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!

Love Inspired Layout

Ten years ago today I became the luckiest girl in the world and married my best friend!! Isn't he the cutest!? I feel so blessed to go through this crazy life with him. He is a wonderful Dad, sweet supporter, the best smile maker, funny, silly, brilliant... I am sure he would loooove it if I kept on going...but, I'll save that for later. :)

Today I am sharing a love inspired 12 x 12 layout.

 

All the paper used (except for the white card stock) is from the me & my BIG ideas Kraft Wedding 12x12 paper pad. I love that this pad has lots of neutral patterns in it. I wanted something black, gray, and white with pops of color. Ohhhh, and a bit of bling too! Look at that fun, sparkling love heart!! SO fabulous. It is actually cut from one of the mambi specialty cards.

The added black droplets were made with watered down black acrylic. I don't have black ink, but doing it this way always works for me.

I also had to add a doily and vellum to the mambi paper. I just can't seem to get away from using these two. I may be slightly obsessed. I use them ALL the time! I think I need to kick it up a notch and at least throw some paint on them or something! Maybe I can stencil on the vellum....hmmmm, maybe next time. Stay tuned!

I hope you are having a wonderful week full of love and blessings. I am off to go get ready for our little anniversary celebration. 

Happy Creating!

From Sketch to Color

Happy Monday! How is your week starting? I have to admit that Mondays are not my favorite. I LOVE the weekends (don't we all?) and I spend the week counting down the days until Friday again. But, I have some coffee in me and spent the morning reading (and snuggling) with my little guy...so I feel ready to tackle the day. :)

Today I wanted to show a journal page that I worked on over the weekend. It had started out as a quick pencil sketch a couple Sundays ago. I am trying to sketch something every Sunday. It's funny. As much as more abstract art is tickling my creative artsy heart, I can never get away from "girls." I say that all the time. I love sketching and painting them. But, when I dream...I dream of painting large, massive abstracts full of color. Maybe that's a vision of what's to come. :) That's what is so exciting...the anticipation of the journey and embracing it all step by step. 

After sketching my girl, I added a thin layer of gesso to prepare the page. The pencil did smear a little bit, but I am totally OK with that. I used acrylic paint and Caran d'Ache watercolor crayons to add color. I find that I primarily use these crayons and gesso to paint in the face. I rarely add other acrylic paint to faces. I do think it would be fun to try that more though. I used my Faber-Castell PITT pens to add definition and color in the small spaces, as well as tracing over the word "loved." I'm using these pens a lot! I LOVE them. If you don't have any and want to add some goodies to your art stash, I highly recommend them. Usually, one of the last steps for me is to go back to add details with an inexpensive Pentel black pen and white Gellyroll. (By the way - just a little tidbit. I was having problems with my white pens working. I started storing them in my pen cup with the tip down & it has made a huge difference. Lol. I know, I know... so brilliant!)

  I am going to add just a bit more to her. I think she needs a little more texture in the background and perhaps some washi tape. Yes! Why not!? I love me some washi tape. Don't you!? I have a growing collection. Where do you like to buy yours? Michael's just recently got in a bunch of new designs. Very dangerous. OK, total obsessive side track! :)

Anyways, have a beautiful Monday my friends and let's go get creative!

Art Journaling, a New Girl, and Being True

Instagram picture @sadieinspired

 Yesterday I worked on a new journal page. I was SUPER happy to get a chance to just sit down and let things go. You know what I mean? I love that my journal is a place where I can not only try new ideas or techniques, but also pour out a bit of my heart in written words. I used to just "art" a lot on the pages. But, now I love the writing. Do you write in a journal or an art journal? It is such a release to write it down, right!?

She started out on a random page that I had used to wipe off excess paint from other projects. I looked and looked around the page to see if I could see something in the background to get me started, but nothing popped out...until I flipped the page that is! I normally don't do that in my journals. They are already bound so I just go page by page (skipping around sometimes) right side up. When I turned the book all the way around I saw the outline of her face. 

After I had the sketch, I began to play with my favorite color palette and some new Americana paint in Electric Pink. It was on sale, so I had to have it. ;) I really love the colors and like how she turned out. I am going to go back and add some color (white) to her nose. Initially I liked the under layers popping through and showing there...but, now I am not so sure.

What I do know for sure is that my feeling behind the page was overwhelming. 

Be True.

Be true to who you are. No matter what. There are so many people struggling through something, feeling alone, working through challenges, stepping up, placing faith in the unseen, overcoming, gracefully sailing through tragedy, facing uncertainty, and sharing their truth. So much victory and triumph lives in these places. 

For me...my choice...is love. I am going to love. I am going to stand behind or alongside these. I am going to be a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. I am going to share in the pain/struggle and dance proudly in the celebration. I will not judge or protest, just revel in the courage I see. I am going to choose to find beauty every day (even when I am buried under deadlines and laundry). But, most of all I am going to love deeply with the love God created.

Be True.

Be Love.

Inspiration: Carissa Paige (just plain fabulous), Kristin @ Twinkle, Twinkle (gorgeous girls with stripey colored hair), Mystele (hunting in backgrounds for stories), and Effy Wild (writing more and journaling in the hair).

Now, go be awesome!

and...

 

Evolution of a Girl

I love watching or seeing the progress of a painting. Don't you? It is so interesting to see how a creative idea starts, where it goes along the way, and the final outcome. There is such beauty in the process. Sometimes, I get so fixated on the end result that the journey becomes stressed and not too enjoyable. That is not what I want. Who would want that? So I gently remind myself to relax and let things unfold naturally.

