The "BIG 40"

     This past weekend, I made my annual pilgrimage to Fredericksburg, VA and a magical little store filled with more scrappy happiness than one girl can hope for. Scrapdoodles is a fantastic shop filled with all things scrappy, and then some! Paper, stickers, stamps, inks, paints, glitters, albums, ribbons...all to be found in abundance at Scrapdoodles. It is kind of like Disneyland for all things scrappy.  For the past few years, Scrapdoodles has hosted a weekend full of artistic bliss (and artistic education) taught by the one and only Donna Downey of Donna Downey Studios near Charlotte, NC.  I first met Donna at a scrapbooking event in Northern Virginia in 2008. I left her classes feeling personally artistically transformed.  Sounds profound, right? It truly was. It was a defining moment in my artistic journey. It was the first time that I had stepped outside of my creative "box", and it felt FANTASTIC! I was an instant fan! Since then, our paths have crossed several times, and I have come to appreciate the warmness and whimsy that Donna brings to creating and teachng others how to expand their creative palette as well.
     Donna taught a full slate of classes on Friday through Sunday at Scrapdoodles. I was able to join in on the artistic fun on Saturday and Sunday (...Thank you, Timmy. Happy wife. Happy Life.) I felt particularly inspired after Saturday's class, The Big 40. Donna describes this class as her favorite top 40 tips, tricks, and techniques for building better art journals and mixed media backgrounds. I call this class, Finally Learn How to Use Many of the Art Supplies You Have Been Accumulating/Hoarding. It was so much fun and so expanding. Check these techniques out. On the left we have  UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) acrylic paint resist and on the right UTEE Distress Stain resist.

Complicated...no. Did it make me giggle out loud and cover my mouth in delight?...YES! If you think that's awesome, then you should have seen my reaction to using masking tape to add texture to a background.

One word...AMAZEBALLS! I love learning to look at things a different way, and using those supplies that have been hiding out in my scrap room. It feeds directly into my evolving philosophy of consuming, not collecting, my products. Oh, the joy!
     Just let me sum up by telling you that these creative adventures are the things that keep me bright and sunny for the rest of the week...sometimes the month. I love a good creative "high." Here is a link to Donna's website. Check out one of her creative events. They are well worth your time and money.
http://www.donnadowney.com/