French Bohemian pumpkins from Cloth and Patina

You guys!! I have been a pumpkin pinning crazed lunatic over the last two weeks!

You should TOTALLY go check out all of the DIY ideas, recipes, crafts and all-things-pumpkin on my PUMPKIN EVERYTHING pinterest board. I've been so inspired! You'll be inspired too!! I "pumpkin promise"!! *wink*

Aside from the charming pumpkins shown in the first photo from my friend Tammy, here are just a few more favorites I think will entice you even more to take a peek at my PUMPKIN EVERYTHING PINTEREST BOARD.

DIY Cornhusk Pumpkins

I love this idea. Use a dollar store pumpkin and cover them with cornhusks!

Ties nicely into my creamy white, rustic decor!! Love the moss accents too!

Pumpkin Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake

Okay. Holy cow! How did someone manage to squeeze everything I love into one cake:

Pumpkin, chocolate, salted caramel and cream cheese frosting! Stop it!!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

These look amazing! They are supposed to be EASY too!

 Pumpkin Praline Trifle

Layers of pumpkin, vanilla pudding and praline crumble goodness...yes please!

Pumpkin Smores Cupcakes

I cannot even read this post because it's in another language

but I'm still completely smitten with the presentation and the idea of making these!!

Easiest + Prettiest Pumpkin Centerpieces Ever

Just wrap your white pumpkins with some bittersweet and call it done. I'm doing this!!

Stacked Pumpkins Decor

Simple concept here. And I love the addition of straw between each pumpkin for some added texture.

DIY Vintage Farmhouse Pumpkin

From yours truly - remember this DIY from a few years back?

STILL love it! Who would've thought something so cute could be made from mason jar bands?

Pumpkin Milkshakes

Don't forget the delicious pumpkin milkshakes I posted!! They are must-try this season!!

You haven't even seen the DIY Sweater Pumpkins, Pumpkin Spice Latte Donuts, Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts, Floral Moon Pumpkin, No-Carve DIY Balloon Dipped Pumpkins, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles and so many more FUN pumpkin ideas and recipes. May as well just follow my Pumpkin Everything board - there's no end in sight at this point to what I'll be pinning next. *wink*

Stay tuned for the scoop on the Pumpkin Bars and Kahlua + Cream cupcakes from the Spiders + Spirits themed dessert table. PLUS...I'll be sharing the chalkboard signage I used as well! Don't miss it!!

KEEPiNG it REAL

You would absolutely fall over in your boots if you saw the state of my studio right now. I've fallen a couple of times myself, tripping over things. Ha! It's still a disaster from the recent Tuesday Morning project...and to be completely honest, that was just the icing on the cake. It was messy prior to that. I must clean up the chaos that is my life right now!

RECIPE | Pumpkin Bourbon Milkshakes

Hello Pen + Paper Flowers friends!!
Did you go all weekend anxiously awaiting the recipe for those Pumpkin Bourbon Milkshakes I made for the Spiders + Spirits spiked desserts table for Tuesday Morning?

Okay, so here's the deal.
I don't drink alcohol.
So, as I stepped blindly into the unknown when prepping my "spiked" desserts table for the clever "Spiders + Spirits" themed photoshoot I came up with, I didn't prepare ANY of my desserts using alcohol at all because....

#1: I REALLY wanted to be able to eat the desserts.
#2: I certainly didn't want to spend the money on something I needed very little of and would never use again.

That being said, this recipe is delicious as a non-alcoholic drink making it something kids will love too! AND for those of you who want the bourbon included, it's a recipe with a 5 star rating on the www.my recipes.com website!! 

Besides, can you really go wrong when you mix vanilla ice cream, pumpkin, fall spices and whipped cream together - bourbon or not? No, you really can't! *wink*

So here you go....

PUMPKIN BOURBON MILKSHAKES
recipe adapted from Sunset Magazine

Makes 6-8 large milkshakes

INGREDIENTS
1/2 gallon + 1 cup vanilla ice cream (I used Breyer's Natural Vanilla)
2 - 15oz. cans of canned pumpkin (I used 1 and 1/2 cans which is more than the original recipe calls for but I wanted mine to have a more pronounced pumpkin flavor - so feel free to adjust it to your liking).
1 cup milk
1/2 cup bourbon (can be omitted, which I did for mine since I don't drink alcohol).
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger

For garnish:
whipped cream
fresh ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
You will be blending the main ingredients in 3 different batches - it won't all fit in your blender at once.

