fresh picked whimsy

jumping in to the art licensing world

BIG things are happening at whimsy studios!

Last month, a whole line of products (like the flag featured in the picture above) featuring my art premiered with Studio M...a leading provider in the artful home and garden décor market.  This has been a project in the works for a year now. I have been so excited to share it with everyone! 

I had the pleasure of going to the launch of these products at the Studio m Showroom in America's Mart in Atlanta. 

 
Studio M's Showroom was dreamy and inspiring!

One of the best parts of my "field trip" to the Mart was that my sister Kim lives near Atlanta.  I stayed with her and she came to the show with me.  I swear we walked like 20 miles in 2 days.  The Mart is enormous. ENORMOUS!

Three buildings, 55 floors, and each floor is the size of a huge shopping mall.  It was an incredible experience.  Eye candy fo dayzzzzz.  I would've LOVED to have taken a million pics of all the inspiration, but snapping pictures is a big no-no there. {competition is fierce!}

It was doubly fun because I got to stay with my sister Kim, who lives near Atlanta and she came with me to the show.  We had the BEST time.

It was fascinating to see how this industry works.  We oohed and aahed over all of the displays, trends and colors.  But, by far the MOST thrilling part was seeing my work on these products on display in the Studio M showroom.  Wow...somebody pinch me!

This pineapple "southern welcome" line is now one of their best sellers!

For each piece of artwork I created, Studio m produced into 5 different products, like these... 

and this particular line is offered with a monogram option, too...

It's just so surreal for me to see my art like this! SO exciting!

BIG thrill for me at the Mart was getting to meet Mary Engelbreit.  She was also premiering a new adorable line of fairy garden décor for Studio m. 

 It was a total fangirl moment for me. I told her I still have every issue of my Mary Engelbreit Home Companion magazines and that I still thumb through them for inspiration.  She seemed to be genuinely pleased by that. She was super sweet and wished me well in my new art licensing adventure!  {I still can't believe I got to meet and talk with her!}

Studio m has been amazing to work with.  I am so blessed that this was the first company I have worked with.  I'm so green...they helped me throughout the entire process, from brainstorming, to early sketches to finished products. It's been a dream!  They even did a full page feature about me in their catalog...

what? that's nuts!  You can search for me and my entire product line on the Studio m website.

SO many of you have been asking where you can find and purchase these products.  The first thing you should do is go to the Studio m website and search under the 'Our Community' tab for Retailers within and near your zip code.  Now, just because a retailer near you carries Studio m, it doesn't necessarily mean they chose to carry pieces with my art on it.  (the Studio m catalog of products is HUGE!).  So, as an alternative, if you don't have a retailer near you, you can go to one of the online retailers that carries Studio m, such as Flags on a Stick.  They carry most of my product line and you can purchase directly from them.

If you do find any of my Studio m products at your local retailer, I would LOVE to hear from you! And I would really LOVE a picture! You can email me or post it to my facebook page! This whole experience has been incredible.  I'm so thankful and grateful that Studio m chose me to work with.  Believe it or not, there's a new line coming out very soon for their fall and winter catalog and we are getting ready to work on new designs for 2017! 

I will post soon about how this whole process works and show you some of the pictures of the sketches where these designs originated.  I've learned SO much!  I have to shout out to my family.  They were in on this from the very beginning and have been so supportive.  Big, BIG thanks to my amazing hubby, Mark who helped me with all of the technical computer challenges and is always my biggest cheerleader!

This last picture pretty much sums up how I feel about this opportunity.  I saw this sign in a display window at the Mart and I just couldn't resist. 

Pinch me! More soon, friends! xo

summer blurrrrrr

Well, that went fast. Summer, what was your hurry? I thought we were having fun and stuff and then you had to go and run off...

there was a brand new firepit to enjoy...

and family fun at an Indians game...

a cousins visit to Indy...

and my first time meeting up with The Peach Truck...

the time we spent under water...

 and by the sea...

and swung by Georgia on our way home for brief, but quality time with my sister and brother in-law and nephews...

stopping to smell the flowers...

and getting up earrrrrrrrrrrly to watch the hot air balloon race out at the State Fair with my Katie...

a friend spied us on someone else's instagram feed {who I don't know!} that day, which was super funny!...

we loved the race so much, we decided to go back that night for the "glow"...

loved watching the balloons and loved watching sweet, young love grow between Riley and his girlfriend, Jen over the summer, too...

 we love you, summer! 

