tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513180953084130592012-01-30T10:57:06.264-06:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.comBlogger5911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-68645306385730541562012-01-27T11:26:00.001-06:002012-01-27T11:57:48.383-06:00

I did it! I did it! I made a magic carpet. I've wanted to make one of these for an eternity, at least a year. What gave me the final nudge I'm not sure, other than I tend to turn to crochet when I need a meditative escape. Just rows, nothing else. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until I get bored. Then someone gets a blanket out of it. But this time I wanted a rug, and I wanted to

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-14617809597983946352012-01-22T12:25:00.003-06:002012-01-23T16:41:45.876-06:00

We get, we give, we get, we give. Both good and bad. Cause and effect. Karma. Whatever you want to call it. We found a sweet rose pen fashioned out of duct tape in the Whole Foods parking lot. Someone's gift to us. A crusty resident yelled at me for leaving the communal laundry door open, then slammed it for dramatic effect. Had he asked nicely, I would have apologized and closed the door on my

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-60893300645329909332012-01-16T08:26:00.002-06:002012-01-16T09:43:40.760-06:00

saturday was mama/daughter day in new york city! the train attendant gave my artsy girl a hearty welcome aboard, punched smiley faces in our tickets and went on her merry way. we met alice and her artsy girl at penn station and spent a low key afternoon of playgrounding, eating and shopping in union square. alice and i could have chatted for days about creativity & life (she also convinced me to

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-50422570007824383052012-01-12T07:27:00.002-06:002012-01-12T08:44:31.332-06:00

yesterday the skies were sparkling, and stacks of work on my desk were growling at me, so i did what any self-respecting escape artist would do: i dropped it all and hid for an afternoon in the sweet, sleepy little village of hastings-on-hudson, new york. it is on the eastern bank of the hudson, about 15 minutes south of tarrytown (where i'll be visiting washington irving's home sunnyside when it

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-52396124374908636782012-01-09T17:48:00.000-06:002012-01-09T17:48:47.492-06:00

I have never paid the moon the respect it deserves, but my daughter does. It fits her: dreamy, nocturnal, many shades and faces, has her own calendar. She has sought it in the sky ever since she could speak. Earlier this month she wanted to know the exact date of the full moon (today!) so I did my research & doodled a chart for her so she'd know when to expect it every month. Maybe I should start

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-79446625555979641352012-01-04T11:20:00.001-06:002012-01-04T11:27:32.012-06:00

we stood on snowflakes in new york city, took in the windows,and got all sugared upat dylan's candy bar.we landed in the the Material Labat MoMAwhere we played with paper and crayons, fiddled around with the light table,and stepped on textures.we took a trip to my brother in law's bakery in Philadelphiaand took home our weight in delicious goods. we found the delightful blast art gallery in

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-9728046011563430032012-01-02T06:51:00.001-06:002012-01-02T06:51:31.597-06:00

A new year means a new session of 21 Secrets: An Art Journal Playground! Registration opens today for 2012, and I'll be teaching the workshop Get Lost this time. To kick off the fun, I'm now offering the 21 Secrets class I taught last year, "Three Little Words", free of charge to give you a taste of my workshop style. Everything you need is in my handwritten/doodled manual below. All I ask is

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-43149499034304900852012-01-01T09:43:00.004-06:002012-01-01T10:10:56.956-06:00

It turns out that my printer was also not a tireless machine. A few days of overzealous printing experiments sent it (and me) into a panic. When I was finishing up one of my last orders of 2011, it spat out muddy brown instead of red, rendering A Star of Your Own Brightness one big uninspiring mess. The original print was all in reds and oranges and golds; something about the monochromatic nature

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-89941168117054878192012-01-01T07:00:00.003-06:002012-01-01T11:43:18.310-06:00

Happy 2012! I have a special doodle deal in the shop today -- get 2 "This is the Year" prints for the price of 1. Keep one and give one. Or give both. Or keep both. Valid today only, January 1, from noon to midnight EST. Then it will go back into hibernation for next year. Wishing you all the best for the new year!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-41140455231106219682011-12-26T18:57:00.001-06:002011-12-26T18:58:43.777-06:00

I enjoy watching the frenzy of the season build, build, build over the month of December to a fever pitch on Christmas, then melt into a languid glide for a few days before the madness of New Yearness arrives. I've been in a total retreat the last few days: drawing, reading, curling up with my tea and coffee, relaxing, dispensing of obligations, taking evening walks up the hill to my favorite

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-23469597249587790822011-12-23T13:15:00.002-06:002011-12-23T13:31:36.490-06:00

I always wait until the penultimate moment to whip up teacher gifts. Normally it is because I'm a procrastinator. This year it is because I haven't yet sorted out when and where to breathe, let alone brew up a usable gift idea. I went through my bookmarks to see if I had filed away any ideas before The Move, when my mind was still intact in Kansas, and LO! There it was. Washi taped binder clips,

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-74668026168634411872011-12-18T09:38:00.002-06:002011-12-18T09:40:36.955-06:00

These words have been floating in my creative cauldron for a while and they finally found their home on paper. Just a little doodle about the importance of carrying yourself around life with color and confidence. The little lady reminds me a lot of my friend Rachel Awes, she of festooned head and free-spirited mind, who scatters color and happiness along every path she travels. (5x7 doodle print

