i have to tell you, moving away from your home to somewhere new is a really tough thing to do. i know that y’all know my love of indiana, how my heart is (and always will be) very much there, and how leaving indiana was one of the toughest things i’ve ever done. it’s been 12 years, and every time we are driving away on either state road 28 or 332, my heart aches a little.

the finished pieces hanging in my friend’s home! photo provided by e. jane.

while it’s tough, illinois has very much become our home. yes, our house is here and all of our stuff, but this is where so many memories have been made. our boys were born here. and friends have been made. and where we’ve invested our hearts and souls into our school and community. while indiana will always be “home,” really home is wherever we are together that let’s us be together, making more memories and seeing our boys grow.

i think this might be how a dear friend of mine feels about the path her family’s journey has taken them on. so when she asked me to transform a wall in her home to help tell her family’s story and document their journeys, it was exactly the project that makes me swoon! this sweet family has lived across iowa, missouri, and illinois, and we wanted to create a gallery wall that told the story of all of the places they have lived. we created a combo of framed paper art for each state, with a handpainted canvas with the area code from each of their homes! one of my favorite parts of this project: including a special canvas featuring “82.” this one was made especially for my friend’s daughter, who was adopted from south korea as a baby. (eighty-two is the country code for south korea.)

the wall was complete with a 12″ x 18″ canvas that i handpainted with my new woodgrain technique! so, while i don’t do my designs on wood palette, i have designed a woodgrain paint technique that helps bring the feel to life! we did this in a light tan, and completed the canvas with “there’s no place like home.” because there isn’t. 🙂

the framed states. complete in special colors for each state!

the canvases. there’s just something about each of these that makes my heart explode!

getting to bring this family’s story together was one of the most special projects ever! i know how they feel about each of these places holding a part of their home, and love that they can celebrate that now in their own home!