30 Journals in 30 Days Overdrive

My friend Connie, at Dirty Footprints Studio, has spent the whole month bringing us interviews of 30 great Art Journal artists. I was so happy learning so much from so many great artists - but then she extended the offer to everyone!

So....here's my self-interview!!

--How long have you been Art Journaling?

Less than a year! I stumbled upon art journaling in a bookstore, and picked up Diana Trout's Journal Spilling book. I was hooked immediately!

I have been a scrapbooker since 1996, and stamper for a long time; but this was the crown jewel for me. I absolutely love a craft that can incorporate any style AND accept our mental clearinghouse of issues. It's so very cleansing!! We've known this intrinsically since we were children, but we abandoned it when we left school as part of our childhood. NOT SO.

--How has Art Journaling impacted, changed, or enhanced your life?

It's been amazing. We just went through a rough period and a lot of change in our lives, and art journaling helped me get through all the stress and change. It also has allowed me to meet some wonderful people who have enriched my life! I really believe art journaling is great therapy, and a LOT cheaper than a therapist!

--What are a few of your favorite Art Journaling materials to use?

Wow...I love so many things! Probably my top two are Ranger distress inks and modeling paste. I'm a very textural journaler, so I love to incorporate "touchables". I'm also moving into the realm of needle felting, so I anticipate incorporating that medium soon. I also love bringing in other aspects of my life of crafting like beading, sewing, stamping, embossing (dry and heat), and fabric to the art journal. I also take requests. If you're wanting to do something, but you're unsure how, ask me to do it for you!!

--Who are some of your favorite Art Journalers?

There are so many! I hate to list them because I know I will miss somebody who is very important, just not in my head at the moment. I first learned about Art Journaling from Diana Trout's book, Journal Spilling. I began my adult crafting life as a scrapbooker, but I have moved far beyond that craft. Here is a partial list:


Diana Trout, Effy Wild, Samantha Kira, Jonathan (Blade), Deina, Paula, Juriaan, Connie, Willowing (Tam), Milliande, Natalie Malik, Kerri Love, Danny Gregory and so many more!

--What kind words of encouragement would you say to an Art Journal newbie?

There is no "wrong" in this sport! Dive in, immerse yourself. Play. Experiment. Lose all fear and just be. You are your worst judge and critic, so divorce yourself from your inner critic. Let the critic worry about the dishes.


Me? I actually shot my critic. He doesn't even get to comment on my lack of household management!

--Where can we contact you...give us some link LOVE!!

My primary blog: http://bunnynest.blogspot.com/
My recipe blog: http://scrapsrecipes.blogspot.com/
My design teams: Oh Alice!, All Things Unity
My Flickr: Scrapacat
Twitter: Scrapacat
Facebook: Kyra Sanders (or Scrapacat)
Various Ning's - Scrapacat
Running around any given local track or road.

--Short Bio.

Kyra is a retired wildlife biologist, federal enforcement agent, and wildland firefighter who has lived all around the US. She enjoys caring for her squad of rescued animals, crafting arts, photography and reading. A past semi-professional bowler, she enjoys almost every sport and has played many of them. She also runs, despite her disability. She is an advocate for self-health management, great home cooking, and auto-immune disease education.

CHAPTER 24: Windows and Broken Glass...

`Now tell me, Pat, what's that in the window?'


`Sure, it's an arm, yer honour!' (He pronounced it `arrum.')


`An arm, you goose! Who ever saw one that size? Why, it fills the whole window!'


`Sure, it does, yer honour: but it's an arm for all that.'


`Well, it's got no business there, at any rate: go and take it away!'


There was a long silence after this, and Alice could only hear whispers now and then; such as, `Sure, I don't like it, yer honour, at all, at all!' `Do as I tell you, you coward!' and at last she spread out her hand again, and made another snatch in the air. This time there were TWO little shrieks, and more sounds of broken glass. `What a number of cucumber-frames there must be!' thought Alice. `I wonder what they'll do next! As for pulling me out of the window, I only wish they COULD! I'm sure I don't want to stay in here any longer!'

Hello friends...it's CRYSTAL CLEAR that today you're all joining us for a fabulous challenge here at Oh, Alice! We have all sorts of lovely techniques for you to try today!

Your mission today with Oh, Alice, should you choose to accept it, is to try a technique using cracked glass, crystal effects (or glossy accents), or a window stamp/technique. There are TONS of possibilities with today's challenge and we are SO ready to see all of the fabulous creations you enter!

Be sure to link your project to the Oh Alice blog so we can leave you some LOVE!!

Ta for now - CHA pictures coming and an announcement!

~ky

Baby Now!!

We have so much going on this week!!

FIRST!!

We’d love to welcome

Savannah O’Gwynn to the team.

She’s amazing in her talent and we’re go glad she’s joining us.

SECOND!!

Have you thought about wanting to join us?

Would you like to be a Guest Designer?

All you have to do is play along with us this week.

Post your creation and we’ll choose a Guest Designer.

Can’t wait to see what everyone creates.

Wanna know the challenge?

Elizabeth, one of our fellow addict’s let us use one of her sketches.

