Note: If this newsletter doesn't display in its delightfully colorful formatting, you can view it on the Web at www.artellawordsandart.com/ARTELLAGRAM-11-28-09.html. People have often told me that I tend to see things through rose-colored glasses, and I take it as a compliment.  I know that the idiom tends to have a negative connotation, but I tend to think of my own rose-colored glasses as being one of my most helpful tools for creativity, productivity, and happiness.  Seeing the bright hues in any situation allows us to focus on what we want, rather than what we don't want.  And having a clear vision of what we want is, I believe, the first step in actually taking action to get there. I recently was reminded, however, that taking off the rose-colored glasses can be pretty amazing, too.  I experienced this quite literally, when looking at rainbows through my polarized sunglasses.  Typically, these sunglasses tend to make everything more vibrant, including the beautiful rainbows that are so frequent where I live.  The sunglasses make rainbows really pop into an even more spectacular sight. But the other day, my husband commented on the vivid rainbow, and oddly enough, when I had the sunglasses on, I couldn't see the rainbow at all.  Once I took them off, then I was able to see it in all its breathtaking splendor. (And I even caught the photo, above.) Now, I'm sure there is a scientific reason that explains this phenomenon – why the color frequency in this particular rainbow was so dramatically different from most rainbows I had seen.  But, science aside, the experience reminded me of how important it can be to take off the rainbow-colored glasses from time to time, and see exactly what really is.  What really is can be even more breathtaking than what might be. So which is better – to see life for what it can be, or see it for what it is?    I think the answer lies in making a choice to fully experience the powerful elements that each perspective has to offer. Balance, of course, is necessary, since we can't become so focused on what is that we forget the value of seeing what can be.  And perhaps even more bravely, we can't become so attached to our rainbow-colored glasses that we forget what can happen when we really allow ourselves to actually be with what is, and feel the gravity, and resulting power, of our lives' truth. I believe that making brave choices, even the very act of choosing to become comfortable with this type of duality, is easier when we utilize creativity to support our choices.  "Choice" and "Intuition" are two of the ARTbundance™ Principles that coaches in the ARTbundance™ Coach Training Program have been studying, and it is these two Principles that we'll be featuring on our free teleclass on December 8, 2009.  I invite anyone interested in playing with the concepts of Creativity , Intuition and Choice to join us for an inspiring evening where you'll receive a whole rainbow of tools to support choices in your life!  We'll share some great exercises that you can use to harness your creativity and develop your intuition, so that you can innovatively use these gifts whenever you have to make any kinds choices in your life, including determining your immediate next best steps. I'll close with some words from a poem that I wrote for an early issue of Artella: I gathered embraces and cuts grace and guts but one is not more lovely than the other I gathered it all. A load like this never gets lighter but if you feel it for true let the weight ruin you dare to feel the pinch if you feel it and really feel it you'll sing so fast, you can run dance so loud, you can rhyme and close your eyes so light, you can fly. Blessings to you and your gorgeous, rainbowtacular flight! 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. Last Days for Artella's ARTsgiving Clearance Sale! NEW! Quick, Easy Gifts…at 55% Off! Sign Up for the free ARTbundance Teleclass: Creativity, Intuition and Choice! Earn extra spending money with the Artella Affiliate Program Become Part of Artella's Team! In the Studio with Sherry Hart Creativity Tip: Fun with Acronyms Quotz Crystal™ 1. We're Moving! Just * 2 * more days to get 50% off every vintage item in store and all the bonuses below!  We are moving our entire vintage storeroom and so we're clearing out all the inventory we can from Artella Mae’s Vintage General Store before the move! In addition to getting EVERY vintage item in Artella Mae's Vintage General Store at 50% off, with each purchase, you also receive a Gift eCertificate good on ALL Artella eProducts: $20 gift eCertificate with $15 purchase $35 gift eCertificate with $25 purchase $50 gift eCertificate with $35 purchase Plus!  EVERY purchase over $15 receives the fun ARTsgiving 2009 Holiday eBasket, including these fun, inspiring goodies: The NEW Artella eBook, “Artella's Step-by-Step Vintage Holiday Cards” Our fun and useful eBooklet on making “10 Christmas Crafts in 10 Minutes” "Ye Old Christmas Graphics" Clip Art booklet Audio Recording of Artella's Inspiring Live seminar  “Let Your Inner Elf Out!”  & companion “Let Your Inner Elf Out!” Workbook For the next two days you can still 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 receive your eCertificate and Holiday eBasket within 48 hours! 2. NEW! Quick, Easy Gifts…at 55% Off!  You can now save 55% on Artella gifts!  We've created just the thing for everyone on your gift list, including yourself: a six-month or full-year Luxury Gift Membership to one of Artella's Luxury Cabin Memberships! There are five different Membership to choose from…truly something for everyone on your list (including yourself!): Luxury Art Journaling Cabin Luxury Blissness Cabin Luxury Digital Art Adventure Cabin Luxury Studio Art Cabin The Artella Land Complete Access Pass To take advantage of our spectacular 55% Off Special for Gift Memberships, read the descriptions above, and when you're ready to order your Gift Memberships, go to this page to order your gifts. We'll take care of all the details, deliver the Gift Membership details to your friends in artsy, Artella style! This is also a great opportunity to get or upgrade your own Artella membership at 55% off as well. It’s the best offer we’ve ever had on membership so if you are a current monthly member and would like to save up to 55% on your membership during the coming 6 months or 1 year, this is the promotion to take advantage of. 3. Free ARTbundance™ Coach Training Workshop: Creativity, Intuition and Choice!  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™ Principles of "Intuition" and "Choice", presenting some fun, interactive exercises to help you harness your creativity and innovatively use it whenever you have to make any kinds choices, including dynamically and often surprisingly determining what your most effective,  BEST next steps are in this journey of ours called LIFE! 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. If you're interested in applying for the next ARTbundance™ Coach Session, applications will be available in mid-December, are due January 31, 2009. 4.Earn money and great prizes for spreading the word! Join Artella's Generous Affiliate Program!  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! 5. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? We are expanding our team for all the great things we're planning to do in 2010.  So if you're interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, check out this post in the Artella Cafe for details. Looking at Sherry Hart's beautiful line of upliftingly pink photo greeting cards IS like looking at the world through rose-colored glasses…literally!  So I knew she would be a great artist to feature in today's Artellagram. I hope you enjoy this opportunity to get to know Sherry a bit better! Artella: Does art play a healing or helpful role for your life? Sherry: It absolutely does.  When I am shooting, I am in the moment; it is pure joy, and I feel renewed.  It's like meditation for me.. Artella: What is your favorite piece of art you've created, and why? Sherry: It's always going to be the next photograph I take, the one that's going to really "wow" me and everyone else. You can read the rest of Sherry's interview, here See Sherry'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. ART AND WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK: Here's a fun way to combine both art and writing: play with acronyms!  Creating with acronyms is like painting with words.   You get to take one word and give it an entirely new meaning! Last week I presented a class to Luxury Art Journaling Members called "GratitART" and it was all about creative ways to implement gratitude into art journaling.  One idea I shared was to create an acronym a day as a way to express gratitude.  I created the journal pages shown here using background papers from Artella's "Girl Power" Studio Kit. The acronyms shown in these pages represent a few of the things for which I'm most grateful: Faith: Faith Allows It To Happen Love: Love Opens Vivacious Energy Play: Passion Leading Artsy Yearnings Give it a try!  Write a word with the letters in a single column, and see where it leads you.  Then incorporate your acronym into an art journal page.  It's redefinition at its artsy-est! More acronym fun will be coming from Artella in 2010, when we finally launch the renovated Artella Daily Muse! Stay tuned! :-) This Quotz Crystal is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. Print it out and hang it up to remind you of the ways that your soul's colors are made more vivid by everything you experience - including the challenges. ~grateful for your colors,..., Marney Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer Artella Land ~ the creative isles of words, art, and spirit Artella PO Box 6211 Kamuela HI 96743