I’ve always loved the crisp feel of a piece of paper that has been written or painted on. At school I’d take and lift the corner of a written or painted page in my exercise book and create a repetitive wave action just to hear the crisp noise, the more firmly the page had been written on, the crisper the sound of the page would be! I know I’m a bit geeky and weird LOL!! After a canvas had been painted or a page journalled on I’d run my fingertips over it and explore how the texture of the paper had changed. As a child I was quite content with a notebook and any implement to create on it whether it be a pencil, pen or crayon, as long as I could write or doodle with it!

Summers were spent at my Grans in South Wales and I’d be so excited to wander down to the shop in her village shortly after arriving and purchase some pens or pencils, a notebook of some kind and a Pic n’ mix (a mixture of sweets in a paper bag for those of you that don’t follow and in those days a great Pic n’ mix was only ten pennies!) I’d be happy throughout the summer as long as I had my paper and pens!! The sweets wouldn’t last that long though!

My point is, that I love a blank canvas, I love creating, I love art and I love being able to creatively express my feelings and thoughts, and I know that you want this too. I am in a unique position because I can express myself artistically through Captivated Visions but that’s not enough for me. Many of you brought up the subject of, or questions relating to Art Journalling in my customer feedback survey. I know that you want to express your creativity aswell through Art Journalling or Mixed Media design but that you’re hesitant to start, you’re afraid that it will take up too much time or be too expensive or that it will be too difficult and you’ll get it wrong. I’ve had those same fears! I’m right there with ya!!

I don’t have the answers for you, but I did the next best thing I was chatting to my friend Melita Blake of Artful Fancies who is a Mixed Media Artist and loves to Art Journal, I asked her if I could interview her for a feature on my blog and being the loving sort she is of course she obliged

Tell us about yourself!!
My name is Lita, and I’m a 29 year old work at home mom of two gorgeous girls, living in Australia. I’ve been a scrapbooker for as long as I can remember, and started digital scrapbooking around 2007. I began designing  Digital Scrapbook Kits in 2009 and love it! I love the no mess creativity Digital Scrapbooking allows, for those times when you just dont have the time or energy to pull out scissors and glue and get messy. But on the other hand, there is a side of me that LOVES that messiness, and this is where art journalling comes in. It’s a big part of my life and I love that I am able to combine art journalling with my digi life.

How did it affect your life?

Art journalling has had a huge impact on my life. It’s an outlet for me – I often joke that it’s my therapy! It allows me to get my thoughts out onto paper, to get messy and creative and have fun. I’ve used art journalling to not only celebrate the good in life, but also to work through the harder times. It’s a big part of my life, and not a day goes by where I don’t do something related to it.

Could any newbie starting out or interested in art journaling with very basic (or no) supplies get started and start creating? What are the ‘must have’s?

Yes! Anyone can get started on art journalling, using just what you have around the house. I have completed pages using nothing but bakers twine, packing tape and felt tip pens. If you’re wanting to get started and are looking for the basic must haves, I would suggest:

A Journal – anything will do! Composition book, scrapbook, visual diary etc. You could make your own book or even just grab an old hardback from the thrift store.
Pens – again, any sort will do. I prefer to use a Pilot Permaball – it’s fade proof, permanent and writes on almost any surface.
Colour – something to add a bit of colour to your creations. This can be paint (cheap poster paint will do!), paper, ephemera, anything at all.
And that’s really all you need to get started.

Where would you encourage newbies to go to learn Art Journalling techniques? How did you learn everything  that you practice today?

The internet is an amazing source – you can google art journalling and you’ll be inundated with information. Pinterest is another fantastic source for inspiration – I find many ideas there myself! Check out the Artful Fancies forum over at ScrapOrchard where you’ll find hints and tips and videos that can help you to get started!

Playing With Paint, a Mixed Media Workshop Class available at Scrap Orchard is currently discounted to a special price, you can sign up right now for a limited time for under $10! It’s packed full of creative ways to use paint in your journals. And I’m in the planning stages of another class that gives a more comprehensive look at mixed media art journalling

What do you hope for people to be able to accomplish by taking your playing with paint class? Is this a good starting point for newbies interested in art journalling?

