Art Junk Girl~

So inspired!

inspiration board (updated), originally uploaded by artjunkgirl.

Dear Friends~
I could not remember whether or not I had shared this inspiration board board with you from my studio. Last month, whilst organizing, I decided to revamp this old bulletin board. I started by attaching recycled wallpaper scraps as the background, then tacking many of the wonderful cards I've received from blog and flickr friends (some of whom I've been lucky enough to meet in person!) It's really wonderful to see this when I walk into my studio area downstairs. It's so bright and colorful and I feel instantly connected to all the wonderful artists i've met online and in person. So many talented ladies, so generous and caring! I am truly blessed.
Well, I have more inspirational bits to share with you today! Here are a few of the pics I took of other things that inspire me.

Occasionally someone will write and ask me who and what I am inspired by. Well, for one, lots of color and old black & white images have mesmerized me since my childhood. I was definitely a daydreamer. I still am. I still surround myself with little things from my childhood, and the vary photos that held promises for me...promises of a great big world, filled with color, wonder and love.

I did not have the most wondrous of childhoods, but I can tell you that living in my own little colorful world opened my eyes to the hope and possibilty that I felt was just waiting for me to discover. I'm so glad that I finally came back to the things that gave me that hope and feeling of safety. I won't let it go again. Each card above is indication to me that when you leap, there others will be to support, care and share your dreams.

Thank you my friends. xo lia

I heart Antique Malls! Friday Finds!

Dear Friends~
I have been a bit behind in sharing on my blog this week as I've had many "life" kind of stuff going on that's kept me away from both the blog and my journal. I have not completed a journal page in almost a week. That is a record for me as I work in it everyday...it's a constant companion to me...a place to rest my thoughts, not to mention some of my favorite papers and images from my little "stash".

Anyhow, where was I? Oh, yeah. The part about "life is what happens when you are busy making other plans"...that one. Now, lucky for me, while life was throwing lots of assignments my way, I luckily found myself in the vicinity of one of my favorite Antique Malls in our area. I have photos up on my flickr of previous jaunts and goodies I've found there. I had about 45 minutes to run in before attending my son's game and boy, oh, boy, did I find some goodies! They were waiting there just for me! I love antique malls and they are really my main stay for junkin'. I usually go "junkin'" in the summer time when we travel. I love the fact that I can take my time and that I don't have to fight over things like at estate sales and such. After all, "I'm a lover, not a fighter". Ha ha...I made a funny! Here are my friday's finds! ...mind you at amazing prices. I will post more later.

I also promise, cross/my/heart that I will be loading up some new journal pages and art soon! I have lots of ideas stored up in my head (you know, la-la land) and I'm sure that once I get out my art stuff, I'll be spilling it all out!
Hope all is well with my creative friends!! Summer is almost here and I'll be able to come out and play in blog land. I've seen so many fabulous blogs crop up as of late. So many talented people out there, so little time to see it all!
Stay tuned, I'll have art junk back on it's regularly scheduled programming soon! xoxoxoxo Have a FABULOUS weekend my dear friends!!!!
xoxox lia

It's all about the bling right now...

marie "bling", originally uploaded by artjunkgirl.

Well, sort of. You see, things are very crazy at my home right now and I've been informed that I am behind on my flickr group "homework"...hmmm....wonder who that could be? Anyhow, I've been sortin' through lots of bling as I continue to go through my boxes in the never-ending "art junk studio move". I must admit that I feel like it's Christmas when I open up a "secret stash" box and go through it. You see, I'm a junker from way back, so many of the little bits I have are from my childhood. My Mom staked out estate sales at "o-dark thirty" in the morning with us in tow. Trust me, you don't want to see people that early in the morning...especially when you are at a young, impressionable age. I remember that the biggest kick my sissy and I got was when we saw a man with shorts and mismatched socks...(a sure oversight on his part as he looked rather dapper otherwise). We assumed he rushed there to be first in line as he didn't want to "miss out" on the good stuff.
Back in my day (and I know many of yours also), my Mom went estate and garage sale-ing because she had to! She wanted to decorate our home on a budget. We could not afford new. Of course, since then, estate sale's have booned into a completely different type of venue...a hunt for nostalgic treasures and collections, artists/decorators seeking "bling" for their work, and of course, people like my mother who still make their house a home with a large dose of creativity and a small dose of change.
So as I continue to "dig out" of art junk central, I will continue to reminesce down memory lane. I just love where it takes me...back to when I was a girl watching my Mom build a world of majesty and fantasy in our little home on devon court.

