Featured Blogs: The Lady Cartoonist and the "A Scarf a Day" project

I found out about this awesome project from CRAFTzine.  Meredith Scheff (The Lady Cartoonist) is making a scarf every day for the month of January!  I know this is near the end of the project, but it's great to go back and look at all of the amazing scarves she's made.  It's pretty incredible.  I know I have a hard time with NaBloPoMo and that's just writing a blog post every day.  Imagine creating a new scarf every day!

My favorites are the organs scarf and the giant tuba scarf (both pictured above).  She also has a shower utility scarf, a scarf with bones felted into it, a scarf that is in the process of sprouting (literally, she planted seeds in it and put it in a bucket of water to sprout), and more and more and more!  What a fun and interesting project - to watch, I mean ... I can't imagine trying to do this myself!

Featured Blog: Make Something Every Day

makesomething365.blogspot.com

WOW What an enormous undertaking!  This blog is posting one new project idea every day to inspire people to make something every day!  Okay, maybe I won't make each project every day (I think that is impossible), but I love this blog idea.

Of course, there is also a book full of daily prompts by the same author:

I definitely want to get this book!  What a fun idea... Even if I don't do it EVERY day, I could still work through the projects.  A bunch of them could work for a great art therapy group, don't you think?

Featured Blog: A plate a day.

Looking for some daily inspiration?  A Plate a Day posts a new plate every single day!  As of December 3 there are 542 plates posted, with more coming daily, so go back and look at the archives.

I love subscribing to this blog.  Every day I look forward to seeing what kind of fun and interesting plates they have in store for me!  It’s also a great way to find out about new artists, as each plate is properly credit (with links when possible) to the artists’ websites, blogs, etsy sites, online shops, and photo galleries.

Featured Blogs: Web Ecoist

At first, this wasn't going to be a Featured Blogs post, but as I looked around Web Ecoist I decided it was worth featuring so that hopefully you would take a look at some of their other posts, too.  But the post that inspired this post was...


32 Amazing Examples of Recycled Furniture 
at Web Ecoist

I would really like to copy the entire post here, but I won't, because that is bad bloggy karma.

(Images below are found in that post, I take no credit for their awesomeness)

One of the fun things I imagine about that CD chair is that it is really rolly.  Maybe that would make it hard to sit on - because you would keep rolling off - but it looks kind of fun.

I remember in undergrad there was a classic first project in one of the "Intro to 3D Fundamentals" class where the students were asked to make a functional chair out of recycled cardboard.  Though everyone always complained about that project, I thought it was amazing and was a little disappointed I never had that assignment.  (Instead, I had to create a life-size self portrait using only cardboard and re-bar wire, which was pretty fun I will admit and I wish I had a picture of what I made)

Anyway, this blog Web Ecoist is pretty interesting, and I recommend checking them out.  They have other quirky "eco" things to blog about, like living furniture:

I'm not sure if I like this, but I think I do. (Image credit and read more about green growing furniture)

Featured Blogs: Recycleart

The first featured blog of Found Object Art Month is a blog about recycle art called RecycleArt!


Many of the images and inspirations for this month come from this blog, so please browse through it! Of course, many of the work posted on this blog is out of reach for the average junk/trash/recycling artist, but they definitely are inspiring.

For instance, the cardboard paintings of Gavin Worth:


I'll be highlighting more art found on this blog in the coming month!

Featured Blogs: Made By Joel

Made By Joel is this great blog where Joel posts pictures of the crafts he comes up with, along with instructions to recreate it yourself!

After stumbling upon this blog I spent the next hour reading through his old posts. All of the crafts look easy and fun to make, like these cardboard and paperclip puppets:



Just think of the possibilities for art therapy!

I also love that Joel really uses photography not only to explain the crafts but to really bring them to another level. His skill with the camera makes everything look beautiful, especially the pictures of his children demonstrating how fun these little toys can be. Even if you're not interested in making the projects, the posts are enjoyable and beautiful. Go check it out!

(All images from madebyjoel.blogspot.com)

Featured Blogs: Book By Its Cover

Book By Its Cover is a blog that covers all things artsy and book-related. I look forward to new posts and new eye candy. Plus! So many ideas for potential books and book-related directives! I can barely contain myself. I haven't had the opportunity to try any of these ideas but I feel so inspired just by reading along.

One of my favorite series of this blog is the "Sketchbook Series," where they periodically feature pages from an artist's sketchbook. How funny to think someone might one day think my sketchbook is as lovely as these! Okay, they probably won't, but I can dream...

(The image above is from the sketchbook of Alex Eben Meyer posted on Book By Its Cover)


This week they are having a super fun give-away contest where, to enter, you must participate in an "exquisite corpse" type of storytelling! Check out the blog and play along :)

Featured Blogs: Honey Rock Dawn

I'm going to start a new series where I highlight some of the blogs that I'm currently following. It's a LOT of blogs, just so you are forewarned, and at least 30 of them are either art, craft, or design related.

Today's blog is

honeyrockdawn.com

You might better know her from her more famous Daily Coyote blog, where she posts pictures and stories of her life with Charlie, a coyote she rescued from certain death as a pup. But I actually like her Honey Rock Dawn blog more.

On her blog she posts pictures and stories of her life in Wyoming, her love for her cattle and other animals, and her amazement at nature. She sometimes gives photography tips for taking pictures of things like insects and landscapes. Mostly she just muses about life and beauty. I look forward to her posts (she posts often but not every day since she is very busy). When I was going through a rough time at school last semester, I imagined being on her ranch with her big lovable bull, Sir Baby, and the bossy goose Ricardo.

As to how this is art, craft, or design related - well, just look at the blog and you'll understand. She is an excellent photographer who really captures the essence of her subject, even if he weighs a ton and chews his cud.