Art Junk Girl~

ok, so, where were we?

Dear Friends.
This is what happens when I don't blog for a few days...I get out of my groove. I have been a busy bee as of late. I've been cleaning out my studio/aka dungeon room. Being that it's in the basement, lacking natural light, I have lost all track of time. Yes. It's true. The hub. came down the other night and told me it was 9:30 and I thought it was 6:00. The good news is that my studio is DONE. There are cleared surfaces (unlike the pic above, ahem). Yes, it's finally done. Now I want to move back upstairs where I get more natural light. Just kidding, well, sort of. I am one of those people who needs alot of light. I need to see trees, ok? Anyhow. there are 2 tiny windows up at the top of the laundry room dungeon. One is for the dryer vent. Not pretty.
So, I'm not complaining. No. I love my new studio. I am going to come up with a way to get more natural light in there. Anyhow, that is where I am right now. I will be updating more soon. I have new journal pages and collage cards I made with the cereal boxes. Talk soon my friends. Happy Summer! xo lia

p.s. I did clean the mirror after I shot this pic. It's an old vintage one from a fleamarket I went to years ago. I could only do so much...

Hello again...

Ok, so it's been a few days since I've updated the blog. Mainly because I've been hyperfocussed on finally, yes finally, getting my etsy shop going. You know the one. The light is on, but no one is home. I finally had to sit my sidetracked self down to "make a plan". In addition, I've been working on a few swap projects, some mail art, and publishing my first "mini" zine. I made this zine last year. I found it when I cleaned/moved my studio. I found a lot of stuff when I cleaned/moved my office. Some things that I didn't even remember making. I'm serious. It's kind of wierd and kind of fun at the same time. I put aside my favorite pieces for printing. I will also be offering up some of my original collages.

And then, there are the inchies.

Yes, I will be printing those as well. They will be available as postcards soon. I wanted to let you all know, because a few of you have asked. I'm working on it.
I went to the copy center yesterday and found out why people print their zines in black and white, okay?Wow, and I thought gas prices were expensive. Of course, I had not a clue on how to use these huge, or as my greek mother says, "hugas" machines. There was a sign bigger than the front door that said, "We are happy to help you here". The arrow pointed to a countertop that clearly not seen a human heart beat in years. So, I digress....

Anyhow, I'm finally ready to ride this learning curve. I am, after all, a very patient person. (cough).

So, where was I? Oh, yeah, I've been hyperfocussed. I hope to show you the fruit of my labors soon. Oh, and thanks to DJ giving me a "nudge" to paint my self-portrait, I did a quick ink drawing on a memo pad...from a profile photo of myself today (while I was printing things). Here it is... (side note: my nose is not this big in real life, ok? well, at least I don't think it is...).

I plan to start painting later this month. I'm glad you are patient like me, DJ.

So, that's what is up with me. I will keep you all posted on my progress as it goes. Talk soon friends. xo lia

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

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

workin' on the studio move again....

workin' on the studio move again...., originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

Yes, put your hardhats on, we are going back into the basement studio redo episode again...big Bruno cleared some storage boxes to make room for my art junk yesterday. I promise to have more pictures soon. It's been a few month, eh? I had definitely put this on hold. Out of site, out of mind. I just closed the door...but I am itchin' for more painting room, so I'm back at it. Speaking of being "holed" up in the basement, talking to myself as I paint, that hasn't happened yet. I have remained somewhat the same person since I started painting. I still have both my ears and life is good. (some art humor there for ya. hee). Ok, tooo much coffee today! Gotta go take mother dear to the airport. Be back with another studio update soon. I think I should give Bruno a day to recover. xoxxo lia

Studio Update #362

OK, so, where were we? This is studio update #362 I think. I can't remember where I left off...I know the re-do or studio move started this past summer when I decided that the upstairs "mudroom" could no longer contain me and my artjunk and that it was spilling over to allll the other rooms in the house. SO, I decided to banish myself to the unfinished portion of our basement (aka the dungeon/laundry room).
I really felt like I wasn't getting anywhere with it until this week. I finally gave myself a "deadline" to get the space in order. With the holidays coming, that kind of gave me the kick I needed. I normally like getting things organized before the new year. Have I ever told you about my "Nutcracker Christmas" fantasy...let's just save that for another post...it suffices to say that I always have this magical kind of idea of what it will be like on Christmas...and boxes of art supplies and junk all over the house isn't part of it...So I digress, as per usual. But, anyhoo...this project has dragged on, and then I know I took my blog and crafty break, and the boxes were left "unattended". But, I am back in the saddle and getting things in order in my new space. I'm happy to report that I've actually made some noticable progress!!
Yes, I had Bruno (you know, my dutiful and patient husband) help me move a large cabinet we used to keep other "junk" in over to my studio area yesterday. I cleaned it out, reworked some stuff and put lots of my ephemera and stuff in there. This is where I will bring the rest of the stuff that is contained upstairs. I am the queen of "use what you have decorating". I like to just re-work what I have. Unfortunately, that means I make Bruno move stuff...and he always says, "this is the last time..." but he's good to me, what can I say?
So, without further ado, here are a few pictures.....I will have more as I get the space done. I have some before pics also, which I hope to share in one album on my flickr page.
Ok, well, I best get back to work. I've been getting "squared away" with my 1000 square project as well. Oh, and I have tons of cut out squares from my square project. I found even more when I was "digging out".
I went kind of square punch crazy a while back. I love cutting squares out of the anthropologie catalog because the colors are so fabulous. I made a postcard quilt here with some of them, as well as other squares in my bin.

