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August 1, 2006
From the Helm
Cap'n Dawn Heath,Publisher
We all know Morocco for The Sahara, the worlds largest desert...The Sahara can be an inspirational experience at night, with the air being crisp, clean and clear, the stars being so close you can almost touch them and a silence that is deafening. But, there is so much more to this almost medieval-like hustle and bustle of Morocco. For most travelers Morocco is a world away from their own cities and towns and is like stepping back in time.
The goal of S.S. Reflections has always been to make the world just a little bit smaller and that you can enjoy visiting these beautiful countries virtually with us! Please be sure to share your own inspirations with all of us and we have made this even easier for you with our brand new interactive Readers Photo Gallery! If you are having trouble uploading to the photo gallery please feel free to email Diana at dianascott@ssreflections.com as she is our officer in charge! I know several of you have written to me, but I'm clueless on some of these issues! Diana is our resident expert and I'm sure she can help you!
Okay, so I'll admit it, this part is probably getting a bit long in the tooth for you as its been here for a while now but it really is a great way to explain what we are doing to those who are joining us for the first time so I hope you don't mind that its still here! After all, all these updates took a great deal of time and effort to create and we're still quite proud of how much we have evolved over the past 2 1/2 years! I just want to take this opportunity to remind you of all the awesome new features we have for you on the magazine! First, we've changed the menu to the left so that it is easier for you to understand. Also, we have our Quick Links at the bottom of each page! Then there is the expansion of our Stamping Deck with the addition of the Altered Arts Deck! We have awesome Interactive Reader's Gallery! The designs being uploaded are just incredible! I hope you have had the time to check it out and even upload your own work! This new photo gallery will work along side our already established Ezine Message Board and our wonderful Ezine Yahoo! Group! If you are hearing about all these new features for the first time...you may want to join one of our wonderful areas of the Communication Deck! Our Yahoo! Group members and message board members were the first to find out about the latest news and updates! So, come and join in on the fun by boarding the SSR yourself! Have you signed up for our bi-monthly newsletter yet? You don't have to read our newsletter from the website, you can have it delievered to your inbox! 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.
We hope that you are taking advantage of our program to actually purchase the designs created by our amazing designers! All you need to do is click on the thumbnail of your favorite design, and if it is for sale it will be listed at the bottom of the supply list. You can email the crewmember directly for information about purchasing the design featured! Shipping and handling are not included in the price of the design. Insurance is required on all sales. The awesome card featured to the right was created by Debi!
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 for you 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 our click to link which will take you to the next page to read as though you were turning a page of a paper magazine! Each page is linked to the next. As mentioned above, we now have a Quick Links feature to help you get to where you want to go to next! We also have an into page for each deck which are listed in the Quick Links section. On these pages are ship's wheels with our crewmember's pictures inside - you can click on the wheel to read a short, fun bio for many of our designers. 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 your favorite designer and be sure to let her know what you love about her and SSR!
Our Caption Contest is having to take a hiatus for this month. You see, our very special contest coordinator, Jill has been diagnosed with cancer and had to have major surgery last week. Its obvious that she has had a lot on her mind just lately and out of respect for her we've decided to post pone things for a month. This is especially hard as she just finished the joyous occasion of her daughters wedding! If you'd like to send Jill a Hug her address will be listed on the Ezine Yahoo! Group in our Send a Hug file. I'm sure she would appreciate as many hugs as we can gather for her!
We are taking a repite from our regularly scheduled VIP Lounge programming to share a very special event with you! Our very own Becky is being featured this month on HGTV and we couldn't wait to tell you all about it in this months VIP Lounge feature! I know you are just as proud of Becky as we all are and I hope you will tune in to see this very special episode!!
Our Designer’s Challenge this month has been sponsored Kaleidoscope Kreator with their wonderful new Kaleidoscope Kreator 2.0! I was so amazed at the wonderful creations they were able to come up with. Kaleidoscope hosted our challenge before in January 2005 were gracious enough to step up to the plate again with this fun challenge.
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! 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!
Don't forget that we have created a store directory listing for you and if you don't see your favorite store listed, be sure to send them our way! If you own a store and are interested in having your store included (Brick and Mortar stores and Online stores) please contact Cap'n Dawn at publisher@ssreflections.com as we have a very special introductory rate for one full year!
Posh Impressions CEO, Warren Gruenig has great things to share with you:
Rubber Stamping Is Making Comeback but With a Twist -
Unmounted rubber stamps with the EZ Mount cushion used with acrylic mounts are creating attention with two major movements occuring:
1. Stampers are removing rubber from wooden mounts and then using them with EZ Mount cushions and acrylic mounts. Some call it "dismounting".
2. Sunday International is influencing stamp companies to join the change toward making EZ Mount a standard that will soon be evident. Even respected, prestigious Magenta is beginning to go in this direction.
Based on sales, people seem to like the way the EZ Mount system works. It provides stamps at an affordable cost, solves storage problems, makes precise placement of images easy with acrylic mounts, makes organization of stamps simple, makes transporting of an entire collection a breeze and provides inexpensive mailing of orders from the U.S. to countries abroad due to the lightness of packages shipped without wood.
Sunday International is also having success with their new designs by well known designer Dee Gruenig with on-line sales nearly doubling during the months of March and April of 2006. Additionally, Sunday has experienced five sales records in a row during the past six months since Dee has begun working with them.
