Behind the Art with Melissa

My main, full-time job is a Pre-Kindergarten teacher. It's a challenging job but this has got to be my most favorite age. I love when my students discover and learn about new things. It has placed me in a situation where I am constantly thinking back to my glory days. Because of that, I am always remembering to pause and play. It's okay to have fun and be excited about the simplest of things. It's okay to love with all abandon and think that every single thing is the best invention ever.

I also love that I have an excuse to play and paint and be silly. What a fantastic release of energy for me! And for my kiddos!

I think, sometimes, us grown-ups think we have to always work, work, work. But, is that really satisfying? I've decided to work AND play. To discover new things and allow my inner-child to experience new things. It keeps life interesting!

Like the other day... I skipped instead of walked down the sidewalk. It was thrilling. You should try it too.

Grab yourself an Inner Child kit by clicking on the image to the right. Let your spirit run wild and free!

Behind the Art with Melissa

I'm going to vent for a minute... 

I am so tired of people thinking that if someone is quiet, demure, poised or soft-spoken then they are so very mature. 

If you are loud, goofy, a bit of a slouch (because you kind of don't care), and maybe forget to say please then, that means you are immature.

Grrr...

Okay so, here is the deal.. I went through a period of time when I was a personality test junky. It started with the Myers-Briggs test and went from there. When I received my result (ENFP), and read the description, I was floored. And so very excited! 

Do you want to know why?

It revolutionized how I view myself. 

Yes, I'm loud. Yes, I'm a bit of a goof. Yes, I don't always sit up in my chair. NO, I really don't like to wear dresses but will if I have to. No, I don't like to be alone and yes, I love being the center of attention!

But, according to the ENFP personality profile, that is exactly how I should be and I am not immature. 

So there! Nyah. Bleh. Poo on you!

(Yeah, okay that was immature.)

What I'm trying to get at is, I feel empowered with who I am and can confidently get past others when they tell me to grow up. 

I am grown up. I have a job. Live on my own. Pay my bills. Drive myself where I need to go. Have moved away twice and did some big things on my own. I can have a deep conversation and I love sharing what I have learned from life. 

I chose to do a tilted design to showcase my defiance and love to stir things up. :) I also chose a lot of different patterns together and the alpha was too perfect.

Are you confident with your personality and who you are? Can you relate at all? Sometimes us ENFP's are so very misunderstood, aren't we?

Guest Contributing Artist: Stacey Hansen

Hi everyone!

I am so excited to be joining Inside Out this month. Here is a little bit more about me before I dive into sharing more about this first page:

A cupcake mom living in a world of a half dozen kiddos, paper, frosting, adoption, fitness and yoga.  Stacey started scrapbooking almost 20 years ago to document life and all that it brought her way.  Through the years her craft has turned from creating with paper and photos to telling a story of heart, purpose, and life through her eyes.  The story is what drives it all in life, on paper, in the gym, on the yoga mat it is all about heart. 

You can find me here:

Instagram : https://instagram.com/cupcakemomcolorado/

Blog: http://sassynsweetscrappin.blogspot.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cupcakemom/

Now onto my first page I'm sharing with all of you!

I wanted this layout to have free movement.  It is imperfect intentionally.  Splatters of mist, lines a little crooked, and clusters of embellishments to reflect my heart and life. 

Journaling:

It has taken 39 years to be exactly who I am right now. I am kind hearted, fierce in my thoughts, and completely free.  In the course of life I built a castle around my heart.  I guarded it fiercely with bricks of authenticity. These walls kept me safe they kept me from pain (or so I thought) and they protected me from being vulnerable.  The truth is I didn’t even realize until recently that I had carefully crafted this castle.  Slowly and ever so tenderly the castle walls are crumbling and this beautiful heart that feels even bigger, loves even grander, risks even greater is  now being exposed.  Tears of joy fall freely like a dam that has been broken.

The heart is much kinder, the mind so much clearer, and the freedom is so much sweeter than  I could have imagined.  This girl with a new perspective is removing the rubble of what kept her so strong and in the process has become more flexible.  The castle that was built to protect was really what was holding back more of  the joy, peace, and contentment that  was outside those gates . The fear of being a burden is gone, the dragon that stood watch over the castle ran off with it when vulnerability arrived.  Dragons can’t hang with tears it puts out their fire.  The moat that few dared to cross even after making past the dragon has been filled with  a gift soil  given by those who knew the princess inside better than she knew herself.   And the princess……well I am quite excited to see what life looks like  when the gift that had been  protected for so long is now free to roam the land.

Join here on Friday as I share another page I created using the Inner Child kit!

Behind the Art with Melissa

Hello and happy Tuesday!

When I first dug into the Inner Child kit, I knew I wanted to do some exploration of my faith. There is a verse that I've heard many times, over the years, and I thought it perfect for some things I'm going through right now.

The verse essentially says to have faith like a child. This spurs on some question for me:

What is the difference between a child-like faith and an adult faith?
Does this mean I have to become naive again?
So, does this make it wrong when I want to learn more and become more knowledgeable about my faith?

