Ever wish that you could be a Product Designer for Scrap Girls?

Well, now's your chance to apply!

If you are interested, please forward the following items to [email protected].

The subject line must read: Product Designer Application.

1. 3 color palettes that you might use as a basis for designing collections.

2. A collection mini, consisting of 6 background papers, 1 "sheet" of embellishments, and 1 "sheet" of word art.

   A "sheet" consists of a grouping of items that will fit on an 8.5x11 document. Take care to make sure that the collection mini's color set is well balanced and that it has an idea that ties it together. It should contain enough embellishments and word art to be useful to someone who wishes to make several layouts from it. Also, take care that the embellishments are not a grouping of a small number of items that have just been re-colored. This is your opportunity to show your versatility and skill-level.

3. At least one sample layout using the collection mini.

4. A brush set with 3 brushes.

5. A paper template set (like our ScrapSimple Paper Templates) with 2 papers.

6. An embellishment template set (like our ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates) with 3 embellishments.

Also, answer the following questions in the body of your application email.

Approximately, how much would you like to earn each month?
Approximately, how many hours do you have to dedicate to design work each week?
What are your goals as it pertains to design work?
Why are you interested in working with Scrap Girls?
What software do you use?
Any other information that you will would be helpful as we make our decision.

Other instructions: Save your files as 600px wide, 72 dpi. Place them in one zipped folder and forward with your application email.

DEADLINE: Friday, April 29th, 5:00 PM Mountain Time.

Notifications of results will be sent to all applicants by Friday, May 6th.

What is Ro looking for in a new designer?

Talent
Desire to work with Scrap Girls and be a committed, active member of our team
Work ethic
Software and designing skills

If a talented person comes along whose skills are not quite what they might be, and if Ro feels they would be a super-committed, dynamic member of our team if given a little help, she may choose to put them through an apprentice program.

Rozanne Paxman

When was the last time you did something new – just for the fun of trying it out?

When was the last time you did something new – not caring about the final results?

When was the last time you tried something new – giving yourself permission to make a big mess of it?

When was the last time you told your inner critic to go sit in a corner with a dunce hat on her head because you were going to get out the finger paints and spread blue gunk all over the counter – just because you like how blue gunk feels between your fingers?

When was the last time you digitally scrapped without feeling that you must have professional results or that you have failed?

I am officially giving you permission to make mistakes while learning.

After all, it's what curious chicks do.

P.S. Today is my mother's birthday. She is 86 years old today! Everybody give her big shout out. Sing Happy Birthday to her!

P.P.S. I made my family tree using my Country Family Tree Collection. This picture of my mom was taken when she was studying to be a teacher. The picture of my father (now deceased) was taken during World War II. They were high school sweethearts - and are just sweethearts in general!

Layout by Ro
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Commercial license versions of Country Family Tree Collection are also available.

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!

Easter Craft

Here's a fun and easy-to-do craft project for the Easter holiday! Make your Easter cupcakes all the more memorable with these beautiful (and incredible easy) cupcake wrappers.

You will need:

ScrapSimple Craft Template: Cupcake Wrapper
Your stash of Easter or spring-themed Scrap Girls papers and embellishments
Light- to medium-weight paper or cardstock
Printer
Scissors or craft knife
Adhesive
Cupcakes

First, open the file for your chosen cupcake template. In this example, I used the Straight Tall template. There will be two layers - the base (the wrapper itself) and the adhesive strip, as shown below:

Next, click-and-drag a digital paper onto your layout. Make sure the paper layer is above the Straight Tall template layer. Now, create a clipping mask. But first, make sure your paper layer is selected in the Layers Palette (simply click on the paper layer to select it). Then, hit Ctrl+Alt+G (in Photoshop) or Ctrl+G (in Photoshop Elements). Your paper will "clip" to the shape of the base layer.

If you need to resize your paper to fit the template more precisely, just click on the paper layer, hold the Shift key, and pull in the corner handles.

Now you can now embellish your cupcake wrapper with word art or pretty embellishments. Click-and-drag embellishments or word art onto your layout and put them wherever you want! Just be sure to position your embellishments on the layers above the cupcake template and above the paper that is clipped to the template.

When you are finished, save your file under a different name to prevent overwriting the original file.

When you are ready to print, open a new document with these dimensions: 8.5 inches length x 11 inches width. Bring your finished wrappers into this new document. I was able to fit three cupcake wrappers in this landscape format.

Here are some more samples I made.

