No-Photography-Required Blog Post Ideas

Being a blogger in the winter can be a rough old job. The late sunrises and early sunsets make photography a nightmare. With so many of us leaving the house when it's dark and coming home in the dark, those light and airy images of spring and summer feel like a distant memory. But fear not! Today I have compiled a list of blog post ideas which require no photography whatsoever, so you don't have to neglect your blog when the light conditions just aren't going your way.

Instagram Inspo: #NationalIceCreamDay

Apparently, back in in 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month and established National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in the month of July. Hurray! If I were president of the USA, I'm pretty sure establishing a day dedicated to eating delicious ice cream would be top of my priority list too. This year, the celebration fell on Sunday 19th July, and social media went ice cream crazy! Here are my top Instagram picks that left me drooling over the weekend...

30 Post Ideas For Creative Bloggers

Like me, I'm sure that a lot of my fellow creative bloggers occasionally run a bit low on ideas about what to post. Even with the best will in the world, sometimes it all just seems to dry up. The good news though is that often, all it takes is a little nudge in the right direction to get the blogging juices flowing again, so I wanted to share a few 30 post ideas in the hopes of getting you going again if you’re feeling a bit uninspired lately. 

5 Things To Consider When Setting Up Your Creative Space

Many of us dream of having our own creative space, but sadly we don't all have the luxury of an entire room to dedicate to our practice. It may be that you are limited to just one multi-use desk in your bedroom, but any sized space has the potential to be somewhere creatively stimulating and beautiful and it certaintly doesn't have to come at huge expense. Here are a few pointers to get you started with creating an inspiring place to work in, no matter how small your workspace or budget. 

1. Good Lighting

Make sure your desk is close to a good source of natural light and get your hands on a bright desk lamp for all of those late nights. This point is pretty self-explanatory - you need to be able to see your work in its full beauty! Good lighting is also essential if you plan on taking photographs in the space. 

2. Storage 

You'll need to seek out some practical storage options to keep all of your materials and bits and bobs organised. Having said this, 'practical' does not have to mean ugly. It's really important that your desk is a place that invites you to stay and work, potentially for long periods of time. Make it as beautiful as you can and it will become somewhere that you love and look forward to working in.

3. Pin-board

Go 'old-school' with your very own physical Pinterest board! Get yourself a pin-board and use the space directly around you as a mini gallery. Think of it as a place for you to start collections, play around with arrangements and kick start your inspiration, all of which can be especially useful in times of creative block. You don't just have to stick to existing artworks either, pin up something of your own which you're really proud of, surround yourself with scraps of materials, colours, inspiring quotes or magazine cuttings.

4. Folding Table 

Particularly if your space is limited, a folding table can be incredibly useful for the times when you just need to spread out a bit more. They are available pretty cheaply and are easy to store under your desk space. It's great to have some extra working space that you can just whip out and put away whenever it's required.

5. Comfy Chair

For me this is a must. We all know that art and design can be a lengthy process, so make sure you've got a nice comfy chair to work in. If you can't afford a whole new piece of furniture, even just a pretty throw or cushion can add new life to an old basic chair. After all, you want to be able to sit back and enjoy the experience of sitting and working in your beautiful new space!

I hope these tips help you with creating an inspiring space for you to work in and enjoy. What are your studio essentials? And do you have any tips for making the most out of limited space? I'd love to hear your ideas as I'm always looking for ways to bring new life to my workspace!

20 Things I Want To Do Before I'm 20

Having just celebrated my 19th birthday, I can't help but think about the fact that this is my last year as a teenager. I have to admit, it's a very scary thought that this time next year I'll be in my twenties. I'll no longer be a something-teen, I'll be a twenty-somthing, and that's pretty daunting. So, for my last teenage year I thought I'd set out a list of 20 things I want to do or achieve by my 20th birthday. Some of them are just small things that I've been meaning to do for months or even years and just never gotten around to, while others are life changing decisions which will affect where I live for the next phase of my life. Hopefully in a years time I'll be writing about how I achieved all of the following...

