Trish Yochum

It's All in the Mii

Last year, I made the best decision I've made in a long time. I was presented with the opportunity to trade work with a personal trainer. She would help me get my fitness and nutrition back on track; in turn, I would create a logo and brochure for her.

I have always been on the heavy side, and I know that as I've gotten older, it's taking an irreversible toll on my body. When I was younger, it was easier to at least keep the weight down because there was more time to do active things. Over the last 15 years, the athlete that I have always seen myself as has been slowly slipping away, replaced with a non-active person I didn't recognize. My lack of activity wasn't just affecting me either. It was providing a poor example to my boys, so I needed to change in order to show them the right choices for a healthy lifestyle.

With that in mind, I made the commitment to choose action over laziness, sore muscles over stressed ones, and health over convenience. I started eating better by treating food as fuel instead of a comfort tool. Those moments of thinking, "I should workout today, but there just isn't time" have been replaced by knowing that I need that workout in order to keep balance in my life. The days that I would skip my workout became very noticeable. My shoulders would have knots, and my irritation level would be at maximum capacity by the end of the day. Those days reinforced my drive to keep at it.

It took me over a month to really get into the groove of eating better and exercising five times a week. I'm lucky to be supported by so many amazing people who inspire me and keep me going on a daily basis. There is nothing like having a cheering section to stay motivated!

Over the last year, I am happy to say that I have dropped 24 pounds and have become an athlete again. I lift weights, I run, and I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to. The people who support me so faithfully inspired me to support others. In January, I started a Biggest Loser Pound for Pound group on Facebook to help others. It's so good to have people to check in with and keep each other going.

The highest compliment I have received to date came from my son recently. While we were playing Wii, my oldest said, "Wow, Mom, your Mii is getting so skinny!" I think that's the first time anything about me has ever been described as skinny - and it made my day. Those words will stay with me and keep me going.

It's about time for my date with the treadmill - anyone want to join me?

- Trish

Favorite Product I've designed:
Work Zone Collection

I made this collection for my boys. They have always loved the huge machines used to do roadwork. This was a fun collection to develop with them as they provided lots of art direction on my drawings.

Layout by Trish Yochum
larger view

Commercial license versions of Brush Set: Hard Work and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Transferred Frames are also available.

How to Download Scrap Girls Freebies

Did you know that Scrap Girls gives away seven digital scrapbooking freebies every week?! That's right - we give away one a day, Monday through Saturday, and a bonus one in the Round-Up newsletter on Tuesday. That's more than 380 free downloads each year!

(And around December every year, we get really out of control and have been known to give away double freebies!)

In case you've been missing out, this quick tutorial will show you how to download your daily freebie. Why? Because free is good!

First, where are the freebies located? Scroll through each daily newsletter to the bottom and look for the "Today's Freebie" header.

With some browsers, the bottom part of the newsletter may be cut off. So if you're not seeing the daily freebie, then click on the link in the upper right-hand corner to view the online version.

Second, once you've located the freebie, how do you download it? The first thing you will do is either click on the picture of the freebie (click on the image of the paper, embellishment, or word art, etc.) or click on the term Designer Freebie under the photo.

You will then be directed to the download page in the Scrap Girls store. Now keep in mind, our freebies are only available for a couple of newsletter cycles. We do this to keep fresh, new freebies in the store at all times.

If you click on the freebie and you find yourself redirected to the main page of the Boutique, then that means the freebie you're looking for has been retired and is no longer available.

If you are directed to the product page*, though, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Download button.

* What's a product page? The product page shows samples of the digital scrapbooking product, with sample layouts and descriptive text. There will be a Freebie Product Download Links header right above the Download buttons.

If you are only downloading the freebie and not purchasing any products, don't click "Add to Basket" and try to check out of the store with these items because there will be a one-cent charge ($.01) on your credit card/Pay Pal account. Instead, you can avoid this charge by using the Download button on the bottom of each freebie product page.

