Thirsty?
Friday, September 30, 2011

IN TODAY'S ISSUE:

• Two Days Only! Scrap Girls Cash Gift Certificate Promotion!
• 17.1% off Fall Savings Stock-Up Sale, plus an extra 7.3% off Coupon!
• What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique?
• Life Muse by Ro
• Scrap Girls Club
• Tips from the Pros: Tell Your Story Using Alpha Templates
• Designer Freebie
• What's Happening at Scrap Girls?
• Ongoing Opportunities for YOU

Rozanne Paxman

Thirsty?

Four boys sat around a table and stared at the tall, cold glass of water. They had been outside playing in the sun and were thirsty. The drops of water, condensing on the side as the ice melted, increased their desire for the contents.

One of the boys picked up the glass and took a big drink. Wiping his mouth, he sighed with pleasure and passed the container to his friend. After his friend had taken his turn, he passed the glass along to the next boy. Gulping down the icy water, the third boy satisfied his thirst and handed the glass to the last boy.

As the fourth boy held the glass to his mouth, he exclaimed, "Hey! It's gone. You fellows drank it all."

His guilty friends smiled at each other. They had outsmarted him.

What the four boys didn't realize was that less than ten feet away stood a refrigerator with ice and water dispensers in the door. All they had to do was refill the glass as many times as necessary until each boy had their fill of water. There was plenty for all.

Isn't that the way it is in this life? We are afraid we aren't going to get our share, and we find ourselves climbing over the next guy, trying to pick all the apples off the tree before they are gone. We hide our chocolate in our drawers because we suppose if our children eat it, we can't get more. We are afraid that if someone likes another person, they are not going to be able to like us as much.

In some instances, there seem to be clear winners. There can only be one Super Bowl winner - this year. There can only be one World Series winner - this year. There can only be one Gold Medal winner in each category - this Olympics. But even if the participants aren't on the winning team, are they really losers?

Let's talk about those professional football players, for instance. If they aren't Super Bowl winners - this year - they won't get the Super Bowl ring. Okay, I get that. But didn't they get outstanding salaries? And notoriety? And the opportunity to do something they love? And didn't the owners of the teams get the opportunity to receive revenue from hosting games and have their teams on television? I suspect all the guys out there who didn't get to be professional football players, but who wanted to be such, would have loved to have the opportunity to play on a professional football team, even if that team never won the Super Bowl.

I believe our fear of not having enough (or being afraid to applaud for those who have the most) is "scarcity mentality" at work. Scarcity mentality says, "If you have something, there won't be enough for me, and since I want it, I can't allow you to have it – or I will be very jealous that you have it. I may do things trying to prevent you from having it, just so I can get it." What a miserable way to live.

I believe that all blessings come from God, and He has plenty to go around. He has lots of water to drink, and if we look to Him, He will fill up our glass one way or another. We just have to look up and see the possibilities.

"The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car... a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result, they get little." Ben Sweetland

"I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love, and abundance. Then whenever doubt, anxiety, or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal and soon they'll forget my number." Edith Armstrong

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!

		Join the Scrap Girls Monthly Club and you can have fun with the newest traditional digital and printable scrapbooking looks while saving! (A $40.87 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 Word Art Mini 1 Embellishment Mini 1 Assemble Your Own Zoom Page Set 1 Designer's Choice Item 1 CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Jiffy Easy Page Album 1 CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Designer's Choice Item 1 CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Color Palette September's Scrap Girls Club designed for you by Paula Wright Club Exclusive! JIFFY Easy Page Album Club Exclusive! Designer's Gift
Layout by Paula Wright using September's Scrap Girls Club larger view	Layout by Paula Wright using September's Scrap Girls Club larger view	Layout by Paula Wright using September's Scrap Girls Club larger view

Tell Your Story Using Alpha Templates

Note: Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop CS5 with Mac OSX

Do you ever have an idea for a digital scrapbooking page? You're excited because you have a great photo, and you know just what papers you want to use. But when you get it to that nearly-finished point, the page feels a little blah and just isn't really telling the story that you want to remember?

That happened to me recently, so I thought I would share an easy way to solve the problem. Take a look below at the page I was working on. Three of my grandsons are in the picture with their cousins. These boys live near each other and, as you can see, they are close in age. A headline is a great way to tell your story in a glance and add visual interest to your layout.

ScrapSimple Alpha Templates to the rescue! ScrapSimple Alpha Templates can easily be colorized to match any layout

For this example, open ScrapSimple Embellishment Template: Stitching Studio Alpha. This product includes both the individual PNG files and also the layered PSD files that have the stitching and holes. This makes it easy to add drop shadows to the stitching and even change the Blending Mode on the holes. We will spell out the word CLOSE in what looks like loose zigzag stitching.

