A beautiful layout featuring two Scrapbook MAX! community members (Evee and Carena) who met in person. We love how Scrapbook MAX! has been a part of people coming together!

 – layout by Carena

In The Groove

Do you remember your very first friend? I made my first school friend on the very first day of school. We came to class with the same lunchbox, and of course at lunch time, each took the wrong one to our desks. Soon after we had figured out what had happened, we were sitting together sharing cookies and deciding what to play at recess. The friendship lasted throughout our school days, as we grew from shy little girls with the wrong lunch boxes, to young women sharing our hopes and dreams.

In this issue of The Groove, we’re celebrating friendships by featuring layouts that pay tribute to friends. Some are full of fun, some full of grace. Some full of style, some full of humour – just like our friends! We’re especially excited to bring to you the special story of OnieRN and MaggieMae, two Scrapbook MAX!-ers who, in traveling the country, decided to meet in person. Below, they tell us all about it!

Also below, find an amazing freebie and fun challenge by Donna Thomas. Have fun, reflect on friendships, and get into The Groove!

– Karin, co-editor of The Groove

Personal Challenge: Take a look at the layouts below for inspiration. Then,  make and share a friendship layout of a friend who’s on your mind! Remember, Scrapbook MAX! makes it easy to share – you can print, email, burn to a CD, and more.

 

Celebrate the lighter side of friendship!

 

 

 – layout by scrappyaggie48

 – layout by makeyesup

Our friends have seen us through it all – including the times when we let loose!

We love the free-spirited photo and sassy elements chosen by scrappyaggie48 in her fun friend layout. Woo-hoo!

We can also relate to the perfect, light-hearted caption chosen by makeyesup. Thank goodness we trust our friends – the stories they could tell…

Bright Idea: Show a friend how much you care by making them a fun layout with a favorite picture, cute embellishments, and a witty caption. Then email your page to them directly from Scrapbook MAX! by choosing File > Email. It’s sure to brighten their day!

 Friends Throughout The Years

 

 

– layout by fourfoxes

 

– layout by sacannon

Photos of friends are dear to our hearts. Even more so when you do something special with them, like making a layout to commemorate a moment or a special time together.

You can either choose the photos you’ve just snapped, like fourfoxes has done in her lovely friendship layout. Don’t you just love the close-up photo contrasting with the photo of the girls walking off together in the distance? Lovely!

Or, choose photos that you’ve had for a while. You can scan your cherished photographs, and use them in Scrapbook MAX! to preserve them for many more years to come! We love sacannon’s knack for using black and white photos with vintage-themed elements. Classy, sentimental, and special!

Bright Idea: Why not make a small album showcasing a friendship “through the years”? Create a series of layouts at a small size, such as 4 x 6 (Choose Page> Settings> Size to alter the size pf pages in Scrapbook MAX!). Begin with a layout featuring photos from the earliest stages of your friendship until the present. Then, print out two copies by choosing File > Print in Scrapbook MAX!, and insert in two 4 x 6 photo albums –  a great gift for yourself and a friend, and perfect for toting in a purse!

 

 Rhapsody in Blue

 

 

– layout by Marion

– layout by pkdoll

These two blue-toned layouts certainly caught our eye! The first by Marion shows how this traditional “boy color” does justice to a father/son layout. What a great mix of denim blue with leathery brown tones!

The second layout by pkdoll shows us, on the other hand, that blue isn’t for “boys only”. The muted blue shades are soft soothing, and match the philosophical tone of Aristotle’s quote: “What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies”

An amazing description that captures the feeling we have about our most amazing friendships!

Bright Idea: Does your friend have a birthday coming up? Why not make a personalized birthday card using a photo of the two of you to celebrate? Print it out or email it to say “Happy Birthday!”. Your layout can also be the birthday gift itself! Print (File > Print) at a size for which it is easy to find a great frame, such as 5 x 7 or 8 x 10 (Choose Page> Settings> Size to alter the size pf pages in Scrapbook MAX!). Insert into a special frame, and voila!

 

Scrapbook MAX! Friends Meet in Person!
 

 Layouts by MaggieMae and OnieRN commemorating their meeting in person.

Read on to hear more about how these two lovely ladies who met online in the Scrapbook MAX! online community met in person, and put “real faces” to “cyber screen names”!

