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November 1, 2007
From the Helm - Welcome to SSR!
Cap'n Dawn Heath,Publisher
Click on the photo above to see more photos shared by Tammy
This month is a very exciting month of special celebrations! SSR is celebrating our 4th Anniversay in style...Dee Gruenig is back with us to help us celebrate! Dee has been wtih us to celebrate each of our anniversaries and we are thrilled to have her with us once again. We also have another special surprise...our very own Tammy Smittenaars' family is from Holland and she has written a very special intro to our port of call this month! Tammy is the official proofreader for SSR and her services are invaluable in keeping us all spelling correctly! So without further adieu...
Click on the photo above to see even more photos shared by Tammy
When most people think about The Netherlands, the first thing to come to mind is often its windmills. While many associate the country with windmills, many do not know why there is such a prevalence of the structures there. The Dutch have a saying that “God created with world, but the Dutch created The Netherlands.” The Dutch are masters at claiming land from the sea, and windmills have been a critical component in that process. For centuries, they have constructed dikes to hold back the sea and then utilized the ever-present wind to power windmills to pump the water out of the newly enclosed areas. Until the mid 1980s, there were eleven provinces in The Netherlands (often called Holland after the provinces of North Holland and South Holland). Then, in 1986, the new province of Flevoland was officially created consisting of five new polders and a dam on the northern part of the IJsselmeer. So, you see, they really did “create” part of the country!
The word Netherlands translates to “low country” and that is exemplified by the fact that much of the country is actually below sea level. The lowest point is seven meters (23 feet) below sea level with the high point at only 322 meters (1056 feet). As home to the deltas of three of Europe’s largest rivers (Rhine, Maas and Schelde) they enjoy a large fishing and maritime industry. The low elevation and abundance of water can be a problem at times, however. By 1953, many of the dikes in The Netherlands were in poor repair for a variety of reasons. This, combined with a hurricane force storm coming at high tide, resulted in one of the worst floods in the history of The Netherlands during the night of January 31, 1953. This was followed by a second flood on the afternoon of February 1. Nearly 2,000 people and 200,000 animals were killed. Approximately 200,000 hectares of land was flooded with sea water making it unsuitable for farming for many years to come. It took nine months to close all of the breaches to the dikes. For those that lived through it, the event is remembered much like Americans remember the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the explosions of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, and the events of September 11, 2001. It is a date that has been burned into their memories.
Out of this disaster came a new determination and the Delta Plan was initiated. This plan consisted of a combination of repairing some existing dikes and building new dikes and movable barriers. The use of movable barriers allows for the continuation of many water based activities including fishing and shipping to the major port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, which is located inland along the the Nieuwe Waterweg canal. The projects of the Deltaworks succeeded making many improvements. Not only was the total length of dikes needed shortened by 700 kilometers (435 miles), but there is now a much better water balance between fresh and salt water along the many waterways of the delta region. Naturally, some nature areas were irreparably damaged due to these projects; however, as compensation, new nature reserves have been established at different sites. For more information about the Deltaworks, go to www.deltawerken.com which has information in Dutch, English and German.
Thank you to Tammy and Mom Smittenaar for taking the time to share your homeland with us. You've helped make our world just a little bit smaller.
Cap'n Dawn
We are pleased as punch to share with you one of Dee Gruenig's very special excursions around the world as our Celebrity Headliner this month to help us celebrate! This particular trip was to Holland! (Don't you just love how we pull all these things together?) Dee has helped us launch the very first issue of SSR and has come back each year to celebrate our anniversary. It's hard to believe it was 4 years ago already! Where does the time go? Dee and Warren are sharing some very wonderful photos of this particular trip with you. I hope you will get a kick out of their feature this month. It's wonderful how they always seem to find the time to make SSR extra special. I just love the photo of Dee featured to the right. As soon as Dee sent it I knew this needed to be shared!
Our Designer’s Challenge sponsor this month is Starform Stickers and you just have to check them out at http://www.starform.nl/. What a neat site and what inspiration you’ll get from your visit! Starform is a Dutch company. Starform is located in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. They are specialized in designing and producing sticker sheets for the international craft and hobby industry. Starform is a member of C.C.H.A. (Canadian Craft & Hobby Association), as well as C.H.A (Craft and Hobby Association), so you know when you buy Starform Stickers you are getting the best! The elegant design to the right was created by Donalda Cox!
Here is the picture from October's contest:
The winning quote is
I'm just glad that cows don't fly!"
Submitted by Paula J. Lewis
Congratulations Paula!
Now, if you'd like to see the November Caption Contest card, you'll have to visit Cindy's Caption Contest page! We can't wait to hear your captions! All entries must be sent to our yahoo group, just click the link below to join and be part of the fun and have a few laughs! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SSReflectionsezine/
Special thanks to Innovative Stamp Creations for sponsoring the November Caption Contest! We at SSReflections appreciate our sponsors so much!
