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My ARTistic Life
Creativity and Sharing from Helga at
ARTchix Studio
Issue #1, Autumn 2006
Click images to enlarge
| About
My ARTistic Life (Our New Newsletter) |
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Cover of our Autumn 2006 Premiere Issue
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Sorry, this
issue is no longer available. But luckily you can read it here (see
below). |
| About
Our Cover Art |
Collage by
Belinda Schneider
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Belinda
Schneider made this gorgeous collage as a gift to us for our 5 Year
Anniversary. Isn’t it just breathtaking? She has a gift for you too...Free
instructions on how you can make a collage like this. |
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Letter from Helga |
Helga in her studio |
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Dear Art Friend,
Welcome to the first issue of our
newsletter! We’re celebrating 5 years of being in business and we’re
pleased as punch! We’re lucky to have the best customers on earth! Your
encouraging emails, letters, and artwork mean the world to me. Thank you
for your incredible support.
Recently, I started an art journal: a book for me to play in without any
pressure to create a REAL piece of art. I’ve been in a creative
whirlwind ever since I touched the first page. It’s been so freeing and
life changing! It’s put me on a quest for creative inspiration
everywhere: walks, movies, music, books, magazines, internet, you name
it. I’ve been soaking it all up and it feels good. Really good. So, now
I’m just dying to share some of my discoveries with you. This little
newsletter will be just the perfect place!
In addition, we have received many requests for a printed catalog. But
we haven’t made one because our stock is always changing as we’re always
on the lookout for new, exciting goodies. So, instead, I thought we
could feature some of our tantalizing products in each newsletter so
that you could have a sorta-kinda mini catalog in your hands.
And of course, I plan to share lots of artwork by me and our super
talented customers in every issue.
Wishing you much happiness in your creative life,
Helga
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Our 5
Year Anniversary Contest:
The Winners and Gallery |
“I LOVE the little sweets that
arrive with my order, the sublime selection of products available
and the promptness of every delivery!” -Christine Smith, one of
our awesome winners
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We asked members of our YahooGroup to help us celebrate our 5 year
anniversary by sending us art with the number 5 in it. It was soooo hard
to pick the winners because they were ALL fabulous! You can view the
winners and the gallery
of every wonderful one here.
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| My
Art Studio |
| How do
you lure yourself into your art space when there's a million other
things to do? Try this: brighten up your studio with the goodies
that you love. They'll call you in! |
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Meaningful
Treasures
A shelf in my art room displays
some very special items for me. The accordion book in the center was
my first piece of published artwork. I bought the lil’ Eiffel Tower
box in Paris. And the handmade book on the right side was a special
gift from some very talented friends/ customers. |
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Inspiring Book:
Sarah Lugg’s The Handcrafted Wedding
This book is so beautiful! It’s
filled with great ideas for a real or fantasy wedding or fun
gathering. |
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Soulful Music: Dido Life for Rent
I love this artist’s voice.
It’s so soothing and melodic... my
paintbrush glides across the page when I listen to this CD. |
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Beautiful Art: Painting by Julie Fillo
I bought this sweet painting on
eBay from “artbybellaluna.” |
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Fresh
Flowers: Chinese Lanterns
I love to put cool flowers,
like these above, in my studio!
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| My
Art Journal |
| Do you
have tons of creative ideas? I sure do! That's why I started an art
journal...a place for me to play without any pressure. Here are a
few of my recent findings: |
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Glass-y Finishes
These finishes look soo cool!
To our images from the Fairy
in a Bottle collage sheet,
I added:
1. Diamond Glaze
2. Diamond Glaze +
Clear
Micro Beads
3. Amazing Glaze |
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A
Shopping Trip
I recently went fabric
shopping. What fun! I glued swatches of my purchases into my art
journal. |
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Rubber
Stamp Mishap
When playing with our
rubber stamps, I
messed up the face. So, I added a
faux postage stamp.
