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Save 40% off all Presentation Digital Scrapbooks 1-2-3 (commercial license versions, too!) in the Scrap Girls Boutique
Gifts Galore! Place an order totaling $10 or more before December 23rd and
Layout by Cheré Kaye Edwards
Scrap Girls' 12 Days of Christmas!
Layout by Jennifer Wight
Designer Freebie by Ro
12 Days of Christmas Games! Christmas Quiz Let's play a Christmas game and the winner will get a $20 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique! All you have to do is send the answers to the following questions to [email protected]. The answers to the questions are names of products in the Scrap Girls Boutique. You'll see... It's really pretty easy! Please include the product name and its web address link for each answer. Use the subject line: "Christmas Quiz" for your email entry; include your name and your Scrap Girls Forum user name, if available. Everyone who gets the correct answers to ALL of the questions in by 11:59pm MST on Tuesday, December 20th will be entered into a drawing to win the prize.
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Memories - Hot Out of the Oven
Monday, December 19, 2011
IN TODAY'S ISSUE:
- 3 DAYS ONLY! 40% off Presentation Digital Scrapbooks 1-2-3!
- Gifts Galore!!
- 12 Days of Christmas
- 12 Days of Christmas Stories
- Cute Stuff
- Scrap Girls Club
- Tips from the Pros: Create a Christmas eCard for Quick, Last-Minute Greetings
- Designer Freebies
- What's Happening at Scrap Girls?
- Ongoing Opportunities for YOU
GENERAL INFORMATION
Support Center We Accept:
The entire Scrap Girls team wants to say how grateful we are that you have chosen to participate with us. You'll never know just how much your support means to us and our families. Ro P.S. Your email address is safe with us. We never share, rent, sell, or loan our list with anyone! P.P.S. If you ever need any assistance, please email [email protected] or call IMPORTANT TO KNOWDon't forget to check out the Retirement Sale section of the Boutique. Items in this section are always on sale for 30% off. The items you will find during any particular month will be discontinued permanently on the 5th of the following month. So if you see something you like, grab it while you can! OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUCustomer Muses: Would you like to share your own Life Muse with our readers? To have your own essay considered for publication as a muse in the column for our special Saturday newsletter, send your essay to [email protected]. If your essay is selected, you will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique. Way Cool Scrap Girl: We are so excited to have all of you meet some of the amazing people that have become Scrap Girls! If you would like to be spotlighted and win a $25 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique, send the following items to [email protected]:
Project SG Challenge: Stay motivated to scrap your current photos! Post your 2011 layouts in the Project SG Challenge Gallery to earn one point per layout each month. You can earn up to four points per month this way! Earn a bonus point each month by attending the monthly Project SG Chat! Each point gives you an entry into a quarterly drawing for a special prize! And at the end of the year, each month that you participated in will earn you an entry into the Grand Prize drawing for a 12 X 12, 52 page Keepsakes photobook from Color, Inc! Our fourth quarterly drawing winner will be announced in the Saturday, January 7th Newsletter. Suggest a Challenge, Win a Prize! Have a great idea for a Gallery layout challenge? Submit it to [email protected]. If your challenge idea is chosen, you will win a prize! Friday will be Customer Challenge Day, so keep an eye out on the Message Board calendar. It will be fun to see what YOU come up with for us to do!
Of course, it is a surprise what you will get because birthday presents are always surprises! But you will like it for sure because most people like money.... Anyway, make sure your Message Board email address is current and that you have the correct date entered into your profile to participate. *ADVERTISEMENTS*
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12 Days of Christmas
Welcome to one of Scrap Girls' most cherished traditions - the 12 Days of Christmas newsletter celebration! We've been hosting this celebration since the beginning of Scrap Girls back in 2005. Back then, I was putting the newsletter together when I suddenly noticed that Christmas Eve was 12 days away.
Now, a 12-day event is something I love best about Christmas.
In some areas of the United States, people enjoy picking out a family in their neighborhood that they can secretly give little gifts to as a way of celebrating how grateful they are for the birth of Jesus Christ. Every evening after dark, some lucky person in the gift-giving family sneaks up to their target's front porch, deposits that day's gift, rings the doorbell, and takes off running with all their might. A successful 12-day campaign means that the receiving family never knows who has showered them with love.
Because I hadn't planned it out, the first Scrap Girls 12 Days of Christmas event was pretty simple - consisting of some extra freebies, a daily Christmas muse by me (this is when muses first appeared in the newsletter), and some neat layouts and samples. Angie Briggs quickly noticed that I needed a little help with this project - because, as I said, it was not pre-planned - and she started feeding me extra layouts for the newsletters. I'll always love her for that. She saved my bacon!
