fresh picked whimsy

DIY Painted Leaf Autumn Wreath

You can totally do this. 

I'm not so great at tutorials.  But, i'm going to do my best to show you how to make this very easy wreath. 

Start with a basic 14 inch straw wreath form.  I even left the plastic wrap on it to make it less messy.

I bought this great burlap ribbon at Hobby Lobby.

  It was $4.99 and i got it for 50% off.  I simply wrapped it around the wreath form, slightly overlapping and was careful not to leave any gaps.  I secured it with floral pins, but you could hot glue it or use opened paper clips, too.

For the leaves...don't be intimidated.  It's easy and super fun to do.

You will need one double newspaper page.  It's best to use pages that are mostly text, as opposed to photos or ads, but a few pics are ok.

I used these paints...

Using whatever paintbrush(es) you have on hand, squirt some of each of the colors on the page and using big strokes, paint them on the newspaper.  You will want to mix a little together and swirl them.  Just have fun with it. 

Be careful not to over-mix them as the color will begin to get muddy and brown.  You want your colors to be vibrant! Simply mix a couple colors here and there and then let them mostly dry before adding more colors next to them.  This paint dries pretty quickly.  Just keep doing it in small batches on the paper until your whole paper is covered.  Try not to leave any newsprint showing.  You will be cutting your leaves out of this paper, so use nature as your color inspiration.  It's ok to see the newsprint through the paint like you see in my picture above.

I hand drew my leaf shapes, but you can use actual leaves as your templates for shapes, or surf pinterest for leaf shape stencils.  There's a ton of them on there for free downloads. 

You will trace the leaf shapes onto the back of your dry, painted newpaper and then cut them out. 

I attached my leaves using straight pins, but again, you could hot glue them if you like.

and finish it off with a coordinating ribbon of your choice!  I am ga-ga for all things black and white striped!  It works well on my front door, me thinks.

I hope you will give it a try!  Happy October!

 Those are the same leaves that i used in my new autumn print...!

And, we have a giveaway winner to announce, don't we?!  The big winner is...

Becky Kerr!

"Fall is my favorite season. I live in Florida where we don't really have a
Fall so my solution is to bake pumpkin bread, make homemade applesauce and
decorate for Fall. Your print would be a great addition."  Posted by: Becky Kerr

Congrats, Becky!

 

Pumpkin spice and everything nice!

Happy Fall, friends!

  I'm celebrating the arrival of this lovely season with a giveaway! One winner will receive this brand new print along with one other print of their choice from my etsy shop (non personalized)!  Simply leave me a comment at the end of this post for one entry.  You can earn one extra entry for each of the following:

• share this giveaway on your facebook page and tag me in it (@whimsy studios-Lori McDonough)
• share this giveaway on twitter and tag me in it (@LoriMcDonough)
• follow whimsy studios on facebook (@whimsy studios-Lori McDonough)

I hope you are enjoying all of the beauty of autumn, wherever you are! 

This giveaway will end on Thursday, September 26th at midnight.  Winner will be announced on Friday! 

Good luck!

cheers to you!

So many lovely bloggers are posting about gratitude this month, appropriately so, as here in the United States, this is the month of Thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for my wonderfully loyal fresh picked whimsy readers.  You leave such sweet comments for me, pin my art all over Pinterest, shop in my etsy store and cheer me on in all of my endeavors.  To show my heartfelt thanks to you, throughout this month i will offer some free holiday printables.  Kicking it off are these...holiday wine bottle gift tags:

simply click on the link here for the .pdf file, print on white cardstock, cut along the dotted lines and spread some holiday cheer! 

The tags will also always be available, along with all of my other free printables, when you click on the free stuff just for you button on the left sidebar, over there!

You really are the BEST!  You fill my heart with joy all year long!  Thank you, my sweet friends! xo

raindrops keep fallin' on my head

two chilly, rainy, gray days in a row for us.  call me crazy, but i kinda like it.  at least for a day or two. 

