A DIY Spring Wire Board

Yay! It's Spring! I really do love the cold & coziness of winter, but I am ready for everything springtime. How about you? 

So, in celebration of the new season, I'd like to share one of the projects I made for CHA 2015 in Anaheim, CA back in January. This darling DIY board was on display in the me & my BIG ideas booth. It started as just a plain wood square with chicken wire in the center. After adding some mambi paper, stickers, and embellishments it had a whole new life. :)

Here are the steps I took to fancy it up. I am sure you can still find the plain wood base in a craft store near you. (I found mine at Joann's.) 

First, I painting the wood edge with white acrylic paint. After it dried, I added pink and white chevron border stickers from mambi to the sides. I placed some Mod Podge on top of each sticker to make sure it didn't go anywhere. (I also added Mod Podge around the rest of the sides so the finish was the same)

While that was drying, I began working on making paper flowers using various pieces of 12 x 12 paper. I like my flowers to look varied and unique. In other words, I just start cutting random flower shapes and hope they turn out OK! :) 

See, I just cut flower shapes by hand and then continue to cut smaller ones to set inside. I rough up the edges a bit and then hot glue them together. That is it! I also punched out a bunch of butterflies to add to the flowers and board. 

I love these little die cut banners so much. The pattern on these cute yellow ones are my favorite. I added them to the flowers in a couple different spots. I also made a quick twine banner to attach to the top. Super cute!

I also used a big, gold sticker that says Be Awesome in the lower corner. I backed the sticker on a piece of scrapbook paper to give it some form to stand on. I think if I were to make this again, I would try it with some acetate. I think it would look great if the background was transparent. Hmmmmm, maybe I need to make another one! :) You can see all the large mambiSTICKS right HERE.

All I had to do was add some inspirational quotes and a picture with mini clips. It came ready to hang, so now to the wall it goes. Such a perfect springtime project!

Happy Creating!

One Little Word Revisited: Becoming Organized

Back HERE in January I claimed the word Become or Becoming for the year. The list of all the different ways I want to "become more" is quite hefty, but one of the areas topping my list is becoming more organized. One of the main reasons I want more organization in my life is to free up creative time. Who's with me? The time I dedicate to playing in my art studio can sometimes be thrown to the side because I have a hard time...finding the time. Sounds pretty funny, but it is true. All kinds of things can get in the way of actually sitting and getting my hands messy with paint or getting focused time working on a project. 

I've kinda thought about planning my time like we have planned our household budget. My Hubby always says that, "A budget is freeing." At first I was like...what? Are you kidding me. How? (He will be pleased that I am quoting him and further saying he is right! He loves a good "told you so moment.") I have to admit, he is right. If I know exactly what I have to spend on any given item or area on our budget there is no guessing. There is no wondering. There is no worrying about whether or not I have enough. If I have $50 budgeted for scrap-booking supplies this month, when I am out looking around I can spend it all or bank it and save up. The same goes for using a planner. If I have two hours allotted for studio time on Monday morning, I am going to use it! I wont worry about allllllll the other things on my list. They will have their "budgeted time" later. See....freeing! :)

So, now that I want to become more organized, thank goodness me & my BIG ideas just recently developed a fantastic new line called Create 365™ The Happy Planner™. It is an easy to use planner system that not only includes the planner, but all kinds of goodies to make it creatively fun. It is absolutely something I can make my own. If I want a lot of color, stickers, embellishments, pictures, or "fancying up," I can do that. If I want mellow, simplified, or neutral I can do that too. 

I have had the chance to work with this system while planning my March and I have loved it! At the beginning of March, I sat down and loosely planned out the whole month. I used the March calendar & only put down the things I already knew were coming that month (birthdays, volunteer days, baseball games, sports practices, appointments, etc). Then each Sunday I take a little time to plan out the following week with more detail and more fun additions like washi tape, clips, tags, quotes, stickies, small banners, etc. It can actually get a little addicting....even for this complete planner newbie! 

Here is a weekly spread with my grocery list, a quote card, and a cute clip added. The Arc system that The Happy Planner™ uses allows items to be added and taken away. SO awesome!

The best part - so far, I am carving out MORE time for creativity. YES! If you are interested in planners and want to see more you can visit the me & my BIG ideas website. The Happy Planner™ will be arriving in stores and in their shop in April. Also, if you would like more inspiration come visit me on Instagram @sadieinspired !!

Happy Creating!