The answer, for me, was simple (and I think it was simple because I'm around children five days a week) - to have a child-like faith means that I am eager to learn, eager to love and be loved, and trust with all abandon.

The stencil in this kit was so perfect for what I wanted to exude. I love the female silhouete with all the script inside. I used a pen to trace it and, let me tell you, that took forEVER. There comes a point in creating when I just want to be done. But, it's those projects that take foreeeever that usually become a favorite.

Butterflies have got to be the most well-rounded images of symbolism, ever. For this page, I fussy cut out some of the butterflies from the Flutter collection papers to portray playfulness and wonder. 

After creating this, I have newfound appreciation for my inner child when it comes to my faith. Instead of squashing it... I definitely want to tap into that because, now I see why it's so important.

Thanks for swinging by today! Make sure you grab our INNER CHILD kit by clicking on the image to the right. It's such a fun theme to explore this month!

More Pages from our Guest Designer: Jana Maiwald-McCarthy

Hi everyone,

Normally our guest artist would have posts every Friday during the month but, mailing overseas can be a little tricky. Better late than never is my motto! So, without further ado, here are the last two gorgeous pages, with a little "Behind the Art" info, by our talented Guest Artist, Jana Maiwald-McCarthy.

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From Jana: "On this layout you can see me at the end of 2006, after 18 months I found a new love! the beginning was not as easy as i thought! i was very suspicious... but we made it! We got married in December 2008 and "our" child was born in October 2009... this layout made me smile! I had fun creating it!

I love how Jana showcases how our dreams can end in a completely different way. Still beautiful but, not always taking the route we had envisioned. I love that she has found her happy and was able to celebrate that through her page.

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From Jana:  This layout sums up my life together! I am a creative person from head to toe. I love to make art in every kind of mood. It helps me to get out of sad times and it makes me even happier in happy times! The stencil in this kit was perfect for a layout like this! No photo needed, right?!

Jana is living her creative dream! Are you? 

Behind the Art with Melissa

Hello everyone,

I would like to be your living testament to what it's like to make your dream reality. Is there something burning deep inside of you that you've wanted to do? Perhaps you've caught yourself daydreaming about a certain possibility and just haven't taken the next step.

Well ladies (and gents if you're out there), I'd like to push you off the cliff of daydreams and longings. Just go for it! Don't let fear stop you. Don't let others voices of negativity hold you back. You know yourself better than anybody and if you've got a dream that just isn't leaving you alone then you best be trusting that gut and following through.

I am living proof that doing so is the most exhilarating and character growing action one can make. 

Well yeah Melissa, you say, but what if I do that and it all falls flat. 

Then it does.

What, you say, are you serious? My life will be over!

No it won't.

Whatever lady, you say.

Listen, let me tell you a little bit more about my perspective with this - life is too short to not take that first step. 

Will it always end up exactly how you envisioned it? Nope. 

Are you going to get some scraps and bruises along the way? Quite possibly.

But, the beautiful part of it is that you will gain confidence. You will become stronger. You've got to choose that, though. It's all a matter of how you choose to handle it!

For me? I finally learned to grow. Sure my dreams may have not lived up to my expectations. Sure, I may have been ready to give up almost as quickly as I put them into motion. Sure, I had people tell me I was crazy or not giving it enough thought. But, you know what gosh darnit? I tried and learned and grew as a woman. And that's a pretty beautiful thing!

I love this kit Live Your Dream. 

LIVE YOUR DREAM. Live it! Don't just imagine it. Freaking live it woman! You totally can.

I loved this photo I found with the feet next to the cliff. How scary, right? Have you ever gone cliff jumping? It's so scary but, the adrenaline and feelings of conquering something huge are sooooo much bigger than the fear. That few seconds of fear dissolve so fast after the jump is complete. 

Can you think of any dreams you want to set in motion? Grab a kit, use our prompts and imagery to record those dreams. But, don't just leave it on the page.

Go out and make it your reality!

Behind the Art with Melissa

A dream was placed in my heart several years ago. My restless heart that always has to be on the go! I had visited Chicago multiple times and, each time I left, a little piece of me stayed.

Well, that dream finally became a reality in 2012. I sold my car and all my furniture. Packed the rest of my life into 4 boxes and 3 pieces of luggage and moved across the country. I didn't have a job but, did have a place to live. 

I still can't believe it happened.

During the months leading up to the move, I created many pages about my thoughts. I'm sure people were getting annoyed with how much I talked and created about Chicago. 

Chicago. Chicago. Chicago.

But, it was that big of a deal to me at the time. HUGE in fact. And, a big move is a pretty significant life turning point. 

I survived the big city for two years. I lived in a neighborhood called Logan Square and worked downtown. I walked among the skyscrapers, ate Chicago pizza and became a local. I mastered the Chicago Transit system and got annoyed with people who said they lived in Chicago but, actually lived in a suburb. (No, it's not the same thing!) I lived through major storms and even experienced a few tornado warnings. I learned the Chicagoans do not deal with the rain quite as relaxed as I do and cab drivers are crazy. I became a Blackhawks fan and will remain one as long as I like hockey.

