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From the Helm
Cap'n Dawn Heath,Publisher
We welcome you to Thailand! I've been looking forward to S.S. Reflections visiting Thailand. I love that we can visit such beautiful countries and learn about their cultures online. We are such a fortunate society in that the Internet has made the world so much smaller. Thailand is such a beautiful country, the beaches are pristine. Thais are renowned for their tolerance of other cultures and friendliness to visitors. I was devastated by the images on the news last Christmas as we were told about the devastation from the Tsunami. We could see in the images why Thailand is known as "the Land of Smiles." The gentle way of its people are so welcoming and it's a wonderful place to visit. We already know about the wonderful Thai cuisine! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it!
If you are joining us for the very first time, let me explain what S.S. Reflections is. We are a completely FREE online magazine with a truly unique concept. SSR is a virtual cruise ship from the Golden Era here to entertain you as we visit a new country/port each month. We have an amazing crew who create designs and share ideas with you each month from various areas of the ship. Our fly-out menu bar, to the left, can take you anywhere on the ship that you would like to be. It will guide you through each deck on this magnificent ship! If you'd like to read each and every feature, at the bottom of each page is a blue arrow and a link to click which will take you to the next page to read. We also have Intro Pages for each deck. On these pages are ship's wheels with our crewmember's pictures inside - you can click on the wheel and read a short, fun bio for each designer. You can also click on the name of their room on the ship and it will take you directly to their article, or you can email each crewmember directly by clicking on their name! Please write to us and be sure to tell them what you love about SSR and anything you have read about here!
We had so many beautiful submissions to our July Stamped Images Contest! These contests are getting harder and harder for our judges to choose. Now, having said that, it is with great pleasure that we announce that Linda Jean is our FIRST Place Winner! Linda won a $50 gift certificate for Bound2Remember services! Our SECOND place winner is Carolyn Summers!! Carolyn won a $25 gift certificate toward Bound2Remember services. If you'd like to see the winning photos, please click here. All the winning designs are displayed on the Contest page! Linda's winning design will be the month of July in the 2006 calendar! CONGRATULATIONS to all three of our winners!
Our August contest category is a Scanned Art Contest! This would include anything that you have stamped on using the back to school theme (or purple)! Please size your image to 475 pixels (longest side) for submitting to the contest. We need it in a much smaller size for the magazine. But, be sure to keep your image in the proper scan size for the calendar if you win! So, you'll have 2 sizes for your image. Both are important! We need to have your submissions sent to editorialsubmission@ssreflections.com with your permission to publish and print your submission. Please also include your name, address, phone number and products used if you know them!
The Caption Contest has been so much fun on the Ezine Yahoo! Group! We can hardly wait to see each new entry. The featured stamp used in each month's article is also that months prize. This month is by Hearts in Touch!
The card on the right is from the July Caption Contest. The Ezine Yahoo Group members voted for their favorite caption and the winner is....
"Mirror mirror above the bed, is this bow too big for my head?"
By Holly Young
For detailed instructions and our current contest just click on the card. We are having so much fun with this contest on the Ezine Yahoo! Group, I hope you join us!
Have you signed up for our bi-monthly newsletter yet? Did you know that we send out a newsletter when we change our Reader's Gallery each month? The newsletter is FREE and is full of up-to-date information on what is happening on board the S.S. Reflections! If you would like to receive our newsletter you can sign up for it HERE. If you are a member of the Ezine Yahoo! Group then you are having a wonderful time sharing ideas and tips and techniques. We have weekly challenges for both the stampers and the scrappers and monthly swaps! Communications Officer, Joe, has been doing a great job with his product reviews, sharing his art, and keeping up some fun conversation on both the Ezine Yahoo! Group and the Ezine Message Board!
Our Celebrity Headliner is Suze Weinberg of Ranger Crafts! Suze was so excited when we told her we were going to Thailand - it was all we could do to wait until August for the trip! Suze had visited Thailand last year and fell in love with the country and has created the most beautiful Asian works of art to share with you, with instructions so you can create your own! 
