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 While I know the origin of American Thanksgiving is somewhat controversial, I can't help but love the traditions associated with marking a special day of gratitude. The wonderful thing about "giving thanks" is that of course we are also receiving. Aligning with deep, true gratitude is perhaps the single most life-enhancing change that we can make in our lives. It's the quickest way I know to change a "bad mood" or a "bad day" into moments full of joy, awareness, and meanings.
Like gratitude, art is miraculously cyclical; when we create something, we share our gifts with the world, yet also we also receive an abundance in return. Research has shown that creative acts stimulate both endorphins and the immune system. Making art is literally good for our health!
I grew up comforted by the tradition of annual handmade Christmas cards. Each year, my mother lovingly created one-of-a-kind woodcut prints for our family's annual holiday cards, which were adorned with an insightful poetic verse written by my father. As a child, I remember actually being shocked when I learned that not every household turned into an art factory during the Holidays!
As an adult, I've tried to follow the tradition of creating handmade cards each year. Last year, with a new baby in the house, I was not able to make handmade cards, and even though everyone understood, I really don't think my holiday spirit ever recovered! LOL
One of the best gifts we can give ourselves is to have fun cutting, pasting, painting, sculpting, and working with beautiful bits of paper. No matter what kind of art you make, creating it offers a wonderful opportunity to slow down even for a few minutes during the busy holiday season and truly feel gratitude for all the creative gifts in your life. When you are filled with gratitude and joy as your hands do their happy crafting dance, I honestly believe that even more positive energy fills each and every envelope or gift package that you send on its Merry way.
This Artellagram features some fun ways that handmade gifts and cards become quicker, easier, and even more inspiring! 'Tis the Season to Make Art….Happy ARTsgiving!
For those short on time, to simplify this week's Artellagram, here are some ”quick links” to the highlights in this edition. You can simply follow the links that you're interested in and go directly to that section.
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1. NEW! Artella's Biggest ARTsgiving Sale EVER! We've got everything you need for vintage handmade holidays….Artella style! With the lowest prices we've ever offered on vintage art-making goods, EVERY vintage item in Artella Mae's Vintage General Store is now 50% off and with each purchase, you also receive a Gift eCertificate good on ALL Artella eProducts:
- Receive a $20 gift eCertificate with $15 purchase
- Receive a $35 gift eCertificate with $25 purchase
- Receive a $50 gift eCertificate with $35 purchase
Plus! EVERY purchase over $15 receives the fun ARTsgiving 2009 Holiday eBasket, including these fun, inspiring goodies:
Have fun browsing through Artella Mae's charming selection of 100% authentic vintage goods….and when you're ready to check out, simply enter the coupon code ARTSGIVING09 in the coupon code box. You'll instantly save 50% off your vintage goods, and your eCertificate and Holiday eBasket within 48 hours!
 2. NEW! Free ARTbundance™ Coach Training Workshop: Creativity and Choice! Our first class of ARTbundance™ Coaches is now completing their training! Thanks to all who signed up to be volunteer clients to work with them! If you signed up and you still haven't heard from us, don't worry – we're still getting in the process of contacting volunteer clients as we are matching them up with ARTbundance™ Coaches, and those on the wait list will still get their other goodies.
We've been getting lots of inquiries about the next session of ARTbundance™ Coach Training. Applications for the next training class will be now be available in mid-December, and are due by January 15, 2010. And the best news of all is that on Tuesday, December 8th, some recent ARTbundance™ Coach Training graduates will be joining me to present a free ARTbundance™ Coach Training Workshop, which will present creative strategies that you can pass on to your own clients, or even integrate into your own creative endeavors.
If you attended or heard the recording from this summer's ARTbundance™ sample class, this free class will be full of new material and tools. For this free workshop, we'll be focusing on the ARTbundance™ Principle of "Choice", presenting some fun, interactive exercises to help you harness your creativity and innovatively use it whenever you have to make any kinds choices in your life, including determining your immediate next best steps.
An ARTbundance™ Coach is a pioneering, unique hybrid of inspiring coach, creativity teacher, workshop leader, and spiritual guide. In the free teleworkshop on December 8th, you'll get a first hand look at what training to be an ARTbundance™ Coach is really all about, plus you'll also get a bounty of resources and tools that are yours to keep, as you determine whether applying for the full Training Program is the inspired next step for your creative journey!
If you'd like to sign up for the free Training Sample Workshop on December 8, or find out more about ARTbundance™ and ARTbundance™ Coach Training, simply visit this page.
