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New art* inspired by young high school grads in my life. It's such an exciting time in life. You just can't wait to get out there and live it up. So many firsts to experience. As a mom who will send her first little birdie off to college in just two short years...it's a big bag of mixed emotions. Let's not go there yet.
Congratulations to all the grads out there...may you spread your wings and fly as high as the world will take you, and may you never forget the way back home to the nest.
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As you know, we recently sold my grandfather's house. On my last trip there before the closing, i was helping my dad haul some things out of the house and we went into the storage shed in the backyard. I spied these old detergent pails buried in a dark corner and it was love at first sight.
Even though my Dad thought i was nuts, he helped me empty them {they were full of rocks} and bring them home. I have no idea how old they are, but they are vintage and perfect and fun. Mark drilled a few holes in the bottom for me and when my Mom came over to help me with my gardening yesterday...she thought i was nuts too, when i told her i wanted to use them as planters by the pool.
What do you think? Do you love them or hate them? Am I nuts? I am in love with them. They make me happy. That's all that matters, right? Right.
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Woot Woot...let's hear it for summer! Today was our last day of school and the kids are so happy to be free! Honestly, as a kid, was there anything better than the first day of summer vacation?! Nope!
We are kicking it off here with rainbow cupcakes.
I originally found this idea on Meg's blog...she baked a rainbow cake for her kid's last day of school. I was lacking in multiple round cake pans, so i opted to go the cupcake route. The kiddos didn't care either way...they LOVED them. Lots of ooooohs and aaaaaahs. Score one for Mom!
If you make the cupcakes, i used 2 boxes white cake mix. Follow the directions and then divide prepared batter into 6 separate bowls {1.5 cups of batter in each}. Add food coloring to each. i used the traditional dropper food coloring, but Meg used the Wilton Icing Colors and they were a little bit more vibrant. I'll probably try those next time.
I just added a tbsp of each color batter in reverse rainbow color order and the cups were pretty full. So, i added 2 extra minutes of recommended baking time to them.
They were a lot of fun to make. I think we're going to try rainbow pancakes next!
Happy summer, friends!
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My Dad's a gearhead...BIG time.
Fifteen years ago, my Dad had a heart attack and quadruple by-pass surgery. When he fully recovered, he decided life was too short and he went out and got a Corvette. Now, he has 2 Corvettes. He is passionate about them. My parents belong to a Corvette Club here in Indy. They've traveled all over the country going to Corvette shows, on Corvette caravans and to Corvette festivals.
He turned their basement into a little Corvette museum with all of his Corvette collectibles. It's really cool and he loves it. It's his man cave.
He loves that his grandsons are also growing up to be little gearheads, too. I mean, how could they not with all of this at PawPaw's house? Last year he took R to the Indy 500 Pole Day at the Speedway. They got to drive a parade lap around the track in his Vette. R was in heaven!!!! R took this picture as they were driving. So cool!
He often takes turns taking each of the grandsons {there are 6 of them} to a Cruise-in {with lots of cool vintage cars} that happens here locally throughout the summer. This was G's turn...you can barely see him over the door as they pulled away.
Every year, in August, Dad's Corvette Club hosts a Corvette Car Show and they raise money for Riley Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House here in Indy. This year i offered to design their t-shirts and award plaques. I went with my Dad to one of his recent Club meetings to show them some ideas for the designs. He picked me up in one of the Vettes, because i told him he had to. :-)
We had a blast!
I also created an original Corvette collage piece for them. They will sell prints of it at their show.
I cannot sell any of these prints personally, because i am not licensed to sell Corvette merchandise. My Dad looked into it and it was CRAZY money to do so. So, if you want one of these exclusive prints, you will just have to make it to the South Central Indiana Corvette Club Car Show on August 14th at Hubler Chevrolet in Greenwood, Indiana. They will be donating all proceeds to Ronald McDonald House of Indiana. It's a family friendly event.
A lot of the members of the Club voted for my design in the Fresh Produce t-shirt art contest last year, so I thought we could do a spin off of that for their t-shirt design. It's a lot different than the usual Corvette Club Car Show t-shirts that they usually have, but i think the whimsical design lends itself to the "for the kids" theme of the show.
This is the art for the dash plaques and the award plaques...people bring their Corvettes to these shows and awards are given to the best/coolest/"baddest"/ Vettes there.
It was a lot of fun working with him to put this all together. Told you he was cool...
I love you, Dad! xo Lori
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Some random shots of life around here this week...beginning with the "after" shot of my new picket fence! Remember i posted the before? We were trying to camouflage the air conditioner that is in the front of our house right outside the alcove door...and, botta bing...it's gone! My hubby is so handy. Once he had it all built, I channeled my inner Tom Sawyer and started painting the fence. Then, my awesome neighbor came over and painted the rest of it with his paint gun. {where's an easy button when you need one?} Now, it's screaming for a little art and some bright flowers! I'm working on it! Stay tuned...
Our beloved peonies have bloomed. Read more about the story behind our family peonies here. They are simply the most gorgeous flowers i have ever seen. And the color! It's the most perfect, delicate shade of blush pink...don't you think?
Layers of velvety lovliness {is that a word? Well, it should be, if it isn't}
Last night, our sweet old gal fell asleep with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. She heard my footsteps approaching to take this picture and opened her eyes just before i snapped. She is love.
