Category — Roz Speaks Out on eCards

I wrote a version of this Blog Post for Blog Action Day 2008. It is as true today as it was then. 

If you know me, you know I am an advocate for eCards.  As we all know… “Life can change in the blink of an eye!”  We can’t always be there in person, but “with a few keystrokes” we CAN be there via eCards ~ whether next door or across the world!

Not Just Quick

eCards are not only quick, they are “environmentally friendly!”

The “original post” is below: “eCards and the Environment!”

My name is Roz Fruchtman.  I am a Bronx NY Digital Artist with a passion for digital art and design.  Not having formal training as an artist it took me a while to accept the title.

In my day…  artists were those who were born with sketch pads and paint brushes in their chubby little hands — Not literally of course!  However they had a flair for art and design from childhood and continued to develop it through formal education.  I had none of this, therefore, had a problem accepting the title early on.  I have since learned that artists come in many shapes and forms and I wear the title Digital Artist with dignity and pride!

Like most my life was changed  by the Internet.  I no recognize the person I used to be!  I now see a person who is creative, giving, caring and deeply concerned with making a difference and giving back to the community.  In my case giving back to the community is through my art.

To see where all of this is leading and how it relates to  Blog Action Day and Saying The Environment… Please Read On!

 After my experience or lack of finding Judaic images on the web, I learned I could create my own.  Like most I put them up free.  People liked them and wanted to use them.  Shocked because I did not know I had this skill, I was more than a little flattered and encouraged to do more.

Six years ago I had a dream to provide a better way for the online Jewish Community and those having a need for Judaic-Themed Greetings to communicate.  I envisioned what is now known as my Judaic eCard Club:

Say It With eCards / http://www.SayItWithEcards.com

Initially it never occurred to me that besides the speed with which the eCards are delivered and the time and money saved that this action could positively impact on the environment at large.  However after much thought I realized that Electronic Greeting Cards — known fondly as eCards — are a great tool to help the environment prosper.

eCards:

• Eliminate the need to cut down trees. Paper is not needed for electronic eCards except when printed to keep for sentimental reasons.  (At the cost of paper greetings, we all hope our cards will be kept around for awhile, however, that is not the case most of the time unfortunately.)
• Eliminate the paper of the greeting carditself as eCards are electronic and the only time they are printed is when the recipient wants to save them as a momento.
• Eliminate the paper of the evenlope.  Everything except post cards are sent in paper envelopes.  Even if the paper greeting card is kept, the envelope is more often than not thrown out in the trash.
• Elimnate the paper of the stamp.  No stamps would be used as the eCards are sent electronically.
• Elminate the fumes from the gasoline used when the sender travels to the store or mall to purchase their greeting cards

Won’t you join Blog Action Day and make a difference!  Share your thoughts on the environment and how you can make a difference.  You are no doubt doing something now with little or no effort!

Go to http://www.BlogActionDay.com and sign up.

HELP US to bring awareness to saving the environment. WE CAN ALL help!

COMMENTS

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on the subject.  Please type them in the Comments Box below. I look forward to sharing with you. Let’s create a “community of encouragement and inspiration!”

Say Thank You

Let’s make it a point to “Thank at least one person a day!”

THANK “YOU” for taking the time to read this.  I hope you will click on one of the buttons below the post to share it with others!

LET’s CONNECT

Follow Me on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/SayItWithEcards

Be My Friend on Facebook
http://www.Facebook.com/RozFruchtman

Connect With Me On LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RozFruchtman

Luv and Hugs,

Roz Fruchtman
http://www.SayItWithEcards.com

LIFE ~ There is nothing more precious to any of us than LIFE itself! Our life, the life of those we hold precious to us, our loved ones, family, friends, business associates, even those we just know in passing.  Without life there is nothing.  With life the possibilities are endless…

Everyone deserves to have the opportunity to live a long, productive and useful life ~ a life of happiness, joy and accomplishment! However, life happens and sometimes we get too busy and our own health or the health of those we care about gets overlooked.

Why… Pink Ribbon eCards

NOTE: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Pink Ribbon is the symbol of this event!

Human needs we all share are to… “do something meaningful with our lives, do good and make a difference, contribute and help others.”  My art and my eCards service enables me to do just this in a more flamboyant way ~  Thus my Pink Ribbon eCards.

Send FREE Pink Ribbon eCards, Save Lives 

Say It With eCards offers a collection of more than 100  Pink Ribbon eCards ranging from Judaic, non-Judaic, Anniversary and Survivor acknowledgements.