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-15680399600973486292011-12-16T15:39:00.001-06:002011-12-16T15:49:21.136-06:00

Montclair, New Jersey! It's a wonderful, diverse, colorful, cultural little burby burg about 15 miles west of New York City. Our hearts were wholly intent on anchoring here, and we searched at length for just the right place, but timing and logistics did not work out in our favor. S'OK, though, because I'm still close enough to make frequent escapes. And so I do. Last week I had my brows done in

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-86541579997408080482011-12-14T06:10:00.002-06:002011-12-14T06:16:27.046-06:00

It's my birthday & I'm celebrating with a little sale in the shop! Use the code BIRTHDAY20 for 20% off your order today. Sending you all love & thanks for being such a gift to me these past few months through such a zany time in my life! ♥

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-48412587980861049582011-12-10T20:49:00.003-06:002011-12-10T20:55:50.582-06:00

The winner for the copy of Personal Geographies is Mary from Summit Scribes. Mary, I couldn't find any contact info for you, so hopefully you'll check back here to find out! Please send me your address at artsyville@gmail.com by Sunday evening, December 11, and we'll have North Light send your book on its way. Thanks everyone for participating!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-61064942274312371272011-12-08T16:03:00.000-06:002011-12-08T16:03:10.881-06:00

I had an impulse to sew paper, and these museum brochures were happy to step up to the task! I cut the papers into 4"x5.5" pieces, folded them in half, zipped up the sides with embroidery floss, and now I have little holders for my bookmarks and magnets and holiday gift cards or whatever other flat things I might want to give away. They could work for journal pockets, too.The paper was thick and

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-55264260354520609542011-12-05T06:52:00.000-06:002011-12-05T06:52:27.227-06:00

Yesterday morning I went back to the city for a day of quiet, solitary strolling. I picked up eavesdroppings on the trains, had coffee, talked to myself and the things I saw, went back to MoMA for a few more exhibits, wrote, took in twinkly lights, watched Manhattan go from sleepy to busy, gazed at Gwyneth Leech's outstanding illustrated coffee cups at the Flatiron Prow Art Space (each used

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-42045802236218642542011-12-03T09:53:00.004-06:002011-12-03T12:44:03.514-06:00

Yesterday, somewhere in between school dropoffs and pickups and holiday performances and homework anxiety and wrong turns and the never ending house showings on our quest to find a place to live, I made a field trip to Morristown NJ -- an encampment of 18,000 people about 30 miles west of NYC that is considered the military capital of the American Revolution. George Washington once spent a full

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-30955780501919464332011-11-27T16:38:00.001-06:002011-11-27T16:40:37.397-06:00

Here is my first true Jersey doodle. This is what has become of me: I'm documenting traffic. Harking back to the plight of the highway motorist in North Jersey, I decided it was a good first predicament to cast in ink. It took all week to complete, not only because I am a slow doodler, but also because I invested an extraordinary amount of time in getting lost. Call it research ;)

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-8466251214005504602011-11-25T08:53:00.005-06:002011-12-10T19:55:28.792-06:00

Nearly two years ago, Jill Berry sent me a note: "Aimee, how do you feel about maps? Love 'em?" Just reading the word "map" made my heart thump, and the way in which it was phrased convinced me that Jill was up to something quite mappy. She was. After many months of cartographic toiling, her passion was published this month as Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed-Media Mapmaking.In Jill's

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com126tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-91370948987175292462011-11-21T18:23:00.006-06:002011-11-21T21:03:51.905-06:00

I took a journey of cut & paste fun last weekend and this afternoon with my new travel magazine obsession, AFAR. It is a culturally satisfying read (but not uppity), colorful, intelligent, features quirky columns and fascinating destinations, and makes me want to take off right this instant. And the paper! It is yummy and thick, somewhere in between matte and satin, just enough to give it a

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-44518201439925186092011-11-20T19:03:00.004-06:002011-11-21T09:59:57.182-06:00

No - o - o - o! I did not skip a day. I did a real, honest cut and paste project for AEDM #19 with a travel magazine last night. But after starting its companion piece, I ran out of glue (horrors!) and was too lazy to get more, so to the side it all goes until I can finish tomorrow. Today's creative venture involved more exploring. I have a strong thirst for it these days. I caught an early train

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-70359731402209252382011-11-18T06:32:00.003-06:002011-11-21T09:59:41.286-06:00

This was the week I went from being a visitor to a resident. When I settle into a new spot, I prefer to observe, and if possible not really talk to anyone for about a month. But my kids started school this week, forcing me to shed my cloak of anonymity, and so I'm feeling a bit bare and vulnerable at the moment. When that happens, I hide. And there are so many places here to hide! Suburban towns

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-18434537672769049812011-11-15T14:56:00.001-06:002011-11-15T14:57:15.690-06:00

Usually I try to have something handmade on the celebration table for my daughter's birthday. Last year it was a mailbox, another year it was a dollhouse, and other years I did other things but can't remember what they were. This year I forgot altogether, until I went to the grocery store to pick up balloons and found a darling vase covered with chalkboard paint. Only four dollars! Ran to the

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-82025968946838007262011-11-14T05:34:00.001-06:002011-11-21T10:01:07.104-06:00

