.. and a special welcome to all new members to our Art Community , I hope you are all settling in to our creative space, feel free to peek at our NEWBIES INTRO .. and I look forward to getting to know you and your ART :-) The first few rays of sun are sneaking their way out here from behind the clouds...it has been a long winter... I am ready to see the first signs of spring .... but I am heading UP NORTH for a week break tomorrow ..so expect to be even colder :-))) I am hoping to explore some historical towns with my camera , play art journaling with Dina Wakley and have some fun and frolics with my family .... I will try and blog daily on my tumblr with photos... so feel free to follow me there :-) Milliande Daily Blog Tumblr :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMPORTANT TECH NEWS - I have decided to switch the NEWSLETTER to a different host, to avoid the problems we have had with the Ning provider changing their settings often .... I hope this makes it an easier solution for everyone to access community news Please SUBSCRIBE to our new newsletter here

~~~ CHAT ~~~

*** WEEKLY CHAT

THIS WEEKS CHAT will be FRIDAY , February 26th at 2 pm EST with your host firefly Julie Simmonds Julie welcomes ideas for future chats and themes... so please feel free to message her Here a link to a time converter to help you find the time in your country ... http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter

~~~ PROMPTS ~~~

*** ART JOURNALING BY THE MOON

Monika is hosting some introspective art journaling prompts around the different moon energy, starting with this moonth's full moon, take a peek if you like ART JOURNALING BY THE MOON

*** " MAKE A 5 SHOT ONE SUBJECT PHOTO SERIES"

a new photo prompt at THe LENS photography subgroup focussing on a series of photo shots featuring one subject , take a peek if you like 5 Shot PHOTOGRAPHY PROMPT

~~~ ART STUFF ~~~

*** LIFE DRAWING EXPERIENCE

I have attended my first ever female figure drawing studies class. not being much of a traditional or representational artist, this has been a hug challenge for me .. I am looking forward to learning more about drawing the human figure this year.. resources and ideas will be posted in the HUMAN FIGURE SUBGROUP ..and I will be sharing my process of learning how to draw the human figure .... you can take a peek at my first lifedrawing experience with photos here Milliande Female Figure Drawing Studies

*** MIXED MEDIA ART QUESTIONS ANSWERED

I hold a space where you can ask Mixed Media questions and I will try and answered them from my art point of view ... take a peek here to ASK MILLIANDE .. I will answer the questions i order in which they arrive ..that way none get missed in the bustle of our community pages :-) and can be easily accessed for reference here are the newly answered Mixed Media Topics ..you are invited to share YOUR experiences too in the comment box that may help to answer the questions even further and from your point of view :-) ~ Journaling Writing in Art Journaling necessary ? ~ Intro to PanPastel Artist Pastels ~ Transparencies on Inkjet Printers ~ PanPastel and Kids Art Journaling ~ Confused about Soft Gel Transfers ~ Best Collage Magazine Choices

~~~ ART RESOURCES ~~~

*** DOVER CLIPART SAMPLER

Geraldine has shared a resource for copyright free images for artwork .. Sign up for the Dover Sampler, and each week they will send you an email with links to free content from books . You'll then be able to browse, print or download a wide variety of samples that include coloring book pages, poems, recipes, permission-free clip art, short stories and much more DOVER CLIPART SAMPLERS

*** STEAMPUNK MAGAZINE

Ruth has shared a free download for steampunk magazines , a source of information about STEAMPUNK - a rich collection of magazines that are filled with stories, drawings, ideas, fashions, etc take a peek here if you like STEAMPUNK MAGAZINE RESOURCE

*** JOURNALING EBOOKS

Ruth has shared free downloads for ebooks in the Art Journalers Subgroup on " JOURNALING YOUR PAST" and " FAMILY HISTORY SHRINE" take a peek here if you like JOURNALING EBOOKS

~~~ SWAPS ~~~

You are invited to host your own ART SWAPS -- any theme, any medium at the ART SWAP GROUP .... SWAP guidelines are posted for ATC's but can be adapted to suit all mediums and styles... feel free to open a new discussion with your own SWAPS anytime :-) LATEST SWAPS:

*** STEAMS AND DREAMS STEAMPUNK SWAP

STEAMS AND DREAMS Steampunk swap -- deadline extened to March 16th take a peek here STEAMS AND DREAMS STEAMPUNK ATC SWAP

*** PAPER NAPKIN EXCHANGE

a new paper napkin exchange for collage and altered artists - 3 decor napkins for 3 - has been announced in the Altered Artisan SubGroup .. Paper Napkin Exchange

*** BIRTH YEAR ATC SWAP

a new swap has been announced .. with a BIRTHYEAR THEME .. think events, fashion, styles, music, film, etc, that occurred during your birthyear! take a peek here BIRTHYEAR ATC SWAP

*** FLOWER ATC SWAP

a new flower ATC Swap is being organised in the Art SWAP subgroup, take a peek here FLOWER ATC SWAP

*** PAPER AND TEXT EXCHANGE

Dictionaries, Poetry, Recipes, Sheet Music, Textbooks, Bills, Receipts, Hymnals , Atlas ..to name a few .. for collage and altered art enthusiast a paper and text exchange ..take a peek if you like PAPER AND TEXT EXCHANGE

*** DIGITAL ATC SWAP

a new ATC swap -- Digital Artist Trading Cards with any themes ...take a peek here if you like DiIGITAL ART ATC SWAP

*** ANYTHING GOES ATC SWAP

a new ANYTHING GOES ATC swap -- ONE FOR ONE , take a peek here if you like Anything Goes ATC SWAP

*** BOOKMARK CREATION AND SWAP

an art bookmark swap is being organised in the ART SWAP subgroup, take a peek if you like ART BOOKMARK SWAP

~~~ GIVEAWAYS ~~~

*** GUESS A NUMBER GIVEAWAY

a new : GUESS A NUMBER GIVEAWAY" is hosted by Rachel in the " Lucky Ladies subgroup , her last giveaway was hugely successful, take a peek at the new one if you like .. good luck GUESS A NUMBER GIVEAWAY

all for now have a playful day milliande