Rozanne Paxman

Tangled Web

Life can feel like a tangled web of push-and-pull between our own actions, the actions of others, the forces of nature, our frail human bodies, and acts of God. What we choose affects ourselves and others. The choices of others affect them and those around them. Communities are affected by acts of God and nature. We get sick. We die. On the surface, it appears that we are so subject to the influence of others and influences outside of ourselves, that we have little control over our own lives.

But here is the truth of the truth of one of the few true truths of our lives: We have the agency to choose what we do and how we respond to every situation. And ultimately, we will be accountable for our choices.

It would be easy at this point to launch into a discussion of the world's ills and how they have been caused by poor choices. After all, the trouble that is brewing in the world has largely been caused by the unfortunate choices of people.

However, discussions about such matters usually focus on other people – how the poor choices of someone other than ourselves have made the world as it is. Yet it is far more difficult for us to chat with ourselves so that we might examine the choices we have made.

I will admit to you that I often find them difficult – these daily chats I have with myself about my choices. They are often filled with sorrow and regret. They are sometimes hours of tear-filled prayer. Occasionally, they are quiet celebrations that I made a correct choice during a difficult situation. They are always opportunities for growth and hope, as I have observed that when I humble myself and ask God for help with such things, the weight of my frailties lifts from my shoulders as hope that I might make better choices in the future fills my heart.

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 Syndee Nuckles 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 Cherise Oleson using January's ScrapSimple Club
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Created for you by Cherise Oleson 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!

Easy Scrapbook Layout Trick - Expand Canvas Size

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

For this tutorial, we're going to look at a quick way to get all the layers of a template onto your layout workspace. I'll use the "I Love You" template from ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Alphabet Messages.

Instead of making a new document for your layout, you can open up the ScrapSimple template that you wish to use. To get all the layers of the template into your layout in a jiffy, rather than clicking and dragging all those layers to your empty layout, why not expand the canvas size of the ScrapSimple template you are using? The most important thing to remember is that you must save the template with a new name and a new location so you don't save over the original template. (Do a File> Save As and give it a new name and a new location.) The ScrapSimple template has been copied and has now become your layout.

Now, let's change the canvas size, so go to Image> Canvas Size. (In Photoshop Elements, go to Image> Resize> Canvas Size.) Don't confuse Canvas Size with Image Size. Image Size will make the entire embellishment template larger. Canvas Size will expand the space that is around the embellishment template - this is what you want.

The dialog box for Canvas Size will appear with the existing size of the template.

Type "12" into both the Width and Height measurements, and click "OK."

You now have the beginning of a 12x12-inch layout. All the template layers are ready to be personalized. This technique comes in handy if you know which ScrapSimple template you want to use before starting your digital scrapbooking layout. You can use this on any ScrapSimple embellishment and word art template, or use it if you want to incorporate a 4x6-inch digital scrapbooking layout template into a larger layout.

Now, suppose you want to move this grouping around in the layout, or resize the template to be smaller. You will need to link all the layers together first.

Use the Layers Palette to link the layers together. Click on the top layer of the group, and while holding down the Shift key, click on the bottom layer of the group. All layers should be highlighted blue now.

Click on the Chain Link icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette, and your selected layers should link together. You can now move them around the layout, or you can Edit> Transform (Ctrl+Alt+T for PC; Cmd+Alt+T for Mac) the linked layers to resize the group smaller.

When you dive into Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed and MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed, you'll learn basics and a whole lot more! Explore the multiple methods of quickly color-changing ScrapSimple Templates, of using ScrapSimple Templates to make your own backgrounds, and the tips and tricks for using ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates to create beautiful memories for yourself and your loved ones. And that's just the beginning... there's so much more! Drop by the Scrap Girls Boutique now!

Layout by Sarah Batdorf
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Alphabet Messages, Moments Collection Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Basic Shadows 6501, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Wild Horses 6501 and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Mega Lift III - Linear Biggie are also available.

Tutorial written by Sarah Batdorf

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 Cherise Oleson
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Designer Freebie by Cherise Oleson coordinates with her ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Bus Scrolls,
part of this month's ScrapSimple Club offering!

* 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, January 19th - 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 19th, we'll do a geometric challenge! Create a layout using at least one triangle somewhere on your page! 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, January 20th - 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!

Heritage Crop & Chat
Thursday, January 20th - 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? Do you want some tips for scanning your old photos? 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 Challenge Chat
Thursday, January 20th - 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 in the Scrap Girls Boutique Chat
Friday, January 21st - 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!

Sketch Challenge Crop & Chat
Friday, January 21st - 7:00PM MT

It's time for the Sketch Challenge and Crop! Please note the day change for this month's meeting! Join Marnie (sprinklz) for a special Friday night edition on January 21st at 7pm MT in the Scrap Girls Chat Room! Enjoy getting a little creative boost for your pages? Are you needing help getting started? Then this is the challenge for you! A few hours before the chat begins, Marnie will post a link for you to download the sketch. Use it as the starting point for your page; be inspired by the basic arrangement; flip things around or copy the entire set-up exactly. All interpretations of the design are welcome and encouraged. And don't worry about any deadlines... post your layout when it works with your schedule. Hope to see you there!

Back-Up Party & Chat
Friday, January 21st - 8:00PM MT

Need a little extra motivation to back-up your layouts and stash? Join April (April Showers) in the chat room at 8pm MT for the Back-up Party and Chat. The goal of these chats is to make sure our back-ups are current. Come chat while you back up your files. We'll also go over several different ways to safeguard your files and even give you some tips on organizing your supplies. Grab some chocolate and we'll see you in the chat room!

New Member Chat
Tuesday, January 25th - 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.

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!