Brush Options vs. Options of Selected Object

When you want to apply an Art brush to the stroke of an object, there are a couple of different options dialogs that can help you. Double-click on an Art brush in the Brushes palette (Window>Brushes) to set the overall options for the brush every time you use the brush it will use these settings. Or, to affect only the selected object, select the object, click on the Art brush in the palette to apply the stroke, and click the Options of Selected Object icon at the bottom of the Brushes palette. Change the setting to affect how the brush stroke is applied to only that object. (The same principle applies to Scatter brushes and Calligraphic brushes.)