A Painterlady's View

Girlfriends Gazette

Hi everyone,

For those of you who haven't heard, I author a FREE quarterly newsletter with my girlfriends, Leah Fung and Johanna Peterson. The first newsletter went out on October 1st. We are still taking new subscriptions daily. All you have to do is send an e-mail to donna@thegirlfriendsclub.net with the subject line "Newsletter" and your name in the body of the e-mail.

**IMPORTANT** Please add my e-mail address to your approved senders list so the e-mail won't be sent to your junk e-mail.

We are also hosting challenges every quarter and the theme this quarter is "Comfort". We would love to see projects, layouts, home decor, etc... with this theme. Each of the three of us will be picking our favorite submissions and if your project is chosen, you will be highlighted in our next newsletter! Just send a pic of your project (250kb-500kb) to donna@thegirlfriendsclub.net with the subject title "Comfort" to enter.

Tell your friends!

We have a prize to give away!

To enter into the contest for the prize shown above, have your friends send us an e-mail that says "your e-mail sent me" in the subject field (example: donna@thegirlfriendsclub sent me) The person who refers the most new subscriptions WINS! 

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~

Great article from Scrapbook Update

I 100% support the philosophy mentioned in this article. When I was coordinating the endorsed teacher program at my last company I set up partnerships with companies that manufacture liquid glue, dry adhesives, ink/paint, tools, etc... Though some companies are short sighted and don't realize the value in promotional partnering, especially with companies that manufacture complimentary products, I feel survival in these uncertain economic times requires it. I'm glad to now be working with companies that feel the same as I do!

 

Great article Lain!

 

Please follow the link below to read article.

 

 

Social Media and its Impact on the Scrapbooking Industry

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~

New Video

We've posted a new video on the Girlfriend's blog. I show the newly updated version of my signature paper flowers. We make them in layers!

I've also added the vintage scallops & flowers for purchase on my website: HERE

15 Large Scallops for $5 (plus shipping) 

20 flowers (10 Medium & 10 Small) for $5 (plus shipping)

I will be adding more unique embellies to my site in the very near future so keep checking back!

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~

Comfort Food

 
During the holidays one of my favorite things to do is to come up with a new recipe for Pumpkin soup. I've been making pumpkin soup for over 15 years now. I've had some GREAT recipes and some not so great recipes. I've made 2 pumpkin soups so far this fall and they were both good but my new Pumpkin Potato Chowder is my favorite so far. I posted a picture on Facebook and had several requests for the recipe so here it is!

Donna’s  Pumpkin Potato Chowder

8 medium potatoes

1 medium/small pumpkin (about 3 lbs)

½ brown onion

5 bacon strips (chopped)

2 TBS crushed garlic

4 TBS bacon grease (with the extra bits from the bottom of the pan)

½ cup flour

¼ cup parmesan cheese

3 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

Seasoning to taste (1-2 tsp each): thyme, dill, pepper, celery salt, season salt, garlic salt

· Peel and dice the potatoes and the pumpkin, set aside

· Cook the bacon & set aside (keep the bacon grease)

· Dice the onions

· Put the bacon, grease, onions, and garlic in the bottom of a large stock pan on medium heat. Sautee onions until carmelized.

· Add the pumpkin, potatoes, seasonings and flour, let cook for 5 minutes

· Add the chicken broth and the cream

· Lower heat to simmer and let cook until pumpkin and potatoes are soft

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy and would love to hear how it turns out for ya!

Hugs ~D~

New Classes!

I've been brewing up a bunch of new classes plus... Leah and I are working on some top secret stuff that we will announce in a couple weeks... I'm super excited about it!

I will be doing a Christmas Card Make n Take at Scrapbook Your Life (619.298.7871)  in San Diego on Saturday, November 7th at 11:00 followed by my Binder Calendar Class. The cards for the Make n Take use My Winter Wishes papers and embellies but these new cards are re-designed and much more elaborate. (see sneaks below)

Donna will be sharing her favorite techniques in her Christmas Card Buffet make n take using her new Winter Wishes paper line and embellishments. Donna will have you painting, inking, tearing, distressing, playing with Zutter tools and making the new version of her signature paper flowers. The new paper flowers are made with multiple materials from her traditional vintage dictionary pages, to lunch bags and tissue paper. She will be charging only $5 per card with access to her full embellishment buffet and you have the option to make one card or all 6.

