The Early Bird Catches the Best Price!

Enroll now and save 25%—pay $300 (or $25/month) instead of $400! Choose a one-time payment or a 12-month plan, available only until the course goes live on Friday, January 3, 2024.

Early Bird Perks: Get a head start with bonus coloring pages, a welcome packet, and a supply list available from day one! Monthly video lessons and downloadable resources will follow, guiding you through inspiring, start-to-finish projects all year long!

Imagine the Possibilities

HOMEMADE is a year-long journey inspired by cozy childhood memories and travels to colorful, storied places. You’ll learn to recreate the charm of vintage dollhouses using traditional drawing and watercolor techniques, bringing each miniature home to life with a 'lived-in' look that balances timeless details and fresh, modern touches. Equipped with a trusty mechanical pencil and curated watercolor palettes, you'll capture the warmth and nostalgia of cozy, personality-filled spaces. Over the year, you’ll complete four unique dollhouses—each crafted over three months, from architectural exteriors to a lovingly detailed Signature Room that tells its own story.

What to Expect

Your Homemade adventure begins with immediate access to a Welcome PDF, packed with essential tools, supplies, and organizational tips to keep you inspired. Throughout the course, you’ll create four unique dollhouses, each with its own style: The Refined Farmhouse, The Vintage Bungalow, The Repurposed Victorian, and The Mid-Century Modern Adobe. Each project unfolds over a three-month cycle, with lessons released on the first Friday of each month.

Monthly Assignments & Tutorials

One In-Depth Assignment per Month: Focus on a single, thoughtfully paced project each month to allow for detailed, relaxed work.
Start-to-Finish Guidance: Comprehensive video tutorials cover each step of drawing and painting both the exterior and a detailed Signature Room.

Project Breakdown by Month

Month 1: Mood Board Creation: Establish a curated color palette and explore patterns and textures to set the tone for each dollhouse.
Month 2: Detailed Exterior Illustration: Use your mood board to bring the exterior to life with intricate linework and layered details.
Month 3: Signature Room Interior: Complete a cozy, character-rich room, adding warmth and texture from your mood board.

New Technique

Intentional Flat Illustration: Learn an approachable technique to add subtle dimension without complex perspective, making your artwork visually rich yet accessible.

As you move through each project phase, periodic Choose Your Adventure emails will provide creative visuals keep you inspired. By course end, you’ll have a comprehensive workbook filled with stories, sketches, and reference illustrations—a lasting resource to support your creative growth long after the course ends.

Unlock a New Skill

With a background in graphic design and fine art, I create illustrations that tell hidden stories. In this course, we’ll use a danielle-ish style called Intentional Flat Illustration—a blend of flat design and watercolor illustration—to bring your dollhouses to life without the complexities of perspective drawing.

Intentional Flat Illustration combines the depth of traditional illustration with the simplicity of flat design. Adding gentle shadows and highlights gives your artwork dimension without requiring advanced perspective techniques. It’s an approachable style for creating engaging, lifelike scenes that feel both vibrant and nostalgic.

Introducing Choose Your Adventure

Throughout the live course, you’ll receive mini bursts of inspiration based on the choices our community makes. Each “Choose Your Adventure” moment adds a fresh spark to keep you engaged and inspired as we move through the course together!

Here’s how it works: during the live course, you’ll have the chance to vote on inspiring themes, and the theme with the most votes will be featured in an exclusive one-page PDF, filled with Danielle-inspired creativity, delivered directly to your inbox. Each of these simple, creative boosts is designed to spark fresh ideas and add an extra layer of inspiration to the course.

The Mini Adventure is available only for those following along from start to finish while the course runs live in 2025. It’s your chance to shape the experience and enjoy exclusive, interactive content as a part of my classroom community. I can’t wait to see where our mini adventures take us!

LESSON AND SUPPLY LIST SNEAK PEEK

Most of the supplies I use are artist-grade and are a more significant investment than student-grade. I highly encourage you to use what you have and take notes while watching the videos for the first time. Then, invest in the supplies that will truly enhance your own art.

XO, Danielle

I know how exciting it is to get caught up in a creative project and want to have all the supplies you need. However, it's important to remember that not everything might be readily available or affordable. Take a moment to see if you already have something that will work just as well. If not, then consider investing in new supplies.

ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES

Investing in artist-grade supplies makes a significant difference. They offer precision, vibrant colors, and durability, ensuring you can bring your best to each project.

Watercolor Brushes: A variety of brushes, including rounds from 0-8, ovals, and triangles (Silver Ltd. Black Velvet and Ruby Satin).
Watercolor Paper: 12 sheets of 9X12 Cold Press 140# watercolor paper (Arches).
.2 mm HB Mechanical Pencil (Pentel Orentz) and/or .3 mm HB Mechanical Pencil (Pilot AirBlanc).
White Vinyl Erasers (Acruit Vanish 4-in-1 and Tombow Mono Zero).
Traditional White Gouache (Winsor Newton Permanent White Gouache in tube format).
White Ink Marker (Uni Posca 1 mm).
Artist Tape (Various Widths): Keep 1/4, 1/2, 1, and 2-inch widths on hand.
Clear Grid Straight and Right-Angle Rulers: Sewing rulers work best!
Mixing Palette/Clear Jar/Paper Towels: A white porcelain dish is ideal for mixing.

