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May 1, 2006
From the Helm
Cap'n Dawn Heath,Publisher
The Taj Mahal has been the inspiration to so poets, artisits, writers and young lovers for centuries. It is a true love story of the bond between a husband and a wife. I'm a hopeless romantic and I can only imagine what it feels like to be loved so much. As we celebrate our May cruise to India I begin a new chapter in my life with mixed feelings. The end of my great romance, but its all good! There is a reason for everything we experience in life and many lessons learned which guide us through each new day! One day I will find my King Shahjahan and a love that lasts. The Indians believe in sharing happiness and sorrow in life. A festival or a celebration is never constrained to a family or a home. The whole community or neighborhood is involved in bringing liveliness to an occasion. A lot of festivals like Diwali, Holi, Id, Christmas, Mahaveer Jayanthi are all celebrated by sharing sweets and pleasantries with family, neighbors and friends. An Indian wedding involves all the family and friends in the community. Similarly, neighbors and friends always help out a family in times of need. Ethnically Indians speak different languages, follow different religions, eat the most diverse varieties of food all of which add to the rich Indian culture. The beauty of the Indian people lies in the spirit of tolerance, give-and-take and a composition of cultures that can be compared to a garden of flowers of various colors and shades of which, while maintaining their own entity, lend harmony and beauty to the garden - India! 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!
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 beautiful flower themed card to the right not only fits the theme of India it is ready for you to purchase for your own! This was created by our very talented Debi Wind!
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!
Here is the picture from April
The winning caption was:
I got him off ebay. What do you think?
by Marilyn Pfeifer!
Congratulations Marilyn! Please write to me with your home address.
For instructions and a closer look see my April 2006 article. Stamp image by Putting on the Ritz (known on line as Stamping on the Ritz). Thank you Jeri!
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!
Dawn Shepherd is our featured crewmember in the first May VIP Lounge feature! Dawn is my personal assistant and she also writes our Tidbits feature each month! She has a wealth of knowledge and as my assistant she keeps SSR running smoothly! It is with great pleasure that I can share with you Dawn in our VIP Lounge! I know you will enjoy meeting her as much as I enjoy working with Dawn! Of course, she has a fabulous name don't you think???
Our Designer’s Challenge this month has been sponsored by Patty Donahue of Different Drummer! I met Patty last fall at the Scrappers ER convention. In fact, I taught a class that featured her awesome metals! I knew that this was one company we just had to feature in our Designer's Challenge so you could see just how awesome and how versatile their products are! The layout featured to the right was created by our very own Ramie! Ramie is not only our Digital and Scrapping Deck Cruise Director she is also our Business Manager and my bestfriend and brand new Mom of two! Ramie gave birth to Aiden Friday night, April 28 weighing in at 8 lbs 7 oz! CONGRATULATIONS Ramie!!!
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. Now available through Hearts In Touch, Tsukineko, Golden, Stewart Superior, Art Institute Glitter, Jacquard, Junkitz, Speedball, and Making Memories. Coming soon: Krylon, Excel Hobby Blades, Mimi, and Tombow.
New from PaperArtsy: Picture packs (inkjet transparency and collage sheet images -2 for each - ATC size). New stamps so far this year Kids, more Wings and brand new is the Ephemera collection. PaperArtsy: will be launching thier product range in Australia in May at the Stamping Down Under Convention. Print Blocks is their distributor. Leandra will be on hand to teach plenty of classes.
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:
Editorial Deck:
Now on to what our crew has been up to for you this month! On our Editorial Deck this month Dawn Shepherd's Tidbits feature is about how important it is to surround yourself with creative people! VIP Lounge, is featuring Dawn Shepherd my wonderful fabulous assistant! Our mid-month VIP Lounge will feature my dear friend Andi Mulholland!! Of course, you will find our fun Caption Contest listed on the Editorial Deck too! The photo featured to the right is this months contest card. Cindy has been waiting to feature this stamp and we knew this was the time to do it as this will be her very last contest with SSR. Next month Jill Wenzel will take over as our caption contest coordinator! Thank you Cindy for all your time and love as you have contributed wholeheartedly to SSR's success! This month we also have a very special addition to our Editorial Deck! Jill McNamee has done a special book review on the new idea book by Rusty Pickle using some of their new product line and its all featured in the Stateroom!