What I really want from these classes is to introduce others to art journalling. Corny as it may sound, it has changed my life, for the better, and I love that I am able to share that with others.

My Playing with Paint class is good for any level of artist, but especially for beginners. It includes many different techniques for using paint in your creations, showing just how many different looks you can achieve, despite using a limited amount of supplies.

Is Art Journalling a huge time commitment? Could creative peeps with a busy home and/or work life really get stuck into it?

Art journalling is as much of a committment as you want it to be. You can create busy full pages that you complete over time, or quick, simple pages that are done within just a few minutes. It’s the perfect artsy pursuit for time poor people!

To complete a whole journal seems daunting, for those who don’t Art Journal often, and are worried if they couldn’t complete a whole book (but really want to accomplish this at some stage) what advice would you give them?

The best advice I can give you is to just take your time. Treat your art journal as your own personal space – it is yours to do with what ever you want. Don’t set out with a goal of finishing a book, go into it with the aim to just relax, let go and enjoy yourself. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for FUN!

How long does it take for you to complete an Art Journal book and what do you do with them afterwards?

Hmm…this is a tough one, as I’ve never completely finished a book. I currently have 8 journals on the go – some with many complete pages, others with just a few. I jump between journals depending on my mood. Sometimes I want to work in a larger journal, other times I’m out and about so I take a small journal so I can art on the go. I keep my journals in a basket in my art studio, so I can look at them whenever I want to. I like to see just how much my style changes over time.

Do you create your Journals in theme or is each page random?

Each page in my journal is completely random. Since I use it as a diary of sorts, each page is dependant on my mood each day. If I’ve had a great day the pages are light and cheery. If I’m in a rough patch they’ll be darker, more intense. I just go with the flow and see what happens!

Who inspires you, can you share some favourite links with us?

I get my inspiration from many places, but four people in general inspire me – Donna Downey, Christy Tomlinson, Tim Holtz and Roben-Marie Smith. They each have very different styles and you’ll notice a definite influence from them all in my work.

Another great source of inspiration is Pinterest and Flickr. Do a Pinterest or Flickr search for art journalling, grab a coffee and settle in – you’ll quickly get lost in this amazing artsy world.

Mistakes are allowed right? What do you do if you mess up on a page?

YES! Some of my favourite pages are the result of so called ‘mistakes’. I try very hard not to trash a page and start over. If I don’t like the way something looks I will paint over it, cover it with some paper, disguise it in some way adn then just keep on going. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, and be prepared to embrace the ugly. There will be moments when you will look at your page and think ‘Ugh, this is not what I had in mind’. Be patient, perservere and just keep going.

Are there any trends in art journalling right now similar to how digital scrapbooking techniques and styles become ‘hot’ or popular?

I’ve not really noticed trends as such in art journalling. It’s very much a case of anything goes lol

I don’t know about you, but chatting to Lita helped me to realise that it’s only my own fear holding me back from getting creative! I shared a quote on Facebook the other day, ‘If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done’ And that is SO true. I’ve done it myself, and I know that you probably do it too. How many times have you been afraid to journal because of the fear it’s not going to ‘perfect’, how many times have you not recorded a memory because something wasn’t perfect? I’m taking Litas advice and I’m going to aim for fun and not perfection, I’m going to embrace the ugly and I’ll probably make mistakes, but I’ll be well on my way on a new journey and I feel it my heart it will have a happy ending!! I signed up for her Playing with Paint Workshop as my first stepping stone, it would be fun if you could join me! I’ll share my progress on the blog here!

When Lita showed me some of her creations I was blown away!! Check these out!!

The beauty in the mix of paint, newsprints, colour and emotion makes me giddy! Lita has also been creating some Digital Scrapbook Kits inspired from her love of Mixed Media and Art Journalling and she’s given me exclusive discounts to pass onto YOU!!

If you’re already creating Mixed Media Art or have been Art Journalling and you’re also a Digital Scrapbooker these kits are so fun to document your love for these art forms, or maybe you want to set some goals and scrap about your desires to get crafty, and art comes in all shape and sizes, these kits are also perfect for scrapping about love of art in any shape or size!