So the long and the short of it is, that art junk girl is getting her stuff together a bit here. I will update you more soon. Thanks so much for your comments during my break and for giving me support during that time. I love this creative community. You all are wonderful and mean alot to me! xoxo lia

Where's Artjunkgirl?

Art Junk Girl is still on a blog-posting hiatus.. there has been "sightings" of her, however, at odd hours of the night... squirrelled away in her studio, cleaning, clearing, and creating a magical cozy area to create in. She wanted me to write and tell you that all is well in her little corner of the blog-iverse. Not to worry, she will keep creating art and writing about it and making more and more and more little squares...but, right now, there are big people in her house that are home and calling her "MOM" again and asking for car keys and looking for food. She's been seen waiting up in the middle of the night watching the clock, making squares and watching bad tv. Yes, 57 channels and nothing on...but she keeps plugging away. She's also been sighted in her storage area, taking out decorations and plotting this years Christmas decorating theme...yes, she has a theme every year...and this year it's not nutcrackers, it's something else. What that is, she hasn't cooked up yet, but she will, for she is very imaginative. She'll be back when she can, as soon as she "digs out" of her creative mess and makes things all pretty and cozy again. She wishes all her creative cohorts well and hopes they are doing the same..gearing up for the end of year festivities and creating and dreaming and doing things they love, even if it's in their dungeon room (where she is right now)...she pretends it's an empty basement studio in Italy where she's been sent to study squares. Yes, she's been watching, "Under the Tuscan Sun" and other such movies and imagining such fun adventures. She will be back when there is less on her desk and more art and funny stories to share. Happy Holidays to everyone and to everyone a good night. wink. wink. ***

art junk girl~

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~e.e. cummings

She's goin' in again.....

Yes, it's official, I've put on my hardhat and entered the studio re-do again. I'm "goin' in"...but this time, it's into the "dungeon"...remember? I'm movin' stuff down to the unfinished laundry room area as it was taking over hearth and home upstairs. Yes, I was spilling out everywhere, and that's ok, but we need somewhere to eat, and once more, my Mother is coming back from Greece next week, so my days are numbered. If nothing else, that is putting a fire under my you-know-what. Ok, so where was I?
Yes, so, those of you who have been following my mischief and sidetracked musings know I started this project earlier in the summer and it's been sitting while life goes on it's merry way with all it's myriad of interruptions. Anyhow, in the meantime, I got "stuck" in the process. I was bringing stuff down in bins, stacking it, organizing a few shelves with baskets, arranging and pulling a few old bookshelfs together and making a sort of "sectioned off" area for myself. I'm going somewhere with this...so hang on. Each time I'd go down, I'd narrow my space more and more. I'd want to block the area so I wouldn't see the washer and dryer....I layed down some of these interlocking rubber tiles I got at lowes to section off my work area. Well, last night, as I was in the "back" storage area behind the "studio area", it occured to me that I had "boxed" myself in...I was like, "why"...this back here is perfectly usuable. Right now it's "dead" storage space. I've simply divided the room with bookshelves and made it into 2 rooms which is totally unnecessary. The bookshelves can cover the ugly, unfinished silver wall insulation! So, I went around to the other side, looked at the tall bookshelf that divide the two sides and said to my husband, ""Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!!"..He, of course, looked at me and laughed...knowing full well what I was talkin' about, because after 22 years of marriage, I require NO explanation. So, down it went and the rearranging has since ensued. You know what I will be workin' on this week!
So, my friends, this is a metaphor for my life, and perhaps I offer it up for anyone who may identify. I see now how often I tend to box myself in when the world is wide open to me...full of possibility and ready to embrace me, not constrain me. I'm ready to knock down the walls. I will not be restrained any longer. I want to see the world with eyes wide open. Are you with me?

Art Junk on Etsy~

Well, after much trepidation, I've taken the Etsy plunge. I will now be offering 1 inch square supplies I've made as well as whatever strikes my fancy in my new Etsy shop. I hope it will be a fun endeavor. I would like to keep making things that I like, one at a time and one of a kind. Go take a peaky and tell me what you think. Email me (you know I love hearing from y'all) or leave a comment. Have a great weekend my friends! xo Lia

artjunk studio redo again, episode 2

Ok, so where was I....more importantly, where have I been? Other than digging out, moving, cleaning, tweaking, re-organizing my creative space? NO WHERE! That's right. I have not left the house in 2 days....my youngest is threatening me with "bad mother" guilt and my husband has just resolved to the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach and is powerwashing the (whatever he can find outside that is away from me).
You see, my studio re-do, expansion, hair-brained idea (see episode 1) has all but consumed every breathing moment of these last several days (beside an occasional coming up for air to take a phone call from mother dear, stop kids that are running from one another screaming, "...she won't give me my sunglasses back!" and making sure that I fulfill the very basic need of my children's need to, well, eat). I did make "stir-fry" last nite despite a melody of groans from each and every one of them...

