Regrets and Remembrances

I could say that I saw her enough, that I told her I love her enough, that my kids spent lots of time with her... but truthfully, I didn't see her enough, I didn't tell her how much she meant to me, and my kids didn't really know her.

I could give excuses as to why, like how I'm a lot like my dad and distant from the family, like how I don't really handle sickness/death well and prefer to leave better memories intact in my mind versus how frail she looked... but truthfully, I regret now not taking more time for my extended family.

I could say that I vow to be better now and how I will tell them all I love them every chance I get... but truthfully, I will forget and get caught up in life.

While all of the above is true, I do know that when I have time and when I remember, I will let all the people in my life know that I care about them and I think of them often, no matter the miles that separate us. I will start trying to send at least a Christmas card with pictures of the kids every year to all my aunts, uncles, and the family I love. I don't promise, and if I forget or don't have the money for stamps that year, I will always say a prayer for them every night.

I know that in her heart, she knew how much she was loved. I rejoice in knowing that she is with the Lord and in a better place. I will keep pictures of her and show them to my kids often while telling stories of my memories I had with her.

Simply, I will remember.

- Kiana

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!

Becca Hauck

Tagging Your Digital Stash with Photoshop Elements

Note: Tutorial uses Photoshop Elements 8.0 with Windows 7

After a while, digital scrapbookers can amass a huge amount of scrapping supplies on their hard drives. It can be overwhelming when you try to find something you would like to use on a layout. Tagging your supplies when you first purchase them can help to keep them organized.

Today, I'm going to show you how easy it is to tag your digital scrapping stash using Photoshop Elements Organizer.

Step One: Open up Photoshop Elements and select Organize on the home screen. Once the Organizer opens, make sure you can see your Folder Locations by going to Display> Folder Location or hitting Ctrl+Alt+3.

Step Two: On the left-hand side, open up the folder with the supplies that you want to tag. I am going to be tagging the embellishments from Ang Campbell's Girly Girl Collection Biggie. Click once on the folder you wish to tag and now the contents of that folder will appear in the Organizer.

Step Three: On the right side of the Organizer window, you will see a section called "Keyword Tags." In this section, you can create the categories of keywords to use for organizing your digital supplies. By clicking on the green plus (+) symbol, a menu will pop out - and here is where you can create a new Keyword Tag, new Category, or new Sub-Category as you wish.

I created a Category called "DigiScrap Elements" and several Sub-Categories such as "Borders," "Buttons & Brads," "Flowers," "Frames," and "Stickers."

How you choose to name your categories and/or keywords is up to you. You want to keep it simple enough to tag quickly, but effective enough to make your searches easier.

Step Four: With the folder's contents open, click and then drag the icon next to the keyword to each element in the folder.

Now the green brad is tagged with the "Buttons & Brads" sub-category. You can see that you've done this correctly because a tag icon will appear on the thumbnail of the brad for a few seconds, as shown below.

Continue tagging each element in the folder using this same process of dragging the keyword icon to the element, and soon all of your scrapping supplies will be tagged and organized!

Step Five: This last step ensures that you can search your supplies' keywords outside of the Photoshop Elements Organizer. When you are finished tagging the folder you are working in, go to File> Write Keyword Tag and Properties Info to Photos.

When the confirmation box appears, click "Yes" to write the catalog data to your files. This places the info within the metadata of your supplies, so that you can use other methods to search your supplies outside of PSE, such as Windows Explorer or Picasa.

And remember, it's easiest to tag your supplies as soon as you purchase them. Get into the habit of tagging as soon as your supplies are unzipped, and you will always be organized and ready to scrap!

- Becca

Technology Saturday is a weekly column focusing on all sorts of gear, gadgets, and software from the digital scrapbooking world. Stay tuned each week as Becca Hauck, Scrap Girls Newsletter Woman, brings you software reviews, organizing tips, printing and scanning techniques, and much more!

Mischief Week is Here!

For those of you who haven't been with us for the past several years, Mischief Week is a week that's full of general madness and mayhem. We have lots of crazy chats, classes, games, prizes, and other random events just in time to usher us into the wonderful world of spring.

We've got a schedule full of events that the Scrap Girls Team are hosting, plus our Mischief Week Sale, games, freebies, contests, prizes and fun! Clear your calendars - you won't want to miss this!

Mischief Week's Never-Ending Story

Woo hoo! It's time for the Never-Ending Story game on the Scrap Girls Forum! If you haven't participated in one before, here's how it works:

• A Scrap Girls Welcoming Committee team member starts the story on the Forum here.

• You add something to the story by adding a post to the thread.

• You must wait for someone else to add another piece of the story before you may post again.

