fresh picked whimsy

Secret pumpkins

It's a little fun tradition between myself and three of my friends.  I paint pumpkins and deliver them on their doorsteps "on the down low".  This year i made them for my mom and sister, too. {wish so badly i could've put one on my other sister's porch.  Alas, a 9 hour drive for a secret pumpkin delivery seems a bit extreme :( } 

We live in a town with TONS of roundabouts.  Roundabouts and not secured pumpkins = a big fat mess!  Secure your pumpkins!!!!

One of these friends is a HUGE lover of the color pink...

You can make these, too.  It's simple acrylic paint.  i didn't even mask out the stripes...i think they are cuter with wonky-ish stripes.  if you can't draw the black shape, a simple circle or oval would be equally cute.  i hand lettered the monograms and "boo!", but you could easily stencil them on.  Top it off with a gingham ribbon and a little tag.  Done! 

*keep in mind...These painted pumpkins don't like to get wet or frozen.  You'll want to keep them indoors or on a covered porch.  I bring mine in and out according to the weather.

this was last year's secret pumpkin delivery...

Give it a try! It's easier than you think!

movie love

I've got two brand new prints to share with you today that are inspired by two of my very favorite movies.  The number one movie OF ALL TIME for me is...

i keep this little framed picture of the Bedford Falls welcome sign in the front hall of our home. 

 

and that was the inspiration behind this print...

{Our Bedford Falls in the shop here}

The second print that's new in the shop today is inspired by another favorite movie of mine...

i love ALL things Jane Austen...don't you?

{Our Pemberley print in the shop here}

If for some unthinkable reason you have not seen these two movies, you need to drop everything.  Get in your jammies, pile on the couch with a big comfy blanket and watch...now!

(Really...i can't think of a single reason why you wouldn't have seen them)

I'll be sharing lots of new things from whimsy studios in the coming weeks. I'm so excited to show you!  xo

 

spooky signs

Do you love to decorate for fall and Halloween as much as i do?  My mom always decorated in fun ways for Halloween when i was growing up.  It's a cozy time of year...I just love it! 

I've loaded my etsy shop with brand new Halloween hand painted signs today! 

{striped skull glittered sign}

{chevron glittered skull sign}

{zombies sign}

{eat, drink & be scary sign}

I love to make custom signs, too!  You can always email me or message me for requests!  Wouldn't those skull & crossbones signs be cool in hot pink? or lime green?

So many possibilities...

much loved fathers and grandfathers

Posting this a few days after a great Father's Day weekend.  Always running behind...it's how i roll.  LOL!  Blessed to be celebrating my wonderful husband and father of our kiddos...

and also our amazing Dads, too.  

Mark's Dad, who we call "Duz" and our kids call "Poppy"...

Riley imitating a relaxing Poppy...

father & son...

Our kids with my dad, who they call "PawPaw"...

father & daughter...

I loved scrolling through facebook on Father's Day seeing throwback pics of friends with their Dads.  So much love.  So many happy memories.

My Dad and his girls...on the beach at Cape May, NJ...circa 1974? (me in front)...

Mark, his dad and brother...circa 1976?...

and one very sweet father's day card that Griffin made for his grandfather.  I thought it was so thoughtful and insightful for a 12 year old boy...

Dads rock!

Easter blessings

I'm so thankful for my Savior, my family and a glorious Easter.  This week was extra special for us because Riley served {he is an altar server} during all of the celebration masses throughout Holy Week.  We are so very proud of him and his deep faith. 

I captured the cross in front of our church on Good Friday with just a little bit of the sunset in the sky.  It was so beautiful!

We celebrated on Easter at my parent's house.  There's always an egg hunt in the backyard, but the threat of rain moved it inside this year.  I love that my teens are still game for the hunt...

My nephew Cole examining his finds...

I love this picture of Mark's parents!

 

and our beautiful moms together...

We all pitch in for a great big brunch.  This was just a bit of it...

These crocuses bloomed in my yard for the first time last week on the day before we had 8 inches of snow.  I thought they would never make it and i thought about cutting them and bringing them inside.  But, i didn't.

Then, three days later, after the spring snow melted, these lovelies re-emerged as beautiful as ever.  It made me think of the hope that was lost on the original Good Friday and the joy that the world experiences every Easter Sunday!  I hope you had a wonderful Easter too, my friends.  I am thankful for you!

make your own luck

Take two: my crafty project to rotate the art in this frame, seasonally.  It's easy peasy and something anyone can do.  Remember this guy?

This time for the background, i used this fresh, green chevron wrapping paper i found at Target. 

I added a little handpainted word and it's done!

You can find the rest of the super easy step-by-step directions to DIY here.  Next up...Easter/spring! 

Valentines since 1987

We met in 7th grade.  But, we didn't start dating until our freshman year at Purdue. 

 
Our story actually began years before either of us was born...when my grandfather met and briefly worked with Mark's dad at Eli Lilly.  Fast forward to the early 80's when my family was transferred to Indy for my Dad's job at Lilly.  We buy a house around the corner from Mark's family and his Dad becomes my Dad's mentor at work.  On the way to our first day at our new school, as my sister Kim and I are sitting together on the bus when Mark (who we don't know yet) gets on the bus and kim elbows me and says "that boy looks like he could be your brother!"  It's the topic of conversation at the dinner table that night. 

