3000 Followers Event - All about ME! (link party)

Who I am ~

I'm a junk lovin' sole parent pet lover artist type kinda gal that loves to create!

I've always been artistic but the real fun began when I started my own biz 17 years ago, running my own sign and graphics company. But the blogging world has indeed brought a fresh passion into the mix.

How I got to where I am today comes with it's own story you can read about HERE. Be prepared. It's LONG. :)

"I don't mind acting abit nutty. I think it keeps us young. :)"

I love the simple things in life and shy away from the complicated.

I'm rather outspoken, but in a kind way. I just want the best for those around me.

I'm a leader type personality, however can play nice with others too.

I own where I am in life. 

I LOVE traveling and camping but I also love coming home.

I talk or sing to myself while I work. It pushes me through boredom as well as keeps me upbeat. And yes... I get caught all the time. :)

I hate asking for help but I like to help others.

Being a tad co-dependent gets me into a bit of trouble, but I'm working on hearing my own voice and needs. It takes practice!

  

(this blog header for my off topic blog says it all)

 In a nutshell, I love being a mom. I love my 2 cats and 1 dog. My friends are tight, and my family near. My son and I are building a wonderful life together after many hurdles, and I'm pleased to say, no matter what the weather is, it's always a sunny day over here. I honestly get up every day looking forward to what's in store. It's like a brand new start each day. Erase the mistakes of the past and get on with it!

Yeah, I'm generally that upbeat unless I'm in pain or my progressive reading glasses give me grief...

Where I live ~

On the WetCoast, located in BC Canada. It rains alot but the payback is all the greenery around us. It's gorgeous out here every which way you turn.

We live in a one-3-way-stop kinda town where everyone knows everyone. They're the type that care about you so I wouldn't have it any other way. The day I moved in, Janette brought over brownies hot out of the oven. With boxes stacked to the ceiling, feeling exhausted and uneasy about the move, that kind gesture right there told me everything would be just fine. And I was right. I'd like to do a post about where I live sometime. I have so many stories...

And my tight knit community even accepst my circus high wire laundry ways...

What I love about my home ~

#1 - that it's ours. (my son's and mine) That knowledge just feels so BIG. We own the front doorstep right down to the squeaky floorboards. I'm VERY proud and grateful.

The new roof goes on with hero Vic helping.

#2 - that it's finally SOUND. It needed alot of work when I first moved in. I was very blessed to have alot of help with that step, saving YEARS of payments off my life. I'm truly blessed beyond measure. (the reno blog is HERE)

The woodshed in the backyard.

 #3 - making it ours. After the house was fixed up, the next step was to personalize it. So the decorating and creating began. These days, this funky home is truly our sanctuary in every way possible.

My favorite room is ~

The blogging headquarters.  It doesn't hurt that my new computer is kind to me as well. :)

But what I love about this area the most is that it's so uniquely me in every way. I created a very funky desk to simulate where my mind takes me when I blog. The random rustic boards, big metal bolts, eclectic wall unit... my surroundings inspire me big time.

And I love the fact that the blogging area is central to the entire house. (in my open floor plan diningroom) I don't miss a beat with what goes on around me. When inspiration hits, I like to run to the computer and start a quick draft so I don't forget my idea. How many can actually say they can cook, watch a show AND help your kiddo do homework while you build a post?!? :)

My favorite thing to do DIY wise is ~

Wooden gate screens

I actually have two. Creating AND staging my creation. Taking the junkiest of junk and creating something amazing out of it, then staging it just so really rusts my bucket!

The day I put these screens up, I honestly stood back and thought.. "Holey CRAP. I MADE those! And they aren't falling over!" I still feel that way with everything I make because quite honestly, building stuff is still fairly new to me. Building = LOVE.

I wish I knew how to ~

... build anything inside my head.  Wouldn't that be AMAZING? Welding and higher building skills are high on my list of learn-to's. I Even knowing how to mount things properly.I also am starting to visualize frameworks of this which is what creations are all about to start with. I totally have to get over my fear of my table saw to move on. I'm getting there. :)

Something you may not know about me is ~

I don't really enjoy cooking. 3 hours in a kitchen a day totally robs my creative time. :) I use to love it, but when it became all about how quick can I pull it off, I lost interest. But I DO love my KITCHEN... and I do like GOOD food.