NOTE: Sprinkled within are a small collection of “FREE Pink Ribbon eCards!”

BELOW are direct links to…
Say It With eCards / Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Ribbon Campaign eCards

• General Pink Ribbon eCards — Judaic and NON-Judaic
• Breast Cancer Survival/Anniversary — Judaic Pink Ribbon eCards
• Breast Cancer Survival/Anniversary — non-Judaic/Generic Pink Ribbon eCards

What Can “You” Do?

I urge you to “PLEASE” take a few moments…
Send Pink Ribbon eCards…
Save Lives! Save Lives! Save Lives!

Please post your comments below.  I would love to hear from you!

LET’s CONNECT ON:

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SayItWithEcards
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/RozFruchtman
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/RozFruchtman

Luv & Hugs,

Shalom:

I am working on becoming proficient in Article Marketing, thus I will be sharing many of my thoughts, knowledge, helpful eCard Sending Tips, etc. — here at the Say It With eCards Blog.

My goal is to be able to share Jewish Holiday related information as well as why eCards have become even more important and useful in our current economic climate.

I will be sharing why FREE eCards, Judaic or otherwise may not always be the best idea — depending on what your motives, intentions and your purpose is in sending your eCards.  As the saying goes: “YOU Get ONE Chance to Make a First Impression!”

Stay tuned!

By the way… I would love to hear from you with suggestions on what you would like to know about! Please COMMENT BELOW!

Sending Mazel and Naches to You and Yours — Along With Much Love and MANY Hugs,

Roz 

Posted by Roz Fruchtman
Say It With eCards
http://www.sayitwithecards.com/

Follow Me on Twiter:
http://www.twitter.com/SayItWithEcards

Be My Friend on Facebook
http://www.Facebook.com/RozFruchtman

Connect With Me on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RozFruchtman

It’s almost embarrassing to admit – When I was growing up I NEVER had dreams of a future. In those days… “If you did not get married and have kids” you were a failure.” Women were meant to be barefoot and pregnant!

I came from a family that considered me the black sheep of the family because I did not fit into the traditional mold. Traditional mode = what mom’s friend’s children were doing!

The good thing – “My past shaped who I am today and my dreams for the future!” As long as we have life, there is hope and time to make a difference.

Knowing discouragement, lack of self confidence, never feeling good enough, smart enough, etc. has made me an expert and advocate for making people feel cared for, loved, important, remembered, like they matter, that they have worth, that it is never too late, hopeful, etc.. Not a bad legacy, I would say!

On the Internet we are all equal. We all have a chance to fulfill our hopes and dreams. It really is not too late!

Send an eCard to someone you care about to “say hello,” “I was thinking of you,” “what have you been doing,” “I care!”

We are not promised anything in this life other than dying and paying taxes. The saying used to be: “None of us are promised a tomorrow!” The truth is: “None of us are promised a next breath!”

Don’t wait until it is too late to say I care!

MY DREAM

My dream is to provide a way for people to communicate using my art and eCards as their vehicle of communication. The time is right… In these uncertain times people are reaching out to others, to their loved ones, friends, families, business associates. They are spending more time together! They are keeping in closer touch with each other.

Don’t wait until it is too late!

Warm regards to you and yours,

Roz Fruchtman, The Greeting Card Maven
Say It With eCards / http://www.SayItWithEcards.com
Email: Roz@SayItWithEcards.com

Follow Me on Twitter
http://www.SayItWithEcards.com/twitter

Be My Friend on Facebook
http://profile.to/RozFruchtman

Love & Hugs to You!

Subhead:  How Say It With eCards Judaic Greetings Began
Writen by:  Roz Fruchtman,  The Greeting Card Maven

Welcome… Thank you for sharing my passion and a very intimate part of my life. 

It’s a miracle you are reading this.  It’s a bigger miracle that I am writing it…

It all started more than 10 years ago when I needed a “web version” of my resume.  Who knew from HTML, the language or code, used to display webpages in browsers. Like many — in those days —  I started to learn HTML by creating Holiday Pages.

My first two web pages were for Christmas and Valentine’s Day – G-d forgive me. Brought up in the tradition of “Jewish Guilt” I felt I should do something for my own, so I started with “Passover in CyberSpace.” This simple action shaped my career.

Not coming from a graphics background, I began to search the web for a Judaic image to use for my Passover page’s left border background.  After two weeks I came to the realization there was little, if anything available.  There were images for most religions, perhaps half-a-dozen Judaic.  It was the first time I felt in the minority as a Jew.

