Behind the Art with Felecia

Hey, everyone!

Today I'm sharing my first layout from the amazing December AUTHENTIC kit from Inside Out. 

Let me BE authentic and say...when I first opened up my December kit, I thought, "This thing is gorgeous..and I NEVER use these colors...what am I going to DO with this?" 

See, I scrapbook BOYS in the majority of my layouts...heavy on the blue and orange and red. Its my sweet spot. Maybe not so much because those are the colors I love, but because they make my scrapbooking very very easy with all those boy pictures.

But here...here I have this AMAZING pallet of pink and aqua and yellow and this fantastic green and light gray...and oh, my its so stunning and , oh, my, I was so overwhelmed. 

So, talking to myself, I said, sort of under my breath, "Authentic...what does authentic mean to me?"

And one of those BOYS (the older one who is a smarty pants) says, "Its the REAL DEAL, Mom!" 

The real deal...the real deal...I turned that phrase over and over in my head for a bit...and thought, I have a lot of "the real deal" in my life...and it isn't pink, aqua, yellow, and green...where do I go with that?  

And honestly, the same smarty pants boy told me to him the "real deal" was his good friends. 

Me too. 

I have but a handful of "real deal" friends, though I attempt to surround myself with "real deal" people on a consistent basis...

These two...they just love me and my family for exactly who we are...our authentic selves. 

I unabashedly LOVE those circles! As you have well figured out by now, my art is not fussy. So to fussy cut all those circles..that has to be love right?  

Plus I was watching an episode of NCIS and cutting circles seemed like a great thing to do while I watched my episode.

These beautiful women are always there for me, any day of the week, thick or thin, no matter what I have going on. 

The layers of circles, these represent my life...and those beautiful pink splashes of mist (from the Fireworks mist included in the ENERGY kit) are perfectly messy.

To add to the feeling the title, picture and journaling are all askew...sort of like me!  HAHA!

I love how this kit challenged me to think outside the boxes I've created for myself in my art. It forced me to really think about authenticity and how much I avoid things (like colors) that are not easy for me.

That's some good stuff!!

Peace, ya'll!

Behind the Art with Felecia.

THRIVE is a word they use all the time when assessing the health of children. 

I have two of them and they were born later in my life, so they are pretty much the lions-share of my life. 

I waited a long time to have kids, making certain for me that the things I wanted to do with life that couldn't easily accommodate kids were done.

But I discovered after having them that my years of discovering, experimenting, trying new things only began anew when they became part of our family. As I watched them learn to walk, talk, throw a baseball, write letters, try new foods - pretty much everything - it was as if I was learning these things for the first time too...

I'm totally in touch with the fact that I'm living some of my life vicariously through these two...that I get just as excited about a new movie or a cart-wheel accomplished as they do. 

So..as they TRIVE, so do I...

As with most of my layouts, I felt like the journaling was the most important part. But the colors in this kit are so amazing!!!  

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The idea of thriving through my very rambunctious boys is somewhat busy and full of color and life...so I tried to give my project movement and color, a sense of the chaotic business of boys without detracting from my story. 

Its no joke that I really do love the photo this points to...its one of my favorites. we were playing on the floor in the front hall of our home...just hanging out and being together...my husband snapped the picture at just the right moment, because I was tickling those kids...and it came out to be just the right thing at just the right time.

I don't know if thriving in and of itself is something we can set out to accomplish purposefully or if its more like taking small steps to appropriately care for something  or some one. Its about love and attention...or food and water and shelter and clothing...or practice, practice, practice...the small things add up to thriving. 

Whatever it is, for these little humans in my life, when they thrive, I do also, in the most amazing, vicarious way.

Behind the Art with Jen

 Hi creative people!

Where do you get your ideas for Art?

Well, sometimes I get ideas for art but the act of creation is the hard part.  I think I know what I want and then when faced with the page, I freeze up... doubt myself and my choices.  I get on Pinterest or other artist's blogs and start comparing myself.  It's a no-win situation!  It wastes time and cause procrastination (something I don't need more of btw).  I start doubting my abilities, my creativity, and my ability to come up with something new. That's no good!

 Intuition is there lurking in the background under all that doubt.  I just have to shut down the comparisons and let it come through.  Silence the doubts and close the windows of "inspiration" so that I can just create!

 

For this page, I started with the journaling!  I knew what I wanted to say and typed it out on vellum to be layered over my art.  I just didn't know what my final product would look like.   Once I saw the  lightbulb mask, I KNEW it would light up my page!  I started by tracing the outside shape with pencil.

  

 I then filled in that shape with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Textural Accents Gesso. 

 

 I also dripped a bit so I went with it and splattered a bit more!  ;)

 The rest came out of opening myself up to creative ideas... I just went with it.  I needed something more so I added some watered down Gelatos® color in Banana to the lightbulb.  Once dry, I used a PITT Artist Pen to outline the mask.  I grabbed the mask from one of our previous kits and  added the arrows with the pen.

The vellum journaling block was added over it all and tacked down with stitching.  I used the Distress paint below it with papers and the photo layered over it. Scribbling over the paint with colored pencils was also added. I just had fun!

I was very happy with this page. It's actually an illustration of what happens when you let go of the comparisons and just have fun with the creative process.

Behind the Art with Jen Matott

Do you choose a word for the year- One Little Word?   I always choose one but then don't follow through with the documentation of my year in regards to the word... this year I wanted to pick one that I was sure to be able to apply to many of my goals and everyday happenings.  SO my word is CREATE..

 My intention is to CREATE more art this year, CREATE a more healthful routine, CREATE more family time, CREATE more "me" time!  I think I might be able to do a bit of each... hmmm...

 Every year, there are new goals and some of the same ole',  same ole' but really I just want to CREATE something that makes me happy. 

For this page, I was inspired by all the gorgeous colored papers and those chalkboard frames... I cut the center out of it and found the perfect photo to symbolize looking back on last year and driving towards this year. 

 

 I used Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft® Chalk board paint for the black circles and also used an empty washi tape roll to stamp open circles on the page.  The American Crafts Galaxy marker draws perfectly on the paint surface!  I added some doodles and words to the circles.

 

 Some circles using the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft® Gelatos® colors were added.  Added the cut out circles from the gorgeous patterned papers and embellishments gives this page POP!

 I adored this kit and the whole sentiment that goes along with INTENTION!  I sure hope I can keep my intentions and keep up with my word this year!

Behind the Art with Lori

Hello! How's your December going?
By now you know that this month we are exploring
TRUST.
I wanted to start off by sharing some insight into this layout:

I loved the mix of the black and white and turquoise..to me it looks serene, even though the subject matter isn't always so calm and peaceful.
 This quote by Mila Bron says,
" I'm learning to trust the journey, even when I don't understand it."
This is sooo true for me. I have to trust that my
life, my experiences, my triumphs, my disappointments,
are all part of the becoming. The journey includes all of the above.
I have to trust that, even when I don't understand it,
even when it is NOT turning out the way I planned, or wanted it to,
it's all ok...it's not my plan, it's God's.
I've gotta just trust.
This is not an easy lesson to learn!

I hope you will play along with us this month!

Get your kit here.

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xo

Lori