Our house is overflowing with flowers...pitchers full of the peonies and these sweet roses that Mark brought home for K on her 16th, and the flowers in the background that i got for Mom's Day. Poor Mark is a sneezing mess with all this flora in the house. Such a trooper...taking one for the team!
Leftovers from the big bday celebration...
Lots of orders coming through lately...
Shipping them out as fast as i can...with a little sunshine...
I decided my Summer Open Studio will be on Friday, June 18th. So, if you're local and you want to come by, there will be lots of new art and goodies to see! Email me if you need directions and mark your calendars now! xo
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Lots of new art today. ♥ Art for lovahhhhs ♥. These are some pieces that i've been working on...inspired by this time of year. I was married in the month of June, so springtime always reminds me of weddings and love. All of these are available in my etsy shop now. Perfect gifts for weddings, showers, anniversaries and engagements.
art for her:
art for him:
maybe a housewarming gift for the happy couple?...
wedded bliss in cotton candy colors...
this one was inspired by my Mr. Wonderful...but i know you've got one of these fellas, too. So, here you go...
Love is in the air!
xo, Lori
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New art inspired by the music at our church this past weekend. The children's choir sang so sweetly, which i love. During Communion, the pianist played a sweet little medley, with this song and "This Little Light of Mine". So darling. You just never know where inspiration is going to come from. What is inspiring you this week?
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New print now available in the shop!
College....graduation...relationships...jobs...big 80's hair...bachelorette parties...weddings...showers...babies...deaths...divorces. I've been through it all with these girls. These are my college besties. For a decade after graduation {in 1991}, we saw each other all the time. We tortured each other with 90's bridesmaid dresses and threw each other baby showers.
As we all started families, it was more challenging to arrange gatherings. This year, we are planning a little girlfriend reunion (no boys allowed) at Purdue's Homecoming. I can't wait to see them and catch up and look back. We've got history together. I was a little stunned when i calculated that we graduated almost 20 years ago! Wow! So...this new art is dedicated to them. Old friends who you can pick right up with, even when you haven't seen them in a few years. Old friends that you know you can count on to drop everything if you needed them.
Love you, girls. xo
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I hope all the Moms in the world had the lovliest of Mother's Days yesterday. At our house, it's a day spent doing whatever i want to do. It was pretty chilly here, but i still wanted to work in the yard. Our house has been undergoing a major transformation over the past year with paint {a work still in progress} and now, landscaping. I'm always amazed at the difference a little mulch can make.
G worked with me for hours. He loved it. He's trying to grow muscles like R and thought this would be a great way to do it. We did sporadic bicep growth checks throughout the day. Seriously. So stinkin' cute!
I love when we're all outside and hanging out together. We had the tunes turned up and the sun was shining. Mark worked all day on a project for me. He is building a little picket fence to hide the air conditioner, which is oddly placed on the front of our house.
It's right next to the cute little arched alcove doorway by our garage and it's an eye sore. So, he is building this darling little picket fence {i'm giddy just thinking about how cute it's going to be}.
We will paint it white to match the trim on the house. I think it will lend itself to the cottage-y charm of our little homestead. This is the "before" photo...I hope to have an "after" photo to share with you this coming weekend!
My mom spent the afternoon over here last Thursday, helping me to plant my window flower boxes.
My parents bought the flowers for me for my Mother's Day gift.
My mom has an incredible green thumb. I've blogged and bragged about her gardens here. It's an art for her. She chose and arranged these plants that i never would have thought to put together.
I cannot wait for them to grow and cascade from our windows. Yay! Thanks, Mom & Dad!
My mom's Mother's Day request was one of my "butterflies"...
I made hers with green polka dot wings {by request}. I have several more in progress and will have them to sell at my next open studio.
G was so excited about what he made for me at school. He brought it home on Friday and immediately posted this on his bedroom door. ♥sigh♥
He painted the pot for me and planted the geranium and gave it to me on Sunday morning along with the breakfast in bed that they served to me before church {kolaches from the Kolache Factory...yum!}.
My kids know that the way to my heart is a homemade card...♥♥♥ oh, and homemade lemon bars, too! ♥ thanks, K!
Kismet came outside in the front yard with us while we worked yesterday. A few years ago this wouldn't have been possible...she would have bolted after spying the first squirrel. Today, though, now much older and wiser, she lay in the grass and just intimidated the squirrels with her presence. I love that old gal.
I've been wanting to paint a heart on this rock by our mailbox for years...it's the little things that make me very happy.
I'm so thankful for my wonderful, loving Mom, my sweet mom-in-love Muz, my grandmothers Nana & Mimi watching over me from heaven and for my 3 babies who make motherhood a joy and the best job ever!
Hope your day was filled with happy, too!
♥
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16 years ago today, i gave birth to this amazing, wonderful, lovely girl...
1. She will steal your heart
2. She is Daddy's girl...always will be
3. She is a laid back, go-with-the-flow kinda girl
4. Her laugh is contagious
5. She has her own style...
6. She's hardworking and driven to succeed in life
7. She's an amazing artist and an incredible cook...so creative
8. She's the most loyal friend you will ever have
9. Her faith is unwaivering
10. She's a girly girl
11. She loves her little brothers
12. She is fun loving and so much fun to be with
13. She's Mommy's girl...always will be
14. She's incredibly smart, but doesn't take herself too seriously
15. She's thoughtful and considerate
16. She is beautiful...inside and out
Happy Birthday, my sweet girl. I feel so blessed that God chose me to be your Mom.
♥
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