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creative playground
november 2006
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in this issue
-- inside the studio
-- inspired by
-- trash to treasure
-- NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Greetings! This month?s creative playground is filed with the projects/mess I have been creating for Big Picture Scrapbooking, an amazing read from author Sandra Magsamen, and a brand new trash to treasure challenge. Be sure to check out last month?s winner, Jennifer, and her project idea using toilet paper tubes to create a perfect holiday addition to any table setting. I also added an extra section in this month?s newsletter to share the exciting news of my new donna downey product launch. |
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inside the studio ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This month my studio has been filled with the
projects I am working on, in various stages of
completion, for the remaining weeks of my Big
Picture Scrapbooking online classes.With the
holidays fast approaching; as well as, my class
deadlines each of the remaining weeks? classes has
been created with gift giving in mind. Well, all
except one which is a layout to help you cross
scrapbooking the holidays off of your to do list;
and let?s be honest that is a gift in itself! LOL!!
Several of last month?s subscribers emailed me to say, ?Your scrapbook room always looks so clean! Does it always stay that neat?? HA, I wish! The truth is, I clean and reorganize my studio after I complete a project or a group of projects. The process of reassembling my creative thought process from the mess I have made is almost as enjoyable as making the mess in the first place. As I work, my clean organized space becomes a messy hub of creative bits, pieces, papers, adhesives, embellishments, and trimmings. So much so, that by the end of any project I am left working in a small cleared area that barely has enough space to set an eyelet. I lose my tools, I drop things on the floor, I basically make a mess. This is the reason I can?t scrapbook without my apron; I make a mess of not only of my studio but myself. Watch out if I am playing with paint, I will be covered in it. The irony of it all is that the messier my space gets the better I like the project I am working on. This month?s inside the studio will allow you a glimpse of not only the projects I have been working on over the past few weeks, but the mess I am doing it in!
if you would like to register for my remaining
online November and December classes at Big
Picture Scrapbooking, November registration
closes on November 5th (so
hurry!!) and December registration starts this week.
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inspired by ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple of week ago I received an email asking me
if I would be interested in receiving a copy of a
book that a publisher felt was right in line with my
own personal philosophy about scrapbooking. The book
I received was the most enlightening piece of
literature I have read in a long time. The book is
?Living Artfully? by author Sandra
Magsamen. The
book is not an idea book for craft artistry or paper
play, you will not learn how to make better layouts,
how to design projects, or formulate color schemes,
but rather an inspirational exploration of how
living artfully is more than the mere act of
creating tangible representations of our life but
rather embracing all the ways we are responsible for
the everyday artfulness we can share with those we love.
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trash to treasure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November?s trash to treasure challenge is wax paper. We already know it for its multi-functional purposes in the kitchen; and I have even met a woman or two that will whip it out of their scrapbooking tote at a crop to protect the table when stamping, but have you thought about using it to create with instead of on? Ah ha! I can already hear your creative gears churning. Who knows? It might just be next year?s new vellum! If you would like to submit your wax paper creation for December?s Creative Playground ?trash to treasure spotlight? simply email me a digital image or scan no bigger than 72 dpi/500 pixels with the subject line ?trash to treasure: wax paper? by November 25th. As always, I encourage you to post your ideas on internet idea galleries and submit them for publication. I received some amazing submissions for the first ?trash to treasure challenge?. I hadn?t thought about how hard it was going to be to choose just one project. And since art is so subjective, I decided to create an album so you could view all the submissions I received. It just wasn?t fair to keep all those amazing ideas to myself! This month, I would like to introduce you to the to the toilet paper tube ingenuity of Jennifer Stewart from Austin, Texas. By cutting, decorating, and distressing Jennifer turned toilet paper tubes into the most adorable and festive Thanksgiving napkins rings.
Here?s what she says about her project.
?When I read Donna?s newsletter and saw that the
?Trash to Treasure challenge? was to use a toilet
paper tube, I immediately went to the bathroom trash
can and pulled one out! I did what she said to do ?
put it on my scrap table and thought about what I
wanted to create. I?m a total holiday and
entertaining nut, so I had already been thinking
about getting my dining room table ready for
company. (yes, this early!) The idea of napkin rings
just hit me when I was trying to think of a way to
incorporate the project into the upcoming holidays.
So I cut the tube into 3 sections and the napkin
rings were born!
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NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As promised, I better spill about the logo I have
been teasing you with on my blog. Yes, that is
officially my
new logo on my blog
banner! I have been thinking about product design
a lot over the past year, but I didn?t want to work
for anyone eles. I wanted to design products, and
more specifically a camera bag, that I liked and/or
felt there was a need for. Because I travel so much
a camera is a must and I wanted a bag that was
feminine, but didn?t scream ?expensive-big-camera
please steal me? either. So, I called my neighbor,
Heather, who is an amazing seamstress, and asked her
if she would like to be my manufacturer. I told her
that I wanted to design a line
of camera bags that
were feminine and pretty, yet fully functional. Not
to mention, durable enough for even my big SLR and
additional lenses. She immediately jumped on board.
As I began sketching the design elements for the
bag, she turned the idea into a pattern and created
what is to be my first product launch! The final
prototype camera bag traveled with me to Paris and
functioned tres magnifique! Upon my return
home from
Paris, Heather, my one woman sweatshop (and I say
that lovingly), has been hard at work ordering
fabrics, cutting, and preparing for the official
debut. I have been setting up my website, preparing
invoices, ordering imprinted shipping boxes. In
December we should be ready to take orders!
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Quick Links... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
donna@donnadowney.com
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