The second year (2006), without thinking through the ramifications of what it would mean for future celebrations, I decided to surprise our readers with a 12-part serial story. You know... like Charles Dickens used to write. (I'm a little nuts sometimes.) That first story - The Flight of Christmas - took me months to write and remains my favorite one to this day. (I have now written five serial stories for this annual event.)
The specially-designed set of 12 Days Embellishments first made their appearance in 2007. The games - including the Infamous Tree of Doom - made their debut in 2008.
So, as you can see, the 12 Days of Christmas event grew from me having a desire to share a little extra holiday spirit with you into an event that takes our team months to prepare for. We keep it going because it's just one small way we can let you know how grateful we are for you and your support of our company. When you refer your friends to us and share what we are doing, you help keep Scrap Girls going. Every time you shop with us, you help us maintain our Forum, our Gallery, our newsletters, our blog, and every other service we offer you. And, of course, you help us to be able to continue to provide you with the free daily downloads that you all enjoy so much!
We need you. We understand that completely. We want you to know that our team members and their families are sublimely grateful for you each and every time you choose Scrap Girls to be your source for the beautiful digital scrapbooking supplies you need to make your layouts and projects. Every time you make a purchase in our Boutique, you make a HUGE difference in many, many lives. You help keep this small business going!
This year's 12 Days of Christmas stories come from our readers who submitted them when we put out a call for amazing stories related to the holidays. Every day from now through Dec 24, you'll read a new story that will make you laugh heartily, think deeply, and maybe blink back a tear or two. We received lots of amazing stories and had a hard time picking just 12!
So here we go! This is the 2011 Scrap Girls 12 Days of Christmas event. I hope you have fun!
- Ro
Memories - Hot Out of the Oven
This story is not about what was given or how much it cost... but why it was given.
I was raised with four siblings, and at Christmas, we each got one present. It was always anticipated and appreciated. I learned that it's not the presents under the tree that matter most, but the presence of those you love.
One year about 12 days before Christmas, the smoke detector alarm blared. This was nothing unusual - every time I cooked dinner, the smoke detector alarm blared. I was told it was time to get a new stove, but because of other expenses, I said, "I have a microwave and a slow cooker, so we can get by for now without a new stove."
On Christmas Day, a pretty little box under the tree had my name on it. When I opened it, there was a picture of an ad for a stove. My boys said, "It won't be delivered till next week, so we had to wrap a picture of it."
You would have thought there was a diamond ring in that box! I was so overwhelmed! Tears of joy were abundant.
My oldest sons, ages 15 and 16, worked part-time as bus boys, and they saved their money and bought me a new stove! They also bought their two younger brothers a present. My big boys were so proud of themselves. That stove is a very basic thing, but to me, it is a monument... a symbol of the love and unselfishness of my children.
One day, when it's worn out and I have to send it to the scrap yard, I'll have this scrapbook layout as a memory of this amazing gift and all it meant. Seeing my boys maturing so compassionately was the best Christmas present a mother could ever receive.
- Betty Orr
Layout by Betty Orr
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Pierced, Inky Folded Borders Embellishment Biggie, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Trinket Charms, Fly High Collection, Back Porch Collection Biggie and ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Fabric are also available. |
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Layout by Cindy Rohrbough
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Layout by Syndee Nuckles
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Digital Layout Templates: Be Square ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Butterfly Shadows 6301 Mini and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Aged Photo Edges 6301 are also available. |
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Slideshow by Cherise Oleson
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A commercial license version of Presentation Digital Scrapbook 1-2-3: 8.5x11 Christmas Applique is also available. |
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Layout by Brandy Murry
Photo Credit: Shauna Dubois - Two Chics Photography
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Commercial license versions of Jingleberry Collection Biggie and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Ragamuffin Glitter 8501 are also available. |
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Layout by Andrea Trump
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Layout by Angie Briggs
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These three products are 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.
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Printable Card by Sarah Batdorf
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Layout by Pebbles Jones
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Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 Life in Action Vol.1 and ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Foundations Vol.1 are also available. |
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If you have praise, comments, or questions for any of our Product Designers or Layout Artists, did you know you can send them a PM (private message) using the Message Board? It's easy!
If you are a registered user of the Message Board, just click on the "PM" box at the bottom of any of their posts to send them a message. Or, to check out more of your favorite designer's layouts, visit the Scrap Girls Design Team section of the Layout Gallery.
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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:
December's Scrap Girls Club designed for you by Angie Briggs
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 Layout by Angie Briggs using December's Scrap Girls Club larger view |
 Layout by Joyce Schardt using December's Scrap Girls Club larger view |
 Layout by Angie Briggs using December's Scrap Girls Club larger view |
Create a Christmas eCard for Quick, Last-Minute Greetings
Tutorial created using Photoshop CS3 with Mac OS X
Well, Christmas is fast approaching! With all the busyness of the season, making Christmas cards and mailing them did not get accomplished for me this year. But there are many people with whom I would still love to send a little holiday greeting. What to do, what to do....
