The Hurried-er I Go, the Behind-er I Get.

That saying hung on a plaque in the rec room of my childhood home. We also had pictures of poker-playing dogs and other plaques with pithy sayings like "Ve get too soon oldt; und too late smart."

What can I say? My mother had a wacky sense of humor. But her words are speaking to me now as I start another new year struggling to balance all the demands for my time.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist, to say the least. Consequently, I tend to overwork and overthink things. Stuff piles up, and I find myself running just to stay in place.

Here's a good example. I religiously download my daily Scrap Girls freebie every day. The freebies are, well, free - and they're gorgeous. How can I not download every single one?

A nagging voice was telling me I needed to unzip and organize all the freebies I've accumulated, so that I could actually use them! Otherwise, what was the point?

So I checked the freebie folder on my desktop and counted 97 – yikes! I was drowning in freebies. How did I let them pile up for so long? Were they sneaking onto my computer during the night? Is there a freebie fairy who thinks I am worthy to be so blessed? Was it Santa Claus? My cup overfloweth with freebies.

It was time to stop obsessing and just go do it! I love digital graphics. It's one of my favorite art forms. So I figured I needed a new plan of attack. This list of tactics is going up on my bulletin board right now.

I will:

Deal with each e-mail as I open it and get it off my plate. I will not agonize so much over the wording and grammar of my replies.


Check each inbox once in the morning and once at the end of the day, closing each after check-in to avoid temptation.


Check Facebook once in the morning and close it. Facebook is fun, but what a time drain!


Eliminate some of the free newsletters I've signed up for. I find myself reading the same information over and over just to be sure I don't miss anything.


Set aside at least an hour a day for art - just for me.

If this works, by the end of the year I should have two or three hours a day for my art. Nirvana.

P.S. This past weekend, I unzipped and organized all 97 of the digital freebies that snuck onto my computer somehow. It took two hours and 10 minutes to unzip and file them. Remind me not to do that again.

Today the freebies, tomorrow the world!

- Eileen

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 Elisha Barnett using January'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 Trish Yochum using December's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Trish Yochum and Valerie Randall

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!

At Scrap Girls, we care about each one of our customers! Truly, we do! And here are some of the nice things our customers have said to us lately:

Thank you, Angie, for your prompt help with my goof-up. It's much appreciated. You all are such terrific people here at Scrap Girls! Keep up the wonderful work.

Thank you so much! Scrap Girls has by far the best customer service I have ever experienced... even better than Nordstrom's!

Thank you. You consistently go over and above to provide superb customer service for us. I feel so thankful to have found Scrap Girls.

Thanks for the replacement file, Angie. Your prompt and helpful service is just marvelous and very much appreciated. You and your team are always reliable. Your award is well deserved. However, I do feel your site should carry a "Health Warning" that Scrap Girls and digital scrapbooking is addictive! I find I have to use all my self-control to walk past my computer and get on with all the other important-but-mundane things in life - you know, work, housework, eating, shopping, etc. I do, for the most part, cope with the withdrawal symptoms, but it is oh-so-great and satisfying to sit down at the computer when all these "interferences" are out of the way and pass the time in my scrapbook world. Again, thanks (I think) for making scrapping so much fun!

Amazing customer service - especially for a Sunday night! Very impressive!

Angie, you are AWESOME! It worked, so now I can play with my brackets. Thank you so much for your support and help with this matter. I've complained in the past that customer service isn't what it used to be, but y'all have the BEST customer service I've come across in a long time.

You guys are the greatest! I can never say it enough: thanks for all you do!

I would just like to say thank you for the daily freebies. I actually feel guilty when I download them and don't leave a message showing my appreciation!

I'm very new to digital scrapbooking, and truthfully, to paper scrapbooking, too. I am going to be a grandmother for the first time, and I want to be able to create beautiful pages of memories, unlike the "ugly" photo albums I have which have basically damaged my photographs. Anyway, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to try different things - and for the freebies - and especially the tutorials and help!

I just wanted to say how much I look forward to your newsletter. It always makes my day. I grab my morning coffee and read every article and look at every layout. I really enjoyed the articles by Ro. They are really well written and can apply to all of us at one time in our lives. Keep up the awesome work you all do, and may God bless you all.

Weekly Layout Winners

Layout by makib1218
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Tattered Photo, Character Collection Biggie, Dynamic Brush Set: Deco Stitch 5001, Dynamic Brush Set: Straight Stitch 5001, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Edge It 5001, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Deep Shadows 6501 PSE and PS Biggie and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Butterfly Shadows 6301 Mini are also available.

Layout by Westina
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Layer Your Own Brushes: Fancy Envelopes 3, Bookworm Collection Biggie and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Stitch 1801 are also available.

Want to see your layouts make an appearance in the Scrap Girls newsletters?

Simply post your digital or paper layouts that use Scrap Girls products in our online gallery, and if we choose your layout to be featured in the newsletter, you'll win a prize! To be considered, don't forget to list the Scrap Girls products that you used in your layout.

Congratulations to this week's selectees. Please email [email protected] to get your gift!

Want to see past winners of the Weekly Layout Contest? Visit the Weekly Layout Winners gallery on our message board here!

December's Monthly Layout Contest Winners

Layout by Belle
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Stacked Photos 6502 PSE and PS Mini are also available.

Layout by chriszabelle
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates: Big Circles are also available.

Congratulations to the winners of the December layout contest, Belle and Cherry (chriszabelle). Their layouts each fit the theme of scrapping a layout inspired by a holiday song or carol. Belle and Cherry (chriszabelle) each receive a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique for their efforts. Congratulations!