Ok, so, back to the digging out project. As I said in episode 1, I decided to expand my "studio" into the dining room. I needed more room, it's next to the room with my supplies, it has a big worktable (aka dining room table), etc. etc. Right? Wrong. I started to move stuff in there...got sidetracked and started making the doll quilt, then had sewing stuff, moved in art stuff and piles of sorted projects e v e r y w h e r e. So, I kept trying to convince myself that this was the right place to "contain" all my sh-tuff, but after moving out to the family room to work on my art journal because the dining room was too cluttered, I realized, this isn't gonna work. I'm going to be spreading my stuff out to all the other spaces on the first floor (which defyed my original intention of moving to a bigger space). So, I decided, I can't do this, the dining room will be a mess. I'm still having to put away everything after I'm done and then take the project out again, it's the dining room, blah, blah, blah....
So, I made the victorious decision that I was going to be a creative "martyr" and banish myself and my supplies and my art junk to the basement..(well, the laundry room/storage room), which, ironically is where I started to carve out my creative space when I started all this nonsense a few years ago.
So, are you still with me? Bare with me as I cleanse my brain of my convoluted thought process). Ok, SO, I started to clean up the dining room, take all my sewing stuff back to the smaller studio, and started taking stuff down to my "new space". I moved some shelves, some stuff to the shed (got sidetracked and mopped the shed), etc. etc.
So, day 3 or 4 or 5 into this, (I've lost track...), I came to the conclusion (as I was scrubbing the "singer" sewing machine letters and crevices of my sewing machine box) that I have a diagnosis.
Yes, it dawned on me that the last time I acted like this was when I was "expecting". Well, this fall, my son (my one and only) will be moving to college. So, I put two and two together and decided that I'm having a "reverse" nesting instinct.
I clearly (well, somewhat clearly) remember that the last time I got this detail oriented and crazy about organizing, rearranging, etc. was when I was expecting my babies to come. I remember I had it worse with child #3. I was painting her room a few months before birth, decorating it in white and creme and moving stuff I shouldn't have been moving at the time. (Except then, I was wearing cute maternity clothes and posing by her crib when I was done so that hub could take a pic). I don't look so cute now...I've been wearing a tie-dye shirt 2 sizes too big on me, pajama pants, pony tail, and a glaze look on my face. (I knew I was in trouble when I was getting frustrated with the fact that Singer company put their logo in raised letters and thus I had to get a q-tip to clean out in-between the crevices...yes, the sewing box is what led to my self-diagnosis).
So, if you are still with my chronicles of narnia here, the long and the short of it is that I've converted my studio into what will now be my sewing room, and still have some of my collage pretties in it. I cleaned out my white cabinet and reorganized it..you can see pics here. My dining room table is clean again and I feel better about that. My husband gave me the "look of approval" about the decision to move out of the dining room...at which point I asked why he didn't tell me he wasn't keen on it before?Well, I guess the answer to that is self-explanatory.
So, this is the conclusion of episode 2. I'm not done yet, so I'm sure we'll prob. go to 4 episodes on this topic. Thanks for keeping me company friends. I know you are pulling for me. Ok, time for another cup of coffee and back to work. :) Lia

Just to let my readers know....

Dear Friends,

I'm fixin' to finally open up an etsy shop (it's been set up for months, but I haven't taken the plunge). I've been puttin' together some ephemera packs from my personal collection as well as putting aside some collage work I've made (I've been selecting pieces for the shop as I've been re-organizing my studio). Thought I'd let you all know first as some of you have asked me about it. It's gonna be slow and go, just to let you know, but here is the link. I plan on loading a few things this weekend and then some here and there this week. If there is a piece in my collection that you are interested, let me know and I will tell you if it is available for sale. I won't be goin' all commercial on y'all so don't worry...this will be a one time announcement just to let my readers know first.

Have a great weekend everyone!

~Lia

art junk studio re-do, again: Episode 1

Yes, I've been hit with a bad case of studio re-do again. Now, if you haven't been following Art Junk, the girl who loves squares episodes, you will have to go look and see some of last years episodes in the archives...you see, I claimed the "mudroom" last june (Just a few days before my daughter's graduation) and made it into my little studio. I took lots of photos of it done and was pretty happy with how it turned out (which is odd for me because I'm always tweaking stuff). Anyhoo, I get an occasional email here and there, telling me how much they "like my studio"...I think to myself, "studio, studio, where have they seen my studio? OH, yeah, the pictures I took a year ago!) Ahem...before I started cramming it with more junk... Ok, so I digress...it's a year later and I've been spilling out into other rooms all year. I tried having an additional little desk in the family room...didn't work....I tried the desk in my bedroom for more space and sewing...didn't work. I kept having to haul stuff back and forth, look for things (which interupts my creative flow), and spend lots of time "containing and tidying" those spaces so they wouldn't take up the rest of the room...etc. I finally came to the realization that Art Junk Studio needs to "officially" expand into another room... I need a larger workspace, I'm so much more productive with that. The dining room is right next door to the "mudroom" so it makes it easier, location wise. This way I can keep our main living space (aka kitchen/family room) clear of my art junk. My goal since june 1 is to keep the kitchen table clear. It's the center of that room and makes the rest of the place look tidy...and that way, Bruno doesn't give me "The look" when he get's home..Yeah, and I also need to get rid of alot of junk, I know, I know...
So, after a few "summit" meetings with Bruno (aka my husband), I was given permission to take over the place I've been currently taking over anyway, the dining room. He will help me shift some stuff in there today and I've already started filling the jelly cupboard (former home of some of my tea set and trinkets) with art junk. I am gonna try to keep it all "pretty". I'm still gonna keep my original studio the same way, just will use both rooms so things don't get so piled up. Ok, so I babbled enough...here are some pics of the current mess...ok? Now, don't tell anyone that it's this messy, ok? Refer them back to "that" studio in my photo album. This renovation is just between us, ok? Now I'll let y'all take a peeky...ready? yikes...this is the state of the dining room table right now..on the right... On the left, in my studio, the desk area is completely covered with stuff also...

~I'm still in the process of converting this jelly cupboard...some stuff is still on bottom shelf. I've been slowly moving it to my china cabinet..

