Pinterest

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I just set up a Pinterest account yesterday! I always wondered what it was. I knew that it was sort of like an online bulletin board, but I didn't really fully "get it" until I started playing around with it. And now I can see why everyone says it's so addictive!

For those of you who haven't tried it out yet, I definitely suggest that you give it a whirl! What you do is set up different "boards." These are categories of things you may like. A few of the boards I set up are: "I <3 Zombies", "Pretty Food", "Amazing Tattoos", "Whimsical Places to Live", etc..! You can make as many boards as you would like. Then, when you find a picture that you like online somewhere or on Pinterest, you pin it to your particular board so that you can always find it and have access to it. It's sort of a fun way to organize ideas, recipes, crafts, DIY projects, photos or anything else that you find inspirational.

As an artist, I am really enjoying it so far! I think it will be a great way to make "inspirational" boards for upcoming paintings. Working on a steampunk piece? Just make a steampunk board and pin awesome inspirational photos of steampunk jewelry, clothes, artwork etc.. I'm really looking forward to using it in the future.

I also wanted to let you know that I have uploaded my entire portfolio of work to Pinterest! So you are more than welcome to repin any of my work if you would like to boards that you have on your account. Here's my Pinterest account. And here's the board with all of my artwork!

Now, if only I can get off of Pinterest and get some actual painting done!

Giveaway - 4 Heather Witch Stickers

Hi everyone! I have a new giveaway I wanted to share with you. Just click on this link to be taken to the giveaway.

I'm giving away 4 Heather Witch Stickers! Each one is hand cut by myself and will come beautifully packaged in cellophane with a colorful tag top.

You have through August 20 to enter! It's super easy to enter and takes less than 30 seconds. I hope you all enjoy this new giveaway!

New Fan Photos

I just updated my fan photo album on Facebook! I absolutely love seeing my art displayed in your home. So if you have my framed prints on your wall, my magnets on your refrigerators or my stickers stuck all over the place, I would love to see pictures!

I also love seeing what you create with my artwork!! So if you enjoy coloring my coloring pages, using my collage sheets or designing tags with my tubes, please send in images to me! You can either tag me in a photo on Facebook or email them to me at nikki@aurella-art.com.

I will happily display them in my fan photo album on my Facebook pages and on my website! =) It really brings so much joy to me to see you all enjoying my artwork in your life!

Here are some of my new fan photos:

Beautiful altered art bottle by Michelle! She used my printable collage sheets to create this stunning piece of art!

Telsa, Arden and Angelique Hand Cut Stickers - Photo taken by Brittany!

Here's another one of Brittany's stickers that she put on her journal. This one features Heather!

This is a Cassia print framed and displayed by Gloriann!

Look at these awesome stickers on Lisa's computer case! I really love how she cut out the borders on the rectangular stickers to give them a fun edge. And the Angelique handcut sticker looks so cool against a black background!

Wow!! I am so impressed by this coloring page of Mina that BreAnna did! I love the colors and the shading is stunning! Isn't it amazing?

This is an awesome tag made by Jacqui! She used my tubes from Creative Design Outlet to create this.

Here is a set of prints (Symphoni, Cheyanna and Rayne) displayed beautifully on BreAnna's wall!

Artist of the Week at Creative Design Outlet

I just wanted to let you know that I'm the Artist of the Week over at Creative Design Outlet! That means that they're offering 20% OFF my tubes & images for a whole week (Monday - Sunday 10pm PST)!

My packs & singles have already been marked down in the store so no code is needed & the price will drop when you go through to the checkout.

That's $1.48 for an individual tube, $4.00 for a three pack, $5.20 for a four pack, $2.40 for a MEGA tube & $6.80 for a scrap kit bundle pack - awesome!!

*Combo packs are not included in this deal as they are always 20% off. Check out all of my tubes here!

Here are some of my latest tube packs from Creative Design Outlet:

Want to know what tubes and tags are all about? Check out my blog post here for a quick explanation!

Weekly Question and Answer Blog Entry

Hi everyone! I am thinking about starting up a weekly blog post where I answer a question from one of my blog readers or Facebook friends! I get questions frequently, but usually just answer the question to that person directly. I was thinking that a lot of you may enjoy reading the answers because they sometimes contain little tips or tricks about art, drawing or my art business.

So, what I need from you all is QUESTIONS! I would love for you to submit questions to me so that I can keep a list going and pull one question from the bunch once a week. Feel free to ask me anything! I would love questions about my art process, drawing, watercolor painting or questions relating to the business side of my job...how to get started with an art business, how to promote...etc...! I also don't mind personal questions as long as they're not super personal...ask away!