Finding the perfect image for my project, I had no idea what to do with it, not having a graphics background.  The only graphics I had ever used came from a box.  Another thing, I was now learning about was “copyright and copyright infringement,” thus presenting another challenge.  I needed permission to use the image.  An Internet friend created my background for me and when I asked her how she did it, she invited me to attend online-weekly meetings with the Paint Shop Pro User’s Group.  Paint Shop Pro was the program of choice on the web in those days.

Here I met people who graciously took me under their wings and taught me enough about graphics to become dangerous.  As time passed I began to enjoy what I was doing and actually created usable images, AND… I “did not” have to ask permission to use them!

Like most starting out, I began to create images that I offered free on the web.  I was amazed that people actually liked and asked to use them.  A Synagogue even used my images in their monthly newsletter.  For sure, I was flattered.  Coming from a background of little, if any encouragement or praise, I was inspired to go on – I was actually having fun!

As with the lack of Judaic images, I discovered there was a lack of Judaic Themed eCards.  It felt like the ultimate insult, and it became my mission in life to change things.  I dreamed of opening a Judaic eCards website to provide the Jewish Community and those having a need for Judaic Themed eCards a place to go.  Graphics Schmaphics Exclusive was to make its debut Rosh Hashanah 2001.

However, one week before Rosh Hashanah, on September 11, 2001 my dream went down with the Towers of the World Trade Center.  As a New Yorker and being trapped in Manhattan that fateful day, I was completely shattered and bewildered.  Who could think of eCards or promotion when our entire world was literally falling apart!

911 was a turning point for me as I discovered I design by emotion, a gift I cherish daily.  I was deeply touched by those searching for loved ones, I wanted to reach out and make it all better.  Of course I could not do that.  I could not go to what is now known as Ground Zero, I could not dig in the rubble, but what I was sure of was, “people would want to communicate and reach out across the country and the world.”  What I could do was design eCards as their vehicle of communication.  I was told this was “trivial” by a fiend, which made me feel like two cents.  However, in the following days, I was to learn from a TV Psychologist: “Creative people demonstrate their deep emotions via their artistic ability.”  My fate was sealed… My mission in life is to make people feel cared for, remembered, supported and loved — in good times and bad – via my art.  What started out as a makeshift eCard site is now Say It With eCards Judaic Greetings, offering more than 4,000 Judaic Themed eCards.

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As an aside:  It has always been my goal and mission to share life’s lessons and events, how we see or may not see things and how we can stay connected and make a difference while supporting each other as “people helping people.”  The Internet has caused some of us — me included — to lose sight of the people behind the products, software and services we enjoy on the web.
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Another one of my passions and a public service is to help spread the word about health awareness issues using my eCards.   With this said:   

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS — FEBRUARY is “Everything Heart Month”

National Heart Month / American Heart Month

February is known as both National Heart Month and American Heart Month.  This month is set aside to bring attention to the deadliness of heart disease and its preventions. While it is stressed more in women at this time, let’s not forget the men in our lives as they are important too!  

February 6, 2009 is “National Wear Red Day!

“This day originated in 2002 by “The Heart Truth,” national awareness campaign for women.  It started out with the Red Dress as its symbol.  Today, anything red goes – thus, opening the door to men, women and children helping to bring awareness to Heart Disease as the #1 Killer of women.

February 14, 2009 is Valentine’s Day…

or what I like to call “Love in February” or “Valentines Day Judaic Style” to make it a little more Yiddish.  While Valentines Day is still the day for lovers, it is also a day to reach out to friends, family and those we care about to show appreciation and gratitude for having them in our lives.
 
Tu B’Shvat is February 9, 2009

Last, but not least, Tu B’Shvat is February 9, 2009 – This holiday is known as Rosh Hashanah of the Trees, New Year of the Trees or Birthday of the Trees. Coming in late January or February, Tu B’Shvat is the time when the trees “start to awaken” from their winter rest and begin budding.

And now I would like to invite you to visit http://www.SayItWithEcards.com to gain instant access to some of our complimentary Health Awareness eCards for National Wear Red Day and National Heart Month.  Click the appropriate link under Upcoming Holidays and Events in the “right column.”

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you may contact me at: mailto:Roz@SayItWithEcards.com

You may visit me at:
Say It With eCards Judaic Greetings aka Say It With eCards
http://www.SayItWithEcards.com

Shabbat Shalom & Warm Regards,

Roz Fruchtman