simply me

day 5: studio breakdown

happy halloween! this is no trick, really my studio is empty.
well kinda, we will move the big stuff out tomorrow and i will set up my computer in bill & kandi's office while the transformation of the studio is going on.  

however, this is what paytons room looks like... and this was after i cleared out half of my stash and "stuff", my god i love stuff!

almost everything i listed on ebay will find a new loving home, i am excited about that. i hope the handpicked items from my studio will inspire your creative spaces as they did mine.

i did my segment on wbtv this morning at 7:20 am (i am so not a morning person) and it went great. my whole family came with me and the kids were wowed by all the TV's and behind the scenes chaos. they said they will email me the segment, when they do i will share it with you.

finally, i had to leave you with this... this pint-sized pooch is so frickin' adorable!

see you tomorrow for the Scarlet Lime november kit giveaway!

day 4 studio break down + 68 EBAY AUCTIONS!

ok now we are getting somewhere!

• the electrician will be here monday
• painter will be here tuesday
• my cabinets from IKEA arrived this morning
• 68 beloved items from inside my studio have been put up for AUCTION (help find them a new creative home!)
  
• still need to complete 2 more fabric page layouts in this mess
• still need to complete my project for tv tomorrow! (wbtv 7am)
• also need to go buy my paint color...

have an awesome halloween and check back here all weekend for the studio progress and on sunday for the new Scarlet Lime november kit giveaway!

day 3 : studio take down

it still looks like i have gotten nowhere but i have been weeding through everything. i gave 2 big boxes of stuff to our nanny (did i mention we got a fabulous new nanny named courtenay for when we travel...love her!) and tonight the fabrics and most of my shelves will be clear. i have to still do 2 fabric page layouts as workshop projects and some halloween projects to prepare for a news segment (wbtv here in charlotte) i will be on halloween morning! nothing like working in chaos!

tonight at midnight ALL the inside the studio ebay auctions will go live! there will be about 50+ if i ever finish listing the last ones. some of them already have gone live, guess my idea of launching them all at once may be a little too ambitious, lol! 

be there for the studio sell off tonight : EBAY AUCTIONS.

i will have more studio take down photos for you tomorrow...wish me luck!

raincheck please!

sorry, i totally skipped out on inspiration wednesday today. before i knew it it was noon.
i need to get my studio cleared out by monday because the electrician will be here to add and reposition new outlets to accommodate the new room design. YIKES!

this is how the studio looks now.     it may not look like i have gotten anything done but i have an entire living room full of the stuff i cleared out. it is downright amazing how much clutter i have accumulated over the years. each piece tells a story, i am kinda having issues letting it go, but i need to. clean slate, fresh room filled with inspiration and color!

i started listing many of my beloved pieces on ebay last night, they are set to go live thursday night at 11:59 PM (that is all except for the 2 that i forgot to set here. NOTE TO SELF: do not list items on ebay until 1AM, i swear my brain was fried!)

here are some of the other items that i set to list on ebay thursday night.

thought i would leave you with this question today...how do you know your dog is having resentment issues about the new puppy in the house?

you find him in the morning like this. 

that is 20 pounds of tango in 2-pound paisleys dog bed! sweet tango!

scarlet lime november kit preview!

kits make me so happy. i just open up the box and the challenge of using all the goodies from that box really are exciting to me. Scarlet Lime is one of my personal favorites kits. every month the colors, supplies and extras are always on the cutting edge of trend.

like say for instance this november kit, i HATE purple and now i think it is growing on me (i know, i know, i am shocked myself). i actually did TWO purple layouts!!

i am also loving my newest typewriter...going to take it in to get all oiled up and cleaned so she shines.

my favorite part of this layout is the inked over masked areas...gotta love that tim holtz!

so sorry for the teaser today, HOWEVER be here on sunday! because i will be giving away one of the NEW Scarlet Lime november kits to one very lucky reader!!

now back to the studio redesign purge prep! so much to do.

it's all coming down!

i have a painter and an electrician coming in this week for estimates. hoping the official studio redo starts taking place in the next week. it's all i have been able to think, talk and dream about.

i went back and forth with a million ideas and finally found the most functional design for the way i create. dont worry i will let you in on all of it every step of the way, especially since bill is so tired of hearing about it, lol!

today i decided to start taking down my stamps and the million nails i had in my walls.

these are my stamps now...

 

this is my purge box...