So, there you have it... Now, I'm going to go visit Lilia and see how she's doing over in her studio. We are virtually keeping each other company while daring ourselves to get things in order!

Talk soon, I hear Bruno coming up the stairs...I'm sure that means I need to get crackin'....Lia

"Sassy" Collage

First time in a while that I sat down at my desk and made something larger than one inch..LOL...anyhoo...my dd was home this weekend and I had been promising something special for her friend that likes Gracy Kelly, so this is what I ended up with. The background is 2 pieces of wallpaper I painted a while back, the image from one of my vintage image cd's. The dress has glitter on it, don't know if you can tell in the pic. I love embossing and really should experiment with more often. I learned how to do by watching a demo at the local rubberstamp store. It's really easy and straightforward... my 2 requirements...lol.
We had a great weekend here at home. I'm gonna hit the ground running again today with lots of Monday morn. stuff, but I'll be back soon. I was suprised at the response to the un-tutorial and seeing you all like it, I may have to do another one soon. Oh, almost forgot, I did one of those glass doo-hitchies with one of my squares. I laminated a trimmed square under one of those glass circle pebbles that a swap partner had sent me last year. I will post a pic soon, and now I am investigating button makers b/c I want to make some for trades at the art and soul retreat. I don't wanna be like, hey, heres a square. I figure I should make something out of it. Seems like a good time to figure out how to do some new things. ok, enough rambling...more coffee. Ok, have a great day all! xo Lia

p.s. If you have a buttonmaker, let me know what kind you recommend and where you got it. I'd really appreciate.

...it's like a box of chocolates..

Hello Friends! I'm making some progress here in artjunkland! Thanks again for the great comments and for identifying with my plight! I'm gonna walk y'all through my progress here, bit by bit. I have some news to share today and then I gotta get hoppin' back to the task at hand! Oh, I am feeling some mojo here! First of all, here's a new postcard collage (with one of my inchies in the middle). I made it with one of my fave quotes..."like a box of chocolates" ....from the movie Forrest Gump. I love that quote, I'm kinda like that. You never really know, I never really know what I'm gonna come up with next! It's funny 'cause I'm married to Mr. Predicatable. I need his predictability, it's actually quite soothing at times. WEll, as usual, I'm following some wild hairs this week. I decided to move a small desk from my "college" girl's room (she said it was ok) to the family room area where I usually work at night by the coffee table. I figured that I should work with my habits here and accept that I will keeps some stuff in this room, so why not keep something there. The desk is small enough that I did not get any snickers from Mr. Predictable last nite...he he...take a lookie.. I feel really good about the flow here and I'm still pluggin' away at clearing out stuff in my studio. I sent off 5 raks and trades on Tuesday. Here was one of them, an art trade with a fellow flickr contact~ It felt great to let go of some things as well as send some care packies to art friends! Speaking of wild hairs, I'm gonna be listing some things soon in my vacant etsy shop. I will announce it on my blog when I do, ok? I'm also working on a zine. All will come together in time. One day at a time. So, where was I? Oh yeah, my Squares! I wanted to tell you all to go check out my 1000 squares site to see the mosaic of squares I've made thus far. I've also found a new image source! I am so thrilled that Artist Nancy Baumiller will be offering mini-image collage sheets in her Crowabout Etsy SHOP! I love Nancy's images and artwork! I made this little guy here with one of them and I'm gonna get more now that she has them available! Well, I thinks that is it for me for now! Thank you all again for visiting and emailing me. I appreciate all your comments, encouragement, your humor and your friendships! Hope you have an awesome weekend! xo Lia

You find stuff when you dig out of your studio....

Dear Friends,
First of all, I wanted to thank YOU so, so much for "virtually" keeping me company while I was digging out of my studio the last few days! Your comments were SO funny. I was on the floor laughing with some of them. It sounded as if you were right there with me and that when I called out, you answered the call! Thank you So much. This really kept me going. It's still "going", but I'm getting there and wanted to share some of the stuff I found while going through things.

Some forever present wip's (works-in-progress):

A tag I made for my college girls book (which is still moving slowly):

A series of inspirational articles I've torn out of magazines (I have a folder and notebook for these...guess these didn't make it that far). Ironically one is named, "Call to order"..LoL.

And while I was cleaning, I took a break and started gluing scraps down in my art journals (which seems to be my latest obsession, lol). Here are a few recent spreads.

I'm still struggling with the fact that I carry my stuff out in other rooms (albeit it's contained for the most part...foam brushes on dining room table...15/$1 sale). lol.

I think I will just have to accept the fact that I can't do all my art in my "studio" (aka mudroom). It's a tiny room, maybe that is why, I dunno...I should like it because it's actually the only room in the house that's a square 10 x 10 LoL. Ok, well, off I go to get on with the day's adventures, and then glue them down for rememberence. Thanks again for your help! You all are TRULY awesome art friends. xoxo Lia

p.s. I'll keep plugging away...one of my main goals is to hang stuff up (one of the things I always procrastinate about)...like this bulletin board...it's a wonder it hasn't fallen down...especially with my son throwing lacrosse balls around ("stop doing that in the house!")..