DIY LOVE Canvas from CHA 2015

It's almost that time...Valentine's Day. In celebration of all the hearts and love floating about, I wanted to share a canvas I made for CHA 2015. This canvas was on display in the me & my BIG ideas booth and I was SUPER excited to see it in person. 

I made this heart inspired canvas after I fell in love with the paper from the mambi Straight to the Heart paper pack. I mean...wood grain, I love you repeated over & over in cursive and this darling heart paper. I was done. Swoon! 

Here is what I used: canvas, modeling paste, doilies, mambi Jumbo Gold Rush Alphas, Mod Podge, vellum, hot glue, Straight to the Heart paper, mambiSTICKS, and wood coasters.

I really loved how it turned out. I liked the contrast between the white & gray that I used with the gold. The little pops of red look great too. I love that the red is a super pretty muted red, not an in your face brick red. It worked well with this piece. 

This type of project doesn't have to be just for Valentine's Day either. What about a DIY Anniversary or Wedding gift for someone? Perfect right! I know I always love receiving gifts that someone made for me. Just gives the present a little bit more of love & magic. 

Happy Creating Friends!

My One Little Word 2015

Hello January! (That would seems much more fitting if I was writing at the beginning of January, instead of a couple days before it's end. Ha!) 

To be honest, I was really waiting for January to get here. I really was. It's not like 2014 or December were horrible & I needed them put to rest. But, I was absolutely feeling the need for a clean slate, fresh start, wiped away, wide open, kinda vibe. I always feel that way around the new year. I was ready!

I was also ready to choose a guiding word for 2015. (2013, 2012)

At first, I seemed so indecisive about even having a word or which one to choose, that I almost decided to bow out again this year (I didn't choose a word for 2014). But, I made a list of words I had swirling around in my head & took some time to think about it. Getting creative always helps too, so I made a 12 x 12 layout using some of those words I had written down.

For this layout I used me & my BIG ideas paper, stickers, & embellishments. To read about it, visit their blog right HERE!

After some creating, thinking & reading about everyone else's words...I came to a decision. I had a word. It came for me, jumped on my back and would not leave me alone. :) 

BECOME

verb 

begin to BE

There it is. My word. It really came down to three words - create, become & begin. But, in the end I choose become after I looked at some of the synonyms for the word.

emerge as, grow into, be reformed, be transformed into,

metamorphose

I mean, how great are those!? There are so many things I want to do, try, and accomplish. Sometimes I spend so much time thinking about these things I fail to follow through or actually get things done! 

2015 is the year I make intentional steps to becoming...

becoming my dreams, 

becoming what GOD has intended,

becoming healthier, 

becoming stronger,

becoming more patient, 

becoming more organized,

becoming fearless,

becoming more ____ (fill in the blank!)

There is lots to come in 2015 & I can't wait!

What is your word this year??

  If you are not familiar with One Little Word, read about it right HERE on Ali Edward's Blog.

DIY New Year's Eve Wine Charms

How cute are these little wine charms? Yesterday I shared a festive 2015 banner (HERE) and today, adorable matching wine charms. They were created to add some special homemade touches to New Year's Eve, but they can be made for any occasion. All you need are a few supplies, paper from me & my BIG ideas & the possibilities are limitless. Talk about a perfect hostess or housewarming gift!

Lets get to the creating!

You will need: Bottle cap necklace charms, small washers, one inch paper punch, mambiSHEETS, one inch clear epoxy stickers (I used Spare Parts from Hobby Lobby, hot glue gun, ribbon or twine

The process was super easy and didn't take much time at all. Here it goes!

1) Punch a bunch of one inch circles out of chosen paper. Make sure each circle is different (That's how each person knows which glass is theirs!)

2) Attach epoxy sticker carefully and rub on a hard surface to lessen air bubbles

3) Attach washer to the top of the bottle cap charm

4) Use hot glue to secure the domed circle to the bottle cap

5) Tie a pretty ribbon or piece of baker's twine to each cap

6) Make as many as you want and enjoy!!

I can't wait to use my new wine charms and I think I may just 

have to make more! :)

Come visit the mambi BLOG and read about the DIY 2015 Banner right HERE!

Be sure to have a fun & SAFE New Years!

Happy Creating Friends,

DIY 2015 New Year's Eve Banner

Hello Creative Friends!