1. Be studying on the degree that's right for me
2. Go to Chicago
3. Go to Glastonbury Festival
4. Get my eyebrows done professionally
5. Finish my art foundation and (fingers crossed) achieve a distinction
6. Really, properly clear out my wardrobe
7. Reach 100 Bloglovin' followers
8. Learn to meditate
9. Make a vision board
10. Start learning how to hand letter
11. Consider getting THAT tattoo if I still like the idea a year from now
12. Move out
13. Have a weekend away somewhere new
14. Go to a spa
15. Get to and maintain a weight I am happy with
16. Declutter
17. Wear more heels and lipstick
18. Start a regular personal sketchbook and keep it up
19. Get my hair cut
20. Go go-karting, swimming, rock climbing, walking, running & play some badminton

x

15 Posts To Put A Stop To Writer's Block

Getting out of the writer's block rut and creating new ideas for your blog when you just aren't feeling inspired can be a big challenge. That's why I always get slightly excited when I see a new post on my Bloglovin' feed that promises a list of ideas to get my creative juices flowing. Even if you have plenty of inspiration already, it's always nice to have a few backups for a rainy day right? So I thought I'd compile a list of 15 of my favourite blog post idea posts that I have come across...

1. The Bloggers Lounge - 38 Blog Post Ideas

2. Water Painted Dreams - 50 Fail Safe Blog Post Ideas

3. Sweet Electric - 108 Blog Post Ideas For When Writers Block Strikes
4. The Blog Stylist - 32 Of The Most Popular Blog Post Ideas
5. The College Prepster - 50 Ideas For Blog Posts
6. Sometimes Sweet - Post Ideas For The Stumped Blogger
7. The Best Of Intentions - 36 Of The Best Blog Post Ideas Ever
8. Zoe London - 50 Ideas For Great Blog Posts
9. The Sunday Chapter - 150 Blog Post Ideas For When You've Hit Writers Block
10. Chasing My Extraordinary - 18 Blog Post Ideas
11. Postcards From Rachel - 15 Blog Post Ideas
12. Allyssa Barnes - 25 Blog Post Ideas For The Uninspired
13. Strange & Charmed - 25 Blog Post Ideas For Any Blogger
14. Frock Me I'm Famous - 50 Blog Post Ideas
15. Lot 48 - I Don't Believe In Writers Block: Some Blog Post Ideas 

Did you find any of the above posts useful? If you have a blog post ideas post of your own, please let me know - I'd love to check it out and maybe I'll add it to second edition!

A Look Inside My Sketchbook: Remixing LOVE

Last month I created a post sharing some pages from inside my art foundation sketchbook, and I got some really lovely feedback from people saying it was something they were interested in seeing more of. It was really flattering to get such positive comments because anyone that knows me well will know that my sketchbooks are kind of my babies! So for this post I thought it might be nice to share a page from my current sketchbook in the context of the project it was produced for. 

Last weekend I was set a one day valentines project to complete. In short, the brief was remix 'LOVE' by Robert Indiana in any way we wanted to. It could be a flat artwork, a 3D model, we could change the colour, word or font, stack our own letters, create a photograph, alter the sentiment, literally anything! I chose to stick close to the original image, but I tuned it into an ice block! I photographed my giant ice cube in different locations around Manchester as it went through the melting process. It was a really fun little project and I enjoyed playing with the juxtaposition between the coldness of ice and the passionate connotations of love and the colour red. I certainly got some strange interesting looks from people while carrying that thing through the city! 

So, here is the sketchbook page I created to document my valentines day project along with a few of the finished photographs...

A Look Inside My Art Foundation Sketchbook

It is a very stressful time of the year for me at the moment, UCAS, digital portfolios, portfolio mounting and interviews seem to be taking up a huge chunk of my time and are obviously rather important. This week I have been busy running around trying to get all my work photographed and ready to be sent off to various universities. 

In the process of this however I have managed to get some images of pages from inside my foundation sketchbook which I thought would be nice to share here. I personally adore looking through other peoples sketchbooks and I find it incredibly inspiring to see different creative processes. So I thought it was about time I brought something to the party!

My sketchbook throughout the foundation course has become something of a visual diary. I try to add to it every day to show the entire process of all of my projects from start to finish. Photographs, samples and little explanations all tell the story of how I get from A to B. Hope you enjoy!