Cool! |
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Uplifting Movie Quote
I rented Akeelah and the Bee
and loved the quote featured in the film. I found it online and
printed it and added to my art journal. I then collaged all around
it. |
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Transparency Fun
I ripped one of
our transparencies,
scribbled Watersoluable Oil Pastels on the back of it to tint it,
and then taped it over one of our
collage sheet images.
Looks neat!
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| Five
Easy Backgrounds |
| A good
background is the perfect beginning to a beautiful collage. Try some
of these fast, easy backgrounds! |
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1)
Scavenger Hunt
I confess that I have a hard time motivating myself to go for walks.
So, I’ve started collecting plants, leaves, etc. on my walks and
then doing something with them in my art journal. Here, I painted
black gesso on paper. Then dipped a dandelion stem in white paint
and mushed it down repeatedly. What fun! |
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2) Gel
Medium + Watercolor Crayon
I mixed Golden’s High Solid Gel (Gloss) with acrylic paint. Then
painted it onto paper. When all was dry, I rubbed watercolor crayons
into the ridges. Cool! |
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3)
Rubber Stamp + Watercolor Crayon
I bought this cool rubber stamp from
www.teeshamoore.com.
I stamped it onto paper, then rubbed on “stripes” of color with
watercolor crayons. Love it! |
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4)
Rubbing Plates + Oil Pastels
I bought this cool rubbing plate/ mold by Ten Seconds Studio. I put
an old dictionary page on top of the plate, then rubbed a Water
soluble Oil Pastel across it. Then I spritzed it with water to blend
it ever so slightly. Lastly, I added circles with watercolors. |
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5)
Layering Acrylic Paints
I painted dark turquoise acrylic paint first. When it was dry, I
randomly painted a bright lime green paint over top. While it was
wet, I tapped the end of my paintbrush into the paint for a cool
effect. Last, I flicked on lil’ splatters of orange paint.
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| Our
Top 5 Products: Images |
| It’s
official! Everyone loves the incredible quality of our stunning
image sheets. We have an amazing collection of colorful images
available on paper (collage sheets), clear plastic (transparencies),
sticker sheets (faux postage), and more! We design all of our
delightful sheets just for you. |
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1)
Party Crowns Collage Sheet
I had a blast making these festive paper crowns! I handmade each one
individually and then turned them into this fabulous collage sheet
to share with you. It’s been so fun to see these crowns popping up
in
beautiful artwork made by our talented customers! A handmade crown
is the perfect addition to all of your favorite images. |
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2)
Winged Cuties Collage Sheet
These wee lil’ fairies are
adorable! |
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3)
Mini Mix Collage Sheet
Amazing collection of tiny images! |
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4)
Royal Post Faux Postage
Cool & unique, must-have stickers! |
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5)
Whimsical Wings Transparency Sheet
Turn anyone into an angel or fairy!
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| Our
Top 5 Products: Art Bits |
| Our art
bits (embellishments) are fabulous! We search around the globe for
awesome, unique goodies that will make your artwork sing! We have
the best online collection of German Scrap Papers in a variety of
colors and patterns. And you’ll love our cool charms, vintage
papers, little frames and more. Here are this year’s customer
favorites: |
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1)
Black Baroque Borders (German Scrap
Papers)
I just love these borders! I worked with our supplier in Germany to
make them in
midnight black and now I’m so happy to offer them to you. They’re
perfect for framing your favorite images. Also, a tiny little
snippet makes an awesome crown! Try putting a little dab of gold
acrylic paint on your fingertip and lightly rub it on the border. It
looks extra cool! |
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2)
Fairy Wands
I like to put these cute wands in the hands of my images. A Glue Dot
secures them nicely. |
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3)
Gold Wings Collection (German Scrap
Papers)
These brilliant gold wings are in 3 different sizes (small, medium &
large) so that you always have the right size on hand! |
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4)
Crowns
Turn anyone into royalty with these exquisite brass crowns! |
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5)
Brass Flip Top Frame
For instant art to wear, add your favorite image or collage to this
frame. Perfect for gifts too! |
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