Are You A Snooper? Redact That!

The first time I ever heard someone use the term "redacted", I was clueless as to what he was implying.  Finally, after the third use of the word, I said, "do you mean 'retract'?"  He kind-of paused, and finally realized that he'd been speaking a foreign language to me.  "No," he said.  "Redacting is editing a document so that it can be viewed by the public without revealing sensitive information to the wrong people."  Or something like that.  I don't really remember word-for-word. 

I have to say, now that I know what redact means, my thirst for knowing what is under that black mark is nearly unquenchable.  As you would suspect, I often go on without any further knowledge, but on occasion, when I get lucky, I am able to snoop far enough to find out what it says.

This brings us to our first challenge of the month.  Are you the type of person who Must Know?  Does Curiosity drive you to find the answers and if the answers are readily available to you give up or do you dig in deeper and try to find a way to get the answer?  Or are you the type of person who prefers not to know... allowing that to be "redacted" and blacked out for you?

Here's our first challenge:

I don't want to know: Are there things that you'd rather stay in the dark about -where you might be curious but are afraid of what you might learn? Did curiosity really kill the cat...can you (or have you been) too curious and gotten in trouble? Perhaps a little internet snooping...anyone? Be honest...
Please create a layout, mixed media creation or art journal page about a situation where you've searched for something you'd rather not have, or something you don't want to know about...and for the design twist black something out FBI style.

I would LOVE to see what you come up with... that is, if you don't mind me snooping into your thoughts.  :)  Please share it with us in our gallery or link it up in the comments below to your blog or photo sharing site!

Happy snooping (or redacting)!

Behind the Scenes with Diana Brodeur

Hello everyone. Diana here to share with you a behind the scenes look at one of my layouts from this month's Curiosity kit.

  

What prompted you to pick this take on curiosity ?

I dug into a past memory for this layout. I loved when my grandmother and mom baked goodies and how the kitchen smelled when the cakes or cookies were baking. When I was 16 I wanted to try and bake a goodie of my own. It was a total flop but it did not sate my curiosity for baking. Years later and lots of practice, I finally have the baking thing down pad!

Why did you choose this photo?

This is a picture of one of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. It took me lots of attempts and various recipes to satisfy my curiosity of the perfect texture and flavor.

How do you feel about the message of your layout?

I feel it conveys my curiosity for baking and learning new recipes. It's something that I hope my daughters are curious once they get older.

What symbolism did you pull into your design?

The flower symbolizes my growth in baking. Tell us a little bit about how you feel now that you have "let it all out" on this page. I am happy that I documented this little tid bit about my past. It's something that I don't want to forget. I want my kids to know that it is ok to try new thing and that practice makes perfect.

 

So....what IS an art journal?

One of my design teammates mentioned in our forums that she didn't feel like she could do art journaling, and didn't like the way it looked when she did it. This got me thinking...."wait a minute! no one should feel like that!" So, let's back up a bit. What exactly IS an art journal? Why should we do it?

From Wikipedia:

Art diary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An art diary, art journal or visual journal is a daily journal kept by artists, often containing both words 

and sketches, and occasionally including Mixed media elements such as collages. Such books will frequently 

contain rough workings, in cartoon form, of ideas later to appear in finished works, 

as well as acting as a normal diary, by allowing the artist to record their day-to-day activities and emotions.

From an article by the fabulous Dina Wakley:

(this is a great article and her book Art Journal Freedom is awesome!)

"Simply put, an art journal is a journal in which you combine art and words to express yourself. 

That’s it. It’s not complex, and there really aren’t any rules for art journaling.

 It’s all about self-expression.

...I think artists (and that means you) all have different reasons for keeping journals. 

The reasons are very personal and individual, and could include:

• To experiment with art techniques & ideas.
• To get your thoughts & feelings out on paper in a creative way.
• To document your life, your being.
• To enjoy the process of creating."

There are countless ways to do this and bazillions of resources available. I hate to see someone feel 
like they can't art journal because their work doesn't look like someone else's. Guess what? It's not
 supposed to! I have been keeping some kind of a journal or diary since I was a kid and started art 
journaling about five years ago. 

Even now, my art journal pages look extremely different from one another, depending on how I am feeling, 

what technique I am trying, whose style I'm trying to emulate, etc. 

Here's a smattering of my art journal pages from 2008-now:

The deal is, there are no "rules" or certain ways an art journal "should look". 

They are for you to use in whatever way you want! 

Do you still have questions? Want to know more? Leave us some comments and 

we'll do our best to answer them in future posts!!

(all images are mine and can be found on my FLICKR pages)

(a quick google search or search on pinterest for "art journal" can bring up 

TONS of resources and examples!)

Edited to add: Ronda Palazzari has a great article up today,  as well!

Thanks for reading!! Join us over in the forums!

xo

Play With Me...

We're all about providing you as much inspiration as possible.  Today I'd love to play a game.  Let's play Name That Tune.  For every topic, we pull some songs together for musical inspiration.  I've pulled some lyrics from some of those songs... can you name them? 

"I shouldn't love you but I want to, I just can't turn away, I shouldn't see you but I can't move, I can't look away.  And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not, 'cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop."

