Today's Daily Dose of Inspiration

I'm taking a little break for the long holiday weekend , but thought I should leave you with a some inspiration.

I also leave you with a little sale too, please enjoy FREE international shipping on all items purchased from Block Party Press through midnight EST May 31st, 2010 . I've adjusted all the listings, so there's no need for a revised invoice or a refund.

I only need 7 more sales to reach 1800 sales! #1800 can pick a free item of equal or lesser value than the purchased item!!

New this week:
























Wishing you all a wonderful inspiration filled weekend!

Don't forget to sign my guest book at the bottom of the blog too! I'd love to see whose been visiting!!

Today's Daily Dose of Inspiration

Keeping with the theme of kids and art, here's an inspiring new pastel drawing by my 7 year old

Be Inspired to Share Your Love of Art and Creating

I had a fantastic time at Handmade Mart this weekend. Even though it was pouring when the hubs and I set up the tent, it eventually stopped raining and stayed dry the rest of the day. It was great to see so many familiar faces. I had a bunch of repeat customers which is always nice and met quite a few new ones too. (Sorry the pics are blurry, but I think my camera was fogged up from the rain and humidity.














At last year's show I debuted the Block Party kid's art table which was a great success (See here) and so much fun. I couldn't disappoint the kids, so despite the table getting a bit wet from the rain, I set up the art table again this year. I even did a few impromptu lessons in Sculpey sculpting. Unfortunately, I forgot to put my SD card in my camera, so I was rather limited in what I could photograph. The kids didn't disappoint this year. Check out some of their creations. Lots of "so and so was here", lots of pretty lovely girl drawings , some grapes and even a chicken nugget.



















































Peace and pie...sounds like heaven :)




























































My personal favorite :P


















Tweet Tweet!




















Here's my little contribution from my mini "makin faces" lesson:














Take some time this week to share your love of creating with a child, be it your own or someone else's. I promise they will inspire you!!

Another Sneak Peek

Join me at the Handmade Mart!
THIS SUNDAY! May 23, 2010, 10am to 5pm
Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring, MD

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Here's another sneak peak at some of the things I'm finishing up for Handmade Mart. Don't forget this is my last show until July, so if you want to see my wares in person come on by. Mention this blog and receive 10% off your order!

Handmade Mart this Sunday!!

Join me at the Handmade Mart!
THIS SUNDAY! May 23, 2010, 10am to 5pm
Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring, MD

Here's a sneak peak at some of the things I'm finishing up for Handmade Mart. This is my last show until July, so if you want to see my wares in person come on by. Mention this blog and receive 10% off your order!














Follow these links for more info
Vendors
Vendor Map
Main Stage Schedule

This is a family event, so feel free to bring your kids. I'll have my kids art table set up like I did last year, so bring the kiddos by for some fun creating! Here's some of the artwork from last year's show: Handmade Mart Kid's Art 2009

The live music will start around 11am. They've got a great line up of local musicians including live Rockabilly bands hosted by two of our favorite sponsors, the Quarry House Tavern and Jackie's. A high energy, kid-friendly rock set will go on in the early afternoon, hosted by Rock-n-Romp.

Carmen's Italian Ice will be returning for a 2nd year, providing our vendors and shoppers sweet releief from the heat with awesome frozen goods. Carmen's booth will be located next to the music stage, so stop by for a mid-day treat.

Hands-on workshops will be hosted at the Artspring Art Square, located in front of the ArtSpring store on the corner of Ellsworth and Georgia. The Pyramid Atlantic Art Center will be leading workshops in screen printing from 1-3pm and paper making from 11am-3-pm.

I'll try to post some more sneak peaks tomorrow in between basketball games and Shrek Forever.

Today's Daily Dose of Inspiration

Tulip Poplar

Be Inspired to Create with Non-Traditional Materials or My Kid is Awesome

I think like most artists, I can get can get in a rut focusing on one art medium. I tend to think in clay, so all my ideas tend to manifest themselves in clay. Luckily I have a little person who lives with me who reminds me that you can create art with just about anything. My 7 year old artist creates regular "art installations" and he loves to use non-traditional mediums. Honestly I believe he can make art out of just about any material. Here are some examples:



Spongebob Lego Mosaic - He was trying to make a 3D version, but realized he didn't have enough yellow Legos. That didn't deter him, so he created this little masterpiece



Here we have a hot wheels car self portrait



Jenga as art





River rock sculpture



Sand and beach stones and shells



A mixture of coins, Hot wheels and magnetix balls


















Dog created with coins

Is he creative or what? Although he does have favorites, he doesn't limit his materials. He sees art everywhere. I wish everyone saw the world that way. Take some time this week to create some art with non-traditional items. It's a great way to look at regular everyday items in a new and different way. Take a picture of what you make and send it to me or link to the photo in the comments and I'll share it here on the blog! Happy creating!

Be Inspired by some Old Timers

They say wisdom and maturity come with age. A new Etsy Team, Old Time Etsy, was created this month to celebrate Etsy artists who have been around for a while. New sellers join Etsy daily, so it's easy to lose track of some of your old favorites. This group was established to help promote these "perfectly aged" sellers . Many were there from the start and have weathered all the sites changes. Their staying power, talent and constant evolution are quite inspiring. Here's a Treasury East I made featuring some of our members. Just click the photo to be taken to the original list where you can comment and link to the items.





















