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creative playground
january 2007
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in this issue
-- inside the studio
-- inspired by
-- trash to treasure
-- NEW store tour shirts
Greetings! Happy New Year!! |
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inside the studio ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow with the Christmas holidays really sucked a bit
of my creative mojo, I saw very little of my studio
this month, not for lack of trying. I did gather
together my photos and organize them into do-able
piles and I am about to tackle them will some
vengence. With a little bit of organization and a
small amount of planning and preparation I am going
to prove that my boxes of 4 x 6 everyday photos,
event and holiday photos, school photos, heritage
photos, colorful scrapbooking nightmares can become
multi photo layouts that can be done stress free and
in no time at all!!! HMMM, that sound like a
great book idea?
Looking forward for 2007, I am beginning to think about potential new book ideas, trying to narrow down the scope, making some pages, just generally playing. With CHA right around the corner I am excited for what cool new products the new year will bring with it!
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inspired by ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This month I have been collecting.
I have done some damage at amazon.com because I am a
die hard book collector. I love to buy craft related
idea books they stimulate my creative juices and
motivate me try new types of creative play any time
I can. Among the titles I collected this month are:
Toys to Sew: Dozens of Patterns for Dolls, Animals, Doll Clothes, and Accessories  , by Claire Garland, this book has
the cutest patterns and all the basic instructions
for making the most adorable stuffed toys I?ve ever
seen.
Mixed Media Explorations: Blending Paper, Fabric and Embellishment to Create Inspired Designs  , by Beryl Taylor. This book combines
the paper, fabrics and all kinds of other wonderful
stuff to produce projects that are pure eye candy.
Just flipping through the pages inspired me to make
something, anything! The best part is I think I
generally I have all of this stuff on hand so the
moment I feel the urge to create something funky I can!
Artist Trading Cards Workshop: Create, Collect, Swap  , by Bernie Berlin this
is a collaborative book with artwork from some of my
favorite mixed media artists: Claudine Hellmuth,
Sarah Fishburn, Celine Navarro and more. The book is
broken down into different types of media that the
artists create with and is filled with fabulous artwork.
Pursenalities: 20 Great Knitted And Felted Bags  , Eva Wiechmann since taking up my new
hobby knitting, I bought this book that has 20
knitted and felted bag how to projects in it! It is
a bit advanced, but I liked seeing all the different
styles of purse designs that are possible all in one
place. Looks really easy too to combine parts of
purses together to create your own unique look.
I would highly recommend these books to anyone wanting to try something creatively new and fun. Sometimes it is just good step outside of the box from scrapbooking pages and recharge your creative energies by playing with new mediums, you just never know how it may inspire you and where the creativity may lead you.
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trash to treasure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am extending the december trash to treasure
challenge for another month. I love using cardboard
as page accents, handmade albums, creative d�cor or
even homemade stamps. By tearing the top layer of
paper from corrugated cardstock you can reveal the
ridges beneath. Paint these ridges with a thick coat
of acrylic paint and stamp onto your page or project
for a simple way to add texture and interest to your
page. Use the same tecnique and create a custom
journaling block as seen in my Make the Most of it
Column, pg 30, in the January/February issue of
Simple Scrapbooks Magazine.
Check out the creative ingenuity of Lori Camperlengo from Grapevine, Texas, she not only managed to use a cardboard box, but wax paper as well as toilet paper tubes to create a holiday gingerbread house that is way cool! Thanks Lori for sharing the details with us! 1. toilet paper roll or paper towel roll 2. the fed ex, ups, or USPS box. 3. and some wax paper for the bottom and of course graham crackers, royal icing, and all of our leftover Halloween candy ( I always tuck it all away about November 1st with my big gingerbread plans already in the works ha haaha menical laugh here) I first make a big deal all day that TODAY is the day we are going to make the gingerbread house...psyches the kids up and the kitchen floor needed mopped anyways. Cover the platform with the wax paper ( I used a frozen pizza cardboard and a 12x12 piece of chipboard from a paper package on these two ) I adhered the wax paper with some double sided tape and crinkled it up as I went...Next year I think I'll put some diamond dust on the paper to make it really sparkle. Next, I "adhere" the grahamcrackers to the box sides with a thick even smear of icing on each one and firmly press onto the side of the box, letting it lay flat for a few minutes to avoid sliding. If the royal icing is perfect, it sticks like super glue! My crackers don't necessarily match up together perfectly and that's okay for us. All the cracks get sealed up with candy or white icing. The crackerbox (no, I'm not insulting anyone's house ha ha) should be sitting atop your wax or tinfoil base when dry. I then taped my toilet/paper towel roll to the top center of the closed box with masking tape to make sure it doesn't roll anywhere. Then, I got another piece of my 12x12 chipboard from my stash of "stuff to save because I'll need it for something eventually" pile, folded it down the middle to create a tent shape, lay it across the house top and eyeball what needs to be trimmed off. I try to leave about a one inch overhang on each end I guess. I then layed this "tent" shape flat and iced/glued all my crackers on top of it, letting it dry as well. The crackers definitely should not be touching at the crease. Dry time is probably about 30 minutes to an hour. The longer, the better. Of course you have to keep the Royal Icing covered or it will get hard as a rock too. Okay, nothing is sliding...call in the kids and prepare to get really messy and sticky. My kids are little so they really aren't too interested in the architecture of it all...just the sugar part! Gently lay the rooftop across the tp/papertowel roll on your little house, remind the kids to be gentle and I then arm them all with a baggy of icing with a teeny-tiny tip nipped off the end so they can go crazy. And, that's what the houses usually look like...a little crazy. But the kids just LOVE doing the decorating part, eating candy, and showing off "their gingerbread houses" to anyone and everyone that comes to the front door over the Christmas holiday. The Icing recipe I used last night was one of the best I've tried ( this is like the only thing I "cook" besides macaroni and cheese...oh and toast)so please don't think me a Betty Crocker as she would roll over in her grave if anyone thought I was a domestic diva...) 2 large egg whites 2 tsp lemon or lime juice ( I don't think it matters, I tried both-no difference...and actually 2 squirts because I don't measure) whip with electric mixer 3 cups powdered sugar whip, whip, whip, cover, cover, cover. Easy! Also, check out this idea for an amazing altered box submitted by Kah-mei owner of fontwerks. This project is pure genius! Use all those patterned papers you know you have been stockpiling all year and cut them up to make a fabulous altered keepsake. So if you have been inspired to turn your cardboard box trash into treasure this month, I would love for you to share it with me and possibly be featured in february?s Creative Playground newsletter. Email me a scan or a digital image (72dpi/500 pixels) at donna@donnadowney.com with ?TTT:cardboard box? in the subject line no later than january 25, 2007. |
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NEW store tour shirts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New 2007 store tour merchandise is available
now at cafepress,
check 'em out!simply click on the store name to see available merchandise. |
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Quick Links... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
donna@donnadowney.com
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