Back in the Studio

Dear Friends, I SO, so, so, need to get myself back in my studio! Will you help me? I've discussed the tendency I have to have my art stuff trickle out of my studio little by little until I am not working in there at all and simply using this space as a "storage facility". Well, guess what? I am SO much more productive when I am in my studio. I have a lot of projects going right now, but none of them are getting finished. I really think this has to do with the fact that stuff is scattered about. When my stuff is scattered everywhere, I feel scattered too, so I've resolved to get my tooshie back in there this week and GET organized! Yes, the "O" word and I don't mean Oprah. So anyway, I digress, I will be digging out the next few days. As I mentioned before, I'm also doing some spring cleaning. I've been sorting clothes and putting aside things to donate. Some things just plain belong in the trash, so off they go! Feels good to purge, huh? Oh, and I need tons more glue sticks. All-er-the-sudden, my glue sticks are down to their last lick. Ok, so off I go to get productive today. Can y'all keep me company....hello? Anyone out there? I guess you all are busy cleaning too. xo Lia

work-in-progress...

Dear Friends, Here's another postcard size work-in-progress that I started last night. I'll hopefully finish it this weekend, along with my studio clear out! I'll hopefully have some "after" pictures to show soon! The great thing about organizing my studio is that I've found some cool stuff I've been hoarding, erm, saving. cough. I forgot about some of it. I've vowed to not get any more paper until I've used some of the lovely stuff I already have. I'm sure this new found discipline will kick in for at least 5 days or so, I hope. LOL. I've also been using some of the yummy swap papers I've gotten as of late, especially the vintage wrapping paper. Ok, well enough rambling for me. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. xo Lia

Some Collage Amusement for you today~

Valentine's Day is coming up. Have you gotten something for the one who drives you mad?

Have a great weekend everyone! xo Lia

Yours squared,

A peek into my studio organizing attempt..

Dear Friends: I spend some time yesterday digging out of my "put it there for now" studio. I've been using it as a storage room more than an art room as of late! I did some needed digging out. You all are getting me organized! Someone asked to see my journals, so I got them all together in one place. This was nice to do as it's the start of a new year (well, maybe, seems like it's flying by already), but, I had fun going down memory lane. These are mostly full now. I had several books going last year. One of these is for Melba's Mixed Media Memoirs in which I participated. She had some excellent prompts that I used for this journal. You can still pop over to that site I believe and get some inspiration. If you are at a loss for ideas, I recommend doing a journal with some prompts. I believe there are some yahoo groups you can join for that as well as other resources online. As I was organizing my journals, I also went through a few photo albums that I keep my collages in. Some were just "tucked" inside when I didn't have time (or patience) to put them in their proper slot. I have all those in there now and I put them with the journals in these nice containers on my studio shelf. I just buy those one dollar picture album holders they have at the craft store, then I stick those in. Sometimes the new collages I make just sit on the shelf for a while propped up, then they go in there. Now, that should answer the questions I get about "where do you keep all those little tags, etc." I also have this beautiful ATC holder sewn by my very talented blog sis, Jude. I keep most of my atc's in here. I also have a notebook with one's I've received from swaps. This one holds one's that I made and one's that were sent to me as gifts from art friends. Ok, now I've gotten to the hard part of organizing all my ephemera, supplies, etc. I am still debating whether to leave these boxes on this shelf or put in another area of my little 4 x 4 studio (formerly known as 'the mudroom'). I am now working through all that stuff....Wow, it doesn't take long to accumulate lots of stuff! yikes! I do love all the paper though. I hope I finish digging out today and will hopefully have some photos of the whole space. Then it will be all neat so that I can start my art whirlwind this weekend. Oh, I almost forgot!!! I finished a few squares up last nite as I was flipping between the season premiere of "the others" and AI. Here they are. Wish me luck. I'm going back in there today. Have a great day arting or organizing your art stuff! xoxo Lia *** Update: All the journal prompt topics are still posted and available at the Mixed Media Memoirs site! The above journal on the right holds most of my MMM's. You can fill a whole journal with these prompts, I really enjoyed them and learned alot in the process.

Valentine ATC, some wip's and Moo Cards are in!

Here's my latest ATC for the "OH so Charming" Valentine ATC swap hosted by Mary Ann. I took a bit of a "romantic" turn on this one! The others are more nostalgic and fun. My hub. looked at this one and said, "that one is about ME!" Well, of course it is! he he... most of my art, even the fun, quirky, less serious stuff all stems from my thoughts, ideas, etc. I work in a very intuitive fashion. I always have. On to other happenin's, I got my moo cards from flickr.

I really like them. The quality is awesome and you can have your name and other info put on the back. These will come in handy when I go to Art and Soul and for Just Be. In addition, I've been tucking them in with my swaps.
I have some "works-in-progress" going on "square-wise". I am making these on the fabulous painted squares that Nance sent me.

Each one is SO beautiful, the colors, textures, etc. Marvelous work as usual Nance! I always joke with Nance that she could paint a paper towel and make it look good! She responds with "been there, done that" ha.ha..But I digress, I worked on these in stages (in fact I work on most of my art work in stages, I've learned that since blogging..). These are waiting to be mounted on a cardstock backing, edged with ink and a few other finishing touches, whatever I think it need's until it looks "done". Oh, and speaking of workin' in stages, I posted my process for making my first fabric charms. You can find that here. This was prompted by a reader request! Keep the questions coming ladies, I love to share! It also keeps me motivated and organized. I am getting so long-winded here. woo, better get back to getting some boring chores done so I can do more art junk. Darcy wrote and told me she was done with her laundry...tsk, tsk. I'm not done yet, I'm never done, I'm always a w.i.p. (work-in-progress). Have a great day now and be good to yourself! xo Lia

My Creative Ramblings, get a cuppa...