(P.S. I'm thinking about doing more posts about my experience doing an foundation course. Please let me know if you would be interested in this!)

2015 Goals and Resolutions

Wishing everybody a very Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful festive period. 

To me it feels very strange that it isn't 2012 anymore, let alone 2015. 2014 has been a mixture of ups and downs for me but I've spent it with people I love and care about so I'm still very lucky and have some great memories from the past 12 months. 

In the past I have never really made proper goals for the year ahead. But last year I made just one - to read more. I still may not be a massive book worm and I still have a problem with being ridiculously slow at finishing any book, but the bottom line is I HAVE read more this year than the previous 5 years combined. I've gotten through a handful of great books in 2014 and I hope to continue this into the new year. I feel like there is so much negativity and pessimism surrounding new years resolutions, but in my opinion it can work! Just one tip from me though if you want to make it happen: try to be somewhat specific with your goals. Nothing too broad if you  can help it. For example, if you want to get fit, try not to write "1. Get Fit" on your 2015 resolutions list. Swap it for something like "1. Do at least one run a week". If you achieve this easily, then great! Keep the original ones up, set some new ones and keep going. 

I really want to start the blogging year ahead by sharing the goals I have set myself for 2015. I've actaully ended up with a few more than I had planned to but I still think they're easily manageable for me (some being harder than others!) Hopefully I'll be able to look back on this post at the end of the year and at least say I've had a real good go at all of these.

So, here are my six goals/resolutions for 2015:

• Draw LOTS more (starting with a drawing a day in January)
• Stop wasting time by worrying about time all the time
• Blog (just do it!)
• Update my wardrobe 
• Shoot in film
• Learn how to better deal with anxiety and depression 

Wish me luck! I hope this year is a safe, happy and exciting one for you.

x

How To Break Creative Block With Oblique Strategies

In 1975, musician Brian Eno and his painter friend Peter Schmidt published the original pack of Oblique Strategies cards, through thinking about approaches to their own creative work. The idea behind their deck of cards was for artists to break creative blocks by encouraging lateral thinking through following the aphorism on a randomly selected card. 

The reason I want to blog about these little cards is that they were mentioned to me on my very first day at art school. I'm certainly no stranger to creative blocks - and when I hit that brick wall, I really hit it hard! Creative blocks can turn into a vicious downward spiral, and the oblique strategies are an excellent tool for encouraging a new perspective on things in order to break the negative loop in one’s head.

To give you an idea of the kind of 'advice' the cards dish out to you, here's 10 randomly selected card messages:

Retrace your steps

Turn it upside down 

Use your own ideas

Emphasise repetitions 

Just carry on

Is there something missing?

Use an unacceptable colour 

In total darkness, in a very large room, very quietly

What else is this like?

Courage!

The impact of the cards on creative block has been described as “Like when you’re feeling a pain in your foot and someone slaps you in the face, suddenly you’re not feeling the pain in your foot anymore". Just one of these cryptic messages has the power to throw you off your original thought process, and that can be all it takes to get the ball rolling again. During the creative process, sometimes your thoughts solidify, and the effect of the cards is to make them liquid again. 

The first edition of Oblique Strategies was privately printed in a limited, numbered and signed edition of 500. If you want a physical copy of the new fifth edition you can buy them for £30.00 (about $48). However there are several online versions available for free such as this one, and even Twitter accounts that tweet messages from randomly chosen cards. 

It is a universally acknowledged fact that if our practising becomes monotonous and thoughtless, it will not be productive. So, perhaps add one of the online versions to your bookmarks and hopefully next time you're at a creative loss they might just relight that creative spark. 

5 Tips For When Art Becomes a Chore

Recently, I had been struggling to move forward with a number of projects that once excited me. They seemed to go stale and I felt as if I had come to the end of each strand of inspiration, the projects became a struggle and not a joy, I was scraping at the barrel and nothing seemed to get me out of the rut of running from it. When art becomes a chore it shows in the finished product, so here are my top 5 tips for when art becomes a chore, hopefully they will help you get excited about your projects again and get the ball rolling.