OPTIONAL SUPPLIES

Craft Dryer: Perfect if you want to avoid waiting for layers to dry. This is a studio must for me! Note: Not to be confused with an embossing gun, which can overheat your paper and fingers. (Ranger)
Light Box: Useful for creating duplicates or adjusting details in illustrations. While a bright window can work, the light box (even this older model) works well on 140# watercolor paper, providing clarity for intricate designs. (HUION LB4 - 12.6x9 inch)

OPTIONAL COURSE ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM

1.5-Inch 3-Ring Binder with Clear Cover
5-tab Divider Set
4-8.5x11 Clear Sheet Protectors
9x12 Art Portfolio for finished pieces

Please note that the supplies used in this course may not be available where you live or may have been discontinued based on the original course release date. If you’re having trouble finding a specific supply, you can try searching for art supply substitutions online.

Let's Get Started!

$300

Early Bird One-Time Purchase

Buy Early and Save BIG—25% Off! (Reg. $400)

Enroll early and save 25% on the full price! (Reg. $400, Now $300) Early Bird access gives you a head start with a bonus coloring page and introductory packet available on day one, followed by monthly video lessons, creative prompts, and downloadable resources released each month to guide you step-by-step through each project phase.

12 payments of $25/month

Buy Early Bird and Save BIG—25% Off!

Buy Early and Save BIG—25% Off! (Reg. $400 or $34/month, Now $300 or $25/month)

Enroll early and save 25% on the full price! (Reg. $400 or $34/month, Now $300 or $25/month). Early Bird access gives you a head start with a bonus coloring page and introductory packet available on day one, followed by monthly video lessons, creative prompts, and downloadable resources released each month to guide you step-by-step through each project phase.

CURRENCY. This course is priced in USD. REFUND POLICY. Because you have immediate access to the content of this course, I am unable to offer a refund. QUESTIONS? Send an email to [email protected]. Please allow 48 hours for response.

Hi, I'm Danielle!

"As an artist, author, and instructor, I bring a love of vibrant color, intricate details, and creative storytelling to every course. From my sunny San Diego studio, I’ve developed an illustrative style that blends fine art and graphic design principles with a teaching approach designed to encourage skill-building, creative exploration, and using your imagination. Whether you're a beginner or advanced artist, I’m here to share my approach to color, composition, and the beauty of white space, helping you uncover new techniques and bring depth and personality into every piece you create."

ABOUT THE COVER ART

The cover art (sales page and welcome packet) offers a preview of ideas and techniques you’ll discover in the course. While there are no specific instructions or project videos for recreating it, it’s designed to inspire and showcase what’s in store. By the end, you’ll have the skills to create something just as exciting in your own signature style.

EARLYBIRD BONUS! Sign up before the course officially opens on Friday, January 3, 2024 to receive exclusive cover line art coloring pages—both exterior and interior—to spark your creativity from day one!

Build Your Craft

Committing to a year-long class is like laying the foundation for something truly lasting. Imagine building your skills layer by layer, exploring every detail and technique at a relaxed, easy pace—no rush, just you and your art taking shape over time. With each month, you’ll see real progress, tackling bigger projects and building confidence that sticks. A year in this course isn’t just about learning—it’s about crafting something enduring in both your skills and your creative spirit, creating a depth that shorter classes simply can’t match.

FAQ'S

How long do I have access to this course?

You’ll have access to the course content as long as I’m actively teaching. All lessons are downloadable, so you can save them for future reference. If there comes a time when I retire the course—due to tech limitations, material availability, or my eventual retirement—you’ll be notified via email and given a year to download any remaining content. This approach ensures lasting access to your lessons, even beyond the life of the course!

What is included and how long are the videos? Scroll up to Course Curriculum. In addition to the videos, courses always include coordinating (PDF) Workbooks.

Is this course suitable for all levels? All levels are always welcome! I try to teach to the middle in my courses. That means beginners might need to practice more and rewatch the videos more than once to grasp techniques and concepts. Advanced artists can use the content to elevate their style by taking bits of the course and infusing them into their own style.

Is high speed internet needed for the course?

Yes. You'll need a good internet connection to watch/download the videos.

Should I buy all of the art supplies used in this course? I highly encourage you to watch the videos and review the handouts prior to investing in new supplies. If you have fallen in love with watercolor and want to continue working with them, I do feel that to get the most out of watercolor-based art, you should consider investing in artist-grade paint, paper, and brushes.

Do you have a Facebook group for your courses? As a class participant, you’ll enjoy a focused, independent learning experience beyond social media. While The Danielle Donaldson Art Room on Facebook is available for now, I’m moving toward Course Connections—regular email interactions for live courses.

Have a question about this course and can't seem to find the answer? I am happy to help! Please email me at [email protected]. Please allow 48 hours for a response prior to reaching out again.