New Year, New Uni

Christmas has barely been put to bed, and yet the gyms already have their new year's resolutions commercials in heavy rotation and I just couldn't resist borrowing from an old gym tag line for my post header.  The new year is about fresh starts and for many of us that includes exercising our bodies after an indulgent holiday season.  At Flying Unicorn we have some exciting changes lined up for you starting in January to help stretch your creative muscles.  And unlike those gyms plastered all over my TV, we still do not require you to sign a pesky contact here at Flying Unicorn.  Purchase the kits or products that appeal to you, pass on the rest.  We're still the same great store, kit of the month club and online community, but for 2013 we're bringing you even more awesomeness.

I can't let you in on all of the changes we have in store - keep checking back for all the details - but I can let you in on one new monthly challenge debuting in January: Art Journaling.

What exactly is art journaling?  Art journaling is one of the freest forms of papercrafting; it is all about personal expression and experimentation.  There is no right and wrong, so grab any supplies you have on hand - inks, mists, paints, gesso, stencils, markers, pencil crayons, stamps, Gelatos, magazines, scraps of paper, masking tape, canvas - literally anything you have can be used to create in an art journal.  You don't even need a journal (though if you'd like to pick one up we have 4 or 5 arriving in the Flying Unicorn store early next week); pages can easily be cut from cardstock and covers fashioned out of chipboard.

The Creative Team member hosting the challenge will provide an inspiration piece every month; you are welcome to use the mediums and techniques they did or strike out on your own and do something that resonates with you.

Here are a couple pages from my various journals to inspire you:



Some masking, drawing and stamping along with luscious Dylusions sprays were used on the page above.  The pocket on the right holds tags that I've used to try out different techniques - I write what I did on the back and any suggestions I have for how to improve the technique the next time.



Dylusions, stamping, doodling, masking with gesso, coloring with Copics.

I'm have another inspiration piece up my sleeve using canvas, making tape and hot glue that will debut with the January Art Journal challenge - I hope you'll join us in the Flying Unicorn Forum and play along!  I can't wait to see what you create!