Why I love to blog ~

What's not to love? Blogging provides an outlet to show my creative side with those that get me. I can't think of any other place that could possibly offer this much encouragement!

It also satisfies the writing craving that hits. Why, I'm a published writer everytime I  create a post! :)

Oh.. and then there's the photography! I love looking through a lens of a camera, then building a story or tutorial  around the photo shoot. I enjoy that part just as much as creating.

____________

I honestly don't know what tomorrow will bring from all this blogging and documenting. But I look forward to finding out.  Thanks for continuing to find interest in my blog. I appreciate you!

Would you too like to join in?

 Use the questions above, build your post, and link'er up!

Can't wait to get to know all about YOU. :)

The Pleated Poppy giveaway event ends Thursday, 11pm Pacific.

3000 Followers Event - Q & A

 

Q: How did you grow your blog?

A: Trust me... I shake my head everyday I sign in. I'm still surprised others out there like what I like. :)

In a nutshell, I believe it has to do with blog content and how it's delivered. I even wrote a post on the topic which is HERE. The info sounds very elementary, however do the checklist with each post you make and see if that makes a difference for you!

 In fact, I've written ALOT about all kinds of things. But they tend to get lost in the shuffle of it all, especially when newcomers arrive on my blogging doorstep.

Blog growing and newbie tips can be found HERE. 

Blog photography with a point and shoot HERE.

And let's just mention the vast amount of labels I tag posts with. (located at the very bottom of the blog)

Funky Junk Interiors

Promote Your Page Too

Are you a part of this crowd yet? I LOVE communicating through these tools! Join up if you haven't already! Facebookers especially get asked their opinions on what posts are desired next and  hints on upcoming stuff.

So!!!

Is there anything you'd like to ask?
 

photography...  decorating... junkin'... blog building... personal stuff... 

What would you like to know? :)


(answers may be in comments OR in a new post... I'll gauge it as we go)

(the All About Me linkup is Thursday night! Are you ready?)

3000 Followers Event - DIY paint removal tips

~ DIY Tip Day ~

I will NEVER profess to be an expert on this topic, so right here and now, I ask any experts in this field to come on down!

I had this cool farm table that I had painted white. But then I wanted a woodsy top. You know how it is.

Well, this was no small job. I was using my palm sander and getting nowhere fast. So I borrowed a wood planer. (thanks Default Nice Guy Dan!)

And that's when things REALLY started to happen. LOVE the thing!! I want one. :)

Although the planer did a MUCH more efficient job, it was still working too hard.

So back to the hardware store I went and picked up some paint stripper. And soon found a method that worked.

 How to strip paint off a table top:

1. Remove as much paint as you can first with paint stripper

There were at least 4 coats of paint on this tabletop, so I kept using the stripper until I reached the wood. It was ALOT of work. Really consider how bad you want a large table to be wood again because knowing what I do, I'm not sure I'd do this again. The paint stripper alone ran me around $30.

2. Follow up with a wood planer

If you're still only using your palm sander for sanding down finishes, you are missing out BIG. The wood planer does the job 20x faster and more efficient. It's a palm sander on steroids. So... if you plan to do alot of paint stripping, put a wood planer on your shopping list.

 3. Finish with a palm sander, starting at 60 grit, 150 grit, then finally 220 grit

I canNOT believe the difference. I've never purchased 3 grits before but the Internet says to do that so I tried. And oh my gosh... wonderfully smooth it was!

4. Then borrow from you know who grab some wood chisels and start stripping in between the boards.

5. Enjoy your newly sanded lovely woodsy table top!

6. That didn't even get a finishing treatment because you changed your mind and build something else instead. After all that work...

I'm almost certain there are better methods out there than what I did. So if you've done this before and have anything to add, please do so in comments!

By golly, let me go one step further. If you have a post that is all about HOW you stripped furniture, I invite you to link it up so we have all the reference we can muster!