 
So, here's my stab at the sketch. I hope you like it. I used several different pieces of Unity. One of my favorite things about Unity is how nicely all the sets play together!
 

(click to enlarge)

And a different view:

This was made using Basic Grey papers, some distress inks, a little bling, some distressing and a little copper embossing powder. Love this! Hard to read the sentiment - it's You Give Me Happy Butterflies!

Now - go find your Unity and stamp it out! Don't forget to link your project up at All Things Unity's blog!

Ta for now, ~ky

CHAPTER 22: Dancing under the Sea...

"Will you walk a little faster?" said the whiting to the snail;
"There's a porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle, will you come and join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you-WILL you join the dance?"

Hello everyone! Greetings from here in Wonderland...or maybe today it's UNDERland? As in Under the Sea, perhaps ;)So, today's challenge involves all things sea-worthy and we at Oh, Alice are challenging YOU to create a card or project using sea life! Turtles, whales, dolphins are fabulous as are other sea creatures as in merfolk and those deep, dark creatures you sometimes hear about but seldom see.... the possibilities are as endless as the ocean itself!

We also have a FUN prize for you this week! One lucky winner will receive a Sweet Pea Rubber Stamp courtesy of Oh, Alice! These stamps are large and BEAUTIFULLY detailed and we just happened to have one 'swimmin' around!' Will YOU be the lucky winner? ;)


Here is my sample. She's comprised of a lot of technical work, bundled into a very small size. I really used my gem-viewing glasses for this:

I used Ching-Chou Kuik's Silk Dance stamp. I started with Ranger Distress inks, and stamped my Silk Dance over it. Then I filled in the areas of the mermaid with titanium white acrylic paint. I highlighted areas with Smooch, gold. Here's a little different shot:

When you use Copic markers over acrylic paints, it takes a lot longer to dry. There's lots of time to "push" ink around, so it can look like watercolors when you wiggle markers or dot them along. I loved experimenting and learning with my adorable Sweet Pea stamps! This is an Artist Trading Card, 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Be sure to upload your card or creation on the Oh Alice! challenge blog! You have until Friday, July 23rd at 8pm CST to enter the challenge, so have fun and we'll see you back next week! Enter your submission to be considered for the prize! If you are uploading to a public gallery, be sure to include keyword OAC22. Thanks and enjoy the summer, sun, and sea!

Ta for now! ~ky

CHAPTER 21: Breaking All the Rules...

"At this moment the King, who had been for some time busily writing in his note-book, cackled out 'Silence!' and read out from his book, 'Rule Forty-two. ALL PERSONS MORE THAN A MILE HIGH TO LEAVE THE COURT.'

Everybody looked at Alice.


'I'M not a mile high,' said Alice.


'You are,' said the King.


'Nearly two miles high,' added the Queen.


'Well, I shan't go, at any rate,' said Alice: `besides, that's not a regular rule: you invented it just now.'

'It's the oldest rule in the book,' said the King.

'Then it ought to be Number One,' said Alice. "

Hello everyone!

Today we have a fun and rather rebellious challenge for all of you out there in WONDERLAND! We start out with a lovely sketch by Sammi:

The catch? You must RE-CREATE this sketch somehow. Switch out a panel or two, flip it on its side, upside down, etc. There are no rules except to break them, meaning you can't follow the sketch exactly! Makes no sense right? GOOD. :)

Today we also are thrilled to announce another wonderful sponsorship from SPESCH DESIGNER STAMPS! Thank you so much to Tracey Feeger for allowing the DT to work with your adorable images! Tracey is offering a prize of a VERY generous $10 Gift Certificate to the Spesch Designer Stamps Store! Be sure to check out all of her cute designs and be sure to play along this week for your chance to WIN!

Go ahead...BREAK all the rules...you KNOW you want to!

Here is my sample for the amazingly Twisted Tea party:

{click to enlarge - it sparkles!}

I used Ranger distress inks to create the background for Cheshire to disappear into, and spritzed it with glimmermist to create that magical sparkle! A litte embossing, some Copic work, and a dusting of perfect pearls over the embossed sentiment completed the card. I put an evil TWIST on Sammi's sketch!

You have until Friday, July 16th at 8pm CST to enter to win! Post your project on the Oh Alice! challenge blog! Good luck and be sure to link your creation below! Ta-ta for now all you rebels out there!

Ta for now! ~ky

Big News!!

The big release day is here!! Congrats to my Stamping Idol, Shannon, on the release of her new stamp line!! Woohoo you go girl!! I love these new images. They are unlike anything I've ever seen before - bold, modern, manly! And the sentiments that go with them? Divine, flirty, smart!

I'm so happy that Shannon asked me to help promote her new line. Digital stamps have such interesting possibilities! Here, check out my project:

{click to enlarge, yes, that's a kitty butt}

I printed this out and colored it up with my Copic markers. I love how there's enough to color, if you want, and it's design is great if you want to keep it simple and straight. I created a background paper to bring in the sea and sun using Ranger's distress inks, and some glimmermist from Tattered Angels. Love doing that!