1. Blend together 1/3 of the ice cream, pumpkin, milk and bourbon in blender. Once combined, empty blender into a large bowl and do a second batch exactly the same way. For your third and final batch, add sugar and spices this time. Pour last batch into large bowl with the other two batches and stir everything together to combine well.

2. Fill 6-8 tall glasses with milkshake mixture using a ladle or a pourable measuring cup.

3. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg. Don't forget the cute party straw!!

TIP FOR THICKER SHAKES
I didn't do this but the original recipe mentioned it so I wanted to share it -especially because I believe adding the bourbon may result in milkshakes with a thinner consistency.

Do everything in step one and use an airtight container instead of a bowl to hold the prepared milkshake mixture. Add lid and store in freezer for up to an hour. Stir and then fill glasses.

I sure hope you will try out the recipe!
I'll definitely be making them again!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I'll be making them again because although I got to sample them while I made them and J downed a couple on his own, my girls really didn't even get to try them. *frown*
They were all skeptical knowing they had been sitting out for quite awhile during the photoshoot...in and out of the refrigerator as I took and re-took photos. They ended up sitting in the refrigerator, on a pretty tray no less, for 3 days before I finally decided to dump them. #partystylingcasualties

FREE | Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice Art Print :: The Cake Blog

It's that time of year...

and it's that time of month for another FREE art print over on The Cake Blog.

There really was no other option but to do something related to Pumpkin Spice this month, was there? I'm one of the few mortals on planet Earth who isn't the Starbucks-coffee-drinking-pumpkin-latte-kind-of-girl but I AM a huge fan of anything pumpkin-scented; pumpkin candles, pumpkin wax melts, pumpkin spice air fresheners and of course...a fresh baked pumpkin pie.

As always, the artwork is available as a 5x7 printable art print OR can be downloaded for use as digital wallpaper to spice up all of your digital devices. GRAB it for FREE over on The Cake Blog.

Speaking of pumpkin spice, I'm convinced you will want to check out these delicious recipes for your Fall baking:

Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and Pumpkin-Seed Brittle
Rustic Pumpkin Bundt Cake filled with Chocolate Ganache

See you back here soon, my pumpkin spice friends!! *wink*

KEEPiNG iT REAL
It's been busy over here in my world - with fun stuff, life stuff, kid stuff and just plain ole "stuff".
Looking forward to sharing more with you.

FUN | Fall Kitchen Art Prints :: The Cake Blog

"Be whisked away by your dreams and Pumpkin Spice"…

When I was approached a couple of months ago about a fun idea from Carrie Sellman, founder of The Cake Blog and a long-time blogging friend, I was all ears!!

It's been such an exciting time watching The Cake Blog (TCB) grow by leaps and bounds since first meeting Carrie in real life at a local blogger meet up a few years back. I LOVE Carrie's cakes and posts and style. I'll never forget the Little Lamb 1st birthday party she styled for her daughter, Sadie.

Needless to say I was super flattered to know the fun idea she had was to have me design monthly kitchen art prints that her readers could download and print for FREE!!

She specifically requested the art prints be "…something girly, sweet and sugar coated to make their kitchen (and their day) bright and beautiful."

Do you like what I came up with for my first post?
I was so torn between this one and another one that had to do with apples and aprons but in the end, Pumpkin Spice won out. (it usually always does for me anyway). *wink*

I created three different versions to accommodate a variety of design preferences.

Color + Black and White + Chalkboard

Head on over to The Cake Blog for the link to DOWNLOAD YOUR FAVORITE!!
Oh and don't forget you can Print + Frame + Gift these for all of the people in your life that love to bake!

If the art print has left you craving Pumpkin Spice you might want to try these recipes:
Deconstructed Mini No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Pumpkin Oatmeal Bites

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Carrie's inquiry couldn't have come at a better time…and she didn't even know it.
I think God totally works like that. You put things out in the universe - whether it be a prayer or thought or even a list of dreams, plans, or goals and it comes to you. I really believe that.

See, I've been having so much fun creating the daily quotes on Instagram over the course of the last year and I've got an entire list of "kitchen-friendly" ones I haven't had time to share. I've just kept adding to the list as I think of things but haven't known how to share them all. This is totally the motivation I needed to actually put them on paper!! Yay!