Scrapping Deck:
Now on to the Scrapping Deck! Becky's sharing fabulous ideas for using fabric on your layouts! Cindi is playing with all kinds of fabulous embossing powders and incorporating them in her layouts! Janet is having tons of fun with ribbon! Ribbon is all the rage and Janet has fabulous layouts to inspire you even more! Jill is continuing on her trend "what’s old is new again" by bringing all those die cuts we have hidden in the back of our drawers out to play with again! Jill has gorgeous layouts to further inspire you! Marilyn is working on pet pages with awesome ideas as you scrap your beloved furbabies! Sara is back! She has had to take some time off but she's back with a bang! Sara's feature is perfect for May, she has some awesome ideas for teacher's gifts! The lunch box featured to the right is one of her fabulous ideas! Stacie is bringing all the beautiful spring flowers onto her layouts...Texas bluebonnets!! This is one of my favorite traditions that Stacie does with her daughter! Every year Jordan has her portrait taken among the bluebonnets...just gorgeous!
Digital Deck:
On our Digital Deck this month, Dyan's tutorial this month is creating awesome digital collages as the main theme for her cards! Of course, the beauty of Dyan's tutorial is that its not just for cards...its for anything you care to create! Elizabeth is BACK!! We sure have missed Elizabeth and Tricia and they are back!! Elizabeth's tutorial is adding texture to your digital layouts! Jen's digital sketches were a huge success last month and this month you won't be disappointed! She has two new fabulous digital sketches for you to download!! Ramie has awesome ideas for recipe pages! How much fun would it be to create your own digital cookbook? What a great gift idea to start working on now for yourself and family members! Just wait until you see Tricia first feature back with us is using ploppers to help you get the most out of the time you have available to scrap! We are also sharing Yvonne's tutorial this month is not just about digital scrapbooking...she opens a whole new fantastic way to use your computer!
Stamping Arts Deck:
Now on to the Stamping Art Deck! Andi's is playing around with backgrounds! She's checking out many of the favorites and has some awesome ideas to share! We are tickled to have brought Andi in from her gardens to share her wealth of knowledge with us! Debi is creating gorgeous works of art using the resist technique! Debi will help you through the difficult parts and you will be thrilled with the results you come up with! Judy's book review this month is way outside her creative "box"! Judy is reviewing "Scrap Your Stuff Keepsake Scrapbooking to Capture Special Memories" Edited by Jan Mollet Evans. I know how hard it is for Judy to review scrapping books but she has done a fabulous job and I know you will be just as proud of her as I am!
Altered Arts Deck:
Now on to the Altered Arts Deck! Cindy has been hanging out at the local hardware store for inspiration...she's got it BAD for formica and if you don't believe me, you'll want to check out her fabulous feature using formica tiles! Robin is carving out her own images and just wait until you see what she is creating with her stamps! Its just fabulous and if you don't believe me check out the art to the right... Sue is on a roll, I don't know anyone who loves altered art as much as Sue does and I'm so honored that she is doing it on SSR! Anything that Sue gets her hands on is transformed into fantastic art! She blows me away each month and I'm sure you won't be disappointed at all! Wendy has created a very special CD box for you! Just wait until you see the fun Wendy has inside this box! Fabulous just fabulous!! Now, for a very special feature just for you! Amy Kalvig is our very special guest artist in the Showcase this month! Amy shared her friendship books with those of us on the Ezine Yahoo Group last month and we wanted to share Amy's fabulous books with all of you! I hope you enjoy this very special treat that Amy is sharing with you as much as I have!
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 beautiful digital layout labeled Tranquility to the right is featured in our photo gallery and was created by myslewis!
Final Thoughts:
Thank you so much for joining us and being apart of our cruise to India! We have so much inside this issue to share with you and I hope you get many hours of enjoyment by all we have to offer! As we enjoy spring in all its glory, new beginnings...remember that each new day is a very special blessing to you! I've been working nonstop just lately, so much so that I haven't even had my usual dose of spring fever! I hope someone out there is enjoying it for me! All of us at SSR hope you will be able to relax and enjoy your favorite online Ezine, S.S. Reflections! Happy Spring!
As always,
Cap'n Dawn
publisher@ssreflections.com
Publisher
Reflections Publishing Group
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