 3.Earn money and great prizes for spreading the word! Join Artella's Generous Affiliate Program! You don't even have to earn sales -- the Artella Affiliate Program rewards you just for the unique clicks that you generate! So if you're looking to make a little bit of extra spending money this season, join the affiliate program and find out about the great bonuses we have going right now!
4. What's new in the Artella Store? Here are some of the newest things we've added to the Artella Store:
 5. Luxury Member Ship Update! In the past few weeks, some ISPs had been blocking the delivery of Artella Members' weekly goodies from the Member Ship. I believe that this issue has now been corrected, so you should be receiving your regular emails again. However, if you are an active Member and you are not receiving your Membership emails, please let us know. I also encourage you to login to your Member Profile page to check your email archives for any Membership emails you might have missed.
I'm also excited to announce the following upcoming LIVE events for Artella Luxury Members:
The Live Events are just another nice bonus of Membership, in addition to all of the weekly goodies that are sent out each and every week. If you are not currently a Luxury Member, you can get more information, here. You can access the instructions for signing up for these live events immediately when you sign up!
 6. Feeling Lost? Have you ever just wished someone could hand you a literal map...with all the steps and paths mapped out to get directly to your creative dream? That's exactly what happens when we work together in one-on-one Creative Cartography™!
 7. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? If you're interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, check out this post in the Artella Cafe for details.
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 I'm excited to feature the Rita Shaler Nelson in today's interview. Her unique art supplies in The Shoppes of Artella are so inspiring! I feel very lucky to own some of her unique glass tile letter sets, myself!
I hope you enjoy this opportunity to get to know Rita a bit better!
Artella: It seems that there is a prevalent belief that artists are "supposed" to suffer. Do you think that is true?
Rita: I think that all people suffer at times in life, and artists have a gift in that they are able to turn their suffering into works of art, to channel out hurt and negative feelings, by making something with their hands, that comes from their heart, and expresses their emotions. Artists are able to convey universal truths, which, in this life, will include hardship and pain. But all people share in that, which is one of the reasons the art speaks to them on a deep level.
Artella: Do you think it is important to be in a good mood when you're creating?
Rita: Creating usually gets me into a good mood, so, regardless of how I am feeling when I start, creating never fails to lift my spirits. I feel joy when I put beautiful colors onto paper. I love sorting through my treasure-trove of supplies, looking for just the right bit of this or that. I can't help but feel good when I arrange a collage lay-out and see something new come from things that already exist in another form. I guess it is a way of becoming child-like, because the process is so enjoyable, and I find I can “lose myself” in being creative.
You can read the rest of Rita's interview, here
See Rita's 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.
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 ART TIP OF THE WEEK: Here is one of the holiday cards featured in our new eBook, Artella's Step-by-Step Vintage Holiday Cards.
SUPPLIES:
- Large square of red felt
- Small square of green felt
- Vintage photograph
- White lace
- Cutout words with message
- Piece of foreign sheet music (optional)
- 3 white buttons (small, medium, large)
- Green marker
- Double-sided tape, glue or other adhesive
STEPS:
- Create snowman out of 3 buttons and glue on red felt panel. Cut small circles from the lace to create falling snow and glue on panel. Glue lace at the bottom of the panel to create snow on the ground.
- Adhere bottom and sides of panel to card with strong glue or fabric adhesive, creating a pocket. If desired, layer other papers underneath the pocket (such as the foreign sheet music shown here) for additional interest.
- Adhere cut out words to card. Outline words with marker.
- Place vintage photo in pocket so it “peeks” out. Adhere green felt behind its corner to make it stand out.
- Use marker to add polka dots in the background.
You can get Artella's Step-by-Step Vintage Holiday Cards for free, as part of the Holiday ARTsgiving eBasket!
WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK: The cutout words in this card say, "Shall we spend an afternoon caroling?" Try writing a poem, essay, or short story in response to this phrase.
Then, give yourself a seasonal writing challenge: write a creative response to the words and phrases that appear on each and every holiday card you receive this year. You can save the cards with your writings in a special book – so much more meaningful than just putting this year's cards in a shoebox, or throwing them away!
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NEW! Just listed today…Artella's Step-by-Step Vintage Holiday Cards eBook! You can get our newest eBook for free, as part of the new Holiday ARTsgiving eBasket!
NEW! The Girl Power Studio Collage Kit!
NEW! Four new issues of Blissness Splash e-Magazine - our inspiring, innovative publication for creative entrepreneurs
Marney