Are You Running Too Fast?
Friday, December 9, 2011

IN TODAY'S ISSUE:

• 21.5% off Even Santa Shops Here Sale!
• Gifts Galore!!
• What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique?
• Life Muse by Ro
• Scrap Girls Club
• Tips from the Pros: Creating Printed Digital Photo Books Your Friends and Family Will Love!
• Designer Freebies
• What's Happening at Scrap Girls?
• Ongoing Opportunities for YOU

Rozanne Paxman

Are You Running Too Fast?

Sitting in the half-dark room, I confided to my mother and father that I felt like a failure. I couldn't measure up to the expectations that life had for me.

• I had four young children, and I found myself racing through the day trying to meet their needs.

• Our particular family's needs required that I contribute financially so we could stay afloat.

• A number of our children had disabilities and trying to figure out how to help them was taxing.

• I struggled with physical challenges and found myself facing major surgeries every 18 months to two years.

• I longed to serve and lift others who needed support.

• I needed time away from my burdens to participate in activities that lifted my spirits; however, I was finding it difficult to manage the time requirements of preparing for these activities.

• My mother and grandmother always made homemade bread. They bottled fruit, quilted, and sewed their children's clothing. I felt uncomfortable that I couldn't squeeze these activities into my days.

• I carried significant church service responsibilities and wanted to do as well as I could with these positions as I love to serve the Lord.

My list went on and on, and as I talked, tears streamed down my face. My chest felt heavy, and I supposed I would never measure up.

Once I had finished, my dad quietly said, "Rozanne, don't try to run faster than you are able."

It was classic Dad-wisdom gleaned from years of studying Scripture. Not one for many words, when he had some advice for you, it was usually well said and directly on target.

I knew he was right. I was trying to run faster than I was able.

I have since heard it said that you can do many things in this life, but you can't do them all at once. Every life stage has its own requirements, and it's up to us to decide what's most important for us to do at any given moment. While we are deciding what we can or can't do, we need to be careful that we balance the following needs:

• Spiritual
• Physical
• Social
• Emotional

When I look back on that time, I can see that the pressure I experienced was self-imposed, largely because I believed I was being judged by other people. I thought that if I didn't scurry about, filling every waking moment with superb activities, I was failing my God. I knew that He had given me great gifts and believed that He wished me to use them, but I failed to understand that He didn't expect me to use them all at one time.

It has been over 15 years since my father told me to only run as fast as I am able. I periodically forget his advice, and when I do, I find myself frantic and downhearted. But the words come back to me, and I say again, "Thanks, Dad. You're right. I'll only run as fast as I am able."

I have discovered through the years that even though it might appear at any given moment that I am not accomplishing very much, in hindsight I have accomplished a lot. I've been able to play solos with orchestras, direct professional theatre, teach school and maintain a large, successful private music studio, homeschool my children for a number of years, take vacations, paint and draw, teach church classes, publish several books, work in exciting positions for large companies, run my own business, and yes, even make homemade bread.

But I did not do it all at once. I've been married for 35 years, and all of these activities – and more – have been dribbled throughout the years of my life in a measured way. It is only upon reflection that I can see how much I have been able to complete despite the periods of time when all I could manage was a slow crawl.

If you happen to be someone who feels torn by life and the things you feel you must do, I would advise you to take a breath and try to understand that as long as you are doing the best you can in any given moment, it is enough.

Until tomorrow, I will do the best I can today.

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 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 December's Scrap Girls Club designed for you by Angie Briggs Club Exclusive! JIFFY Easy Page Album Club Exclusive! Designer's Gift
Layout by Amy Flanagan using December's Scrap Girls Club larger view	Layout by Jennifer Wight using December's Scrap Girls Club larger view	Layout by Cheri Thieleke using December's Scrap Girls Club larger view

Creating Printed Digital Photo Books Your Friends and Family Will Love!

Note: Tutorial created using Photoshop CS5 with Mac OSX 10.6

It's that time of year when I am trying to figure out what holiday gifts to give my friends and family. One thing is for sure - everyone seems to love printed digital photo books. If you're like me, you make more layouts that you actually print out, so the holidays seem to be a great time to get those layouts printed.

This year I am working on a printed digital photo book for my husband that includes pictures from a trip we took to Italy. He had never been to Europe, and this was a dream come true that we had been looking forward to for several years. It can feel overwhelming when you have so many photos you want to put into a book. Here are some tips that will make things go really fast and let the pictures tell the bulk of the story.

Photo books are printed in two-page spreads, so open a new document that is 12x24 inches or two 12x12-inch pages. You can always print them smaller if you decide to later. Bring in a dark background paper. This example uses a black paper from the Ancestry Collection. It has some nice texture, but as you will see in a minute, the black really makes the photos pop.

First, select a paper and duplicate it. Then flip one sheet horizontally to frame the spread.

