Totally Awesome Blog Hop & 150 posts Competition

I haven’t promoted this blog in a very long time and there is just such a wonderful community out there right now that I would be mad to miss this opportunity!  Chantilly, Charlie Foxtrot, this enchanted pixie & Myki’s Scrapbook blog are hosting a bl0g hop, so I will have many more blogs to add to my wonderful reading list!

Added Bonus!

To celebrate 150 posts on my blog I’m going to have a little give away!

If you follow or subscribe to my blog before midnight Christmas eve ( Australian Eastern Standard time) you will go into the draw for a mystery set of hand carved Stamps by me!

Competition is open to readers anywhere in the world.

How to enter:

1. Follow My Blog via email or subscribe in your favourite rss reader.
2. Leave a comment letting me know you have done this! make sure you leave some way for me to get in touch with you!

3. do this before midnight 24 December 2012 AEST time.

4. enjoy christmas day

5. prize will be drawn Boxing day (26 December 2012) via random number generator

1 entry per person. open internationally. prize is 1 set of handmade stamps created by moi! design at the discretion of moi!

Voila!

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Get another chance to win!

Thank you everyone for your entries – The competition is now closed   – the Winner was Sherrie!

Another chance to win a Handmade Sketchbook.

I have received so many wonderful Comments on yesterday’s post – it’s so great to hear everyone’s likes, dislikes and wishes for the perfect sketchbook.

In fact, the responses have been so good that I decided to give everyone an extra chance to win!

All you have to do is mention my competition in a post on your blog and link to my blog or  tweet about my competition on to your artist friends on twitter. If you mention my blog on your blog leave a link within a comment below and if you tweet send an @ message to janicemarie

Bindery Progress

Well last night I began sewing and have three book blocks completed, I wanted to take a photo but I left my camera cable at work… The style of binding for these first books is sewn onto tapes. I find linen tape to be a durable but flexible Lay flat style of binding. And from your comment you all want your books to lay flat. I’m with you there I really can’t work in spiral books anymore!

I also went and stocked up on some different colours of book cloth. More of the linen look above plus some sky blue, very very pale mint green, and a royal blue. Of course I’m stocked up on basic black and I have metres of burgundy from a previous project!

Off to pottery class tonight so I will talk to you all again tomorrow!

Ciao!

Janice

PS: If you haven’t already entered here’s the link to the competion post again

PPS. Don’t forget you can follow this blog by adding my rss feed to your reader. It’s a great way to stay tuned for more competitions.

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Distilling Inspirations

I am an avid blog reader, which often happens to the exclusion of creativity. The internet is a wonderful distraction, read the paper,  check facebook (not much happens there), check Io9, find a new art foum and see if it worth some time (most I’ve found don’t hold my interest for long and then check my google reader,

Here is where I get lost. I have 253 subscriptions which have thrown out 1590 posts in the last 30 days. I have NOT read all of these but i have skimmed all the ones in my drawing category.

I’ll maybe share the other random things I read – bookbinding-printmaking and cooking blogs- another day. But today I have thinned my list down to 34 blogs which seems altogether manageable and allows me to subscribe to people who I want to interact with. That’s the new rule – if I can’t be bothered to comment then I shouldn’t subscribe!

What are your criteria for the blogs you read? Do you seek out artists who work in the same medium as you or are your inspirations diverse and from many different fields. I look forward to hearing how YOU thin the herd!

So it’s time to cull, As I thin the herd I’m going to share with you the ones I’ve chosen to keep and why.

christina jonsson – Lovely line work and lovely posts about what she is working on.

http://drawingonnature.blogspot.com/ Joan Y’s Blog – my kind of thing – just drawing whatever takes her fancy.

http://edwardbgordon.blogspot.com One word descibes why this blog is on the list – Light. Edward is a master of capturing light in a scene.

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/ James Gurney – Illustrator of the dinotpia series. His blog is full of technique tips and wonderful illustrations.

http://makingamark.blogspot.com/ – Kathryn Tyrrel’s making a mark is an invaluable resource

http://www.flickr.com/photos/asnee/ not a blog but the architect and artist Asnee’s Flickr stream.

http://katequicksilvr.livejournal.com/ Cathy Johnston’s Blog is full of tips and musings!

http://apple-pine.blogspot.com/ A recent addition but another person who has the same draw everything urge.

http://blog.lisacall.com/ Lisa Call is a textile artist who constantly inspires with her work ethic.

http://www.creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/ If I were to put these in order of inspiration Leah Piken Kolidas would be at the top. I hope you all sign up to Create every day in 2009!

http://jenniferlawson.blogspot.com/ Jennifer Lawson is currently in Bali sketching out the new experiences she is having there. Wonderful to learn about her new land!

http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/roz_wound_up/ Roz Stendahl’s new blog – this little beauty is packed with information to inspire and educate the visual journaller – don’t hesitate to add this to your own reading list.

http://tina-m.blogspot.com/ The Cycling Artist – Tina – Is another inspiration, I love her studiowaves podcast!

and lastly on the drawing side of things

http://www.urbansketchers.com/ Urban Sketchers – a great way to catch up on the work on lots of new artists who get out on the streets and sketch.

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