One step closer to growing up...

So the news has been announced to my parents. I will be moving out soon.

Of course how soon has yet to be defined (probably somewhere after December?), and I won't just be moving out. No. I'll actually be moving to the United Kingdom, to go live with my boyfriend (who lives there already).

But of course I need to save up some money first so we can find a place to live in. It's a bit hard to do when you have no job and finding a job for two or three months is almost impossible I think. So I'm trying to sell cards and jewellery, so far without much success haha.

If you're interested in any of my stuff and want to help me out, you can have a look at my Etsy Store. Or commission me for a drawing or something. Anything! =)

I made a cute brooch a while ago, which I recently put on Etsy. It's based on my 'Whistle' drawing (which you can also see in my blog banner). I simply wanted to try out my clay to see what I could do with it. If I get more inspiration, I might try making more stuff like this.

Music note brooch.

Also when I was in Spain, I didn't just make those four Christmas cards I posted about in my previous post. I also made a drawing, something a bit different. I had taken a list with me with a lot of random words on there, to hopefully give me some inspiration. Bottled is one of the words that was on the list and a word that stood out to me, so I started sketching.

The word “bottled” brought up the “message in a bottle” image for me. But I didn't want to have a typical letter in a bottle, so I changed it around a bit to have an actual person in there. Maybe a bit weird, but to me it fits. It's something that I imagine would go well with a poem. =)

A message of love and kindness, bottled away for when you need it most.

'Bottled Love'

Drawn with inks and white ecoline ink on brown paper, then I touched it up in Photoshop. I decided to sort of leave the creases in the paper (from the water/ink) because I think it adds to the image. =)

Christmas cards

Hey everyone!

I've had a bit of a "vacation month" during October, taking a break from everything and basically travelling to different places (some planned, some not). It's been a really nice month and I felt like I needed it to regain some inspiration and energy.

I've not sat still during this time. Apart from the travelling, I also made some new drawings! To get out of my artist block, I forced myself to make Christmas cards. It wasn't an easy task as I made them in Spain, while it was usually about 30 - 35°C outside. Not an easy task to think of Winter scenes then. =P

But here are the cards I've made, apart from the one with the snowman as I made that one a longer time ago.

Christmas cards!
Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

These cards are available for sale if you would like them. They are folded greeting cards with room for you to write a message on the inside. They also come with a white envelope.
It's €2.5 per card, but if you order 3 or more, they become €2! So you could get all 5 cards for €10. =)
They are also available in Dutch, except for the snowman picture which I only have in English.

If you are interested in any of them, feel free to let me know!

And now for something different

So I've been trying to pick up drawing and painting again recently. Things are still moving slowly as I'm still trying to find some inspiration though. It's difficult to get back into it, so if anyone has some inspiration to share, feel free! =)

I bought some new acrylic paints recently as I had noticed I had completely run out of my old ones (most had dried up, awww). And of course I had to try them out. I couldn't really think of anything illustrative to draw, so I decided to do something a bit more realistic, something I used to do when I was younger.

So I found myself a small canvas I had laying around and decided to paint a golden eagle. It's not the most realistic or detailed painting ever (it's a bit tiny for that too), but I like the result, especially since I hadn't used acrylics in a few years. =)

Golden Eagle in acrylics

Super Llama!

I was contacted a while ago by Wim Leers, who saw my stall at a local art market. He asked if I could draw an image for his new website (www.wimleers.com).
Not just any kind of image though, no. He asked if I could draw for him a Super Llama!


And of course I wanted to give it a try!

It took me quite a few sketches and some redesigns, because apparently llamas aren't as easy to draw as you would imagine. But in the end the result turned out quite nice I think. =)

Super Llama!

If anyone is ever interested in a commission (be it a logo, a drawing or something else), feel free to contact me. =)

And the winner is...

So the Give Away has come to an end! Time for me to pick a winner!

(Sorry for the bad picture quality, I had to use my phone for this.)

All the names are ready to be put in the bag.

The innocent hand (mine!) is ready to pick a name!