You can pose your questions here on my blog, send me a message on my Facebook Page here or email me at nikki@aurella-art.com. Thanks so much for your participation and I hope you enjoy this new addition to my blog!

Weekly Special - Set of 6 ACEO Prints - Half Off!

WEEKLY FACEBOOK SPECIAL - SET OF 6 ACEO PRINTS WITH AN OPTION TO GET THEM HAND EMBELLISHED!!

From Thursday 8/9/12 - Thursday 8/16/12 I am offering a set of 6 ACEO prints for only $12. If you want the set hand embellished, you only have to

play $20 total!

******************

I know there are a lot of us that are tired of the summer and hot weather and are dreaming of the fall! So that's why I picked out this set of ACEOs to offer up as a weekly special this week! I call this set "Dreaming of Fall" and it includes my pieces filled with orange and red colors accented with leaves, pumpkins and mushrooms! I can almost feel the crisp fall weather and cool breezes when I look at these paintings. Hopefully you will too!

This set includes an ACEO each of Cheyanna, Evania, Malana, Krista, Willow and Sabrina. You can purchase this set for only $12! These ACEOs retail for $4 each, so that's 50% off their normal price.

I'm also offering a fun option! You can also choose to get the set hand embellished for only $20 total! So that's only $8 extra dollars to get each ACEO hand embellished. What I do is paint iridescent watercolor medium on each piece by accenting their clothes, hair, eyes, or other details in the piece to give them a soft shimmer. It really makes these ACEOs so special! On the hand embellished ACEOs, I will also sign, title and date the back of each one.

Each ACEO will measure 2.5x3.5" and will come packaged in a plastic sleeve.

All you need to do to purchase this weekly special is send me an email to nikki@aurella-art.com and let me know if you would like the regular set of ACEOs or the hand embellished set of ACEOs! I'll then send you an invoice directly through Paypal to your email address for an easy and safe purchase. Once I receive the payment, I will package everything up and ship them off to you. There will be a shipping charge added to each order. The charges will be as follows:

United States: $2.25
Canada: $3.25
Everywhere Else: $4.25

**Please note that this special is not being offered through my website store or my Etsy store. Though I will happily combine shipping with any orders purchased through my Etsy shop or website store. Just message me if you have any questions. =)

 

 

Vacation Journal - Oakridge/Portland/Seattle - Part 3

See Part 1 of my Vacation Journal here!
See Part 2 of my Vacation Journal here!

Day 4 - Portland

After the wedding, we were all pretty tired! But we still had a few full days ahead of us. Our next stop was Portland, OR. We got to see where my brother-in-law and his girlfriend go to college which was very neat! We also walked around the city for a bit and ate at some of the food carts. It was my first food cart experience. It's really pretty neat. They have areas around town where there are 10-15 food carts all next to each other with a sitting area in the middle. So everyone can go and order what they want and then eat together. Most of the time, everyone ends up sharing like we did. I got a crepe, but also sampled a burger and some delicious pork sandwiches.

My husband and I walking around Portland

My brother-in-law is part of a club at his school where they build race cars completely from scratch! We got to visit his work room at school and saw the last car that they built. My husband was excited to try it out!

My husband in the car!

Day 5 - Seattle

After that, we all headed up to Seattle where we got to spend a couple days just having fun! It was a blast. We all piled into a car and drove around looking at all the sites.

All of us!

The first thing we did was take a ferry to Bainbridge. It was so beautiful to be out on the water and it was a gorgeous day!

The girls!

The beautiful Seattle skyline from the ferry

My husband and I on the ferry

After the ferry ride, we walked around for a bit by the water. It was so beautiful down there!

Walking by the water

Our next stop was the new big Ferris wheel that they just put by the water. It's so big when you're standing next to it!!

The Ferris Wheel

The view from up top! So pretty

My husband reassuring the kids that we weren't going to fall lol

After the Ferris Wheel, we went to the locks where boats transition from salt water to fresh water. It was really interesting to see how it works. They put the boats in an area that lowers or raises the water level depending on which direction they were going.

All of us relaxing, waiting for a boat to come

We also had to go down to the actual water and walk around on the beach!

Playing in the very cold water! I was too chicken to put my feet in

Then, we walked up to the top of a hill for the absolutely, most perfect view of downtown Seattle at night! What a wonderful way to end our vacation!

My husband and I in front of the Seattle skyline at night