Finally got back on track this weekend with my Drawing Room series, which got thrown off kilter with the move. I started doodling people a few months ago after finishing my Stew Book. I found how much fun it was to explore and describe others' personalities, their quirks, their doings, their ways of being; plus I like the creative challenge of fitting words and thoughts like puzzle pieces into

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-32071036372333431952011-11-11T10:32:00.002-06:002011-11-11T17:00:01.303-06:00

I finished a few Artsyville buttons today! They're on my sidebar -- feel free to grab one. And push it if you wish. Catching up on past posts and everyone's creative lives. Returning bloggy visits, slowly and steadily.Moroccan oil works like a gem on even the rattiest hair. I had forgotten how easy apartment life is. I love it. Even though it is filled with an illegal amount of wicker and I feel

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-89588078106742031162011-11-10T17:16:00.002-06:002011-11-21T10:00:26.983-06:00

Today was an exploring AND doodling day! New schools and obligations are imminent, as is winter weather, so I am cramming in as much as I can before organized chaos and chilly days descend upon the household. This afternoon we went to the little artsy town of Nyack, about 30 miles north of NYC. Picked up a yummy brioche & a jar of homemade honey at the farmers market, ate gelato, each picked out

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-41349928916339677022011-11-09T20:49:00.005-06:002011-11-21T10:00:50.287-06:00

This was to be the day to unpack and get back on track. But the weather! So beautiful! Why settle for settling? Instead I took the girls to NYC for their first taste of the city. Not many chances for photo ops this time since I had each of their little hands clutched in mine. But they took very favorably to it all, perhaps because I took them directly to Nintendo World? Back to the doodledesk (

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-68593858849821970062011-11-08T20:21:00.005-06:002011-11-08T21:05:09.782-06:00

Last night the Artsymobile rumbled to a stop at the end of New Jersey and it is here we shall stay! So that journey is now complete - and a new one begins.Starting with bagels. Real bagels. Moved into our temporary digs today. Landlord was waiting for me with freshly brewed coffee, a Dunkin' Donuts and a copy of the New Yorker. Nice way to start a fresh adventure I'd say.Yearning to doodle again.

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-71543309816959766562011-11-07T19:38:00.004-06:002011-11-21T10:03:03.581-06:00

Today was the shortest of the drives, which gave me plenty of time to detour off I-80, wander through the gorgeous Pennsylvania countryside & Amish enclaves, get lost in South Bethlehem and land in the weather capital of the world just long enough to meet Punxsutawney Phil. No preview on winter from him. He was too busy sleeping. There were so many scenes I had to pass up because it wasn't safe

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-22280931026105660272011-11-06T19:32:00.004-06:002011-11-21T10:01:33.291-06:00

Today took us through the last of the Midwest, so full of photographable vistas and remains of cultures past that I could easily spend a few weeks exploring here. I longed to take a day of detours down more farm roads and sleepy towns, but the kids had a yen for only one thing and that was the hotel pool waiting ahead (in which they are swimming right now.) We did make it to Grandpa's Cheesebarn

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-44417539920063965952011-11-05T17:51:00.008-05:002011-11-21T10:02:15.342-06:00

500 miles into the trek I made a pit stop in Indianapolis, my hometown (one of them, anyway). This morning I made my way back to Broad Ripple village, a Lawrence-like part of the city where I used to dwell in my thrifted duds and bi-level haircut twentysome years ago in search of whatever it was I was searching for. It was here that I found my inspiration for the first Artsyville journal; it was

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-60768854393982588142011-11-04T19:48:00.003-05:002011-11-21T10:02:44.581-06:00

Got a little bit of it all today, from beautiful scenery to mind numbing landscapes through Kansas and Missouri, an unplanned detour to a fudge kitchen (and from there a diversion to a covered bridge), amazingly well behaved kids (they were well iPadded and Nintendoed, admittedly), flagrant violation of the Illinois speed limit, 2 hours in Indianapolis traffic and one inch from nailing a deer. I

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-67974088548291517482011-11-03T08:45:00.001-05:002011-11-03T08:53:29.996-05:00

Five years ago,in thirst for my next adventure,in pursuit of liberationelsewhere in the nationI stood on my Dallas doorstepand declared "Destination: Los Angeles."Then you sidled up to me out of the Midwestern vapor and asked:"Why go to that La-La-Land when you can come to this one instead? The land is lush and green,the air is free and easyand you can live as you wish."Instinctively and without

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-56561906464647015822011-11-02T08:36:00.003-05:002011-11-02T11:28:15.307-05:00

Good baristas are vital to a healthy, caffeinated life. I wanted to leave my favorites here with a parting gift of my reverence for the many days they've kept me afloat over the past five years. This drawing is one that I've taken up again and again but never liked the words, so I kept scrapping it. Today I knew exactly what it needed to say. Time pressure has a funny way of forcing things like

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-22133870734038100782011-11-01T16:12:00.007-05:002011-11-02T08:10:05.758-05:00

a slice of the mania that's on my breakfast, lunch, and dinner plate today -- and the fastest lettering job i've done in weeks! my cramped up hand isn't very happy, but the doodle dump put my mind at ease. happy first day of Art Every Day Month 2011!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-49958294123498233652011-10-31T09:48:00.002-05:002011-10-31T11:47:46.759-05:00

My red shoes, for when I wish to return to Kansas. I liked them so much I bought the same ones in black. Soaking up my last few days in sweet little Lawrence. Last place on earth I thought I'd ever live - and it stole my heart. Part of me will always live here. Testing mobile blogger today so I can spout out posts from the road. If the pictures look wonky and weird words creep in, that is