 Many times paintings (or creative projects) begin with no intention. The painting simply reveals itself as the layers build. I have to remind myself to be patient though. Even through the "ugly" stage...patience. There is beauty on the other side.

There is such beauty in just letting the art flow too...no intention...no expectation...full of possibility...full of promise. 

When paint was first laid down on this page I had no idea what it would become. It was actually just a page used to capture left over paint, excess paint from stencils, and a place to wipe my messy (happy) hands. I always have extra paper, a journal page, newspaper, book pages, or tissue paper handy when I am working on something. Any excess is slapped right down. I know I will be able to use it later. I hate wasting my paint...even the cheap craft paint! :) The page started out something like this. I forgot to take a picture of the actual background.

There it sat for weeks. Then one night while watching some horrible (Oh, but I love it!) reality TV, I sketched this face. I like keeping a notebook, journal, or random paper with me while I watch TV. You never know when inspiration will hit or when you might be bored out of your mind! :)

Yesterday, I grabbed her while my kiddies slept and painted away. I love using Caran D'Ache crayons and gesso for portraits. I rarely use white acrylic for faces. I don't know why. I just really like the way the gesso blends the colors. You can see that I am still enamored with pink hair. (I would never get pink hair. That is too scary for me. But, I love it on other girls. I think I am too old for pink hair too. Is there an age limit? Lol.)

I kept thinking about the three hearts up top (from leftover paint & a stencil). These words came to mind....

Love will always find its way to you.

It will! I promise! If you feel like love has hit the road today...hang tight. 

It will return! It always finds its way back.)

So there you go...an evolution of a girl. Once the wasteland of excess paint with no intention to a fun little journal page. :)

Hoping you are surrounded by tons of love this weekend!

XO,

Painting Minis

I have another 4x4 mini canvas done.

It is just the cutest little thing. Seriously, the size is just adorable.

I am completely obsessed with blue, so this mini darling makes me happy.

I think I will list her (Do you give your paintings a gender?? LOL) 

in my neglected shop tomorrow.

(Note to self : get with it and update the studio store for goodness sakes!)

I created the yummy texture by using modeling paste and a doily.

I love the tiny flowers. Too cute.

The other day I also found a package of 5 coasters made out of MDF that I thought would make more fantastic little canvases. As you can see from my pictures, 

I have another mild obsession with rounded edges. 

These coasters have rounded corners! LOVE.

Even better - 5 for $1...sweeeeeet! :)

I am not sure what I will do with them, but they are fun to work on.

 Come join me on Instagram @sadieinspired.

Hope you are having an inspired week!

XO,

Love

 Happy 

Valentine's Day!

I hope your day is filled with love, 
hugs, and goodness. 

 

Little 4X4 Canvases

4x4 Canvas - just getting started

I saw some of these little cuties at Michaels and just couldn't pass them up.

How adorable, right?

Little 4X4 canvases... too cute.

I brought them home thinking they would be super fun additions to my shop.

Small originals that wouldn't take too long to complete and reasonably priced.

I started thinking about Valentine's Day and February too.

So much LOVE in February.

Not just Valentine's Day, but my anniversary the day before, 

my son's birthday, and 

my mother in law's too - 

lots of celebrating.

I started to think that making a series of love inspired mini canvases 

would be a perfect theme.

The attributes of love....perfect!

I started with 1 Corinthians 13 for inspiration.

Love is a beautiful thing.

Real love...unselfish love...the way it was designed.

I am having a great time getting started on my wee little pieces of art.

I will list them in my shop soon!

I am joining all the creativity at Paint Party Friday and Studio Sneak Peek!

Have a loved filled weekend. :)

Loving the Little Moments

I have been trying to spend some time "in the studio" each day this week, even just for a few minutes if I can. I feel so much better when I can actually work on something creative EACH day. Maybe just a page in my journal, a background, finishing up a canvas, working on some DIY project or craft (thank you Pinterest), painting with my little one...just something. Even for a short time, it is SO worth. I used to convince myself that if I couldn't sit down for long stretches of time, it wasn't worth it. I have learned that those little moments count. Every. single. one.

My creative time is a little "self love" or therapy for myself. I unwind, relax, dream...what I find is that sometimes I spend too much time "looking" at other people being creative. You know what I mean?  Anyone else feel that way? Don't get me wrong...I love reading blogs, watching technique videos on YouTube, and looking through Pinterest. But, all in moderation. I need to make sure that I am doing & not just observing all the creativity around me. :)

I painted this little girlie in about 10 minutes on a piece of chipboard. I have been painting lots of these little faceless girls with quotes & scriptures. I am really falling in love with them. It's funny...I always come back to art for children. I know I have mentioned that before. It is where I started (painting for my daughter's nursery & friends) and where I continually end up.

I have painted several small canvases too. I think they may make their into my poor little neglected Etsy shop. My poor little shop needs some TLC. :)

 All you need...

 So simple...but, so true. :)

I am going to link up to Paint Party Friday and Sneak Peek Friday at 

Studio JRU

Before I go...thank you to sweet Diane from Diane Writes who mentioned me on her blog. I love reading about her, her family, her beautiful country & culture. It is amazing that through blogging our small corner of the world can somehow grow larger and our circle of friends broader. 

I feel very blessed! :)

XO,

Jen