I'm just a girl who loves being a mom and wife. I am also a freelance illustrator who loves to paint, draw and craft. Whimsy studios is the fusion of my need for a creative outlet and the inspiration that comes from my whimsical life.
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Spring has definitely sprung! Thought i would share with you a couple of projects i just finished. Both allowed me to tap into this gorgeous weather and blooming flowers everywhere for inspiration! This first one was for the religious education program at my church...
...and this one is for Faucett & Flame. That is the store that i did the Holiday Shoppe with in Zionsville this past Christmas season. Well, this event is being held in the Faucett & Flame store in Lebanon, IN. I can't wait to check it out!
I also created a few custom recipe cards for one of the elementary schools' PTO...more specifically at the request of one of my besties who is soon to be the PTO head poobah at that school. Sets of these cards are going to be given out at the volunteer appreciation event...
they were bundled with a ribbon and this little tag was attached...
do you know how much i hate slapping my watermark across these? But, it's a necessary evil. sigh.
However, i have LOVED creating these custom goodies...are you looking for some custom illustrations? Send me a message, email or comment. I'd love to make something for you!
We are enjoying record breaking warmth here in Indy. The continuation of the strangest winter weather ever.
And, since tomorrow is the first day of spring...i'm certain a snow storm is in our near future. {kidding...i hope} Although, i am dreading the day that is inevitably coming {as it always does in Indiana} when the temps drop back down and i have to tell griffin that he can't wear shorts. Heaven, help me...that will be an ugly morning!
Honestly, it feels like summer here. We skipped right over spring {and winter, for that matter} and everything is in full bloom here!
We are probably a month ahead of schedule for trees budding and grass that needs mowing!
We {the neighbors} had an impromptu Margarita Friday in our hood because it was so gorgeous out!
Joy's hubby Casey came home from work and celebrated the sunshine in the driveway as we raised our glasses (and cameras).
The boys and I ran to the grocery for dinner on the grill Saturday night.
Griff was so disappointed when he learned that it's too early to find corn on the cob in the store yet!
We are completely caught up in March Madness...NCAA tourney time. We each filled out our brackets. I have no clue what i'm doing, of course. Shocker...i'm in last place in the family. Oh well. We were so sad when our Boilermakers got knocked out by Kansas last night. :( Riley is the bracket keeper. TV, smart phone, laptop...he runs the family NCAA control center...
That boy right there is having a birthday tomorrow. He's requested Bagel Fair bagels for dinner and Triple Decker Brownies for dessert. I better wrap this up and get baking!
Hope you're enjoying some sunshine today!
p.s. Happy to report that thanks to my super hubs, the plumbing and vacuum have been fixed!!! Onward and upward!
"The kids screaming, phone ringing Dog barking at the mailman bringing That stack of bills - overdue Good morning baby, how are you? Got a half hour, quick shower Take a drink of milk but the milk's gone sour My funny face makes you laugh Twist the top on and I put it back There goes the washing machine Baby, don't kick it. I promise I'll fix it Long about a million other things"
Mark and I call that song by Phil Vassar our own personal theme song. You can listen to the song and watch the {little bit cheesy} video here. Seriously, it was as if the guy was in our house, watching our life when he wrote it. That last part about the washing machine being broken is particularly true to life for us. Only it's not just the washing machine. It's the dryer, vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, kitchen sink, ice maker, shower stall, pool cover, pool heater, half painted house, half finished game room...and on and on.
No, i'm not looking for you to have pity on us. We live in an awesome, cozy, wonderful house that we wouldn't trade for anything. Honestly, we adore it. We are blessed beyond measure. But, i was having one of those days today. And, when you live in a 40+ year old house, things give out and things need replacing. It's stressful and comical at the same time. We have to laugh about it or we will cry. There's always something... And, when you're on the verge of making college tuition payments, you tend to try to repair things yourselves rather than pay someone else to do it.
Mark has fixed our hand-me-down, duct-taped vacuum cleaner at least a dozen times. The last time was this past weekend and today I vacuumed for about 2 minutes before this happened....
it literally fell apart. and i had to laugh. Made me immediately think of that scene in the movie The Money Pit with Tom Hanks...you know that scene...
ok, just had to share my funny housekeeping woes with you...
and yes, i'm fully aware how fortunate we are and how unfortunate so many other people are around the world. Like i said, i'm not looking for sympathy...just thought we would giggle together because i was having "one of those days" where everything seems to be breaking around me, the dog pooped on my shoe, the kitchen sink is backed up, i opened the dryer door and a bolt fell out, and the internet went out on me in the middle of typing this post. And, i know sometimes you have those days, too. Right?
Yes indeed, life is very good...and sometimes you just gotta laugh.
In the midst of putting together Craft Casserole, i've been swamped with custom work. It's been a huge blessing, even if it has me hopping!!! I thought i'd show you some of what i've been up to. A few custom canvases...
I'm thinking about creating a listing in the shop for these. You know, to match baby nurseries or kids' rooms. What do you think?
As i was painting away in the studio, Griffin was creating oragami. He said some of the kids at school had made these and he was intrigued. So, he pulled out the ipad and found a tutorial and figured it out.