It has been awhile since I last posted here on Sadie Inspired, but I hope your holidays were full of sparkle and cheer. My Christmas was blessed, busy, full of love AND over in a blink of an eye. How about yours? I still can't believe that 2015 is coming at us in a couple days. Wow! 

As I begin (and I mean BEGIN...it takes me daaaaays) to pack away all my holiday decor, I thought it would be fun to share a 2015 banner I made using some me & my BIG ideas goodies, ribbon, and some cracker boxes. It was quick, easy and can bring a bit of festive happiness to New Year's Eve.

What you will need: old card board box (thin), mambiSHEETS Black & White Trendy Graphic, Gold Rush Jumbo Alphas, white doilies, vellum, mambiSHEETS Gold Rush, black ribbon, Gold Glitter Scrolls from mambiCHIPS, adhesive, gold acrylic paint, white cupcake cups, hot glue gun

I used old cracker boxes to cut out four triangle shapes and painted each one with gold paint. I used a bit more paint around the edges to give the shapes a bit more depth. While the paint was drying, I stacked some papers from the mambiSHEETS Black and White pad with a white doily and a white cupcake liner. Once I liked the way it looked, I added a gold foil jumbo number to the top. Now, I just repeated the same process for the next three.

After all the numbers were finished I glued them down to the triangles. I laid them out along some black ribbon and used my hot glue gun to attach them. Finally, I added a bit of embellishment for interest. 

It really turned out cute and looks darling hanging on a shelf in my house. I always love the color combintion of black, white & gold. It is perfect for 

a New Year's celebration!

You can find all these fun supplies right HERE.

Come back tomorrow when I share some festive wine charms that match this New Year's Banner. Too cute!

Happy Creating!

Handmade Christmas - DIY Coasters

I love making handmade gifts for Christmas. Not only does the art or crafting of the project ease the craziness of the season, but it also brings lots love to the receiver. I always love seeing the reaction when someone special opens up a package made by hand! Are you making anything this season?

One super fun gift giving idea is making coasters! There are SO many different ways to put them together. Plus, they are super easy to make and you can pick up just about everything you need in one place (in my case Hobby Lobby). 

All I needed for this project was plain wooden coasters, paint, All That Glitters mambiSHEETS 12 x12 pad, pre-cut 4x4 cork pads, Modge Podge, and some beautiful Gold Foil mambiSTICKS. For the finishing of these beauties I used some spray protectant to keep the coasters safe from water damage and some twine. The tag was actually cut from a sheet in the mambi paper pad. 

You can see the process I used over on the mambi blog right HERE. Seriously, so fun and kids would love participating too. 

I also made these pretty coasters using a page from that same mambi paper pad. Isn't the white and gold gorgeous? I am slightly obsessed with this combo, so I fell in love with this paper! Swoon!! For these coasters I used square tiles rather than wood. Don't forget to spray these beauties with water protection too. 

I can't wait to give these to my friends. I think they will LOVE them!

Come see my project on the mambi BLOG. 

Happy Creating,

November Gratitude Journal - 30 Blessings

Wow! I can't believe it is the second week of November. Seriously, I am not even sure there was an October. At least that is how I feel. In all honesty, it wasn't the best month for me. So, in order to "bring the mojo back" and focus on all the wonderful blessings in my life...I decided that November would be a fantastic time to make a Gratitude Journal or Mini Album. I have seen so many beautiful mini albums this fall (and in the past) that inspiration struck and I couldn't wait to get busy. 

Just recently, I received my me & my BIG ideas Design Team box too. Of course it was jam packed with so many inspiring products...perfect for this kind of project. I mean, LOOK at those gold glittery alphas above. Be still my beating (glitter loving) heart!

With gratitude on my mind and mambi goodies waiting to be used, I headed over to Hobby Lobby to find an album. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted, but I knew I wanted to have some small pocket pages in the album. Well, let me tell you, as soon as I saw this Paper Studio 6x8 chipboard album I may have let out a joyous squeal. (Yes, art & scrapbooking supplies bring audible bursts of happiness. Ha!) The album only costs $6.99 (HELLO) and it was on sale at 40% or 50% off. Amazing deal, especially since it had 10 pocket style scrappy pages inside. Divine!

The best part about a chipboard album is that it can easily be altered. There is an endless list of fun things that can be done to jazz up the cover. Personally, I love kraft just the way it is. But, for this project I wanted to get messy and alter the cover. I used some white gesso and modeling paste on the outside of the album and decided to keep the inside plain.

