simply me

inspiration wednesday + video

NOTE: video coming...i am uploading it as you read this!

catch me Live with Prima tonight at 9:30 EST.  join bill and me, it is FREE, we chat live and we will be making this cute apron.

i'm back!

holy hell 30 hours each way is crazy, but worth every minute of it!

i love singapore and the ladies are so gracious and lovable!

i am not fully functioning yet, way too jet lagged for that but wanted to post real quick about how mad i am that i cannot have any more friends on facebook.

the whole limited friends thing sucks. so i am playing on my fan page today where i can have unlimited friends and am inviting you to join me. i think i will stop posting to my regular page and make all posts to my fan page.

so here is the link to my fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/donna-downey/31263764156

stupid facebook!

anyway,i figured out on a fan page you can do things like this discussion board...

here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/board.php?uid=31263764156#!/topic.php?uid=31263764156&topic=15579

i hope you reply. it might be fun to do a couple of these open style discussions a month. maybe even open it up to design.

ok, back to acclimating to my real time zone!

i will be posting a video inspiration wednesday tomorrow, as well as doing another FREE prima live workshop tomorrow night so stick around!

Celine Navarro!!

Congratulations to fay copeland!! You are the lucky winner for Celine's new book!

Please email me your contact info and we will get your book out to you!

 

Today's feature is one of my favorite artists and good friend, Celine Navarro. Her work is simply amazing and totally inspires me!  She is an incredibly talented teacher who has taught almost everywhere. If she is ever in your area, you need to take her class!

Céline is a self-taught artist living in the South of France, near the Mediterranean Sea. She teaches scrapbook classes everywhere in France and all around the globe. She has started her own Book Editing company in order to release a scrapbook magazine called {entreARTistes}magazine. 

She also released her first Scrapbooking book last September called SCRAPBOOK - Inspiration & Techniques. This book is full of her freestyle, colorful and unique style, explains many techniques from scrapbooking to mixed media and will for sure inspire you! 

Now for the good part! Celine is giving away a copy of her book to a lucky blog reader who leaves a post today! Just leave a post and this book full of techniques can be yours! 

 

Just leave your comment today to be entered to win this awesome book!

1. Leave your comment tonight by 11pm EST.
2. To double your chances tweet, blog or post on your facebook about this giveaway and come back and leave another comment.
3. The winner will be announced on the blog tomorrow morning.

Congratulations to Ginette Bougainville, Tanya Gilmartin, and Linda Shewchuk!! You are the lucky winners for Scrapartist's giveaways!

Please email me your contact info and I will email you your coupon codes!!!

I'm so excited to feature the very talented digital and element designer, Sherrie Drummond, from Scrapartist. Her work is just absolutely amazing! I love it all.

Sherrie and her creative team have even created a downloadable freebie of digital quick pages for all my blog readers. Can you believe that? Digital pages just for us! Wow, thanks Sherrie!!! 

Here is preview of these awesome digital pages that have been designed just for you. Now this is just plain awesome.

 
Sherrie is a digital paper and element designer who creates products for digital and hybrid scrapbooking, Art Journaling, collage, ATCs, mixed media projects, etc. Her products are saved in formats (.jpg and .png) that are compatible with all types of graphics programs. Beautiful scrapbook papers, realistic elements, and vintage ephemera are appropriately sized for  creating traditional scrapbooking sizes of 12” x 12” and are of the highest quality (300 dpi) for printing. 

Be sure and sign up for her newsletter for exclusive discounts and for their free monthly zine: Altered Hearts. To receive the March issue for free, please use coupon code: FreeZineDD

 

The good news just keeps coming. Sherrie is even giving away not one, but three $25.00 coupon codes to my lucky blog readers who leave a post today! Each coupon code is worth $25.00 and will expire May 31, 2010. The coupon codes must be spent during a single check out as they are one time use codes and do not carry a balance. The coupons can only be used for her products at Scrapartist.com.

You can also find Scrapartist on Facebook, twitter,and flickr.

Just leave your comment today to be entered to win these awesome coupon codes!

1. Leave your comment tonight by 10pm EST.
2. To double your chances tweet, blog or post on your facebook about this giveaway and come back and leave another comment.
3. The winner will be announced on the blog tomorrow morning.

 
 

inspiration wednesday from the friendly skies

right now i am somewhere between nc and singapore. yesterday, before i boarded the plane, i created a page in my inspiration journal from the pieces i had been playing around with this past weekend.

actually the page had black and blue tape on the border as well as masking tape in the center, kinda ugly, so i wanted to brighten it up a bit.

here's what i did...

• painted the background with pink acrylic paint and dried with a heat gun
• added white acrylic paint "dripage"
• i had made these fabric yo-yo's and not used them so they found their way to the page.
• added torn strips of fabric scraps as stems. glues them to the page
• added button centers and bling and adhered with helmar's fabric glue
• cut out cardstock leaves, spritzed with water and scrunched and glued them down on top of the fabric stems.
• cut out pieces of book text to create a thought.
• stamped "i am an artist" stamp with stazon

i will be back on tuesday...have fun with bill while i am gone!

love ya!

d

various stages of complete

i have been busy all last week putting the finishing touches on my new releases with Prima and Unity and began working on a new fabric art collection for DEMDACO. these are all in "various stages of complete", but somehow i think that kinda sums up my life right now.

here are a couple peeks into what i have been working on...

