art junk girl

inchie chunky book!

Dear Friends~
I'm still on the "chunky book" kick. This little book was made with a portion of a decoupaged chunky book that I had to cut to a specific size. It's about 2x2 inches. I collaged a bunch of my inchie collages inside...just for fun....because, after all...I have that kind of time.....

I am working on another one now. If you haven't altered a chunky book before, and you want to, I really recommend older board books. The newer dollar store books are too shiny and thin. I usually find the older one's at thrift stores as well as library used book sales.

The last chunky book I worked on was decoupaged. Instead of gesso'ing and painting it, I decoupaged it with newspapers and then I painted it.

 I also glued some tissue paper in along with the newspapers. I really love "brush-stroke" modge-podge. Michaels doesn't always have it, but if you have an ACmoore near you, they usually have it.

The thing about "glues" is that everyone likes something different. You have to experiment to see what you like. Just because I like it doesn't mean you will. I tend to like a bit of gloss in my glues. Another fave I use in the chunky books is liquidex glaze medium. I also like apple barrel gloss paints for these books. Geez! I sound like a commercial! Just thought I'd mention because everyone likes to compare notes on such things. I do think that, ultimately, it's a matter of personal preference. Just because a particular glue medium is expensive, doesn't mean you will like it.
Well, that's my "little bit" for today. Have a great weekend friends!!!!!!! xo lia

chunky book cover

chunky book cover, originally uploaded by artjunkgirl.

"bloom where you're planted".

I made this for a swap on art-e-zine. I'll post more pics of how it turned out when they receive it! I really enjoyed making it.
This chunky book was first decoupaged with newspaper & decorative tissue papers. Afterwards I painted over the pages with acrylic's. This is a good way to do a chunky because things stick better and it becomes more sturdy. Finally I used some rub on's on the cover and played with some stencils for the first time. I trimmed the book and made some bookmarks as well. This is a great activity for kids as well.
xo lia

bloom where you're planted.

bloom where you're planted., originally uploaded by artjunk88.

painting in my watercolour moleskine.

I love mixing-up the media! I have painted over this piece twice. That's why I love moleskine journals...the pages are durable and you can do that. I used acrylic paints, markers, gel pens, paint pens, anything I could fine on my desk. I love experimenting in my journal, and then of course I can't help but add words, it completes the story for me.
xoxo lia

Chunky Board Book Tips

Dear Friends~
I promised to share a few more tips & links on altering childrens board books. Now, like I've said before, I'm not an expert. (except when it comes to making a mess and trying things with reckless abandon). My projects may or may not use "archival" methods/materials. It depends. I have been known to use newspaper and everything biodegradable. I only have one teeny, weeney rule when it comes to using up disregarded papers and such. The rule is no food wrappers, or anything that's touched or come near food. I guess that's one of my"thangs". Everyone has one of those "thangs" and that's mine. I figure if it hasn't touched food it can remain quite sanitary.
Speaking of newspaper, I freakin' love it. I love painting it, collaging with it, etc. Love the texture, love the words. Don't like the obituary section, so I do use the style section and such. Oops. Guess I got another thang there. Anyhow, I got off on a tangent as per usual. I think I just may have to do a little vlog on this. I have alot to say but can't type as fast as I can think...and I get sidetracked...So, anyway, where were we? Oh, yeah, altering a children's board book, art junk style.

1. I prefer the older books to the glossy board books you can get at the dollar store. (the one on the right). I have used my kids old books, as well as some I've found at library book sales. They also have them at most thrift stores. Again, check for food prints, torn pages, etc.

2. I lightly sand, then gesso the pages (gesso is a paint primer found at craft store, I say that because I never knew what it was when I started altering books. I thought it was the same thing as gel medium. That'll tell ya what my first book looked like). So, after I "gesso" the book, I let it dry standing upright and "fanned" open between coats.

3. As far as adhesive, my preference is modge-podge. I know this may cause some sticking. I have chunky books that stick and some that don't but I don't know what I did or did not do to cause that. My guess is which adhesive I used or that I didn't let it dry long enough. There may be a few patches of glue that I could probably lightly sand to prevent it sticking...again, I'm not an expert, but I know this is an issue I'll have to look into. If you have any tips for this, feel free to share in the comments for us.

4. Another type of prepping I've done is the newspaper method. I simply "decoupaged" an entire chunky book with newspaper and brush-stroke modge podge as a "base" for my book. No gesso, no sanding. I just ripped newspaper and adhered it. When it was completely dry, I modge-podged (glued) tissue paper in different colors on top. I liked how the writing showed through. On some pages I simply painted over the newspaper and then collaged images and words on top.

Chunky Monkey

chunky book project, originally uploaded by artjunk88.

Dear Friends~
I'm being a chunky monkey again and working on altering more chunky books. This one is for a one-to-one swap. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. It was originally a "real" childrens chunky board book.
Well, let me tell you in advance that it's not the type of project that I consider easy. You have to have alot of patience to sand the pages to get rid of the gloss. Then, you have to sometimes put several layers of paint down (letting it dry between coats) to get it lookin' like a "fresh, new pallet". I'm just sayin' this in case you see this and say, "hey, I'm gonna do this today" and then wonder why it looks like chunky monkey ice-cream if you skip steps one and two (sanding and priming).
It's super fun and rewarding though and each page is sort of like it's own little canvas. I am not quite sure what theme I will chose for this (although I'm leaning towards an "alice in wonderland" sort of theme).
To see more what a finished version of one of my chunky's looks like, just click on the pic and it will take you to my chunky book album on flickr. I will try to post more links on these fun little books tomorrow.

P.S. What I meant in my last post about posting more often is that I want to make more time for it because I EnjoY it. It's fun for me to share what I'm making in hopes that you will want to make something too. There is safety in numbers. I love to create something everday. It makes me happy. xo lia