Then, he was bitten by the oragami bug. He loves following the step by step progress and watching it develop into something awesome. Just like it does when he puts together a Legos set. We spent an hour or so making these guys...
and then he starting making a sun...which temporarily looked like a crown! He is so fun to hang out with. Seriously, if i was an 11 year old boy, he would be my bff. What a great kid! He did finish it but i didn't get a picture of it yet.
This week is his 5th grade play. They are doing Willy Wonka Jr. They've been working on it since Christmas break. I've only seen the last 5 minutes or so of it, but what i've seen is ADORABLE. So I've been creating a little bit of scenery/props.
I love doing this because it's so fun for my kids to see it and be able to say "my mom did that." Every time i bring in another piece, the kids oooh and aaah and i can see him puff up a little with pride. That is priceless. These are the last few months of elementary school for us and this play is kind of like the last hurrah. Can't believe it. I'm going to miss all of it so very much.
Sales on etsy have been so wonderful. Thanks to you awesome people, it's pretty steady these days and once or twice a week you will find me here...
sending out some more happy mail!!!
This morning we had the most amazing lovely fog. The sky was clear but the fog lay very very close to the ground. Griffin calls it clouds on earth. I captured this picture before Mass this morning. It was breathtaking!
By mid morning it had lifted and i found this beauty by my back door.
I've got the windows open and we are supposed to hit 74 degrees today! I love it! Wherever you are, i hope you are enjoying the sunshine today, too! xo
Still trucking away at our training for the Mini Marathon. We are 8 weeks out from the event and are right on target for our training. Yesterday we walked 6 miles on our local walking trail {the Monon Trail}. Our plan was to walk 3 miles and turn around and head back. {G scootered along with us}
Good plan...and we really had no problems except for the fact that at the end of the 3 miles we were so thirsty and had completely forgotten to bring any money with us. The trail water fountains are still closed for winter, so we were out of luck. Lesson learned.
i love this sign along the trail...{random}
With this AMAZING spring-like winter we are having, and the new-found daylight in the evening, our remaining training should be a cinch! On our walking days, Mark and I have been going to the city gym and walking on the indoor track most nights after dinner.
{My drumstick legs while we are walking}
There's fewer people using the track then, and, it's the only time Mark has had open to walk. It's been great, but it's so much better walking outside! It has been a crazy winter...i'm not complaining, but it just felt odd. No snow to speak of. I took this pic at Target last week. No snow = 70% off sleds!!!!
My daffodils are blooming, everything is greening up and we are praying that Mother Nature isn't planning a sneaky winter attack as winter comes to an end...only 7 more days!!! I took this picture on the day of those horrible tornados in southern Indiana and Kentucky. The clouds were so low and there was this one opening. It was so spooky.
Then i spotted this horizontal spiral cloud, which had me completely freaked out. I was in a carpool line for Griffin and everyone in that line was watching it. Eeeeeery! {I guess those were kind of random, too}
So...my biggest challenge on this journey is still meal planning. We are a busy family, with lots of activities and some picky eaters. I'm really trying hard to keep it healthy and to manage portions. My weight isn't coming off as easy as i thought it would with all of this exercise. A few people have recommended apps for tracking calories and food. I did download mapmyfitness, but just haven't had the time to set it up yet. This was today's lunch...i love fruit in my salad...especially apples!
tonight we will have turkey burgers on portobello mushrooms. Yum. Everyone loves the burgers...the mushrooms, not so much. Oh well. Not gonna lie...i'm kinda sore from yesterday's walk. Going to try to head to bed early tonight. Wish me luck!
As always, when i'm away from my little corner of the blogosphere, i've missed you so! I'm so excited to tell you all about why i have been gone...I've started a little some'mmm some'mmm...
Introducing...the next BIG thing from moi and whimsy studios...
A brand new series of crafting classes that i'm offering in my studio! I know!!!!...it's so much fun!!! See, everytime people come to my studio, they look around at all the fun art supplies and always say..."wow, i'd love to just sit down right here and make something!" Well, now they can! Twice a week i will be gathering 12 crafty peeps in my studio, where i will teach a new craft {NO ARTISTIC ABILITY NECESSARY!}, we will enjoy a little wine or coffee, a few snickety snacks and get creative! Kind of a "crafty girls' night out" or "crafty girls' morning out". My goal is for everyone to take away from Craft Casserole a new crafting skill, quality girlfriend time and some ideas for future homemade gifts. At the very least, they will go home with some crafty goodness and be able to say proudly, "I made this"!
I've already held a couple of classes and we had so much fun!
First we made these trendy coffee filter wreaths...so we could do something that everyone has seen on Pinterest...that everyone has been wanting to make.
at the next class, we made these sweet no-sew fabric rosettes...
which we made into brooches...
We just had a blast. Everyone brought their own crafty beverages and snacks {sharing was optional} and nobody wanted to leave!
I've created a Craft Casserole facebook page here. If you are local, and you'd like for me to send you the class schedule for March & April, leave me a comment with your email address or message me on that FB page. Morning and evening classes are first come, first serve and are filling up nicely! You do need a reservation to attend. Classes are $15 + the cost of supplies, which varies per craft. All supplies are provided! You are welcome to come by yourself and make new friends, but it's ALWAYS so much fun to craft with old friends, too! So, feel free to share this with your friend, sister, mom, neighbor....
That's where i've been, friends! I've got so much more to share with you...updates on my 40 Bags in 40 Days, Mini Marathon training, and new whimsy studios art! We'll catch up this weekend!
