Stampington Magazines and an Art Journaling Winter 09 Giveaway!

Recently Sarah Meehan at Stampington & Company sent me a treasure box of inspiration. Included in the box were Somerset Studio Magazines from March/April and May/June, Artful Blogging Magazine, the February/March/April and May/June/July issues, and the digital copy of Art Journaling Winter ’09. Stampington now offers the digital copy of the premier issue of AJ magazine because the paper copy sold out. Stick around to the end and I’ll tell you how to get your hands on this copy of it for nada, nothing, not a thing. :)

I have not looked at Somerset in a very long time. Honestly, I think a lot of the art submitted had started to look all alike and I got burned out on it. I was very pleasantly surprised with these two issues, however. In fact, I have so many little paper bookmarks in them if you were to pick them up wrong it would all come down like confetti.

The March/April issue focused quite a bit on paper dolls so it has a special meaning for me. I also marked the Somerset Workshop as something I can’t wait to try out. When did they start doing that?! I also got a big kick out of a little story in the back called “but it’s SpiderMan” which looks to be an excerpt from their magazine, Life Images.

Now the May/June issue is what really got me hot and bothered, though. Where to start? There’s an article called “Spirit of Steampunk” by Ramona Szczerba that looks very interesting. I noticed a couple of the vintage collage images we’re used to seeing but totally turned on their heads. And then sideways. And back again. Because this art’s interactive. And cool. Did I mention that part? Check out Ramona's etsy shop because that's where the real fun is. While Somerset published work that incorporated some of their favorite images, in the shop you'll see a much wider selection. Definitely not to be missed.

The Melange section has always had the edgier stuff and this issue’s batch of art doesn’t disappoint. Want to be a princess but not your run of the mill Disney fairy princess? Maybe something a little funkier? Check out Margaret Cogswell’s crowns! Yowza! These I love. I want one to wear everyday while I’m creating. It would be part of my ritual. When the crown goes on, the muse comes out to play. And in this interview of Margaret by Beth Livesay, she stresses that they are “…definitely made to be worn.”

Still in the Melange section is an article called “Becoming Change” by Sarah Natalia LeDoux. I literally gasped aloud when I saw these photos. I am only sharing one page layout with you because I really want you to go out and pick up the issue to look at this article. It’s a collection of pieces about progress and change, Bob Dylan and the Civil War, the country’s identity and our personal identity. It’s amazing and stunning and delicious fodder for journal work. Sarah doesn’t have a website listed unfortunately.

The Artful Blogging magazines are a whole ’nother blog post so be watching for that in coming days.

Jen Osborn did a great review of Art Journaling Winter ’09 here on the Glitter and Grunge blog. I highly recommend it. It’s extremely inspiring. And in its digital form it takes up less space, doesn’t collect dustbunnies, and the dog never chews it up!

Which brings me to the giveaway... Since I love journals and was sad that so many missed out on the first issue of Art Journaling, I want to give away this digital copy to one lucky commenter. So leave your John Hancock below. Tell me if you have one of these issues and what you thought of it. Just say hello if you want. I’m in and out of town until Sunday so I’ll close the comments at 6 pm Central time then and draw a name so I can mail it out Monday. Good luck!