I hope that everyone had a festive Halloween season. My night was filled with many treats. The whole month of October was just a treat for me as I checked the Readers’ Gallery folder and saw all the beautiful works of art. I was so pleased to see the different types of art that were submitted this month. The scrapbook layouts were absolutely stunning.
November’s Theme is:
As I was looking at all the delightful pieces of art, I was struck by how thankful I am that we have a great place like SSR to come and play and discuss our art. Since it is November and time for Thanksgiving in the U.S., I thought it would be great if we contributed works of art that illustrated the things for which we are thankful. November’s Theme is “Give Thanks.” You don’t have to have thankful in the title, it could be a piece of art that just shows something that you love.
If you want to see who the winner of the October Reader's Gallery Contest is then you'll have to visit Brook's Gallery page and see all the fabulous designs submitted for October! All entries must be based on the theme for the current months contest. All entries must be uploaded to the SSR Reader's Gallery!
The winner will be announced when the upcoming monthly issue is launched! The winner will receive prize package valued at $25 which is sponsored by Keepsake Designs. Thank you Becky!
Donalda has been busy organizing such awesome swaps on the Ezine Yahoo! Group. The swap featured right now is from the Door Hanger swap. The design to the right was created by Judy McGhee for this swap. Congratulations to all the ladies who participated on a job well done! If you'd like to participate in one of Donalda's swaps all you have to do is join the Ezine Yahoo! Group and sign up! We'd love to show your work too! We'll update the swaps gallery mid-month with the most recent swap images to share with you so be sure to come back!
As you finish reading this jam packed issue of S.S. Reflections, please make your way to our Making Waves page and visit our advertisers! We have revamped the page to make it more accessible to you and easier for you when you are shopping! Some of our Advertisers have wonderful specials and announcements just for you! We have also changed our COMM policy on the Ezine Yahoo! Group and the Forum Message Board! We are now allowing COMM's from all vendors on the Ezine Yahoo! Group and message board on Mondays!
S.S. Reflections: SSR has created a store directory listing for you and if you don't see your favorite store listed, be sure to send them our way! We have two separate directories for easy access to anyone interested which includes an alphabetical store listing and location listing. Please contact Cap'n Dawn at info@ssreflections.com for more information. There is a minimal fee to be included in our directory program of only $100 for one full year! SSR keeps it's costs low as we are committed to supporting the small business!
Altered Pages: What's black and white and red all over? Our new Kit of the Month - you have to see it! The new Kit of the Month is gorgeous if I do say so myself! It's fun to look at, fun to make, and looks like you spent a fortune on it! See this gorgeous kit and all the other beautiful Altered Pages kits! http://www.alteredpages.com/kitofthemonth.html
Don't forget the Collage Sheet Club - shipping now! Get all 12 new collage sheets from Altered Pages before they're even released on the website. Prepay for six months and receive free shipping for six months.
With any purchase of $20 or more, receive the Mini Flowers Collage Sheet - see it on the New Products Page http://www.alteredpages.com/newproducts.html
Jackie had a special offer for all new customers! $5.00 off any first order with the coupon code NEWCUSTOMER
Hearts in Touch has new images available and more coming soon!
NEW RUBBER COMING SOON:
#111 Flower Seed Packages
Join our group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartsInTouchRubberStamps/ and keep up to date on all the new products coming along very soon and meet a lot of wonderful crafting friends.
Hearts In Touch" is now carrying WorldWin Papers". http://www.worldwinpapers.com/. Email Frances for price list.
We also have free, online classes at the HIT website chat room. Anyone is welcome to join.
PaperArtsy: New from PaperArtsy this past spring are the mini stamps. These are on EZ mount and perfect for ATC's, small gift cards and 'inchie' art.
Also new from the 'Urban Snapshots' Stamp Collection is the Fancy Dress series and Wrought Iron series of 4 plates in each of these families. Check out www.paperartsy.co.uk
Stamp and Scrap Canada: Stamp and Scrap Canada: Read our latest newsletter online - http://www.stampandscrapcanada.com/papercraftnewsletter.html
See what's new in the shop (items added regularly) - http://www.stampandscrapcanada.com/new.html
We've got a HUGE clearance sale going on - 25 to 50% off on lots of items (most are 40% off) - http://www.stampandscrapcanada.com/sale.html
And if you're buying regular priced products here's a couple ecoupon codes you can use. Type the ecoupon code in the text box on the shopping cart page.
To get $5 off an order that includes $40 @ regular prices type: ssreflections5
To get $15 off $100 @ regular prices type: ssreflections15
If you would like to see your company spotlighted please contact us at info@ssreflections.com for information!
Be sure to check our sponsors websites often for monthly specials! Remember, without the VIP sponsors we wouldn't have S.S. Reflections for you to enjoy!
SSR is making a Call for Designers!
