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 Happy Halloween! That's me as a little kid, dressed as a pumpkin! (I remember that costume was stuffed with plastic baggies and boy, did they itch…)
This is Artella's birthday month, and so we're continuing to share exciting news from Artella Land! In the last Artellagram, we announced that The Artella Daily Muse newspaper is now free to offer daily creative inspiration to everyone! This has been a long-time dream of mine, and I just couldn't be happier. I'm equally excited to announce the Grand Re-Opening of Artella Mae's Vintage General Store! The new Vintage General Store is newly expanded and better than ever, offering unique vintage ephemera for you to use in all your artwork.
We've also released TWO brand new eBooks, to inspire you to take your vintage-related artwork to the next level! And you can even get those eBooks for free as part of Artella Mae's Ghost Sale: a not-so-spooky celebration of artsy things from days gone by. You can get the all of the details in the news section as you read further down below.
So, with a brand new store and two new eBooks, Artella Mae has obviously been busy. Artella Mae is our resident vintage Muse for all-things-Artella. But did you know that she is based on a real person? Well…sort of. Soon after I started Artella in the Fall of 2002, I created a Muse named Artella Mae, who popped up in and around the Web site and publications. Imagine my surprise when, later, I found out that I actually had a great aunt named Ardella Mae that I had never known about! So, the vintage photo that we use to represent Artella Mae is actually a photograph of my Great Aunt Ardella Mae, taken in 1924!
That's one reason that I love working with vintage items in my artwork. They open the mysterious doors of the past with such amazing authenticity, and they awaken opportunities for all kinds of wonderful synchronicity to occur, as past and present dance together.
If you're in a hurry, here are some "quick links" to the highlights in today's Artellagram. You can simply follow the links that you're interested in to go directly to the relevant information!
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 1. Artella Mae's Ghost Sale! Just in the knick of time for Halloween, here's a not-so-spooky sale that celebrates all kinds of artsy stuff from days gone by…"ghosts" if you will! Simply go shopping for all the "ghosts" you like in the all-new Artella Mae's Vintage General Store and save 35% off EVERYTHING in Artella Mae's NEW Vintage Photo Shoppe!
Plus...you can gather up to over $50 worth in special treats...
- Buy $15 or more and get a free copy of the new eBook, Artella Mae's NEW Altered Ancestors!
- Buy $20 or more and get the Artella Mae's NEW Altered Ancestors! eBook AND a great collection of at least 25 authentic world coins, wonderful to use in so many artsy ways!
- Buy $30 or more and get the Artella Mae's NEW Altered Ancestors! eBook, a great collection of at least 25 authentic world coins, plus, Artella's new ebook CoinCraft, all about using world coins in your art!
- Buy $40 or more and get the Artella Mae's NEW Altered Ancestors! eBook, a great collection of at least authentic world coins, Artella's new ebook CoinCraft, plus a copy of Artella's popular eBook, Artella's Step-by-Step Guide to Decorating With Vintage Ephemera!
- Buy $50 or more and get all the treats above, plus a copy of our special Daily Muse anthology compitation, Artbituaries Assembled!
With Artella Mae's Ghost Sale, you not only get unique, 100% authentic, excellent-quality vintage art supplies, but with all these wonderful eBooks, you also get step-by-step guidance for how to use them to make truly unique art projects.
You can start exploring Artella Mae's Ghost Sale, here!
 2. Collage Kit Specials! If you've been waiting to dive into our downloadable Studio Collage Kits, now you can, at our lowest price ever: Buy 2 or more Studio Kits and get them for only $7 each! They're more affordable than preprinted kits, better for the environment and give you much greater control and creative possibilities!. Simply select your kits here, and use the coupon code: STUDIO7, good only until November 7, when you check out.
NEW! → The listings of our downloadable collage graphic kits have now been updated to include great sample images of what has been included in each kit, PLUS photos of sample projects that have been created with these kits by the talented artists in the Artella Community! There are now 24 artistic kits available, in every theme imaginable, and each one is overflowing with artistic goodies for digital and paper artists, alike.
If you enjoy collage art kits, you might really want to join Artella's Member Ship with a Luxury Art Studio Cabin, which includes a monthly Collage Art Kit, in addition to access to the Artella Member Ship, and its only $10/mo, and that includes a brand new kit every month. If you sign up now, you'll receive the brand-new “Wonder the Sea” kit instantly! Click here for more information.
 3. Final Day for Artella's New Art Journaling Pilot Program. Today is the last day to sign up for the Pilot Group for our much anticipated new art journaling course! Artella's AlphaBetter Muse Workshop presents a friendly family of 26 Muses who are ready to lead you through a fantastic art journaling journey of self-discovery, inner healing, sacred inspiration, creative fun, and all-around better living! We've been hearing great things from our pilot program participants:
“I absolutely LOVE the Alphabetter Muse course. I've received the first lesson and it has energized me already! I always wanted to start an art journal but never really knew where to begin. Thanks!!”
~ Isabella
“I love this workshop! It is so nice to get into conversations with my visiting muses at the end of the day. Pure Joy!”