Cut out the wrappers using scissors or a craft knife. To join the two sides together, apply glue or double-sided tape to the strip protruding from the template. Carefully place your cupcake inside the wrapper.

That's it! Now step back and enjoy the compliments that you will surely receive from family and friends when they see your one-of-a-kind cupcake wrappers!

Craft by Armi Custodio
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Craft Templates: Cupcake Wrapper are also available.

Article written by Armi Custodio

Nestling Photos into Ribbons

Note: Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 on a PC running Windows 7.

Many times it's the little things that really give a layout dimension and cohesion. Embellishments that fold over and under your photos can be that special touch that makes all the difference. Let's talk about using ribbons to do just that today!

First, open a new 12x12-inch file and click-and-drag a paper you want to use as a background. Then, select your photos and drag them onto your layout. Next, bring in the ribbon and your photo frame. For this example, I am using ribbon from the Newlywed Collection and a frame from the Feeling Free Collection.

Add your photos to the frames and merge your photo and the corresponding photo frame together. To do this, highlight your photo in the Layers Palette, hold down Ctrl and click on the frame for that photo so that they are both highlighted. Now right-click and select "Merge Layers" from the drop-down menu. Do this for each of your photos.

It looks nice as it is, but let's take it to the next level. Highlight one of your photos in the Layers Palette and reduce the Opacity to around 50%.

Now you can see the ribbon behind the photo. What you want to do now is to remove portions of the photo so that the ribbon can show and look like it's lying on top of the photo. To do this, select the Polygonal Lasso Tool and click around the edge of the ribbon fold that you want to show. When you connect the lasso back to your first point, a line of "marching ants" will appear. Double-check that the photo layer is selected in the Layers Palette and then hit Delete.

You will do this for each section of photo where the ribbon will show as being on top.

After you are finished removing the portions of the photo that will be "below" the ribbon, go back and return the photo opacity to 100%. Now it really looks like the ribbon flows above and below the photo and gives a sense of dimension and realism to the layout.

Do this same treatment to each of the photos in your layout, and you'll see what a big difference such a little detail can make!

Layout by Angela Blanchard
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Commercial license versions of Heraldic Crest Collection Biggie and Feeling Free Collection are also available.

Article written by Angela Blanchard

Layout by Amanda Fraijo-Tobin
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Designer Freebie by Amanda Fraijo-Tobin coordinates with her ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Hodge Podge,
part of this month's ScrapSimple Club offering!

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

Today's freebie designed by Amanda Fraijo-Tobin

* 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.

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, April 13th - 10:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) each 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 April 13th, we'll do a color challenge. Use the color green as a dominant color in your layout. 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, April 13th - 5:00PM MT

Join Shannon (tinkerbell11) in the chatroom for this month's Hybrid Craft Chat. We will be doing some fun Easter Crafts this month. Join in to see what else you can do with your digital supplies!

Baby Theme Crop
Wednesday, April 13th - 6:00PM MT

Join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and Theresa (tiza126) for a new twist on the Baby Theme Crop at 6pm MT! We're continuing the New Year with a new challenge. This month, we'll continue to work with ABC's. Include something in your layout that starts with a J, a K and a L!

Use Your Stash Chat
Thursday, April 14th - 6:00PM MT

Join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and Theresa (tiza126) in the chat room at 6pm MT 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, April 15th - 9:00AM MT

Join April (April Showers) at 9am MT on 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!

Back-Up Party and Chat
Friday, April 15th - 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!

April Message Board Game: BINGO!

Join us for an exciting game of Springtime BINGO on the Message Board Forum in April! Pick 25 words from the list provided and send them in an email to [email protected] with a subject line that says "BINGO CARD - your Scrap Girls Message Board username" by Saturday, April 2nd at Midnight MST in order to play in the first round. The first round will begin on Monday, April 4th. If you miss the first round deadline, you can still play! Just send in your BINGO card at any time during the month, and you'll be eligible to begin playing when the next new round starts.

Each day, a member of the Welcoming Committee will call five random words from the BINGO list. Match just 15 of those words to win a BINGO. You must be first to call "BINGO!" in the game thread to win that round. After a winner is called, the boards will be cleared and a new round will begin the following day.

Each winner will receive a $5 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique! We like to see lots of winners, so please remember that each person can only win one round during the month. Have fun!

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

April Monthly Layout Contest: Earth Day was started in the United States in 1970 and it went global in 1990. For April's Monthly Layout Contest, we want you to show us what Earth Day means to you or what you are doing to make our precious world a little greener. Post your layouts in the April Monthly Layout Gallery before Midnight MT on April 30th. 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!