Rozanne Paxman

You Can't Stop The Waves

You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.

"Well, Art is Art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know." – Groucho Marx

"Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." – Leonardo da Vinci

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water." - Rabindranath Tagore

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!

Enter Now for a Chance to Win a Western Digital 500GB External Hard Drive!

Hey everybody! I've just moved my blog to a new spot on the Internet - some place that has my own name in it! As a celebration, I am having a little contest and it's super easy to enter. You can find all of the rules and such at RoPaxman.com.

See ya there!

- Ro

Follow Ro's popular blog – RoPaxman.com
Blog-only muses and humor pieces, inside scoop of Ro's life, photo journals, and more

Follow Ro's newest blog – How Mom Did It
Food recipes, homemaking tips, gardening, quilting, and other neat stuff her mom and grandma taught her

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 March'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 Sara Peterson using February's ScrapSimple Club
larger view

Created for you by Brandy Murry and Sara Beth Peterson

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!

The Original

Here is one of my very first digital scrapbooking layouts. I created it to remember the birthday party for my son, Frédéric. I love the fact that I included so many pictures in the filmstrips, but the layout is overloaded. That's why I decided to redo it and include some fun birthday-related embellishments.

Original layout by Caroline Kaiser

The Do-Over

First, I resized my layout to 12x12 inches and modified the placement of the photos. I grouped all of them in the upper right corner, leaving some white space at the bottom of the page. I kept the theme of the filmstrips and added a wooden frame to highlight the main picture. The photos needed a bit of sharpening and some exposure adjustment.

Next, I chose a different background paper. The paper I used is from my Le Chocolatier Collection Biggie. It is perfect because it frames the layout and adds a fun effect with the scallops and the dotted border.

At this point, I usually decide where I want to place my title and journaling.

I placed a few balloons on the left and right edges of the layout to add some dimension. They are colorized to match the main colors in the pictures.

Now it's time to add more embellishments. I wanted chocolate, sprinkles, candles, cakes... all in all, I wanted it to look colorful and fun!

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 members' pages and plies her design magic. Drop by the Scrap Girls Boutique today!

Layout by Caroline Kaiser
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Huge Balloons Biggie are also available.

Designer Do-Over by Caroline Kaiser

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.

Scrapbooking 911 - 2-page Sketches
to Revitalize Your Digital Scrapbooking eBook

Are you stuck in a creative corner? Need a jumpstart to your layouts? Want more ideas how to go from a blank page to a digital masterpiece? With a fresh collection of original sketches, all the hard design decisions (such as balance, composition, and rule of thirds) have already been made for you.

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!

Ten Beginner Tips on Type eBook

If you're creating a digital scrapbooking layout, it's almost guaranteed that you'll be using type on your pages somewhere. But did you know that type can make or break your page? What typeface will you use? What size font? Where will you place it on your page? If you want to take some beginner steps towards improving the type on your layouts, and thereby improving the overall look of your layouts, then this eBook is perfect for you.

See more titles

Layout by Syndee Nuckles
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Designer Freebie by Syndee Nuckles coordinates with her ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Happy Spring

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Happy Spring, Brush Set: Grungy Fragments and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Burned Corrugated Cardboard 6301 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

Life Moments Chat
Tuesday, March 1st - 6:00PM MT

Our Life Moments Challenge and Chat are all about YOU! We are usually so busy scrapping others in our lives that it's good to take time to work on a life album about ourselves. A challenge for this chat will be posted early in the day and we hope you will take the opportunity to add to your on-going album or to start one if you haven't yet. Join Pat (PBarnes) in the Chat Room Lobby at 6pm MT on Tuesday, March 1st!

Creative Cards Chat
Tuesday, March 1st - 7:00PM MT

Do you use your digi-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 digital stash! Make a note of any cards you might need for the upcoming month and join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and Theresa (tiza126) for the once-a-month Creative Card Chat on the first Tuesday of each month at 7pm MT. Can't wait to see you there!

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, March 2nd - 10:00AM MT

Join guest hostess Carla (CRS) this 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 March 2nd, we'll do a Details Challenge. Create a layout showing a unique detail. It can be a close-up photo or a layout focusing on a narrow subject. It is up to you. Have fun with it! 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! Hope to see you in the chat room!

ATC Swap Crop and Chat
Wednesday, March 2nd - 6:00PM MT

Please join Lei (Bride) & Elisha (elibar) in the chatroom for our ATC (Artist Trading Card) Swap Crop/Chat on the first Wednesday of each month at 6pm MT. Come see what everyone has created and we'll talk about next month's topic. We're looking forward to seeing you there.

NSBR Chat - Early Edition
Thursday, March 3rd - 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!

ScrapSimple - Use It! Chat
Friday, March 4th - 8:00AM MT

Strengthening your abilities in scrapbooking is essential to becoming a better scrapbooker and learning to utilize the ScrapSimple product line available here at Scrap Girls will give you so many more unique and fun options with your layouts! Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Elisha (elibar) for this monthly chat on Friday, March 4th at 8am MT as we focus on using one of these versatile products!

What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique Chat
Friday, March 4th - 9:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) at 9am MT on Friday mornings to chat about all the wonderful new products 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!

NSBR Chat
Monday, March 7th - 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 join Carla (CRS) and Lei (Bride) at 7pm MT on Monday, March 7th!

Sketch Challenge Chat
Tuesday, March 8th - 6:00PM MT

It's time for the Sketch Challenge and Crop! Join Cheri (Cheri T) on Tuesday, March 8th at 6pm 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, Cheri 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 scraplift the whole thing hook, line, and sinker! All interpretations of the design are welcome and encouraged. Don't worry about any deadlines... post your layout when it works with your schedule. Hope to see you there!

New Member Chat
Tuesday, March 8th - 7:00PM MT

Join Pat (PBarnes) and Theresa (tiza126) 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.

MARCH EVENTS

March Message Board Game: Going on a Boutique Hunt!

Remember as a child when you played the game that started like this: "I am going on a ___ hunt and bringing..." then you listed an item with the first letter of your name or a specific letter? We are playing a similar game on the Message Board during the month of March. Each day, a new theme and starting letter will be posted in the Game thread. Members will search the Boutique for something that fits the theme and post a link to it in the Game thread. Only one product per letter per round will be counted, and products cannot be used more than once. Collections and their individual parts are one product, and time stamps will be used to determine which post came first in case of more than one post per letter. Entries are to follow the alphabet, starting with the letter posted with the theme each day. There's a limit of three posts per person each day, and there must be another player's post before posting again.

PRIZES: Members' names will be added to a drawing based on the number of qualified product links which they post in the thread. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the month and winners will be announced in the April 2nd Newsletter. Gift certificates will be awarded as follows: First prize - $15 Gift Certificate; second prize - $10 Gift Certificate, and third prize - $5 Gift Certificate.

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

Layout Contests:

March Monthly Layout Contest: Do you have a good luck charm? Do you have something in your life that you consider lucky? For the March Layout Contest, scrap it! We'd love for you to share you luck! Post your layouts in the March Monthly Layout Gallery before Midnight MT on March 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!