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