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-14368524940956123142011-10-27T14:00:00.004-05:002011-10-27T14:37:37.184-05:00

Earlier this year, a (fabulous) group of parents at my kids' school, hoping to keep their little ones on their feet and off the sofa, banded together to start an informal running club. It has caught on faster than free cupcakes! At least a third (if not half) of the school is now enrolled. Twice a week, the kids fly out the door, drop their backpacks by the entrance and begin their 1/2 mile

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-85828119327201282682011-10-21T10:50:00.000-05:002011-10-21T10:50:42.156-05:00

I stole three more hours last night to do the flip side of the cut & paste therapy journal. (There's always a flip side.)Clothing laundered in someone else's washing machine always seems to have a nicer scent.I have a splitting headache.Honeycrisp apples are in season.I'll miss the old guy who sits on his porch swing with his wife and says "Hi, Neighbor" every time we pass his house.Plastic is a

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-23803725569560353702011-10-20T00:43:00.003-05:002011-10-20T12:45:33.019-05:00

Collage is great therapy. Last night I stole three hours to defile the cover of an ugly day planner with pieces of washi tape, painted/patterned papers, magazine bits, match book covers. I made a mess & it felt good.The only thing I take in my coffee is more coffee. Either one shot of espresso or two. Keeping sweet Liv, who just lost her dad, in my thoughts. I think she herself is an angel.

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-29311735077335540322011-10-18T14:14:00.006-05:002011-10-18T14:25:18.672-05:00

Found the mother of all retro wallpaper on the house search this weekend. (60s maybe?) Impeccably preserved and pretty awesome. I am a sucker for trial sizes. When I check into a hotel, they give me two keys. I immediately lose one and within 30 minutes I lose the other. There is a jar of buttons rolling around in the trunk of my car.I love the scent of rain hitting dry pavement.Why can't I pump

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-1650559228734831932011-10-10T06:52:00.004-05:002011-11-02T08:35:11.654-05:00

href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/artsyville/6228247765/" title="wonderscope-folders by artsyville, on Flickr"> We took our final trip yesterday to Wonderscope, a hands-on children's museum near Kansas City that we always adore visiting because it is bright, cheery, educational, big enough to keep the kids' interest for a long time, and too small to get lost or

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-19088328339296997502011-10-07T16:49:00.004-05:002011-11-21T10:04:35.907-06:00

This morning I had a journal jam session with my free spirit art buddy Shannon and her two creative boys (who have to be the most well-behaved kids I've ever met). It had been a long time! Sometimes it takes things like moving away to set real dates and make them happen. We met at Mildred's, an adorable little coffeehouse in the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City (about 40 miles east of

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-7573080905093791142011-10-04T13:33:00.001-05:002011-10-04T13:35:02.610-05:00

So it's settled! Or at least, we will soon be. After tootling through lots of historic & charming little villages in North Jersey we've decided to drop our anchor there. As you can imagine I am taking a great deal of (good natured) crap these days about the whole Jersey Shore thing. I solemnly promise I will do my artsy best to not go all Jersey Shore on everyone. The most Lawrence-like of the

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-11295510713034828622011-10-03T09:56:00.004-05:002011-10-03T19:58:50.954-05:00

In our final month of domestic limbo here in Kansas, I'm searching for stuff to keep us busy outdoors on the weekends and to reduce the human footprint on our house until the closing. Basically we bunk here, and we breathe, but beyond that I'm committed to minimal activity indoors. I've already proudly marked one month of no cooking. The oven exploded two days before we put it on the market, we

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-6922795665481331462011-09-29T12:09:00.003-05:002011-11-21T09:59:00.230-06:00

After a few solid days of intense exploration through cute little villages in North Jersey and the Lower Hudson Valley (more on that later) I was seized with an urge: I needed me some City. The hardcore kind. Dropped the house stuff for the day, hopped a train and before I knew it there I was. Spat directly into the throngs of traffic and action.My memories of NYC were so fragmented that it was

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-60250360791166006272011-09-23T14:31:00.002-05:002011-09-23T14:33:10.735-05:00

Seems the only thing I'm getting creative about these days is monkeying around with dates, times, tasks, and emotion management. Thank goodness Stephanie's Creative Courage course starts Monday so it will look like I'm actually doing something creative with my life right now, even if I'm not. I'm lucky enough to be one of her featured artists, and you can catch me briefly here today. I'm the one

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-56385282809463918132011-09-15T09:34:00.003-05:002011-09-15T10:04:04.807-05:00

I've moved a billion times, yet I always forget how weird and unsettling that space is in between worlds -- when I'm dismantling one but have not started reconstructing the next. Eager to move forward as fast as possible, but anxious to linger behind as long as I can. Moving along at breakneck speed one moment, dwelling in syrup the next. Watching storms pour out of one corner of the sky and

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-64579919339434306082011-09-06T10:00:00.008-05:002011-09-12T10:24:50.035-05:00

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! I have a special treat for you in the Drawing Room this morning. If the words amazeballs and awesomesauce didn't give it away, performing in my studio today is the colorful and fascinating Michelle Ward, the When I Grow Up Coach. I first met Michelle when she was balancing her coaching business with a corporate career. Early last year she took a huge