Thanks for the memories Mom.

xo lia

Remember the squares?

getting "squared" away..., originally uploaded by artjunkgirl.

Dear Friends,
One of the reasons it's hard for me to chat about all the things I'm doing on my blog is that I usually have several things going at a time. I bounce around alot. Well, I haven't talked much about my "squares" or the "next chapter" for my inchies, but I do have a few projects brewing with them. One major one. I've had to get my hands on everything I could to learn how to properly scan and reproduce these little suckers. I am now working with printer number 3. Yes, it's an inkjet. Yes, I know laser scanning/printing is better. Now, if I was getting a much bigger refund from the IRS, I would spring for one. But, that would not be the only thing I'd need. Do you all know of any place I can go and insert a microchip into my brain and magically know photoshop too while I'm at it? Anyhow, once I get these guys organized, I might just go to the local printer and see what I can do. If anyone that knows about "all this stuff" can offer me some printing advice, please email me!

Hope you are having a great week! xo lia

Monday Musings: Your Moleskine FAQ~

Dear Friends,
I've had a few general questions about my moleskine journal as of late so I thought I'd answer them here for you all. Thank you for writing and asking. Remember though, my number one tip is that you take that plastic wrapper off before you head home. The plastic wrapper is there to protect it during shipping, etc. You aren't suppossed to keep that on for days after you buy it. I know it looks pretty and new, but really, you must take it off to get started. (I'm writing this for those of you who have written to me and admitted buying one, but that's as far as you've gotten). So, today is the day! It's only a wrapper, you can do it. I assure you that once you get started, you will want to work in it every day!

AJG Moleskine FAQ:

Q: What the heck is this "moleskine" thing you are talking about?

A: A Moleskine is simply a brand of a notebook/journal. The Moleskine website has a great description of it's "history" here, everything you would want to know about it and more!

Q: Which Moleskine do you use?

A: I prefer the small Moleskine sketchbook with the purple label and blank pages.

You can buy it through amazon or your local bookstore chain. I buy mine at my local barnes and noble. I am a book club member so I get a small discount and they send me "coups". I usually will use one of these (you can sign up to get the coupons in your email). Sheesh, I can never give a short answer!!

This is the one that I use for everything you see here on my blog and flickr.

Q: What kind of paint do you use in your moleskine?

A: The cheapo acrylic one's from the craft store. Of course, I have my "cheap" favorites. They are FolkArt and I believe the "apple barrell" brand. I'm sure you can find these easily. These are what I prefer...you may like something else completely. Experiment and see what you like. Acrylic paint dries super fast so they are easy to use and the moleskine pages are nice and durable and will take the paint well without wrinkling! I love that about Moleskines!!!

I think those are the main questions. If you have more, just leave a comment and I will try to answer here in this comment thread.

Have a great week! xoxo lia

Saturday Studio Update...

Dear Friends,
I am in major studio clean out mode. For REAL this time! Really, don't shake your head and say yea, yea,yea, we've heard this before Lia. Mary Ann's visit solidified my decision to continue moving my studio to the basement. I was still hesitant about continuing the "big move". I still have several things stashed in boxes and totes down there. I was still "playing" with the idea of moving back upstairs again. Yea, I'm like that. Ofcourse, Bruno (aka my loving and patient husband) did not help with any definitive advice...I guess asking him where my studio should be is equivalent to asking him the age old question, "does my butt look big in this dress"? There is just no right way to answer...Anyhow, the reason I am always struggling with finding the "perfect location" for my studio is that I want a place that I can leave stuff out but still be close enough to the family doings. A place that doesn't lend itself to spilling out into other areas of living on the main floor. A place where I don't have to do the "stash and dash" (also called 'the irish jig') before I have company. Well, after chattin' with MaryAnn as we had fun going through some of my "secret stash" boxes to work on a project, I decided that this is going to be the "right place" and that I need to just get on with it! Mar kind of gave me that reassurance I needed. So, having said that, I am leaving my cute little shabby re-do studio upstairs and heading on to unfinished walls and cement floors in the basement. It will be a challenge, but I'm going to "art junk" it up and make it mine. So, without further ado, I will take you through the good, bad and ugly of this redo (which will take longer than the mudroom one a few years ago). I will be taking more pics as I go along so I can share and have a record of it on my blog. Oh, and I forgot some fun little ideas I came up with while reorganizing things in there the last few nights. Here is a list of things I will have comin' up on the blog, so stay tuned if you are interested in any or all of them.

