fresh picked whimsy

Under the Sea Valentines to You, Love Me

Hi Friends! I appreciate all of you so much. Please enjoy and share these FREE printable Valentines and know that they came straight from my heart! xo 

jumping in to the art licensing world

BIG things are happening at whimsy studios!

Last month, a whole line of products (like the flag featured in the picture above) featuring my art premiered with Studio M...a leading provider in the artful home and garden décor market.  This has been a project in the works for a year now. I have been so excited to share it with everyone! 

I had the pleasure of going to the launch of these products at the Studio m Showroom in America's Mart in Atlanta. 

 
Studio M's Showroom was dreamy and inspiring!

One of the best parts of my "field trip" to the Mart was that my sister Kim lives near Atlanta.  I stayed with her and she came to the show with me.  I swear we walked like 20 miles in 2 days.  The Mart is enormous. ENORMOUS!

Three buildings, 55 floors, and each floor is the size of a huge shopping mall.  It was an incredible experience.  Eye candy fo dayzzzzz.  I would've LOVED to have taken a million pics of all the inspiration, but snapping pictures is a big no-no there. {competition is fierce!}

It was doubly fun because I got to stay with my sister Kim, who lives near Atlanta and she came with me to the show.  We had the BEST time.

It was fascinating to see how this industry works.  We oohed and aahed over all of the displays, trends and colors.  But, by far the MOST thrilling part was seeing my work on these products on display in the Studio M showroom.  Wow...somebody pinch me!

This pineapple "southern welcome" line is now one of their best sellers!

For each piece of artwork I created, Studio m produced into 5 different products, like these... 

and this particular line is offered with a monogram option, too...

It's just so surreal for me to see my art like this! SO exciting!

BIG thrill for me at the Mart was getting to meet Mary Engelbreit.  She was also premiering a new adorable line of fairy garden décor for Studio m. 

 It was a total fangirl moment for me. I told her I still have every issue of my Mary Engelbreit Home Companion magazines and that I still thumb through them for inspiration.  She seemed to be genuinely pleased by that. She was super sweet and wished me well in my new art licensing adventure!  {I still can't believe I got to meet and talk with her!}

Studio m has been amazing to work with.  I am so blessed that this was the first company I have worked with.  I'm so green...they helped me throughout the entire process, from brainstorming, to early sketches to finished products. It's been a dream!  They even did a full page feature about me in their catalog...

what? that's nuts!  You can search for me and my entire product line on the Studio m website.

SO many of you have been asking where you can find and purchase these products.  The first thing you should do is go to the Studio m website and search under the 'Our Community' tab for Retailers within and near your zip code.  Now, just because a retailer near you carries Studio m, it doesn't necessarily mean they chose to carry pieces with my art on it.  (the Studio m catalog of products is HUGE!).  So, as an alternative, if you don't have a retailer near you, you can go to one of the online retailers that carries Studio m, such as Flags on a Stick.  They carry most of my product line and you can purchase directly from them.

If you do find any of my Studio m products at your local retailer, I would LOVE to hear from you! And I would really LOVE a picture! You can email me or post it to my facebook page! This whole experience has been incredible.  I'm so thankful and grateful that Studio m chose me to work with.  Believe it or not, there's a new line coming out very soon for their fall and winter catalog and we are getting ready to work on new designs for 2017! 

I will post soon about how this whole process works and show you some of the pictures of the sketches where these designs originated.  I've learned SO much!  I have to shout out to my family.  They were in on this from the very beginning and have been so supportive.  Big, BIG thanks to my amazing hubby, Mark who helped me with all of the technical computer challenges and is always my biggest cheerleader!

This last picture pretty much sums up how I feel about this opportunity.  I saw this sign in a display window at the Mart and I just couldn't resist. 

Pinch me! More soon, friends! xo

From my heart to yours...free printable Valentines!

I am so grateful for the support and encouragement and love that I receive from all of my blog, IG and FB followers.  You guys are such great cheerleaders!  Thank you! So, let me give it back to you with these free printable Valentines.  You can download and print them here.  Feel free to share them and print as many as you like. 

 

I always loved this time of year when my kiddos were in elementary school and exchanged Valentines with their classmates.  I miss those days of classroom parties and games and treats.  Now, I miss my kids!!! But, hopefully you'll see that these Valentines aren't just for kids.  Share them with your co-workers (if you like them ha!), your "galentines" {I think that is so cute!}, your own family, too!

There are always lots of fun printables available on the left sidebar under the "Free Stuff Just For You" button...including another set of Valentines from a few years ago. 

Go forth and share the love! Happy Valentine's, friends!

♥♥♥♥♥

Christmas Pop Up Wrap Up!

