've already bought - and the kits you know you'll be getting!

- Heidi

Layout by Heidi Dillon
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Commercial license versions of Merry Memories Paper Super Mini, Merry and Bright Collection Biggie, Chillin Collection, Arctic Holiday Collection Mini, ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates: Scalloped Edges and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Clarify 11301 Mini are also available.

Scrap Girls, Etc. is a weekly column pulling bits and pieces from all over Scrap Girls. Stay tuned each week as Scrap Girls' Jane-of-All-Trades Heidi Dillon brings you tutorials, musings, recipes, interviews, design/software tips and tricks, layout walk-throughs, and who knows what else!

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 Caroline Kaiser using December's Scrap Girls Club
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Created for you by Caroline Kaiser

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 Caroline Kaiser using November's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Erica Hite and Caroline Kaiser

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!

Easy Page Pro Albums

Believe it or not, before writing this article, I had never used an Easy Page! I have always loved the freedom of creating my own custom digital scrapbooking layouts, so I just never had an interest in them. So when I got this assignment to do an article on Scrap Girls Easy Page Pro Albums, I was a little perplexed as to what to write about.

As I perused the Scrap Girls Boutique trying to decide which products to highlight, I started to get really excited. Why didn't I pay attention to these little gems before? With Easy Page Pro Albums, you get the most beautiful, fully done, (sans photos) layouts created by our most talented designers. All you have to do is place your photos in the spaces provided. What could be better?

The really great thing about Easy Pages is that if you want to customize them, you can! In this layout using Easy Page Pro Album: 12x12 Snow Fun, I wanted to use a few more pictures than the one large one, so I added the three picture frames on their own layers. I also added ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Fancy That to create some flowing swirls around my extra pictures. The finishing touch was the journaling to document our fun snow day.

I was amazed at how quickly I got this done! I can see myself using Easy Pages much more often to get caught up on some long-neglected pages. An added bonus to some of the Scrap Girls Easy Page Pro Albums is that they have coordinating collections like Snow Fun Collection Biggie which goes with the Easy Page Pro Album: 12x12 Snow Fun.

Layout by Jennifer McCabe
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Fancy That are also available.

With the holidays coming up, another great use for Easy Page Pro Albums is gifts for family and friends. Using Amanda McGee's Easy Page Pro Album: 8x8 Cherry Kitchen Cookbook, I was able to create this quick-and-easy recipe page by using one of my grandmother's recipes along with her picture. You could also use the picture space for a picture of the actual food, of course. I'm thinking about using the rest of the album to document our family recipes and giving them as gifts to my sisters-in-law. They would love to have a family recipe book - and I just love the cheerful vintage look of this album.

Layout by Jennifer McCabe
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Commercial license versions of AMC_Chalk Talk Font are also available.

Finally, using Angie Briggs's Easy Page Pro: 8.5x11 2011 Calendar, I can create a custom calendar with family birthdays and events. What a great gift that would be for many family members, and it's so easy with this Easy Page Pro Album! I will also be using these calendar pages with my daughter to practice calendar skills while we homeschool. She will love the personalized calendar with her own pictures on it.

So, if you're like me and you haven't had a chance to use these fantastic Easy Page Pro Albums, give them a try. You'll love how EASY they are! (Pun intended!)

Layout by Jennifer McCabe
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Commercial license versions of Easy Page Pro: 8.5x11 2011 Calendar and 2 Much Fun Collection Mini are also available.

Article written by Jennifer McCabe

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:

30-33 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:

Scrapbook Quotes: The right quote for your scrapbook layouts

Looking for scrapbooking quotes or quotes to use for greeting cards? Here's your solution. This packed eBook contains hundreds of quotes, collected over many years by Rozanne Paxman specifically for use on scrapbooking layouts.

Inspirations 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? Find your answers and take the next step in Inspirations: Celebrating Life's Joys With Digital Scrapbooking eBook. This eBook is meant to highlight the hopes and loves, the faith and joys, the simple days and big events that give our lives meaning and inspire us - and the pages we create about them. There are different layouts in a wide range of styles and techniques to be found in the book, and there are a multitude of ideas to be culled from the pages.

Scrap Girls Tutorials & Way Cool Stuff eBook Set - 2010 1st 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 1st Quarter of 2010 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!

Mastering Brushes for Photoshop

Whether you are just finding out about brushes, or have been using them for a while, this eBook will help you see and understand the creative power that brushes contain and give you new ideas for using them in your digital scrapbooking layouts.

See more titles

Surprise! Surprise! More Gifts Galore!
We have TWO designer freebies for you each day until Christmas Eve!

Layout by Keri Schueller
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Designer Freebie by Keri Schueller coordinates with her Kiddie Christmas Collection

Commercial license versions of Kiddie Christmas Collection, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Exquisite, A Victorian Christmas Collection and A Joyful Season Collection Biggie are also available.

