how do you indie mat

So this post is one of those triple whammies. I've got a quick and EASY super cute project to share, a story about a wonderfully talented and inventive woman, and a gift. That's right, its that good.

I'm going to go out of order and first tell you about this wonderfully talented and inventive woman. That would be my friend Emma Hand who owns a company called Indie Mats. About two years ago I found her wonderful product in a local store and was psyched to find it was locally made and run by a fellow mom. I contacted her about doing a giveaway on the blog and she was totally game. The giveaway went well and life went on. Then a few months later we met in person at an open house and hit it off right away. Since then we meet for coffee and brainstorming, sharing kid and work stories and feeding off of each other's passion for creating. #womeninbusinessrock

Great story yes, but I do have a point. During one chat we talked about how fun it is to see the different things people can create using the exact same tools. And that is when #howdoyouindiemat was born. Basically, send a variety of bloggers the link to Indie Mats, have them pick out some mats and then...create!

This is where part two of this post comes into play. I've used Indie Mats several times in my home and shared my love of them before (here and here, I'm biased I know) but basically you have cool printed mats in all matter of colors, patterns, sizes etc. and they stick to the wall without the need for nails. Making them easy to change, move, reposition etc.

I used some of my stash over Christmas and created a fun way to display our Christmas cards. The girls each made their own (paper) Christmas tree and we put those up, as well as a "Happy Christmas" banner the girls made out of Indie Mats banners. The mats worked perfectly since our plank wall is on our foundation wall, i.e. no nails can bust into that piece of rock.

Well, Christmas came to an end and I started to take down all of the cards and Christmas artwork and I got a little bummed. The basement is our family place; the girls create forts, doll hospitals and frequent works of art down there and I loved how our Christmas wall had shown off some of the fun we have down here. Everything was down except for the 'happy' part of the banner and the quote at the top - Enjoy the little things. SO true about this space. So with that, I decided I had to create a post-holiday version of our happy wall.

So here is how I Indie Mat...

I picked the girls favorite art projects of the moment - a monster and a 'rainbow' from Eve and a family drawing and a portrait of Mom (that would be me) from Amelia. Side note - I'm glad my real hairline isn't quite as suspicious as it is in this portrait. But I'd be thrilled if my neck was really that skinny.
I filled the rest of the frames with some recent family photos.

We used the 'happy' the girls already wrote in marker and traced the letters with glue and then sprinkled with gold glitter. If you are creating a display with a 7 and 3 year old, it is legally required to include glitter.

Without having a photo that was big enough for the yellow mat, I simply placed another mat on top. I love the pattern mix and of course, the colors. That's right, I double matted. I'm crazy like that.

The girls even hung some of the mats themselves - no nails or hammers required, just sticky squares - and they now love pointing out which mats THEY hung up.

I love having something so bright and happy in the family room that truly gives a sneak peak into the people who LIVE in that room. As new artwork comes into the house, we can easily switch out whichever piece they like for the new 'of the moment' option. And I have to say I'm partial to having such a quick and easy project that brings such big smiles.

Saving the best part for last, part three of this post - the gift. Emma (and I) would love to see what you would do with Indie Mats, so she is giving all Little Black Door readers a discount on your purchase. Just use the code LBD15 for 15% off and then show us #howdoyouindiemat

And stay tuned for next Friday when another blogger will be showing her take on Indie Mats. Hint: she's got wicked good style and a new house full of walls to fill.

Do you have a corner that needs a bit of cheer? A spot where nails are a no no? A room that needs to be photographed when the sun refuses to come out? I know your pain.