 

I know, I know...it's January and I'm just now posting pics from our Christmas Pop Up.  I'm trying to play catch up.  There's so much going on in the studio right now, but I don't want to bypass all of the great stuff that happened over the holidays.  So, I'm going to show you all of the fun things I made for Christmas and how amazing our pop up was!

I had never had my pop up over the Thanksgiving weekend, but I decided to give it a go this year.  I kicked it off with a midnight madness opening on Thanksgiving night.  It was insane! There were people waiting at the door when we opened and then in a matter of minutes, we were wall to wall customers.  Truly, the line to check out was to the door!  I couldn't believe it!

I asked Katie to decorate my front door.  I gave her the words I wanted it to say and just gave her free reign to do it up.  Seriously, she's amazing.  My niece Megan helped her fill in some little snowflakes.  How cute are they?

Then, I asked her to create something on my chalkboard wall in the kitchen.  I wanted it to say 'have a holly jolly Christmas', but again, told her she could do anything she wanted for the design. My jaw hit the floor when she was done. 

I loved it so much that I asked her to make it into a print. 

We gave the prints away to everyone who came for the midnight madness and then sold them for the remainder of the weekend.  They're also available in my etsy shop.  They are my favorite!!!!

I was incredibly inspired this holiday and incredibly busy! It was kind of nuts. These are a few of the fun wood signs I made.  They were all different sizes and shapes...

These were 2.5 feet long!...

and these were my favorite...made to lean on your front porch or entryway.

I found that yummy plaid fleece and it inspired me to make these...which I've made a few more of for Valentine's...again, in the shop!

I thought these were kind of fun...

We had a yummy hot cocoa bar set up for the weekend...

I invited my friend Jenny Elkins to join me for this sale.  We love working together.  I think our work complements each other.  We're both on the whimsical side, but definitely each have a unique style.  We had to capture this moment when we realized that Katie, Jenny and I were all wearing black and white stripes...

These were my new ornaments this year.  The wine glasses were a big hit!

Santa was a jolly addition to the collection this year...

and who doesn't love a giant candy cane?

I added a few new designs to my prayer candles this season.  Ones for your loved ones and ones for world peace...

I created a few new magnets/pin back buttons, too...

This guy came about because I had a piece of scrap wood sitting on my table and I sketched it out while I was on the phone one day.  He just makes me smile...

Phew! Last picture, I promise.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  I told you I was inspired this year! :)  I'm already busy working on fun things for spring and summer.  This was the last sign I made before Christmas, but I think it works year-round.  Everyone needs a little sparkle in their everyday life!  Don't you think?

 

 

 

2015 Yummy October Pop-Up Shop was magical!

Dreamy, Lovely, Cozy, Octobery

Yes, yes, I just made up that word.  But, it describes our weekend sale perfectly! The weather on Friday was grey and chilly, which made our pop up shop so inviting! But then on Saturday, the weather was crisp and bright and the sky was a vivid blue...which also felt like autumn perfection!  Everyone who came seemed to be ready for the change of season.  We're definitely feelin' all the good feels after a very successful and fun Yummy October Pop Up Shop!

My parents lovingly made all of the paper chains we had hung up on the studio ceiling! Definitely added to the festivity of the room! I had a lot of fun making the glittered magic wands...they came from a magical place...the back yard! They were a fun addition to our tablescape!

Had so much fun doing this with my friends Jenny and Stacey.  Our artsy stuff seems to really complement one another...my art, Jenny's art and Stacey's antiques, furniture and upcycled home goods.  We work really well together.

Come in, grab a hot cup of coffee or some cider and a few sweet nibbles and take your time browsing...oh how I wish all of my sweet friends from the blogosphere could have come...

Stacey made fun Halloween garlands from vintage bingo cards, I sold quite a few of those dotty horseshoe door hangers and how cute is that skull canvas from Jenny?

Stacey found me some really great old books and I hand painted over the covers and spines to turn them into spooky spell books...

I kept Mark busy once again, in the workshop making these fun hats...

 

and these sweet ghosts... {that's a brand new print, too! You can find it in our shop}

Jenny made these amazing witches' brooms...so creative!

 

and some really fun hand painted pillows, too.  I had to add this one to the McDonough family Halloween décor collection...

Just like last year, I painted tons and tons of these striped monogram pumpkins, too.  This year I had more orders for the faux pumpkins than real ones!

 
these tall signs were a hit, too.  I should have taken a pic of them before the sale day...there were lots of them in lots of colors.  This is all I had left at the end of the day!

and finally, probably my favorite new item from the Pop Up Shop is our Family Rules sign.  This is something that I've had many requests for over the years.  I've seen them all over the place, but I wanted to make it my own in my own style.  It's also available in our etsy shop and I'm taking orders for them until Dec. 1st for Christmas delivery.  It's totally personalized and I will help you compose your family rules...

and, I had to do it, friends...a Halloween version of our Daydreaming Yard Signs!