 

this weekend i am going to start listing my "studio for sale" pieces for auction on ebay, stay tuned for all the details!

going to be working on my scarlet lime layouts tonight for tomorrows post...bill left for NJ today, he has 1st row seats for Pearl Jam tomorrow

me an the kids are off to subway and mckenna's softball championships tonight! have a good monday!

workshops, a new altered tote bag, stamps and friends

bill and i are on our way to scrapdoodles in fredericksburg VA this weekend. it is going to be a jam packed weekend! we always have fun at this store and we are looking forward to it!

i even made a new special travel tote bag to carry all my sketch and design things i want to take with me for the long drive. i love it...canvas, color and words = perferction!

i used a bunch of my new iron ons. i chose the blue baby's breath and pink long stem flowers because i really liked the way they layered together.
and do you see those quote stamps? they are a part of my new stamp line with Unity, (pre-production samples..such a tease, i know) look for these to be coming out REALLY soon with Unity. they stamp flippin awesome on canvas!!!!

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just because you can...

corinne delis one of my very favorite friends from holland emailed me yesterday to tell me about her friend Kayla Aimee.  if you have a few moments this weekend take the time and read her blog post. she is trying to help a friend acheive a dream and collecting votes i am all for that! but you can decide for yourself...check it out!

work in progress : canvas

inspired by yesterdays inspiration wednesday i started working on this 20 x 20 canvas piece. it is still a work in progress but i really like the way it is revealing itself. i am using a combination of modeling paste, crackle paste, wire, beads, cardstock, watercolor, acrylic and book text. i kinda stopped at this point yesterday and am hoping today to finish it up. if not i may just start on another piece and go in a different direction until then.

the texture is making me so happy!

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HELP WANTED... i'm hoping in earshot of this there might be some local (huntersville/charlotte area-ish) sewers interested in a bit of freelance work. not enough hands here at the downey home and we could use "a few good women". also looking for some graphic design help. if you're interested, please email me at donna@donnadowney.com.

this weeks inspiration wednesday was an experiment in modeling paste. i just started punching shapes from cardstock and layering in the paste. when it dried i began adding watercolors and additional layers of texture.

here's the how to in my inspiration journal this week.

• punched flowers and butterflies from cardstock and used the negative space to create a stencil.
• placed stencil over page and filled in with modeling paste, then lifted stencil to reveal shape.
• allowed to dry overnight.
• then painted and layered watercolors to create background
• painted modeling paste with watercolors as well.
• created twisted paper stems using book text
• hand cut leaves from yellow cardstock and crumpled.
• twisted wire spirals for flower centers and adhered using glossy accents.
• stamped quote (amuse stamp).

this page inspired the piece i will be working on today. it is a 20 x 20 canvas. here is how it looks right now!

also wanted to shout from the mountaintops that i found these! when i was in europe last year for the 6 weeks with my family, my computer bag got stolen and in it was not only my computer but the journal i had been keeping. i had bought this exact watercolor paint set in italy and everyday in that journal i was watercoloring snippets of landscape from each country. it was also stolen and i found it in berkeley! it will be in my purse ALWAYS. so if you see me you can ask me to prove it, lol!

what did you create this week?
what do we need to see...leave a post and share your inspirations!

congratulations Kim you win today's polka dot potato giveaway!!

email me (donna@donnadowney.com) and we will get your info over to them!!!

Polka Dot Potato is a darling digital store with tons of cool digital art.  Polka Dot Potato is also well known for their digital print services, offering the highest quality prints at awesome prices. A 12" x 12" print on thick matte photo paper is just $3.50 each. These are full bleed prints with colors that totally pop.  They print as small as 4" x 6" and as big as 12" x 36"!

Ben and Ashley Smith started Polka Dot Potato in 2006 after selling their 3-D embellishment company, Magic Scraps. "I started in traditional scrapbooking, first as a scrapbook store owner, then as a supply manufacturer." remembers Ashley. "I wasn't ready to let go of the scrapbook industry, so I started Polka Dot Potato to feed my passion." This year, many Polka Dot Potato photo card designs are being offered in the photo center at Costco.com.  "We want people to use our art for just about anything.  Cards, scrapbooking, web design, flyer design, etc.  There are so many amazing applications for our art and we want people to really have fun with it," encourages Ashley.  With over 30 designers at PolkaDotPotato.com, there's something for everyone!

Check out what Ashley and Ben are doing for today's giveaway. Simply go to Polka Dot Potato and look at the different designers.  Leave a comment on this post  today by 10pm EST of who is your favorite, and you're entered to win a $35 gift certificate to Polka Dot Potato!