Art is My Comfort

Use Code: comfortLBD to save 35% off this Kit!! Expires: Jan 31st 2012
The coupon cannot be used on top of another sale or discount or with another coupon.

Here is a Digital Page that Lita created using her kit, some items included in this layout are not found inside the kit featured here.

And here’s one from me!

A Brand New Kit released this week, Art is Freedom!

Use Code: freedomLBD to save 35% off this Kit!! Expires: Jan 31st 2012
The coupon cannot be used on top of another sale or discount or with another coupon.
You will also get the Painty Bits Free with the purchase of this kit if bought before Friday 27th Jan 2012!!

Here’s a beautiful Digital Scrapbook page created by Lita with this kit!

I hope that this article has given you some resources and help to get started if this is something that you want to do, I’ll share my progress from Litas Playing with Paint Workshop and let you know how I get on!
Thanks for reading!

ScrapOrchard have a fun Digital Scrapbooking Contest Underway!!
Rumble in The Orchard!

Each team is made up of four Creative Team Members from one of the Orchard Girls.
The Captivating Sistas are representing Rumble In The Orchard and they are doing it in style!!!

Voting for Round One is now open!!  I’m so proud of these girls and their utterly stunning submission for Round One!!
The challenge was that each member had to scrap one layout, that included one word that best described themselves as an individual. BUT of course it wasn’t that simple!
They also had to ensure that each layout was part of a ‘whole’ so that all four layouts, work together to create something else!!

The Rumble will continue for a further three challenges and the winning team will be determined by an accumulative number of votes!! And you guessed it, the votes will come from YOU!!
Here is the Captivating Sistas Submission for Round One!! This is a perfect example of how my Sistas work in Unison and really are ‘ONE’!! Isn’t this beautiful?

All Pages are linked so you can leave some love for them and read which Captivated Visions Products were used to create these pages! We would really appreciate you supporting our team and voting, it just takes a second, simply choose ‘Captivating Sistas’  (13th down) and hit vote!!

These pages make me happy happy happy!!

Here is the team submission as the ‘Whole’

Lynns Page

Melissas Page

Nikkis Page

Tammys Page

Hey Peeps! Another week is flying by!
But I’m so excited because I have my first Digital Scrapbook Kit of the year for you
I had a wonderful reaction from you to the Sneak peek Giveaway so I’ve been anxiously awaiting revealing this in full to you today!!

Last year I selected two winners from the Anniversary Build A Kit contest and these lucky ladies won a custom kit! I’ve been working on (and tweaking) the first kit for several weeks since November and between the holidays, and working and tweaking some more , and working and tweaking and . . well you get the idea, it had to be just perfect

The A Way of Life  Collection was inspired by Yoga enthusiast and Digital Scrapbooker Marie F.
In her words “Yoga is the epitome of me-time for me!!”

The colour palette was carefully created from the same colours of Marie F’s Yoga clothes and then accented with plum and surrounded by earthy neutrals. But this Digital Scrapbook Kit goes beyond Yoga!! Whether you have created A Way of Life through Yoga itself, or from personal or spiritual growth and want to Scrapbook this, or just want to scrap your beautiful everyday moments, this serene kit is a perfect choice. And its large enough to use over and over again!

I really hope that this beautiful collection enables you to express in a creative way your love of yoga, or sense of wellbeing and spirituality, or maybe your desires and goals to get to that special place or make improvements to your life, because that’s why I created it! I’d love to learn to practice Yoga and lead a more healthy lifestyle, I’d also love to learn how to Meditate and find the inner peace that I crave so badly!

[Newsletter Subscribers] check your e-mail today before purchases for your extra 10% discount code!!
[Free Gift With all Purchases] Purchase A Way of Life Full Kit before Friday 27th Jan 2012 and get the A Way of Life Overlays FREE!!

A Way of Life [Full Kit]

A Way of Life [Trashed Papers]

A Way of Life [Overlays]

Here are some beautiful Digital Scrapbook pages from the Captivating Sistas and Honeybees and a VIP who frequents my Creative Team (wonder if you can guess who that is ) using a mixture of all parts from the A Way of Life Collection, I hope they inspire you to get creative!