Art Junk Studio Re-do committments:

1. I have made many, many ATC's (Artist's Trading Cards), although I've done few if any actual "trades" outside of larger swaps. So, I am collecting them all into one box and I will put them up for trade either on my blog or as the first album on my flickr). If you are interested in tradin' let me know.

2. I'm going to swap/sell and give-away some books and magazines I have pertaining to paper craft, mixed-media, etc. so stay tuned. I have extra copies of a few Somerset's that I will be giving away in future updates.

3. Last but not least. I will be makin' some collage/ephemera packs with extra papers and things I find in my cabinet. I have an extensive collection. I've been collecting ephemera and papers since my teens, if not younger. I have loads of greeting and postcards, etc. and I love making these packs.

So, my friends, this is what I hope to accomplish soon. Thanks for all your encouragement in my last post. I am happy to be "back" in full art junk force! You all are the "wings beneath my wings!"

xoxo Lia

Gettin' personal~A new beginning~

Yesterday I went on a stroll down memory lane. I went and visited my artjunk archives, aka my first blog when I "met" Mar and my other blog sistas, where I shared snippets of my life. I had previously kept this archived blog "private", but decided to open it back up. The reason I had locked it is that it had some "more personal" things on it, like, some of my poetry, and self-portait tuesday photos. I felt to exposed as more people frequented my blog than the 'original 5". When I started this typepad blog, I decided to keep it strictly art for many reasons, not just personal. It is my own little place to come talk about what I do for me and how it helps me be a happier person.
So, with all this said, after talking to Mar this weekend, I decided to make my blog more reflective of my life as a whole, not just the art. Now, this doesn't mean I'll be sharin' stuff that is a downer, for I don't like to go "there" alot. But we all have our down times.
So, without further ado, I will strive to be more open about my day to day hence forth. Perhaps once a week we'll have some "personal chat time"..lol.
My 3 personal bits for today are that:
1. I got my hair cut short this month. I haven't had short hair for over a decade and maybe 1 year total of my life. I am still not used to it.
2. I don't like my pic taken alot..hmmm...I will have to dig up the photo Mar took with my hand in front. lol.
3. I really, like, really, want to lose 10 lbs. by June 1. Considering that my body does not consume alot of calories at it is, and that I am over 40 (just a little over), this is pretty hard. I'll share more on that soon.
p.s. the link to my archives is www.artjunkarchives.blogspot.com .

Ok, hope you will still want to come back...lol..I am going to try to be more brave in my life, and my art.
xoxo lia

Art Journal Pages for "the Isabel Project"

Here are the pages I did for MaryAnn's niece who is compiling a journal from around the world for a class project. This was fun. I love contributing to travelling journals and doing projects like this, especially for the 'youngin's"!

p.s. my blog may be changing colors this week. You are not lost...please stay and visit for a while! hee. I'm trying to find something new as the banner has alot of older art on it and I want something to reflect my current projects! xoxo Lia

p.p.s. MaryAnn blogged about her visit here. She shares more "funnies" from her trip to DC. I was laughing all over again!! xo

Oh-My-Mary-Ann!!!!!!!

MaryAnn couldn't wait to find "the carousel" and there she goes!

Dear Friends~
I am just now "coming to" from a weekend filled with laughter, friendship and love. I got to meet one of my first "blog sista's", MaryAnn (aka FollowYourBliss), aka soul sister, *in person*. Although we had talked and kept in touch by phone, email, and our blogs for over 2 years, we hadn't met "face to face". I felt I knew MaryAnn anyway...I knew her heart from what she shared and how she shared it on her blog, I knew her fun sense of humor and laughter from long chats on the phone, and I knew of her family by the way she spoke of them, especially her husband (aka tea party man ....I have never let him live down a photo in which he, uh, well, was very funny for Mary Ann's online Tea Party) on her flickr and blog. If anyone could throw a Tea Party online, it's MaryAnn, because she does everything with love, laughter, and a very special touch.

