Be Inspired to Doodle

My almost 8 year old (in 2 days) loves to draw so we often sit down for Mother/Son "doodling" sessions. Sometimes we both draw and other times he tells me what to draw. Often times we end up with a page of random things that have no real relation to each other. I love those because they give me a little snapshot of what he's thinking about on that day. I've been dating and collecting them and hope to make a small book for him in a few years. It might be a sweet gift to give him when he leaves for college.



These doodles also inspired a recent project. Etsy announced a new @Etsy Twitter feature. Each month the @Etsy Twitter profile will be re-designed by an emerging, new artist and the design will be made available as a free wallpaper download on your mobile device. I was feeling a bit uninspired when I saw the blog post about the Artist Series, but I wanted to put in an entry. I sat down with some paper and a pen and started thinking about what I think of when I think of Etsy. The first thing I drew was a log and as soon as I finished drawing it, I was reminded of our Mother/son doodle pages and I started drawing random Etsy "trends" that I've noticed over the last 4 years. You know, foxes, birds, skulls, hedgehogs,diamonds, mix tapes and of course a mustache. I also added some crafting items like a ball of yarn, spool of thread, pencil and paintbrush to cover the handmade aspect that makes Etsy unique. Lastly to tie it all together I added the Etsy name (as it's required) and stars and hearts which represent the excitement and love most people feel when the "find" Etsy.



Since they may not choose my doodles for the series, I thought I'd at least share it and it's inspiration with you. Take a little time this week to doodle. Make a page of random items that are in your head. Even better doodle with a partner (sorry that sounds all kinds of wrong). Have them dictate to you what you should draw. It'll give you a little insight into what they're thinking about and you can just draw without having to worry about the inspiration. You may find that you have lots of inspiration after you see your completed doodles.

**Check out the RikRakStudio Blog as she's having a HUGE handmade giveaway. You can win one of my "Smitten" necklaces too!

GIVEAWAY!!

I'm having a giveaway over at the "Sweeter Than Me" Blog. You can win a free print of your choice from Block Party Prints or a magnet set of your choice from Block Party Press!

Just head to the "Sweeter Than Me" Blog to enter before 9/28/09!!!!!!!


Thanks in advance for entering & good luck!

Here's a little visual inspiration for your Sunday!

Last Days of Summer Sale - 12 more days & a Giveaway!

12 more days left of Summer, so what better way to celebrate than to have a fun summer giveaway! Win a fun Beach Ball Ring!


Here's how to enter:

1. Visit my shop, return here and leave a short comment telling me what item is your favorite. FYI - I do moderate comments, so don't be alarmed if you comment doesn't show up right away.

2. For additional entries you can tweet this giveaway on Twitter. Copy & paste the message
below:

RT @blockpartypress Giveaway today! Win a fun beach ball ring http://bit.ly/21Zk8O RT or comment on the blog to be entered

(must reference me @blockpartypress to be entered) or mention on Facebook (leave a comment to let me know you've done it)

3. get 5 additional entries if you blog about this giveaway ( link in the comments) or make a purchase from my shop.

Entries can be made until midnight EST on 8/20. The winner will be randomly chosen and will be announced on the 21st!


As an extra bonus today and tomorrow , take 10% off all items in my shop & receive free shipping. Just type "Beach Ball" in the message to seller at checkout and I will refund both the 10% and the shipping fees. This offer is good for the duration of the giveaway and ends at 12 midnight EST on the 20th. For past customers: This offer can be combined with the 10% repeat buyer discount, just include that code as well at checkout.

Want to know what inspired this ring? Read here!

BEST Fall Giveaway

The Baltimore Etsy Street team is excited to announce our new Virtual Giveaway! In preparation for the holiday season we have decided to giveaway $10 gift certificates from each of the following Street Team Members shops!

SweetPepita

BlockPartyPress

JenyGwen

JerseyGirlDesign

JillPopowichDesigns

JennyJen42

TigerLillyShop

BennyAndHeidi

BowerboxPress

ElisaShereJewelry

CEKCustomDesigns

JenMenkhaus

VWStudios

DorsetHillBeads

DandelionBlu

WynnStudio

Miscelena
SugarPaperie

SpaTherapy
TheBrokenPlate

GreenStarStudio
Holy Smokes! That's a lot of cool stuff you can win, worth $200! Check the blog to get the rest of the scoop!

(photo courtesy of JenMenkhaus)

Giveaway - Win an Original ACEO

I think my last post may have been a bit to wordy since I only got 1 response so far, so I will make this a little easier:

I am looking to collaborate with my readers to create an ACEO. I will add anyone who contributes with a comment into a drawing for the finished ACEO. I am currently looking for suggestions about the theme or main subject of the ACEO. So share your 2 cents with a comment and be entered to win an OOAK ACEO! Then continue to follow along and help with imagery and color scheme . Don't be shy!! Any idea will be considered! Let's see what we can come up with together! See my Feb 15th post for the details behind this project.

Hopefully that was easier to follow! Let's hear your suggestions!

Let's Inspire each other with a Collaborative Project!!

With all my recent posts about collaborations and collectives, I have decided it would be fun to do a collaborative/collective project with my blog friends/readers. I recently posted a blank tree design on my flickr and asked for color combination suggestions and I got some great ideas. I am now planning on a small ACEO series and I will be incorporating some of the suggestions. So.... I thought it would be fun to create something with suggestions and inspiration from my blog friends. I will ask your opinion for each step of the process and together we will create something cool. I may include polls or I may just ask you to post your ideas in the comments. In the end, anyone who participates will be put into a drawing for the finished piece! I also think it would be fun to have other artists follow along and use the suggestions to create something as well. Then you can send in your pictures of your items and we can create a collective mosaic of all the finished pieces. Maybe I am being a bit ambitious, but I think it would be fun even if only a few people participate.

I think the easiest project would be an ACEO. The size is not overly ambitious, but there is a bit more to work with than a pendant, and not everyone wears jewelry, so I won't have to worry about if the winner will be able to use it. The finished piece can be added to any Art Card Collection or framed as wall art if you are not a collector.

The first decision that must be made is the subject matter. The sky is the limit here, so give me your ideas and your inspiration. Just post a comment with your suggestions and what inspired your idea. Depending on how many suggestions we have I will pick the top 3 that I like and then we will have a poll on which one we all like. I will then sketch a couple of ideas and let you pick which one we will use. This process will go on like that until the ACEO is finished. I would also love it if you created something along with me in the medium of your choice using the decisions we all make. Then we can all compare our finished projects at the end!

I look forward to hearing your ideas!