simply me

*EDITED - congratulations linda, you win today's close to my heart sponsor giveaway!!

email me (donna@donnadowney.com) with your address and i will mail your new stamp set out to you!

Debby Handy has been a scrapbooker for the past 8 years and was hooked after her first album. She's been an instructor for 2 years and passionately documents the story of her family heritage and what makes each of them unique in a fun and artistic way.

Because she has heard from so many women who have expressed an interest in scrapbooking but didn’t know how to start, didn’t have the time, didn’t have the space and were afraid of the cost involved, she investigated options. Blown away by the many options Close To My Heart had to offer that keep scrapbooking simple, fast, easy, cost effective and most importantly fun she joined as a consultant and immediately began her own clubs and monthly groups to help inspire those in her area to make the time for themselves to be creative.

Embracing the concept that customers never pay an instructors fee and only for the items they order, Debby would like to extend her time and instruction insuring that these are always FREE!

Feel free to contact Debby about any of the monthly scrapbooking clubs that she offers, workshops, monthly kits to go, or a party in a box.

(704) 892-8951  amber25@roadrunner.com

Debby will also be giving away this adorable set of "Be Yourself" acrylic stamps today to one lucky blog reader. simply leave your comment before 10PM EST and be entered to win!!

week 6: day 42(sunday) - 10k run

• time: 1 hour 4 min
• distance: 6.23 miles

 
see you tomorrow for INSPIRATION WEDNESDAY!!

a creative share and Ashville, NC for the weekend!

kathrin wiedenfeld from germany sent me a photo of her adorable fabric page and i just had to share how sweet it is with you. love all the tiny details!

we will be heading out to ashville, NC this weekend to teach my Fabric Scrapbooking workshop. i know a lot of my local friends will be there and i love everything about the charm of ashville. it is going to be a great weekend! i think we got so much interest that we might be adding a second class on sunday, so if your interested and live nearby contact Alicia Sharp 828-779-7270.

week 6: day 39(thursday) - 4 mile run

• time: 43 min 26 sec
• distance: 4.08 miles

its all in the way you wear it...

i was going through photos the other day that i had uploaded to my shutterfly account years ago.
i was looking for something specific, but got caught up looking and reminiscing..where did the time go? it feels like just yesterday my 8, 7 & 5 year olds were in diapers.

then i ran across these photos and i totally let out a belly laugh. i was immediately reminded of cathy's family and all the impromptu photos of them in fake mustaches that she has posted on her blog. i would have sworn we didn't have any such photos in the downey house, but alas i stand 3 hairy lipped children corrected!

{i love the fact that payton is wearing hers upside down - payton age 4}
 

{mckenna - age 5}

{cole - age 2   myrtle beach, sc}

so today zielske family this post is dedicated to you!!

{click on photo for larger image}

welcome back to inspiration wednesday!
for those of you just joining in the fun, each wednesday i will be inviting you to take a chance; try something new and stretch yourself creatively, personally or simply experiment.

this week my starting point was inspirational words and quotes.
words empower and are gentle reminders of our potential. play with your handwriting, mix and match alphabet stickers and share your creative voice.
(the 3 sloppy book text covered tags fit inside the envelope to the left and the color in the tree and heart stamp is with watercolor.)

each wednesday i would like to take a creative leap of faith with you;
the successes and the failures.
each week i am going to make the time to work in my inspiration journals, whether it is playing with color palettes, trying something new or creating a finished piece. i will post my work and want to encourage you to meet me here on wednesdays to do the same.

this is not about being a picasso, it is about taking that leap.
our creative voices are motivated by a passion for self expression and an appreciation for art in all forms, so anything goes.
 
the idea of fostering this Campaign for Creativity is a consciousness of empowering oneself to achieve individual goals. It's a lifestyle of unlocking your creative and personal potential. It's about opening up to possibilities and choosing to see life as a vehicle for opportunity and change.

Each time you choose to see the positive changes in others, society and the world it shapes and personally effects and inspires who you are as a person as well as an artist.

