Today we travel to the Center of the US to the small town Gypsum, Colorado. The town was named for nearby gypsum deposits and was incorporated in 1911, located in Western Eagle County. This beautiful region is the current home of our next spotlight artist, Donna Budzynski, a designer for the Canvas Corp Brands Design Team, aka the “Creative Crew!” Its in this beautiful area that Donna creates her beautiful masterpieces. To learn more about the history and fun facts of Gypsum, Colorado visit Wikipedia.com!
As part of our spotlight series we have asked each crew member to share a little bit about themselves. Questions that spotlight their creative talents and where the get inspired by. Our crew is spread out across the globe. They provide us and our artistic community with so much creativity on a daily basis. We are excited to bring to life their journey while we share ours….So lets get started and introduce you to Donna….
I am from Minnesota. We moved to Colorado 5 years ago and we live in a small town called Gypsum. It is a small mountain town. It is absolutely beautiful, but when you run out of a craft supply your in trouble! You have two choices, Denver 3 hours or Grand Junction at 2 1/2 hour away. That is one way!!! I usually opt for Grand Junction so that I don’t have to go over Vail Pass. One other downfall to living her is I don’t get mail at my house!!! I have to have a PO Box. I hate that….
Describe your design style….My style can be all over the place! What I enjoy MOST is anything with a vintage feel! I like to add vintage bits and bobbles to my projects. I like to use inks with a vintage feel. I love to up-cycle things. Most all of my Dress forms I put together come from bits and pieces I have collected from junk, garage sales and antiques shops. Sometimes I even pick up rusty things of the ground. Maybe I should call my style “mish mash” vintage?
Who or what do you give credit to for inspiring your creativity? This is something Mom has tried to figure out for years. Mom said I was born this way! LOL! When I was 12 my little sister (5 yrs younger) needed a halloween costume, so I took an old white sheet and started to cut it up and made her a dog costume. I used brown markers and yarn and stitched it together. Who does this at 12? It turned out pretty great considering I had no pattern. My Dad also had a RC Model shop and I would go to work with him. I always was asking to do the string art kits for samples in the shop. I also was the reciever of his left over Testors paints. I have always had pencils and a pad to draw and my Grandpa was so awesome he would always ask for pictures and he would frame them and hang them in his living room. I was always so happy to see them up
What inspires you most today? So many things to admire and be inspired by. It is so easy to get lost on the internet just cruising though things you would like to do or try! I find sometimes I will find a antique and know exactly what I want to do with it. I am in a phase that I find way to many things inspire me and I think I need to rein myself in and settle on just a few and perfect them.
What is your favorite Canvas Corp Brand Product? and why? (We asked them to pick just one, which has proven to be difficult for some and easy for others.) Without a doubt that’s got to be 7 gypsies for sure! Why? It just works for me! It is me! I have one line that I have used forever!
What is your favorite project you have created using CCB Products? This is a class I taught and was loved by all. It is also using so many of my favorite pictures of my Dad. He has since past and that makes it even more special. And it used my favorite line of 7 gypsies! When closed it sits on a coffee table s a decor piece and had metal legs. It is pretty cool!
Do you teach and if so tell us a bit about what you teach, where you go and some of your favorite places? I did start teaching classes in Minnesota right before we left. The box above was a GREAT one with super reponse to it. I have done some Halloween classes. And this yeas at CHA I did a small class at Eileen Hull’s booth. Also was fun to be at the make and take for Canvas Corp Brands at CHA!
I am the happiest doing…..As I said I am from Minnesota and my family is still there. So I am happiest when they visit or when I visit them. I miss my 3 grandchildren soooo much! It is nice that the 14 and 12 year old Snap Chat with me! Art comes in second!!!!
My favorite place to be creative….In my room with the music turned up and no one to bug me! (Like having to stop to make dinner).When in MN I had a great tribe that would get together at one of the best retreat centers I have ever been too called The Pine City Scrapbooking Co. This place is so AWESOME! The best thing is it has a store attached to it and it is crazy stocked with fabulous stuff!
Tell us one cool detail about your studio or craft space. I would show you a photo of my space but it is a mess! I just finished 11 projects and sent them off for publication. What I have left is a major MESS! So you can imagine what I am up to next. My area was a small bedroom and now it is in the Master bedroom as I needed more space. So I have a quite large room with different stations. But somehow I still tend to go out to the dining room table! LOL!
Tell us one thing fun about you we might not know…One thing I am told all of the time is just how fun I am! Once people hear my laugh they always comment on it! My laugh is the one thing that everyone of my friends in MN say they miss! It is very loud! I have met so many people because of my laugh! I like to have fun and laughing is always a good thing!
Donna creates some amazing things using our 7Gypsies brand of Products. Here are some fun projects that she created and links so you can follow along get inspired and make your own.
Here is a vintage style dress form that Donna created using 7 Gypsies papers and elements. Click here to make your own and see the whole project; Vintage Style Gypsy Dress Form Project!
A distressed paper piece called; I’m Tired can be found here along with more photos and techniques using 7 Gypsies products.
Share with us anything about your creative life that you feel would inspire others….Try anything you would like to try! Don’t be afraid, you could end up being really good at it! My husband got cancer a second time and I was super stressed, someone said to try working with clay it would relax you. So I tried, now I sell figures and enjoy and it is really relaxing! I am not great at it, but people find my stuff quirky and fun! I started building my dress forms just to see if I could do it! Now I sell them also! So just try, if it dosen’t work out try again! That is how I was published….I just tried it! I have been published in a few of the Stampington Magazines! You just never know!
This is a recent project that Donna created using our latest Mixed Media Origins papers and Tattered Angels Inks. Perfect for the kitchen or for that farm fresh look!
Donna makes an incredible part of our team sharing a wide variety of DIY and paper projects that make us swoon. She is always coming up with great ideas and helps us explore our products in new ways.
Join us for more work by the Crew and Canvas Corp Brands on our new Facebook Group – just ask to join and we will welcome you in –Canvas Corp Brands Collective Facebook Group – share your work, see the work of the crew, ask questions, comment and be a part of a terrific group of creatives.
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'FEATURED CREW MEMBER: DONNA BUDZYNSKI' has 1 comment
May 8, 2016 @ 6:30 pm Laura / Pet Scribbles
I’ve admired Donna’s work for quite some time, and was fortunate to get to meet her last Fall at a wonderful artist retreat in Denver. I”m honored to call her a friend now! And I’m honored to have some of her pieces in our home too. Love you Donna!