Gesso – We’ve got that.

Absorbent Ground – We’ve got that.

Gelatos – We’ve got that.

India Ink – We’ve got that.

Fluid Acrylics (by Golden: the good stuff!) – We’ve got that.

Paint Brushes – You guessed it! We’ve go that too!

Stop in The RC on Main and get all these supplies and a heckuva lot more!

Image from www.milliande.com

We all love to doodle. Even a simple box grid can look pretty once we are done filling and shading. Did you know it has a “name”? Zentangle! All along you thought you weren’t an artist but for years you’ve been warming up for your debut! Following is a little link to a few patterns to fill a page, small notebook or even a tile made just for zentangle. Pick up your pencil and pen and get doodling – er… I mean – Zentangling http://tanglepatterns.com/tag/zentangle

I think some of you are wondering who she is, or maybe even what the big deal is.  Well, I will tell you first off, Donna teaches all around the world!  She is well known all over and people from all countries are knocking down her door to get her to come and teach classes.  In fact, two weeks after she is in Charles City, she will be teaching in Belgium!  She also teaches at CHA, workshops such as Inspired, and other retreats.  Her work has been published in just about every scrapbooking and crafting magazine out there!  She has also done tv spots and videos.  She is a very accomplished instructor and best of all, easy to learn from!  She loves what she does and it shows!  Her excitement is contagious and she makes you want to create with abandon!  She is funny, silly, and quirky and she carries that through to her work.  At the same time she is a creative maven and what I would call an accomplished artist!  She really knows her stuff!  Learning from her is easy, fun, and definitely an experience you will not forget!

Donna likes to post videos on her blog and I strongly urge you to check them out!  Some are just fun and random as she shares ideas or what is going on in her world.  Others are step by step tutorials for projects and ideas.  Still others are start to finish videos of her creative process.  She does this regularly with her Inspiration Wednesday posts.  Here is a link to her blog.  Also, here is a video that I recommend-

I also want to point out that Donna designs product both for scrapbooking/crafting for Prima® and also home fashions for Demdaco®.  Her designs and ideas are innovative.  They are also something that everyone can use.  Stop by the store and I can show you some of the items we carry from her.  Canvas and flowers that are perfect for your craft project!  Her Demdaco designs can be seen here.

Lastly, but certainly not least, and probably most, she is a wife, mother, and woman!  She is a real person with a real life.  Luckily for us she shares herself and her life through her work.  She lets us in on her world through her blog posts and Facebook shares.  We see her feelings and emotions conveyed through her inspiraion journal entries.  She guides us to find our inner artists by teaching and guiding us in her classes!

So, that’s just a little bit into who and what Donna Downey is.  We are really super excited to have her coming here and teaching!  It really is an honor to have someone this accomplished share her creative goodness with us!  Take the time to look around her website and her blog and get familiar with her.  You will be amazed and inspired!  If you have any questions about Donna, her classes, or anything else having to do with crafting, you can give us a call anytime.  641-228-3030 You can also check out the classes on our website here.

Well, I was pretty inpsired by the simplicity of this layout and decided to create my own.  What did I like about it?  Well, I definitely liked the white (or empty) space on the left side of the page.  Having everything in one column makes for a quick way to scrap one photo that you really like.  The bubbles on this page help to tie everything together and also to carry your eye through the page.  I felt like this was the kind of design I would like to use on a page.  So, here’s my take on it!

Big Boy Toys layout

Close up of layout

Basic Grey Wander

This is our youngest nephew last year on his birthday and his awesome gift from the family!  What a quick and fun page this was to put together!  I used 2 pieces of Basic Grey Wander® collection paper and 1 piece of cardstock!  And some buttons of course!  You could easily use this design and use up some of your paper scraps.  Or, even sticker leftovers!  Quick and easy!  Isn’t that what we all want?  And, yes, I did stick with the boy theme and the blue color for my page.  But, you could easily turn this into a girl page and use pink or yellow and flowers or bling!  No rules here, just use your imagination and your creativity!

I also want to point out to you that I used the Basic Grey Wander® collection papers.  Now this line is basically a travel type of collection but I easily turned it into a boy themed page.  Even cutting out some of the “road signs” and using them as embellishments on the page took them from having a travel type meaning to being about a boy and his toy!  So what I’m saying is to use your creative mind and let your ideas flow when using product.  Don’t be limited by what you think the items are suppose to be used for.  Use them how you like and don’t be afraid to experiment and play!  Just imagine the possibilities you may have once you get started on your creative journey!

Friday July 8-Open crafting 7 p.m. – Midnight.  Come on in and use our workroom and tools for $5 and get some projects done!  And, of course, have some fun while doing it! 

Tuesday July 10-Paper Beads 10 a.m. – Noon.  Learn how to use your everyday papers, junk mail, and scraps to make beautiful beads!  We will show you how to make different shapes and sizes so you can have a variety.  This is good for young and old alike!

Thursday July 14-Button Necklace and Bracelet 6 p.m.-8 p.m.  You can pick your own button colors and style to make your necklace unique!  This project would be good for the kids but is also fun for us big kids too!  Make something for yourself to wear, or make as a gift.

