Ella is back in school.
Summer is slipping away.
The sun will be "collapsing" into the moon later today during the total solar eclipse.
And so yes...a new sign felt very appropriate.

This quote by Oscar Wilde sums up my feelings exactly on letting go of Summer. (you guys already know how I feel about it by now...it's the same song and dance every year for me, isn't it?). *wink*

Love the sign too?
It's now an instant download in my Etsy shoppe, so you could literally print this and have it hanging in your own home by the end of the day...if you really wanted to. AND...there's a chalkboard version too! Want to see it?

So there you go.
A new season.
A new sign.
And a new sky today...at least for a little bit.
I think that about wraps it up for me. *wink*

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Ella is home sick today...
I probably would've just kept her home anyway because apparently strange things happen during an eclipse. Have you heard that? Do you believe it?
Regardless, I'm taking advantage of the extra snuggle time I get with her.

Truthfully, I don't really care much about the eclipse and I'm feeling super guilty about it.
Would you believe me if I told you I didn't even know it was even happening until a couple of weeks ago?

I'm standing in a CVS getting ready to check out and some lady walks in and asks the cashier if they carry solar eclipse glasses. I literally thought to myself, "What a weirdo. Who walks in and asks for that?"  I forgot about the incident and two days later a neighbor mentioned her plans of traveling to Tennessee for optimal viewing of the eclipse. I pretended to know what she was talking about. Then the very next day, a friend told me her husband and her two girls had plans to travel to see it as well. Are you kidding me??? Hello? Where in the world had I been? Under a rock apparently. *giggling*

STYLING | Halloween Poem Poster

If you aren't following my Instagram feed then you probably missed seeing how things turned out with how I displayed the Halloween Poem poster I designed.

I definitely wanted to share it here because I'm completely in love with how it turned out.
I ended up altering the size of the poem to be a 32x40 - which is the exact size of the large affordable foam board pieces at Hobby Lobby. I had the Halloween Poem printed at my local Office Depot (for under $5) and used double-stick tape around the edges of the poster to attach it to the piece of foam board. If you use the Hobby Lobby app you can get the foam board for 40% off making it around $3.50 + then with the printing you've only spent about $8.50 for some AWESOME decor impact.  I, myself, think it's pretty awesome anyway. *wink*

I kept the decor around the poster really simple by using a couple of blue mason jars to house some orange floral berry branches I had in the attic. I just stuck them right in and left them. Then I added a couple of pumpkins and called it done. I like the clean look keeping the focus on the poster but having the splash of Fall colors in the florals to accentuate it.

The foam board art is great because it's lightweight and can easily be displayed on a mantle or piece of furniture as a backdrop and it can be moved around easily too. I change my mind A LOT and love that I I don't leave behind holes in my walls from when I decide to change things up on a whim.

You can get the 32x40 Halloween Poem poster RIGHT HERE if you love it too.
You get both background styles: Chalkboard Background AND White Background with black text.

Hope you love how it turned out!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I have had this blog post as a "draft" for nearly three weeks while trying to get the files to load properly on Etsy. I've given up and will just email the files directly to anyone who purchases them! It's almost Halloween for crying out loud!! *wink*

FREE | 4th of July FREE Chalkboard Art Print

Well hello friends - here's that little something I promised to share with you from Friday's post.
Remember the hand-lettered artwork I posted?
Well here is PART of the the surprise I've been working on...

"As American as Apple Pie and Ice Cream"  5x7 Art Print

Download your FREE favorite version right here:
As American as Apple Pie and Ice Cream 5x7 Art Print - WHITE background 
As American as Apple Pie and Ice Cream 5x7 Art Print - CHALKBOARD background 

You get two 5x7's on one 8.5 x 11 Sheet so you can print one for yourself and share one with your friend. OR keep one at home and take the other one to the office! *wink*

Hope you love it!
Stay tuned for more hand-lettered artwork as well as more 4th of July fun!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
We are celebrating over here!!
Sweet Ella Pie no longer has dermabond attached to her forehead!
See the details RIGHT HERE on my Instagram Feed! Yay!!

HAPPY | Chalkboard Popcorn Bar :: Barn Wedding

You have no idea how happy this makes my heart!!
I worked with a customer to create a custom "He Popped the Question" sign for the popcorn bar she was setting up for a wedding - a sign to coordinate with the Chalkboard Popcorn Bar Collection I designed.  She just sent me pictures of how everything turned out and

LOVE iT | Pretty Flower Cookies

Mother's Day is coming up quick…
and I bet you are thinking that's a cupcake packaged up all pretty in the box above…aren't you?
I was fooled a little bit too…but it's actually a gorgeous flower COOKIE!

Today I want to share some super pretty cookies from Kelly Barkhurst…
owner of Oh Kelly's, Specialty Cakes and Cookies.

Kelly reached out to me asking for permission to use the FREE Mother's Day tags I recently shared here on the blog. She wanted to use them as part of her packaging for her pretty cookies! I said "sure!" and then asked for her to send some pictures so I could see how it turned out.  I LOVE them!! (oh! and the tags too!) Ha!!

It looks like Oh Kelly's is prepping for the launch of an Etsy store!
I'm excited for Kelly and her new, upcoming adventure and wish her all the luck in the world with her
darling pastries. Thank you so much for reaching out to me Kelly! Your photos turned out wonderful and I am so happy to share them here on the blog! I love what you did with the Mother's Day tags - they look beautiful next to your pretty pastries! 

Aside from Mother's Day, I think these cookies would be perfect for Teacher Appreciation as well as baby and bridal showers!


KEEPiNG iT REAL
How the heck is it already May, people?
I'm freaking out just a little bit because May is a month of milestones…
My oldest turns eighteen and she also graduates from high school!
Noooo!!

Last week was exceptionally busy.
I finally received the new shipment of The Pastry Pedestal and Platforms
that have been backordered for what seems like FOREVER and guess what? We were sold out by Saturday! Eeeks!! New order has already been placed - fingers crossed it doesn't take nearly as long to receive.

On top of that, I sent J and Ella off on Friday to Illinois for 5 days to visit with J's parents and family.
I also spent most of my weekend helping Clara prep for her Senior Prom on Saturday night!
Looking forward to sharing pictures from that…when I actually have time to edit photos! Ha!!