Utilize your creativity to manifest your personal intention. Work in the spirit of the laws of attraction to visualize the life of your dreams. Follow the journey of twelve artists, each who will set a personal dream or intention. Witness the process that each artist takes, as they create a mixed-media piece that sows the seeds of their intention. Step-by-step techniques for a variety of mixed-media processes accompany each piece of finished art. Read about how their lives changed as a result and learn how to set intentions of your own using the bonus tear-out "dream-prompt" cards.

Discover it for yourself. Inside Art Saves, experience the stories of 20 artists who found that artistic expression and the artistic process is worth living for. Whether you are a calligraphy/graffiti artist like Lisa Engelbrecht, a metal artist like Michael DeMeng, or digital collage artist like Susan Tuttle, art has a way of giving you beauty, meaning, spiritual richness, community... even salvation. The stories in this book come from every medium, because the power of the creative process can be found everywhere. Hear from: • Drew Emborsky, a crochet artist, provides comfort through his creations by donating his work to hospitals and shelters. • Rebecca Sower puts craft materials—and hope—into the hands of Haitian women through Haiti By Hand. • Marie French who, through art, creates personal miracles of healing. • Suzi Blu, who discovered the real, therapeutic effect of art-making, shows you many simple, effective ways you can give back. INSIDE ART SAVES, YOU'LL ALSO FIND: • Mixed media techniques and projects. Throughout the book you'll find practical ideas to put you on the art-making path. Karen Michel shares instructions on creating prayer flags, Lynn Whipple shows you how to construct a permission plaque, Susannah Conway gives advice on revealing the soul of a place though inspired photography. • Inspired Lessons. Each artist lists the lessons they have learned about living life artfully. • "When the Going Gets Tough..." Sidebars suggest ways you can remain strong, even when things get challenging. Hear how different artists deal with difficulty head-on. • "In the artist's own words..." Advice and wisdom shared directly from each artist to you. The act of art-making is an act of life. So thread a needle, lift a paintbrush, put pencil to paper, focus the camera—find salvation.

Use souvenirs, keepsakes and everyday objects in your own brand of storytelling. Objects of Reflection brings you a new form of visual journaling–that of assemblage–by creating art that is extremely personal and evokes your fondest memories. Inspiration pours from every page as author Annie Lockhart takes you on a journey inside of her own heart, sharing her stories for building pieces with tiny treasures and common objects. Specific elements of each project are displayed in a legend, detailing what each object symbolizes and will have you thinking about what similar objects might represent to you. In addition to providing insight on her own art-making process, Annie will guide you through her favorite step-by-step techniques for attaching elements with simple materials like string, wire and tape; aging objects to give them a bit of charm; adding texture with modeling paste and more. Dare to color outside the lines. Discover a new way to tell your own story and start using objects as "words" today. You'll also receive insight on valuable lessons such as: • Quieting your harsh inner critic • Seeing the beauty in objects that are broken • Looking at the things you love with new perspective • Realizing art need not be permanent to be enjoyed

Express the art within you There are clues all around you—sounds, textures, memories, passions—just waiting for you to shine a light on them, and unearth the most intimate form of expression—the self-portrait. Inside Inner Excavation, author Liz Lamoreux will be your guide, along with eleven inspiring artists, as you discover more about who you are, how you got here and where you wish to go. Prompts and exercises will show you how to express who you are through the photos you take, the words you write and the art you create. Find encouragement and fresh ideas in these pages as you: • Uncover prompts to use your senses for exploring and capturing where you are in any particular moment. • Tap into the poet's voice that's whispering inside of you, even if you've never written poetry before. • Be given permission to spend time "Delving into the Quiet," being still and listening to the mindful voice inside of you through meditation to create a balance in your daily moments. • Bring words and art together in self-portrait expression that is as layered as you are. Take a fresh look inside today; become inspired, through Inner Excavation, to see more than the smiling reflection in the mirror.

Follow Your Bliss Whether you're looking to express yourself creatively for the first time or have found yourself in a creative rut, you'll soon be following your inspired voice with the help of Journal Bliss. With the guidance of author, Violette, you'll learn to express your thoughts and feelings like never before in your own art journal. Not only will Violette inspire you with her own journal pages, she'll teach you techniques for creating your own unique pages. You'll learn to: • Create juicy backgrounds and whimsical borders for your pages to help get the ideas flowing • Love doodling, even if you think you can't draw • Make image transfers of photos or even your own artwork • Develop your own fanciful lettering and so much more! Create freely, express yourself and enjoy the journey with Journal Bliss!

It's time for your creativity to come out and play! Remember the carefree spirit you had as a child? It's time to recapture that sense of wonder and excitement in your art with Collage Playground! Come play with author Kimberly Santiago as she introduces you to 10 simple techniques and 25 projects that take the "work" out of collage and bring back in the fun. As your imagination is reignited, you will: • Discover textural ways to create with papers, fabrics, paints and more • Learn tips for building up and using your own collage stash • Receive plenty of inspiration and encouragement from beautiful variations and helpful sidebars Grab your pencil box and supply pail and join in on Collage Playground!

Create Expressive Books from Salvaged Treasures Rusty doorknobs, cardboard containers and plastic packaging may seem like trash to some, but through the creative mind, they are transformed into beautiful expressions - equally parts artful book and assemblage. The Elemental Journal will show you how to craft a wide variety of journals to hold your secrets or express your inner thoughts, and discover new ways to use wood, paper, fabric, plastic and metal in your art. Peek inside The Elemental Journal and you will find: • 15 stepped-out journal projects made from unusual materials and found objects, from tree bark to dismantled photo albums to tin boxes. • Tips for seeking out materials for your journals in flea markets, garage sales, and in your own attic or trash can. • Inspiring gallery projects from 9 contributing artists, including Susan Tuttle, Jen Osborn and Jill Berry. One artist's trash is another's treasure. Discover yours with The Elemental Journal.

Make your mark your way! Every artist seeks to stand apart from the crowd. But how? Let author Carmen Torbus inspire you to new creative highs in this collection of hands-on techniques and heartfelt stories from 16 artists who have worked through their own artistic struggles and stalls to emerge triumphant, with looks uniquely their own. Whether art is new to you, or you have been at it awhile and are having trouble discovering your own style, this encouraging book will guide you to experiment with different mediums, techniques and possibilities to make a mark that is exclusively yours. Inside you'll find: • 17 of the artists' favorite mixed-media techniques shown step by step, with suggestions for how to make them your own • Beautiful finished art illustrating how individual artists use and combine these techniques in their own work • Easy worksheets to help reveal your artistic skills, strengths and preferences • A quick-start guide to various mediums, mark makers and creative paraphernalia • Lots of tips and advice for putting yourself into your art Embrace who you are and find out what defines you as an artist. Make your art far from ordinary--become the artist UNIQUE!

"Selected essays by Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister, on themes of women in the church, spirituality, and the Benedictine vision"--

Oman Ken has created an inspiring collection of what he calls – philosophical story poems – that guide the reader right to the heart of what life is truly about and what really matters. Oman's poems portray themes that explore conscious relationships, awakening, transcendence, quantum physics, evolutionary spirituality, alignment with Nature, and the insightful topics investigated in his four volume book series, JOURNEY OF THE GREAT CIRCLE. published by Balboa Press.