July Guest Designer: Devra Hunt

Happy Friday!

Our first Contributing Artist page, using the July kit SHINE, is from our talented Guest Designer, Devra Hunt. We are so happy to have her joining us this month; showcasing her perspective on SHINE and how it applies to her inner world. We think you'll love what she created, too.

Let's get to know Devra a little bit better before she shares some more about her first page!

I currently live in the Seattle area where I am the COO of my family, who are my husband, our two boys and our awesome dog Snickers.  My boys are 14 and 12. One is the intellectual type. He loves school, reads and swims. The other has undiagnosed special needs and keeps me on my toes.  My husband is a 5 year cancer survivor. All of that gives me much to think about, reflect on, and incredible material to keep me scrapping for a very long time.

I scrapbook for fun, for creative exercise, for therapy. I scrapbook for stress release.  I am not an epic storyteller, but my pages all have journaling, our albums do tell our story. They are a view into my family's life.  With all of the experiences I've had in my life so far, I have to find humor in the little things everyday.  I don't let life get to serious. I want my older son to know I love my life, as challenging as it can be at times. I want him to see that in our family's books.  

I do both single and 2 page 12x12 layouts.  I'm not sure I can define my style, It's constantly evolving.  But there are 3 things that almost always appear on my pages, larger photos, bright colors and humor.  Even on pages about me. I may change colors for my pages, and take a serious tone, but there is always something there to lighten the mood. All of these things turn up in my pages, which you will see on my blog and in my Pinterest Board. Therefore, some look consistent in style, others look really different.  When I am not scrapping, I am reading, watching baseball, and always dreaming of the beach. 

The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie and Over the Rainbow is a favorite song of mine. I often think about the lyrics and how they can pertain to my life.  I went into a deeper, darker thought process for this page. Darkness is an antonym for shine.

Rainbows appear when it’s raining. To give the appearance of rain, I used sketch pens and a Silhouette file to create the background.  I wanted the rainbow in the photo to stand out, and not get lost on the page. Matting it with strips of pink papers did just that.  The Make a Wish card refers to the thoughts in my journaling. I used the lemons, to represent my feelings about how life can be sour, and not always sweet, bright and shiny. 

Come join us! We'd love to welcome you to our visual journaling family. Start with the July kit SHINE today.