List it Tuesday 3/6: What Works

This week's suggested topic was "what's working for you." Here in Artsyville the list is as follows: every single colored pencil at Dick Blick (above) and pretty much everything else in the store, the gradual progression towards spring, grinding coffee beans again, the two Prabal Gurung dresses that I got at Target (but you'd never know it; they are that cute!), a clean attic (finally did the deed last week), the black clodhoppers that I got for $10, going to bed earlier (not in my nature, but I feel so much better in the morning), going to the library more than regularly, the weekly meal planning (Mr. A decides on the menu and cooks; I shop and clean), and taking a few gut wrenching risks.

Next week: pick a city you've never been to, consult a travel guide and name ten (or however many you wish) places you'd like to visit there.

{side note: I have a secret code alive & well in the shop until midnight EST tonight! enter 2THOUSANDTHANKS for 20% off all things Artsyville. My little Facebook page went over 2000 likes this past week and I wanted to celebrate!}

List it Tuesday 2/19: Unorthodox Stencils

1. Said fly swatter
2. Textured placemats
3. Chipboard (carve pattern with an x-acto knife)
4. Paper bags (fold & cut like a snowflake for a stencil pattern)
5. Yarn arranged in random loopings
6. Hole punched or die cut anything (put those paper shapers to use)
7. Lace
8. Old film

Next week: Things you're doing that are really working for you (exercise routine, nightly chocolate snack, carpooling, morning writing, organizational strategies, etc...)

List it Tuesday 2/12: Unintended Use

Sorry for the List it Tuesday delay! I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! (My stock line of excuses from one of my favorite movies -- anyone know it?)

This week's suggested topic: things you use, but not for their intended purpose. Some of mine make sense and others require some explanation.

1. Junk drawer -- we've been there already...
2. Erasers as stamps -- dollar store & x-acto knife!
3. Pickle jars as supply storage -- my family has finally put a halt to this. No more pickles.
4. Musical instruments as burglar alarm -- when our (everyone's) power went out during Sandy, so did our security system. I put jingle bells, maracas, tambourines, shakers, and drums in front of all the doors to cause an enormous racket and to give us enough time to call the cops if some looter came along.
5. Paper bags -- my favorite surface -- the plebeian, humble, toothy, thick, hearty kraft paper that is so perfect for taking paint.
6. Fly swatter as stencil -- this I haven't done yet, but I plan to. We've never used it (I'm not quick enough to catch a fly) and it has a beautiful, delicate, lacy patterned surface that has no business killing flies anyway.
7. Bathtub as laundry basket -- just as the Reverend Mother in the Sound of Music knew that Maria would never be a nun, I knew from the minute we moved in that our tub would never be a tub. Instead it is a gorgeous clawfoot laundry basket.
8. Heavy books -- precisely what I used to smash this drawing flat after I painted it. I love using Bristol paper for lettering, but it does not care for watercolor, and buckles terribly. I put it under 10 heavy books and then sat on the stack to finish the job.
9. Pencils and paintbrush (and crochet hooks) as hair sticks -- doesn't everyone?
10. Car trunk as paint studio -- our car still has paint all over the bumper after our art escapade with DJ.

Can't wait to see everyone's lists! The fly swatter got my mind buzzing with stencil ideas, so for next week I'll suggest making a list of things around your house/office/environment that you could use for a stencil. Have fun and go big! If we get enough ideas, I'll put together a master list as a reference tool for everyone. Have a great week!

art heart party 2013

The snow didn't stop us! 19 sweethearts ran around our house yesterday making stuff and decorating cupcakes for this year's Art Heart Party. It was the most life we've had in this house since we moved in, and initially I was a bit skittish about mixing that many first and fourth graders. It was either going to be a harmonious or combustible combo. To our delight, they all brought their best sweet selves and were fantastic. There were so many kids that we had to parcel them off into stations. Cupcake crayons were in the breakfast nook, real cupcakes were in the kitchen, the dance room (not planned) erupted in my art studio and then went into some sort of conga-line in circles around the downstairs, the happy heart name banners & puppets were in the dining room, and the family room was where they crashed to watch a movie after having their fill. My husband stood sentry in the cupcake area and I supervised the flying paper. It was teamwork at its best! I have to admit that I'm not big on birthday parties (I find them extraordinarily stressful so we usually have a one-friend kind of activity or outsource the whole thing) but this kind of party was a joy to organize and I hope they had as much fun as I did. Now the Kidz Bop is off the Pandora playlist, the hearts (most of them) are packed away, I have a sick little one today and it seems a little quiet and empty chez Artsyville.

