Journaling with a group

If you've checked out my bio at all you know that I moved to Arizona from Florida a few years ago.  And while I wasn't much of an "artist" while I was in Florida, I fancy that I have much more of an artistic streak now.  And while I have my very safe haven of my studio craft room I have found that it's important to have someone to bounce ideas off of. 

Since my work schedule has been all over the road for the last 4 years, it's been hard for me to stay with a group! 

First there was a group of quilters/ sewers that I met through a friend.  I was (and still am) a novice to the world of quilting, and it was great to have some older women who could give me tips and tricks to get things done!  Sadly this group met on Wednesdays, and when my work schedule changed so did my ability to go.

Then last year I wanted to try my hand at cake decorating.  I signed up for a class at a Joanns, that was cancelled, and rescheduled, and then cancelled again.  I finally got into a class and it was awesome to have others that were learning the same thing as me.  However when the class ended, and I signed up for the next one, it was cancelled, and changed, and cancelled and changed again.  I got annoyed and moved on to something else.

January is usually a month of resolutions and beginning new things.  As I looked around my studio I saw a lot of remnants of started projects, and thought what can I possibly do with these?  Enter art journaling.  It is a perfect outlet for trying new things, and of course using up some of those old things too! 

After about a month of going it on my own I turned to meetup to find a group of likeminded artists friends that I could bounce ideas off of, and get inspiration from their work as well.  I found a great group that meets periodically at the local starbucks.  How wonderful to know that there are others doing what I'm doing, and they are willing to share their knowledge with little old me!  What tools have you used to jumpstart your art??  Where do you go for inspiration??