Browsing Tag

Indianapolis

His & Hers Vlog

His & Hers: Fall Creek Trail Indianapolis

12/29/2014

his and hers

So my love and I really enjoy riding our bicycles around Indianapolis and even more so on the new Fall Creek Trail as well as the Monon Trail and Cultural Trail downtown. Indianapolis has a lot of gorgeous places to ride a bicycle. The thing I love most about our city is although patches of forest and natural gorgeousness are only a short distance away, we also have events, restaurants, shops and wonderful communities of awesome people like any other good city. We live just north of downtown Indianapolis and we love all of the amazing changes they are making for us citizens. David found this secluded area while we were riding and it was a wonderful little secret to share with him. I love our adventures and immensely enjoy bringing you along. πŸ˜‰ xox

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What is Fall Creek Trail?

A classic parkway – winding road, wide forested corridor – is home to the original Fall Creek Trail. Because the trail’s alignment follows the historic George Kessler Boulevard Plan, it parallels the waterway, passing beautiful, century-old bridges and established neighborhoods. It is a quiet pathway, often brushing against the creek. The Fall Creek Trail is Indy’s vintage greenway and will eventually connect downtown Indianapolis with northeast Marion County.

More Fall Creek Trail Info

Mew for Today Visual Splendor

Mew for Today: Kawaii Tarot Cards

02/27/2014

testworld

Who says the occult can’t be kawaii? For a long time I’ve loved tarot card art and the amount of dedication it must take to finish such a large deck. It’s a stretch, something totally new I never considered really doing. I know this is the next step!

So my next huge personal project is designing an deck of TAROT CARDS >> This is big for me to admit. Dedicating my next year/s to producing extensively designed mixed media tarot cards (78 in a deck) that will be available as very limited large prints until the entire deck is complete and then they will be made into decks of cards included as a lovely kit complete with a book written by a friend on interpretations.

I’ve also recently become obsessed with cute tarot cards such as those by Sanrio, Aya Takano (THE BEST: top of my wish list), the numerous cat and animal tarot cards, etc so I had to feature them! I’ve always wondered how I can add a totally different style/take into the world of the tarot.

The first of my new prints will be on show RAW located at the Murat on [official date announced!!] March 19th (buy a ticket ($15), you wont regret it! if not in the area comment and receive a free print at $30~). “XXI The World” is the first card and, as stated, will be first available at RAW.

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Day With a Camera

Day With a Camera: Sugar Plum Fairytales

02/06/2014

Once upon a time there was a kitschy Queen with a pretty, pretty princess and a bossy kitten that enjoyed the finer things in life. Things such as sugar, fluff, puff, stuff and more sugar sprinkled mayhem on top of that. In fact she thought the world might be a bit better if covered in sugar and so she spent her life running amok with her beautiful best friends while trying to make her dreams come true. Then the universe smiled on her and she met her King who had a couple princes and another pretty, pretty princess. They all 6 (her new lucky number) ran around with big handfuls of glittery love to throw onto the ground like petals at a wedding while the bossy little kitty sang the song of sunshine to all who would listen.

my pink cookie heart

popple baby

sugar plum cupcake

grapefruit

Buddha at the Art Institute of Chicago

This is a beautiful Buddha from the Art Institute of Chicago where my King took me last week and it reminded me of old, happy memories. I love it and it reminds me of my home in Japan and our home here because we have mini Buddha’s all over the house.

Jamie and Amber Renee by ZambiCandy

ZambiCandy drew this of Jamie and I recently! I commissioned it for her birthday because I knew she loved Zambi’s work and because we had been playing our 3DSs non-stop together and talking about how fun it was just like the cartoon above! It was perfect because we each got each other sentimental prints and gifts this year. Absolutely excellent work by an even sweeter artists. I highly recommend her for any chibi or manga work you want done!

PST! See more daily photos like this via instagram. My username is: amberrenee — xx!

Visual Splendor

RAW: Natural Born Artists presents AWAKENING

01/26/2014

RAW Indianapolis Awakening

I was recently called about being selected for RAW: Natural Born Artist’s art event coming up in Indianapolis on a date that is to be announced. I was instantly very excited and a little nervous. Apparently they had found my digital collages online and thought they would be amazing for a showcase there. As you may know I’ve been a little behind on making any work for “myself” as I mostly work for clients online these days and take care of my family and my health. However I felt like this was the universe telling me, “It’s time” to renew my work, make some new work and get back into the swing of being a more active artist again. I’ve sat in a cocoon for over a year now rebuilding my life and truth is, it’s scary no matter when you step back out! So here I come..