Not only that, with my recent admission of needing to refocus and move back towards authenticity here on the blog, being able to create these art prints for The Cake Blog allows me to really do something I love - which is to inspire and uplift through hand-lettering. That makes me happy!

I still REALLY love the apple art print I mentioned that didn't make the cut this month.
I may just have to load that one into the shoppe - it's a keeper for sure!!

HOME | Dried Flowers + Pitcher + Pumpkin Spice

Hello pretty star flowers….

I picked up a bundle of these from Hobby Lobby over the weekend and I'm head-over-heels in love with them. They are tee-tiny dried flowers in my favorite color scheme…creamy white…and in my opinion have "french farmhouse" written all over them.  LOVE them!

I'm feeling more and more inspired with regards to finally decorating my house…after 4 years of pretty much nothing.

I've got more of a vision and direction in my mind AND…the energy to actually take on some projects.


So...my first SIMPLE project this weekend was to fill this pretty pitcher I picked up from HomeGoods.

I also found these Halloween napkins and cute wooden box that unexpectedly fit my napkins perfectly!!

It looks like it's an enamel pitcher but it's really ceramic. And again…it looks completely French Farmhouse to me….which if you didn't know is my decorating style.

I have fretted over exactly what to put on the island in my kitchen for nearly 4 years now. It sounds ridiculous, right? I've tried everything from glass apothecary jars to oversized pieces of pretty pottery. All of the things I've tried have either been too tall…too short…to bleh…or just plain impractical. I'm in the kitchen A LOT and most of the time our dinners are served straight from the island so I needed something I could easily move to accommodate dinners.

That's how I came up with the tray idea. I picked this one up from JoAnn's a couple of years ago.
I have loved it. But I haven't necessarily loved the items I've put on it. That is…until this weekend.

When I spotted the bundle of star flowers at Hobby Lobby I was concerned they wouldn't quite be right for the pitcher. But I decided to try them out anyway. I'm so glad I did. The stems are super thin but stiff so because they were originally too tall for the pitcher, I took my garden shears…stood over the trash can and easily cut them down to where I wanted them. I cut the whole bundle of stems at one time. Easy peasy.

I think what I love most about the star flowers is that as much as they are perfect for fall right now…they really adapt to every season - and that makes me happy knowing I'm not going to tire of them or be forced to change them out with every holiday. I'll only need to swap out the candle scent. And honestly…I'd burn pumpkin spice year-round…and anything with cranberry! I just LOVE those two scents. Actually, my two older daughters have me hooked on the scents that have a "fireside" smell to them. We LOVE bonfires and roasting marshmallows…so it only seems natural to gravitate towards those smells.

Anyway…this new flower-filled pitcher and candle makes this island my absolute favorite spot in the house right now. I'm not even kidding. I must've said to Clara at least three different times, "You have no idea how happy this makes me." while dreamily staring at the island and breathing in the pumpkin spice scent. I also told her if I was bride I would totally just carry a bundle of star flowers just like this. That's all I would need…tied with a pretty ribbon.

Once again…sticking with simple makes me the happiest. A pitcher of pretty flowers and a $5 Heritage Target Candle. Done. Not too tall. Not too much. Easy to move for meal prep. I can't stop staring!

The only problem now is I think the pitcher would look really pretty on my farm table…and in my living room…or on my mantle…or on the side of my tub…or in my bedroom.  Ha! And to me…that's a good thing because that confirms even more that this was totally the right choice. *wink*

I'm wondering if this new-found inspiration and energy are a direct reflection from the Whole90 I've been doing? Maybe? Regardless…I'm on Day 72 and I'm feeling good. So I'll take that.

If you love the French Farmhouse look too…you'll find MORE inspiration on my Farmhouse Love pinterest board. 

KEEPiNG iT REAL
All of these photos were taken with my iPhone because I'm too lazy to get out my real camera.
The top one is pretty awesome because there was actually sunshine this morning when I snapped that one! However, the other two are from this weekend when it was raining. They are okay - but blurry.

I went back to Hobby Lobby and purchased a 2nd bundle of these dried star flowers because I love them so! (I've got the Hobby Lobby App on my phone and used my 40% coupon for both purchases!!)  Not sure if I should add more flowers to the existing pitcher or place them in spots all around the house. Still deciding.