• You cannot add two posts in a row. If you do, it will be counted as one post. It won't help you pick up any more chances to win the game.

• For each addition to the story that follows the guidelines set above, you will recieve one entry in the drawing to win the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize is a $25 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

Here is the beginning of the story:

"Toffey, get down from there right now!"

The impish brownie glanced from his tree perch at his twin sister on the ground below. "But KaraMel, I'm not doing anything... yet!"

"You already dumped thousands of bouncy balls through the aisles of the Scrap Girls boutique!" KaraMel scolded.

"I wanted to help the customers bounce to the checkout," Toffey said with a shrug.

"And then you changed the Scrap Girls website from their lovely purple to shades of brown!"

"It's a much more suitable shade for brownies. Purple is too girl-y."

"Not to mention the havoc you caused when you dyed poor Huckleberry Monkey's fur that awful shade of green!! Everyone thought he had come down with something horrible."

Toffey laughed. "You need to lighten up, KaraMel. It was only a joke!"

"That's all you do day after day; joke around and cause mischief! Why do I always have to be the responsible twin? What are you doing up in that tree, anyway?"

"Just doing what I do best! More mischief, of course. I was getting ready to..."

Brownies Mischief Game

Ready to play a game?

We are baking a special batch of brownies for Mischief Week and have cooked up a little story game to celebrate. There are 50 underlined words in the story. For each underlined item in the story, list the item and a link to a product in the Scrap Girls Boutique that contains the underlined item. Products can only be used once, although some underlined items may be repeated, which means that there is another product containing the same item.

To enter the game, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Brownie Story." For each item guessed, you must include BOTH the product name and a link to where you can find it in the Scrap Girls Boutique. You have until Saturday, April 30th at Midnight (MDT) to enter.

Now don't panic! You don't have to find them all to play the game!

For all players:

• If you get 25 or more correct answers, you will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Gift Certificate!

• If you get 10-24 correct answers, you will be entered into a drawing for a $10 Gift Certificate!

• If you get 5-9 correct answers, you will be entered into a drawing for a $5 Gift Certificate!

The Day I Made Brownies

The Family Reunion was getting close, and I still hadn't decided what to bring for dessert. Since chocolate is always a big hit with my family tree, brownies came to mind. I checked my cook book, and found my pantry was lacking some ingredients. So I hopped into my truck like a bunny rabbit and headed to the grocery store. I put my favorite cassette tape in the player and turned it up loud. On the way, I passed the barnyard where the cows were out grazing and the farmer was busy planting some corn. As I reached town, I noticed that the statue of Lady Liberty was coming along nicely.

I found a parking spot at the end of the row near the stop sign. I hiked into the store and found the baking aisle. I picked up some cocoa powder, eggs and sugar. The check out lanes weren't busy, so I couldn't stop and look at the magazine covers. I made my purchase and headed home. I picked up my mail, and noticed a postcard from a Scrap Girls' friend!

Once home, I was greeted by my dog and the phone was ringing. As I chatted on the phone with my friend who just got home from a trip to Las Vegas, I set up my stand mixer and preheated the oven. I added all the ingredients and poured the batter into the cookie sheet. Into the oven, it went. As a reward, I licked the spatula!

I had just sat down in my comfortable chair in front of my computer, with my hand on the mouse, when the doorbell rang. My neighbor came over to talk about forming a car pool for the soccer games this summer. We stepped outside to look at the daffodils and tulips in my garden. As we talked about planting our vegetable gardens, I noticed that there was smoke coming out of the window! As I ran inside to the kitchen, my neighbor called the fire department on her cell phone. I grabbed an oven mitt and removed the burned sheet of brownies from the oven as a fire truck pulled up in front of my house!

Once the firemen realized everything was under control, they went on their way. I thanked my lucky stars! I started the baking process over again, making sure I set the timer and put it on the table next to me. While working on a layout and relaxing, the timer rang and the brownies were done. I didn't burn them this time! After adding some sprinkles to the top, I went back to my layout and added a ribbon, a green button and some stitching and considered it finished! Since the sun was still shining, I went outside to sit under the shade of a tree and write in my journal. As I sat there, the school bus came and dropped the girls off. I took them inside and told them about all the excitement. What a Thursday!

Brownie Recipe Cards

Mischief Week wouldn't be the same without chocolate, right? Our Scrap Girls Design Team has cooked up their favorite brownies and created recipe cards just for you! Check out the Newsletter each day for high-resolution downloads of these designer-crafted goodies – a high energy, no carb treat that's sure to please everyone!

Recipe Card by Ro
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Click HERE to download the high-resolution version of this card.

Commercial license versions of Families Are Forever Collection and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Velvet Glitter 2201 Super Biggie are also available.