Support My Work

If you would like to support my work and help the universe push me in the right direction please purchase a $15 dollar ticket for RAW. If you aren’t in the area and can’t make it I’ll send you a free signed $30 print for your support along with a million digital hugs, just let me know you got a ticket so I can send it out. I have to sell 20 tickets for the event to both promote it and learn to force myself to promote my own work to friends and family (I’ve always been shy about it, believe it or not!).

Now are you ready to see some new and revamped collages for the event? I must say that my collages are obviously mostly filled with photos of my kitschy artifacts found while rummaging through antique stores both here and in Japan. They are not the taste of everyone but they are me and my voice. If artists tried to please everyone then they would in turn lose their voice and nothing is more sad than communicating something you strongly do not believe or agree with.

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Artist & Designer Features

Caitlin’s Custom Accessories and Footwear

04/10/2013

Caitlin is a cute and creative woman that I am lucky enough to share a community with. We met months ago at a local event and have been friends and confidants ever since. We realized we had a lot in common but it wasn’t until recently when I heard someone asking her for custom accessories at our weekly coffee hangout that I realized just how much we really have in common. She is an artistic and crafty woman, stylist and beautician in the Broad Ripple area and communicates a cute and urban aesthetic decadence in every task she takes on. Upon hearing about and getting the chance to look at her creations I realized I must feature her work and give you the opportunity to order your own custom goodies. As I’ve heard from her past clients, the nonstop compliments will drive you bonkers if you decide to have your shoes customized by Caitlin!

What inspired you to start customizing?
Necessity is the mother of invention. I painted my first cowboy boots to cover a spot where I dropped hair color about 10 years ago.

What is your process?
I use sharpie poster paint pens to customize the shoes. I used to paint my vans with sharpie markers in high school 20+ years ago because I was bored in class and the hobby just stuck.

I let the shoe direct the design, they communicate to me the colors and placement of design. I originally started with Uggs after I got my first pair 20 years ago and everyone made such a fuss about how ugly they were. I felt “blah” wearing them so I had to dress them up.

I’ve always “accessorized my accessories”. Whenever an item passes through my hands it ends up painted, patched, ruffled, stickered, personalized somehow.

What are your prices for customizing?
I charge $50 for the shoes. I also sell a lot of denim tool belts recycled from old jeans, for hairstylists or crafters which are also $50.

Get customized
Interested in getting your accessories or footwear customized? Let us know and Caitlin will get back to you immediately about the specifics.

Business Features

Indy Three Dog Bakery is a Perfect Pooch Patisserie

04/07/2013

Three Dog Bakery (that’s right — it’s a bakery for dogs) is one of my favorite little shops in Indianapolis, Indiana. I happen to be lucky enough to live right in between Mass Ave and Broad Ripple Village which are two of their three Indiana locations. The 3rd is located in Hamilton at the Hamilton Town Center and is the largest of the 3 locations. Both of the Indy district locations are in the perfect spots to catch any number of human and canine foot traffic out for a daily walk or jog. Not only do they cater to dogs but dogs are always welcome to come inside to shop and have a free cookie and some attention from the super sweet employees. Often times owners claim their dogs drag them the whole stroll upon realizing they’re anywhere near the dog bakery. It’s no secret that Three Dog Bakery happens to be many Indy dogs’ absolute favorite spot to wag their tails.

Three Dog Bakery offers dog and cat foods and treats with all-natural, holistic and human-grade ingredients that contain no chemicals, artificial ingredients or by-products. They are not connected to nor affected by the expansive Pet Food Recall.

“As part of our commitment, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that all products are produced in a clean, inspected facility in order to prevent harmful toxins from tainting ingredients. Ultra Premium is the standard we set. For instance, the wheat in our food is manufactured in the heart of the U.S. Wheat Belt at a facility that makes human-quality wheat. In fact, all of our ingredients come from the U.S., and most are produced right in the heart of the Midwest. Even our chicken is 100% USDA approved, human-quality chicken.”

Their mission is to fresh-bake the world’s best dog biscuits and give dog lovers everywhere a healthy, all-natural, bone-ified treat to give their favorite four legged friends.

So don’t hesitate to grab a leash for your pup and stop by a Three Dog Bakery today to enjoy their excellent products and customer service first hand.

