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!

Time to Spruce Up the House with Art

Yes it is! It is time to spruce things up around here. It has been on my TO DO list over and over to start adding more to the walls around here. It is slowly getting done and man, does it make a difference! I am adding kid's art, my canvases, favorite pictures, mirrors, and prints. (Prints mainly free for personal use prints found online and from the NEW DIY Gallery Art pads from me & my BIG ideas.)

One of my favorite ways to add some pizzazz to our walls is to layer a print on top of some fab scrapbook paper. Below is a picture of a black frame I used for out master bedroom. All I did was add a matte, cut down this amazing script writing scrapbook paper to peek out behind a quote. SO easy and I love how it turned out. Script writing is such a hot trend right now. I see it everywhere. I always love bold black and white with a pop of color. This script writing paper came from a new mambi 12 x 12 pad you can find right HERE. I think it is also at Hobby Lobby.

We are also working on making my daughter's room a little more "grown up" and "fancy." Adding colorful, fun art to the walls always helps. Look how cute it would be to add this print to a scrapbook paper that looks like it is painted. This paper is another sheet from the Paint Pallette 12x12 pad. You could easily paint it yourself or just snag this sheet. :)

We have already collected lots of great art for her room from amazing artists like Danita, Danielle Daniel, and Michelle Allen. I can't wait to see it all put together. Hopefully soon!

Hope you are having a creative Tuesday!

Happy Creating,

Another mambi Monday - DIY Wall Picture Ledge

Recently me & my BIG ideas released new DIY Gallery Art Pads. The concept is brilliant! Each pad has a bunch of fun art and/or patterns to create your own super stylish gallery wall. Really, all you need to go along with it are some frames, a hammer, and nails. The front even includes hanging ideas! But...I mean, twist my arm to HAVE to look on Pinterest for ideas too. ;)

Today on Sadie Inspired, I want to share one of the two picture ledges I put together. I used one pad and still have more art for other places around my house. The other ledge is featured today on the mambi blog! You can read all about it RIGHT HERE.

In one of our rooms that we call the "music room" because it houses the piano, we have a wall with a tall shelf in the middle. On either side, my multi-talented Hubby installed two picture ledge shelves using plans from Shanty 2 Chic (visit them here). I wanted to give them a face lift with some fun, fresh goodies and the mambi DIY Gallery Art Pads were perfect.

I cut this small HOME piece from the pad and thought it would look great on some burlap. All I did was wrap some rope around the top and bottom, tied it in the back, and slipped in the paper. I love that I can change it out later for a new look. The backing to the black and white picture also came from the pad.

I loved the neutral color in this print. Plus it matched the other picture ledge well. The quote by Tom Petty was pretty fitting for a "music room" too! :)

The large R was already something I had up on the picture ledge. I found it on sale at Hobby Lobby awhile ago. I have every intention to paint it a different color, but for now it works. I LOVE how big it is.

Also, on the far left, I glued two small wooden clips to another burlap canvas. Now it can be used as a backdrop for various pictures and prints. It is a quick way to create a picture display.

Come on over to the me & my BIG ideas blog to see the other side I put together! I just LOVE how I was able to freshen up my home décor so easily. I wonder what I will do next?!

Happy Creating!!

Inspired Home - Book Page Wreath

I have wanted to make a book page wreath for a long time. I have seen them on several blogs I read as well as Pinterest. One of the many creative goals I have this year is to attempt actually making the things I am inspired by on Pinterest or around the web. So I decided enough is enough! I AM making a wreath. Can I tell you...it was really easy and didn't take too much time at all.

I found this easy to follow tutorial on YouTube by Jenna DeAngeles. It did take some time figuring out the right way to roll the paper cones. But, once I figured it out I became a one woman cone factory. IT would be a fun little task to do while watching TV or instead of folding laundry. :)

I followed Jenna's directions pretty much for the entire process. After attaching all the cones, I auditioned lots of items I had floating around my house for the center. You really can use all kinds of various things - ornaments (too Christmas-y for all year around for me), burlap, fabric flowers, moss, potpourri, etc. I used my stash of wooden knobs and small flowers from an earth toned package of potpourri. I LOVE how it looks!! It really makes a beautiful, strong statement.

The cones are hot glued to a square 12x12 piece of Styrofoam. There are two office binder clips on the top of the Styrofoam to hold the twine for hanging. I have it hanging on the back of my front door right now. I had so much fun making this book page wreath, I may end up with one in every room. :)

Have you made a book page wreath? No? Hurry up! Go! :)

Happy Friday!