First, open the stitched alpha and bring the C onto your page.

As you can see, the C is grey in color. To colorize the letter, go to your pull-down menu and select Image> Adjustments> Hue/Saturation. A box will pop up that allows you to do several things. First, select the box in the lower righthand corner that will add color to the stitching. Then you can adjust the slider boxes for saturation and lightness. As you can see, both boxes were adjusted to turn the stitching to a nice rust color.

Once you have your colored letters arranged, add a small drop shadow to make the letters appear more realistic. In this example, all the letters are the same color, but you could easily make each letter a different color if that works with your design. Think how much easier it is than changing the color of thread on a sewing machine to stitch out each letter. That's just one more reason to love digital scrapbooking!

With just one line of type and the headline, you can quickly and easily tell the story of your page. Don't forget to add names and dates so that years from now, anyone looking at your work will know who was in the picture.

Go ahead, tell your own story using Alpha Templates to create a custom title that will go with any collection or photo!

Layout by Paula Wright
larger view

The last product listed below is included in this month's Scrap Girls Club offering. Members receive a substantial discount on these club supplies. They are also available elsewhere in the Boutique at regular prices for those individuals who would rather not join a club.

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Template: Stitching Studio Alpha, ScrapSimple Embellishment Template: Stitching Studio and ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Lace It Up are also available.

Article written by Paula Wright

Learn to make digital scrapbooking layouts and more! – Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed Find out how easy it can be to learn how to create digital scrapbook layouts, edit photos, use and make brushes, recolor papers and embellishments, make your own simple backgrounds and embellishments, save and share your layouts and much more! Ready to learn advanced techniques? – MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed Learn to use paper templates, embellishment templates, custom shapes, styles, and brushes to make your own supplies. Learn advanced clipping mask and lighting blend techniques. Learn to make and use patterns. Learn to make brushes from your own doodles. Learn to extract images from photos. Learn work flow techniques that will speed up the layout creation process and advanced photo editing skills and much, much more!

Layout by Angie Briggs
larger view

Designer Freebie by Pebbles Jones coordinates with her Project Memories Collection Biggie

Today's freebie designed by Pebbles Jones

* 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.

What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique Chat
Friday, September 30th - 9:00AM MDT

Join April (April Showers) and Theresa (teecee) 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!

Journaling Chat
Monday, October 3rd - 6:00PM MDT

Join Carla (CRS) and Lei (Bride) for a Journaling Chat at 6pm MT this Monday night. 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!

NSBR Chat
Monday, October 3rd - 7:00PM MDT

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!

Creative Cards Chat
Tuesday, October 4th - 6:00PM MDT

Do you use your digital 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 digi-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!

ATC Hybrid Chat
Tuesday, October 4th - 7:00PM MDT

Please join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and Lei (Bride) as we host the chat for another round of our Hybrid ATC Swap at 7pm MT. Didn't participate this round? Not sure what it is? Come join us to find out all of the particulars!

September Message Board Game: Posting Contest!

It's that time again - Posting Contest time! This is where you are rewarded for your flying fingers and chattiness. The Contest will run from September 1st when we post the thread to September 30th at 12:00 Midnight (MST).

To enter the Message Board Posting Challenge, you MUST reply in the game thread with your CURRENT post count. This is the number under your Avatar that shows when you post. (NOTE: Do not post the number found on your profile; it is a different number that is calculated differently.) During the month, chat your fingers off! At Midnight on September 30th, we will calculate your post count based on the numbers posted in the original thread.

Members with Message Board posts over 50 will be put in a drawing for a $5 Scrap Girls Gift Certificate. Members with Message Board posts over 200 will be put in a drawing for both the $5 Scrap Girls Gift Certificate and a $10 Scrap Girls Gift Certificate. Members with Message Board posts over 400 will be put in a drawing for a $15 Scrap Girls Gift Certificate, as well as the $5 and $10 Gift Certificates.

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

September Monthly Layout Contest: The children are headed back to school, and there is a sense of learning in the air! For the September Layout Contest, share your layouts about learning a new skill! We'd love to see the stories about someone in your life learning and growing. Remember when your little one learned to ride a bicycle or your teenager learned to drive a car? Or how about when you learned to use your digital scrapbooking software? Share those layouts in the September Monthly Layout Gallery before Midnight MT on September 30th. Be sure to list your credits in the description or under the EXIF Properties. Two layouts will be selected to win a $10 Gift Card 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!

Copyright Scrap Girls, LLC 2004-2011

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