fresh picked whimsy

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?

 

 

 

art is love

i have really missed working in the studio.  there are truly a million new things that i'd love to be making...they fill the pages of my sketchbooks and on scraps of paper all over my desk.  i am so anxious to get back to it full time.  As i was uploading pics off of my phone, i discovered that i had actually made quite a bit of new art over the past few months.  I guess it was just the sporadic nature of it that makes me feel like i've not been very productive.  Most of it has been custom requests.  Thought i would show you what i have been up to. 

i painted that sign to put over my desk, to remind me...

the wallpaper on my monitor is also an original painting of mine...made for a sweet friend.

i used white water based sharpies to leave these messages for Mark and the kids...

I made 30+ of these lucky signs for St. Pat's...

a custom request from a dear friend, for her home...

My nephew needed a raccoon mask for the school play...coming right up!  I painted it on acrylic paper and attached it to old 3D glasses from the movies...

another special request...client supplied the bucket.  But, i'm thinking this might have to be a new item from whimsy studios.  Can't you just see it filled to the brim with icy cold beverages or rolled up beach towels this summer?  Ahhhhh, summer...

Made these for my church's Mardi Gras silent auction...

Mini hand painted canvases for a baby shower...to match the bedding...

Finally, i had always wanted to create a whimsy studios sign to hang over my studio window.  This puppy is 8 ft. long...

 Making art is who i am.  it is like breathing for me.  thank you for letting me share with you, the gift that God has given me.  So much more to come, friends....

a fair in september

So, this is why i've been missing around here lately...

I've been getting ready for this event.  It's coming up quickly...Sept. 13 & 14.  This is an annual event held by my great friend and mentor, Jenny Elkins.  I've told you about Jenny many, many times.  This fair is held in the charming backyard of her home in the historic Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis.  It's a joint venture between Jenny and her creative friend, Kristin Sims.  Each year they invite one artist to join them and happily, this year they invited me!  Yay!  Here's just a sampling of some of the fun stuff i found there last year...

I am so excited to see what Jenny and Kristin have been working on for this year's fair!  My studio has been a flurry of paint, glue, wood, glitter and paper.  Here's a little sneak peek of just a little of what you might find from whimsy studios...

I'm "branching out" and making some fun new things!

there's something for everyone...one way or another...

halloween signs inspired by my boys love all things "zombie"...

 and you can get started on your holiday shoppping, too!

of course, you'll find special deals on all of your favorite whimsy studios prints and goodies, too!  There's so much more, but you'll just have to come to the fair to see it all.  I've been instagramming from the studio a lot, too...so if you just can't wait or can't make it, you might want to follow along...(@lorimcdonough).  There will be a special sale in my etsy shop during the fair...stay tuned!

Here's the deets:  Friday, Sept. 13th noon-6 & Saturday, Sept 14th noon-5

sale located at:  85 n. irvington ave., indianapolis 46219

brand spankin' new

I painted one of these rainbows and i just couldn't stop.  They are so happy.  I love color and i love quotes and lyrics.  I love words.

So i made four.

I made prints of each one and they are available individually in the shop now!

Hope you love them, too!

 

made to order

I love custom orders.  i love taking someone's vision or ideas and making it materialize into something that they love.  This was a special request for a friend whose family owns The Solvang Bakery in Solvang, California...

And this one was for a special little on the way...to match the nursery colors and theme.

Finally, these were recipe cards i custom made recently for a bridal shower...

Email me, etsy message me, facebook me, leave a comment here, etc...let me know how i can help create something extra special for you or someone you love!

i love custom orders!  Did i say that already? :)

Katelyn's mom

I remember when i used to volunteer in my children's elementary school, some of the kids had trouble pronouncing our last name, so they would call me Mrs. Katelyn's Mom {or Riley's or Griffin's}. Last weekend i went up to Purdue for Mom's Weekend.  I met lots of new people and introduced myself as Katelyn's mom.  i will always love that title!

Her sorority organized a special casino day for the moms and we had lots of fun playing bingo and chatting with her friends and their mamas.  We got a house tour and lunch, too.

There was a silent auction and i donated some original art to the cause.  I kept sending katie photos as i would finish things the week before...

Her sorority symbol is the squirrel. {not sure why...but at least it's cute}

i posted that pic on instagram and have a had a few requests to make goodies for other sororities.  Sure!  Bring it on...

I'm told this is called "frat benching".  So, yeah...we did that.

 Later, we went out to dinner with Kate's bestie and her mom at a restaurant right on the Wabash River.  It was a gorgeous sunset!