After I was happy with the texture, I played around with stacking some beautiful mambiSHEETS paper with a white doily and some mambi Die Cuts. The stack was glued together and I used some alphaCHIPS and mambiSTICKS for the title. I added bits of gesso on the edges of the paper and added some thin twine (bakers) along the side. I really love how my Gratitude Journal turned out. I am going to have tons of creative fun reflecting on my many blessings this month. :)

Journaling for the first page shown is behind the bottom card. I attached a little tab to the journal card and tucked it behind the other. The tab can be spotted on the right side. Sometimes, I like to keep the journaling hidden or make pocket scrapping more interactive. 

Here are a few of the inside pages. Since I plan on documenting my gratitude daily or every couple of days, I didn't want the inside pages to become too "involved." I wanted the process to be simplified, so I could focus on the thankfulness and not become overwhelmed. I think it did help that I spent some time (while watching the 2nd season of Downton Abbey) prepping the inner pages. I just added some pretty papers, journal cards, and a few embellishments beforehand. This makes the actually recording run much smoother.

Thank you SO much for stopping by! I'll be back later with more updates on my Gratitude Journal....plus updates from my shop (Holy smokes it's been awhile), prepping for my December Daily, Art Journal love, mambi Design Team projects, and plenty of fun for a creative Christmas!

Happy Creating,

Fall Home Decor - Wood Blocks with mambi

I LOVE decorating for fall. Don't you? I really don't decorate much for Halloween...just outside with some spiders, webs, crows, and maybe a few bats. Inside the house, I love to warm the rooms up with autumn colors, leaves, pumpkins, and anything I can find or alter to bring the season to life.

Today I have a super easy and fun fall project to share with you. The best part... I started with some old wood blocks I had in my "leftover bin" in the garage. (I have an old crate sitting in the garage to collect scrap wood from various projects my Hubby or I have worked on.) 

Here is a list of materials I used:

Old wood blocks

white paint 

white doilies

twine

small wood finials

mambi SHEETS - Mixed Media, Gold Rush & Straight to the Heart

mambi Fall Leaves Die Cuts

mambiSTICKS Large Alphas - Gold

I really love how they turned out! 

If you want to see the steps I took to make this fun fall home project, please come visit the me & my BIG ideas right HERE!

Happy Creating!

mambi Design Team 2014-15

I am SO excited to announce that I am a member of the mambi Design Team again this coming year! Super fabulous, right? It was so fun working with me & my BIG ideas, so I am thrilled to be a part again. Plus...seriously...LOOK at this amazing team. I feel fortunate to be among this group of super talented, creative ladies. OH, and don't let me forget to mention that we are being led by ever artistic Amanda Zampelli. 

All I can say is that there is going to be a whole lot of artsy goodness 
going on here at Sadie Inspired and right HERE. 
Also, be sure to pop over and visit all these amazing creatives too. 
Just click their names below the picture and off you go!

The mambi Design Team 2014-2015

Stephanie Buice, April Orr, Candi Billman, Olya Schmidt, Latrice Murphy, Theresa Doan, Mary-Ann Maldonado, Heather Adams, Wendy Morris and ME! :)

Stayed tuned for lots of projects, pages, canvases, tutorials, DIY, mixed media, art journaling, POCKET PAGES™, and a much needed blog revamp. Woot! Woot!

PLUS, I have some more super exciting news to share! But, more about that later. In the meantime, here are just a few of my favorite projects from the last year with mambi. 

Happy Creating,

Adding Gesso to a Layout

Lately, I have realized a few things about my creative self... 

1) I am obsessing over certain things like gold & navy, hot pink, all things herringbone, doilies, & Wilna Furstenberg (Her style is GOR-geous) 

2) I hoard Americana paint, chipboard albums, 3x4 Project Life style cards & scrapbook letters
3) I miss my art journal when I am away from it too long...like, seriously feel it. If I don't make the time to express on those pages...I am two steps shy of crazy.
4) If I was stranded on a deserted island I would want my family, water, & gesso. ;) You know I am not really being serious. But, I LOVE using white gesso. I use it all the time on pretty much everything.

SO, naturally when I found this GOR-geous picture of my daughter and knew I wanted to use it for a mambi Design Team project...OF COURSE, I had to whip out the gesso. Naturally. 

