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March 1, 2006
From the Helm
Cap'n Dawn Heath,Publisher
It is so hard to believe that it is March already and we are visiting Vietnam! The month of February and our trip to Papua New Guinea has just gone by far too quickly! But, I guess that is what is expected on a world cruise! The country of Vietnam brings horrific memories to so many people and we will not make light of the war in Vietnam and the many lives lost or impaired by this time in Vietnam. This is a country that is still rebuilding itself. The people of Vietnam never forget what they have gone through as they build their beautiful country and we are here to see the beauty that God has created. Ken Exner is the photograher of this beautiful picture of the Kurst Islands of Halong Point. If you would like to see more of Ken's work please Click Here! We hope that S.S. Reflections has made the world just a little bit smaller with our cruises around the globe and that the beauty we share with you inspires you to try new and different ideas when you create. Please be sure to share your ideas with all of us and now you can do that with our brand new interactive Readers Photo Gallery!
Well, we seem to have big news to share with you each month just lately and we won't disappoint you this month either! You now know all about our Quick Links at the bottom of each page! Of course, last month we announced the expansion of our Stamping Deck to now have an Altered Arts Deck on our virtual cruise ship! This month we are announcing our brand new Interactive Reader's Gallery! We are calling it interactive because YOU control what you want to tell us about your designs! You can upload as many of your designs as you'd like and create your own online photo album! You can even send ecards from the gallery! 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 our new Reader's Gallery format 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 her news and have been enjoying our new Photo Gallery for a couple of weeks already! So, come and join in on the fun by boarding the SSR yourself! 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.
We hope that you are taking advantage of our new 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 beautiful canvas piece to the right is ready to hang in your home! Our very talented Debi Wind is selling this amazing card!
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. 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 Intro Pages 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 us and be sure to let us know what you love about SSR!
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 month's prize.
The Ezine Yahoo Group members voted for their favorite caption and the winner is....
Here is the picture from February:
The winning caption was:
"What's with the long face?" by Beckie from somewhere in the UK. Hey girl, I need your address!
For instructions and a closer look see my February 2006 article. Stamp image by Hearts in Touch
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!
Christina started Lazar StudioWERX Inc. began just over 5 years ago, shortly after Christina Lazar-Schuler and her dear husband Terry Schuler were engaged in October 1999. After deciding to have a small intimate, family and close-friends only wedding, Christina thought that handmade invitations to the big event would add warmth and charm to the intimate affair. One afternoon, shortly after deciding that she would create the invitations herself, Christina wandered into a local rubberstamp store and was instantly hooked. Wouldn't it be grand to create custom, handmade invitations using rubberstamps?!?
Our first crewmember introduction for March in the VIP Lounge is Becky Chabot! Becky is going to take this VIP Lounge opportunity to share with you more about herself, the person. You’ve seen enough of her gorgeous art, but what is behind the artist that you can’t see? Who Becky Chabot? Becky believes that every event in our lives shapes who we are; molds us into the people we become and what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. We are thrilled to introduce you to Becky Chabot in the first part of the March issue!
We are proud to share with your the company created by one of our own! Mother Rubber Art Stamps is sponsoring the March Designer’s Challenge this month!. Dawn Shepherd started her stamp company after getting laid off from a job she had held for 15 years. After a little push to get past all of the reasons why not to start a stamp company, Dawn decided to give it a try. So, take a look at what our awesome designers have created using Dawn's unique rubber stamp images! The image shared on the right was created by our own Andi Mulholland!
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 has a brand new website with Sunday International! Please be sure to check the site regularly to see the featured project!
Hearts in Touch. HIT FAMILY ALBUMS! Want to see your family immortalized in rubber? Email me for information on how you can have this done! Also...coming soon to Hearts In Touch Rubber Stamps........TSUKINEKO as well as STEWART SUPERIOR products.
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! Be sure to check our November Designer's Challenge for ideas on what to do with this awesome new kit!
PaperArtsy comes out with a brand new plate every month! You will want to check their website often so you don't miss any of their awesome images! Leandra is a featured instructor at CHA, the premier craft trade show, at the end of January and her class is already sold out!
Two Paper Cranes - Click here for a look at the awesome products that Two Paper Cranes is offering! You will want to check their website often for the most recent products added to their store!
