Free Writing Paper – Hippie-Style

This started as a way to leave happy looking notes for a neighbor.  Her dogs were waking me in the middle of the night. And, since she sleeps during the day – leaving her a note (now & then) was one way to gently let her know about the problem.

To use these pages, I wrote my messages in the white rectangle in the middle. Then, I hand-colored the border design.

Last week, I realized I could print these for the children in my family, so they had an area to color, but also an area to draw in. (They’re at the age where they love coloring, but they also love to draw.)

And then, I decided to make these available to everyone, free.

Click on each image below, and the related PDF will open for you to download.  (These are 8 1/2″ x 11″ pages, and each graphic is linked to a different PDF.)

And then… I realized my other neighbors might enjoy this writing paper, too. So, I got an easy-to-remember Bit.ly URL, Free2Color.

After that, I created the following sign, colored it (by hand, of course), and taped it to our front door.

Free coloring pages and writing paper.

This goes along with another recent, hippie-style project for my neighbors:

Every morning during the week of Earth Day, I put a new message in one of my front windows. I printed the signs large enough so passers-by could read them when they’re on their way to work, or walking their dogs.

Most of the messages came from late 1960s’ and early 70s’ songs… things from Woodstock and the hippie era, in general. Others reflect similar attitudes.

Here are a few of them, stacked on my floor.

 

Window signs with happy quotes.

If you like this idea, the font is Elsie Swash Caps Black font, and the size should be at least 120 pts to be read by people passing by your home. (For other signs, I’ve used Placard GF at about 150 pts, and a few similar fonts.)

Generally, I’m printing on two sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ paper, horizontal, and then I tape them together to make the window sign.

For me, these ideas come from my “still a hippie” soul, with the idea that doing nice things for other people – and putting more happiness into the world – is the right thing to do.

And yes, I am planning to create more writing paper you can download, free, and more coloring book freebies, in general.

Yes, I Color in My Own Books…

Good Vibes - Aisling's coloring demonstration.Do I color my own coloring pages? Yes, I do.

As a coloring book artist, I think it’s important to color your own drawings, so you understand the experience.

It’s why I create lots of different kinds of coloring books. Some people want big, bold areas to color. They want to complete them in one sitting.

Others want tiny, detailed areas, and pages that take a long time to complete.

And some want a mix of both in every coloring book.

My “Good Vibes” coloring book is a mix. This video shows one of my more detailed designs, and how I colored it. (It was a stressful, not-enough-sleep week, and coloring this was a way for me to get the tension out.)

I’ll post more videos like this, as I color my own pages. They may give you some ideas for how you’d color them… or, hey, maybe how you wouldn’t! LOL

Also, I was using three brands of coloring pencils: Pluqis, Prismacolor, and Staedtler.

I was impressed with Pluqis. For the low price, I expected very hard leads that wouldn’t blend well.

Instead, I love them. They’re not as brilliant as Prismacolor colors, but I often use Pluqis first. Then, I add dazzle with Prismacolor coloring (lightly) over the Pluqis areas, or using Prismacolor for highlights & shadows.

Tip: Prismacolor leads can be just slippery/oily enough that it’s difficult to color over them… unless you’re using another Prismacolor pencil, that is.

So, I usually sketch in my color ideas with Pluqis, first. If I don’t bear down too heavily on the paper, I can usually color over Pluqis with Prismacolor… but not always vice versa.

Prismacolor Manga pencilsPrismacolor pencils are pretty much the top of the line for most coloring book enthusiasts. They’re soft, they blend well, and… yes, the price can be daunting. I bought their Manga set, which is priced fairly low at Amazon.com, and it includes some good, juicy brights and subtle darks.

I also use Staedtler’s bright colors (with soft leads), but – to be honest – they’re in third place. Where I used to use Staedtler, I now use Pluqis when I can.

However, I know people who consider Staedtler the absolute best among colored pencils. So, it’s probably a matter of taste. And, sometimes Staedtler is the only line with the exact color that I need.

I hope those tips help. I’ll share more creative ideas – and coloring videos – soon.

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll try my Good Vibes coloring book, and let me know what you’d like more of, in the future.

Planting a Kitchen Garden from Cuttings – Easy Green Onions & Mint

This Christmas – like last year – we started kitchen gardens for friends & family.

They’ve been a great success. (My own green onions have been thriving for over a year now. I just keep cutting them back – to use in recipes – and the plants regrow bigger & more flavorful every time.)

Today, we delivered four green onion plants (already started) as Boxing Day gifts to the four managers of the apartments where we live.

If this sounds interesting to you, here are links to the instruction sheets (PDFs) I created. They explain how to start your own kitchen garden, using items from the produce department at your grocery store.

Planting a kitchen garden from cuttings: Green onions

Planting a kitchen garden from cuttings: Mint

Old Site Pages – Removed

Preparing for the 2018 overhaul of this website, I’ve deleted the old Aisling.net pages… the ones from 1999 – 2006 (or so).

There were hundreds of them, and many were duplicates of articles at this (far newer) version of the site.