It was an amazing time as a dream of mine became reality.

I was definitely living my dream.

I loved the mask included with this kit! I love the arrows and directional symbolism they give the layout. I liked using them for bits of journal type words and to show how actually getting off your tushy and moving is what makes your dreams come true.

I will say, sometimes the reality of our dreams are not how we envision them. Chicago ended up blowing my mind. I grew in my character and found out how much more I'm capable of. I still love that city and am so thankful for the experience.

However, sometimes dreams and reality shift. I've been back in my pacific northwest hometown for a little over a year now. I'm so happy to be back and have some incredible memories to ponder from my two years as a big city girl. 

What about you? What dreams are you or have you made reality? Why not grab our current kit LIVE YOUR DREAM and create about it! Your heart and soul will thank you.

Behind the Art with Melissa

I am very aware that I'm a dreamer. I'm constantly living in a state of visualizing my future or dreaming up ideals of scenarios that could or should happen. It's part of who I am. In the past, it was an escape. Now, I use it to catapult myself and launch into stepping out and making those dreams reality. 

It can be lots of fun.

It can be extremely frustrating.

But, it's me and I've learned to embrace it and value it.

I really wanted to use this kit to it's full potential. When I saw the patterns from the Pinkfresh Studio papers, I loved all the movement. It reminded me of my dreams and how random and chaotic they can be. But, strangely enough, in the midst of that chaos, there is order too.

I grabbed the paper with the large lines and used that for the backdrop. Sure, it adds a bit of chaos but, to me, lines symbolize stability and direction. Then, I added the layer of circles. I cut strips of them from the pattern paper to layer behind my photo. Circles remind me of bubbles and bouncy balls. They are all over the place. But, someone usually catches one. Right? The same with my dreams... and how I make them reality.

Stars were a fun element to bring into this page. Something I've really grabbed onto is that my dreams are part of who I am. And I've gained confidence in myself so, the natural thing to do is SHINE. (Hey! Like our kit last month!) Plus, don't you think of the stars and the moon and all kinds of dreamy nightscapes when it comes to the theme of DREAM? 

So, am I livin' the dream right now? I think I'm living a dream that I couldn't have come up with on my own. My life is pretty awesome right now and I'm enjoying every minute of it. It far exceeds my dreams. 

Grab an August LIVE YOUR DREAM kit, from Inside Out Visual Journaling, today! Explore and express your inner thoughts, dreams, hopes, desires and loves. It's easy. It's amazing. It's healing. 

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 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.

Welcome Guest Designer: Heather Adams

Hi there! 

I'm Heather Adams, a 20 year old college student. I am currently going to school for graphic design, and I love it. I love documenting the little things in life. I enjoy making just about anything you can create with paper-- cards, layouts, Project Life pages, you name it! Besides scrapbooking, I enjoy traveling, shopping, and photography. I also have a 16-year-old sister that I love doing things with. 

Right now, I can truly say that I am happy with my life. I used to have a lot of anxiety and sadness over how events in my life were turning out, but now I can honestly say that I am happy. Not much as changed, but I think my attitude has. And of course I couldn't resist putting a photo on my page of me holding scrapbook supplies! Because, hey, that makes me super happy too.

I used the stencil included in this month's kit for the "happy" in my title. I colored it in with the Cracked Pistachio distress marker. You can tell that it looks a little like watercolors. So how did I do that, you might ask? I colored on a clear acrylic stamping block with the marker and then picked up the color with my waterbrush. After that, I filled in the letters through the stencil with the ink. After I colored the letters, I went around each one with the fine tip of the Cracked Pistachio marker. That color is so pretty and so is the stencil!

My favorite embellishment on this page is the large geotag card. I added the sticker that says "where I want to be" and I think it's just perfect. Yes, being happy is right where I want to be. The little "happy camper" tab was perfect too, I thought.

Visit Heather:

Blog: http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004174548395
Instagram: http://instagram.com/heatherphotochic
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/heathera17/

Behind the Art with Melissa

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I am so in love with the June kit! Not only does it have awesome product from Crate Paper and Simple Stories but, I love the subject... I AM.

The sky is the limit for where I want to take this. Here is one of my pages using the kit:

I love the thought of leaving pages with journaling for others to read. My imagination runs wild with who might come across my albums years from now. So, this one I'm leaving a note about me being... FUN. Because I am. I fly my dork flag proudly, as you can see in the photo I used.

I was inspired by the glitter letters in my kit. The minute I saw the word FUN, I thought, "Hey! That's me!"

I did some layering with the elements and really utilized the gold. I think that when it comes to pieces of our personality, they are valuable to who we are. And I wanted to exude that with the embellishments.

Arrows lead the eye around my page and the feathers symbolism carefree to me. I love the idea of being a beautiful feather, floating in the breeze, loving life and all it has to offer.

Thanks for swinging by today! 

Are you ready to dive into one our journaling kit? Head over to Inside Out to grab yours now!