Congratulations to this month's winners. Please email [email protected] to get your gift!

Want to see past winners of the Monthly Layout Contest? Visit the Monthly Layout Winners gallery on our message board here!

Contest Winners

12 Days of Christmas Game Winners:

Star Game Winner ($20 Gift Certificate): SandyFeet

Quiz Game Winner ($20 Gift Certificate): maril

Christmas Tree of Doom Winners:

5-9 correct ($5 Gift Certificate): BarbaraC1977
10-24 correct ($10 Gift Certificate): EkaSyr
25+ correct ($25 Gift Certificate): roseyj100

Congratulations to these members who found all of the items on this year's Christmas Tree of Doom! They each receive a $10 Gift Certificate for their efforts!

valancy
roseyj100
princessrunningfingers
jeschaff
winsomewatcher
CC from AZ
mbc72
daisies803
camerabug

Project SG Winners

Congratulations to Kacie for being chosen as the winner from the fourth quarter drawing in the Project SG Challenge. She wins her choice of a ScrapSimple Digital Layout Template from the Scrap Girls Boutique!

Congratulations to Joyce (princessrunningfingers) for being chosen as the Grand Prize winner in the Project SG Challenge! Joyce wins a 12 X 12, 52-page Keepsakes photobook from Color, Inc!

New Year's Eve Sale Bulletin Winner

Congratulations to Jan Perry McLaughlin for being chosen as the winner from Ro's New Year's Eve Bulletin contest. She wins a $50 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

Congratulations to this month's winners! Please send an email to [email protected] to claim your prize, if you haven't already received it!

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

Layout by Angela Blanchard
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Designer Freebie by Angela Blanchard coordinates with her Digital Stickers: Farmstead Animals

Commercial license versions of Digital Stickers: Farmstead Animals and Farmstead Collection 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

Recipe Swap Chat
Saturday, January 8th - 7:00PM MT

Join April (April Showers) and Lei (Bride) at 7pm MT in the chat room for our Monthly Recipe Swap Chat. Please check the message board the Thursday before the chat for this month's theme and the swap details!

Quote Challenge Crop
Monday, January 10th - 7:00PM MT

Come join Pat (PBarnes) for the Quote Challenge Crop at 7pm 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 Monday, 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!

Journaling Chat
Monday, January 10th - 6:00PM MT

Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Lei (Bride) for a Journaling Chat at 6pm MT on the second Monday of each month. 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!

New Member Chat
Tuesday, January 11th - 7:00PM MT

Join Pat (PBarnes)and Angela (angelaNussbaum) 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.

Use Your Stash! Chat
Tuesday, January 11th - 8:00PM MT

So we all have an arsenal of products tucked into out computers and EHD's. How many of you have products you have purchased that you have NEVER used? Come join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and Theresa (tiza126) in the chatroom and talk about all the files we haven't even unzipped yet and ways to start using them. We will post a challenge for you the day of the chat to get you started.

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, January 12th - 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 January 12th, we'll do an embellishment challenge! Create a layout using lots of embellishments - flowers, tags, frames, whatever you'd like! Make use of those fancy, fun embellishments! 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 & Chat
Wednesday, January 12th - 7:00PM MT

Join Carla (CRS) and Thersea (tiza126) for a new twist on the Baby Theme Crop! We're starting the New Year with a new challenge. This month, we'll work with ABC's. Include something in your layout that starts with an A, a B and a C! We'll see you in the chat room on Wednesday, January 12th at 7pm MT!

What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique Chat
Friday, January 14th - 9:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) at 9am MT on Friday mornings to chat about all the cool new things in the Scrap Girls Boutique. What are your favorite new items? Is your shopping basket full? What did you kaboodle? Have you already done layouts or other projects with your new goodies? Come tell the designers how much you love their work. You never know who will show up. There's a thread every Thursday and now there's a chat too!

Hybrid Craft Chat
Friday, January 14th - 7:00PM MT

Do you love your digital supplies but still like to use glue, paper and maybe even glitter? Then come join Carla (CRS) and Shannon (tinkerbell11) in the Chatroom for a Hybrid Craft Chat. We will be starting the New Year in style with a fun altered journal.

JANUARY EVENTS

January Message Board Game: Jumpstart January!

Join us on the Message Board this month for "Jumpstart January!" This is a Message Board game and challenge to start your year with fun and focus on taking time to scrapbook regularly despite the little speedbumps of life. When the month is over, you'll have completed several layouts and been challenged and treated to some fun along the way.

A member of the Welcoming Committee will post a mini-challenge/task every day from January 1-30 in the Games folder on the Message Board. Check out the game thread titled "January Jumpstart 2011" for complete details and rules.

Those who complete all tasks and submit or post required participation by 11:59pm MT on January 31st will be entered in a drawing to win one of three $10 Gift Certificates to the Scrap Girls Boutique! Those who complete just the layouts will be entered in a separate drawing to win one of three $5 gift certificates. (Those who complete all tasks will have their name entered in both drawings!) Winners will be announced in the newsletter on Saturday, February 5th.

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

Layout Contests:

January Monthly Layout Contest: Now that the snow is flying in some parts of the world, we are focusing on staying warm! For the January Layout Contest, we'd love to see what you do to stay warm! Do you have a favorite blanket or sweater? Or is there a family favorite comfort food you turn to in the winter? Let's scrap the photos and stories that help keep us warm! Post your layouts in the January Gallery before Midnight MT on January 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!