The Vertical Inspirations Collection of slender stamps, available both as single stamps and in sets, are especially popular. One reason for success is probably inclusion of icons, borders and backgrounds within a single VI set. The variety of images can be mixed and combined for many variations while still being simple to use. It is even possible to glance at VI sets and immediately see the many combinations possible. Products and projects for them may be seen at Posh Impressions.
Dee works with Sunday International using her Posh Ltd. brand while she employs flagship Posh Impressions, working directly under license with venerable All Night Media, for the wood mounted stamps that will always have their partial fans. Other licenses for Dee are Uchida of America for her Blending Blox stamp pads and signature brush art markers, Ranger for the Rainbow Sponge with Inkabilities inks and until recently, Mrs. Grossman’s for bold stickers. More recently added, not under license, have been companies Colonial Needle for the new Sailor pastel pens in 8 colors modeled after the versatile Write Writer pen and the Jupiter OTT-LITE desk lamp with built in magnifying glass that Dee uses for stamping in both her studio and in her own home. She serves companies Colonial Needle and OTT-LITE as advisor.
Hearts in Touch. Have fun with these exciting brand new FUN FRAMES©. The is an exclusive new line by Hearts in Touch! The frames are die cut cardstock with scores ready in place with holes when folded provide for wall hanging using simple common pins. Simple and easy to use you can decorate these FUN FRAMES© to your hearts content! To see more about Fun Frames check out our Stateroom feature this past June!
Hearts In Touch Rubber Stamps also has 3 new sheets available!
#93 People & Their Pets
#94 Sugar & Spice
#95 Masks
New from PaperArtsy: New from PaperArtsy this month are 8 new plates: Kids 5&6, and Backgrounds 1-6. The Pierrot collection of stamps is also a popular recent edition.
All plates are available unmounted, or on EZ mount. email sales@paperartsy.co.uk for details or go to www.paperartsy.co.uk
If you would like to see your company spotlighted please contact either Korbyn or myself at info@ssreflections.com for information!
Be sure to check our sponsors websites often for monthly specials! Remember, without these very special sponsors we wouldn't have S.S. Reflections for you to enjoy!
News On Deck:
Scrapping Deck:
Now on to the Scrapping Deck! Becky's feature this month is using sketches before creating her layouts! Cindi has done an awesome review on the One Page at A Time – A Kit Club! Janet is beading it up with some fantastic ideas just for you! Jill has been having an awful lot of fun with felt! Just wait until you see some of her fabulous ideas! Marilyn is working on vacation pictures! So, grab that pile of photos and gets get to work! Stacie lives in Texas and they are experiencing quite the draught! So, she's scrapping water pages with the hopes that it brings in the rain! Sort of a scrappers rain dance??? Okay, so I'm goofy, I've had very little sleep lately. You can see one of Stacies awesome water layouts to the right!!
Digital Deck:
On our Digital Deck this month, you will find some awesome ideas! Dyan's tutorial this month is teaching us how to use Paint Shop Pro to use your brushes on your digital designs. Just check out the gorgeous card to the right! We are sad to tell you that this will be Jen's last feature with SSR. She has been such an awesome addition to our crew and her features on sketches have been very popular! We will really miss Jen but she knows she can always come back and share her ideas with us whenever she has the time! The last edition of Jens Digital Sketches is just as fabulous as always! Yvonne is tempting us with templates!! I just love all the amazing ideas that Yvonne shares with us!!
Stamping Arts Deck:
Now on to the Stamping Art Deck! Debi's feature this month is continuing with adding shimmer to her designs. Debi's work is just fabulous! Judy's video review this month is "PostModern Design" Video No. 2 by Co-owners Kathy Martin & Chris Burnett. Judy has created all kinds of designs to showcase the versatility of this video! You can see an awesome example of this to the right!
Altered Arts Deck:
Now on to the Altered Arts Deck! Cindy is completely wrapped in ribbon! Just wait until you see what she's done this month!! Its absolutely fabulous!!! Robin is creating art using all kinds of things that she has found around the house! Just take a look to the right for one sample! Sue has gone funky on us! She's going from vintage to funky and just wait until you see how much fun she is having! Wendy has created an amazing tribute to her Dad for Father's Day. You see, in New Zealand Father's Day is the first week in September! Wendy's piece is just stunning!
Communications Deck:
Our Interactive Reader's 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! The card to the right is just a sample of some of the beautiful work you can see on our new gallery! What is so awesome about this new Reader's Gallery is that it can change daily...even hourly!! You'll want to definitely add this to your favorites and come back often! We have always loved to showcase all our readers' artwork and now we can show even more! The altered wooden sign to the right was created by firemanswife and is just one of the awesome designs featured!
Final Thoughts:
Its hard to believe its August already. Today is one of my very dearest friends birthday! She is 50 today!! Happy Birthday Shirley!! I'd sing for you but I don't want to scare all our readers away!
I hope that you enjoy this issue as we visit Morocco! We are always honored by your choosing to come aboard SSR for all the fun we can offer! Remember to find the joy in each day. I have so many blessings to be thankful for and this past month has been absolutely amazing for me. I wish I had the time to tell you all about it but I think if I take any longer to launch this issue I'll be in serious trouble with some of you! You'll just have to believe me when I say that good things happen to those who wait and I've definitely been the recipiant to some wonderful moments in time. As always, we all hope you will be able to relax and enjoy your favorite online Ezine, S.S. Reflections! Thank you for allowing SSR to be part of your day!
As always,
Cap'n Dawn
publisher@ssreflections.com
Publisher
Reflections Publishing Group
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