Wonky chickens on my computer. They just wanted to say hi!

This is the newly thrifted book that I am working in as my Art Journal;

I love these old books with thick sturdy pages, but I’m having a hard time finding new ones at the thrift shop. Where are they all hiding when I need them? I think the thrift shops might discard them because nobody buys them… but me. This one has the pretties cover so far, a keeper for sure. It is about the ocean and has some very cool illustrations that I like.

Look at his guy, spotted in the circle pages;

This little creature, isn’t he cute?! You can’t even see it here but he lives in a bubble this wee illustration and it has a rather nice (round) shape to it fitting my portion control theme very well.

If you’re interested in altered books check out the post where I alter a book called The world we live in and the Darwin book altered book cover with lots of roses!

Here are two very cute illustrations from inside my altered book;

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Welcome in Mushroom Land!

The Mushrooms stand tall here in Mushroom Land. With their red hats on they sparkle with happiness. They always keeps guard in the forest. No intruders can pass them, so only kind creatures dance in the morning mist. Wee Christmas spirits, toys, softies, elves, creative gals and other fairy tale creatures with wings… On occasion also the snowman. He is so polite that he is always welcome to Mushroom Land, especially in December! Everyone needs a hug in December.

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Time for a thrifty post, don’t you think?!

Mom thrifted this box for me. It’s a little archive box that is so handy to have! I really like the size and the patterned paper on it, I’m filling it with small pieces of collage ephemera. Neat-o!

The inside of the Archive Box. No labels yet, I don’t know if I will add any - I tend to always shift the use of each compartment and then the labels only confuse me…

A doll head mom bought for me.

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Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
Samuel Ullman

I don’t look it any more but I love many things I used to love when I was a little girl. My favorite color is still pink, I embrace colors, play and creativity. I think that this is what my life is about sometimes. Being that girl in a red rain coat with shiny red sneakers you see on the buss when everyone else is dressed in brownish gray. I might be that girl with pink hair you don’t want to stare at but can’t help glancing over to again and again:
- What’s up with that girl? Why does she need to show off like that? Is she mad? Is she laughing at me?

I’m am that inner child people talk about with longing…. I’m working on my spirituality, I’m stringing my own rainbow, I have starlight in my heart. I saw my friend yesterday and told her that I’m fine. I was lying; I’m great! I could cry from smiling sometimes, but that might be just too silly?!

And I…

…have wet felted these beads sitting outside in the sunshine this summer. Next week I’ll post the finished project if you want to see? It’s magic, it makes me feel like I can do magic with my fingers. Maybe I can? Maybe everyone can do magic? Have you tried?

I have thrifted little wooden treasures! See? A embroidery hoop for grown up to play with and a beautiful vintage box filled with carved domino pieces!

I have been wanting some Japanese fabric like for ever, and finally I convinced mom that we should get some together. We spent some money (a lot!) from what we have earned in our shop (what she earned), and got a little bit of fabric heaven! Hehe, just because you have might act childish you don’t need to be stupid, right? ;-)

Mom’s pile is mostly blue:

She loved the cherry one and is planning a tote I belive.

My pile looks like it belongs to a girly child:

I guess the girly child is still me. I’m still that girl that used to have a pink bedroom boudoir at 11, that collected scrap die cut images with angels and roses (and still have them) and wanted to be a writer when she grew up (will I ever?). Many things change in our life, other might never change. I change constantly, but some things might always make me 11-years-old-giddy?

We also bought some very cute trim:

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When we went to the Craft Market in Dalarna (the area Dalecarlia in Sweden) this summer I sat in the backseat of the car by myself (no brother!) and created! I brought a big plastic bag filled with magazine clippings and my big Art journal, and then I sat there and cut and glued. I’m so lucky that I don’t get carsick! The trip was over way fast because I had so much fun in the car! It was like a traveling mini studio! Plus we did all kinds of fun stops in cute towns (Säter for example) and at small thrift shoppes along the road!

