Guest Host Sumaiyah

 Namaste! I am Sumaiyah but you will find me on the web also as Dymonz. Oh! And you may stumble upon my alter ego -- Kymberleigh Anne -- which is my pen name. You see...I'm a creative being. I write (novels, short story, poetry -- mostly creative non-fiction). I create mixed media art -- journals, individual pages, canvas paintings, scrapbooks (yes! they are mixed media too!!). And I get to combine those two passions into one -- ART JOURNALING!!! What more is there to want in life? 

 TWO PLACES YOU GET JOURNALING INSPIRATION FROM: 1) The many art journaling workshops/classes that I am constantly signing up for. 2) Trolling YouTube for techniques and other art journaling ideas. 

WHAT YOU FIND TOUGHEST TO JOURNAL ABOUT I find journaling about my personal demons/a great heartache that I have suffered is really hard for me. However, it is those very things that need to be gotten out and turned into beauty. That's why I art journal... 

WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT (journal/techniques, etc.) Layering for depth. I want to learn the fine art of all of my layers "showing through" the finished page. To create depth and texture with layers... 

 ARE YOU PUBLISHED? HAVE OTHER BRAGS? I hope to be published soon. But just like the lottery -- I gotta submit for a chance to "win!" Just as soon as I get some things submitted hopefully I'll be able to tick this off the checklist. However, I am the owner of a successful scrappin' venue called the Stampin' Dymonz Scrap Shack located in Baltimore, MD. It is a place where I host regular crops and classes and tutorials for up to 12 women at a time. The Scrap Shack has an online community -- the Village -- of over 200 women who come together for scrappin', card making, mixed media, and other paper crafts. 

YOUR WEB SITE OR BLOG Art Journal Love Studio 

THREE UNKNOWN THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF 
1. I do absolutely no housework -- hubby is "the man!" and does it all himself. I simply art... 
2. Divorced twice, married thrice. Don't play with me! 
3. I was supposed to stop growing my locs once they reached my waist. They're below the bottom of my butt and still going... 

WHAT YOU HOPE TO GET FROM A YEAR IN THE LIFE To hone my goal of art journaling daily and to be able to share the amazing healing power of art journaling with many others. To circle with likeminded women on a journey to their true inner self and making their way using creativity. 

WHAT YOU HOPE TO GIVE TO A YEAR IN THE LIFE Encouragement and uplift. Support and inspiration. Smiles and hugs and all sorts of love! I hope to become well known as "The Enabler" -- helping to enable folks to embrace their creative selves and to stop denying the creative passions that lie within. 

ONE THING YOU WISH YOU HAD LISTENED TO THAT WOULD HAVE GOTTEN YOU STARTED IN JOURNALING SOONER. Don't let the bitterness of others block the blessings of art for myself. A bad experience with 3 scrappers made me walk away from all things creative at the end of 2011. I should have listened to my Muse lllllooooonnnnnggggg ago when she kept telling me to stop letting those 3 bickering biddies steal my joy. 

MY ART JOURNAL Which one? I have about seven that I'm working on at the same time ;-) I have altered two books -- encyclopedia size -- for different journals. One for "scrappin'" the history of President Barack Obama as he leads our country, and one for my MOM Journal (MAP Of Memories Journal), my personal daily journal. I have a hand bound journal made from watercolor paper and canvas that I use almost daily. And the rest are Canson XL Mixed Media spiral bound journals in various sizes for various classes I am taking throughout the year. Oh -- I can't forget my single sheet journal! Single sheets of 9 x 12 watercolor paper that will be bound at the end of the year into one volume. 
~rachel
All images and content on this blog is copyright to Rachel Whetzel and Guest Hosts. Please give credit when sharing your art that is inspired here! Thank you so much!!