And this is the winner!

Congrats Karen Vandelaer! You have won in my first Give Away! =D
You can contact me at info@inespee.com to let me know what prize you want (and of course to give your address).

For everyone else, thank you for participating!
I'm sorry if you didn't win, but I'm planning to do more give aways in the future, so maybe Lady Luck will be on your side then! =)

New Magnets + Give Away Reminder

I have uploaded some new magnets to my Etsy shop! Some of those feature Japanese patterns and flowers, but three sets feature my own drawings. =)

Cute animal magnets!

Magnets featuring my 'Whistle' illustration.

Don't forget that these magnets (and a few other items) are available in my Give Away! So if you'd like to participate, leave a comment on the blog entry about the give away: click here.

Give Away!

(Scroll naar beneden voor uitleg in het Nederlands.)

So I'm doing my first ever give away! I figured it was about time I did one really. =)

What will I be giving away?

Click on the image to see a bigger version.

As you can see, there are a few things you can pick from:

• you can pick one pair of earrings (rose studs or the dangling earrings)
• or you can pick one of my magnet sets (designs can be found here, more will follow!)
  
• or you can pick 3 postcards (you can see the different designs here)

How can you win?

I will be randomly picking out one winner (if there is a lot of response, I might pick more than one winner!). You can earn a chance at winning by following the next steps. Each step gains you an extra chance to win!

• To participate, leave a comment on this blog post. If you don't do this, you won't be able to win as I only pick from the names that appear here.
  If you are not yet a follower of my blog, you can do so by clicking on "Join this site" on the right. =)
  
  Extra chances:
  
• Share this give away on Facebook
• Become a fan of my Facebook page (if you already are, you get the extra chance already)
• Share this give away on Twitter
• Make a Blog post about this give away
• If you can think of other ways to spread the news online, feel free to use those too!
  

Make sure to show in your comment on this blog which ways you used to let people know about this give away. Only that way you can earn your extra chances of winning! =)


When does it end?

The give away will end at Wednesday September 21, at 20:00 Belgian time. This means you have a week to participate and to tell your friends about it!

Good luck!


In het Nederlands:
Ik doe eindelijk mijn eerste give away! Ik dacht dat het wel eens tijd was om dat te doen. =)

Wat geef ik weg?

Klik op de afbeelding om een grotere versie te zien.

Er zijn een aantal dingen waar je uit kan kiezen:

• je kan 1 paar oorbellen kiezen (roosjes of hangertjes naar keuze)
• of je kan 1 magneet set kiezen (de verschillende sets vind je hier, er zullen er nog volgen!)
  
• of je kan 3 postkaarten kiezen (de verschillende kaarten vind je hier)

Hoe kan je winnen?

Ik zal willekeurig één winnaar kiezen (als ik veel reacties krijg, ga ik misschien meer dan 1 winnaar kiezen!). Je kan een kans maken om te winnen door de volgende stappen te volgen. Elke extra stap levert je een extra kans op!

• Om deel te nemen, laat je een reactie achter op deze blog. Als je dit niet doet, maak je geen kans om te winnen aangezien ik enkel uit de namen kies die hier verschijnen.
  Als je nog geen Volger bent van mijn blog, dan kan je dat doen door rechts te klikken op "Join this site". =)
  
  Extra kansen:
  
• Deel deze give away op Facebook
• Word een fan van mijn Facebook page (als je het al bent, krijg je sowieso een extra kans)
• Deel deze give away op Twitter
• Maak een Blog post van deze give away
• Als je nog andere manieren kan bedenken om het nieuws online te verspreiden, voel je dan vrij om die ook te gebruiken!
  

Laat zeker zien in je reactie op deze blog, welke manieren je allemaal gebruikt hebt om de mensen iets te laten weten van deze give away. Alleen zo maak je extra kans om te winnen! =)

Wanneer eindigt het?

De give away eindigt op woensdag 21 september om 20:00. Dit betekent dat je een hele week hebt om deel te nemen en om het aan je vrienden te vertellen!


Succes!