The deadline for entries in the 2012 Mochimochi Photo Contest is almost upon us! Be sure to add your photos of Mochimochi knits to our Flickr group by Monday, December 3rd.

If you have some knitted guys you’d like to enter but you’re feeling stumped about the photography, it’s really simple to take a good photo!

It always helps to use indirect natural light, and set your camera on a tripod or something else (like a stack of books) to keep it steady and prevent blurriness. If you’re shooting something tiny, you might want to use the macro setting that’s on many cameras. (It usually looks like a tulip icon.)

I also think it’s helpful to make up a story in your head about what your mochis are doing, so that they can take on a life of their own in your photo. Show them doing something, and not just posing! And don’t be discouraged if your photos don’t look professional—we’re looking for fun and originality more than something that would hang in a gallery.

Good luck! See full contest details.

Just one more reason to enter the Mochimochi Photo Contest: The first-place winner gets this adorable Rilakkuma soap dispenser!

(You know I couldn’t help throwing in some Rilakkuma cuteness again this year.)

This guy and more cute Japanese stationery and other goodies will go to the top winners, along with Knit Picks gift certificates and Potter Craft books! Deadline is December 3rd, so you have a little less than two weeks to get your entries submitted. See full contest details.

Have you been working on your entries for the Mochimochi Photo Contest?

Last week I featured the first place photos from the previous five years for some inspiration. Now that you’re inspired, I want to get you motivated! What better way to do that than with prizes?

We’re happy to make the contest open to Mochimochi knitters around the world every year, but this year we have a special prize just for the top winner in the US…

Eight beautiful books published by Potter Craft! It’s been a privilege to work with the wonderful people at Potter Craft on Super-Scary Mochimochi and Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi (and also my top-secret next book!), and I’m psyched that they have offered to supply this prize for our photo contest. I’m always impressed with the quality of their books, and I handpicked the above selection as titles that looked perfect for a well-rounded crafter of cute stuff. Check out the Potter Craft website to see all of their books, which you can find in bookstores around the world.

This prize is going to our top winner who is living in the US (who will also win other prizes, depending on her or his placement in the contest), but we have lots of great prizes this year going to winners regardless of country, including gift certificates and cute Japanese stationery (more on that soon!).

A big thank-you to Kim Small and Potter Craft!

The deadline for entries is December 3rd, so you have tons of time to enter! See full contest details.

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winners!

Got yarn, needles, and a camera? It’s now officially time to enter the 6th annual Mochimochi Photo Contest!

Once again, we’re looking for the cutest, funniest, most interesting photos of Mochimochi Land toys. All you have to do to enter is upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr by Monday, December 3rd.

Winners will receive adorable goodies from Japan and amazing prizes from our generous sponsors Knit Picks and Potter Craft!

Eligibility

This contest is open to knitters worldwide. To be eligible, your photo must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop, a pattern from one of the Mochimochi books (Knitting Mochimochi, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, or Super-Scary Mochimochi), or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design.

Note that we’re looking for humor, cuteness, and originality—not necessarily the most professional-looking photo. We want everyone to enter!

How to enter

Simply upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group. If you don’t have a Flickr account, it is free and easy to register (though we recommend signing up as soon as possible, because it takes a little time for your account to be approved for sharing photos in a group). You can enter as many photos as you want, within reason.

(All photos uploaded since the deadline of the 2011 photo contest last year are already entered in this year’s contest!)

Deadline

The last day to enter the contest is December 3rd, 2012. We’ll announce the semi-finalists shortly thereafter here on the blog, then everyone will be able to vote for their favorites! So be sure to check the blog in December.

Prizes!

First place prize will be a bunch of cute goodies from Japan, a $20 gift certificate to the Mochimochi Shop, and a $50 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

The top winner living in the US will also receive 8 books courtesy of Potter Craft!

Second place prize will be a handful of cute goodies from Japan, a $15 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land, and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

Third place prize will be a $10 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

So get those needles clicking and those cameras snapping!