 Why can't winter go by that quickly?

Vitamin Sea

 It's the fastest week of the year.  We count down the days leading up to it...and they go by at a snail's pace.  And then, BOOM! It's over. Gah! Take me back!!!! 

We spent last week in our happy place, Gulf Shores, Alabama. 

I've blogged about it many times before: like here, here and here.

This year we rented the most adorable beach house...the Lucky Dog

It was a dog-friendly rental and we would give it 2 paws up if you are looking for a place to take your family and pups to the beach!  It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house and it was perfect!  There was a little fenced in backyard full of fun toys for them and less stress for us having to take them out to potty.

A little inside tour...

We had some stormy weather off and on during the week.  It would be super sunny with blue skies and then all of a sudden a wall of black clouds would swoop in. 

So, we would head back to the house for a little break and hang out on the screened porch and just watch the storm until it passed.  Griffin loved this hanging swing on the porch...

We all worked on this fun jigsaw puzzle and Sudoku, too...

The owners of this house have thought of everything.  There are games, cards, the kitchen is fully equipped with everything you could want and the drawer in the cocktail table in the family room was totally full of tons of issues of eye candy magazines.  I LOVED thumbing through them and daydreaming about our SOMEDAY beach house...

It was our first vacation with our brand new 21 year old.  She played bartender a lot. We brought our Nutri Bullet from home and it made fantastic frozen cocktails...

She was trying to style a pretty photo of her concoction...

I can't tell you how many photobomb shots she got before getting that one above...

Which takes us to the photos...oh, the photos.  We brought a selfie stick with us to GS.  Before we left on vacay, I posted our family beach portrait from our very first year that we stayed in Gulf Shores {2001}.  Griffin was just one year old!

We used the selfie stick and recreated this memorable picture...14 years later:

Of course, I'm trying to get our Christmas card photo and they are all a bunch of goofballs...

Me:  "can I get a nice shot of you kids with Daddy?"...

my turn...and I love it.

 Katie tried to get us to take a special family selfie of a selfie.  It was a #selfiefail...

then she took one with her brothers on the beach and it was awesome...

We loved bringing the dogs down to the beach at the end of the day each night, when it had cooled off and the sand wasn't so hot.  They loved it too...

the ocean turned pink from this delicious sunset...

On Thursday evening, we saw something we had never seen before in all our years going to the beach.

A shark!

He popped up right in front of us...thankfully we were not in the water! He was about 5 feet long and swimming in knee deep water.  KNEE DEEP!  Katie snapped those pictures.  I don't know how she did it...we were all so rattled by it.  Riley ran down the beach to some folks who were in the water in the shark's path to warn them.  The next day was our last beach day and sadly, we stayed out of the water all day.  But, we sure counted our blessings. 

 Yet another fabulous beach week is in the books.  We're already daydreaming about next year!  

a dreamy country wedding

Last weekend we drove down to Georgia to attend the wedding of my sister's stepson Nathan and his lovely girlfriend, Audrey.  I was honored to make their invitations at their request...

It was held on a beautiful farm deep in the country, and every detail was Pinterest perfect! 

The only flaw in the day is that it was hotter than the surface of the sun.  Thankfully, it was an evening wedding and we didn't have long to wait before the sun to set.  They gave us fans which doubled as their programs...

The bride's uncle fabricated the iron around these doors for her grand entrance.  I know, right?

She arrived in a convertible vintage car driving slowly down that hill behind the doors.

Mr. & Mrs. Urquhart!

Time to party!

The barn held the food, bar, lounge, cake and photo booth...

i didn't make it over to the cake until the topper was all that was left! A friend made it for them.  It was key lime cake...so yummy!

the kids loved being with their cousins...

selfie with my sister and my katie...

My sweet parents...

and me and my love...

 Congrats, Nate & Audrey!  Thank you for sharing your day with us!

Love wins!!! 

 

This is what it's all about

Growing up, my parents worked hard and made sacrifices throughout the year so that we could go on our vacation to the Cape every summer.  It was very important to them that we would have those two weeks of uninterrupted family time each year.  It was a priority. 

Because this is what it's all about...family.