I don't ever really like anything super "perfected" when I am doing a scrapbook layout. Whether it is a 12 x 12 page, mini album, POCKET PAGES spread, or any other project I am working on. I like a bit of messy. I want the paper crinkled up on the edge, the layering staggered, nothing measured, gesso or modeling paste smeared somewhere, & ink splattered. Of course I love a pretty end result. However, the mixed media artist in me loves an imperfect bit of mess. :)

Now, you can see plenty of pretty paper (HERE is some) and darling stickers. But, to add some "mess" interest & texture I added some gesso along the seam where I connected the two papers. I layered some beautiful paper, SOFT SPOKEN stickers, Mini Banners, & some mambi Clear Expressions. Once the stack was glued down, I added some pretty golden yellow ink splatters. 

It is super soft and just the right touch of color. I love the way it looks with the black & white photo too. :)

Thank you for stopping by! Leave a comment, so I can come by and say "Hi!"

Happy Creating,

Back to School 3x4 Lunch Notes

It's that time of year again! Back to School is in full swing in our house right now. It has been a blur of activity the past two weeks as we adjust to our new non-relaxing, non-flip flop wearing, missing summer schedules. :) It has been a bittersweet return to the hustle & bustle of school. My youngest entered Kindergarten this year, so I am missing my little constant companion. But, let's be real....I know I can find things to fill my "alone time" pretty quick. 

One of the things I love to do during the school year is sneak little notes into my kids lunches. I don't add a note everyday, but when I do I know they love the reminder that I am thinking of them. 

So last week, during my "alone time" I started making a bunch of cards with some school themed me & my BIG ideas paper and goodies. Here are a few that will make their way into a lunchbox soon!

The base of each card is a folded piece of white card stock. I like to make the finished card to measure 3x4 so it can slip right into my page protector in my Project Life album. 

The construction of each card is very simple. I don't want the card making to become too time consuming. All the fun products makes it super fun. All I do is jot a sweet note inside & pop it in their lunch. I think my son will love seeing this one!

My daughter, who has officially become a "big kid" in fourth grade (where did that time go!?) loves getting a little message from Mom too. Man oh man, do I ever have to savor these elementary school years! Don't you feel the same way? I know pretty soon I will be sticking notes in her purse as she drives off to college. Yikes!

Also, I LOVE just using a 3x4 journal card like this one above that has a great message on it. I can just turn it over, write my message, and pop it in. Either way is special. Either way let's my kiddies know that I am thinking of them. Either way - they both know they are special. That makes this Mommy very happy!!

You can check out all these fun products in the mambi shop right HERE.

Happy Creating,

Art Journaling with Stickers - mambi Monday

I always LOVE adding words to my art journal pages. I don't always add words or quotes, but more often than not I feel the pages are not complete until they have words. One fun and easy way to do that is to use stickers. Now, I don't know about you - but I have a ton of stickers. It also doesn't help that my favorite place is the scrapbook aisles at Michaels.

Today I wanted to share some of the different ways I have used stickers in my journal. Since today is Monday, I thought I would use some fab mambi stickers. :)

On this page I created a background using acrylic paint and doodled with some pens (Pentel & Gelly Roll). I loved using my new favorite paint colors - Navy Blue & Gold. The Follow Your Heart is a clear sticker from me & my BIG ideas. These stickers come in black & gold too!! 

I can't wait to use more of these on my pages. I would suggest using some gel medium or Mod Podge under & over the stickers. Although they really stick well, this will help them stay put for the long run.

I have been wanting to use these super large letter stickers in my journal for a long time. I love their size! Of course they come in all sorts of fonts and patterns, but the ones I used today were plain white. Perfect! I could make them any color I like. First I painted them with two shades of blue. Once that was dry I painted some gold over top. To add a bit of depth, I went around th edge of each letter with my black Pentel pen and a light brown Faber Castell Artist PITT pen.

I think these letters would be perfect for a home decor sign or some subway art, don't you? Hmmm, maybe I need to add another project to my list. :)

Finally, I added this really cool Choose to be Joyful sticker to this sweet girl. I cut the sticker apart because I didn't like the way it looked on the page as one piece. Don't be afraid to whip those scissors out and snip away. 

 

Once the sticker was Mod Podged down and dried, I used my favorite black pen again to add some interest around the edge. I don't want the page to look like a completed page with a sticker slapped on top. I want the sticker to blend into the background. Using pen or more acrylic paint always helps!

There it is! Three pages, using three different kinds of stickers  - and making me super happy. :)

You can find the stickers I used right HERE. 

Happy Creating,