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-5950238711793016742011-09-04T10:49:00.004-05:002011-09-04T14:19:18.884-05:00

we're laboring away on this labor day weekend. doing little fixes to the house, sorting through stuff, combing through the stacks of what we've accumulated through this phase of life, thinking about how and why i acquired things. though it's an emotional process, it's one of my favorite tasks when i move. here's a few of the things i've unearthed. a special grouchy person gave my artsygirl her

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-4159170164798143042011-08-30T14:22:00.006-05:002011-11-13T21:51:26.694-06:00

Documentation of the madness has commenced. Today is drawing room day, yet I have been everywhere but the drawing room. So our visit will have to wait, for I've been doing everything but doodling.Here's what I DID do today. I tore through the alley this morning with two panting children behind me and 5 minutes to arrive by the bell (and was clearly not going to make it) when our marvelous

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-60900924975104932152011-08-28T12:35:00.003-05:002011-08-28T15:16:29.038-05:00

Earlier this year I was planning a fall trip to NYC with Jen, and if all goes according to schedule, all I'll have to do is hop on a train to meet her, since that is where life has decided to spit us out for the next moving adventure. Somewhere around there, anyway. Final landing location is TBD, but it will probably be just far enough from the city that it won't be able to eat me alive, yet

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-25183629665879341942011-08-26T12:35:00.001-05:002011-08-26T12:37:32.301-05:00

This morning I was scrambling and swearing and searching through my files for something that still hasn't surfaced, but I did find this beauty of an old photo which could not describe my life any more accurately at the moment. Big changes in Artsyville are afoot. We're moving to the east coast (more details to come) but for now I'm living in a state of perpetual transit and an enormous mess. I

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-24829067270364494282011-08-23T10:05:00.000-05:002011-08-23T10:06:05.554-05:00

It's Tuesday! Come into my drawing room, choose at least three beverages and have a seat. But watch out -- that's Hamburgers you're about to sit on. On second thought just stay upright. Come on over to my doodle desk & grab some journaling stuff and join us! Our guest, Christen Olivarez, is already painting away, stitching something, reading a book, dreaming up her next project, probably

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-14776596347892704612011-08-19T11:12:00.008-05:002011-08-19T15:27:25.713-05:00

Most of my creative explosions take me by surprise. But this time it was going to be different. I had a specific project in mind, and by golly, I was going to tackle Tammy's inspiring Daisy Yellow Index Card a Day. Set foot in Office Depot, headed for the index cards and... then I saw the rolls of cash register paper. Rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls of them. Just stacked up on an endcap in

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-16260991812290440362011-08-16T22:21:00.007-05:002011-08-16T22:47:08.718-05:00

You probably thought I was going to bail this week and I almost did. Buried under chocolate croissants, cafe au lait, decadent sandwiches, freshly squeezed lemonade, ripe strawberries, lemon tarts, and one ethnic feast upon another, who would ever want to surface and hit publish? Yet I managed to do it, because I wanted to introduce you to the talented, colorful, well-traveled Stephanie Levy.

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-50503659759985047202011-08-15T08:53:00.000-05:002011-08-15T08:54:04.158-05:00

freshly inked! a doodle encouraging writers-in-bloom to put their marvelous tales on paper so the rest of us can read and enjoy them. etsy added with love, as rachel a. would say. hope you'll stop by the drawing room tomorrow -- the mystery guest and i will have chocolate croissants and cafe au lait ready and waiting!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-59306351575827899552011-08-13T18:12:00.002-05:002011-08-13T18:31:25.672-05:00

The girls and I were tootling down 23rd street this afternoon in search of fabric markers when I spied a bus covered entirely in hand painted letters. Obviously I couldn't pass that up without a closer look, so I made a dramatic U-turn and went to check it out. Turned out that it wasn't just any old gussied-up bus, but the One Million Acts of Kindness bus! Bob, the founder of this amazing

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-70852615043997138532011-08-12T12:41:00.001-05:002011-08-12T12:42:15.197-05:00

it's our wedding anniversary today. ten years! my grin is wider and longer than the thousands of miles we've traveled to get to this moment -- a road filled with joy, color, change, adventure, and love. i'm crazy with curiosity to know what's coming our way next, but to be honest, i can't imagine a life any more swell than the one i'm living right now. thank you, my love, for the best decade of

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-2605810341488868582011-08-09T06:15:00.001-05:002011-08-09T06:16:34.146-05:00

it's tuesday and the drawing room is open! please come in, grab a gluten free mint chocolate chip cookie and take a stand. no sitting today, for we are with the ever-moving, constantly exploring jan of daisy janie. she's a self-taught, self-made surface pattern and textile designer who derives her inspiration from within, from nature, from details of unexpected objects, from a passion for

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-48329923233991047342011-08-08T14:12:00.001-05:002011-08-08T14:14:03.043-05:00

I've gotten such a bang out of penning haiku over the past few months that I'm making a doodle book stuffed full of it -- some old, some new, none borrowed, some blue. If only the speed of my pen could match my level of enthusiasm! I'm way too slow for my liking. Here's a peek of the travel section in progress. I started with that hoping it would help move my sludgy hand a little more

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-86363875135990694792011-08-07T12:55:00.000-05:002011-08-07T12:56:18.090-05:00

just walking in circles around the house today. pillows i love.postcards of pixie campbell's paintings. me loves these too.the girls' room was a garbage dump. yesterday i took a deep breath & went in & gutted it. found three lampshades. (and a lot more.)a paper star that has survived the years.a print i picked up in buenos aires years ago -- artist garroffo (? scrawled signature)a little nook in

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-57440109824087893552011-08-03T12:35:00.001-05:002011-08-03T17:29:30.715-05:00

the other night i didn't know why my battery was on fire alarm red and gasping for juice when i had gotten nary a phone call that day. didn't take much sleuthing to find out.