Simple accents, some twine, some texture - this will be my Dad's birthday card. You remember those guys, right? Think maybe they don't appreciate stuff like this? Have you ever sent flowers to a man, and hid around the corner watching? Sent my Dad some carnations one year when I couldn't be home for his birthday. I figured he'd "poo-poo" them and they would just default to Mom....welllll...she called me later when he was out mowing, and told me he snipped one of those carnations off and wore it in the buttonhole of his shirt to have coffee with his buddies. Had I been home when he got those? Well, the male ego is a fragile thing!

Alrighty - enough rambling. Pop over to Shannon's blog or store to check out the other things she has and her opening special! And, don't forget to visit Mary to see her awesomeness!! Yay Shannon!!!

Ta for now! ~ky

Art and Peeks

Good day to all my lovely readers!! Something a little different here - I'm sharing some art journaling work, and I have a little teaser for you! First, a journal page:

{click to enlarge}

I'm involved in a website hosted by Milliande - a wonderfully artistic lady who created a Ning site that is open only to women and their art. It's fabulous, and nothing against the guys, but sometimes, the gals need a place of their own.

We're doing a journal page swap. We wanted to do a circle journal, but didn't want the expense of mailing journals all over the world and risk them being lost or damaged. Instead, we complete 2 pages each month, send those in to our hostess, and then she swaps them and mails pot-luck art from the other participants back out. It's wonderful fun!

The prompt for this page is "Because". My journaling says: "Because there were starving children in Africa, we cleaned our plates at dinner. I often wondered why we didn't just send them our food. Especially the green beans. I shed many a tear and lost a lot of play time alone at the dinner table over that one rule, and one particular item. My NEMESIS! The green bean! Today, I'm all grown up and I've raised my son. He's a good eater and never once heard about the starving kids in Africa at the dinner table."

It's a memory of mine, and a painful one. I'm not deriding the plight in Africa (and elsewhere with malnurished children), just remembering the agony over one vegetable. Surprisingly, I love green beans now. >^..^<

Now for something completely different! A friend of mine is beginning a new venture. She's creating a brand new line of stamps and I am so very honored that she's asked me to help promote it. Yippee!!! I don't want to steal any of her thunder, so I'll just give you a snippet. We're going to do the big reveal next weekend (keep an eye out starting Friday) and I think you're really going to enjoy the versatility of these images!

Are you ready? Really ready? Ok, here's your peek!

Ideas? What could it be? I know you're going to love this new line. It's very modern and bold. Come on back later this week to check it out. Don't forget the Alice in Wonderland challenge on Saturday, some Unity goodness on Sunday, and another art project (journal or zentangle) somewhere in all this too.

Ta for now! ~ky

CHAPTER 20: In MY Country...

"Well, in our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else -- if you ran very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."


"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

(Through the Looking Glass, Chapter 2)

Hello, friends! Can you believe July is here already? Such a fun time of year for summer fun...parades, BBQ's, you name it...it's THAT time of year!

To honor our country's Independence day, with the 4th being right around the corner, we have a PATRIOTIC theme for you today! WONDERLAND has gone red, white, and blue! Yep, that's right!

Call it inspiration, a color challenge....I guess it's really both! Your mission this week is to use RED, WHITE and BLUE on your card or project! In addition we have a WONDERFUL Sponsorship opportunity today. Thank you SO much to EMILY from EAD Designs! Emily has graciously offered the DT some wonderful Alice-themed stickers to use for our projects today (unfortunately our international friends didn't get theirs in time, but hopefully we'll have stuff to show you soon!).

ONE LUCKY WINNER will receive a WONDERFULLY GENEROUS gift certificate to the EAD Designs Store! Just get your red, white and blue on and ENTER your card here to win!

Before we get to this week's challenge, we have a few FUN announcements to make! Sadly we say goodbye to Jimmi this week. We thank her for all her wonderfully twisty designs and will miss her at the tea table here. We are THRILLED to announce at the same time, that Lynne Phelps has accepted a FULL TIME position here right at our twisted table. Lynne's designs TOTALLY WOW'd us as our June Guest Designer and well, some things are JUST SO Alice that they're meant to be! WELCOME LYNNE!

Also, as today is the first challenge of July, a BIG TWISTY welcome to EMMA EADS, our JULY GUEST! We are very excited to have her on board with us for the month of July. Be sure to stop by her BLOG and give her a shout out!

Here's my inspiration for YOU:

{click to enlarge}

I had so much fun working on this card. I cannot tell you how nice it feels to actually have a functional studio again! It's not entirely sorted and settled, however, but it is getting there! I made a Tim Holtz-style flower for the lower right corner (painted the rose red with acrylic paint on white cardstock), painted a thin coat of white acrylic paint on the lower left and stamped a sentiment from a Gina K Designs' set. I used Tim Holtz's stamp across the top, and to make the chatting pansy in the middle (love adding googly eyes!!). The papers are Gina K and Basic Grey.

You have until Friday, July 9th at 8pm CST to enter to WIN the gift certificate from EAD Designs! Good luck and have a safe and wonderful US holiday, everyone!

Ta for now! ~ky

Check back later - I have an announcement (with a peek), and a different type of project!