Several months ago we planned the visit so that she could see the CherryBlossoms in DC, where she lived while attending grad school, back in her "single days". I can't adequately, in one post, share all the "funnies" that ensued during out fabulous fun-filled weekend together, but I can say that I felt that I'd known her all my life! I was in awe of how our love for creativity and bargain huntin' for vintage treasure had somehow brought us together in the same "blog circles" and thus, grew a friendship as fruitful as the CherryBlossoms we saw on Sunday.
I can't say enough about how I feel recharged creatively after sharing our ideas, dreams and goals this past weekend. We both intend to "follow our creative bliss" and how much richer it is when you have a soul sister to share it with!
Thank you MaryAnn for flyin' all the way here from "cheeseland" to see me. I am doing "my homework", aka studio stuff that we discussed. I am so thankful for your wisdom and creativity, love and laughter, thank you for sharing yourself with me and our awesome creative blogville neighborhood. xoxoxo lia

painting practice in my moleskine journal~

Have I mentioned that I love, love, love my moleskine journal? Ok, so if you are just tuning in, I have been art journalling for about 3 years or so. I totally pride myself on using what I have available, recycling old books and journals, etc. I never, ever thought it could happen to me...But it did. I have become (cough), a journal snob. Yes, I have. I am ruined for the ordinary. The moleskine journal was the first journal book I completed cover to cover...the first I did not get bored with. The first journal I didn't scream at for buckling after painting in it. The first one I could travel with out of the house. Yes, indeed, I am finishing up journal #4 and daydreaming about waltzing into barnes and noble (with my coupon of course) to adopt my next one. Yesterday, I decided to paint one of my doodle spreads after a faithful artunk reader, DJ, suggested it would look good as a painting. Thank you so much DJ for your encouragement to keep on my painting path. So, I got out mr. moleskine and painted this spread...then I painted another....then another....because, after all, y'all know I can get a little obsessed...So, that being said, here are the pages from my fun painting fest. Hope you enjoy. xo Lia

I'm back!

Dear Friends~
The good news is I'm back from vacation...the bad news is, I'm back from vacation and serving time in laundry and domestic catch-up pergatory..... Like, where is Alice when you need her? She wasn't here to welcome me back with fresh changed sheets, a refrig. full of food and a tray of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Instead, I had to spend the first day back investigating where the smell was coming from in the fridge as well as serving jail time is the dungeon doing more laundry that should be legally permissible in a day. Not to mention running to the grocery store for mother dear as well as the family who never has "anything" to eat in a house full of food. So..I digress. I am taking a break right now to relax and catch up with the blog, etc. The laundry machine sounds like it's walking away right now and playing 'la bamba' or something..the children are in school, I'm still drinking my morning coffee...which has gone cold after having to break to find my daughter's one fave sweatshirt that she "had to have" because, Lord knows she doesn't have any other clothes. It's like this.....they have more clothes that should be legally permissible, BUT, when it's time to go to a visit to, let's say, a particularly picky relative who will inspect them ever so google-eyed to sum up my performance as a mother..they will inevidably (I kid you not)...go grab something they've outgrown from the "give-away" basket in the laundry room...then decide to wear their hair like a punk rocker and run out this way as I am in the car waiting. The rest of the time they dress in their new clothes with their hair blow-dried, straightened, while they are at home on saturday doing their said "chores" and yard work. You never know who might be driving by... So, I don't know how I got off on this tangent, but anyhoo, I wanted to share my journal pages I did each day in my moleskine. I collaged with the travel brochures available there and did some doodling and such. I can't wait to get back in my groove at home so I can resume my painting "class" and other adventures. I am also SO excited about having one of my first blog "sistas" come to visit me this weekend!! None other than the talented and gracious (not to mention hilarious) friend MaryAnn of "follow your bliss" fame! We are going to try not to get in too much trouble...but I can't promise anything. LOL. I'm also hoping to have a few ladies over to catch up and create with on Saturday. I HOPE they can make it!!!!!! More on that soon. Hope you all are having a great week. xoxo Lia