The winner of Mondays Give-away that was chosen at random from all of the entries was  . . . Erika Harris!! Please e-mail me at designer @ captivatedvisions . co. uk (remove spaces) to claim your prize!

I’ll be back on Saturday with an uplifting and informative blog post about something that really makes me excited!
Q) Do you Meditate or practise Yoga? Have you already experienced the Inner Peace I crave? Lemme know in the comments so we can chat about it!! Or if you Scrap about it with this kit show me your layout!

Hey!! I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas Holiday!! Happy New Year to you all!!
2012 is going to be buzzing around Captivated Visions, you won’t want to miss a trick!!
Talking of .. if you’re not already .. you NEED to be signed up to my Newsletter!! Trust me on this!! Lots of fun NEW things to come!! Sign up Now
(you’ll also get a VIP Coupon in this weeks issue for my new kit!)

We are still working hard on our Website Upgrades and I have so many fun ideas planned out for the year!! I’ll be sharing them with you really soon! They are all with YOU in mind so I’ll know you will love them!

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Next up, I wanted to update you briefly about Digiscrap*apalooza 2012
This event is sponsored by ScrapOrchard and held in Vegas March this year!!
This is THE Event not to miss!! I have some EPIC news incase you didn’t already know!! I am flying 5,235 miles to see YOU!
Yes I will be at Digiscrap*apalooza Baby!! Check out all of the options in the store, there are so many classes available, and if you don’t want to take a class we have fun open Crops and lots of fun team events!! Check out our forum here with lots more fun and details! And if you have a friend you know is thinking about going, or you think would like to go, check the Refer a Friend Programme out!! You can earn up to $100 in credits towards classes!! There are still places left on my team but it’s a first request basis, so if you want to meet me in Vegas and be on my team get Registering!! I have a handy dandy coupon for you to save $20, feel free to share this coupon with your friends too!!

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Whilst you are waiting for my fresh fruit to hit my store, enjoy a 30% Discount!! Some Collaborations are excluded, the sale ends tomorrow at 11pm EST!!

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So talking of Fresh Fruit .. You’d like a peek of what I’ve been working on for you?
If you cast back to last year, I had some winners of a special Build A Kit contest and these lucky ladies won a custom kit! I’ve been working on (and tweaking) the first kit for several weeks between the holidays, and working and tweaking some more , and working and tweaking and . . well you get the idea, it had to be just perfect

This Fresh Fruit Collection was inspired byYoga enthusiast and Digital Scrapbooker Marie F. In her words “Yoga is the epitome of me-time for me!!” The colour palette was carefully created from the same colours of Marie F’s Yoga clothes and then accented with plum and surrounded by earthy neutrals. But this Digital Scrapbook Kit goes beyond Yoga, whether you have created A Way of Life through Yoga itself, or from personal or spiritual growth and want to Scrapbook this, or just want to scrap your beautiful everyday moments, this serene kit is a perfect choice. And its large enough to use over and over again!

Here’s your peek!

If You’d like to win these goodies I’d love it if you would play along in my Give-away, I’m excited to gift my new kit and coordinating extras to one of you!

To enter the Give-away:

1) Comment on this blog post once as your main entry (your comments always make me smile when you chat to me!)

2) If you’re not already, Sign up to my Newsletter and come back and leave an additional comment to this blog post to confirm you have signed up to the Newsletter.  You don’t need to comment again if you are already signed up. Lots of NEW stuff coming in the next few months, and if you don’t win this give-away you’ll get a VIP coupon in your news this week for extra savings!

3) Use the Green Tweet Button from this blog post to share this Give-away, if you can’t see the button click on the title of this blog post and it will appear (there is a bug that shows the button twice at the moment, sorry about that, either button should work!) Come back and leave an additional comment to this blog post to confirm you tweeted the Give-away. To ensure as many people as possible see your Tweet you might want to include #digiscrap at the end of your tweet!

4) Comment on this Facebook Post to help to share this Give-away and come back to this blog post and leave another comment to confirm that you commented on the  Facebook Post.

