The last few weeks have been a whirlwind and I thought it would be nice to take a brief pause to  catch our collective breath and highlight a few posts from the past two weeks.

Early in June, it became clear to me that as my blogging partners took some much deserved time off it would be a challenge to fill the blog on a daily basis. Not only was Avanaut off on vacation but Me2 was wrapping up loose ends at BigInc. getting ready for his annual vacation / LEGO adventure. The up shot of all this travel would be four weeks of limited help from my blogging mates.

We have made it half way through our short handed staffing and I am amazed at how we have come together as a community!

It was wonderful to see some new additions to our series: “Why?” (as in, why do you take toy photographs). They ran the gamut from how art can save your life to a wonderful reminder from Brett Wilson that when it is all said and done, toy photography is about community and the friends we make.

I really felt Julochka’s post about traveling with her friend Fuzz put to shame all the earlier posturing about who took the earliest toy photographs. I am pretty sure 20 years ago most of us where not traveling around the world with our own beloved bear and photographing him at amazing scenic spots. Way to go Julie!

I loved BrickSailboat’s piece on what makes up his personal style. It is a great reminder that even if you are going to Steal Like an Artist, you still have to develop your own style.

In addition to these fresh voices on the blog, Balakov and Avanaut have been willing to share even more of their expertise and insight than usual. Both have revealed their five favorite mini figures; Balakov showed us that playing with your food can lead to some incredible photography; and Avanaut broke away from Hoth long enough to snap a few quick underwater toy shots. (I will admit its pretty cool to share a blog with these two amazingly talented photographers.)

Lastly I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to comment on any of these posts. I know that some times technology can make that a difficult process, but your comments inspire us to keep going and often generate interesting blog ideas. Thank you dear readers for being an integral part of this StuckinPlastic community.

If you have not already done so, I hope you will take the time to read a few of the posts I have mentioned, as well as the many I didn’t. We have more amazing posts in the works and we look forward to sharing them with you!

~ xxSJC