Wednesday July 20-Scrapbooking 101 10 a.m. – Noon.  Guest instructor Rachel is back to show you the basics of scrapbooking.  This is a great way to get a page or two done and pick up some new ideas and designs! 

Wednesday July 20 or Saturday July 23-Quarterly Card Club.  This month we are focusing on birthday cards but the designs and techniques you learn can be used on any card!  You will make 4 complete cards and have lots of fun at the same time! 

Friday July 22-Open Crafting 7 p.m. – Midnight.  Time again to come in and use our room to create and have fun!  Bring a friend or two and make a night of it!

Monday July 25-Smiling Layouts 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.  You will be making 2 double page spreads in this class.  Gorgeous papers and embellishments are all included!  Good for boy pages or girl!

Saturday July 30-Photo Finish 10 a.m. – Noon.  Rachel is at it again with a great class to spark your creativity!  This class will focus on getting the photos you want for your pages! 

As always if you have any questions about the classes you can call us at 228-3030 or stop into the store!  We try to have samples for each class displayed in the store so you can see it too.  And, our schedule is always on the website http://www.therusticcorner.com/cal.html so you can look at it there.  We hope you can join us soon to create and learn!

This layout from the Jillibean® blog is ALL about summer and sunshine!  Love how the sun was made on this one and the different stickers mixed in to the strip journaling!  You could easily make a page just like this with your favorite summer photos and papers!

Another great project using the sun as a main componant.  This is from the Little Yellow Bicyle blog.  This was made using the Sweet Summertime® collection.  And just to let you know, we just got in a bunch of the goodies from this collection!  Yay!  It will be out in the store in a day or two, so be sure to stop in and see it in person!  It is sure to inspire you to create your own sunshiney projects!

These two above are of course a little summer inspiration Graphic 45® style!  Gotta love that vintage touch! 

This is a totally great layout found on the Bo Bunny blog.  I really love the asymetrical design of this page.  All of your elements are in one stack/cloumn with just a few bubbles floating out to help draw your eye in.  You could use this simple but gorgeous design for a page about swimming as they did, or make a page about a wedding.  Just replace the bubbles with flowers, or butterflies.  You could use this for any subject you are scrapping about!  It is a nice way to showcase one special photo!

Well, that’s it for today’s installment of inspiration!  If you come across anything summery and sunshiney be sure to share with us!  And, like always, we looovve to see your creations!  If I have inspired you today to make something awesome, please share it with us here on the blog!

We have two new paper collections to share with you.  We recently added some Bo Bunny Zoology® papers to the store.  Animal prints are so popular right now, especially zebra print, and we just had to have these papers!  They really are gorgeous and vibrant and could be used for lots of different projects.  Bo Bunny® has very nice quality papers and are great fun to work with. 

We also have in the new Velvet Ensemble collection from Kaisercraft®!  Love it!  There are 7 different papers plus a sticker sheet and journal tags!  The colors are just awesome and the patterns can be used for so much!  The collection has a music, cinema, dance type of theme and would work great for pages about those type of events.  But, it could also be used for much more.  Be sure to check it out and imagine the possibilites you could use it for!

Don’t forget that we have lots of patriotic and military papers and kits available for all your scrapping and card making needs!  The 4th of July is just around the corner so be sure to get the goods before they are gone! 

Another new product that we just got in are some wallets and totes made out of Tyvek material.  These are pretty cool.  They are blank so you can draw and decorate them as you would like.  Markers would work great on these and so would paint.  Plus, they are very durable and will go through a lot of torture and still last!  Be sure to stop in and see them because they are so much neater in person!

Lastly I just want to leave you with a little inspiration!  A few cards that we have made lately here in the store.  Two of them are ones that we did for card club and one is just a sample we made!  Lots of great ideas here for you to take and use and turn into your own!  And, if you do, please feel free to share!  We would love to see your works of art! 

Some of the things that the company suggests you can use your book for: Recipes, Ticket Stubs, Doodles, Love letters, Jokes, Quotes, Fav songs or movies, Sketches, Design ideas, Life lists, or Souvenirs!  But, seriously there are soooo many options, this list doesn’t even scratch the surface!  Check out this video from K&Company about the Smash® book.

If you want more inspiration and ideas they also have a blog dedicated solely to the Smash® book!  Check it out, it is very cool. 

Then be sure to come into the store and see the books in person and all of the goodies that go with it!  There are 4 different styles/colors available right now and you are sure to love at least one, but probably all of them!

Friday June 3-9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and

Saturday June 4-9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This will be held at The Rustic Corner at 809 Wisconsin St.  But, there will be goodies there from both stores.  Yep, you read that right.  We will have goodies and deals from both stores available!  Be sure to stop in and see what we have and be sure to stop in early to get the good deals!  Just like any garage sale, they go fast! 

And, while you are shopping the garage sale, be sure to stop into the stores and see all the new items that we have in!  Both The Rustic Corner and The RC on Main have lots of new and inspiring items in.  While at The RC be sure to check out the Smash® books that just came in!  They are the newest craze in the scrapbooking world!  Perfect for any age, but really good for those preteens and teens that like to journal, doodle, and keep their everyday memories!  They even come with a pen that doubles as a glue stick!  Hello innovation!  The Rustic Corner has in new spring items for your home and garden.  Lots of variety guarantees that you will find something you love!