Rozanne Paxman

A Walk Around The Neighborhood

What? Walk around neighborhood

When? March 23, 2011

Why? Because my brain was full, and I needed to clear it out.

Who? Just me, my camera, and a zoom lens

How? Just meandering along, trying not to get caught as I took photos of people

Fiercely large mountains. This shot was taken from my front porch.

Blue, blue sky.

"I love my camera, too," she said as she whipped by me.

She must be a Scrap Girl. She is wearing purple pajamas.

My ambitious friend, Teri, trimming her rose bushes.

Life is in the details.

Did it fall or did they fall? Does it matter? The bike doesn't think so.

Follow the paver road.

"Hello there. Do you have any doggie treats?"

"My name is Big Fella. What's yours?"

What would they think if I climbed up in the playhouse?

There's something about diagonal lines that says, "I like gardening."

You're not mistaken: Spring is on the way.

Basketball is popular around here.

27 basketball hoops in one small neighborhood may be overkill.

Always end a story on a high note – or mountain.

- Ro

Layout by Ro
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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!

How to Make Easy Layouts with JIF 6 Kits

Tutorial created using Photoshop Elements 7.0 with Windows XP.

JIF Kits are one of the fastest and easiest ways to create a finished layout within minutes - literally. Because they come with the finished layout in a PSD file, it's super-easy for you to simply click-and-drag your photos and customize the layout to your preference. The finished product is a beautiful professional-looking layout in a fraction of the time it normally takes you to assemble a digital scrapbooking layout. Let me show you how easy it is.

First, open the PSD files that come with your JIF 6 Kit. I am using JIF 6: My Sunshine for this tutorial.

In your Layers Palette, you will see all the embellishments, word art, and papers that create this layout. Each layer can be deleted, moved, or altered to your liking.

Open the photo you would like to use on your layout.

Move (click and drag) your photo into your software program. Move the photo up or down in the Layers Palette until it is directly above the round photo mask. I'm going to use the round circle photo mask with my photo so that it will focus just on my son and eliminate all the other extra background in the photo.

Make sure your photo layer is selected in the Layers Palette. By holding down Ctrl+G (Alt+Ctrl+G for PS users), you will create a clipping mask. A clipping mask makes the photo take on the shape of the layer below it. In this case, my photo takes on the shape of a circle. You will know that it created a clipping mask when you see your photo indented with a small arrow next to it pointing down.

If your photo is still selected in the Layers Palette, you can easily move around your photo or resize it to get it exactly where you would like it on the photo mask.

You can also add a shadow to the black photo mask (if there isn't one already) to give it depth on your layout.

Adding a photo is as easy as that! Go ahead and try it! I know you'll be hooked with how easy and fast scrapping can be now.

Layout by Shalae Tippetts
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Commercial license versions of JIF 6: My Sunshine are also available.

Article written by Shalae Tippetts

Layout by Julie White
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Designer Freebie by Julie White coordinates with her Brush Set: Hodge Podge,
part of this month's ScrapSimple Club offering

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Hodge Podge, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Decoupage Flowers, ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Hodge Podge and ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Layered are also available.

Today's freebie designed by Julie White

* 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.

Life Moments Crop & Chat
Tuesday, March 29th - 6:00PM MT

Join Theresa (tiza126) in the chat room March 29th at 6pm MT for the Life Moments Chat and Crop. These chats are focused on building a scrapbook all about you, one layout at a time. So dig through your files, write down your memories, and be sure to join us in the chat room!

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, March 30th - 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 30th, we'll have a Single Photo Challenge. Create a layout using a single, large, wonderful photo! 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!

ScrapSimple Use It! Chat
Friday, April 1st - 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, April 1st at 8am MT as we focus on using one of these versatile products!

What's New in the Boutique Chat
Friday, April 1st - 9:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) at 9am MT Friday morning 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!

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.

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!

Stop! Before you unsubscribe... Did you know we have a Weekly Round-Up newsletter?

This action-packed newsletter is sent out on Tuesday afternoons and summarizes what has happened in the past week. It's perfect for people who feel that they are too busy to read the daily editions! If you would like to receive our Round Up Newsletter, scroll to the bottom of this email and use the "Update Profile/Email Address" option to join the Round Up list and/or change your subscription options to our newsletters.

Of course, the Weekly Round Up Newsletter contains a fresh, new freebie, so even if you like to get the daily newsletters, you might want to join the Weekly Round-Up Newsletter, too. It's a great way to keep track of all of the fun things you are learning!