The big fun came later on when i got to have a sleepover in her dorm room!  On our way there, we passed a block party/rave happening outside her dorm...we stopped to take some pictures.

Katie had a big art project to work on, so we got right down to business...we got in our jammies, started Love Actually on her laptop and ordered Insomnia cookies!

 

{seriously cool...they will deliver hot, fresh baked cookies and milk to your dorm room until 3am!  GENIUS!}

I LOVE this girl so much.  We laughed so hard all weekend.  She is so much fun to be with and i cannot believe she will be done with her freshman year in 2 weeks!!!  That was FAST!  Can't wait for her to be home for the summer! 

Thanks for the fun weekend, sweets...i love being your mom and i love you!

Love, Mom

 

Wine and crafts

They're back...Craft Casserole classes!  It's been a year since i first introduced Craft Casserole in my little corner of the world.  It's also been a year of learning and sort of making it up as i go along.  We took a good long break for the holiday season because I was too busy and so were you!  But, i have been receiving more and more requests to get crafty again.  So, now i've got two fun classes that i'm offering this month and registration is underway. 

It's such a fun way to get your craft on...with friends, a little vino, and a lot of great conversation.  We'd love it if you joined us!

If you're local, you can register here.  No need to bring a thing...all supplies are included!

Registration for our Craft Casserole for kids classes is also in progress.  You can register your kids for crafty afterschool fun here.

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.

 

sending my heART and love to Newtown

I love how social media makes this world a smaller place...allowing us to "meet" people, who by virtue of geography, we otherwise may never have crossed paths with. 

This time it was via Instagram that a mom of a couple of Sandy Hook School students reached out to me.  She asked me if i would be willing to donate my art to a brand new gallery in Newtown, CT called Healing Newtown...A place to heal through the arts.  It will provide a place for the community to come and reflect and enjoy the art that has been sent from all over the country and the world.  The space will also hold performances and workshops and art therapy classes for any and all who would like to participate.

Yes.  Absolutely.  My pleasure.  My honor.  With all my heart, yes!

Specifically, she asked for this painting, which she said spoke to her heart...

and so...my original painting is on it's way to Newton now...

with my love and prayers for healing...

 God bless you, Newtown.

♥ 

Open Studio with a full heart

Once again, i was blown away by the turn out and excitement at my Holiday Open Studio.  Lots of familiar faces, family and friends and lots of new friends, too!  If you weren't able to make it, here are some pictures that capture the studio all decked out for it's biggest annual event! 

These snowmen were a last minute idea that popped into my head 2 days before the big day.  I used only supplies that i had on hand (including the wood).  I was only able to make a dozen of them and they sold out pretty quickly.  I promise to make larger quantities of everything for next year.  I should probably start producing in January!

These artsy fartsy necklaces also sold out quickly.  I will be replenishing these all year long and yes, i promise to get them into my etsy shop for all of my out of town friends!

This year we expanded the studio into what was formally my dining room, next to the studio.  The dining room furniture has been relocated to the sun porch by the pool and it looks so pretty there!  I will share pics of that another day.  We moved all of my supplies out of the studio and into this room, allowing for a little more elbow room in the studio.  I bought that light at IKEA this year.  I had been drooling over it for the past few years and never had a place to put it...until now!!! i lurrve it!

These signs were a HUGE hit this year.  Again, they were another "hmmm, what could i do with this wood?" brainstorm.  Now, i have ideas for all the holidays to come.  They are fun to make and fun to display!  I love to hand letter!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support me and my little studio that could.  Thanks to my family and friends who helped me get organized and ready for this weekend. I have to be honest and share with you that a little over a month ago, i was completely drained emotionally and creatively.  Mark's mom had suffered a stroke and i spent a week helping to care for her in the hospital and rehab center.  I didn't know how i would be able to pull this open studio off and help my in-laws and be a mom, fulfill my etsy orders, and show my work in a local salon, too.  I prayed and prayed for some direction, a sign, anything.  Within a day or two, i got this wild burst of creativity.  There weren't enough hours in the day to do everything that i wanted to do, but i had this clarity about how to go about getting what was important done. And, no...it isn't lost on me that i prayed for a sign and got the idea to make all of those signs you see above! Ha! God has a great sense of humor! I LOVE what i do and sharing it with all of you.  In a million years i never dreamed this is where my art would take me, but i do love the way God is showing me how to use the talent He gave me.  I have so much to be thankful for.  ♥

p.s. Mark's mom is doing really, really well and came home this week from the rehabilitation center.  We are all so happy to have her home!