"Somewhere on a desert highway she rides a Harley-Davidson.  Her long, blonde hair flying in the wind."

"There may come a day when we have nothing left to say.  When conversation stops, we're facing our defeat, I'll be next to you and you'll be right there next to me."

"Baby, I know you're wondering why I won't go over to your place.  Cause I'm not too sure about how I feel, so I'd rather go at my own pace."

"You gave me this beating baby, this rhythm inside.  And you made me feel good and feel nice and feel loved, give me paradise."

Stuck?  Curious but can't make out the answers?  Head on over to our Inspiration page and listen to our playlist for both answers and inspiration!

Weekend Warmup: Let Me Ask You a Question

One of the key elements of the type of scrapbooking/art journaling/creative expression we foster at SFTIO is THE QUESTION. 

Think of it this way...if I told you we were going to spend the month making art about CURIOSITY, would you know where to start? It's hard to jump in and get going. Even asking yourself the question, "what am I curious about" might leave you with more confusion than crafting. It's too open ended.

In comes THE QUESTION.

Some call them prompts. Or journaling starters. Or challenges. I call them the place where the rubber meets the road. 

Every month I prepare a list of questions that I'd like to answer - things that are on my mind. Hmmm...maybe that's not exactly right. They're the questions I want to answer and the ones I fear answering. That's where the good stuff is...

'The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek' - Joseph Campbell

Here's a prompt from this month's CURIOSITY Inspiration Page that's especially touchy for me...which is why I NEED to answer it.

I don't want to know: Are there things that you'd rather stay in the dark about - where you might be curious but are afraid of what you might learn? Did curiosity really kill the cat...can you (or have you been) too curious and gotten in trouble? Perhaps a little internet snooping...anyone? Be honest...

There are some people in my life, past and present, about whom it would be better for me to avoid 'studying'. I'm not proud of it, but I've been guilty of making my own life more difficult by prying into areas where I'd really do better with less information.

In our Facebook/Twitter/Google/Instagram world it's WAY TOO easy to learn things that should be private...and that in the end do nothing but cause us to relive past wounds, feel bad about ourselves or create unflattering comparisons that injure us.

So why have I done those things? Have you? I bet...I've yet to meet someone who hasn't looked up an old flame, or a nemesis. 

Perhaps if I spend some time creating a LO about exactly WHY I have let myself get pulled into old stories and what-ifs, I'll be less inclined to do it in the future. Perhaps I can anchor the idea that my life, as it is, is exactly as it should be. Perhaps. No promises. :)

Want to join me on my quest for honest expression? It's my mission in life to inspire you to do so, and in doing so, to free you to be the most authentic YOU. 

Do it on your own, with us on our Message Board or best of all, with our CURIOSITY kit. We've just got a couple left...and this kit (featuring Allison Kreft's Composition and Color line for Webster's Pages and Cosmo Cricket's Sweet Disposition among other fresh and fabulous finds) will give you the perfect color, design and symbolism to tell your story. Grab it HERE.

There are 4 more deep questions to answer on the CURIOSITY Inspiration Page...and many more in your heart that I haven't thought of. Share them with us here on the blog or on our boards, and I hope you spend some time this weekend exploring what you're most CURIOUS about.

Warmly, 

Behind the scenes with Nicole Martel

Hi everyone. Nicole here. Today I want to share with you a little about how I created this layout... I'm going to share my thought process and the emotions I had while creating this layout.

What prompted you to pick this take on curiosity?

At first, I wasn’t sure what to scrap. When I think of curiosity I think of being nosey and asking questions etc. So while I was thinking about what to scrap about, I started thinking of my grandmother. I spent a great deal of my time with her when I was younger, but I never really got to know her beside being my “momom” and being the best person I knew. I loved her dearly… I remember one day when I was about 7-8 asking her how old she was and she told me that it didn’t matter… so I guess that stopped me from asking about what she used to do for a living, or what ever happened to pop? Or what did she like to do besides watch The Price is Right and Jepardy. All of these years later, I still wonder.

Why did you choose this photo?

It’s my favorite photo of the two of us. I was 19 and this was taken at my high school graduation party.

How do you feel about the message of your layout?

It was very emotional seeing her face while I scrapped this layout… but I’m glad I did it. It feels good to remember the times I had with her even if I never got the chance to get to know her “inside and out”. What symbolism did you pull into your design? I used some flowers and butterflies because they make me happy and remind me of her. Tell us a little bit about how you feel now that you have "let it all out" on this page. I’m sad, but glad that I documented this…

The Curious Sides of Curiosity

So, as I was preparing for our newest topic, exploring the different synonyms of Curiosity, I was struck by all of the curious aspects of curiosity.  Seriously... it can mean quite differently depending on its application!  As one of my favorite childhood characters once expressed, "Curiouser and Curiouser..." 

Now it's your turn.  Begin to get inspired with the Curiosity synonyms below.  What do you think?  Do any reach out and grab you?  Make you laugh?  Arch an eyebrow in curiosity?  :)  Share with us what you think!

Click to Enlarge