Note: If this newsletter doesn't display in its delightfully colorful formatting, you can view it on the Web at www.artellawordsandart.com/ARTELLAGRAM-2-14-09.html. Artella Loves YOU! Artella is now in our 7th year and  we wanted to do something special celebrate all the juicy red hearts and wonderful love and involvement so many of you have shown through the years.  As part of our deep thanks, we wanted to use Cupid’s fun day to kickoff Artella Loves YOUpons – a new page at Artella Land where we list all our current Specials in one convenient location. The current YOUpons include some never-before-seen discounts in Artella Mae's Vintage General Store, and deep price cuts on our most popular products, including our newest e-course, Artella's Mixed Media ME-flections: 30 Self Portraits Projects to Change Your Life! 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! NEW Mixed Media e-course, "Artella's Mixed Media ME-flections"! More NEW inspiring items from Artella! Muse Cruise "Sail" Continues! Join the Artella Affiliate Program Become part of Artella's Team! Artella Land Site Update Artella Loves You!! In the Studio with Carol Ingram Moore Creativity Tip: Saying "I Love You" with Nature Quotz Crystal™ 1. NEW Mixed Media e-course!  Artella's new e-course, Mixed Media ME-flections: 30 Self Portrait Projects to Change Your Life, is here!   If you’ve ever created a self-portrait, you know that it can be a rich opportunity for introspective and exciting self-growth.  Now you have an amazing opportunity to create 30 self-portraits in a variety of artistic media, each project tailor-designed to inspire you to live more fully, passionately and authentically! This exciting course is not just another collection of art techniques. While following these step-by-step projects, you'll also embark on created an unforgettable journey of self-discovery, inner healing, sacred inspiration, and creative fun! From assemblage to origami…clay to collage….photography to fine art….watercolor to wire…these self-portrait projects offer an unparalleled opportunity to get to know yourself more deeply and become more comfortable and confident with yourself than ever! And, from now through March 15, you can enroll in the Mixed Media ME-flections Workshop Pilot Group and save $15 off the regular price of the course! Read more about the Pilot Group, here! PLUS, you can save an additional $5.00 when you use of one of our current Artella Loves YOUpons!, for a total savings of $20 off the regular price. 2. Even MORE New goodies in Artella Land! And we've got even more new stuff to inspire you, including: NEW! Artsy Envel-Hopes 2009!  We've updated one of our most popular e-courses, Artsy Envel-Hopes: Joyful Art Projects to Change Your Life to make it even better!  And we're already hearing raves from people like Tara, who wrote us to say, "Oh my goodness, the new Artsy Envel-Hopes has exceeded all expectations…and that is saying a lot, since I always expect a lot from Artella!  I am totally overwhelmed with all the new delicious downloads you've included!" NEW! Collage Kits!  We've got several new collage kits available, including "Muse-ical Medley", "Hark the Artsy Angels", and "Art Through the Year – Updated for 2009". PLUS, right now you can save 50% off all 28 of our Studio Collage Kits using one of our special YOUpon codes! Our newest items in the $1.99 Vintage Ephemera Bargain Bin include 45-RPM records, library card catalog cards, and retro patches!And you can save 25% off all Vintage Ephemera Bargain Bin items using one of our special YOUpon codes! There are lots of other discounts with our Artella Loves YOUpons, so come take a look!! 3. Muse Cruise "Sail" Continues! By popular request, we're continuing our Grand Opening Muse Cruise "Sail", when you sign up for more than one Luxury Cabin, each new Membership is permanently locked in at just $5.00! This includes… The Luxury Art Journaling Cabin, celebrating the amazing power of Art Journaling to enhance creative well-being! The Blissness Cabin, offering Artella's unparalleled support for creative entrepreneurs of all kinds! The Digital Art Coach Cabin, created especially for those who love Digital Art and want to learn more about it! Or you can sign up for the Artella Land Complete Access Pass and save even more, AND get a bonus Artella digital spending spree! Here's what Pam Tucker has to say about the Complete Access Pass: "I am LOVING my COMPLETE PASS to all of the Member cabins! I love the weekly recordings from Marney (what an inspiration)! I look forward to hearing her messages every week. I love the Zines in each cabin...I don't know where to start! I could spend all day here!! Thanks so much, Marney, for these wonderful new additions!" Thanks to everyone for your