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This week we are thrilled to be be able to introduce you to Donna Downey Studios. I have long considered Donna to be my first and greatest mentor in the fields of art journaling and mixed media.

It was through a class I took with Donna about 4 years ago that I was introduced to the word of mixed media – prior to that I had only ever been involved in paper crafts – stamping, card making, scrapbooking and creating 3D paper projects. Since that class I’ve really fallen in love with mixed media and have been working to continue to develop my artistic skills through a variety of online and in person classes with Donna, as well as with many other talented artists.

I am sure you can imagine how thrilled I was when I was invited to be a part of Donna’s 2015 Artist Gang – a design team she put together to help showcase her line of products. Yesterday was my first post on her blog as a Donna Downey Artist Gang member, so I wanted to celebrate with you by sharing the video tutorial for the project I created, as well as sponsor a give-away of four 8″ x 8″ Donna Downey Studio Stencils (value $36) pictured below.

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This prize includes the: Count Downey, Keyhole Splatter, Blooming Floral and Big Toe 8×8 stencils (shown from left to right).

Donna Downey Studios Artist Gang 2015 Designer – Andrea Walford (me 😉 )

AndreaProfilePicture2014v2For those of you that don’t know me, I am the owner and creative director of Paper Crafter’s Library. I am also an avid art journaler and mixed media artist with a passion for teaching, sharing and inspiring others towards creativity. I have spent the last 10 years teaching paper crafting and more recently art journaling, online, to thousands of paper crafters around the world. I share my life with my husband Todd, 5 children (6, 8, 11, 14 and 16), my 94 year old Grandpa and our dog Ginger.  When not working I enjoy date nights with my husband, spending time with the kids, traveling and exploring, art journaling, reading, cooking and working out at the gym.  

“She Chooses To See” 12 x 16 Mixed Media Canvas

For my first Donna Downey Artist Gang post I created this 12 x 16 mixed media canvas using four different Donna Downey stencils along with a variety of other mediums.

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Here you can see a full view of the project.

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Now part of the criteria for our video submission was that we keep the videos to between 5-8 minutes in length – so as not to bore you guys LOL.  Of course as you can imagine, this canvas took a lot more than 8 minutes to create LOL.  From start to finish it took me just over 4 hours, working over 2 days (to allow for drying time).

For my Artist Gang post on Donna’s blog I did my best to piece together clips (in fast forward) of each of the essential steps in the creative process – so it captures everything I did “in a nutshell”.  As with my art journal express videos – I narrated for you what I was doing. You can watch that below:

Now I because I realize that there are probably many of you out there who are just like me and like to know all the details and the whole process, I have prepared a couple of “bonuses” for you.  First off, you can download a PDF handout below which lists the supplies I used and a general step by step process of how I created this canvas.

Download the PDF handout here.

I also put together a three part Bonus video series which shows you the entire creative process from start to finish!  In the same way I create my Art Journal Express videos for you, the video is in fast forward and is narrated for you – that way you can see exactly what I’m doing without having to sit through hours of film. I’ve broken it down into three parts so you can either watch the process in more detail in the part that interests you or watch them all.

Part 1 – Creating the Background

Part 2 – Painting and Shading the Face, neck, hair and sweater

Part 3 – The finishing touches (the sentiment and flower)

I hope you enjoyed today’s feature.  If you would like to see more of my mixed media work please check out my mixed media blog Andrea Walford Designs.  Please be sure to visit the  Donna Downey Studios shop and their blog for some inspiration.

I’d love it if you stop by my Artist Gang post and leave a comment!

In order to enter the give-away to win the prize shown above, please leave us a comment in the comments section of this post. The winner will be announced next Wednesday.

Happy Crafting!

29 replies on “Featured Company: Donna Downey Studios”

  1. Wow! This is fabulous and your videos were so much fun to watch. I’ve never really seen the process of mixed media. What a joyful and messy process with stunning results. I love the sentiment you used.

  3. I have followed Donna for years, wish I had her talent. I have been using stencil a lot more with my altered art/collages. So much you can do with them.

  4. I watched the video on Donna’s page yesterday. You made a beautiful canvas! I’m really in love with the bright background colors and the girl you made 🙂

  5. I have followed your blog for several years now and I am so enjoying your mixed media pieces. Your videos are the best I’ve seen . you explain what you do and WHY you do it that way . it makes so much sense and helps me to understand the process so much better. I am just starting to do mixed media after many years as a paper crafter. these Donna Downey stencils would be such a lovely way to encourage me to continue.

  6. What beauty and talent. Stencils are becoming so popular and these from Donna look like a lot of fun. Thanks for the chance to win!

  7. Donna never ceases to amaze me! Great videos and I love what she created! The stencils are awesome! I especially love Big Toe and Keyhole Splatter!!! Thanks for the interview with Donna and the chance to be a winner!

  8. Donna’s work is always amazing! What a fab giveaway!! I’ve marked this page to come back and watch the videos later… thx!!

  10. Beautiful work and love how the videos and the stencils make a projects that looks so overwhelming initially into something I could actually do and be successful at.

  11. Awesome canvas project! Love the bold colors! Off to view the videos… thanks for sharing them with us!

  15. Congratulations again being selected for the Artist Gang:) Donna was in Oklahoma City this past weekend, but due to issues beyond my artsy control…I find joy on the web with you and the gang! This canvas was a joy to see created and looking forward to a fantastic year and your journey!

  17. Your canvas is beautiful. I keep being attracted to those big green eyes. Love the sentiment!
    Thanks for sharing with us!

  20. What a beautiful canvas! I have never tried anything like this before. So many techniques used.

  23. This canvas is simply amazing!! You are so wonderful in providing us with the instructions on how to create the projects that you share – a huge thank you for that!!!

  25. Thanks for all the detailed process videos – great to see how you did this canvas. And these stencils are awesome!

  26. I LOVE, LOVE your mixed media Andrea!!! You are such a sweetie to provide detailed instructions (including PDF). Love the stencils — very unique and different — they would be awesome to win for my mixed media!!!

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