~ Sally
Until midnight tonight, you can enroll in Artella's AlphaBetter Muse Workshop Pilot Group and save $15 off the regular price of the course! Learn more about the Pilot Group, here!
The AlphaBetter Muses can't wait to play with you! All you need are your dreams and a desire for making all you can out of life; your soul will do the rest as it is stirred by these inspiring Muses and the vibrant energy that they bring with them! From the Asymmetrical Muse, who champions lopsided living...to the Zzzzz Muse, who lives in dreams..these dandy gals are ready to motivate you to embrace your creativity fully and create the life of your dreams!
 4. Artella Daily Muse now free for everyone! Now everyone can read the most positive, creative news in the universe every single day, for no charge. Simply go to www.artelladailymuse.com to start getting inspired!
And more good news: if you'd like to receive the free Daily Muse Teaser, a brief daily email with a “teaser” of what's in the day's Muse, you can sign up for it, here.
 5. What's New in the Café? If you haven't been to the Artella Café recently, we hope you'll drop by! Here are just a few ways to play:
- NEW! Blog Post Party! Come read about our new Blog Post Party and read this week's topic, here!
- Come play in our dozens of creativity forums. From "What is the weirdest object you've ever altered?" to "How do I handle Bloggers Block?", there's sure to be an inspiring conversation, just waiting for your insight!
- Enter one of our many contests to challenge yourself and get great prizes, just for entering! You can find links to all the current contests in the right-hand sidebar of the home page of Artella Cafe. Right now there are four contests open for entering, including a challenge to do something creative with an empty tissue box!
- Vote for your favorite in our contests and pick up some great gifts! You can find links to all the current contests in the right-hand sidebar of the home page of Artella Cafe. There are currently three contests open, and free prizes for voting in each of them!
- Join in one of the many writing challenges in the Word Playground forum!
- Sign up for one of the exciting art swaps posted in Swap Central.
- Get ideas from hundreds of artworks in the Art Galleries!
- Get inspired when you browse the blogs written by the enchanting folks in the Artella community.
- Get your own full-featured blog and personal art gallery when you become an Artella Member.
 6. Ready to sell your work? You've probably seen the wonderful artists from The Shoppes of Artella showcased all over Artella Land lately. Just as we hoped, these new featured spots are really boosting their sales! All these efforts are all part of Artella's Shoppes Artist Co-Op Program, a one-of-a-kind, true community for artists and craftspeople selling handmade goods, providing opportunity and exposure that isn't matched anywhere else, on- or off-line. The Artist Interview you read at the top of this Artellagram is a good example of the dedicated exposure we give in support of our Artists in the program. Take a look at the highlights of the Artella Shoppes Artist Co-Op Program, here!
 7. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? If you're interested in becoming part of the amazing Artella Team, check out this post in the Artella Cafe for details. We're rolling out some exciting new features in the coming months and would love to bring a few more wonderful, creative souls on board!
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 When I knew we were going to be celebrating vintage art in this week's Artellagram, I knew that Erica DiPaolo was the perfect artist from The Shoppes of Artella to highlight. Erica does such creative things with treasured items from days gone by.
I hope you enjoy this interview with Erica in the Artellagram's new “In the Studio” Feature.
Artella: What do you do to overcome or get past artistic blocks?
Erica: I have books that I fill with things I like, words, colors, patterns or different designs or furniture. They are just three ring binders, and I don't try to make the pages especially pretty or decorative, they are strictly idea books and I love to leaf through them.
Artella: Do you do anything special while you work to help you get in a creative mood?
Erica: I sometimes listen to music but usually I put on an old movie (pre-1950 most often) and listen to that while I work. I listen to all kinds of music but find that I can't tune it out as easily as I can a movie that I have watched (or not watched) a few times. That is hard to explain but I tend to get songs trapped in my head quite often and if I watch, say, Wuthering Heights, it puts across the haunting romantic feeling I might be looking for in a particular project. I have movies for every mood and am always finding new ones.
Read the rest of Erica's interview, here!
See Erica's beautiful products in The Shoppes of Artella, here.
 If you want more artist interviews from Artella, take a look at our eBooks Artist Profiles Assembled and Artist Profiles Assembled, Vol 2.
Or visit The Artella Daily Muse, where we feature an Artist Profile of a different artist, every single day! |
 ART TIP OF THE WEEK: When you come across a special photograph, be it someone from your own family or a photograph of a stranger whose eyes seem to have a special message just for you, it deserves to be showcased in a special way. Here is a fun altered frame that I made to showcase the photo of my Great Aunt Ardella. Perhaps you'd like to try this combination of techniques with a special photo of your own.
Click here for instructions for this project.
WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK: The wonderful thing about old photographs of strangers is their mysterious quality. The people pictured seem full of wonderful stories that we'll never know…that is, unless we tell them! Here are some writing prompts to use with vintage photographs.
- Who was this person's true love?
- What was this person's biggest regret?
- What was this person's most embarrassing moment?
- When did this person feel truly alive?
- What was this person's secret dream?
- Think of a problem in your own life….what advice would this person give you?
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Marney