Griffin took my camera in the van on our way to pick Riley up from football practice and snapped this one... he was trying so hard to get the windshield wipers "in action".  mission accomplished, G!

i bought this yellow rain coat at Sears about 10 years ago and i'm still wearing it.  but how many days a year do you really wear a raincoat?  so, it's still in great shape, and i'm gonna keep on wearing it.  its' sunshine on a rainy day.  hello, yellow!

i found this darling rainy day art on etsy in Tammy Olson's shop  {cute stuff in there!} and it made me think of my katie when she was little and loved to stomp in puddles...

Don't you love the sound of a slow, steady rain outside when you are snuggled up in a warm bed?  found these two on our bed last night...

guys, did you leave any room for me?

here's the forecast for the next week...brrr!

makes ya wanna fly off to a tropical island somewhere...

pssst!...my sweet friend Carolyn of Sweet Chaos Home is hosting a whimsy studios giveaway on her blog!  Head on over there and enter to win a $30 gift certificate in my shop!  Yay!

furry blessings

 
Yesterday was the annual blessing of the pets at our church.  We took Sunny and Kismet, because they could definitely use a little extra blessing.  Couldn't we all?  We met my mom there and her two pups...Rosie and Tidbit, too. 

It turned out to be an all-canine crowd.  Kismet barked along as we sang a hymn and Sunny was a bit overwhelmed.

 
But, amazingly, as Father walked around blessing them each with holy water, they were totally attentive and calm.  It was very sweet. 

 
I think our old gal, Kismet needed this blessing most of all.  She's not been feeling like herself lately and is scheduled to see the vet this week.  Sweet girl is 13 years old. 

 
One of her very favorite things to do has always been riding in the car with her head out the window.  She doesn't have the strength these days to keep her head out the window, so she really loved it when Katie held her in her lap for this afternoon treat on our way home from church. 

 

 ♥

*Giveaway alert!  Head over to the Crafty Scrappy Happy blog to enter to win a print of your choice from my etsy shop.  And...while you're there, you can grab the coupon code for 25% off your purchase in my shop.  The giveaway and the coupon code are on now through Friday, Oct. 7th!

hope

My sweet blogging friend, Kristina of One Happy Mama, is doing everything she can to raise money and awareness for Type 1 Diabetes.  This is a cause that is near and dear to her heart, most especially after the diagnosis of her daughter, Caylin, this past March.  She and her husband created the Caylin's Cure fundraiser and have set a goal to raise $10,000. 

 

I offered to create a custom art print for her to auction off for Caylin's Cure and she sent me a scripture that she finds comfort in.  Her only other request was for me to include a ladybug somewhere in the print...

  
 
So, hop on over to One Happy Mama to find out how you can contribute to hope and win one of two framed prints, or learn how you can receive an unframed print, too!  Thank you, friends and God bless!

that's a whole lotta bloggin'...

This is my

 

blog post!

WOW!

I want to thank each and every one of YOU!  This little blog that could, has grown and  flourished and you have followed me and gifted me the sweetest comments and emails over the past few years.  I never dreamed where this blog would take me.  It started out as this simple little place where i could share my creative life but it has blossomed into so much more.  I have made friends with lovely folks from all over the world, been inspired by and encouraged by the kindest people and spread my creative wings.

I can only hope that i have inspired and encouraged you, too.  Most of all, i hope i have made you smile and brought you a little bit of joy every time you have visited.

To show my gratitude, i have created a new set of lunchbox notes for you to print and share here.   

 
My first set of lunchbox notes has been one of my most popular printables to date! 

 
 Simply print, cut along the dotted lines, add your message and tuck into the lunchbox or bag of your little ones.  The new notes are available here and both sets will always be found when you click on the Free stuff for you button on the left sidebar. 