{MawMaw & PawPaw with all of their grandkids}

I'll admit we wondered what it might be like to all live together for a week.  Eight adults, eight kids...4 families... 

But, it really worked.  And we really loved hard for that week. 

We kicked it off with Father's Day! 

We celebrated by heading to the fish market and buying lobsters.  We brought them home alive and cooked them.  None of the kids had ever experienced that.  We ate on the deck as the sun set.

I hope the kids will always remember it.  I hope one day Griff will say to his cousins, "remember that time we were eating lobster on the Cape..."

"and i broke the wooden mallot trying to crack the claw..."

good times...good times.

These cousins have been raised more like siblings than cousins...

these two were born 9 days apart and they've been partners in crime ever since...

 
they're all goofballs

the littles had no trouble hanging ten with the bigs...

love is sharing your earbuds with your cousin...

enjoying sundaes and cones on the porch of The Ice Cream Sandwich...

and midnight games of spoons...

One of our vacay highlights was the mini family reunion we had with our Massachusetts family while we were there...

Lots of love, laughter

 

 and lobster!

It's serious business learning how to eat steamers (steamed clams)...

like this...

 

it was a night we'll never forget.

This week was precious time with sisters...

and re-living cherished memories at the penny candy store in Hyannis we adored as little girls.

there was quality family time in the sun during the day...

and around the beach fire by night...

 

We made s'mores and sang sitcom theme songs and laughed so hard!

   

Do you like pina coladas?...

or can i interest you in something else?

Our accomodations were ahhh-mazing. 

And, staying together there was a wicked pissah.  (We all had fun trying to talk with a Boston accent)

We even threw in an extra little adventure on our journey home.  We stayed overnight in Buffalo, NY and made a late night run to see Niagara Falls.  The kids had never seen it before.

This entire trip was a big family fest with a heaping side of nostalgia most especially for my parents, sisters and I.  The Cape is magical for us.  Nothing but happy, lovely memories...going all the way back to my parent's honeymoon here and then years and years of family summers together here. 

The original 5, back at the Cape...

We are so blessed!  Thanks, Mom & Dad!

the day i joined a bike gang on Martha's Vineyard

We spent one glorious day on Martha's Vineyard.  Or, should i say Mahtha's Vinyahd.  We got up early and took the ferry.

It's a quick 45 minute trip to the island.  When we left the port at Wood's Hole on the Cape, it was raining and we weren't sure what kind of day was in store for us.  But, the skies cleared up soon after we docked and we had a beautiful day!!!  Some people bring their cars on the ferry!  You can see them driving out from the belly of the ferry onto the dock... 

The shopping on the Vineyard is pretty cool.  and pricey.

We all LOVED The Black Dog.  Fun stuff.

and my teens were especially happy to see this place...

the preppy holy land...

i've spared you the sticker shock look on my face. whoa.

Once the streets dried up, it was time to get serious.

ha ha ha!  We're so bad ass.

Seriously...this was one of the most fun adventures we have ever gone on!

Truth be told, it was a little scary at first.  Griff couldn't drive because he doesn't have a license yet, so he rode on the back of Katie's bike.  But we all got the hang of it pretty quickly.  We drove along the coast to Edgartown and tooled all around the little white picket fence lined streets.  The only bummer was that i couldn't take pictures while i was driving!!!  #bloggerprobs

26 years ago, mark and i went to Martha's Vineyard and rented a two seater.  We were 18 (Riley's age!)

My kids have seen this pic of us and when they heard we were going to MV, the first thing they asked was if we could rent mopeds.  I'm so glad we did!

Every where you look on this island, is like a picture postcard...

i want to live here so i can buy my art supplies here...

On the way home and sat outside on the deck of the ferry.

This giant sailboat cruised by flying The Black Dog flag...those people were getting their party on.

what do you think when you see this sea buoy?  I think of the opening scene to Jaws. Cue the music.  Jaws was filmed on Martha's Vineyard.  I don't think the locals love that fact, but the tourists do.  I also kept my eyes peeled for Carly Simon and James Taylor or any other celebs.  No such luck.

One last fun fact, because everyone asks...Martha's Vineyard was named after the daughter of the sea captain who first discovered the island.  And yes, there are vineyards here. 

It's a lovely, lovely place. We were so happy to share it with our kids.

