Still alive!

Hi folks!

I just wanted to let everyone know I was okay, and apologise for the lack of updates and email replies this past week or so (I should be spanked or something... LOL!).

I've just been down with a nasty bout of the flu these past two weeks, but am thankfully much better now. Normal service will resume this week, I promise, so stay tuned!

Also, thanks to those who have entered my little birthday competition too... I've had about six or so entries, and will be announcing the winner next month, unless anyone needs more time for their entry, which I'm happy to allow if you just ask.

EDIT (30/10/11): Thanks for the kind wishes, folks... I'm on the mend at last! Also, I've extended the birthday competition deadline until November 24th, by request. Hope to be back in action real soon... maybe with another spanking story, too! :)

Birthday 2011: Happy Birthday to Me!

(not a lie)

Yes, today is Banjo's birthday!

To celebrate, I've posted a brand new, never-before-seen artwork "Birthday Suit Spanking" that I hope you enjoy, with musings on the whole 'birthday spanking' Trope, and would love to hear your thoughts on that tradition.

However, since I (sadly) won't be getting a birthday spanking for real this year, I've also decided to have a bit of fun with this blog, too, by running a little... well, you might call it a "competition".

The idea is simple: Banjo gets a birthday spanking!

You can write a short story (don't worry, I'm not talking fifteen pages here... maybe a page or two is all), you can make an artwork, personal audio message (if you're female, of course!) or even caption a picture ("Starstruck-style"). It can be a fictional character giving the spanking, a real 'celebrity' or even 'yourself' (again, if you're female! ).

The Rules:

• Email me your 'entry' before the end of October.
• Entries must be in the F/M spanking genre (i.e. no M/M, sorry!)
• If you want to know anything specific (i.e. "what's Banjo's eye colour? How old will you be?") just ask!
• When emailing an entry, please note if it is "public" or "private"; anything marked "private" will be only seen by me and nobody else, while anything "public" I will assume is okay to repost on this blog if I decide to do so.
• My decision on the winner is final, and will be based solely on which entry I personally enjoy the most; this isn't a test of artistic or writing skill, so nobody should feel they can't enter for "lack of ability".
• The prize is a custom-made, one or two character artwork by me. Yes, this is your chance to get a custom artwork from Banjo! This prize will be made after the contest is over, following discussion with the winner, and will be "delivered" by the end of November, barring unforseen circumstances. However, I reserve the right to decide if a request is "possible" within my artistic and technical abilities (i.e. specific likenesses are not possible, so no "me being spanked by my cousin Sarah... here's photos of us") but I will do my very best to accommodate the winner's request! And yes, if I really really love the winning entry, I may even allow "heresy" (non-F/M) art to be requested as your prize!!!

Despite having a "winner" who will receive a prize I hope they enjoy, this "competition" is really just designed to be a bit of fun; a different way to celebrate my birthday (and my blog opening), and to encourage more interaction with you, the site members and visitors.

I really want this to be enjoyable for everyone involved... so please don't worry or take offense if you enter and don't "win". I appreciate all of you - and your feedback and friendships - so much!

Top Commenters Widget

Some people may have noticed the new "Top Commenters" widget on the right-hand sidebar and wondered what it was for...

Well, this blog feature will keep track of those guests, members and followers who post lots of comments here, and display their usernames prominently in a list.

The purpose is to act as kind of  a "thank you" to my commenters, since your name appearing in the list will act as a link (or "backlink") to your own profile, blog or website (if you've set it up that way). More comments for me = more traffic for your own blog/sites!

It also should help me single out those active folks who are giving lots of feedback for any "VIP" special events or "instant prizes" I might plan in the future (hint, hint!).

Please note, however, that the widget only tracks recent comments, thus will count the "top commenters" as the twelve people commenting the most, recently (i.e. if you post twenty comments today, you'll "beat" someone who posted thirty comments over six months). This is something I'm trying to fix, but I can't promise... so comment often!

Art: Birthday Suit Spanking

"Birthday Suit Spanking"

Birthday spankings! One of those things I often hear/read about as an adult, but experienced or even saw happen. I've often wondered if it was due to my age (i.e. it used to happen but didn't when I was growing up) or location (it was an American and/or UK tradition, but not an Australian one), but I've always been curious about the whole concept.

I can't help but love the idea of getting a sound spanking for no reason other than "it's your birthday"... that seems so playful yet so unfair! And of course, me being me, in my mind a birthday spanking isn't just a "patty-cake" play-spanking, but a bare-bottom full-on smacking with proper sting! Maybe not as bad as when you've really misbehaved, but certainly enough to make waking up on your birthday knowing a celebratory bun-warming is planned a nervous butterflies-in-the-tummy moment!

I'm not sure what the origin or purpose behind birthday spankings are, either. In my mind, though, I think the best 'reason' for a birthday spanking - especially for older teens and adults - is as a "you're never too old" reminded. Sure, you may be twenty-two today, but a spanking still hurts as much! And just because you're "grown up" doesn't mean you're safe from spankings, either! It's a nice reminder, whether for those in domestic discipline relationships, those still living under "mommy's" roof, or just those in need of remembering that you're never too old for a spanking!

Of course, for the spankers... a birthday spanking has the additional possible purpose of "just a good excuse to spank the birthday boy" (or girl!). And what better way to celebrate than to bare the guest of honor's trembling bottom and spank it rosy red in front of all the party guests?

That was my inspiration for the artwork here: a fun party held in his honor, but for their amusement. He's stripped naked - perhaps for his celebratory spanking, or perhaps kept in his "birthday suit" (hence the title) for the whole party? Apart from that silly birthday hat, of course! And the spanking is given in full view of all the guests, of course, as they all sing "happy birthday" over the yelps and smacks of the paddle, perhaps chanting out his age with every swat. Whether in good humour or not, he's definitely going to kick and howl by the time they're done, no matter what his age!

Which leads to the point: how many swats should a birthday spanking be? The spankee's age? In total, or "on each cheek"? Multiplied by a certain number? How many "to grow on"? Should implements be used and does that change the number of swats? Bare bottom, naked or over clothes/underwear if there are "guests"? And should it be done in a "party atmosphere" (after the cake, perhaps?) or privately in the bedroom in the morning or evening?

What are your thoughts on this artwork's specific scenario, and on birthday spankings in general?

Flashback: Bedtime Series

This series of artworks is actually the oldest of all my work. It was one of - if not the - first works I ever did, and so is a bit "rough around the edges", especially compared to my newest pieces! I was still learning the ropes of how to do this when I made this set.

However, for some reason I know it happens to be one of my most popular works, and I've got several nice emails about it since I opened this blog, even though I wasn't even planning on re-posting it here. So, by popular demand... I present one of my first-ever attempts at spanking art: The 'Bedtime' series!

I don't know why, but I've always had a 'thing' for "bedtime spankings". Maybe it's the childhood urban legends/folklore of "crying yourself to sleep" after a good sound bedtime spanking, something I personally never experienced? Maybe it's the intimacy of a sleepwear-clad spanker and spankee? Maybe it's the idea of anticipation (a bedtime spanking is - at least in my mind - not really a "spontaneous" spanking, but a premeditated and preordained one). I really don't know, and would love to hear others' thoughts on the whole "bedtime spanking" concept, routines and effectiveness, from both the point of view of spankers and spankees.

But first, to the artworks... all nine of them!

"Bedtime #1" (1 of 9)