 I am jumping right into Christmas making this week.  I'm not ready to transform the studio into a winter wonderland yet, but I do have the Christmas music playing! I'll be announcing the date for my Christmas Open Studio very soon.  In the meantime, thank you to everyone who stopped by this weekend and for all of the supportive messages and comments from those who couldn't!  I got to meet so many new friends and some who have been long time facebook and instagram followers! That was awesome! Thanks to Stacey and Jenny, too...same time next year?! xo  

Enjoy this beautiful season, friends!

{Stacey supplied the bushel baskets and I painted them!  Mums by Costco!}

summer blurrrrrr

Well, that went fast. Summer, what was your hurry? I thought we were having fun and stuff and then you had to go and run off...

there was a brand new firepit to enjoy...

and family fun at an Indians game...

a cousins visit to Indy...

and my first time meeting up with The Peach Truck...

the time we spent under water...

 and by the sea...

and swung by Georgia on our way home for brief, but quality time with my sister and brother in-law and nephews...

stopping to smell the flowers...

and getting up earrrrrrrrrrrly to watch the hot air balloon race out at the State Fair with my Katie...

a friend spied us on someone else's instagram feed {who I don't know!} that day, which was super funny!...

we loved the race so much, we decided to go back that night for the "glow"...

loved watching the balloons and loved watching sweet, young love grow between Riley and his girlfriend, Jen over the summer, too...

 we love you, summer! 

 Why can't winter go by that quickly?

Macaroni and Meatballs

This is the meal that we had every single Sunday night when I was growing up. {minus the wine} Yes, we call it macaroni and meatballs. We call all pasta 'macaroni'. We also call the tomato sauce 'gravy'. Most Italian families are divided on this.  They're either sauce people or gravy people.  And they're adamant about it.  It's not an east coast thing or a New York thing...it's a family thing.  It's how you were raised. And, I was raised on this gravy. And it's amazing.

My Mom is not Italian, but her Italian cooking is perfection.  Truly, everything she cooks is perfection. My grandmother taught her how to cook Italian when she married my Dad. 

I don't love to cook. It's not my favorite thing to do. But, I have always wanted to learn how to make my Mom's gravy.  It's the key to so many of our family favorites like lasagna, chicken parm, stuffed shells, etc...  Truth is I've always been intimidated by this dish, because it's made in a pressure cooker.  I mean, just the name "pressure cooker" makes me nervous.

But, finally, after all these years...I spent the day with my Mom and she taught me her ways.  Sorry, this isn't a DIY, step-by-step recipe blog post...there is NO recipe.  It's a lot of "a little of this" and "a little of that" and "stir it, watch it, taste it". 

She was super patient with me...I wrote everything she said and did down...and took a lot of pictures.  It's a process...a labor of love.  There's a few hours of prep work that goes into this.  She makes her meatballs from scratch first...they're heavenly!

The meatballs, along with sausages are the base of the gravy.

 But the real magic is in my mom. ♥

It was a fun and delicious day.  Then came the real challenge: to make it at my house, by myself, the next week.

I carefully followed all of her directions...

and made a few {okay, a lot} of phone calls to Mom.  I faced my fears of the dreaded pressure cooker...

and, success!

Mangia!

So, I won't be making it every Sunday, but it will definitely be on the menu at least once a month.

Thanks, Mom for helping me continue the tradition!  Love you! 

Vitamin Sea

 It's the fastest week of the year.  We count down the days leading up to it...and they go by at a snail's pace.  And then, BOOM! It's over. Gah! Take me back!!!! 

We spent last week in our happy place, Gulf Shores, Alabama. 

I've blogged about it many times before: like here, here and here.

This year we rented the most adorable beach house...the Lucky Dog

It was a dog-friendly rental and we would give it 2 paws up if you are looking for a place to take your family and pups to the beach!  It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house and it was perfect!  There was a little fenced in backyard full of fun toys for them and less stress for us having to take them out to potty.

A little inside tour...

We had some stormy weather off and on during the week.  It would be super sunny with blue skies and then all of a sudden a wall of black clouds would swoop in. 

So, we would head back to the house for a little break and hang out on the screened porch and just watch the storm until it passed.  Griffin loved this hanging swing on the porch...

We all worked on this fun jigsaw puzzle and Sudoku, too...

The owners of this house have thought of everything.  There are games, cards, the kitchen is fully equipped with everything you could want and the drawer in the cocktail table in the family room was totally full of tons of issues of eye candy magazines.  I LOVED thumbing through them and daydreaming about our SOMEDAY beach house...