Sanding tips? Removing paint methods? What method works best for you? What do we want to stay away from? 

Did you enter The Pleated Poppy giveaway event?

3000 Followers Event - How to vignette with JUNK (plus link up)

Welcome to Funky Junk's
3000 Follower's Event!

Wow! We're there! 3000+!  To help celebrate the event, over the next little while you'll see some fun interactive posts come up, with the intention to inspire, teach and encourage you. You're here for DIY decorating, so that's what I aim to deliver!

~ Junk Vignette Day ~

When I gutted my own home to restage my mom's (post about that HERE), I left empty holes everywhere you looked. It was pretty depressing. So... I finally did something about it.

And I'm happy to report, I had enough extra junk to fill up the spaces just fine. :)

Here are some junk vignette tips I have so you too can have one junkin' happy household! Just remember now... if someone looks at your stuff weird, you have achieved greatness, ok? :)

Need height somewhere? Stack'em up! 

And then hug it all together with a long dangly fake lovely lush green plant. Moral of this story is, if one is not enough, take a few and try stacking them.

Allow your vignettes to tell a story that make YOU smile.

Bet you didn't realize I had sculpture magic inside these rusty veins, eh? How sophisticated are these contraptions I ask? :) I scooped these precious beings from my big rust junkin' day.

Look closely inside the (whatever these are) on the right. Inside. That tiny steel thing is a dip stick. I won the Dip Stick Award when I went camping. How? All I had to do was ask what the Dip Stick Award was all about and BAM that baby was mine! I'll treasure it always. :)

Groups work

Ok, this one makes me squeal just a little. Some bent up metal basket hugging all kinds of typography goodness. Yum!

I love decorating in groups. Why, I even wrote a post showing you all my groupings not long ago HERE. Groups emphasis your treasures in a unique way, so group'em up!

Anything that holds anything can hold anything.

 If an object can hold stuff, put it to work. This pretty vintage mix master (get a load of that porcelain bowl!) provides the perfect display for a kitchen. (thanks Bec!)

 meat grinder = pencil holder

vintage something or other = plant base

rusty gears = office helps plus drink coasters

Cheat on your finishes.

This cute little curbside found bench is also sitting at my mom's house. In order to enhance the top, I simply added loose palette boards.

Now, I would not hesitate to screw down these boards if I wished the top to stay! Which is exactly what I have in mind for another piece I'll be redoing soon. So.. you don't always have to sand like crazy to reach wood. Why not attach your own top to your desired size and call it done instead? (so you can even change your mind later! cooler yet)

Pickets have feelings too.

 By this, I'm referring to substrates all on their own. This vignette (again at my mom's) needed some height to compensate for vaulted ceilings, so simple pickets standing on their sides fit the bill. Same deal with the loose palette boards I brought. I had NO idea where I'd use this stuff but I just made it work in the right places. You just need to play, make mistakes and do it again until it works.

As you can see, there really ARE no rules when playing around with this kinda stuff. You tweak things until they just feel and look good to you, tell a story, and show your little areas to their best advantage.

How to achieve this look

I actually have a secret to my vignettes. Wanna know what it is? 

Take a look at all the vignettes above. They ALL have something in common except for the first basket one. See if you can't pick it out before you read on.

Ready?

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None of the objects are crafted. 

The items you see here are displayed in their authentic form. Sometimes the item left AS IS is actually perfect. Painting, tweaking, adding this and that can actually remove vintage rustic charm. It's a very different take if you're use to tweaking everything you get your hands on.

Some things are better played with. But sometimes they're perfect as is too.

 Here's my little challenge to you. Try a new vignette with junk. And do NOT craft the objects. Just display them as is. Group them, put stuff in them, place them here and there. Just don't tamper with their originality.

Now, this is meant to be a quick fast one so please don't distraught over the linkup below. Whip up something quick and linker up if you wish! Or just do it on your own and enjoy the fact that the paint can wait another day this round. The link will be up for a week.

What do you think? Can you feel the love in all things rustic left untouched or do you tend to see all the help the objects need instead?

The Pleated Poppy Giveaway 

is still open for entries!