I bought this heart shaped mini bowl:

Isn’t it lovely? And also a tin can in orange flower bliss:

At the market I bought a necklace with different colored stones that hang down - I adore this style of necklace! I also got a white candle holder with some incense oil that you poor in a little plate on top of the candle - it will smell lovely! And this hand carved coffee spoon:

Isn’t it a beautiful spoon? I love it so much. It’s tiny and was way too cheap for the time it must’ve taken to make it!

This is a spread I did last week in my diary:

A few drawings and some writing from the exhibition at East Asia Museum (Östasiatiska in Stockholm).

Also thrifted these green books that I won’t read but recycle:

I make notebooks out of the covers! Love these green covers so much! I was so happy about the covers that I even forgot to look inside before I bought them. I was happy to discover that some of the pages has fun illustrations that I will use in collages (more recycling)!

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On Mothers Day I gave my mother the perfect gift, as I had ordered it from the kind gods of the Universe. She got sunshine, an outdoor flea market, great finds and a nice day spent with her favorite daughter. What more could a mom wish for? Later in the day we had way to much cake at first my maternal and then my paternal grandmothers respectively.

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“There is ample time and opportunity for creative expression in whatever area I choose.” [louise hay daily affirmation]

I’ve been outside almost the entire day.

I impregnated the outdoor floors in my parents garden. Painting transparent oil, smelling its sharp ingredients, listening to the birds around me.

I also had my coffee outside laying in the new white bench with a carved rose motive and then finally took out a blanket and crafted a bit. I cut and glued some in my inspiration book and added imagery to write on in my diary. Organizing recent clippings in folders and books. Reading.

I’m reading The Time traveler’s wife right now. I started reading it last week on my birthday and it was such a treat to give myself. This book is a wonderful romance novel, where the “first meting” is repeated more than usual because Henry, the long thin librarian, travels in time and comes to visit his wife both as a child and as a grown up. The first half of the book was sweet, fun and cute. The second half is just as well written but has that bittersweet feeling that all will not end well. Reading this book reminds me of when I was reading Anna Gavalda’s Hunding and Gathering (which has a much better title in Swedish; Tillsammans är man mindre ensam). I was feeling this book in my gut, that tickling feeling you get when you’re falling in love with someone or something. I recommend both of these books very much.

Please feel free to share your tips on Great Books for Summer Reading below!

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Another heavy photo post today. This time with the photos I snapped at Pingstkyrkan’s loppis (flea market) in Viksängen. It’s my absolute favorite loppis right now. Mom and I visit there rather often and we’ve never left empty handed I think. They fill it up with new “old stuff” each day and the circulation of things is great!

Going to a flea market is filling the well for me. That is an expression I learned from reading Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way I think. If you’re an artist you need to “fill the well” of inspiration every now and then. Some go to an art museum others go to the library. And while I enjoy both of those a good flea market will make me happy every time. I like the diversity of items, you can get anything from office supplies to vintage shoes, from goodie-bags of embroidery floss to furniture.

My only complaint about flea markets here in Sweden is that they almost never sell ephemera or papers like letters, notebooks or photos. Never!

This week I went there with dad and a friend. I brought my camera and had lots of fun taking photos of stuff. It’s a very different experience to bring the camera because it makes you view each item in a different way.

I loved taking these photos. I hope you enjoy looking at them, let me know about your favorites!

The record rack would look great in a 1950’s environment (Maria?) and these yellow and bright colors makes me think of Tricia and her apartment;

Personally I love the look of glass, because anything will look nice together (especially if displayed in a window or under a light) and it comes in every form and size possible! I think I would start collecting glass mini pitchers if I had somewhere to display them, or maybe sugar bowls or coffee cups in transparent glass? :-)

I’m also a big fan of porcelains with prints. Cups, plates, jars, vases. I adore the painted birds with pink flowers I found this time, but the mugs were to heavy for my liking. I think this is a common “problem” (or maybe luck) that the look is great but the form is not perfect (for me) or vise versa!? That’s when the camera comes in handy!

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