 

 

i have only been home for a week and then now i am off to singapore. i am really excited to return and see my friends from last year.

my life moves at record pace and balancing it all can be daunting, but the opportunity to meet and share with incredible people in foreign countries is such a gift. i probably will not do much international travel after this year and want to make sure i go back to my favorite places and visit some of my favorite people!

however that said, i am not looking forward to the 20+ hours of travel. but i will get a lot of sketching and idea concepting done. i get the best ideas in an airplane. something about the aloneness maybe...it is like i am most inspired to dream up new ideas with such vivid clarity 30,000 ft in the air.

i plan on working in my inspiration journal today, i do not have enough time for the video, but i will post the page tomorrow!

bill may be guest blogging and posting some really cool sponsor giveaways while i am gone so stay tuned!

small reminders...

sitting in the morning school traffic of the carpool line is not fun, but as i pulled out of the school i saw this. the iphone photo certainly doesn't do it justice, but it just serves as a mini reminder of just how awesome each minute of everyday can be if you just stop to enjoy it.

these are the small moments that inspire me.

they inspire me to be a better mother, wife, friend, daughter, person.

small reminders of faith and that i can be everything i dream to be.

be aware of the small reminders today, you may be surprised how many you find.

Sunday Giveaway!

Congratulations to Lora Oliver!! You are the lucky winner for All U Need Scrapbooking Kit's giveaway!

Please email me your contact info and we will get your kit to you1

Today I'm featuring my new friends Kara & Julie LeMaster who have just launched a NEW and AMAZING kit club called All U need Scrapbooking Kits. Their albums are so full of color, have awesome embellishments and are just plain gorgeous.

 

Have you ever looked at the pictures you have stuffed in a drawer and just feel overwhelmed?  How about the time when you would have loved to shown friends and family pictures of the family vacation you had this summer and you just never found time to put them together.  Well, we have your answer.  All U Need Scrapbook Kits is a brand new kit club company with scrapping experience at the helm.  Inside one well organized bag, you will find everything you need to turn your scrapping nightmares into a dream come true!  

Their mini album kits include full color, easy to follow directions, a unique album, and all the paper and embellishments necessary to complete an album just a couple of hours.  Each month they release a new kit, alternating between mega kits and mini kits.  Also, each kit comes complete with a 2 page spread for your 12 by 12 albums.  They waste nothing!  Every scrap is used!  They use only the newest, most exciting products on the market.  

In addition, each month they offer a special release kit. Some of them that are on our calendar for release this year include a beach album, a baseball album, a Christmas album…the list is endless.  As an All U Need Kit Club member you will have first dibs on the special release albums before they are sold out.  Kits are available for individual purchase or as a kit club member.  They also carry page layouts, one of a kind albums, and they take special requests.  Their products and supplies for purchase continues to grow regularly! 

One of the owners, Kara, has a blog…Kara’s Korner that she updates regularly with new ideas, trends and techniques.  She also sends out challenges for scrappers to participate in for prizes.  

Kara and Julie have also been kind enough to giveaway one of their new Sassy Girl kits to a lucky blog reader who leaves a post today. Just leave a comment today and this "sassy" kit can be yours!!

 

Just leave your comment today to be entered to win this awesome giveaway!

1. Leave your comment by Monday 9am EST.
2. To double your chances tweet, blog or post on your facebook about this giveaway and come back and leave another comment.
3. The winner will be announced on the blog tomorrow morning. 

Congratulations to Diana Dellos!! You are the lucky winner for Photography by Marirosa's giveaway!

Please email me your contact info and we will get you set up!

Today I'm very excited to feature and introduce you to one of my good friends as well as an amazingly talented photographer, Marirosa Anderson. She owns her studio, Photography by Marirosa, located in Northern Virginia and has been featured in magazines such as Bodas USA Magazine - Bodas USA La Revista Winter 09/ Spring 10.

Here are some samples of her amazing work. Check out her website for more!!

Marirosa's love of photography began when she realized that photos were the only way she could stop time -- to capture a moment that will forever be remembered. As time goes by, we get older, busier and our minds begin to forget.  When we want to reminisce, we turn to photographs to relive those moments. Some of the best memories are not "main events", but every day moments.  This emphasis on "real life photography" is the concept behind how her boutique photography business began.  

She believes in photographing people as they are, embracing a nontraditional style, capturing the essential relationships we have. 

Now for the fun part. Marirosa is offering a complimentary session to one of my lucky blog readers who leaves a post today and lives in the Northern VA area or will be visiting. Here are the details.

* Complimentary mini session (for up to 5 people) at Herndon location
* 12-15 presented fully edited images to choose from
* (1) 11x14 portrait of your choice
* Slideshow of session set to music for your own enjoyment
* Online password protected gallery for 21 days

The session will have to take place in her Herndon, VA location

Since Marirosa wants everyone to be a winner, she is also offering a complimentary 8x10 from your paid session for those of you who book a session by just mentioning my blog! The offer expires 9/30/2010 and can't be combined with other promos and has no cash value

Contact Marirosa Anderson today to book your session at 703.307.7074. You can also contact her on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Just leave your comment today to be entered to win this awesome complimentary session!

1. Leave your comment by Monday 9am EST.
2. To double your chances tweet, blog or post on your facebook about this giveaway and come back and leave another comment.
3. The winner will be announced on the blog tomorrow morning. 

 

inspiration wednesday?...ok lets just pretend then.

* edited * the apron/tote and mat  winners, as chosen by my beautiful assistant mckenna, are...

 

i am so behind schedule, but i really wanted to take the time to work in my inspiration journal. So even though i am late, here it is. (give me about an hour and i will have the video up and ready to watch)

new silhouette designs

 

had my first Live with Prima workshop last night...bill and i had a blast!

if you missed it live and would still like to watch the workshop or get the project kit you watch it now.

as a special give away, Alice, from Brazil, made very special aprons (seen above), tote bags and ironing mats for 2 very special blog readers. i will announce the 2 winners on friday night!