Thank you, friends!  Looking forward to our 501st post together and beyond!

xoxo 

Magic

 
Said good-bye to some old friends this weekend.  If you haven't seen it yet, you really really need to.  It was AWESOME.  We laughed, we cried, we cheered...everything we hoped it would be.

 
We began reading these books when Katie was just beginning school.  We read them aloud, in the family room all together and i still remember the wide eyed looks of wonder that Katie and Riley would have.  It was simply magical.  And although there was a lot of darkness throughout the series, i still think it was wonderfully imaginative creation and i'm so happy it was a part of my children's childhood.

You must read Katie's blog post all about going to the midnight premier with her friends...all dressed up...so much fun!

 
 
 Which brings me to another magical thing...a new blogging friend of mine, Amy, of One Day at a Time and her sweet family are adopting Davis from Russia...and she is having a HUGE giveaway on her blog to help raise the funds they need to bring Davis home.  There are TONS of goodies to be won including an iPad2, gorgeous stuff from etsy and 3, yes that's right, 3 prints from me!  Click on over there today to help them bring Davis home and to grab a chance to win some lovely stuff!  Giveaway runs through this Thursday, July 21st.  Thank you so much, friends!

Feeling lucky?

 

Griffin found a four leaf clover, three days in a row!  Now, that's lucky. 

After a few minor technical difficulties, i'm ready to announce one of the winners of the Snappy Traditions personalized insulated tumbler giveaway!

And, the winner is...

Jen {[email protected]} 

Jen, email me and we'll get your tumbler personalized and shipped out to you!  Congrats!

Ronni, at Snappy Traditions is announcing the second winner over on her blog.  So, hop on over there!

 Two winners...that's really lucky!

 
 

Breaking up is hard to do...and a giveaway!

 
I have had a love affair with Diet Cherry Coke for many years now.  I told you all about it and my love for My Coke Rewards here.  I was faithful...even when it wasn't so easy to find.  But, over time, i realized i loved DCC much more than it loved me.  So, i decided it was time to for us to go our separate ways.

 
I gave up DCC for Lent in February and made the decision that i would never go back to it again.  Although my habit was minor...a can or two per day...that first week was rough.  DCC was my 4:00 pick-me-up.  You know that witching hour when you're getting ready to make dinner, kids are under foot, sports practices, carpools and you're not sure you have enough oomph to make it through?  Yeah, DCC was my ace in the hole. However, my decision was in conjunction to our new get fit, get healthy life change.  So, out with the DCC and in with the water.  Exciting, delicious, tasty, water.  Not buying it?  Well, i wasn't either, so i went out and got me one of these...

 
something about drinking out of a straw, like a fountain drink, makes it so much more desirable.  I don't know why.  But, i have found that when i keep my cup nearby, i finish it and go back for more.  Now, i can't get enough.  And, thanks to my super sweet friend Ronni, of Snappy Traditions, you won't be able to get enough, either!!!  She is giving away one of her fabulous personalized insulated plastic tumblers to 2 lucky readers!

 
Here are the deets: 

There are several ways to grab a chance to win...

1. Become a fan of whimsy studios on facebook
2. Become a fan of Snappy Traditions on facebook
3. Follow me on Twitter
4. Follow Snappy Traditions on Twitter
5. leave a comment on this post, telling me all the ways you entered
leave a comment on Snappy Tradition's blog, telling Ronni all the ways you entered

each one of those actions will get you another chance to win.  If you already follow me or Ronni on FB or Twitter, just let us know that in your comment, and we'll give you credit for that. :)  We will announce the winners on Monday, June 6th. 

You will want to stick around the Snappy Traditions website and check out all the awesome stuff they have to offer.  Check out this darling customized t-shirt she made me!!!

 
and now a...

 
Drumroll...2 weeks since my last update and i've lost another 4-1/2 pounds!!!  That's a total of 15 pounds lost and my hubs Mark has lost 20!!!  Our clothes are loose, and our energy level is through the roof!  We are super psyched.  If you're on this journey with me...keep up the great work!