positive feedback! We're so excited to have you on board for what promises to be a fantastic new year! 4. Are you an Affiliate, yet? Have you been wanting to bring in some additional income? If so, you'll be very happy to know that Artella's New Affiliate Program is finally here! After many of your requests and over a year in the making, Artella's Affiliate Program is ready to help you start earning income, just by spreading the word about Artella. The Artella Affiliate Program is free, and within a few minutes, you can be ready to actually start earning real income, receiving 25% commissions, one of the highest commissions available online. Get all the details about Artella's exciting Affiliate Program, here! 5. 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! 6. Thanks for your patience!  The Artella Land server was down for a few days, so if you had problems with the site, please accept our apologies!  Everything is back up and running now, and should be working smoothly.  If you sent us any emails since last weekend and have not gotten a response, please do re-send your email to us because we want to hear from you!  As always, if we can help with anything, feel free to contact us at customer-service@artellaland.com! 7. Artella Loves You!  Don't forget to check out the current Artella Loves YOUpons – including never-before-seen discounts in Artella Mae's Vintage General Store and deep price cuts on our most popular products! In honor of Valentine's Day, I knew that the ideal artist from The Shoppes of Artella to feature would be Carol Moore, because she creates absolutely stunning handmade hearts, made flowers, plants, or herbs grown in her own artist's garden! I hope you enjoy this interview with Carol! Artella: Do you create art every day? Carol: Each morning as I awake, I write in my composition book journal.  I use a pencil.  This  has given me an incredible amount of creative freedom.  I have an eraser on the end of that number two yellow pencil!  I draw throughout the journal. Each day when I sit in front of the computer screen, I take a deep breath.  I write a poem and send it out to friends and family.  These are the poems I rewrite to send to Artella. If I have an art class, I will use my art journal to write and sketch ideas for the class. I also sketch, plan, and contemplate jewelry, large pieces of art, and art swaps. I often have several pieces of art in varying stages around the house. Mixed media can seem spontaneous. Getting ready to submit two pieces in a community show, I found a canvas I had previously gessoed. Within an hour, I had finished a large piece. This morning, I found a collage I made several years ago I added textured paper and bright blue cardstock. Placed it in my art journal to remind me to create, enjoy, and leave the critic behind. You can read the rest of Carol's interview, here See Carol's inspiring 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 TIP OF THE WEEK:Taking inspiration from Carol's handmade hearts, created with elements from nature, try spelling a word, such as "Love", using only natural elements, such as leaves, flowers, buds, and stems.  The example shown here took me about 30 minutes to make.  I searched for "natural letters" in my yard, then scanned them on the scanner and used Photoshop to lay them out in a design I liked.  Using Photoshop has the added bonus of flexibility: you can re-size and even re-shape the elements as you like. But for a more organic presentation, you also could simply adhere the items to a piece of cardstock with a strong glue.  Whether you use the '"live" elements, or you print a scan you've created, framing your piece in a shadow box will bring extra depth to your creation! If you're enthused by the idea of creating letters out of unusual items, you'll love the ongoing "Alphabet Anthologies" column by Tammy Hensley in each issue of The Art Journal Journey magazine, which is published monthly as part of the Art Journal Luxury Membership. WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK: The Art Tip above shares a unique way to use nature to say "Love.  Try turning this into an interesting writing prompt: how can nature say "I Love You"?  We are used to roses as symbols of love, but what other natural element can say "I Love You"?  Make a list of possibilities and then pick one that you really like, and write a poem or short story about it! This Quotz Crystal™ is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. Print it out and post it somewhere to remind you to fill your life with both love AND art! ~Loving the landscape of your heart, Marney Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer Artella Land ~ the creative isles of words, art, and spirit Artella PO Box 6211 Kamuela HI 96743