Good Morning my creative friends!I'm not done digging out, but I'm here! I've been getting more emails about my collage process, etc. so I will post the answers to questions again later in the week. I've responded personally to those asking, but since there seems to be a common element to the questions asked, I figured I could share the info for others visiting as well. I find that the number one thing that stops me from getting started on something is having to know "how" first. I love to research things. My husband always asks if I'm doing my "search" and I say yes! This can be both good and bad. Good because I learn lots, bad when I don't take the next step and do what I learn! I think that the best thing to do sometimes is just "jump in", not worry about the outcome, mistakes, etc. The first piece does not have to be perfect. Trial runs are OK. It took me a while to learn that. I would get so upset when I made a collage I didn't like. Luckily I love making them so I didn't stop. I've learned alot in the process. But, as usual, I digress...
I had a good day of digging out yesterday. I will continue to do some needed things today and keep the machine moving, but I need to fit in some art time today! I miss making my squares!

I have lots of ideas for them. I finished up, packaged and mailed my first fabric charms.

It was a lot of fun making them. I hadn't set eyelets much before, but I practiced a bit and got through it (also dinked up my table a bit even though I had a healing mat there....oops).

On to other stuff, I have a few works-in-progress right now. I also want to get back into my art/collage journalling again. I finished up a last spread in my first moleskine (journal). It has both collages and sketching in it. It's one that I kept in my purse and used mostly during travelling away from home. Moleskines are great! They are a perfect size for travelling, have nice sturdy pages and a band to hold it closed so that the pages won't get all wrinkled, etc. They are excellent for writing or artwork or both!
I have a new one and want to break it open and "jump-in". I bought it a few weeks ago and there it sits! WEll, that is it for now, wow, that was a long post. Guess I shouldn't skip a day. I have too much creative chatter in my head and need to get it out so I can create and hopefully inspire someone else to do the same! Hope you all have a creative and wonderful day! Remember to be true to yourself. xo Lia
Now, back to diggin' out, but not for too long..

p.s. I took a pic of this book next to my sewing machine...

It is not 'staged'...I actually use old vintage books for instruction. I think they are less complicated and I love the pretty pictures. I learn alot this way. I also get a chuckle out of them. It reminds me that people knew how to do alot of things "without" alot of stuff. Sometimes it's just great to do things the "old fashioned way". Have a great day now!

I Heart Containers

Dear Friends:
I'm back from a nutty weekend and trying to get back into my routine. My blog sista's know what I do on Monday's right? Yup, I'm "digging-out". I'm thinking I should start that as a category on my blog b/c I'm always announcing my dig outs. When everyone is home on the w/e things get out of control and then I try to corral everything on Monday's. This brings me to discussing my obsession with containerizing. I love having pretty boxes to keep all my "junk" in. I am a big sucker for the photo box sale's at the craft store! They recently came out with some new one's I couldn't resist. I was also eye-ing the pretty box (trunk) last week and it went on sale, so I got it for 6.99...score! I also picked up this little crosstich in the dollar bin.
I am going to go back and get more. It came in handy when we were driving back from a day trip yesterday and got stuck in traffic for an extra hour. I bought a beach chair scene to remind me of summer. I love summer and can't wait for it! I know I can use this little crosstitch as an ornament later or in one of my square collages, who knows?! One thing I know is that I like to have something going when I'm in the car or what have you. So, for those of you that say you don't have time....you can always work small, that's what I do! It's just as enjoyable for me to work on something small because I know I won't have a whole day to work on something big. So bit by bit, I get in my creative fun.
Now off I go to fill my new boxes! The small top one will be for my sewing supplies/small projects that I've been toting about the house as of late. I also have to go dig out in the laundry room as well, and then there's more to do, but It makes it more fun for me if I have prettiful boxes to put stuff in. Hope this inspires you too. xo Lia
p.s. you don't have to go out and buy pretty containers, I do that as a "treat" from time to time...I also like to use things around the house to contain items. My daughter looks like she's picked up on that as she organized these "valentine's day colored" craft buttons in a votive jar. Thinking out of the box is always fun too!

My Next Project on the Docket!

