the birthday crown!

My daughter needed a new birthday crown this year, but I left it until the final hour before I had to get her from school, on the day of her birthday to remember!!!

Luckily, it's a pretty simple project, and wool felt is so forgiving! I'd thought of making a more nature inspired crown, but it has to be pink, of course, and then I found the perfect ribbon to go with it, so that no little acorn seemed to go with it. In the bottom of my sewing basket was a couple of iron-on stars, for a long forgotten project, and that seemed ideal, since she is a star to me! Maybe, for my son's birthday this year I'll make a nice green one, with an acorn on the front, but I won't leave it until the last minute to start it, I hope! :D

I ♥ acorns

My favorite kind of treasury - a nature one! We went to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC yesterday, what fun was had and we were in our element! Nature, nature everywhere, and up close. Some of the collections were just stunning, boxes of beautifully displayed shells, or beetles, or butterflies, or starfish.....pretty, pretty! Pictures to come I promise. But, for now, enjoy an acorn themed treasury courtesy of some lovelies from the wonderful handmade world of Etsy, enjoy!

Acorn Time by Bubbletime

Acorn and Leaves tile by Lesperancetile

Acorn birdhouse by Bird Artist

Oak and Acorn boutonierre by Mosey

Vote Earth!

don't forget!

outdoor adventures!

It was such a nice Spring day that we all ventured outside!

I desperately need names for my two cuties, but have not had any luck thinking of any, if you have any suggestions please leave me a comment, any inspiration is welcome!

I think I've come to the decision that I'm more a pullip girl, than a blythe one, however, you have check out Danielle Thompson's girls, they are fabulous - check them out here!

Now back to daydreaming about making them a little a little home to live in - filled with cute Re-ment and Megahouse stuff of course! How far away is Christmas!!! Ahhh, just kidding, bring on the sunshine.......and presents? :D

bringing a little Spring in -

what I'm doing today -

Anna S.
Originally uploaded by Country_doll

doll lust ♥

Pullip dolls, aren't they beautiful! I'm smitten, would love to get more, but boy they're expensive! Mine is a beauty too though, but after seeing these amazing clothes, I'm feeling a bit guilty for always dressing her in barbie clothes! I wonder how hard it is to make clothes in their tiny size? I'm thinking probably very, since it would be like whipping up a jacket for myself - which I cannot do - but scaled down to miniature. I think instead I must save my pennies, and tap someone elses talent!!!!

Happy Spring!

When you see upon the walk
Circles newly made of chalk,
And around them all the day
Little boys in eager play
Rolling marbles, agates fine,
Banded, polished, red as wine,
Marbles crystal as the dew,
Each with rainbows twisted through,
Marbles gay in painted clay,
Flashing, twinkling in your way,
When the walk has blossomed so,
Surely every one must know
None need wonder who has heard
Robin, wren, or Peter-bird;
Sure the sign as song or wing,
It is spring!

A Sure Sign
by Evaleen Stein

skirt to pillow - who knew!

So, what started life as a cute skirt for my daughter, a couple of years ago, has now become a super cute pillow on her bed! I love when you can reuse items that have become too small, especially when the new use is so great. Needless to say she loves it on her bed, it's so soft and colorful! It was a great knitting project, suggested by the dear friend who helped me learn how to knit. A few of us used to have a small knitting club, and we all had great fun with this project, from using fun yarns, like the ribbon yarn and the eyelash yarn, and choosing fun colors to switch up the stripes - I loved knitting that skirt! And now, we get to continue to enjoy it, be it in a different guise, yay!

what a beautiful day!

Beautiful Day by Laura George

Yellow autumn leaf brooch by Melissa Beal

Yellow roofed wee house by Woodmouse

Today, was an absolutely glorious day, the weather was warm, springlike and the sun was shining bright! It made me think of doing a yellow treasury post, and when I saw Laura George's "beautiful day" print, it was perfect. I love the little yellow house from the Woodmouse, which was also perfect for the day, as we went for a walk in the neighborhood today, and the leaf brooch is just the perfect yellow accessory. Soon it will officially be Spring, but it's spirit was certainly here already! Happy St Patricks Day! ♥

fun with paint

A picture of Mommy!

