Friday, February 4, 2011

Bottle Opener and a Giveaway

So as I mentioned before, Patti Quill is talking about me today over at the Chronicle Books blog which I am super excited about. We weren't connected before I started doing this, and I'm not receiving any kind of compensation from them. I really just enjoy the book and the challenge. Also if you're not reading their blog I highly recommend it. There is a lot of good writing and fun guest posts from authors. Plus, it's very informative if you like artsy crafty and/or organizey things. (Which I do.)

Some things about the blog and me that won't be in that post because I forgot to tell Patti about them are the fact that I'm currently revising a YA novel (Isn't everyone these days though?) and that I do have some rules for myself besides just working through the book. Partly, this is an exercise in taming my inner critic/perfectionist/nit-picky jerk. To that end, all sketches must:

1. Not involve a ruler
2. Be done in one sitting (unless said sitting is interrupted by a short crying person)
3. Have minimal eraser use

I strayed when sketching the sandwich because it was a lot more complicated than I thought, but I copped to that. In any case, here's the latest product of these guidelines.


I chose the fold up pocket bottle opener because my dad always used to carry one around and it brings back fond memories of picnics and Coke's in glass bottles.

I will get back to the string quartet but I'm probably going to stick with simple things for the rest of this month. My life tends to have a nothing nothing nothing ALL THE THINGS pattern to it and I am currently in ALL THE THINGS mode.

Anyway, thanks to the good folks at Chronicle Books I can now present to you the first ever SIE contest!

For a chance to win a copy of 642 Things to Draw, simply comment answering one (or both in one comment) of the following questions.

Choice A: (Inspired by an episode of House and in the spirit of finding some time for yourself) What is the biggest lie you ever told just to get some alone time?

Or if you're the honest sort,

Choice B: What is your favorite PG-rated alone time activity? Why?

Just enter your answer(s) in comments below. I'll enter the number of comments into a randomizer to pick the winner because I have an unhealthy need to be liked. Contest is open until February 6th, at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time.


4 comments:

Danny said...

I can't think of a lie bigger than saying "I've got plans" to someone on the phone. (I did NOT have plans.)

And when I'm alone I mostly read. Like I'm reading this blog here. Yup. Reading, reading, reading.

Summer said...

Hey! You've told me you have plans!

Labour of Love said...

Hi! Found you through Chronicle Books...Congrats on being featured! I loved what you said about your creative life + your family life... I'm also blessed to be a SAHM who's trying to find my passion + totally understand where you're coming from about guilty pleasures/meaningful contributions...it's a constant battle over here in my world to find a balance between raising a family + finding time to create. I recently participated with my family on the SketchBook Project 2011 with arthousecoop.com. It was a challenge but we managed to work like a team to complete 4 books just in time for the deadline. I honestly don't know how artists with families do it. Manage a website, blog, shoppe, publish books, magazines, create, travel etc...I wish there was more time in the day to do all that I want.
Anyway, sorry to ramble. Thank you for hosting such a nice giveaway. I hope you don't mind but I'm going to retweet this post on Twitter, blog about this and also Facebook this fab. giveaway.

To answer your questions:
1) I'm not a very good liar either. I usually tell people that I've got projects to complete before looming deadlines.
2) My favourite (PG of course) alone time (which is hard to come by) is to discover creative blogs (like yours!)to get inspired, read inspiring books+ magazines, listen to French or indie/guitar music + try to create something beautiful or capture beauty with my camera.

Summer said...

Thanks. I can't wait to check out your website that sounds awesome. I'm glad you've been able to hold on to your creative side. It's always great to meet other SAHMs who know where I'm coming from.