I have created a Brand New Class that I will be teaching at Pages From the Heart in Monrovia (626-358-5334) on Sunday, November 15th @ 1:00. It will be a Holiday ATC card w/ holder class with an optional swap at the end of class. You don't have to make this project with the holiday theme but it would be a fun swap to do with your crafty friends. Here are some sneaks:

The ATCs on the left are holiday themed, the ones on the right aren't... You get to choose how you will create your cards. Every card will be different... it will be a fun-out-of-the-box-creative time! Plus... I will have a full buffet of papers, ribbon, paint, ink, stamps, glitter, you name it!

I also wanted to Thank Tim @ Scor-it for having me "In the Spotlight" in this months Newletter. I was thrilled with the way the article came out... Judi made me sound goooood! lol

Visit again soon... I have 2 more Brand New Classes that I will be sharing in the very near future. You can check my Calendar HERE for the latest updates.

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~

New project

The "Girlfriends" have decided to start doing video classes! The one thing that was holding us back was the technology... But I finally figured out how to make it happen!!! Here are some sneak peeks of my first video project... a gated album using my Winter Wishes line that was inspired by Leah's gated album HERE:

 

There are lots of interactive elements... it makes it feel like a pop-up book. I am also going to be teaching this class LIVE at The Pink Pineapple Sunday, November 22nd at 1:00. I'm teaching two classes at this store THIS weekend! Call the store to sign up: 760-598-2222.

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~

 
 

Weather...

California can't decide what season it wants to be in. Just two days ago I took these pictures:

Today it is supposed to be in the 80s? I'm ready for summer to be over!

Thanks for stopping by! Check out the Girlfriend's blog tonight for our newest v-blog.

Hugs ~D~

Facebook photos

Facebook seems to be taking over as far as my sharing with cyber-buddies goes. I didn't realize that I hadn't posted in so long. Please become my friend on Facebook to keep up with the latest scoop.

I've posted a photo album of my trip to Scrapbook Your Life in San Diego on Facebook but here are a couple of my faves:

Eating breakfast burritos from Tommy's with my son (I had to pay him to go with me... lol)

Getting a littly punchy towards the end of the evening with Liz and Kristal from Scrapbook Your Life.

I'll be teaching my Christmas Card and box set & my Spinner Album recipe book at the Art Bar this weekend. You can contact them at 714-558-2445 for more info.

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~

Great Fun!

I had a great weekend. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting sick AGAIN with no break between colds but I had fun this weekend nonetheless (especially after lazing about all day yesterday).

On Saturday, my daughter and I spent the day together. We went to drop off a sample at The Art Bar and we walked around checking out all the artsy stuff in the area. Of course we couldn't resist taking some fun pictures... I mean what kind of a scrapper would I be if we weren't taking pictures!

 
I taught a couple classes at Collective Journey on Sunday (I hadn't taught there before) and I was blown away. The store was HUGE and adorable and the students were wonderful! I will definitely be calling them about going back to teach soon.

I have a couple classes this Saturday at Scrapbook Your Life in San Diego (I haven't taught there before either!) I am really looking forward to it!

You can call the store to sign up for my classes at 619-298-7871. I'm teaching my 6 Christmas card & box set class at 10:30 and my 3 Ring Binder Calendar with 12 month pages and 60 week pages (5 weeks for each month) at 2:30. I will be teaching how to make my signature dictionary flowers and will have a full buffet for each class. Hope you can make it!

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~

It is finally done!

I'm so glad that we are doing this FREE newsletters only once a quarter. This thing kicked my butt! I'm pretty sure that the butt kicking may have been mostly due to me being sicker-n-a-dog for the last week and a half. BUT... I must say that I am very happy with the way that it turned out. It ended up being 14 pages long!!! I just sent out the newsletter link to our subscribers so if you want to get a copy you can e-mail me at donna@thegirlfriendsclub.net and let me know you would like to be added to the list.

BTW... We are giving away this fahhhbulous prize for the person who refers the most new subscribers:

The details on how to win this prize are in the newsletter so if you haven't subscribed yet... shoot me an e-mail.

I'm teaching 2 classes this Sunday at Collective Journey in Redlands. I've never taught here before but I've hear GREAT things! I can't wait!!!

6 Chunky Christmas Cards & Box set – 12:00 to 2:00

8x8 Chipboard 3 ring Binder Calendar – 3:00 – 5:00  

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs ~D~