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-20956358164929695442011-08-02T08:04:00.001-05:002011-08-02T11:37:10.845-05:00

Welcome to my drawing room! Come on in and have a cup of coffee, or perhaps something a bit milder or stiffer. My first creative guest is someone who is in my drawing room every day, my mix and match cryptospeaking girl, who in fact is here right now gobbling up a piece of Jen's No Way coffee cake. I picked her as my first one because 1) she's family and would have to forgive me if I botched it

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-24414455784700630462011-07-31T10:08:00.002-05:002011-07-31T15:19:26.715-05:00

My favorite part of do(odl)ing The Stew Book was writing about the people who were in it. I like knowing what makes creative people tick, and I enjoy even more putting those thoughts and details on paper. So I'm going to keep rolling with it! For the next few months I'm going to host a weekly series here called "In the Drawing Room", in which you'll meet (or get to know better) some creative

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-36846428396382607972011-07-28T11:11:00.000-05:002011-07-28T11:11:52.744-05:00

i spent a fun (but sweaty) morning downtown scouting out letterforms wrought by hand -- it probably goes without saying that i have a super soft spot for them, except when they wind up on the walls of my house. thank you all loads for the great feedback on the stew book -- that one won't be in the shop but i'm hard at work on two others, which will be!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-49815815592226206552011-07-24T11:20:00.000-05:002011-07-24T11:20:32.388-05:00

The Stew Book is finished! Fresh off the Artsyville press (my whiny but trusty printer), this started as a small recipe booklet from my creative retreat last fall in Minnesota with Rachel, Liv, Carissa, Jen, Susie, Kolleen, Lori (and our much missed Chrissy and Valentina). The more I got into it, the more I kept adding until it wound up being a full-blown memoir of the weekend. (Never mind that

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-8355640449579348362011-07-20T13:54:00.009-05:002011-07-20T16:49:41.550-05:00

Either the calendar lies or I've slacked off here for a week and a half. What's the excuse now? Normally I'd blame it on #1 but this time it's a tad of #2 and a lot of #5. I've tackled my first doodled tome, a mini book/zine/whatever you want to call it, hand lettered from start to finish. Whenever I get fully absorbed in something I get obsessed to the point that everything else falls by the

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-79379851081461569202011-07-10T18:55:00.004-05:002011-07-10T22:17:24.335-05:00

I had heard rumors for months that an Etsy-inspired store was coming to my neighborhood, and then I had the excellent fortune to bump into my friend Robin at the post office today. She said: "Have you heard? It's open!" And off I went. It's called Made, at 737 Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence, and was started by Etsy seller Jennifer (littlerory) when she realized that her favorites list

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-54865362970845552452011-07-06T12:04:00.001-05:002011-07-06T12:06:33.500-05:00

It's already six weeks into summer here so I thought I'd best get moving on my mini road trip plans around the Kansas countryside. I love passing through tiny towns, driving on rinky dink bumpity roads, making up stories and songs about the abandoned houses and bits of civilization I see, wondering what I'll find next. Eastern Kansas took me by surprise when we first moved here because I expected

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-59267159315884318992011-07-05T13:53:00.000-05:002011-07-05T13:53:45.946-05:00

Ideas! Where and how do they come to you? I long to be one of those who can sit down with a few free hours and a pot of coffee and channel inspiration into something visual on demand, but when I try that I usually sit with a big fat blank and then I get depressed. When I get out of the chair and start doing (rather than thinking) the sparks have a better chance of igniting. But it isn't

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-73370388481568681942011-07-04T11:18:00.000-05:002011-07-04T11:18:20.036-05:00

like many shutter-happy people, i've fallen into instagramming this summer. i love the colors, the filters, the tinge of age that makes the event look like a thing long past, and mostly, the instant gratification. (how did i survive before immediate photographic feedback?)(cherry kolaches last weekend)(my kids jumped in this pond)(a pinwheel on someone's mailbox)(colorado flatirons)(working on a

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-40079505152258964902011-07-03T10:12:00.000-05:002011-07-03T10:12:50.047-05:00

hi all! just thought i'd pop in from my lazy weekend to let you know i'm having a FREE for the FOURTH sale in the shop, if you'll pardon my play on words and the holiday. buy 3 pieces (any size) and i'll toss in a mini doodle of your choice from today through tuesday, july 5. just let me know which mini you'd like in the notes to seller. i've also just listed the new mama doodle fresh and magical

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-82783758897152242932011-06-29T07:54:00.000-05:002011-06-29T07:54:43.221-05:00

this bus! this rusty, blown out hippie bus. what happened to it? who abandoned it? why? how old is it? we found it in the middle of nowhere -- or more precisely, next to a trail north of nederland, colorado. i googled it inside out and came up with nothing other than a few pictures and the same questions i had. i think this bus deserves to have its tale told. want to play? leave your theory or

