Behind the Art with Guest Designer Devra

Hi everyone,

Guest Artist Devra here with my last page using the July kit Shine.

I have learned that I feel good, that I shine my brightest personality when it’s warm out and I can surround myself with some of my favorite things, or go to my favorite places. I have also learned, when I can’t do this, I need to find alternatives, and not get stuck in a rut of negativity. I need to focus on looking forward to them again when spring returns.

First, I arranged the photos into a loose grid. I had decided I would fill in with pieces of papers and other embellishments. I reached for items that help enhance my feelings of happiness and love of the summer season. Again, I fussy cut some sayings out of the papers. I love the pink background paper with the subtle sayings. I chose other papers that complement the pink as well as lean towards summer, such as the lemons.

Thank you so much for letting me join you all this month. It has been a true honor.

You can keep up with more of my creating by visiting my blog: My Creative View

Behind the Art with Melissa

Hello everyone and happy Tuesday!

I am here, sharing with you another page created with the beautiful SHINE kit.

If there is one thing about my personality that I embrace, it's the optimistic side of me. I can always see the glass half full. I'm constantly seeing the good in people and I have a positive perspective on almost every situation.

I think, because of this characteristic, I truly enjoy brightening someone elses day. If I have a friend who is feeling blue or if someone is exuding negative juju... I love challenging that...

Lemme bring a little sunSHINE into your life.

I was immediately drawn to the lemons in this kit. Of course, the quote "when life gives you lemons... you make.." everybody say it!!! "LEMONADE!" And then, you drink it and enjoy it. YUM! This quote is a favorite of mine, for obvious reasons, and I wanted to figure out a way to utilize it on a page.

Then, I found that quote. "Be Someone's Sunshine When Their Skies Are Grey." 

And then we all started to sing... you are my sunshine, my only sunshine...

Bringing the two together and utilizing the citrus-y colors from the kit, I teamed it together with a special photo of me. That photo is me wearing some pink for a dear friend who was battling breast cancer. It was an honor to be on her team. It felt empowering and I loved being there to support my friend during a "grey" time in her life. 

The good news? The cancer is gone! Woooo! 

Being a positive light in someone's life is so encouraging... for both parties. I know I always feel joyful and have a lightness in my step. It's a beautiful thing to be that sunSHINE.

So, SHINE ON! Be someone's sunshine on their grey day. It can make all the difference.

Behind the Art with Guest Designer Devra

Hi everyone,

Guest Contributing Artist, Devra, with you again. I'm here to share more of my third page created using the July Shine kit.

One of the things I’m learning is it’s ok to make fun of yourself, and to take a lighter approach to life. I wore a pink paper crown on my birthday. I wanted to look like I was feeling special. I was radiating happiness, both inside and out. When I began this page, I had a light hearted feeling in mind, and wanted to show that on the page.

I surrounded the photo with as many of the bright and happy pieces as I could. I used ones with sayings as puns, such as the Pineapple, to keep with the idea of making fun of myself and the day. I love that the background paper looks like falling confetti. It also goes to the lightness of the page theme. I used the arrows to help guide the reader through the page.

Thank you for joining me today!

Are you ready to dive deep into your inner world? Join us now! There is no better kit to begin your journey than with the Shine kit! 

Behind the Art with Felecia

Once again, I really am so in love with the newest kit from Inside Out - SHINE is just full of beautiful, warm, sun-shiney papers and images.

I had such a BLAST with this theme...For this project, I was going through some of my old photos and came across these two old photos of me.

For me, the word Shine means being the most ME I can be. I don't know, but a lot of this world really doesn't want us to be unique. So many things that are unique and amazing about us individually get sort of beat out of us as we move through the world...people are not comfortable being around those who are fiercely unique.

But when we are kids, this is the point at which we somehow are both in touch with being free in ourselves and also think we can pretty much conquer the world....I love that aspect of children...I want to be a kid when I grow up.

The confidence and shine of the little Felecia in these photo...They are so right in that kind of a moment!

That little girl - she has a twinkle in her eyes...All I could think of was how fun and unique these shots were...and how like me to do weird things and get caught on film.

So very much enjoyed just doing some layer building straight onto one of the papers..I was inspired to somewhat abandon my usual tendency to get things quite straight.

The photo corners are cut from one of the journal boxes....this is one of my favorite things to do - alter or fussy cut journal to fit my needs.