Google wasn’t happy with that, as well as the many broken links on those old pages. Google planned to de-list this site altogether.

My reaction: No. I’ve put too much time into this site to let that happen.

I started to fix all the links. Then I realized: I’m going to change everything in 2018, anyway. (Well, not everything. I’m just replacing all the old HTML pages with newer versions, here.)

So, yes, the old pages are now gone. Until the 2018 updates, you may run into some broken links and missing graphics. I apologize.

On the Appearance of Old Articles

If you’ve signed up for updates when this website is updated, you may have seen (or soon will) announcements of “new” articles… that aren’t, really. Or, you may receive so many of those announcements, they look like spam.

Here’s what’s going on: I’ve been restoring old, old articles from my original HTML site, to this (WordPress) website. And, I’m back-dating them, when I have a pretty good idea of when those articles first appeared. (A lot are from around 1996 – 2004.)

If that’s a problem (especially if it looks like spam), it’s okay to use the UNsubscribe link at the foot of the email, and sign up again for the announcements, later this year.

update key(This is a major project, so I don’t expect to complete the updates until around December. And even that may be optimistic. I mean, these are hundreds of articles, and some of them need far better illustrations. In 1996, I did my best to keep entire webpages below 35k. Today, a 35k image can look fuzzy, or it’s a ridiculously small size.)

Anyway, that’s what’s going on, if “new” articles have dates from y-e-a-r-s ago, and look old, too. It’s because they are. (But the info in them is still useful, so I’m restoring them, a little at a time.)

illustration courtesy GraphicStock.com

Notes on Tidying Up

Life-changing magic of tidying up - KonMariLike many people, I’m working my way through “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up…” by Marie Kondo, also called the “KonMari” process. It’s about decluttering, and surrounding yourself only with things that bring you joy.

The process has been astonishing, and I’m still early in the process.

The following is this morning’s observation, which I shared elsewhere (in social media), but… well, you may enjoy this, too.
…

Clearing out, I keep stumbling onto things I’ll like but I know I’ll never use.

Or, an item that’s long past its “use by” date in the real world, but I’ve had the idea that “I might need this someday.”

Or, the reason I bought it…? Now, it’s LIGHT YEARS off my current and projected creative trajectory.

But, I’ll be honest. Letting go of the item is, on a small scale, kinda-sorta like a divorce.

The breakup itself can be difficult (or not), but the REALLY excruciating part is: letting go of the original dream.

You know… that “ooh, shiny” moment when I acquired whatever-it-is. The idea that it would be the coolest thing EVER, when I used it for… something. Often, that was some specific event or project that was part of an even larger, future vision.

And then, my life swerved in a different direction. A direction that made more sense and turned out pretty darned cool, and I do NOT regret it.

But each new adventure on that path took me even further from the earlier vision.

So, a lot of the stuff I’m letting go of now… it was part of a rosy, “what if..?” dream. But that’s in the past.

Often, the swerve in my life happened for an external reason. It’s WAY too easy to blame it on someone who really DID stand as an obstacle in my path, at that point. And he or she really WAS a jerk.

But, jerk or not, my life went in a different direction. And I had fun anyway. Probably a LOT more fun than I might have had, on the previous path.

Still, some of this process is like a divorce. And it’s FAR to easy to want to hold onto that old dream (and that related, old grudge)… IF I let myself do that.

The process isn’t easy, but it’s healthy. And, by releasing those mini-anchors to the past, I’m allowing myself to move forward with less holding me back.

For me, THAT’s what this is about.

Two Christmas Coloring Books and a Free Download

As you may have noticed, I’ve been on a coloring book binge, this past year.

Christmas coloring book - vol 2
Click here to order this book at Amazon.

Christmas is no exception. So far, I’ve created two Christmas coloring books. They’re filled with ornaments you can color, cut out, embellish, and display. Each is designed to hang on your tree, your Christmas wreath, or as part of a holiday mobile or something.

(Of course, if you celebrate holidays other than Christmas, these ornaments still work. The designs are entirely abstract.)

These Christmas coloring books start taking my coloring-ish books in a slightly new direction. I’m including more craftsy ideas in them.

These books include four pages of how-to ideas to do more with the ornaments… like fasten them to paper garlands. Or scan them, print them on fabric, and make quilted ornaments with them. (Or even use them as centerpieces for each square in a quilt.)

A preview of 2017…? Maybe.

For 2017, I’m starting to focus on different, creative projects. Things that take me back to my artsy-craftsy roots.

See… a few decades ago (it sounds SO weird to say that), I used to create monthly, full-page crafts pages for Lady’s Circle magazine. Each of my pages would include a simple pattern for a creative project. And then… I’d go wild with lots of ideas to use that pattern in a variety of ways.

It all started when I created a simple teddy bear design, and turned him into a “no-sew” crafts project. It involved natural herbs that repelled moths, and teddy would become an ornament-sachet to hang in your closet.

He was a huge success. Lady’s Circle readers responded with enthusiasm.

And… I kept creating designs (and myriad ideas for using them), month after month, until the magazine changed editorial direction, a couple of years later.