Well, you've been seeing the banner ads for Two Paper Cranes on SSR for a long time now, and last month while we were in Japan our Design Challenge was sponsored by Two Paper Cranes! Well, while we are still in Asia we thought it would be an excellent time for Nicky, the owner of Two Paper Cranes, to share a fun technique with you in the VIP Lounge! Nicky has such a beautiful selection of Asian papers and we just didn't want you to miss out on this wonderful opportunity!
Our Designer’s Challenge this month was sponsored by Kaleidescope Kreations! We featured Kaleidescope Kreations in the VIP Lounge last January. Not only have Jeanie and Nancy created this awesome software, they have a line of cardstock stickers and they are so much fun to use! Just wait until you see what the crew have created with these awesome high quality stickers. The design to the right was created by Becky Chabot!
Korbyn's Korner - S.S. Reflections Advertiser Spotlight!
korbynmay@ssreflections.com
Director of Sales
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! If you are looking for that special logo-wear of your favorite online magazine, you can purchase your own t-shirts or sweatshirts in the Purser's Store! If you have any special requests, please email us at info@ssreflections.com and we'll see what we can do!
Posh Impressions always has specials that change without notice. If you see it and you like it or want it, order quickly and it is yours. Notice that the page is titled "Items Briefly On Sale" or you can click Special Sale to see what is offered this moment. Don't forget to order Dee's brand new DVD "Simply Posh." What a wonderful opportunity to learn from the master.
Hearts in Touch - Hearts In Touch is happy to announce it is carrying the new Tim Holtz line of wood mounted stamps! Also, Tim’s new Metallic Mixatives and Distress Embossing Powders will be available at HIT as soon as they are available to the public.
Suze’ new book “Instant Art” is now in stock and available for mailing out NOW!
Fibers By The Yard Starting August 1, they will be offering only the Fiber FANatic Club fibers "by the yard." There will be 2 months worth of the FANatic Club fibers to choose from at all times. Once the fibers are rotated out, they will be pre-packaged until sold out.
Heart Full of Memories has a vast array of scrapping supplies with the papercrafter in mind! Be sure to tell Traci that we sent you!
Caputo's Kits Looking for a creative way to store your handmade A2 sized cards? Head over to Caputo's Kits to pick up the brand new Card Keeper Kit! It comes with blank cover boards to decorate, 10 custom made page protectors to hold up to 20 cards, and binding rings. Refills available!"
PaperArtsy: New from PaperArtsy are four quarter plates called 'wings' comprised of angels, butterflies and other winged creatures as unmounted stamps. These new plates are now available. Also new on the website are collage and transparency sheets: great for transfers, collage art or overlays. Be sure to visit the PaperArtsy website!
Ranger has lots of awesome new products that were announced this past February at CHA! Click HERE for more details on all of them! Watch here for announcements from Ranger on their latest products being released at Summer CHA!
Memory Villa, a brand new advertiser with SSR, is closing out Leeza Gibbons Legacies at 30% off and have a total of 136 products in their "Specials" category - All 20% to 40% off regular price.
Midwest Scrapbook Association - Scrapbook Retreat October 21 - 23, 2005 at the Tommy G Thompson Youth Center - Wisconsin State Fair Park - Milwaukee, WI Cost: $145.00 (includes two-nights lodging and 5 meals)! Let us take care of all the hassles -- so you can concentrate on the good stuff - like what color to matt your photo. With just two people per table, you have spacious cropping area to work on your scrapbooks until the wee hours of the morning (the crop room never closes!), make 'n takes, access to our Tools Stations, limited shopping with onsite vendors, games and drawings for fabulous prizes, goodie bags, meeting new people who LOVE to scrapbook like you, and lots of time to work on preserving your family memories. Relax, Have Fun, Get Lots of Scrapbooking Done...Don't Delay...
Two Paper Cranes - Click here for a look at the awesome products that Two Paper Cranes is offering!
