Hey, we talked about it before… No one, not two, but three times.
It’s finally here! Get an A-Maze Mug from Ci3!How cool is that? Each mug comes with a dry-erase marker so you can solve the maze, both in a nifty box covered in mazes!
A-MAZE MUG by Ci3 & AiXeLsyD13
More cool maze-related merch coming soon. What else would you like to see? Socks? Masks? T-shirts? Books? Puzzles? Mirrors? Tiles?
I haven’t ever done anything to make my mazes available for any kind of sale, so this is exciting to me. What do you think?
I am eternally grateful to Mike Copen for the nudge and the opportunity. It’s so cool for artists, designers, entrepreneurs, & creative types to support each other.
Of course, I think they’d make great gifts for friends, family, teachers, co-workers, or even anyone that may be hard to buy for. Who doesn’t like a nice warm beverage? Solving the maze with the dry erase marker is a good opportunity to kind of zone out in a zen-like state, to help you regain focus to start the day or even decompress at the end of a long day! I know that’s the drive behind drawing them.
These would be great for coffee, tea, hot cocoa, warm apple cider, ramen, or one of my soup recipes.
Please, share the link if you’re so inclined. I’d like to see how far these can go. Thanks in advance if you plan on making a purchase!
I finally got a permanent place set up to rock. All my guitars, ukes, amps, pedals, and even an electric kazoo are easy to quickly access and just start rocking when inspiration hits.
Axetopia? CBGB’s (Carroll’s Big Guitar Bunker)? The Guitarmory?
It still needs a name. I haven’t officially decided. I have been calling it “the music room” or “the guitar room.” Both of those seem boring. Maybe this? I find it amusing but clunky.
I may make some videos of guitar shenanigans as a creative outlet. Not sure what direction they’ll take. I’m not a particularly good or technical player, but I can demo some gear or do some fun silly stuff. I do already have a YouTube playlist started for my guitar-related videos.
The Postitive Grid Spark amp & app have really made jamming quick and fun… they have a cool in-app video feature, but it’s not much different than recording straight-up with the phone’s camera.
More setup inspires more setup. I need a way to store my physical media (mostly CD’s) so it’s easily accessible. I have a lot. Too many probably. I need to build some shelves and the stuff I’m finding online seems painfully expensive and not quite a fit. And I’d like to dump that all on a personal media server. I have a lot of stuff not available on Amazon or Spotify.
The next itch I can already feel will need scratching is some kind of recording setup. I’d like to layer stuff I can hear in my head, without the aid of a looper. I miss the days of a Tascam 4-track with a cassette tape. Maybe I’ll delve into a nice simple digital version of that.
The kids have guitars, ukes, and a keyboard too… and now we almost need drums and a bass or too, right?
At any rate… it’s important to have a creative outlet. Live isn’t conducive to me jamming regularly with a band right now. I only seem to do mazes when the inspiration hits, and I blog pretty randomly. Music is one more option for expression, creativity, and constant learning/exploring. I hope to foster the kids’ musical expression and drive home how important it is to remain creative themselves and appreciative of art in general.
Keep watching the blog, social media, and YouTube if you’re interested in the musical stuff.
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We have gotten some great feedback so far, and I dig it!
I really appreciate Mike helping take my mazes to something other than doodles on paper piling up here at the house, or floating out there in the cyberspace ether unnoticed. Ha ha. I am unable to determine the correct path on how to go about making a book and if there would even be an audience for just mazes. I’m really not into making a theme other than “here are some mazes” outside the occasional inspiration for something else that’s goofy. (Or on something that’s goofy.)
Combine two albums you dig into one… just like some record executive or intern did once upon a time with Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, combining the “best” tracks of each to make one pointless album.
I would suggest that you do two albums. It can be different artists or the same.
If you want to be crazy try to keep the run time to a “real” album length. I think Records hold 44 minutes of music and CD’s 74 or so? About an hour would be good.
You can keep the artists separate like a split, or mix it all up.
Hell, you can combine 3 or more albums. I am a fan of anarchy. Just play. Here in the comments, or online. Use PicsArt or something similar to make an album cover if so inclined.
You can explain why you chose the tracks, or just let the mix speak for itself.
I sort of mixed up the tracks because why not? They do appear in album order. The run time is just over 50 minutes. (Thanks Wikipedia & Google Sheets.)
I have been posting them to Instagram, just not here much. I have a few I have drawn but haven’t shared. I may share them here. Is anyone interested in them? Should I save them for a publisher or Etsy shop? I need to get with CI3 and make some mugs!
You know you wanna print one and try it, or use an app on your phone/tablet to draw right on it. Then you wanna tag me in social media with the solution or leave it here in the comments.
The kids were really into Jovie-Belle, their Elf on the Shelf, this year. These are a few of my favorites. Post your favorites in the comments! (I have a bunch on Pinterest too… some appropriate, some not at all.)
We didn’t get crazy creative every night, but the kids really made a big deal about finding her every morning. Maybe next year we’ll get a second elf and have some more fun.
So, Google Photos made two of these video clip compilations all by itself, then it let me know in the photos app. One was for Molly, and one was for Ian.
HOW DOES IT KNOW?
Are these algorithms? Facial Recognition? Time, date, & location stamps? Did it use the videos from my phone, or the online backups?
This is so awesome, cute, and creepy.
These videos give me all the feels.
For those who noticed I didn’t blog very often for a while, all this was happening. It’s incredible to look back on it all.
I wish I could tweak some of the clips just a tiny bit to include some better little funny moments, but whatever made this did a pretty damn good job.
Well. Damn, you Pinterest. Ha ha. We made more progress on the Back Yard Race Car Track. It may now also be a construction zone, gravel pit, monster truck arena, and dinosaur garden. Molly even asked about building a volcano. I do have an extra bag of concrete.
Check out the latest photos. We added a gravel pit, some large rocks for edging-work to try to contain the gravel, and dug out the grass so we have a dirt pit. Not sure if I should plant grass and leave a dirt track, or make it all a dirt pit. I may try to buy some river rock to make the outside edges look a little neater, and mix some more extra sloppy concrete to smooth it over, and fill in the edges smooth.