Here's a statement about the group and all of the participating members:

We are the Old Time Etsy Team, made up of some of the very first sellers that joined this marketplace in the beginning.

We’ve helped Etsy grow and have been a part of all the exciting changes this site has undergone. Through it all we’ve remained passionate about our stores and remain committed to providing the best possible product and service. To this end we are constantly updating our shops and offering sensational new items.

Our creativity and proven experience is our advantage – with thousands of happy customers to confirm it!

We are:
Aandvdesigns
AliciaBock
Amandajean
Annarubyking
Artbynaomi
Artgoodies
Artnoose
BeaG
Benben
Betsy3
Blackstar
Blockpartypress
Brightonmoon
Circaceramics
Chetanddot
Chocolateandsteel
Clevergirl
ColleenBaran
Craftpaca
Danitashop
Dennisanderson
Earmark
Eggmanstudios
Eliwill
Erinzam
Fruccidesign
Gallery32
Holly
Janedean
Jpatpurses
Juliegarland
Kjoo
Knitknit
Kupkup
Littleoddforest
Locallibrary
Lunasadesigns
Lupin
Marieflyfly
Marmar
Marmeecraft
Mck254
Melabo
Mirrorgirl
Monstergallery
Moxy
Mpatrizio
MSpottery
Mudpuppy
Nanopod
Nikoart
Obsoleteworld
Ohsoretro
Patapri
PearsonMaron
Rafya
Rokdarbi
Runamok
Sarstar77
Stiksel
Sudlow
Susarto
Sushipot
Sweetnellie
Syko
Tamar
Thebrokenplate
Ticklebean
Tigerlillyshop
Treehouse28
Unaodd
Vadjutka
Vaivanat
Yaelfran

A Pretty fantastic list of artists if I do say so myself!!

Here's where you can find more about Old Time Etsy and find out what we're up to:
blog: http://oldtimeetsy.blogspot.com/
twitter: http://twitter.com/OldTimeEtsy
flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1426163@N21/

Check out some of these "old timers" and be inspired by their incredible artistry and creativity, their dedication and their ability to continue to evolve over time! Never thought I'd be proud to be called an Old Timer, but I am!!

Today's Daily Dose of Inspiration 05/17/10

No time for a long post today but I don't want to lose my posting momentum, so I'll share this sweet photo of my oldest carefully picking up some tadpoles to examine them. All tadpoles were carefully returned to the water moments after this shot was taken.

Things I love about this photo:

• How carefully he's holding these new little lives
• The little circular ripple in the water
• The reflection of the trees that towered overhead
• The cute little tadpoles

Themes:

• conservation
  
• nature appreciation
  
• love
• care
• beginnings
• babies
• transformation
  

Today's Daily Dose of Inspiration 05/15/10

Be Inspired by the Power of Suggestion

Etsy recently added a new feature that suggests shops you might like. They also added a new treasury, Treasury East, that has a new layout. I used to use the old treasury to gain inspiration, so I decided to use the new "Suggestion" feature as inspiration to create my first Treasury East. I took some items from shops suggested by Etsy and sprinkled in some of my own shop suggestions for good measure. It's been a gray week, so I decided to make a bright, colorful, simple and modern list with just a bit of wood grain thrown in for good measure. Here's what I came up with. Hopefully it will bring a smile to your face and inspiration to your heart. Enjoy!























Click the photo to be taken to the treasury list and to link to the items featured. Feel free to leave a comment on the list too if you feel so inclined! To find out your own suggested shops, log into Etsy and click on your "Favorites". There you will find the new "Suggestion" tab. Just click it and let the power of suggestion take over!

Through My Eyes - Basketball

Basketball is on my mind lately, between the nightly NBA playoff games and my boys practices and games, I can rarely go a day without thinking about it. Luckily I love it! So you know if it takes up space in my brain, it is bound to inspire something, so here are some basketball shots I took that are inspiring to me.


"The Hardwood" - Love the colors, the striping and the reflections of the lights


"Out of Bounds" - Love the bold red line. Brings about thoughts of barriers, boundaries, loss (you lose possession when you cross it) and lines you don't cross



Loved the way this broken chain draped. Inspired thoughts of asymmetrical chains with circular accents.






Loved the movement in this one

These last 3 pics were taken back in 2008, but they fit perfectly with this post


Love the texture, lettering and the bit of distressing


Again, love the texture and the bold lines which create interesting shapes. the cracks add some interest as well


This one's my favorite. The colors, the lomo, and the grittiness are perfection in my eyes and it really sums up how I feel about basketball. Love the net in this one too. If there was a shrine for basketball lovers, I think it would look like this.

Well, hopefully you'll see basketball in a different light after seeing it through my eyes.


GO CAVS!!!!!!!!! (Had to put that in for the boys. They love LeBron!)


**If this post inspires any artwork, please send me a link or photo, and I be more than happy to share it here on the blog.

Daily Dose of Inspiration

Let's make the word cloud for this picture together. Tell me in the comments the words or inspirations that come to you while looking at his photo, and then I'll update the post with all the suggested inspirations.