Now to tell you what is on our Editorial Deck! You will notice that we've made a few changes to the Editorial Deck. It's bigger! We've moved the Showcase and Judy's Stamping Library and Sharon's Scrapping Library to the Editorial Deck! In The Stateroom this month we are featuring a brand new paper company called Trace Industries! We met the President, Theresa, and Misty, their chief designer, and found these gorgeous papers at Summer CHA and couldn't wait to tell you about them! The The Showcase this month is featuring Carole Pivarnik with her latest Paperpourri ezine! Dean is encouraging us to clear out the junk! Sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and clear out the junk!! Judy our Stamping Deck Librarian is reviewing "BOOK BASICS AND BEYOND!" by Lisa Vollrath, along with Carrie Edelmann Avery, Beth Fraer, and Michele Charles. Sharon, our Scrapping Deck Librarian, is reviewing "THE BOOK OF US" By Angie Pederson
On our Digital Deck this month, Ramie has reviewed the Storytellers Digital Scrapping Pack! Dyan has written an awesome tutorial on Script Fonts and Friendship Verses! Bill is taking underwater diving pictures! These are just so cool! Tonya has done a tutorial on correcting photos. Tara's tutorial is creating ribbons and fibers digitally!
Elizabeth is enjoying wedded bliss by finally scrapping her wedding photos digitally! She has some great tips to change your photos for a truly elegant look! Tricia is travelling around the world! She has a gorgeous assortment of layouts to tell her story digitally!!
Now on to the Stamping Deck! Cindy is creating beautiful works of art using some favorite photos! Debi has truly spoiled us with her art using acrylic paints! Robin and Wendy have been busy altering game pieces! You can see one of her designs to the right! Cindy Cade has created some of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry! Her animal theme is so much fun! Andi is showing off her wonderful horticultural skills to us again but by creating floral cards this time! These are a truly delightful treat! Suzanne has once again amazed us with her beautiful designs using acrylic paints! Lori has created gorgeous art with faces as the theme this month! Purnima is our style guru and she's showing off her beautiful ideas this month! You won't want to miss this! Melissa has done a fantastic review on the Fiskars ScrapBoss! Fiskars is so impressed that they have specifically requested her designs for their own website! We're so proud of our Melissa!!
Now on to the Scrapping Deck! Laura has new ideas for using your QuicKuts!! The QuicKuts is not just for diecutting anymore! Sara has created gorgeous pages dyeing her own paper!! Chrissy is also scrapping her vacations but using the old fashioned paper way! Stacie is going back to the basics and using paper piecings! Marilyn is adding texture and dimension to her pages with all kinds of ideas! Cindi is hooked on tiles! You are going to love Cindi's many ideas for tiles! Becky is having fun scrapping birthdays! This is always a favorite subject for scrappers and Becky has such wonderful style! If you are wondering why you need to journal on your pages, then you won't want to miss Janet's article this month. Victoria is teaching us a technique using paint brushes for inking on your pages!
As usual our Reader's Gallery is just outstanding! We have so many beautiful designs to share with you! The featured design is by Carole Monk of Canada! If you would like to be featured in our Reader's Gallery, please submit your designs to Robin Willis! If you have something that you'd like to have included in our August 15, gallery please submit your designs to Robin by August 10th at robinwillis@ssreflections.com. We love to showcase all our reader's artwork! Please remember to send us your name and the city/state or country where you live along with a basic list of the products used. We hope to give our advertisers as much exposure with your designs as we can!
If you have read this entire article, THANK YOU! Thank you also for coming on board our virtual ship! Next month we will be cruising to the Middle East! We have lots of surprises in store for you but for now, you have the whole month to enjoy this fabulous issue of S.S. Reflections! Remember to count your blessings each day. We hope you will be able to relax and enjoy your favorite online Ezine, S.S. Reflections!
Happy Sailing,
Cap'n Dawn
publisher@ssreflections.com
Publisher
Reflections Publishing Group
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