Little Snowflake Candle Holder Tutorial

 This year I have been using a lot of snowflakes around our home for decoration. When I needed a pretty little container (or two) to hold embellishments for my art class, I decided to try something I have seen around the creative, crafty blogs. (Oh, and of course Pinterest! Don't get me started there. SO MUCH inspiration. People are brilliant...I am always saying, "Why didn't I think of that!")

Anyways, I wanted something quick, easy and inexpensive. At about $2.15 each - it's a steal! It is a plus that after using these darling holders for class, they now can bedazzle my house. :) So here is what I did...

Supplies:  Glass votive (Dollar Tree)
               Glass candlestick (Dollar Tree)
               White sparkling snowflake (Target)
               Twine (Michaels)
               E6000 glue (from my stash. I love this glue. Very strong. But, use in ventilated                       area - that is a must!)
                 Popsicle Stick 
               Salt
               Small white candle

First, use your E6000 glue and squeeze a small dollop onto the Popsicle stick. (You better be in a well ventilated room! Promise?) Spread the glue along the top of the candlestick making sure that you cover it all. (The glue does dry clear, but you will be able to see it when there is nothing in the glass. I don't worry much about that because I always have something inside.) Press the two pieces together firmly trying your best to center the votive top. I place something with some weight inside and set it somewhere safe to dry. 

How easy was that!? Now the possibilities for jazzing it up a bit are endless! For this project all I did was take my snowflake and thread the twine through it. I then attached it to the new candle holder by knotting it on the backside.

I filled the bottom of the candle with salt to look like snow and added a small candle! I also tied a little more twine around the neck of the candle. That's it! So easy and super cute.

Are you creating new things to spread around your house this Christmas season? I'd love to hear!!

Art Filled Home

That is what I would love...a home filled with art. I would love to see the walls filled with children's art (already have a lot of this!) , others artist's pieces, some more pieces made by my hands, sculpture, mixed media, abstract, beautiful words & inspiration, color...just a bunch everywhere. Wouldn't that be inspiring?

Around my house, I definitely see the need to fill up the walls, corners, ledges, and shelves with beautiful works of art. So until my pockets fill up with more $$ so I can buy some art...I will work to fill it with some of mine. This week I had fun repainting a canvas that I had purchased at Michaels in the clearance section. Somewhere (Pinterest no doubt) I saw words laid out scrabble style & liked the way it looked. So I added our names using an ABC stencil. I am not sure if I am finished yet...but, I am happy with the way it is turning out. :)

 Do you have a lot of art around your home? 

How do you like to display it?

 

XO,

Fall Book Page Banner

I recently saw this darling banner made from book pages on Heather Bullard's site. She has a beautiful blog filled with tons of eye candy. I love decorating or doing projects with book pages, so I really wanted to make a banner for my mantle. It was quick, easy, and my daughter was able to join in the fun too!

Supplies needed: old book pages, pencil, scissors, watercolors & brush, letters, twine, glue, and leaf cookie cutter.

First, I used old book pages and drew a large leaf free hand. Then cut them out. For the smaller leaf I used a leaf cookie cutter I had in my stash and used it for tracing. After cutting out all my leaves, I laid them down on some paper ready to be painting.

With my daughter's help, we painted the leaves different fall shades and let them dry.

After drying for a bit, we stacked one leaf on top of another in pretty color combinations. I just glued the top of the smaller leaf down so the banner had some movement. Earlier, I had chosen the word blessed and searched through my collection of ABCs for the letters I needed. (I seriously hoard letters...lol. Maybe it's the elementary teacher in me. I don't know. The scrapbook aisle at Michaels with all the letters...hold me back. Thank goodness they are not too pricey!)

The letters were glued to the top leaf, then turned upside down so I could hot glue the twine along the top of each leaf. Just a bit of advice...make sure the word is going the right direction when you turn it around. Yep. I did it. I glued the whole thing down, turned it around...smiles & happiness. Until I saw that I had glued the entire word backwards. My little assistant thought that was the funniest thing ever. :)

But, in the end...here is how it turned out. Super cute! It dresses up the mirror on my mantle just enough and reminds us of all the many blessings we have this season. 

I am joining the craftiness with Jaime over at Crafty, Scrappy, Happy. 

I love handmade things, don't you? :)

Inspired Home - 10/19

I love all things creative. 