I will be introducing 4 new designers with SSR over the next couple of months but we are still looking for more! If you are interested in joining the SSR crew please send 5 samples of your work and a sample of your writing. Please write as though it will be your first article on SSR! You can write about a product you love, a subject that means a lot to you, or even using a color theme or a favorite technique. Send your writing sample in Word format (preferred) and your designs to editor@ssreflections.com
Please size your jpgs to 475 pixels (the longest side) so it is easier to send through email. You need to be aware before you apply that we do have a deadline each month that is necessary and by applying you agree to stick to the schedule.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email editor@ssreflections.com and we will do all we can to help! If you applied once before don't hesitate to apply again.
Having said all that...I'd like to introduce to you Tracy Beck who has joined our Digital Deck! Tracy will be feature in "Tracy's Digi Garden" each month! She has lots of wonderful ideas and techniques to share with you! Please join me in welcoming Tracy on board SSR!
We've shared all the exciting features on the Editorial Deck above so we will no longer include it in the "News On Deck" feature of the Welcome page.
Let's start with the Scrapping Deck:
Stacie's sketch challenge this month is sponsored by www.myscrapblog.com/scrapbookworm! You won't want to miss the wonderful layouts submitted for Stacie's challenge this past month! Great job everyone!! If you'd like to participate in Stacie's challenge all you have to do is upload your creations to the Interactive Reader's Gallery! The layout to the right was created by Stacie for this special sketch challenge from www.myscrapblog.com/scrapbookworm!
On our Digital Deck this month:
Tracy is scrapping black and white photos with a tutorial on how to use your channel mixer option in Photoshop which will make it easy to create layouts in black and white without changing the original photo! The fabulous layout to the right is one of the examples Tracy has for you!
Yvonne's special project this month is creating a 12 page Zoom Album for her husbands desk with the intention of decluttering his desk from all the photo frames! Yvonne makes everything seem so easy and this project is no exception and it's just gorgeous!
Now it's time for the Stamping Art Deck!
Cindy Seabright has a very special project to share with you! Cindy is sharing step by step instructions for creating your very own gorgeous wooden mirror!
Flo Flo has created the look of Delftware (one of the oldest and most respected Dutch pottery companies) using Vivid!® by Clearsnap© inks. One of Flo's gorgeous samples is featured to the right!
Judy has done a review on the "Gift Box Studio - Lively and Luxe" by Demetria Hayward and Jennifer Sampou. Each pack of paper offers a unique collection of coordinating embellishments bound in book format to make eleven boxes, sixteen gift cards, tags, envelopes and over 100 embellishments. These two collections of reversible gift boxes, cards and envelopes published by C & T Publishing.
Now for the news on the Altered Arts Deck!
Michaela is sharing festive autumn scents with friends altering some wonderful gifts. The fabulous lunch paper sack mini album to the right is one of the gifts Michaela is featuring for you!!
Robin has done a product review on the LuminArte Twinkling H2Os that we all love to play with so much! LuminArte has put them into four-ounce mister bottles and dauber bottles. Robin has created some beautiful samples to share with you!
Our Interactive Reader's Gallery! is not just for showcasing your scanned images, its also for your photos and your digital layouts! We want to see everything that you are proud of! So, come on board and share what you are most proud of! The atc featured to the right was created by Robyn!
So, don't be shy...share your ideas with us!! You just never know what we'll feature next or who we'll ask to be a guest designer on SSR!! IT COULD BE YOU!!! The photo gallery is so much fun and filled with fantastic designs...stamped art, digital layouts and scrapped layouts not to mention the photo gallery! You can upload all the designs that you want to share with us ANYTIME you'd like! We have an opportunity to make comments and talk about the products you used and the techniques! You'll want to definitely add this to your favorites and come back often!
Trick or Treating was last night and it was so much fun seeing the kids all dressed up. I had a sweet little guy dressed in a dragon costume with his Mom and Dad dressed in costumes come to the door. He was only about 4 months old and he was just adorable! There were so many wonderful costumes of all shapes and sizes. I've been a bit under the weather the past few days so I stayed home in the warm and gave out the candy and my boys were all off out in different directions doing their own thing with friends. We live in a high volume area so I was concerned we didn't have enough candy! We did fortunately but only just. We just moved to this neighborhood so we weren't sure what to expect it was great fun though. My oldest son went to a party this past weekend dressed as Larry the Cable Guy and he won the costume contest! He was chuffed to bits! Come and join us and share your stories! If you don't participate in trick or treating share your harvest festival celebrations or your trip to the apple orchard! This is the best time of the year here as the trees are at their finest!
Thank you for allowing us to share our 4th Anniversary with you! It's been a fabulous 4 years and you have made it all that more special for us. What a journey we have had!! I hope you can find a few minutes to sit down and see all that we have here to offer you!
Calm Sailing,
Cap'n Dawn
publisher@ssreflections.com
Publisher
Reflections Publishing Group
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