 
OnieRN and MaggieMae are familiar names in the Scrapbook MAX! forums, sharing layouts, digital scrapbooking advice, and friendship with others. When the two realized that they would be in the same city, they decided to meet in person. The story of their meeting follows below. We’re delighted how Scrapbook MAX! has played a role in bringing people together!
 
 
How did you get involved in the Scrapbook MAX! Online Community?
 
OnieRN: I was googling for digital scrapbooking tips, after purchasing another program at an Electronics Store. I was having a hard time with the other program, when Scrapbook MAX! showed up in the google. I downloaded the trial version and was hooked within a couple days. It was so easy to use!
 
MaggieMae: I got involved in the scrapbooking community here shortly after I found the program in May 2006. It was my first forum and first digital scrapbooking (experience). It’s been such a great learning experience!
 
How did you two decide to meet?
 
OnieRN: I was driving through Tucson, Arizona to visit my parents in Mesa, AZ. I contacted Julie (MaggieMae) and to see if she wanted to meet, as I drove through town. The timing was perfect, as my parents were in Tuscon at the time, doing some mission work. The two of us had been communicating for nearly a year, when we arranged to meet. Julie and her husband had 2 homes and spent the winter in Tuscon, so it was perfect timing.
 
When and where did you meet?
 
MaggieMae: We met at an I-Hop right off I-10 because it was easy to find! We had lunch and talked about just about everything. My DH Ron was there and Onie’s son Josh was there, too.
 
What sort of things did you chat about? Anything particularly funny or surprising that you would like to share?
 
OnieRN: We were only together for a few hours, but we chatted about everything from our kids to our grandkids. We also talked about some of the other (Scrapbook MAX!) members and how wonderful it would be to meet them too. Julie’s husband is the picture taker, so Ron was snapping pictures.
 
MaggieMae: Onie and I talked a lot about digital scrapbooking and computers – I think we bored Ron and Josh! LOL We also talked about how much all of us know about one another through our scrapbooking.
 
What was the best part of meeting your fellow Scrapbook MAX!-er?
 
OnieRN: It was wonderful to have a real face and voice behind the screen name (MaggieMae). I realized that we had so much in common and we had a lot of laughter between us. The reality that there is a real person on the other end is the best!

MaggieMae:The best part was actually seeing that we were real – not just cyber people!! It was so much fun to see each other in person and recognize each other from pictures and realize that we knew each other so well!
 
What else would you like to share with us about your meeting?
 
OnieRN: I believe that Julie and I were the first to meet of the group. Everyone knew we were meeting and they were as excited for us as we were. Our meeting involved the two of us, Julie’s husband Ron, My son Josh and my parents. We talked and talked and talked! The nice waitress kept coming by and refilling our glasses for several hours.
 
MaggieMae: There really wasn’t a best part about the meeting – we enjoyed it from start to finish.
 
Do you still keep in touch?
 
OnieRN: We do stay in touch, and soon we will be living closer. I am hoping that we will be able to have many more opportunities to see each other.
 
MaggieMae: …soon we will be practically neighbors when Onie moves to Phoenix!
 
What is your favorite part about the Scrapbook MAX! community?

OnieRN: The closeness of the group. I have found this group of individuals to be loving and caring. We all support one another in good times and in bad times. We’ve had marriages, deaths, babies born, and sicknesses in our group. We started a buddy system, where we have exchanged personal contact information with a group of individuals. The system was started so that we could stay in touch, in the event someone “disappears” (from the forums). I have had many friends in my life time but I have never experienced anything like the love we all share with each other. We are a big family! Closer than most real families.
 
Our group is now talking about arranging a large meeting in the next year or so. We want to get as many of us together as possible. So, with any luck, we will be putting a cruise together.

MaggieMae: My favorite part about the SBM! community is the genuine friendship, warmth and caring we have for one another. We share our lives through our scrapbooking and in the forum.

Thanks OnieRN and MaggieMae for sharing your awesome story and lovely layouts!

Has anyone else out there met a fellow “Scrapbook MAX!-er”? We’d love to hear your story! Email us at [email protected] if you would like to participate in an interview. We may feature it in an upcoming issue of The Groove! 

 

 Put Your Stamp On It!

(Your “signature style” stamp, that is!)