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-65734022845655062912011-06-27T15:34:00.001-05:002011-06-29T18:56:58.600-05:00

we went away to the land where the phone reads No Service, and it was awesome. last week we hiked through miles of sun, rain, thunder, snow, little rocks, big rocks, tundra, cascades, horse shit, and dirt; saw caribou, elk, and marmots; ignored the clock; made pit stops in little towns and at roadside stands for cherry pie; even had coffee one morning with my favorite map maven jill berry. i

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-9624779962520179772011-06-22T08:00:00.003-05:002011-06-22T09:06:57.928-05:00

doing a doodle & guest-host-post today for new mama leah at creative everyday! come over & say hi! ♥

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-54274275950197200902011-06-14T15:18:00.002-05:002011-06-14T15:37:25.221-05:00

she's five. she made it. we've all made it. it's a milestone for her, and for us as a family. gone forever in this household are the days of diapers, chubby legs, first words, babbling turning into sentences, bleary all-nighters that left us with hangovers and no fabulous story to show for it, the simplistic curiosity of preschoolers, the first drawings of hearts and people. many things i enjoyed

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-72855706216696661832011-06-08T16:15:00.003-05:002011-06-08T18:25:55.042-05:00

surprise balls! how did i make it through childhood without ever making or opening one? injustice! well, i know about them now. my kids each bought one at a craft fair last year and they were absolutely enthralled by them. i remember that we, the parents, weren't quite as enthralled as the unwrapping went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, as the piles of crepe paper surged and

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-72636363197136662072011-06-06T14:38:00.000-05:002011-06-06T14:38:21.943-05:00

just penned a few friendly words to the numbnut(s) who "visited" us last night -- i figured a sign would be more effective than filing a police report ;)

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-73561879505929929042011-06-04T11:53:00.006-05:002011-06-04T13:13:25.422-05:00

it was a smothering, steamy morning in middle america (i think i heard the air hiss on several occasions) but that did not stop me from the weekly walk to the farmers market. we used the parental divide and conquer technique this time, so i had only the eight year old mix and match girl with me while the four year old birdie girl stayed home with daddy. and let me say that it made the world of

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-12126719694991818182011-06-02T14:22:00.001-05:002011-06-02T14:52:01.333-05:00

here are the latest victims of my need to paint whatever is in front of me. cans. i don't think they even qualify as art. but they add color to my life, and to me that's worth the effort no matter what they're called. the idea came from these prettily painted coffee can planters nailed to my neighbor's tree. my personal opportunity arrived during an absolute panic over a preschool potluck picnic

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-68390252443854427632011-05-26T13:04:00.004-05:002011-05-26T20:30:52.399-05:00

i was long overdue for a round of haiku! i just can't say enough about how much i love writing within the confines of 5/7/5 -- it keeps my mental raving to a minimum. as always, please don't call the poetry police on me, and feel free to deposit your own haiku in the commentary if you'd like to join in the fun. p.s. the next post is all about cans...

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-61026310126927637732011-05-21T13:43:00.001-05:002011-05-21T14:28:04.946-05:00

that our peonies would be so gorgeous this year -- and that i'd remember to pick them.that i would find this little shop while tootling through topeka -- and that i'd be greeted by five old people welcoming me to "the nut house" when i walked through the door. that the end of second grade would be upon us so soon -- and that my artsygirl would still be rocking her mismatched socks. that a dove

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-25430157386964984872011-05-16T09:55:00.008-05:002011-06-22T09:05:36.735-05:00

peeps i'm celebrating today for reasons big and small:* danielle and her family for their astonishing story of perseverance; * leah for her newest addition, annabelle; * jan for her newest addition, tilly;* jane for her awesome picture of the pink-shirted cheese gazer;* jennifer for her writing on mothering which always fills my cup; * susie for wrestling with a mountain bike on the top of her

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-75135670438837261362011-05-09T17:36:00.008-05:002011-05-10T08:24:47.206-05:00

This morning I was nursing a massive driving hangover, the kind that comes with driving 730 miles in one day, and the instant cure arrived in the mail! It was my copy of The Artist Unique by Carmen Torbus. This was over two years in the making, and when Carmen asked me to be involved with this book it was significant for so many reasons: it was my first opportunity to contribute to an art book (

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-2313140161210453322011-05-01T16:45:00.007-05:002011-05-02T09:17:13.063-05:00

time for more cut and paste fun! ever since i saw dana barbieri's gorgeous flower wreaths, i've wanted to try my hand at the activity. and with may day upon us, i thought it would be nice to leave something more durable and lasting than fresh flowers on our neighbors' doorsteps when doing our ding dong ditching this year.i already had all the materials on hand so these came together fairly

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-19997761844913200432011-04-27T12:54:00.001-05:002011-04-27T12:54:43.673-05:00

i've been a doodling fool this month! i was sick of having these words crawling around in my notebook and just wanted them out. some are vintage artsyville pieces with new lettering jobs, some gestated (and others festered) for a few months until the right words fell into order, and others are fresh from the noggin. more are coming, and they will all be in the shop when it reopens (probably next