Collectively we can learn, grow and challenge each other to dream with possibility.
if you have something you recently made or have decided to make a little time for yourself today to play i encourage you to post a link in the comments to your project or blog so we can all share in the creative momentum.

each wednesday we will meet back here to share what we were inspired to try and play with; the absurd, the simple, the mistakes, the successes, the casual, the technical, the surprises and the planned are all welcome!

and for added creativity jump start this inspiration wednesday, this week only we have discounted special themed collections of art prints - buy 2 get 2 free, check 'em out!

week 6: day 37(tuesday) - 5 mile run

• time: 54 minn 47 sec
• distance: 5.14 miles

 

      

EDITED**

congratulations to the following 6 lucky blog commenter of today's GelGems® giveaway. email me your address at donna@donnadowney.com and i will forward your information for your prize package!

These are so cool! GelGems® are colorful, fun, reusable and squishy pieces of artwork that are are a dynamic new way to express yourself and decorate your surroundings. Flowers, fish, stars and dozens of other shapes stick to your windows, mirrors, computer monitor or drinking glasses - any non-porous surface.

i gave them to my kids and they had a blast putting them on their windows...




they were so proud the both wanted to be pictured with their gel gem artwork.

GelGems® is so generous, that today they are giving away 6...yes 6 giveaway prize packages of 6 (not to confuse you,lol) gel gem products to lucky blog readers today!!

whoo hoo!

post your comments and idea in the comments section today and check out the variety of fun designs they offer!
the winners will be chosen at random after 10PM(EST) tonight!
good luck!

grove's = so much fun!

bill and i had a blast with the ladies at Groves this weekend!
what a cool concept for a store too...
it was a virtual treasure trove of all things i deem good, lol
for example, one side of the store is all office supplies
and the other side of the store all scrapbooking, but the best part...
the entire front of the store is all Vera Bradley!!!!

this is my new friend barb, "HI BARB!!"

the ladies were so much fun, so much so that bill and i were almost convinced to move into one of the houses in this sweet part of small town america! Almost, lol!

the best part is we are coming back in december.
the ladies were so excited about my new aprons that they agreed to be my first test run class of my new APRONOLOGY class the weekend of december 4th!
whoo hoo!
get your sewing machines ready ladies!!

and just in case your wondering, no i couldn't make it out of the store without this.

on a total side note:
many of you have been asking about my doctors visit and test results.
the stress test all gave me a clean bill of health - total relief.
and how come nobody told me i would have to run on a treadmill with no bra and a gown half open in the front with my girls swinging around?
nothing more humbling than that!

however the blood tests showed the my vitamin b12 levels were dangerously low which would account for many of the symptoms and the anxiety triggers as well as the breathing issues.
for the next 4 weeks i will be going for a b12 shot and i am hoping to be able to regulate it once my levels are back up with my diet.

thanks for all the concerns...makes a girl feel loved, you rock!

another amazing fabric album share...

i had to share another amazing fabric scrapbooking creation. i love that each person sees so many different possibilities this products potential.

this wedding album was sent to me by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer from New York City, where she is the Artistic Director of The Milk Can Theatre Company. 

and check out this fabulous detail...she sewed the paper flowers in the page protectors!!! GENIUS!

"I wanted to create a wedding album that felt lush and bright and full of energy. The wedding was held in a beautiful arboretum (so, lots of green backgrounds with plenty of bright flowers) and I wanted to embrace that setting. Therefore, I chose paint and ink colors (green, yellow, blue, and a smidge of red) that reflected the environment.

It was really very, very simple. To create the background for the album cover, as well as each of the canvas pages, I  just repeated a basic
process over and over again:  I painted a general wash with three colors of acrylic paint.  I added a stamped image (always using green ink) to most of the pages.  Then, I stamped with a toilet paper tube and acrylic paint.

To create the clear flower pages, I placed flowers into the page protector and then stitched a grid pattern to anchor them in place. This was probably the most difficult step because the flowers just kept slipping around! But, I love the effect! If you'd like to try it, I recommend working in rows and going slowly.

I used gesso to create the white shapes for the journaling.  Because it’s a primer, you can paint over anything (photo, background, etc.) and have a nice clean white space to work in.  As you might imagine, I used a VERY small brush to paint all the journaling.  If you'd like to try painting words, be sure to use a small brush, very little paint, some water (to make the paint flow, but not so much it gets everywhere) and work slowly and in segments."