 

 

 – “signature” layout by mh51

– “signature” layout by eye

These two friendship layouts have the umistakeable “stamp” of their creators! mh51 has a knack for choosing delicate florals, and here she doesn’t disappoint. Great retro photos against an elegant backdrop. A perfect keepsake commemorating a special college friendship.

Eye displays her talent for bringing together a layout with an edgy, dreamy, fun quality – what a perfect backdrop for these two young friends!

We have featured the work of these two talented scrappers before in previous Scrapper Profiles, and are thrilled to do so again!

Bright Idea: What is your “stamp” – the kinds of elements and backgrounds you choose again and again? Make a friendship layout using your “signature style”. Then, publish as a screensaver to brighten your day by choosing File > Publish To > Screensaver. You can read more about publishing layouts as screensavers in Chapter 6 of our User’s Guide found under Help or at http://www.scrapbookmax.com/webhelp

 

Designer Friendships!

 

  

  – tribute layout for Steve Russell, by Michelle McCoy

  – tribute layout for Donna Thomas, by Fiona Storey 

Michelle and Fiona, Scrapbook MAX! Booster Pack Store designers, created fun friendship layouts in tribute to fellow designers (and friends). Take a look!

Bright Idea: Did you know that you can send a Scrapbook MAX! Booster Pack Store Gift Certificate to a friend? Just go to the store’s home page, and choose Gift Certificates near the top of the screen. Your friend will love getting treated to kits and templates of their choice to use with Scrapbook MAX!.

 

The Monthly Freebie Challenge! 

-sample for Donna’s “super challenge”. Details in the Challenges and Contest forum.     

The “Freebie” Part!

Donna Thomas has generously supplied a freebie shapes mini-kit (the “Maxie Kit”) to all our Groove readers. You’ll find it attached to our The Groove Monthly Freebie and Challenge  thread.

Here’s how Donna describes the Maxie Kit:

This kit is introducing blended photo add ons concept – for more information, (see The Groove Monthly Freebie and Challenge thread). I have two related items in the store: Photo Word Tags and Trendy Expressions Templates (pictured below) .The Trendy Expressions Templates use the Word Tags for backgrounds and coordinate well with any mixing and matching of the pages. These shapes will help you add more to your photos using family member word tags with the blending base.

The “Challenge” Part!

Donna has issued this challenge based on her freebie mini-kit:

Simple challenge: Use the shapes in this mini-kit to plop on your photos or papers and display them in the challenge thread!

FIND THE FREEBIE AND CHALLENGE IN THE “CHALLENGES AND CONTESTS” FORUM, AND GET SCRAPPIN’!
 
Looking for more fun? See Donna’s “super challenge” in this thread! – don’t worry! It’s “super fun”, not “super hard” – LOL! 

PLUS – a lucky, random challenge participant will get an official Scrapbook MAX! mousepad.

 

Discount Coupon For
July 2008 “Featured Kits”

 

Love Donna’s freebie mini-kit? Looking for more?

This month, when you purchase the full Maximizers kit, or any of Donna’s four Featured Kits (all pictured below), you’ll receive a discount for 10% off! Simply add any of the four Featured Kits to your cart until July 31, 2008, and type in the coupon code JULY-DTH to receive your 10% off discount (be sure to type in the code JULY-DTH exactly as shown).

Offer is good on new orders in the Featured Kits category only, until July 31, 2008. Coupon code  must be used at the time of purchase and must be typed in exactly as shown.

 

July 2008 Featured Kits

 

  

Trendy Kit

 

Photo Word Tags

 

 

Maximizers Torn Photo/Paper Scraps Set 1

 

Trendy Expressions Templates

 

Booster Pack Store:

 New Releases
 

Have you been shopping lately? Dozens of new kits are added to the Scrapbook MAX! Booster Pack Store each month. Be sure to stop by and check out our awesome selection of embellishment kits and template sets, professionally-designed to work with Scrapbook MAX!.

Below is a small sample of some of new kits recently added to the store by various designers.

 

Deanne Gow-Smith – Red Rover Kit

 

  

Kathie Woolery – Celebrate Freedom Kit

    

  

 Carena Scott – Tom Boy Elements Kit

 

 

 

Fiona Storey – Violet Hill Kit

 

Look for a fun new issue of The Groove next month (release date August 1, 2008).

Not yet signed up for The Groove?  Sign up for free today, and get a link to The Groove delivered to your inbox each month. Inspiration, freebies, challenges, scrapper profiles and more await!