Digital scrapbooking supplies and the internet to the rescue!
Today, I'm going to show you how to create a fast and easy digital Christmas card (eCard), so you can send it electronically to your friends and family.
I'm going to use Printable Photo Cards: 4x6 Merry Memories because I'm looking for cute, fast, and easy - and this product fits the bill.
Using your graphics program, open up the PNG file of your choice. I chose to open the file SNU_MerryMemories_EasyPage-PhotoCards_Share. When you open your file, you will notice an area that is blank (or filled with gray-checkered boxes, which is Photoshop's way of telling you it's empty or transparent). This is where your picture will go.
Next, I found my picture on my hard drive and opened it. With the two documents (the blank card and my photo) open side by side, I clicked on my photo and – with the mouse still held down – I dragged my photo over to the card document, then released the mouse.
Now, the photo will be on top of the card, likely covering a lot of it up. This is not what I want, so I will need to move my photo behind my card layer so that it only shows up through that blank window (the gray-checkered area).
In Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, I can either use the Layers Palette and drag my photo layer down or I can use the drop-down menu to select Layer> Arrange> Send to Back.
Now, your picture should be showing through behind the window of the card. If you need to resize your picture to fit in the window better, you can do that by using Edit> Transform> Scale in Photoshop.
To finish it off, you just need to flatten the two layers of your card. In Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, you can select Layer> Flatten Image. Now your card is complete! If you were planning to print out this card to mail or hand out to people in person, you would send this file to your printer or upload it to a photo center and order your prints. But since we are less than a week until Christmas, I don't have time for that, so I will send my cards electronically this year!
To save the file to be ready to send electronically, we just need to adjust the size a little. Your file is currently 300 ppi, which is perfect for printing. But computer monitors only display in 72 ppi, so we can save it at a lower resolution, which will make it display properly on the computer and will also make the file size much smaller and more manageable to go flying off into cyberspace.
In Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, go to Image> Image Size and change the 300 pixels per inch to 72.
Next, save your file. If my original file was named ChristmasCard2011.jpg, then I like to save my eCard file as ChristmasCard2011_72.jpg to remind me that it is saved at 72 pixels per inch resolution.
Now your Christmas eCard is ready to attach to an email or post on Facebook or Tweet on Twitter!
If you find yourself "behind the 8 ball" without enough time to make, print, and mail your Christmas cards this year, turn to your digital scrapbooking supplies and make an eCard instead!
Card by Cherise Oleson
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Article written by Cherise Oleson
Learn to make digital scrapbooking layouts and more! – Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed Ready to learn advanced techniques? – MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed |
Surprise! Surprise! More 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 Because Of You Collection Biggie,
part of this month's Scrap Girls Club offering!
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Today's freebie designed by Angie Briggs
Layout by Shalae Tippetts
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Designer Freebie by Shalae Tippetts coordinates with her Holy Night Collection
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Commercial license versions of Holy Night Collection, Inspired Child Collection Biggie, Humble Christmas 2 Collection Mini, Christmas Catalog Paper Mini and Broom Ride Collection Biggie are also available. |
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Today's freebie designed by Shalae Tippetts
* 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.
ScrapSimple Club Chat
Monday, December 19th - 6:00PM MST
Join April (April Showers) and Shannon (tinkerbell11) on Monday, December 19th at 6pm MT for a chat and challenge using this month's ScrapSimple Club. Did you know that every time you create a layout with the current ScrapSimple Club and upload it into the ScrapSimple Club Gallery that your page could be chosen to be featured in the Newsletter and receive a prize? Join us for the chat so we can encourage and inspire you and help with any questions that you may have. Let's get those ScrapSimple Club layouts done and uploaded!
New Member Chat - Early Edition
Tuesday, December 20th - 1:00PM MST
Join Debbie (B&K Mom) at 1pm MT for a fun chat to get to know our newest members. We will discuss the message board, 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.
Life Moments Chat
Tuesday, December 20th - 2:00PM MST
The Life Moments Challenge is about encouraging YOU to do an album about YOU! On the day of the chat, Pat will post the theme for the chat on the Message Board. You can do your layout before, during or after the chat. There are no deadlines! Join Pat (PBarnes) in the chat room at 2pm MT to talk about the theme and creating a digital album about yourself.
Faith Journey Chat
Tuesday, December 20th - 6:00PM MST
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 message board for this month's topic of discussion, and if you like - create a layout based on the topic!
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!