Of course I love art...but, I love crafting, decorating, revamping, up-cycling, jewelery making, party throwing, holiday creating...you get the picture - I love it all. So, since I am a craftaholic and it is fall...I thought I would share a quick, easy project I just finished. Plus, my bloggy friend Jaime over at  

Crafty, Scrappy, Happy has a wonderful blog & link up party full of fun, creative ideas. I know she would love to have you pop over. Between all my favorite art blogs, crafty/home blogs, and Pinterest, my project list continues to grow...
ridiculously large. :)

Here is my cutie little pumpkin. It used to be bright orange and pretty banged up. All it needed was some TLC. I adore white pumpkins and twine, so I thought I'd change up the pumpkin to match more of the decor in my house. I love them so much - I made two. The only thing I would add next time, is maybe some book pages. Gotta love vintage book pages, right?? :)

All you need is a pumpkin, spray paint, hot glue (watch your fingers), twine, scissors, and a pencil.

Everybody needs a smiley face pencil.

First, I hid a multitude of imperfections with a couple coats of white spray paint. I seriously love spray paint. It is so quick & easy. I tend to use Rustoleum's Painter's Touch, but any paint will work. 

After it had time to dry, I hot glued the stem with twine and wrote the word I wanted on the front with my pencil. Be sure to write lightly & be careful. I found out the hard way that erasing does not work very well...

hello, more spray paint!

Then, I traced over my written word with my hot glue and carefully followed with my twine. My goodness - my poor little fingers. I don't know how many times I have burned them in my crafty career. I usually keep a pair of tweezers with me to help guide what I am gluing or move things around.

Finally, I just let the glue dry and pulled away all those annoying glue strings. (If you are a hot glue groupie, you know exactly what I am talking about!) Now the "glammed" up pumpkin is ready for the mantle or another

little nook. :)

Next week I will share a fabulous book paper banner inspired by 

Heather Bullard.

XO,

White Canvas Art

I have seen these white canvases around lately and have been wanting to give one a try. I love all things crafty and I thought something for my master bedroom wall would be perfect. I am in the process of redecorating my bedroom. I am super excited about it!! It took awhile to convince my hubby that light colors would be fabulous. He was against all white bedding - with two young kids, I guess I understand. I think he pictured dirty little hand prints everywhere. In the end we are going with mainly gray, some white, and pops of turquoise/aquas. LOVE!
 

So, this cute little canvas is the perfect addition to our wall. The great thing is that you can personalize it any way you wish. It was super easy & didn't take much time either.

I used a 12 x 12 canvas, wooden letters, a wooden heart,  puffy sticker ABCs, glue, Mod Podge, and white paint.

First, I laid out the letters the way I wanted it to look. After a couple tries, I found something I liked. I had to overlook all the crazy colors of the letters and picture it white. The pink was throwing me off!

Once I was happy, I glued everything down. I used Mod Podge for the smaller letters on the top. I thought I would use my E6000 to really secure the heavier letters, but sometimes there is nothing better than this bad boy. :)

Good ol' Elmer's glue :)

Finally, I let the glue dry and painted! I used Rustoleum's semi-gloss white spray paint. I wanted something quick and easy. I used a couple light coats.  Now it is finished and I really like it. Hopefully, my hubby will too. The saying on the top is special to us, so I am hoping it tugs at his heart a bit. It will be a sweet reminder each night before we go to bed. 

:)

I am linking up to some fabulous places like Paint Party Friday (although I am not sure if this is "painting"...I did spray paint.), Sneak Peek Friday, and
Crafty, Scrappy, Happy. Oh, and Jaime at Crafty, Scrappy, Happy is having a giveaway too from The Fresh Picked Whimsy... super cute prints. I mean - adorable! I hope you have a chance to come visit. :)

Are you working on any fun projects lately??

Have a wonderful, creative weekend!

Recycled art...

It is done and hanging back on the wall.

I wrote last week (creating the background) about this piece of wall art 

that just needed to be changed. 

Why not do some thrift store shopping right off my own wall, right? 

Pretty convenient. :)

I knew once I had created the background, I just wanted to paint some very simple flowers, nothing too realistic. I used a new set of inexpensive watercolors that I bought at Joann's, graphite pencil, and pens. 

I love using the watercolors! 

I think it is fabulous that this...

Turned into this...

And the best part  - it was free. :)

I am having a great time reworking some things 
I have around my house. 

I am feeling like I need to change it up a bit. It is just time to make my surroundings reflect more of where I am now, what inspires me, and what brings happiness to my family.

I am finding all kinds of inspiration on so many blogs & Pinterest (come follow me if you'd like! I'd love it!) So I am looking forward to sharing.

What changes or additions are you making to your home?

XO, 

Jen

I am linking this up to a wonderful blog  Crafty, Scrappy, Happy. 
Come find some wonderful ideas!