{P.S. See you tomorrow for List it Tuesday! The suggested topic is "unintended uses." I might be a bit late getting the post up and running, so if you don't see it, keep checking! :) And if you have a moment, swing by & say hello to Artfully Carin -- I'm excited to be featured in her Arty Mama series today!}

let's eat

New little kitchen-y print in the shop. Let's eat!

I'm pretending that no blizzard is headed our way. Stuffing goodie bags merrily for an Art Heart Party redux on Sunday. {Finally recovered from the one four years ago!}

I feel like a heel that I haven't been around many blogs to visit lately. Have my hands in too many things and it's all I can do to hit publish here. But that's no excuse. I'm a louse. I am a bloggy louse.

Thanks to everyone who helped my magic word magnet packs sell out on Tuesday! I've put three new sets in the shop: "True Inner Color", "Magic Wine", and "Soul City".

Thanks also to everyone who helped me feel like not so much of an ass, so to speak, with my laughingstock revelation on Monday.

Linking to Paint Party Friday, though I have to admit, this was done with inks and not paints. Does it count?

magic words

I Need Art magic word magnet pack


Strong Heart magic word magnet pack


Chocolate Power magic word magnet pack


Need Good Wine magic word magnet pack

Two posts in one day! The reason for this: I finished my magic words ahead of schedule and wanted to share. It's magnetic poetry, Artsyville style -- a collection of words that I've hand lettered, printed, magnetized, and cut into wonky shapes for you to assemble thoughts you never knew you had ;) I've only put four sets in the shop for now to see how they do before I go overboard with these. If they are flops, no harm done -- they will just go on our household dry erase board where we can leave ridiculous messages for each other!

Also, I'm so excited to be part of Jessica Swift's ARTISTS + RENEGADES Interview Series today. Stop by & say hi if you have a chance, and see if you can figure out which statement I made that was a complete whopper!

List it Tuesday 2/5: I don't even know what to say

Nothing better than following up one embarrassing post with another, and here it is from the Listing Aimee in 1986. There is so much wrong with this picture that I don't even know where to start. This comes courtesy of my parents, who found this (and god knows what else) while they were going through my grandmother's many boxes of things my younger sister and I sent to her a generation ago. What Chef Boyardee Ravioli has to do with strawberries, and why turkey is on here twice, and why my sister was sending my grandmother cynical calendar quotes, I just don't know...

Next week's suggested topic: things you use, but not for their intended purpose. Paintbrush as a hair stick, egg carton as a Little People holder, that kind of thing.

Coming up next -- I am assembling (finally) my magic word magnets into packs for the shop, and I'll have a limited number available this week. I'll post them here and also over on my Facebook page.

Have a great day!

art doodle love

Woohoo! Do I have a gem to share today: Dawn DeVries Sokol's latest and greatest doodlicious book: Art Doodle Love! She has rounded up a group of artists to play around in it, and today is my stop on the blog hop. It's my kind of book: colorful, thought-provoking, non-linear, non-judgmental, inviting, welcoming, and FUN. So much fun that I felt no qualms whatsoever lettering out my most embarrassing moment of recent years on the LAUGHINGSTOCK page. Now you know. Feel free to drop an embarrassing moment of your own here so I don't feel so bared as I did in the MSP airport.

The publisher (Abrams) nails the book description perfectly:

"Overflowing with colorful pages, Art Doodle Love will motivate readers to lead a more creative life and discover things about themselves through self-reflection. Fun prompts help users start creating lists, drawing pictures, collaging with photos, collecting everyday items, writing memories, and recording dreams or wishes. Like a diary, the book allows the user not just to write their thoughts, but to document their lives with creative visual methods. Before readers know it, they will have found their mojo and will use the hands-on pages to vent about a bad day, soul-search, free deep-hidden memories, and interpret the world with the right side of their brains."

And to that I must add: it's a doodler's delight! To find out more (and see the other artists on the blog hop) go see Dawn at www.dblogala.com. At the end of the blog hop, she'll be holding a giveaway of colossal proportions.

{See you tomorrow for List it Tuesday -- do I ever have a doozy of a list to share with you!}

It Can Be Done

Just a quick Saturday hi to share a new print: It Can Be Done! Please come back Monday {I'll be doodling around in Dawn Sokol's new book Art Doodle Love} and Tuesday {make up your own list topic!} Happy weekend to you all!