Well, I've got lots to share today! Seems like it's become a habit for me to come here first and outline what's on my mind for my next project. You all know that I've been having lots of fun with my little squares and if you haven't tried them, I hope you do. But anyhooo....there is another project that I have in the works cause y'all know I don't sit still for long and I can never keep a secret as to what I'm up to creativity wise! I was going to start this next project "one day" but then a few seredipitous events occured which have motivated me to begin now! As some of you know, my daughter graduated from high school this year and I wanted to have a "childhood" scrapbook of sorts ready for her. Well, I shared in a few posts this last year that I am not very good about putting my creativity to use as far as my own family memory albums and books. Sure, I have saved ALL the stuff. I even have my own stuff from school as I've been saving paper since I was old enough to hold an envelope. Last year when I started doing altered books, I thought I would work on a book for my daughter but I would get blocked everytime I tried to. I then enlisted the help of a avid scrapbooking artist and friend and vowed I would learn how to scrapbook an album for her instead of altering a book. She kept encouraging me, however, to do the book in my own style, (altered vintage style). I did about 3 traditional layouts (took me forever, because I am a perfectionist and wanted everything cut even so it could look like the magazine version of memory books....), I then abandoned the project. Then in June of this year, I came across an article in Mary Englebreits Home Companion June/July 2006 issue. Being a paper addict, I turned immediately to my favorite section: paper, scissors, crop. Well, guess what? I saw a beautiful book that a mother (who happens to be artist, designer, and author Charlotte Lyons) had done for her daughter. She wanted to make a book as a testament to all the wonderful things her daughter had done as well as capture precious childhood moments. I was immediately drawn to the books pages with all the ribbons, buttons, sewing, vintage style. Right up my alley! That's the first time I thought of adding stitching to my books and wanted to know how. I loved each and every layout. I thought, This is what I want to do for Maria. I then started making notes on the pages as to what I wanted to include in the book: wallpaper, buttons, tags, ribbons, etc. I wondered if the artist used a record album. I decided that that is what I wanted to use for it. But first, I had to find a vintage record album to alter so that I can slip the tags inside each page, with various other things I've saved. I saved the article, looked for a book on my summer antiquing jaunts, and not having found one I put it on the back burner...until, that is a few weeks ago. my husband and I went on a random trip to an antique mall during the day and I found the perfect book for the project. I was thrilled with the find as the book was in excellent condition and I thought, this is a sign that I need to start this project for her soon! Then I came home, got out the article and went to look up the authors website. WEll, low and behold, I found out that the author, Charlotte Lyons not only had a website, but now had a BLOG. I was so excited. I immediately clicked on the link and went to her blog, House Wren Studio and low and behold was post upon post with thoughts and pictures on creating the book and the whole experience in itself! I thought, wow, now I really have to work on this. I have all the inspiration I need! So, stay tuned, I will share the book pages with you as I go along. If anyone else is inspired to do a tag book, let me know and we can exchange tips and inspiration. I know it will be a challenge to condense her childhood into this one book, but I know I want to make something she will treasure for years to come. Thank you, Charlotte for sharing your book for your daughter and again, I'm SO excited that you have a blog and that I was able to find you and your wonderful book there! xxoo Lia

Cleaning and Clearing Junk this Saturday

I've spent most of the day cleaning and clearing out junk in my studio and in my laundry room. I don't know how long it's been since I've had a saturday free to do that...but anyhoo, I hung up a shelf and my bulletin board in my studio. I also stacked rearranged and got some containers up on shelves so I can get to my paper cutter. lol. Here are a few 1 x 1's I completed this week. I think my sis will like the lower left one...hope you are reading this soph! hee hee...I did these on the background I painted shown a few posts ago. I also straightened up my fave papers in my art junk box where I have a few other works in progress. I've been tempted to organize all my papers by theme, music sheets, wallpaper, etc., but I don't think I'd be able to make anything that way. My process is always intuitive and kinda hap hazard. It gets me in a creative mood when I see all the mess of different papers together! My eye goes to things I want to pull together. It's so much fun for me this way. For now I have my papers organized by favorite box, second favorite box and third...ha ha.. and the rest is in drawers and my big white cabinet in my studio. The pink art junk box I've posted here before has my faves. I often suggest to people who are interested in collage but don't have "time" to start collecting the favorite inspiring pieces of paper they see and keep them in a box. Then you can grab a glue stick and some scissors, put them in your box and tote and carry them to your tv spot or wherever you relax and take out the papers and start playing! Well, I gotta get back to getting house junk done. Hope everyone is having a good weekend! xo Lia

Back to creating out of the box....

I'm back to creating out of my lapdesk at night. have not been doing all my stuff in my "studio" (which is what I was trying to discipline myself to do!) anyhoo, I had a migraine all day yesterday, still not feeling up to snuff, but I squeezed in some scissor/paper/glue time last night while relaxing by the telly. I took another pic of the paper spread. I love seeing all the papers out, it get's me thinking of all the possibilities! I hope it inspires you too. It amazes me how you don't really need much to make a collage. you don't need all the fancy papers (although they ARE gorgeous) but there is something about taking everyday kind of things for me and putting them together. I still have newspaper and postcards that I painted in the box this summer, clippings from some old, (very old) magazines and some wallpaper scraps from my hardware store. I went by there this summer and asked for their old books and they wanted to give me more than I could fit in my truck! I didn't take them all. I also have lots of scraps from my mom's sewing things. she is a seamstress. she sews fragments together, I glue them...lol....Anyhow, the point is that collage is such a fun hobby that doesn't need lots of new "stuff". I've had a few people write me and say they want to do collage but they don't get around to it because of this thing or that. One of the things I do that may help is picking a pretty (recycled, lol) box to fill with clippings that inspire me here and there. Then when you are ready to create something, you have things you like all in one place. The "pretty" box helps inspire me to fill it with my favorite pretty clippings. My Mom gave my daughter a birthday gift in a beautiful pink and white cosmetic kit box. Well, of course I claimed the box after clean up time! I brought this box out last night with my lap desk and got out scraps to create with. Another thing I do is keep a little square box (no cover) in my top desk drawer to put the tiny scraps. Then when I need a little piece, I get this out and often find just what I need. One of the things that has helped for quick collage clean up is putting wax paper down on my work surface and having a little box or lunch baggie to toss disregards in (although if you like paper, this is usually just slivers cut off at the sides, lol). Ok, well, I need to get going now and I hope to be back soon to share some new collages! Happy Trails! xxoo Lia

My trusty lapdesk and it's contents...