It was our first vacation with our brand new 21 year old.  She played bartender a lot. We brought our Nutri Bullet from home and it made fantastic frozen cocktails...

She was trying to style a pretty photo of her concoction...

I can't tell you how many photobomb shots she got before getting that one above...

Which takes us to the photos...oh, the photos.  We brought a selfie stick with us to GS.  Before we left on vacay, I posted our family beach portrait from our very first year that we stayed in Gulf Shores {2001}.  Griffin was just one year old!

We used the selfie stick and recreated this memorable picture...14 years later:

Of course, I'm trying to get our Christmas card photo and they are all a bunch of goofballs...

Me:  "can I get a nice shot of you kids with Daddy?"...

my turn...and I love it.

 Katie tried to get us to take a special family selfie of a selfie.  It was a #selfiefail...

then she took one with her brothers on the beach and it was awesome...

We loved bringing the dogs down to the beach at the end of the day each night, when it had cooled off and the sand wasn't so hot.  They loved it too...

the ocean turned pink from this delicious sunset...

On Thursday evening, we saw something we had never seen before in all our years going to the beach.

A shark!

He popped up right in front of us...thankfully we were not in the water! He was about 5 feet long and swimming in knee deep water.  KNEE DEEP!  Katie snapped those pictures.  I don't know how she did it...we were all so rattled by it.  Riley ran down the beach to some folks who were in the water in the shark's path to warn them.  The next day was our last beach day and sadly, we stayed out of the water all day.  But, we sure counted our blessings. 

 Yet another fabulous beach week is in the books.  We're already daydreaming about next year!  

blog clog

No, your eyes don't deceive you...I'm actually blogging.  Yep, blogging!  My sister Kim likes to send me snarky texts about my lack of new blog posts because she checks my blog regularly.  At this point, she's probably the only one checking on it. 

So, I don't have any huge revelation as to why it's been so long.  Truth of the matter is...I just wasn't feeling it.  Also, I use instagram A LOT and that sort of has the feeling of a blog for me.  Well, anyway...I cleaned off all of the cobwebs and it feels like I've got a brand new sketchbook and this is page 1. 

I just returned from a week on the beach with my favorite beach bums. That's always a huge creative battery charger for me. 

I'm also working with the fabulous Holli Conger...illustrator extraordinaire.  She has been offering an illustration career consulting program for a few years now and I had it on my creative "bucket list".  She is an illustrator whose work I have been following for many years now.  I finally got the courage up and sent her an email and signed up.  She's been a wealth of knowledge and has let me pick her creative brain.  I'm trying to make more of an effort to be present on my social media and also to build a new portfolio website.  This blog will be linked to it.  I'll keep you all posted on when it's done.  My uber-talented daughter, Katie is helping me build it.  Katie's AMAZING...and I love working with her!

Whimsy studios has been busier than ever.  We are so busy creating and shipping out SO MANY SIGNS...summertime is always a busy time for those!  Mark is my shipping manager.  He wears many hats in whimsy studios.  He's a keeper...

I've done a ton of custom things for clients.  Just a few here...

These pencils were a huge hit for teacher's gifts this year.  Yup, those are the same pickets we use for our directional signs.  Hmm, what else can we make with those...?

I'm also working on my first licensed artwork for a company called Studio M.  They make indoor and outdoor home décor products and I am super excited about the pieces I am making for them.  I can't wait to share them with you soon!  Think flags, door mats, mailbox wraps and garden signs...yay!

This year has flown by so quickly already.  I can't believe we are already in July!  I've been sketching up all kinds of fun things for the holidays.  They'll be here before you know it and we'll have all kinds of fun things for you then!

My family is doing great. I'll post more about our vacay tomorrow.  We brought a selfie stick with us and boy, did we have fun with it!

Well, that felt good.  I'm back at it!  See you tomorrow!!!

 

Let's just pretend

hello, friends

Let's pretend that it hasn't been months since I last blogged.  ok? I promise that everything is ok.  I've sincerely just been crazy busy.  And as always, when I've lagged in my blogging...I've missed it.  So, I'm back.  And, I don't even know where to begin! I have so much to share with you, but I don't want to overblog it all, so i'll just catch you up in bits.  If you follow me on instagram  {@lorimcdonough} then maybe you're not as behind as I think!

The holidays were a blur.  It's always busy in retail, but on top of that...my family was sick.  So was I. That was a bummer.  When I last blogged, I was getting ready for my big Christmas open studio.  It did not disappoint.  Just a few pics from the event...

Ornaments were a new item for us this year.  They were a BIG hit!  My hubby cut each one out for me and I hand painted each one. 

another big hot item this year...

that's an abbreviated recap of Christmas in whimsy studios.  I will be back tomorrow with more (non-holidays)! 

xo