5) Finally, remember to come back to the blog Thursday Jan 19th for the full reveal of these products and the winners name along with details of how your prize can be claimed!

Blog comments require moderation, so don’t be alarmed when your comment doesn’t show up, I will need to approve them first

The Give-away ends at 5PM Tuesday Jan 17th!!
Comments posted after this time will be deleted and not counted.

Don’t forget my 30% sale ends tomorrow!

Good Luck!

Hey Peeps!!

I hope you are well, and getting prepared for the Holidays stress free!
I wanted to pop online today to give you an update about what’s happening with CV as I know I’ve been very quiet lately and you’ve probably noticed the lack of new product!!

You probably saw my other recent blog post that I was taking a break and went to visit my family in Ireland. I chose to take a mid December break as I won’t be seeing them over Christmas or for the New Year celebrations. I had a lovely time, it was really special to spend time with my Sister and Mum as I haven’t been able to see them as often as I’d like too this eyar, but I’ll be changing that in 2012 for sure and making sure I take extra trips over!

I went shopping with my sister (umm Friday, Saturday and Sunday . . .  ouch sore feet) who was trying to find a hair fascinator and some costume jewellery for a Christmas Wedding she is attending on Dec 22nd. We finally got her hair piece sorted out but she is still on the hunt for the perfect jewellery!

We attended the local pub quiz on Friday night (and won .. maybe I was their lucky mascot!!) and on Sunday we treated ourselves to a traditional Roast Dinner at a Carvery Restaurant. I had Beef and Turkey with all the trimmings and it was Yummo!!

Here we are at the Pub Quiz!

Monday I had my Mum to myself for the whole day for some proper bonding time We had fun just chilling out, I helped her with her grocery shopping, we listened to music, watched tele and I managed to sneak in some online Christmas Shopping while she did some knitting hehe.

So anyway, I wanted to update you about the Feedback Programme. Um WOW is all I can say!! Seriously, it was like bonding time with you guys!! I am so touched by the amount of you who answered my questions and gave me  feedback, left comments and suggestions. Um next year is going to be so busy!! Which is the reason for my lack of new releases lately (plus my mojo kinda took a hike . . . )

With family commitments, and finding time to buy Christmas Gifts and do other chores my online time, and design time has been very limited this month. I tried to stretch my schedule out as much as possible but it’s just not working out as planned. With so little days left now to Christmas I won’t be releasing any new kits anytime soon. Shortly after Christmas I will be away again visiting family to ring in the New Year, and so I won’t be able to get any more design time until the New Year.

The few days left I have to work next week I will be planning and scheduling new events and products for the New Year. I’ve been reading all of your comments and feedback (that took a looooong time!!) which will really help me to make the right plans and changes for next year. I have a lot of work to do!! And it can’t all be done at once. The Slow and Steady Snail always wins the race so I’ll keep you updated

You probably didn’t realise, but all of your individual answers to the survey do not get linked up with your name. Many of you commented and made personal suggestions and left me questions, so I can’t get back in touch with you. I will endeavour to cover answers and advice to all of your questions etc. via the Newsletter and Blog Posts through the coming year. If you need to ask me a question or get in touch with me please don’t hesitate to mail me!!

I’ll prepare some treats and gifts on the blog through December while I’m gone so I won’t be a stranger, I hope you have a fantastic holiday and are safe and warm, and together we will rock 2012!!

I have been working on a new Kit here and there which I will post a peek of really soon

Have a great day!!

Rachel xoxo

Hiya! Just a little note to let you know that I don’t have a new kit for you this week as I’ve been busy working on the Customer Feedback Survey (If you signed up you have until the end of today to complete it!) , I’ve also been planning for 2012 and prepping for the holidays.  I’m taking a few days off to visit my family so I’ll see you next week!

But before I go, If you missed my 50% sale last week or still have some bits and bobs on your wish list I have a gift for you

SAVE 30% in my store with Code: saveme30
Expires Dec 13th, Excludes Collaborations and can’t be used with another Sale, One per user.

I’ll post a Sneak Peek of the Kit I’ve been working on when I get back
See you soon!