Mischief Week Chat Schedule

Saturday, April 30, 2011

10:00AM MT - Saturday Color Challenge Chat
Join Debbie (B&K Mom) and Carla (CRS) for a special Mischief Week Color Challenge Chat. Watch the Message Board for the Color Challenge, then come to the chat and find out what mischief we'll be adding to the challenge. Don't expect this week's Color Challenge to go by without a twist! See you in the Chat Room at 10am MT!


2:00PM MT - Sketch Challenge Chat
Join us for a special Mischief Week edition of the Sketch Challenge and Crop! Join Cheri (Cheri T) and Theresa (tiza126) on Saturday, April 30 at 2pm MT in the Scrap Girls Chat Room! Enjoy getting a little creative boost for your pages? Do you need help getting started? Then this is the challenge for you! A few hours before the chat begins, I'll 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.


6:00PM MT - Swap Crop Chat
It's time for the Silly Swap Crop Chat with Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Carla (CRS)! We've done the swapping, and created the layouts, now it's time to chat about all the gorgeous layouts! This is the time to chat about the theme, the beautiful layouts and learn about the swap crop if you haven't participated before. We'll brainstorm a theme for next month, too!


7:00PM MT - Cram the Chatroom!
Let's do it! Let's cram the chat room! Join Theresa (tiza126) and Cheri (Cheri T) on Saturday, April 30th at 7pm MT in the chat room lobby as we fill it up. We'll have tons of fun and lots of mischief! Hope to see everyone there!


8:00PM MT - PJ Party Chat
What Mischief Week would be complete without a PJ party? Not this one! Join Theresa (tiza126) and Angela (angelaNussbaum) on Saturday, April 30th at 8pm MT for one last hurrah. Though this is the last Mischief Week chat, it's still loaded with fun games, prizes and more! You won't want to miss this one, so throw on some PJ's, get some ice cream and come join us!

* Schedule is subject to change... stay tuned to the Newsletter and Forum for the latest Mischief Week happenings!

Best of the Message Board

QUESTION: Can someone tell me if a designer will sell/create a commercial license for a product in the Boutique that doesn't have one?

ANSWER: Generally, most designers have given this very special consideration, so if you aren't seeing a commercial license, they probably have already decided to not offer one. Or they are simply waiting until a future time. However, if you have a product you are extremely interested in, it doesn't hurt to send a personal message (PM) to that designer and ask them if they would ever consider it.

ANSWER: That happened once... I wanted a collection, but I needed it for commercial use. I sent out a sweet email asking if they were considering doing it. She pm'd me back that she hadn't thought about it, but sure, she would do it for me. I think I just had to wait a few weeks.

The designers are nice, but this is a livelihood for them, so for some items, they may not be interested in making it commercial.

ANSWER: Sometimes they will do a ScrapSimple product for you so you can buy the commercial license for that.

QUESTION: Hi, I've purchased ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Wire and Mesh Biggie. I can't figure out how to change the color of the mesh. I've tried the Magic Wand Tool to get one mesh, then I choose Select> Similar, then Edit> Fill Selection. When I'm done, it looks correct but then when I move it over to my layout, it goes as the solid color sheet and not as the mesh. I've tried creating a clipping mask, but that did not work either. I've also played around with the overlay but that does not work. Any suggestions?

ANSWER: I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with the templates! Here's one method I would try...

Once you have the mesh selected, press Ctrl+U (or go to Enhance> Adjust Color> Adjust Hue/Saturation). This will bring up the Hue/Saturation adjustment box. Here you can play with the sliders to change the color of the template - changing colors, making it more or less saturated - until you are satisfied. (You might need to check the little box that says "Colorize" if the sliders alone don't change the colors.) This will leave the mesh part showing through.

ANSWER: I recommend you trying the Hue/Saturation option. It does a really good job with stuff like this one.

ANSWER: It sounds like you are doing the correct things. Are you placing the color on a layer by itself above the template? Then changing the Blending Mode of the color layer to "Overlay?" Once you got it to look right before, did you merge the layers before moving it over to your layout?

Adding a color above the template, clipping the color to the template, and changing the color layer to "Overlay" works just fine for me, but something is going wrong for you, and we will figure it out!

Let me know so I won't worry about you.

ORIGINAL POSTER'S RESPONSE: Thanks, I got it! You should have seen my happy dance! I was doing a couple things wrong. In the tutorial, it had the color layer below, and I missed the clipping step. Thank you so much.

QUESTION: Hello all, I'm mainly a "lurker" but I know that if anyone has a question they usually get many quick and helpful answers. I should probably know how to do this but can't figure it out on my own so help... please! I have this wonderful picture of our recent snowfall but unfortunately there are power/telephone wires smack-dab in the middle of the beautiful sky. How do I "erase" these yet keep the integrity of my photo? I'm using Photoshop Elements 6 (PSE)/Vista. Thanks in advance for all your suggestions!