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:
I hope you like how sleek SSR's menu is looking these days and have been able to navigate easily through it to find your favorite features! On our Editorial Deck this month Dawn Shepherd's Tidbits feature is all about color! VIP Lounge, is featuring Becky Chabot in the first part of March and in the second half of March we will be featuring Yvonne from our Digital Deck! Of course, you will find our fun Caption Contest listed on the Editorial Deck too! The photo featured to the write is this months contest card. We will also make mid-month changes to the Editorial Deck so be sure to come back when you receive your newsletters!
Now on to the Scrapping Deck! You may have noticed that our Sara has been rather quiet of late, she has started homeschooling her children and has asked for some time off as they work out the kinks in their curriculum...then her computer crashed! Stacie is scrapping sugar and spice and all things nice...and all girl! Jill is crackling on her pages! She has lots of awesome ideas to help you get started yourself! Marilyn's is in stiches this month! All kinds of stitches, rubber stamp stitches, hand made stitches and less we forget our sewing machines! Cindi has a fun tutorial on unexpected alphabets with some amazing designs! Becky's technique this month is "resist". Becky has done a fantastic job with this technique and I can't wait to see what YOU come up with in our photo gallery! Janet is just mad for monograms! If you don't believe me you can see for yourself with all the gorgeous projects she has created! The design to the right is just one sample that Janet created!
On our Digital Deck this month, you will notice that Tricia and Elizabeth have taken this month off too! Tricia is still adjusting to having a new baby in the house and just sold her house! Elizabeth has had a flurry of family situations come up but she will be back next month! Yvonne's tutorial this month will help you make use of your Photoshop Elements effects! Ramie is encouraging you to feature YOU in your scrapbook pages. Just wait until you see Dyan's faux postage cards that were created digitally! Dyan's tutorials are just fantastic! In Bill's tutorial this month is capturing great photos even when the weather is bad! You can find the good in every weather situation! Tara's is creating an ABC album digitally! There is nothing you can't scrap digitally and we're here to show you how!
Now on to the Stamping Art Deck! You will probably notice that our stamping deck is a bit on the slim side this month! Andi and Purnima have both had to take March off because of family concerns but, don't despair...they will both return next month! Debi is back this month and her feature is a product review on Alcohol Inks! All of her art is for sale and is just gorgeous! Cindy Cade is always thinking outside the box and has created this gorgeous purse on the right out of bamboo placemats! Melissa's tutorial on a paperbag pocket book and the final product is absolutely fabulous! Judy's book and DVD reviews are always fantastic and her artwork is mind blowing on any given day and she hasn't let you down this month either! Judy is reviewing the DVD: "Fold It Beyond Traditional Origami Greeting Cards, Books, Boxes, and More" with Karen Thomas.
Now on to the Altered Arts Deck! We have several of our Altered Deck designers off this month, Cindy, Robin and Tracey have all had family situations take them by storm but I can assure you that we will have them back with us next month! Having said all this, we have an extra special surprise for you this month! We have a very special guest artist Showcase to share with you! Rosie Waldt has created her awesome Darcie's purses and is sharing them with us! Wendy is featuring her very first article by herself this month! We are so excited to tell you that Wendy's first feature is on wearable art! Wendy has such awesome ideas to share with you! Suzanne is celebrating her love of altered art with all of you! Suzanne has created some amazing art using perfume bottles and CD tins...wouldn't you just love to go to Suzanne's house? Lori has created the most beautiful tribute to her Mother that we are very proud to share with you! She will even tell you how to create one for yourself! You can see what I'm talking about as her tribute is featured to the right!
Well, you've probably read about this already if you made it down this far in my article, but we are so excited about our new Interactive Reader's Gallery! that I have to take this last opportunity to tell you about it! You can upload all the designs that you want to share with us ANYTIME you'd like! We have to opportunity to make comments and talk about the products you used and the techniques! The card to the right was created by Wilma Schaefer of Germany! 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! This would include, stamped art, scrapped layouts and digital layouts and even favorite photos too!
Thank you for joining us for our cruise to Vietnam! We have so much inside this issue to share with you! Its a good thing you have the whole month to enjoy this fabulous issue of S.S. Reflections! Remember to count your blessings each day and know that each new day is a blessing to you! 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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