Layout by Caroline Kaiser
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Designer Freebie by Caroline Kaiser coordinates with her Unique Roses Collection

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates: Wild Tiles, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Chalk Fill Warm 9901 Biggie and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Photo Borders 6501 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, December 2nd - 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 Pat (PBarnes) at 2pm MT in the chat room Lobby! Hope to see you there!

What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique Chat
Friday, December 3rd - 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 - Early Edition
Friday, December 3rd - 2:00PM MT

Need a little extra motivation to back-up your layouts and stash? Join April (April Showers) in the chat room on Friday, December 3rd for a Back-up Party and Chat. We'll go over several different ways to safeguard your files and even give you some tips on organizing your supplies. You won't want to miss this one!

Quote Challenge Chat
Monday, December 6th - 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! Everyone can participate and create a layout, even if you can't make the chat. Hope to see you there!

NSBR Chat
Monday, December 6th - 7:00PM 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 Carla (CRS) and Lei (Bride) on December 6th at 7pm MT!

ScrapSimple Club Chat
Tuesday, December 7th - 5:00PM MT

Join April (April Showers) and Angela (angelaNussbaum) on Tuesday, December 7th at 5pm MT for a chat and challenge using this month's ScrapSimple Club. Did you know that every time you create a layout with the ScrapSimple Club and upload it into the ScrapSimple Club Gallery that you could be chosen to be featured in the Newsletter and receive a prize? Well, join us for the chat so we can encourage and inspire you and help with any questions that you may have. Let's get those ScrapSimple Club layouts done and uploaded!

Creative Cards Chat
Tuesday, December 7th - 6:00PM MT

Do you use your digital supplies to make cards? Do you want to? Instead of going to the store every time you need a card, you can save money and have fun making cards with your digi-stash! Make a note of any cards you might need for the upcoming month and join April (April Showers) and Theresa (tiza126) for the once-a-month Card Chat on Tuesday, December 7th at 6pm MT. Can't wait to see you there!

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, December 8th - 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 December 8th, we'll do a photo-manipulation challenge! Change a photo to sepia, cut out a background, use actions, play with filters, or just try something new with your photos! You'll be amazed what you can get done in just one hour, but there is no High Noon Sheriff timing you!

Baby Theme Crop and Chat
Wednesday, December 8th - 7:00PM MT

Join Carla (CRS) and Thersea (tiza126) for a new twist on the Baby Theme Crop! This month we want to hear the stories and see the photos from the holidays! Any holiday, not just the winter holidays. You can scrap your own photos, your children's or grandchildren's, or nieces and nephews! We'll see you in the chat room on Wednesday, December 8th at 7pm MT!

Sketch Challenge Crop and Chat
Thursday, December 9th - 7:00PM MT

Join Marnie (sprinklz) for the Sketch Challenge and Crop on Thursday, December 9th 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 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!

DECEMBER EVENTS

A Sweet December Challenge!

During the month of December, all chats and challenges will be a little sweeter. Each time you attend a chat and post a layout for the chat's challenge or post a layout for a Message Board challenge, you will be entered into a weekly drawing for a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

To participate, upload a layout to the Message Board Gallery and post a link to your layout in the corresponding Message Board thread by Saturday at Midnight MT. Each week, the Welcoming Committee will compile all of the participating names and do a random drawing for the $10 Gift Certificate. That's right - ONE $10 Gift Certificate for EACH WEEK of December! Winners will be announced in the following Saturday's Newsletter.

December Message Board Game: BINGO!

Join us for an exciting game of Holiday BINGO on the Message Board Forum in December! Pick 25 words from the list provided and send them in an email to [email protected] with a subject line that says "BINGO CARD - your Scrap Girls Message Board username" by Friday, December 3rd (Midnight MST) in order to play in the first round. The first round will begin on Saturday, December 4th. If you miss the first round deadline, you can still play! Just send in your BINGO card at any time during the month, and you'll be eligible to begin playing when the next new round starts.

Each day, a member of the Welcoming Committee will call five random words from the BINGO list. Match just 15 of those words to win a BINGO. You must be first to call "BINGO!" in the game thread to win that round. After a winner is called, the boards will be cleared and a new round will begin the following day.

Each winner will receive a $5 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique! We like to see lots of winners, so please remember that each person can only win one round during the month. Have fun!

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

Layout Contests:

December Monthly Layout Contest: For this month's contest we want you to scrap a layout using a Christmas carol or Hanukkah song as inspiration. You can use just the title or include some of the verses. If the song has a particular memory or meaning for you, journal about that. Share with us a favorite holiday song. Post your layouts in the December Gallery before Midnight MT on December 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!