Finally, another way to access the freebie is through the Boutique. This is a really simple way, especially if you've gotten behind on reading your newsletters because you can see exactly what is still available. From the category list in the Boutique, click on Freebies, which is the very last category in the drop-down list.

Then you will be redirected to a page that has all the current freebies displayed, including the freebies which we make available year-round (Refresh Collection, two eBooks, and two ScrapSimple Tools for PSP users). Just click on the photo of the freebie you want to download, then when the new product page opens, scroll down to the bottom and click on Download, as described above.

I hope this helps explain how to download our daily freebies. If you have any questions, just email us at [email protected]. We'll be more than happy to answer your questions!

Article written by Angie Briggs

Orange - a Hazard or a Help?

Note: Tutorial created using Photoshop CS3 with a PC.

Several years ago, I would have said orange is a hazard. It rarely turned up in my life (except on Halloween), and even less often on my digital scrapbooking pages. Somewhere along the line, I had a boy, then another boy, then a third boy! I quickly realized what a fun and energetic color orange is, plus my children look positively adorable in orange.

As orange appeared more often in my life, I paid more attention to it in my digital scrapbooking layouts as well. Red, yellow, and orange are warm colors that bring to mind brightness, fun, energy, and power. Examples include sunshine, children at play, and fire. When I want to bring out the moods of warmth or vitality in my digital scrapbooking layouts, I think of these warm colors and try to incorporate them.

You might be thinking that an all-orange page could easily be overwhelming with its boldness. The layout below is an example of too much. This much orange all at once is a hazard! It takes the viewer's attention away from the people in the photo.

Instead, I tend to use orange in small doses as an accent, rather than as the main color. I look to our designers and their collections for my color schemes. I know the basics of color design and that orange and blue, as opposites on the color wheel, are beautiful complements to one another. Yet I don't necessarily need to think of this consciously if I use the pieces of a collection together. The designer has already made certain that the items in the collection will work well together.

A select few collections which feature orange include:

Perfect Day Collection
Take Wing Collection Biggie
Mischief Maker Collection
Skippity Doo Dah Collection Biggie

Orange – a hazard or a help? Definitely a help! Dig out your orange supplies from your hard drive for your everyday pages. Don't make orange wait around just for fall and Halloween!

Layout by Cheri Thieleke
larger view

Commercial license versions of Perfect Day Collection, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Photo Masks - Tattered Text, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Time Traveler 7602 Biggie and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Realistic Shadows - Basic 11301 are also available.

Article written by Cheri Thieleke

Layout by Angie Briggs
larger view

Designer Freebie by Angie Briggs coordinates with her Being With You Collection Biggie,
part of this month's Scrap Girls Club offering!

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Sketch It 2 and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Realistic Shadows - Basic 11301 are also available.

Today's freebie designed by Angie Briggs

* 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.

Emphasis on Embellishments Chat
Monday, April 18th - 5:00PM MT

Join Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Janine (J9Buckles) on Monday at 5pm MT for the Emphasis on Embellishments Chat. This monthly chat is geared towards challenging you to use more elements/embellishments on your layout. Each month, you will be given a specific number challenge to inspire you to use more on your layouts or even to create clusters! You will be amazed at what YOU can do at this chat!

New Member Chat - Early Edition
Tuesday, April 19th - 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 Forum, Gallery, chocolate and so much more! Everyone is welcome - new or not so new! Not sure how to get there? Just click the "CHAT" button at the top of this newsletter. You will need Javascript enabled to access the chat room.

Faith Journey Chat
Tuesday, April 19th - 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 Forum for this month's topic of discussion, and if you like, create a layout based on the topic!

Life Moments Chat
Tuesday, April 19th - 7:00PM MT

Join Shannon (tinkerbell11) in the chatroom for a Life Moments Chat on Tuesday, April 19th at 7pm MT. These chats are designed to help you start scrapbooking about yourself. A topic will be posted earlier in the day to get your creative juices flowing!

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, April 20th - 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 20th, we'll do a tag challenge! Create a layout using at least one tag as an embellishment! 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!

NSBR Chat - Early Edition
Thursday, April 21st - 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!

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!