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!