NTI Happenings - Issue 3 - June/July 2003 This newsletter comes to you because you have subscribed, you are someone who has made, or makes a difference in our lives, or because it's been forwarded to you by someone who values your relationship with him or her. Enjoy! Click here for ISSUE #1 - ISSUE #2 - ISSUE#4 and See PICTURE TO PONDER our Current Newsletter Greetings from Sam and Sheila Finkelstein Please note an improvement. In this issue, clicking on links will now keep you within the newsletter S& S "Playground" is now getting settled into our wonderful, new-for-us, home in Southeast Florida. We've been here for 6 months. It's unbelievable how quickly time passes! Having been surrounded by green and flowers all winter,we had not missed our home in NJ. Then suddenly it was Spring/Summer and we started missing the bird songs, our goldfinch and hummingbirds, and the varied annuals and perennials of the Northeast. "OK," I remembered and, now, remind myself that I can always visit the FLOWERS page on naturesplayground.com. In fact, in the past, several people have written to tell us that they find surfing naturesplayground.com energizing and refreshing, that they often spend 5 or 10 minutes whenever they need a time-out at work. I, of course, have the added opportunity of going back to my own huge photo collection to do new flower photo/drawings from the NE. Thus keep a watch out for FLOWERS 2. On the other hand, though seemingly not the variety that we had in the North, I am constantly amazed at the lushness of our tropical flowers and the periodic surprises that occur on the plants on our property. The best is the gardenia bush (6 feet tall) outside our kitchen window that is blooming for the second time since we're here. They were my favorite flower for years and we had over 200 blooms in March! This Issue's Question: For those of you who are new to NATURE'S INTERPRETATIONS, we have been asking a question in each issue. To check out past questions and stories, see our NEWSLETTER link and follow the links to prior issues. As always, this issue's question again results from personal experience. How many times have you said "No" to something, because you've "already done it/seen it?" Can you recall a time when you decided to say "Yes" and you had a pleasant or unexpected result? ANTHURIUMS at the American Orchid Society provided such an experience for me (also see article.) If you would like to share an experience you've had, for a page of Readers' Stories, please e-mail Sheila. NEW - Custom Photo/Drawings Expands - 2 new categories: PERSONAL AND FAMILY MEMORABILIA - An inquiry for working with old photos, came out of a discussion on creating custom truck photo/drawings. Client Sondra Nash comes from a family of truckers. On hearing "yes" to old photos, she e-mailed us a page with 5 small ones. She is now ecstatic with the results in both the TILES, "I got my tiles today and they are absolutely fantastic!!!", and the prints and note cards. (See SERVICES - Custom3.) HORSES - Lisa Augustine wrote that she was "jumping out of her socks" when she received the horse tiles and calendar, we did, as "Featured Artist", for the Grey Ladies Andalusians' table at the "Fiesta of the Spanish Horse" , Los Angeles Equestrian Center. "This stuff is SOOOOO cool and SOOO beautiful -- the quality is SUPERB! " See HORSES on Cafe press, for the tiles and mugs, and then the CUSTOM HORSES page on our site for other images. Special thanks to Joan Sheldon, for her wonderful horse photos,that she e-mailed from California, so I could do sample photo/drawings and create flyers. The horses, from color photos, that you see on CUSTOM HORSES belong to her and her husband. On receiving note cards with her own photo of Coca, enhanced with my photo/drawing, Joan writes, "You did such a good job of making him look beautiful on the cards. Love them. Everyone admires it ...on a bookshelf next to my kids' pictures." For more information on how we can bring your photos to life, e-mail, sales@naturesplayground.com This Issue's Featured Photographers You'll note 2 different PHOTOS pages in the side bar. One is of photos taken by Kaitlyn, our 11 year old granddaughter. We were so impressed with the digital photos she took with our camera, we wanted to share them with the world. See KAITLYN'S PHOTOS. The other is a page of photos by Jeff Shulman, photographer. One of our favorite places to walk is Wakodahatchee Wetlands, (link for an article I wrote for our Community Newsletter). During our first months here, we especially enjoyed the nesting/birthing experience of the Great Blue Herons. Thinking we were going to be getting this issue out in March we asked Jeff if we could share some of his wonderful photos with you. See JEFF'S PHOTOS NEW ALSO: 1. Voice messages on 4 of the pages of www.naturesplayground.com. FLASH is required to hear these. 2. Note cards in sets - For your convenience, we have grouped note cards in sets of five. For easy purchase, go to the CARDS IN SETS link on the ORDER form link, on all pages. 3. ORCHID TILES in our Gift Shop 4. BUY-IT buttons have been removed from all the pop-up windows. Individual Note Cards, Prints of varying sizes and Plaques are still available. Write to sales@naturesplayground.com with your requests. 5. Daily Coaching and Empowerment Calls - In my experience, two of the important avenues toward achieving one's goals are getting coaching and associating with people who also have a drive and a vision. My good friend Julie Jordan Scott, www.5passions.com, one of the most creative, multitalented visionaries I know, is bringing both together, while introducing amazing programs. Her most recent, MILLIONAIRES ONE-BY-ONE, is perfect for the work-at-home, sole-practitioner, entrepreneur. I have been particularly appreciating this empowering, exciting ongoing daily, Mastermind Group teleconference program, designed to aid in achieving all of our goals. In response to a demand, Julie has also created 12-week teleconference, writing workshops, which have gotten very favorable reviews from participants. One is currently in progress and the next one will be starting up in September. See WRITING WORKSHOP. If, as a result of seeing information here, you should choose to enroll in any of the upcoming 5Passion.com programs, please mention Naturesplayground.com. You can also check our LINKS page from time-to-time. Julie has started creating Affiliate Programs, wherein the referring individuals and companies also benefit. SPECIAL NOTE: LOW PRICES ON TILES GUARANTEED through July 31 only. We remain especially excited with the 4.25" X 4.25" coaster tiles, which we have been enjoying using as coasters and mini-hot plates, as well as table art. People who see them buy them and love them! Since we are moving toward more wholesaling of our products, our web site and Cafe Press shop will need to be listing retail prices, possibly up to double what they are now. At $6.50/each, thru 7/31, we suggest you stock up on TILES, NOW, for holiday gifts and for "gifting" yourselves. All ordering and fulfillment is done directly through Cafe Press. See Information, which is on our pages at Nature Art at Cafe Press Shops. CafePress guarantees product satisfaction for 30 days and we're adding our own personal image guarantee. Please write and give us feedback on this issue so that we can deliver something of value to you in in our next issue. If you have found this one interesting, please send it on to your special friends. If you have received this from a friend and would like to be on our mailing list for future newsletter mailings, please go to any of our pages on www.naturesplayground.com and use the SUBSCRIBE button. This list will not be sold or passed on to anyone else. It is will be used solely in the realm of Art and Nature and to keep you informed of new happenings and periodic "special offers." Of course, if you would prefer not to receive any future mailings, send an Unsubscribe, per the message at the bottom. We appreciate your sharing in this newsletter with us and look forward to your feedback. Sheila and Sam Finkelstein © 2003 Nature's Treasures Interpreted - Written permission required for reprinting or for use of images.