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Greetings!
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This month's newsletter gives you an inside look at my studio organization, a bit of scrapbooking product inspiration and a crazy idea for the trash to treasure challenge that just might work!! Also, make sure you stop and read the D.O. Corner for some exciting new options that will be made available this month through the donnadowney.com website!
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| inside the studio |
 I received a lot of emails and requests for more information about my scrapbook storage and organization solutions after posting about my acrylic/unmounted stamp binder on my blog. To tell you the truth I am a total scrap and craft room voyer. I love seeing how others choose to decorate, design, and store in their spaces because it not only tells a lot about their personality, but is a great way to gether inspiration for your own space. So, I thought I would take this month's newsletter and feature an in depth look into my studio and share with you the ways I choose to store my supplies. I totally believe that the key to good organization is storing your items according to the way you use them, for me keeping like things together seems to be the way my mind categorizes my product and the most efficient way for me to find and use the product I have. I think redesigning my studio using the IKEA Expedit shelves has been the most helpful organizational item I have ever tried...and I have tried a lot! As a disclaimer, I am sharing my room with you knowing full well that next week I may change my mind and store something in a different way. I am notorious for rearranging and reorganizing my things all the time; however, here is a behind the scenes look at my studio and my storage solutions that have been working for me best.
a close up look inside the studio...
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| inspired by... |
This month, I have been all about product! I have been creating a lot of layouts for my next book concept, and I have had the best time just playing in my stash. I lay all my favorite new things out in front of me and just PLAY. I thought I would share with you a list of products that I have out regularly as inspiration in my creative workspace:
- And just because people ask me all the time, my favorite paper trimmer is the Fiskars 12 inch rotary trimmer (and YES it totally cuts straight!). I use it all the time religiously.
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trash to treasure
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 Okay, this might be absurd, but what about those annoying subscription inserts we get in our magazines...how can we use those? Hmmm? These are definately garbage and perhaps have some hidden potential just waiting to be discovered. If we can alter playing cards, why can't we alter subscription cards? Afterall, aren't they made of heavyweight stock paper?
What can you do with your insert garbage this month? I would love to see what you come up with. Simply email a scan or picture of your trash to treasure idea to donna@donnadowney.com and you may be featured in the May issue of Creative Playground.
Make sure and check out an upclose look at the creative twist Anna-Marie Still of Warwick, RI put on using those annoying little paper tabs as ephemera on a layout from last month's trash to treasure challenge. |
The D.O. Corner
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I  just wanted to thank everyone that sent in their questions. They were all great and we look forward to receiving more. Here are a couple of the questions that were sent in from the last newsletter:
Question from Seckblad@aol.com
Q: What is the man's side of his wife scrapbooking their life?
A: At first I was not very interested in the scrapbooking world. However, as I learned more
about the industry and the talent behind it, I started to enjoy watching the creative process. I like seeing
pictures of our life made into pieces of art that we can always reflect on. My wife is very talented and I
love the excitement of what she will come up with next.
Questions from Kim Pitcher
Q: What does the "D.O." in Bill the D.O. Downey stand for?
A: Since I now have become my wife's employee, we decided we needed a title for me. I came up with "Director of Operations". I thought it sounded better than company slave! J/K
Q: Will the "Trash to Treasure" challenge be featured in future newsletters?
A: Yes they will!
ANNOUCEMENTS!!!
We are very excited to announce that we are launching a new line of Donna Downey fonts later this month that have been created from her own handwriting! They will be available on donnadowney.com for download. We are offering 6 different styles that include: ddfont, ddthin, ddsketch, ddwide, ddwords and ddscript.
We are also pleased to announce that in April we will be offering an online art journal class called ART JOURNAL:101 that Donna has personally designed. The class will be offered in a downloadable pdf. file with very detailed instructions along with more than 50 pictures to help guide you along. In addition to the class, you can also purchase the journal that Donna used to create the project through the site as well, so stay tuned!
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