WOW!! have a great weekend!

 

week 5: day 31(wednesday)  - 8 mile run

• time: 1 hour 34 min
• distance: 8.02 miles

apron no. 2 is finished...

i will be honest with you i am not quite sure which one i like more.
i am thrilled with the way they both turned out.
and the fact that this apron idea could be totally customizable is, to be honest with you, way more than a bit intriguing. gets my wheels spinning on the possibilities!

i love the idea of these being a skirt!
that was an awesome idea by several of you!
i will have to ponder the whole canvas skirt idea...totally has potential.
the words on the aprons make me so happy!!

bill and i are getting ready for the drive up to PA  today to teach at Grove's Office Supply & Scrapbooking to a full house of workshops this weekend!  WHoo hoo ladies here we come, road trip

each wednesday i will be inviting you to take a chance; try something new and stretch yourself creatively, personally or simply experiment.

the most important thing that i have learned about myself as a person, an artist, a mom, a wife, etc.. is that we cannot grow if we do not take chances. the tiny leaps of faith that we take everytime we stretch ourselves past our comfort zones helps to shape the person we evolve into. sometimes we make mistakes, but often times those mistakes lead us to great personal successes. what we can learn from just making the time to try is unquestionably invaluable.

i feel this way about creativity.
creativity is often times a leap of faith.
we try new color palettes, combinations of embellishments, photo placements. we buy idea books on sewing, knitting, metal clay (i have 2 metal clay books with the hopes that one day i will learn how to create with it, yet i have no kiln?), scrapbooking, home decor, altered art and hundreds more.

many of you, like me just yearn for as many creative ideas as you can ingest, however, the passion to execute them sometimes gets lost in the daily grind of life.

each wednesday i would like to take that creative leap of faith with you;
the successes and the failures.
each week i am going to make the time to work in my inspiration journals, whether it is playing with color palettes, trying something new or creating a finished piece. i will post my work and want to encourage you to meet me here on wednesdays to do the same.

this is not about being a picasso, it is about taking that leap.
our creative voices are motivated by a passion for self expression and an appreciation for art in all forms, so anything goes.
 
the idea of fostering this Campaign for Creativity is a consciousness of empowering oneself to achieve individual goals. It's a lifestyle of unlocking your creative and personal potential. It's about opening up to possibilities and choosing to see life as a vehicle for opportunity and change.

Each time you choose to see the positive changes in others, society and the world it shapes and personally effects and inspires who you are as a person as well as an artist.

Collectively we can learn, grow and challenge each other to dream with possibility.

{click on photo for larger image}

if you have something you recently made or have decided to make a little time for yourself today to play i encourage you to post a link in the comments to your project or blog so we can all share in the creative momentum.

each wednesday we will meet back here to share what we were inspired to try and play with; the absurd, the simple, the mistakes, the successes, the casual, the technical, the surprises and the planned are all welcome!

  

EDITED (10:24 PM EST) - congratulations Yaritza...you are our Kenner Road giveaway winner today! email me (donna@donnadowney.com) and i will forward your address for your kit!

 
 
One of the best parts about kit clubs is the fact that a box full of goodies is delivered right to my doorstep and when i open the box to see what's inside my mind immediately begins reeling! it might sound silly but the whole idea of using a set assortment of product is such a fun challenge to me. i think that is why doing the Make the Most of it column for Simple was so fun for me. 

Kerry Lynn of Kenner Road assembles a vintage inspired marketplace of kits. Their creative monthly scrapbook kits, digital elements and vintage provisions will inspire you to document the life you live, in the way you like to create. Whether it's paper or pixels, Kenner Road is inspiration found.

Kenner Road's June kit was inspired by vintage samplers and seeing her grandmother making rustic apple tarts in her kitchen. Home Sweet Home is full of vintage charm and features the new Cosmo Cricket early bird release as well as their own exclusive Kenner Road homestead stamp and products from over 7 different manufacturers.

One lucky blog reader today will win this fabulous kit.
simply leave your comment today before 10 (EST) to be entered to win.
the winner will be posted to THIS POST tonight!
whoo hoo!
good luck!