Life on the Cape

This place is so unique in so many ways.  The sea life, the houses, the history.  New England eye candy.  Unlike anywhere i've ever been.   

Let me show you...

they use crushed seashells for mulch.  um...yes, please!

see!

everywhere you will see old buoys tied to trees and mailboxes.  Again...yes, please!

this lobster pot washed up on our beach.  no lobsters inside...just seaweed.

We had an outdoor shower.  The kids loved it!

There is history everywhere here.  After all, this is the land of thy pilgrim's pride.  Oh, and of the Kennedy's.  This museum is in Hyannis...near their famous compound...

There are quaint little bity cottages everywhere! This one backs up to a salt marsh.  The sign on the door says "The Marsh Mellow" 

i mean, c'mon...isn't it darling??????

and quintessential cape cod beach front homes... i die.

The view from our bed.  we weren't mad :)...

 the sun begins to rise over the ocean at 4:30 every morning.  The whole sky glows orange.  Riley and i both decided to get up and take pictures one morning.

Totally

worth

it.

Only thing that competes with that is the sunsets!!!

More of this gorgeous place to come.  Tomorrow, i'll take you to Martha's Vineyard!

 

Back to the Cape

Growing up, i spent every summer vacationing on Cape Cod with my family. 

that's me...and a crab

We lived on the east coast and the trip was easy.  We went for 2 weeks and met the same families up there year after year.  So many amazing memories. 

with my sisters...

my parents...

 

we used to jump off this bridge with all the kids!  Right off the two lane highway!  A bridge!  Wha?

and had beach bonfires with everyone.  That's me with my parents.  I think i look just like Riley when he was younger...

We moved to the midwest eventually and still managed to make the trip for a few more years until everyone started college and jobs and it just got difficult to do.  So, it was so emotional bringing our own families back to the Cape last week with our parents. 

It had been 26 years since we had been back. 

We drove all the way from Indiana...we caravanned!  My sister and her family flew in from GA.

We broke the trip into 2 days, stayed in a hotel overnight and stopped for lunch at a rest stop...

All told it was about 1,000 miles/16+ hours (not counting stops).  It was so worth it to get to this!

that was the view from our backyard.  We rented 2 beach houses in East Sandwich...

The grown ups stayed in the big house...

and the kids stayed in the little house.  They were about 10 feet apart.  It was perfect!

We played hard and packed so much into this one week...

and of course, we feasted on lobstah...

and made awesome new memories together...

There's so much to share, so i will be blogging for a few days about it. 

It was epic! 

If you've ever thought about a vacay to Cape Cod, i hope my posts convince you to do it.  It's such an incredible place!

We ♥ the Cape!

 

ever grateful, ever true!

Last week was Purdue's Homecoming, Alumni Day, Family Day and AGD Dad's Day...all rolled up in one!  And, we had it all covered!

{i painted those pumpkins and surprised our favorite Boilermaker with them!}

We headed up to celebrate with Katie for the day.  I hadn't been to a Purdue football game in years.  It was so much fun.  We soaked it all up and loved every minute of it...except for the part where we lost...BIG TIME.

We walked around campus for a bit and got some great pics.  (forget you saw these if you're on our Christmas card list) :)

I adore this picture of our babies in front of the clock tower...

that one in the middle is in the college application process now.  He's hoping to join his big sis and become an official Boilermaker next year.  {prayers and wishes gratefully accepted, thank you!}

It was a really hot day and we totally crashed in the Union for an hour before dinner. 

 Mark seriously fell fast asleep.  Katie instagrammed him.  It was pretty funny!

We LOVE going back home to Purdue every chance we get.  Fortunately for us, that's quite often...thanks to our girl!

Had a blast, Purdue!  Same time next year!

HAIL PURDUE! 

 

what's your hurry, summer?

We've tried to squeeze it all out.  School starts tomorrow.  Another fantastic summer for the McDonough's is in the books.

Memories have been made at the church carnival...

lazy days by the pool...

backyard summer bonfires with friends...

fun in the studio...

precious family days at the beach...

Margarita Fridays with the world's greatest neighbors...

football workouts and two-a-days...

backyard harvests...

Late night snack runs...

and board games...

time spent with cousins...

and sisters who are missed...

 I'm thankful for the time spent with the ones i love and for the promise of knowing there are only 289 days until Summer Break 2014!