Indiana Locations

Broad Ripple Village
844 Broad Ripple Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220

Mass Ave (Downtown Indianapolis)
444 Massachusetts Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Hamilton Town Center
13904 Town Center Blvd.
Suite 200
Noblesville, IN 46060

Website | Indy Website | Twitter | Facebook

Design Your Life

Crafting New Years Resolutions That Stick

12/31/2012

It’s that time again for all of the glitziest, most sparkling parties to dust our city with their crystalline love for the passing of time and in celebration of the New Year! This coming year happens to look very exciting for me for several reasons. One because 13 is my lucky number, somehow I always get dealt 13 whether it’s my locker or another random number. Another because 2012 was one of the absolute worst years of my life, actually it WAS the worst year of my life hands down for reasons those close to me know and that I will discuss further in the future. And lastly because the end of 2012 has been surprising me with the absolute best gifts I could ever imagine receiving. Not only is the future glistening brightly in my eyes but I’m really excited to start the New Year with the new love of my life.

So what better way to start this New Year than with 10 grand resolutions to bring even more health and happiness into my life? Why don’t you join me and craft a few of your own to share? Together we might even inspire even others to start their own resolutions and to actually hold themselves accountable for them! I know I will because I’ve gotten much more disciplined this year. There’s nothing like losing everything to bring what’s really important (health, love and happiness) to the surface!

As you probably know New Years resolutions are quick to become a subject of the past. They fade away as the days of the New Year linger on and new opportunities occur. The most common reason we forget about our resolutions or leave them behind is due to the unrealistic goals we have set for ourselves in anticipation of quick changes.

Tips for Succeeding

  • 1. Keep your resolutions realistic and achievable.
  • 2. Share them with a friend not for accountability but for encouragement.
  • 3. Focus on changes you’ve been planning to make for awhile.

“John Norcross of the University of Scranton concluded that 75% of resolution-makers will be successful in mid-January, 50% will still be sticking to it by the end of the month and 40%-46% can claim success six months out.” – USA TODAY

My Resolutions for 2013

  • 1. To have my *gulp* divorce finalized and custody agreed upon.
  • 2. To publish one or more of my books I’ve been endlessly putting off.
  • 3. To blog at least twice a week, publish articles/interviews that have been waiting and put much more effort into Miseducated now that my life is whole.
  • 4. To continue to grow more serious in my beautiful relationship.
  • 5. To organize and spring clean our entire home.
  • 6. To produce more work for myself, collaborations and for clients.
  • 7. To lose 5-10 pounds, eat healthier and exercise more.
  • 8. To grow even more spiritual and study religion further.
  • 9. To list the new items I’ve been dutifully creating for the shop.
  • 10. To obtain a larger vehicle (kid count grew from 1 to 4 this past year!).

What are yours?

Visual Splendor

First Fridays on Mass Ave, Indianapolis

05/13/2011

My husband and I decided to visit Mass Ave for First Fridays in Indianapolis, because I had a few pieces in a gallery there, and had a blast. I love going to Mass Ave when there’s nothing special going on so it was extra exciting to see all of the great artists at First Fridays and Handmade Promenade.

We were pleasantly surprised to see my favorite bakery, The Flying Cupcake bakery, had moved to Mass Ave along with a lot of other new places we didn’t recognize. Hurrah for new business in Indianapolis! We need it!

We also happened to stop by our old favorite (was right down the street from our old apartment) Elbow Room for some dinner on our downtown adventure. I got my absolute favorite salad ever, the Strawberry Chicken Salad. Ben got his favorite, the Elbow Burger. I tried both and I can assure you they are amazing. The burger is cajun spiced and unlike any burger I have ever had, it’s spicy and delicious. The Strawberry Chicken Salad comes packed with fresh mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, blue cheese, candied walnuts, chicken cooked to perfection and of course a large portion of their strawberry vinaigrette. It was perfect for today, it tasted like summer.

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the sami
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Event Features Visual Splendor

The Barbie Fashion Experience in Indianapolis

11/06/2010
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So I took a trip to the Barbie Fashion Experience which is a current exhibit at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

I brought my nephew along to the museum but he opted to skip the Barbie part. I reminded him that males are also designers but he was much more interested in the dinosaur exhibit. So interested that we had to see it twice. πŸ˜‰

Not only did the exhibit feature Barbie displays (through the years) and one of a kind fashions crafted for her by designers such as Betsey Johnson and Nicole Miller, BUT it inspired children to create their own Barbie fashions.

Each station had miniature mannequins arranged in front of each chair for fashion designing in a flash. Children were everywhere, surrounded by their parents, as they created Barbie’s next new look.

Way to go, Mattel!
Your exhibit made my day because it inspired and excited so many little minds! πŸ˜‰

coffee talk

hella hippie

betsey johnson

green barbie by betsey johnson

bathing suit

crystal barbie

phonecall

the fashion experience

meetup

barbie window

pinkalicious in our size

giftshop