I did the same thing with the pink seal...and of course we cannot talk about shining and little girl pictures without gold metallic puffy stars and a little bit of gold mist. 

I was so inspsired by the kit and these pics that this project came together in less than 30 minutes...For me that is a serious record!!!

Is there a photo of you as a kid that shows your particular uniqueness and shine???? Does it make you smile to think of the moment or the person in that photo?  

I'm so interested in how you think of this topic!

Peace, ya'll!

Behind the Art with Melissa

Hi everyone!

Melissa here with you today sharing another page I created using the Shine kit.

Sometimes, I go onto Pinterest and look up quotes that pertain to our monthly themes. I do this when my brain just isn't doing a very good job thinking up good journaling. 100% of the time, a quote jumps out at me. It's exactly what I need to read at the right time.

I found this quote: Dream Big. Sparkle More. Shine Bright.

I love that! I'm such an optimist and dreamer that, after reading that, I got a little giddy and couldn't wait to record my thoughts about it on a page.

My personality is an ENFP. That's from the Myers-Briggs personality test. I've taken it many times in different ways and always get the same result. My personality is one that shines, naturally. It can't be helped. And I love it! I'm an extrovert to the core. I love people and I love being around them. So, it's easy for me to shine around others! 

I decided that this newfound quote was going to become my mantra. Because, let's face it, even though my personality is a positive and exuberant one, we are all human. I still go through moments of depression or angst. And, I can get very dramatic. It goes both ways. The positive and the not so positive. Ha! 

I used a cut file for the backdrop of this page to symbolize sparkle. It reminded me of how the sun sparkles on top of water. 

Hey, did you know we have a Pinterest board each month for our kits? It's a great place to go for some added inspiration. Head over and I hope you can gain some inspiration, like I did, for this journaling page! 

Thanks for joining me here today!

Behind the Art with Guest Designer Devra

Hi everyone,

Devra here today as the July Guest Contributing Artist and I'm really happy to share another page I created using the July Shine kit.

I’m not an exercise lover, but have learned to love my daily walks with my dog, even to look forward to them. The photo I chose isn’t really important. It’s what it represents. This page is about a change of heart. I feel really good after my walks. I feel alert. I feel awake. I feel energized, ready to shine and take on the day.

One of my favorite things I see while walking in the springtime is the sun coming up over the trees. I cut a sunburst out of the yellow paper to create the same feeling. It bumps against a pale grey paper, like the sun bursting through the grey clouds. The scatter of embellishments are also rising. The sequins shine like the sun, the butterfly and flowers are things I see on my walk.  A splatter  of ink ties the colors and embellishments together.

Thank you for stopping by today. 

Are you ready to dive deep into your inner world? Get your SHINE kit now! 

Behind the Art with Melissa

Hi everyone,

Melissa here with you sharing a page I created using the July kit Shine.

The theme of this kit intrigued me. Mostly because there are so many ways one can approach this. So, in my usual ways, I jotted down a bunch of phrases pertaining to shine and my inner world:

- shine from within
- light
- reflection
- brilliance
- radiate

Radiate caught my attention. So, then I began the thought process of, "What is it that I radiate?" "What do I think I should radiate?"

Something I hear, time and time again, is that I'm a joyful person. I'm optimistic and I radiate JOY.

A Ha!

I do tend to agree with that and I love that part of my personality.

I did something quite purposeful with this page. It still makes me nervous but, I'm sticking with it! The title is placed over my face because, I want to symbolize how my JOY is something I want people to notice first. It isn't something blocking me or getting in my way... but, it is something that I embrace about myself and I love sharing WHY I have that joy deep within.

How perfect is the sentiment on that vellum piece? TOO perfect! Right??? 

There is a lot to be joyful about lately and it was fun to record this. The journal is hidden since I had a lot to say but you can read it here...

My journaling is mostly focusing on the moments when I don't feel joyful. I really do know that I'm a positive person, overall but, sometimes those moments of feeling stressed and not so joyful come up. Because, well let's face it, we live in an imperfect world and that's how it is. But, I still here from others how calm and joyful I seem... even while on the inside I'm feeling knots and twists and all kinds of uncomfortable feelings. 

I really do love that! And after thinking about this page some more, I LOVE an embrace this part of my personality!

So, what do YOU radiate? Record it with one of our kits! Grab yours HERE.

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.