Note from Heidi: I just got back from a two-week road trip to west Texas where the temperature averaged in the mid-80s! Now I'm back in Utah where it's drizzly and cold and I have to wear socks again. I am SO ready for spring to be here! I've really realized this year that I am NOT a winter person and would cheerfully give up my long winter nights and snow-filled winter days for someplace nice and temperate - like Maui. Hey, they get snow there, too, once in a while! I can drive up the volcano and visit when I'm feeling the need to throw snowballs!

Scrap Girls designer Kim Meeder found the perfect fix for her winter blahs by finding a gorgeous flower show near her home. She goes every year, and I loved seeing the color splash out from her amazing digital scrapbook page! I think finding a flower show nearby might be a lot cheaper than moving to Maui!

Kim Meeder

Finding Spring

Early March signals the start of the annual Philadelphia International Flower Show. My husband and I take a yearly pilgrimage to the show, and it's a treat we look forward to all year long. The flower show arrives just about the time we think we cannot stand another day of winter.

We travel downtown, park the car in a public garage, and walk to the entrance of the convention center. Our excitement builds as we see people exiting the show carrying large bouquets of flowers and plants, gardening equipment, and outdoor decor. Our senses are overwhelmed when we enter the exhibit space. We see, hear, feel, and smell springtime.

Not only are flowers displayed, but entire backyards, gardens, ponds, and woodland areas are recreated. Trees tower above our heads. Blossoms are everywhere. It is truly an amazing sight and a definite photo op. Both gardeners and photographers abound. Here's a digital scrapbooking layout using last year's photos, but be on the lookout for a new one celebrating this year's visit.

- Kim

Layout by Kim Meeder

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates: Bursting, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Glitter Sparks 6401 Super Biggie, My Sweet Baby - Boy Collection and Lettering Delights Underwood Pica Font 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 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 Brandy Murry using February's ScrapSimple Club
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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!

Assemble Your Own Zoom Pages: 12x12

I recently took my youngest son's picture as he turned five months old. For some reason, about eight years ago when I took a picture of my twins at that age, I sat them in some pots - maybe because I was amused that they could fit. Well, I decided to amuse myself again with Nathan and the same pots.

Once I had the picture taken, I needed to decide how I wanted to scrap it. I decided that an AYO Zoom Page Kit would be the way to go. With such a young one in the house, I am usually looking for ways to make my digital scrapbooking happen fast. The AYO Zoom Page Kits have enough papers and embellishments included to let me feel creative, yet still save me lots of time. I could pull items from coordinating collections, but I decided to stick with just the items in one kit. I pulled each item from Assemble Your Own Zoom Pages: Beloved into Photoshop Elements 9 so I could play around with them and decide what I wanted to use.

For the base of the layout, you can see in the screenshot that I layered the papers and strips provided. With the black strip centered in a horizontal fashion, I wanted the gray/white strip to border it. The gray/white strip was not wide enough, so I duplicated it. I nudged one copy to the left and one to the right until they gave me the border that I wanted. I also wanted a small border of the green 12x12-inch paper under the strips. So I used the Rectangular Marquee Tool to make the selection of the area of green paper that I wanted to keep. I hit Select> Inverse, then hit Delete to remove the unwanted portions of the green paper. After adding shadows to the strips, I had the base of my layout ready to go.

From there, I added my picture, some embellishments, and my journaling. Quick and easy! I sure love the variety of products in the Scrap Girls Boutique. Using this AYO Zoom Page Kit made scrapping this picture of Nathan so much fun!

Learn the basics - and a whole lot more - about digital scrapbooking when you check out the incredible tutorials in Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed and MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed!

Layout by Charlene Crowder
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Commercial license versions of Assemble Your Own Zoom Pages: Beloved, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Deep Shadows 6501 PSE and PS Biggie and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Shadow Layer 6501 PSE 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:

30-33 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:

Scrap Girls Tutorials & Way Cool Stuff eBook Set - 2010 2nd 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 2nd 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!

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.

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 layouts.

Perfect Memories for Photoshop Elements eBook

With five beautifully illustrated sections this eBook not only offers details on the most common photo flaws, but stunning designs by SIX contemporary digital artists in a variety of styles, as well as detailed steps for tackling layouts using your own flawed photos. Designed for the novice and expert alike, Perfect Memories will have you re-looking at photos previously deemed lost causes and utilizing their unique attributes as focal points for digital documentation of life's most cherished moments.

See more titles

Layout by Cheré Edwards
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Designer Freebie by Cheré Edwards coordinates with her Wee Totette Collection Mini

Today's freebie designed by Cheré Edwards

* 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

Use Your Stash! Chat
Thursday, March 10th - 6:00PM MT

Join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and Theresa (tiza126) in the chat room for this month's edition of the "Use your Stash Chat". We will post a challenge earlier in the day to inspire you to use some of your unused digital supplies!

What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique Chat
Friday, March 11th - 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!

Recipe Swap Chat
Saturday, March 12th - 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 Chat
Monday, March 14th - 2:00PM MT

Come join Pat (PBarnes) for the Quote Challenge Crop at 2pm 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. Early 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, March 14th - 6:00PM MT

Join Carla (CRS) 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 - Early Edition
Tuesday, March 15th - 1:00PM MT

Join Debbie (B&K Mom) 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, March 15th - 6:00PM MT

Join Elisha (elibar) and Lei (Bride) for a Faith Journey Chat on the third Tuesday of each month at 6pm 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, March 16th - 10:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) 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 16th, we will be doing a ScrapSimple challenge! Create a layout using at least one ScrapSimple product. If you haven't used them before, we'll have some great ideas for you during the chat. 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!

Hybrid Craft Chat
Wednesday, March 16th - 6:00PM MT

Join Carla (CRS) & Shannon (tinkerbell11) in the chatroom to chat about Hybrid Crafts. This month we will do some fun spring crafts! Come and see what else you can do with your digital supplies!

U.F.O Chat
Wednesday, March 16th - 7:00PM MT

Everyone has them - those projects you started but just haven't gotten around to finishing! Join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and our guest this week Cheri (Cheri T), one of our very talented Layout Designers, in the chatroom at 7pm MT to talk about all of them. Post your layouts in the Unfinished Objects Layout Gallery before the chat so we can get Cheri's input.

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!