Next, bring in a blending mask. This example uses a blending mask that is included in Super 7 Spread by Paula Wright.

This photo mask was designed for a spread, so the right size was cut away and the edge next to the 12-inch mark was erased with a Soft Irregular Brush.

Next, select a photo that really sets the tone for your story. I was inspired by the window and store displays that we saw in Italy. They were so beautiful! The colors were rich and the grouping of items really inspired this layout. It was like having all the embellishments for the page added in one step. Yeah!

Clip the photo to the blending mask layer by right-clicking on the Layers Palette on the bottom right of your screen. You will see an option that says "Create Clipping Mask." This attaches the photo and the Blending Modes to your layout.

It is great to let the photos tell the story and capture your experiences. You don't have to spend hours on each spread. This example was created in just a few steps and a few minutes.

Now add some people. This is a picture of me and my friend Elizabeth. Repeat the step above by bringing in a photo mask and then clipping the photo to the mask. Photo masks give ordinary snapshots an interesting edge treatment and texture. This photo mask was from ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Photo Masks - Attic Treasures.

You're almost finished. Just add a headline and little bit of journaling to tell the story. This page talks about window shopping, so a few more photos were added in a lifted frame.

You can do this! The page looks beautiful and it only required one paper, two photo masks and a frame. Take into consideration where the gutter or fold of the book goes and don't put anything important in that crack. See how the black makes the photos shine. It looks like a glossy magazine spread, yet it was so easy! In the Scrap Girls Boutique, there are page layout templates that are designed specifically for spreads that could make the process even faster. There are lots of great places to get your digital photo books printed. Check out some sites, get their store coupons, and upload your flattened pages as JPG files. There are often 50% off coupons available if you watch for them. All you have to do is upload your pages and just a few days later a beautifully bound will come in the mail!

Now that you have seen how easy a spread can be, think of your life. Is there a sports team, a club, band, orchestra that would be the perfect inspiration for a printed digital photo book? Maybe someone you know has had a great year, or a challenging year that is worth honoring. It's not too late. Use your digital scrapbooking stash and get started today.

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Layout by Paula Wright
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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!

Surprise! Surprise! Gifts Galore!
We have TWO designer freebies for you each day until Christmas Eve!

Layout by Angie Briggs
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Designer Freebie by Angie Briggs coordinates with her ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Title It Christmas

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Word Art Templates: Title It Christmas and Merry Little Collection Mini are also available.

Today's freebie designed by Angie Briggs

Layout by Ang Campbell
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Designer Freebie by Ang Campbell coordinates with her Christmas Carols Collection Mini

Commercial license versions of Christmas Carols Collection Mini, JIF 6 Plus: Lucky Day and Pick Of The Patch Collection Mini are also available.

Today's freebie designed by Ang Campbell

* 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, December 9th - 9:00AM MST

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, December 12th - 6:00PM MST

Join Carla (CRS) and Lei (Bride) for a Journaling Chat at 6pm MT on the second Monday of each month. 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!

Quote Challenge Crop
Monday, December 12th - 7:00PM MST

Come join Pat (PBarnes) for the Quote Challenge Crop at 7pm MT. Including a quote on your layout can be a touching and meaningful addition, especially if you use the quote to create your own word art. Here's how it will work. Early on Monday, Pat will post a thread on the Chat section of the board giving you the quote that you will use to make your own word art. It's not hard, and Pat will have a layout with a Word Art example in the gallery. Then we'll meet in the chat room to have fun, chat, and create our Word Art layout! Everyone can participate and create a layout, even if you can't make the chat. Hope to see you there!

Hybrid ATC Swap Crop
Tuesday, December 13th - 6:00PM MST

Please join Shannon (tinkerbell11) and Lei (Bride) on December 13th at 6pm MT as we host the chat for another round of our Hybrid ATC Swap. Didn't participate this round? Not sure what it is? Come join us to find out all of the particulars!!

New Member Chat
Tuesday, December 13th - 7:00PM MST

Join Pat (PBarnes) and Theresa (tiza126) for the New Member Chat at 7pm MT in the Live Chat room lobby. This is a great place to ask questions about getting around the Scrap Girls site or about digital scrapbooking in general - and a great place to make some new friends. All are welcome, new and long time members included. You do need to have Java installed on your computer to access the Live Chat.

December Message Board Game: BINGO!

Join us for an exciting game of BINGO on the Scrap Girls Forum during the month of December!! 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 Friday December 2 (Midnight MST) in order to play in the first round. The first round will begin on Saturday, December 3rd. 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 (Monday through Saturday), 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 Forum.

December Monthly Layout Contest: For the December Monthly Layout Contest, it's all about the gifts! Scrap a layout about a gift that was extra special, either one you gave or received. Or you can scrap about something or someone you consider to be a gift in your life. Share with us what makes that gift special! Post your layouts in the December Monthly Layout Gallery before Midnight MST on December 31st. 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!

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