My trusty lapdesk and it's contents..., originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

it's been quite some time since I've gotten out my lapdesk....prob. since I painted and settled into my new art space this past summer. Last night I got it out to work on the alphabet collage while sitting next to my hubby watchin' MNF (monday night foooootball). Anyhow, I got it out again tonight as I wanted to explore some of the scraps/goodies that I had left inside. I found lots of the painted papers I did this summer (mostly on back of newspaper and/or magazine postcards). I did find a few random paintings I did on watercolor paper. I started playing with the images and came up with two matches...you see, I often just play and try to match the random backgrounds I paint to images that I like and saved for a later date. Anyhow, I thought it looked so cool with the desk opened up and all the papers on both trays. lots of papers and scraps, colors, images, I love it! had to stop and take a pic. ok, I am off to zzzzz land now and will put words on my collages tomorrow. Ahhhh....I love doing free flow art, there are no rules or mistakes, if it makes me happy, that is all that really matters. This spread serves to prove my theory that anywhere you plop a marilyn or audrey pic, it will look good....even in a pile of art junk.....xxoo Lia

Tag: 5 things I was thinking while creating last night

Tagged by Blue Jude, then Nance.....If you are reading this, you are officially tagged too! Post on your blog, ok? "Five Thoughts I Had While Creating Last Night" 1. ok lia, wallpaper or paint, but not paint on wallpaper, kapeesh? 2. I'm SO tired. I need to hang this up and get some shut eye. 3. this is NOT working! 4. I need to copy paste some words/phrases in a word doc. to have ready.. (wishful thinking) 5. Tomorrow's another day... xxoo Lia

"she holds on" by artjunkgrl

I made this random little collage today. I've been trying to go in a little bit of a new direction with my artjunk. I really want to practice more before going on the canvas I bought, but I have been trying to do so since last night and I just totally blocked out. I guess there is no practicing for me, just do it....I got frustrated, then decided I was going to start gluing and not think about it as I was putting scraps away and this is what I made on a small 4 x 4 ish background paper (I think I got in a collage pack from lynnette april...link is on the right in my shops).

anyhoo.....your critiques are welcome. I want to do more collages like the last 3: eula mae, the graduate and the little things. I appreciate you all helping me grow. It's a lot harder for me to do than my art junk, but I like having something more substantial when I'm done.

Now off I go to organizing my kids study area....

xxoo Lia

"3-2-1"...best friends forever by artjunkgrl

"3-2-1"...best friends forever by artjunkgrl, originally uploaded by artjunkgrl. This is done on a newpaper painted background (I gesso first, then paint)...Jude calls it 'doing a Lia', lol. Nance does too! more soon, Lia

My little corner of the world...

My little corner of the world..., originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

So many collages to make, so little time.....

know I sound like a broken record, but I'm lovin' my new work area. I think it's been 2 weeks straight for me that I've worked in this room and haven't moved art supplies out of here. I do keep finding things about the house (still trying to corral my home after a crazy summer). I like working in stages, I set things out and then come back to it later. I also like to sneak away in here.
p.s. I'm still claiming my territory and kiddingly started to act like I was hyperventilating when my son plopped his lacrosse bag in the middle of my room. he immediately obliged and moved it! lol!

I hope to get in here later today. I have quite a few collages in mind, having everything within reach helps me create away! Have a great day all! --Lia

Happy Day!

I know I have come a long way since reading the "Artist's Way" a year ago and participating in the blog group...I really struggled for a while (being that I have 4 children) with allowing myself space and time for my art-ing. My progress was confirmed yesterday when I  heard the following:

Husband: "Where's Mommy?"

Daughter (calmly states): "She's in her studio"...

Mommy smiles. Lia smiles. I'm a mom and I'm an artist. I can be both. Happy Day. Lia

Working with Pastels...

I've been experimenting with some pastels over my collages. This collage actually has a previously painted background as the base, then wallpaper, collage image, and then layering of colored pencils and pastels. I also outlined quite a bit around the image with a drawing pencil. I think it looked better before I added the pink. It kind of had a blended, antique look, but then I felt something was missing. Anyhow, one thing I have found about using pastels is that the finished collage does not scan or photograph as well. you can't really see the true color and blending.  It photographs much grainier (is that a word) than it looks in person.The pastels look more like crayon on a scan or photo, but needless to say, it was fun to work on and I like experimenting with different mediums to see what I like working with the most. Ok,enough of that junk, I need to go to bed! goodnight all! ~Lia

Art in my Studio Space~

One of my very fave artists that I have been lucky enough to cross paths with "online" has been Lynnette April. I absolutely adore her artwork and visit her picturetrail often (there is a link on the side of my blog). She dreams art, she is a very prolific artist and a very kind person as well. I hope to be able to meet her in person one day. I've been lucky enough to buy a few of her beautiful pieces this year. I have them close to me in my "studio". I just love the colors she uses and her work gives me such a happy feeling when I see it. I really can't explain it! She has done everything from clothing art, to atc's, to collage, to jewelry, to jewelry boxes, you name it! She is a HUGE art inspiration to me and I'm sure to many others. So, pictured above is one of the jewelry boxes I bought from her. My daughter begged me for the first one I bought from her and she took it to college with her! Then I picked this one above and I'm not giving it up! I'm thrilled that she now has an etsy shop and I will be saving any money left over from college tuition to buy more! Her prices are extremely reasonable however so here is the link for you to take a peek. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=64473 Her etsy store is called, "LynnetteAprilArts".

Lovin' my new art space

Yesterday I escaped away to my new art space. I filled the drawers with things I use most often. One of the great things about organizing is finding things! I found a series of 4 x 4 cards I had painted with leftover paint. You know how we scrappers hate to throw away a lick of paint or paper for that matter! Anyway. I made this piece with one of the backgrounds. I can't believe I am actually sitting there and doing stuff! That is such a big step for me! I finally found my art home! Now, I have to keep up with the "don't put stuff in my room" thing, but the kids will eventually get the message. Have a great day all and I appreciate everyone's comments! You all are so kind! my regards, Lia