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-51738226089985006242011-04-25T10:57:00.004-05:002011-04-25T12:29:55.116-05:00

on saturday my artsy pal bobbi clued me in to a giraffe parade over at funkytown (a little trading environment set up by one of our neighbors), so i high tailed it over there with the birdie girl before they disappeared. i couldn't bring myself to take one, so instead we filched a unicorn and a ball, and left behind one of my plumed pencils, part of our abstract adventure, and a something calling

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-12800223838231026952011-04-20T13:23:00.001-05:002011-04-20T14:07:18.367-05:00

i've been listening to others' conversations on the sly again. what can i say? it's addictive. here is a fresh round of eavesdroppings, flanked by another abstract adventure in progress and my little pencil friend from thereza. happy middle of the week to you!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-14335873171498130722011-04-18T07:42:00.001-05:002011-04-18T07:45:01.141-05:00

yesterday morning i was looking for a crafty way out of yard work. when my kids walked by with their arms full of branches, i had my excuse! i took the sticks, slapped on some liquitex, let them dry, bound them with a piece of scrap paper from my abstract adventure, and now i am very happy with my artsy sticks. at first i thought i'd use them as wall hangers or curtain rods, but now i think i'll

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-48432085508560546492011-04-15T07:46:00.002-05:002011-04-15T08:39:27.146-05:00

four posts in one week? i must be insane. this is because i took connie's 21 secrets abstract adventures workshop yesterday and had the urge to paint something huge right then with her fearless painting process; it could wait no longer. the storms were coming and the winds were feisty so i knew there wasn't much time. i rushed to fetch the kids and didn't even stop to look at a huge blowup sumo

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-45184581674938251862011-04-14T13:28:00.003-05:002011-04-14T13:36:02.260-05:00

earlier this week i was in an unbreakably pissy mood, so i strapped on the walking shoes and went over the bra bridge to north lawrence (where we went on the tavern tour) and zigzagged up and down locust street. (is there any town in america that doesn't have a locust street?) parts dicey, parts industrial, and parts raw coolness, it is a quiet little stretch that is easy to fly past in a car,

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-6969045221701026192011-04-12T10:39:00.001-05:002011-04-12T10:41:10.861-05:00

greetings from clutterville! in the corner of this all-out mess is a peep of a wedding menu i just finished lettering (a yummy process though i'm pretty sure i gained ten pounds from it), and i am desperately hoping to wrangle something else out of this desky disaster today, if only to clean it. i always feel better when my surroundings are neat and shipshape, but if i let my guard down for even

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-64105502000788446892011-04-11T08:30:00.006-05:002011-04-11T09:14:47.032-05:00

it's been green for long enough i think i can dare to declare that spring has sprung! finally i am free to wander the streets, peep through shop windows, crawl through alleys, follow the trails of the sidewalk zombie and trespass in people's seedy and weedy yards in warmth and comfort. i missed the UFO summit last month, so i am sorry that i have nothing to report on that ;) but i am back to

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-19866410102411388512011-04-11T08:14:00.002-05:002011-04-11T08:21:49.562-05:00

good morning and happy monday! i'm giving the artsyville facebook page another try and i plan to stick around for a while this time. i'm corralling my doodles into photo albums over there and will keep it refreshed with new goodies, links to my posts here and little giveaways now and then. i'd love it if you'd like it!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-67115945749312252782011-03-28T12:07:00.008-05:002011-11-21T09:55:53.284-06:00

just back from a marvelous weekend in montreal, a place i've always wanted to explore! i went to our northern neighbor with one of my oldest, dearest and funniest friends jill, who is also one of my oldest, dearest and funniest traveling companions and always has me laughing nonstop for at least a month after i see her. we stayed up too late, drank too much wine, ate too much, walked all over the

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-39574258699664123462011-03-22T11:28:00.002-05:002011-03-22T12:56:07.515-05:00

if i were to write an autobiography, it would have to be in chapters grouped by airport codes, since that's how i look back on life -- anchored by trips and the divisions between them -- and i guess this would be the cover! this is one of a series of pieces i did for a project that i probably won't see in print until next year, and i just found out that they passed on this for another, so i can

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-75676219572744836222011-03-16T09:01:00.000-05:002011-03-16T09:01:11.975-05:00

I'm having a sale in Artsyville! from now through Sunday, March 20, use the code SPRINGBREAK2011 for 20% off your entire order (so that makes it a city-wide sale)! After that, the doodleshop will go on vacation for a month while I dream and doodle up a bunch of fresh new goods, go on vacation myself, and help my girls with some of their own artsy projects. My oldest artsygirl writes a series of

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-63990335802963155602011-03-14T09:09:00.018-05:002011-04-15T08:07:08.804-05:00

good monday morning to you! we woke up to a winter wonderland, such bad weather manners for march. we also woke up to daylight, and if you did the hour shuffle forward over the weekend like we did, you know what that means. so we found out just how quickly a family of four can get ready, which was 25 minutes from deep slumber to the school door. thank you, daylight savings. thank you!

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-551318095308413059.post-24617812521434158572011-03-09T17:13:00.010-06:002011-03-10T08:53:42.824-06:00

yesterday marked the eighth day that i had been saddled indoors with one enfant malade or another. over the past week i've dished out more cherry jell-o, wielded more thermometers, force-fed more medication, and watched more shaun the sheep than one should ever have to. my life was starting to feel a bit like groundhog day. but the sunshine arrived in many forms this morning and cleared the air.

aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17007656886393098784noreply@blogger.com30