I loved creating those projects, and I think I want to get back to that for 2017. I’m still thinking about it.

In fact, I’m re-reading Amanda Palmer’s book, “The Art of Asking,” and Cory Doctorow’s book “Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free,” to reconsider my business models.

My hippie impulses are kicking in again, hard. And, I’m looking at ways to make lots more treats available, free… while still being able to earn a living.

So, my websites may start looking very different in 2017.

Meanwhile, back at ye olde  Christmas drawing board…

I’m working on these Christmas ornament coloring books. The first two are in Amazon right now. (At least one more may follow, in the next week or so.)

Each book includes:

  • Over 180 unique, round ornaments in different sizes and styles. (I haven’t counted, but I know the number is over 180, and I’m pretty sure it’s over 200.)
  • All designs are printed on one side of the page. So, there’s no bleed-through of ink… unless you’re using really juicy markers, I suppose.
  • Every ornament is designed to color, cut out, and hang on your Christmas tree or wreath. (Or tape to your window. Or iron onto a tee shirt with the appropriate — or inappropriate — holiday greeting. Go ahead. Have fun with this.)
  • Also: Four pages of decorating and crafts ideas, to get the most from these ornaments. (That’s what I referred to, earlier in this article. It’s a “sneak preview” of what I’m considering for 2017.)
  • Bonus: Two Christmas wreaths to color and decorate. Cut ’em out. Tape them to your dorm or apartment door. Or to your cubicle. Instant Christmas spirit!
  • Plus: Additional pages of Christmas ornament coloring pages. Most started as experiments, as I designed my holiday books. (Some worked out better than others, but I figured all of them were good enough to share, anyway.)
  • And sample pages from a few of my other coloring books.

Both books are suited to family activities. I tested them with children as young as three years old, and with adults. Everyone enjoyed them.

So, you can color your ornaments now, and display them at your home or office.

OR, you can plan this as a family activity, during holiday get-togethers. (They’re also ideal for classrooms and Scout meetings, “girls’ night out” activities, etc.)

So far, Volumes 1 & 2

Christmas coloring book ornaments - vol 1The coloring designs in Volume 1 (black background cover) are more ornate and detailed, but still in my usual “hippie style.” If you liked 1960s art by Peter Max, and the designs in the Beatles’ film, “Yellow Submarine,” this is the book you’ll want.

(Not sure? See the freebie sampler page, linked below.)

Volume 2 (white background cover) is more relaxed, and all the ornaments feature loops, swirls, and circle artwork. They’re probably faster to color.

And, remember: My coloring books are priced super-low, and each books’ copyrights include my formal okay to copy for personal use. So, go ahead and share these ornament pages with your students. Or your friends.

Links to buy at Amazon:

Here’s a sampler of the ornaments in Volume 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8noedrX-LRwNGNBTm5FaVpscEk/view (That’s a free download you can print.)

Free Coloring Page – Garden-style

garden-y coloring page -- free downloadYes, this seems like a good day for a free coloring page.

I’m working on a couple of new coloring book series. So, I’m happy to share one of the pages.

I draw these by hand, and then clean up the lines (just a little) in Photoshop.

So, they’re kind of irregular. They’re kind of organic. And, yes, they’re a style I’ve been drawing in, since my early teens.

(As a teen, at the local public library, I created each summer’s reading program artwork for the Children’s Reading Room. It was almost always in this style… wavy, wobbly, and fantastical.)

Here’s the link to the free coloring page: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8noedrX-LRwWW1VMnlWU0lIeE0

If you’d like to share the link with a shorter URL, this works, too: http://tinyurl.com/zwyp7rd

It’s a hand-drawn coloring page — 8.5″ x 11″ — that you can download and print as a PDF.

I’m preparing a new coloring book series in this style. It should be available in early 2017.

More Copyright -> A Brilliant Resource

question markAs artists, bloggers, authors, publishers, and generally creative people, we often turn to stock images — at sites like Shutterstock, DepositPhotos.com, FreeImages.com, MorgueFile.com (not what it sounds like), and a bazillion others — for art, photos, and inspiration.

We also use things like the Creative Commons search engine, to find hidden gems for our work.

But, do you know what’s okay to use in your artwork…? And what’s legal to use in artwork you sell…?

I’ve talked about copyright in the past. I’ve also debunked the “three stroke rule.” Those are old articles, but most of the information still applies. (Remember: I’ve been online, talking about art, for 20 years now. Really.)

Now, a friend has created a great article and infographic on the topic of stock images and how/when to use them:

Stock Images [Cheat Sheet]

Go see it. It’s very cool!

Fore-Edge Book Art – Historical Examples

When I first saw this concept in the movie, Crimson Peak, I didn’t think fore-edge book art was anything mainstream… ever.

Now, I’ve learned that it’s a legitimate book art. (How did I never hear of this, before?)

It’s something I’m considering including in my altered books art, and perhaps other projects.

Another example, from 1801:

Here’s a 1947 video showing one way fore-edge art was added to books:

And here’s a modern artist working with this concept:

For more historical insights, this 28-minute discussion explains the fore-edge tradition and practice in more detail: