Here's a great art project idea: use LP records as the blank canvases for your artworks! Shown here is one of the series of LP artworks that professional graphic art designer Dan Gremminger created for Halloween. If you'd like to try this yourself, here are the steps: 1. First, locate an old record. You can find these in your own basement, in thrift stores, and garage sales. Artella's $1.99 Vintage Ephemera Market currently carries 45 records, which are also great for painting or altering! If you like, look for albums with titles that capture your attention. Using the existing record label in an unexpected way can add to the art, providing great opportunities for word play, irony, and thematic consistency or contrast. 2. Sketch your image. Dan shares: "I sketch the image on a sheet of drawing paper and add the album's circular shape to the sketch to get the best and most dramatic cropping. In some cases, the label color or the wording is a factor in the placement of the subject or the color scheme chosen. I enjoyed the idea of using old Christmas records for Halloween imagery." 3. Add the image to the LP. Dan shares: "The circular format and the black background offer the biggest departure for most artists. Using a China Marker, I draw the basic elements of the design onto the record's face." 4. After the basic elements are drawn, fill in the image with acrylic paint. Dan says, "I prefer using bright contrasting colors and in most cases, painted flatly. I like the graphic look." 5. Display your creation! Since the LP already has a hole in the center, it is easy to hang the LPs with a small nail. You also could consider laying out a collection of LPs on a flat surface, like a tabletop, for a dramatic effect. Smaller records, such as 45s, can make great coasters for drinks! Want more ideas? Download a PDF file of Dan's entire series of Halloween LP art, here.

The funny things you find in old books can be great inspiration for writing stories and poems. For example, while on our perpetual treasure hunt for goodies to carry in the $1.99 Vintage Ephemera Market, we found an adorable set of recipes for a "Goblins' Frolic Halloween Supper" in a recipe collection from the early 30's. I instantly pictured what that Goblins' Halloween Supper might look like, and thought what fun it would be to write about it, using the recipes and instructions as inspiration. You could create the dinner back in the 30's, or have fun juxtaposing the old-fashioned recipes into an event that takes place today. Or perhaps the supper is somewhat magical and some of the treats even invoke time travel! Ah, the possibilities are endless in my mind, and I haven't even put pen to paper, yet! Want to give it a try? Download the "Goblins' Frolic Supper" recipes here, and see what kinds of stories, poems, or essays they inspire. Then, come share your results in the Word Playground Forum in the Artella Cafe!