Fast forward again to 1986...fall of our senior year in high school.  I sign up for a spirit club that supports our football team...the Greyhound Girls.  Each girl selects one boy on the team and we decorate their locker each week and leave them a baked treat in their locker, too.  The boys don't know who their GG is until the end of the season.  There are over 100 boys on the team and as fate would have it, i randomly chose Mark.  I don't really know why...i just did.  I had so much fun making the signs (shocker, i know) and treats for him every week...often standing/hiding down the hallway to watch him arrive at his locker on game day mornings to see his reaction to what i left him.  We ended up going all the way to State (and winning!) that year and prior to that State game, i called his parents and asked if i could come over and decorate his room for him while he was at practice.  They said yes, of course, and i brought my little sister susan with me to do it.  His mom took pictures and here it is...

The awesome thing about this picture is that we now live in that house...the that Mark grew up in and Susan and i were decorating what would one day be Griffin's room.  Isn't that cool?!

By graduation, i was fully crushing on him.  We had a fun, flirty summer and i was so happy that we would both be going to Purdue.  Our first date was his fraternity barndance that fall, and the rest is history...

hey, don't make fun of our clothes/hair/glasses in the following pictures...it was the 80's & 90's...that's our excuse!

in my dorm room...

with my family in Cape Cod...

he surprised me with a pizza date night in his college apartment

 

At Niagara Falls...on a very rainy day and after a trip on the Maid of the Mist...

My 21st bday...

We're engaged!

One month after graduation...

Honeymoon blurry selfie...

Today is our 25th Valentine's Day together.

{ i painted this for him today because these lyrics from Bob Marley fit us to a T }

Happy Valentine's Day, babe.  I love our story.  I love you.

 

Introducing the LOVE Collection...

All new handpainted and hand lettered wood signs...just in time for Valentine's Day but sweet enough to enjoy all year long. ♥  Everything is available in my etsy shop!  Locals, you can find these goodies at AH Collection at Clay Terrace and Hamilton Town Center, too!

 

This one is personalized for you and your sweets...

shout out to my true love...

thanks for the inspiration! xo

Rotating holiday art frame DIY

So, i found this frame at a garage sale for $1.  It's obviously handmade, is an odd size and it didn't come with glass.  I just loved the rustic-ness of it and knew i'd find something to do with it.  Three years later, here you go...

Now brace yourself for how simple this is.  This same DIY can be done with any old frame that you may have in your stash...or go grab one at your local Goodwill.  You will need a frame of your choice, wrapping paper of your choice, paint and tape/tacks. 

If you use a smaller frame than i did you could use scrapbook paper, but my frame opening is 12x16 and i love this wrapping paper.  I bought it at Hobby Lobby in December, but when i put all the Christmas wrapping away, I kept it out because who wouldn't love to get a gift wrapped in these fun dots anytime of year?  

I simply cut the paper to fit the opening and added an extra inch to all sides.  I used acrylic paint to write the word love in cursive across the paper.  You could use chalk to "sketch" it on first before you paint it on.  Chalk can be erased so simply with a dry cloth and you can paint right over it.  I painted on the white first and then while the white was still wet, i followed over the lines with aqua so that the two colors sort of softly blended together.  Again, don't fret about your painting or lettering skills...just have fun with it.  It doesn't have to be in cursive either, if you're more comfortable with printing.  And, if you're using wrapping paper and you don't like how it turns out the first time, you can easily start over again with more paper.

You can get creative with what word you choose, the colors, the paper...knock yourself out!

Once it was dry, I attempted to tape the paper to my frame, but because it is raw wood, the tape wouldn't stick.  So, i just tacked the paper to the back of the frame.

I'm going to lean my framed art on a shelf, not hang it on a wall, so the tacks will not be a problem.

If my frame were metal, plastic or finished wood, i would have used packing tape to frame the paper.  I just don't want to affix the paper permanently. 

The whole idea here is that when Valentine's Day is over, i will remove the tacks, store the paper and make a new piece for St. Patty's Day, then Easter, spring, 4th of July, etc...  I'm going to keep my eye out for wrapping paper that would lend itself to this little rotating holiday decoration!

A lovely greeting for a front entryway...

in my home or yours...

Give it a try! 

Jumbo window hearts DIY

Is it too soon to decorate for Valentine's Day?  Well, even if it is...i've already started.  I love hearts.  So, i love decorating for this holiday.  I decided to go BIG in the studio.

I'll show you how i made these jumbo window hearts.  It really was easy peasy and inexpensive!

Everything starts with a doodle for me. 

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought 6 red poster boards.  Depending on how many windows you want to decorate, you will need to buy more or less posters. 

I used 2 poster boards per window...one up and one down.  You'll need white acrylic paint and a paintbrush, scissors, tape and chalk.

I taped two poster boards up on one window.  Then using the chalk, i drew a heart that filled the window as much as possible.  The great thing about chalk is that you can "erase" it with a slightly damp cloth and start over again if you need to. 

Then, i took the posters down and cut along the chalk lines.  Next i used that first heart as a template to trace onto the boards for the other two windows with chalk and cut them out, too. 

I used the white paint to decorate each heart and didn't worry about perfect dots, lines or stripes.  Everything was quite imperfect...so don't fret about your painting skills.  Just have fun with it!

i like to use plastic plates for my palette. 

Acrylic paint dries very quickly if you don't over saturate the paper.  I painted both sides of the hearts so i could enjoy them inside and out!

 Another quick and easy Valentine decor DIY tomorrow, too!  See you then!