ANSWER: There are lots of different ways to do this as with everything in PSE. You could try to use the Clone tool; if you click on it in the Tool Bar, then Alt+Click on an area near where you want to erase and go over the line that you want to hide. You can play with the Opacity up at the top of the Clone Tool Bar and adjust how many pixels you are using at once, too. I hope this helps, and I bet someone else may come along and have another way they do it, too!

ANSWER: The best way is to use the Cloning stamp. It's on your left Tool Bar and looks like a stamper. What this does is covers part of your photo with another part of your photo. In your case, you want to cover the wires with part of the sky.

First, duplicate your photo layer so you don't mess with the original until you have fixed what you want. Next, select the Clone Stamp Tool. Hold down the Alt key while selecting part of the sky you want to cover the wire (then release the Alt key). Select something close to the wire so it blends well. You may want to zoom in really close so you can see better. Using the cloning brush, slowly go over the wire to cover it. I pick a soft brush to use, but you can change the brush the clone uses by selecting the drop-down brush box at the top.

I hope I explained this well, let us know if it works for you. It does take practice, but don't get discouraged!

ANSWER: Another option you can try is a cut/paste "patching" job. This method will work best if the wires run horizontally across the sky, and the sky is fairly even-toned. You can use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (shortcut M on your keyboard) to select a thin strip of the sky, then press Ctrl+J to make a copied layer of that selection. Shift this piece up/down (depending on where you selected from) until it covers part of the wires, then use an Eraser brush at a low opacity to soften the edges of the selection and blend it into the sky. Repeat with little thin strips of sky "patches" until the wires are completed covered. It takes a little practice, but it's a great skill to have!

ANSWER: Actually, for something like this, I like to use the Spot Healing Tool. After choosing it on the Options panel, be sure to check "Sample All Layers" and then create a new layer above the layer you need to correct. Size your brush just a little bigger than the telephone wire and drag along above it, a little at a time. If you try to do too much at a time, you will bring in colors that you don't want! It works very well for small areas like this. I like it much better than the Cloning tool for this type of work.

Weekly Layout Winners

Layout by Sonia11
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Commercial license versions of Biker Collection, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Aged Metals 8501 Biggie and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Ribbons To Go I are also available.

Layout by MariJ
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Want to see your layouts make an appearance in the Scrap Girls newsletter?

Simply post your digital or paper layouts that use Scrap Girls products in our online Gallery, and if we choose your layout to be featured in the newsletter, you'll win a prize! To be considered, don't forget to list the Scrap Girls products that you used in your layout.

Congratulations to this week's selectees. Please email [email protected] to receive your gift!

Want to see past winners of the Weekly Layout Contest? Visit the Weekly Layout Winners gallery on our message board here!

Layout by Brandy Murry
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Designer Freebie by Brandy Murry coordinates with her Sun Kissed Collection Biggie

Commercial license versions of Dynamic Brush Set: Unusual Stitching, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Edge It 5001, Brush Set: Stamped Hearts, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Mini Ribbon Ringlets and ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Mega Lift II - Circular Biggie are also available.

Today's freebie designed by Brandy Murry

* 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.

Swap Crop Chat
Saturday, April 30th - 6:00PM MT

It's time for the Swap Crop Chat with Angela (angelaNussbaum) and Carla (CRS)! We've done the swapping, and created the layouts, now it's time to chat about all the gorgeous layouts! I don't know what it is, but these swaps bring out the best in everyone. This is the time to chat about the theme, the beautiful layouts and learn about the swap crop if you haven't participated before. We'll brainstorm a theme for next month, too!

NSBR Chat
Monday, May 2nd - 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 us, Carla (CRS) and Lei (Bride) at 7pm MT!

Life Moments Crop
Tuesday, May 3rd - 12:00Noon MT

Join Carla (CRS) for another Life Moments Crop! This crop focuses on you, the scrapper, creating a scrapbook one layout at a time. The theme for this crop will "What have you done for yourself lately?". Hope to see you there!

Creative Cards Chat
Tuesday, May 3rd - 6:00PM 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 April (April Showers) and Theresa (tiza126) for the once-a-month Card Chat on the first Tuesday of each month at 6pm MT. Can't wait to see you there!

Project SG Chat
Tuesday, May 3rd - 7:00PM MT

Join April (April Showers) and Shannon (tinkerbell11) to hear all the details about Project SG! You can win prizes for taking part in this Challenge. It is never too late to start. See you in the chatroom at 7pm MT!

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!