As I said in a quote recently published in Country Living magazine, “I love to go to estate sales for fabrics, trim and other treasures. They’re one-of-a-kind and there’s no right or wrong way to use them.” You just can’t beat found objects as craft materials. It seems that many people agree with me. I have been talking to some of my thrift-loving friends and words like “history”, “meaning” and “new life” were often used. I am excited to explore the personal meaning of thrifting, the thrill of the hunt and the process of incorporating used or “vintage” items into ones art and home. That is what this JunkMama Journals column is all about. Feel free to join in the conversation, share inspiration ideas or images in the comments section.

I was exposed to wonderful old memorabilia and household items as a child. My mother’s parents ran a historical museum in Mason City, Iowa and my sister and I would enjoy looking at all the relics of yesteryear (see picture). My father’s mother was very much into collecting antiques. She would refurbish them and sell the pieces for her enjoyment. I never had the pleasure of attending an estate sale or garage sale with her, but was very aware that her home was full of very nice old pieces. I don’t remember much in the way of going to garage sales as a child, but I do remember having garage sales. I would set up a lemonade stand at the end of the driveway on a warm spring weekend. It wasn’t until high school that I really got into thrifting for myself. Just as Jen said, when she was a teenager, it was cool to shop at Goodwill to buy shorts, vintage tops and dresses. When I started doing mixed media art is when I began going to estate sales with my mother. It was there that I would find boxes of sewing notions stashed away in a box or old hats bursting with gorgeous velvet millinery. That is when I became truly passionate about the thrill of the hunt and using these treasures in my art work.

When did YOU start thrifting? What was your reason? Were you a newlywed looking for unique pieces to furnish your home like Raised in Cotton co-owner, stylist and mixed media artist Carol. Maybe you were a teenager looking for hip vintage clothes to show off your unique individuality like myself and Mica of Garb-oodles Soup . Is thrifting in your family blood like Carol’s family owned auction business, or do you have fond memories of the thrill of hunting for treasures at garage sales with mom as a child? Gabreial of Vintage Indie remembers packing up the wagon and heading to the local antique show with her family as a child. Now she packs up her own children and does the same thing. I would love to hear what started this unique, inspiring passion for you.

Most of you have already heard the buzz about Keri Smith’s book Wreck This Journal. It will rock your world with its creative juices, the inspirational prompts, and the permission to be messy and imperfect. Keri Smith, with her usual fervor, challenges us to let go, to make mistakes, and to do whatever it is we please with her pages.

I received a copy of Wreck This Journal for Christmas and it sat silently in my book basket, waiting. I was waiting for the perfect time to crack the spine and to start my adventure.

The right time never came. Time slipped by. Weeks even. Every time I looked at the book, I thought “I’m not in the right space right now…it wouldn’t come out the way that I wanted it to” and then I’d wait for another, more perfect day.

One rainy day months later, I had a brainstorm. My daughter! Grace could be the key to unlock my journal procrastination. I proposed my idea to her- that we work on the “project” together. I explained that there were no rules, that we would most certainly get messy, and that we would do it together. Grace, being Grace, was all in and up for anything.

The week happened to be rainy, and we had lots of time each day to explore the different prompts. Throw the book down the stairs? Great! Slam it up against the wall? Even better. (I took videos, of course). We tied a string to the journal and each kid took a turn taking the journal for a walk. If Grace wanted to draw a turkey pooping on a page, I let go and told her to go for it. Some of the pages are covered in bums and Grace’s handwriting, and other pages she wanted to follow the prompts exactly. I went with it.

When we weren’t actively wrecking the journal, we hung it front a nail in our living room, and let our many guests take turns wrecking whatever pages they pleased. Most everyone was curious about the project. Some expressed their concerns- “But you guys are wrecking that book!” Grace and I would just look at each other in agreement and nod our heads. Some of our other friends couldn’t wait to get their hands on the journal and do some of their own work. You want to burn that page? Go ahead! Have a ball. But please just do it outside, ok?

So thanks to the freedom, innocence, and creative spirit in my own children, I was able to unlock my own fears about starting to plow through Wreck This Journal in any “perfect” sort of way. By watching Grace’s carefree way of approaching each page, I was able to let go of my own preconceptions about what a page should look like. I was able to see the pure beauty in making a paper chain with my daughter on a rainy day, and then taking soft and dreamy pictures of the chain draped over her feet. The journal allowed us to spend quality time together, without any other goal in mind except to have fun.

I’m still holding off on taking the journal in the shower. Someday I’ll get there…someday.

by nina beana, the whole self