Artella's Newest Invention! Digital Altered Books™ are Artella's own brand new art genre that merges the fascinating process of altering beautiful vintage books with the creative ease of digital imaging technology. For the grand unveiling of Digital Altered Books™, we are launching 10 different Digital Vintage Books&trade and 25 different Digital Ephemera Packs, which give you everything you need to begin exploring the new Digital Altered Book phenomenon! To see a Digital Altered Book&trade in action and get more information, simply visit this link. Do You Love Letters? We are excited to introduce TWO new series of Artellabets -- Maps Artellabets AND Artsy Artellabets! Artellabets are Artella's unique alphabets where each and every letter is actually a distinct artistic collage, making them ideal for endless art projects. Artellabets allow you to add text to your art in fun new ways, in everything from art journals to altered books, scrapbooks and home decor projects. Each of the Artellabets is available in four different styles, and you can save up to $10 off our Combo Packs at the above links. Hot Off the Presses! Our newest eBook, Artella's Step-by-Step Guide to Decorating with Vintage Ephemera, is hot off the presses! Whether you use items from your own personal ancestors, or beautiful vintage pieces that speak to you, the 12 decorating projects in this book will bring a new splash of beauty into your home and into your heart. New in the Vintage Market! Christmas is on its way, and so we've added new International Christmas Postcards to the $1.99 Vintage Postcard shop. A perfect complement to our Vintage Christmas Postcards, these beauties are ideal for all kinds of holiday projects and greetings! New Collage Kits! We've added several new Downloadable Collage Graphics Kits, so you now have 12 different themed kits to pick from! They are full of one-of-a-kind elements, but since they are downloadable, you can use them over and over. Plus, everything is coordinated by theme, so you truly have everything you need in one place to create endless projects. Our biggest sale of the year! You can now save $150.00 off the brand new YOU * U Masters Program , a comprehensive, heart-centered course I've created that guides you through exactly what you need to do reach your goals for expanding your creative business. If you're interested in a fully-loaded program written especially for creative folks, not left-brained businessy types, you can save $150 off the course when you simply enter the ARTELLAGRAM coupon code: MPM150 during check out. Good news! Due to the overwhelmingly positive responses to our newest e-course, Artsy Envel-Hopes: Joyful Art Projects to Change Your Life, we're extending the sale price for one more week! If you'd like to see what happens when you combine a fun daily art-making project with an inspiring daily spiritual practice, there's still more time for you to save $8 when you sign up. Happy Birthday Artella...All November Events are Free!! To celebrate Artella's 5th Birthday, all Live Events in November are now free of charge. The next event is Five-Minute Masterpieces, to be held next Thursday, November 8, at 8:30pm Eastern Time. In this online event, I will guide you through a series of intriguing art projects, allowing you to discover how working quickly will unblock your creativity in fabulously unexpected ways! You'll learn lots of new techniques, and come away with a pile of new art projects that you can use for all kinds of purposes. It's now free to attend, and you can sign up on our new, easy form. And, after that, the Live Events Series continues with Artella's Poetry Open Mic Night, the "Gratifitti" Gratitude Party, and more...and every event in November is free. Spaces are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, so reserve your spot soon by filling out the forms at the above link. Contest Updates! We've posted Creativity Contest #3, which challenges you to create art within a particular color palette. Submissions are due by Monday, November 12, at 6:00pm Eastern. There's a new contest every week, so come find the Weekly Contest Challenge in the Artella Cafe, and push yourself to try new things while entering to win great prizes! You can vote for your favorite in Creativity Contest #2 until TONIGHT (Friday, November 2) at midnight Eastern Time. Quick Announcements for Artella Members: The "Asian Awe" Studio Art Collage Kit was sent out on Monday. If you are a Luxury Art Studio Member and did not receive your kit, please let us know so we can get it to you right away. If you are not yet a Luxury Cabin Member and you'd like this beautifully inspiring kit, you can get more information, here. Austen Waters just wrote us to say, "Oh my gosh! The Asian Awe Studio Kit is the best one ever! I have no idea how you keep making the kits better and better each month. I guess it's just that Artella magic that you guys seem to have in your pockets. Thank you for this amazing kit!" Also, two other quick bits of Member news: first, due to popular demand, we're bringing back the LinkLatte as a daily eMail available for all Members! And now it's even better than ever, with a few added new goodies each day. If you are a Deluxe or Luxury Member, you can receive the LinkLatte via email every day by logging into the Member Ship, and following the sign-up instructions given in the LinkLobby. Also, if you have encountered problems in the past with things like logins, upgrading Membership types, or accessing your Member Profiles, you'll be happy to hear that we have finally completed an extensive upgrade to our Membership system, with many improvements! Thanks for your patience during our upgrades; the Member Ship is now sailing smoothly! Updated Submissions Information! If you're a writer or artist and you're interested in contributing to Artella, I invite you to take a look at the upgraded submission guidelines and themes in the Submissions Shore. I'd love to see you on the pages of our various publications! Interested in working for Artella? You can find out what we're looking for and how you can apply by reading this post in the Artella Cafe.

This Quotz CrystalTM is a high-resolution JPEG image, suitable for printing. Print it out and post it somewhere to remind you of the importance of the community connections in your life! If the image doesn't appear, you can go to http://www.artellaland.com.quotz15.jpg to see it. Aloha, Marney Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer Artella PO Box 4418 Kamuela HI 96743