A picture of a ladybug.

Yesterday, we had fun with paints! My sweeties first drew a picture using a small wax candle, and then brushed watercolors over the top, revealing the wax-resist drawing. It was a fun experiment they hadn't done before, but will definitely be doing a lot more of.

a palette of browns

This month, as part of my Year of Color class, the color of inspiration is not just one color, but all! It is monochrome, which is a palette full of all tones, hues, shades, of one color - so today's inspiration is the browns. We have this wooden bowl full of treasures on our nature table, and a pretty picture it makes indeed. The tiny nest we found after a wind storm; the various fir/pine cones were collected on walks; I think the stone with the cool stripe came from Maine on our last vacation; the pebbles from the yard; and the sweet wooden heart came from Nova Natural via Santa Claus. Treasures indeed!

games we love to play pt2 -

This is a fairly new one for us, the Mystery Garden from Ravensburger, and it was an immediate hit. It looks great, which always helps, and includes fairytale and mythological creatures, which we love. It is an easy enough game for my 4 yr old, yet still challenging for my 6 yr old, and I can attest that it's just fun to play. One person picks a tile - which are made up of small scenes from the board - and the other players have to find out whats on it by asking questions that can be answered with a yes or a no. It is good for learning how to ask good questions to get the information you need, figuring out the power of deduction! We love it! A must have indeed.

what I made today -

They began as wee scraps of felty goodness. Then, after a few hours they were two delightful panda plushies, one for my boy and one for my girl, bet you can't guess which! Hehe! They were part of my online class with the wonderful Elsie and Rachel from Red Velvet Art, oh what fun, even though I'm a little behind with some of the projects - Ooops!
I really love the way they came out, all hand sewn at that, and my kid's love them which is the main thing - they now have pride of place on both their beds! Included in the pattern was a wonderful surprise, a little camera pattern, which was swiftly made into a super cute needlecase - love it! Go and check out the RVA shop here, for more goodies a little bit like these, from my wonderful teachers Elsie and Rachel. Happy Friday! :D

I ♥ garlands

Doily and linen garland
Originally uploaded by Ravenhill Designs

...especially ones that combine beautiful natural linen and, my current love of, lacy doilies!
I found this one on Flickr, of course, and it's by the amazing Ravenhill Designs. You can read her blog here, and visit her shop here! You should go and check her out right now, you won't regret it! Enjoy!

what I watched as a child, pt2

I just loved this as a child, he has such a wonderfully warm and comforting voice, and the gentle stories are perfect for children, no fighting and conflict like modern day cartoons, gentle artwork with soothing colors. I recall making the chug chug noises like those in the show! LOL. I showed it to my youngest, and he loves it too - luckily, many, if not all, the episodes are on You Tube, so they can be treasured by another generation too, and I'm so glad for that! Enjoy!

Spring awaits!

Florence Harrison-Rosetti Poem-The Garden
Originally uploaded by finsbry

I can't wait for Spring to arrive! Here's a few reasons why -
-putting a table and chairs back outside
-sitting there and drinking tea
-listening to the birds
-watching the children play and explore the garden
-gardening, before the weeds start!
-planning the new plantings
-readying the vegetable garden
-not having to wear a coat
-seeing green shoots everywhere
-breathing the spring air
-feeling the warm sun
-crafting outside
-eating lunch outside
There must be more, bring it on!

Design by Nora -

These earrings are one of many colorful lovelies made by my fellow Estyblogger, Nora - and this month she is our featured Estyblogger, oh fun indeed!
Nora's Etsy shop can be found here, but you can also find her at her blog, which is full of crafty goodness, beautiful pictures, questions of the day, and really yummy recipes like Napoleon - which sounds, and looks, delicious!
Happy March Nora, enjoy!

art I ♥

Harvest Come by MarmeeCraft

White Flowers by Geninne

Tree hugger by Belle and Boo

Prudence and Pinecone by The Black Apple

I ♥ Kaffe Fassett

I love all of kaffe Fassett's fabrics, they are beautiful, bold and have whole monochrome collections. I chose a few of his gorgeous greens today, and matched my blog page - this month is all about the color inspiration of monochrome. I tried the greys for a while, but with my anticipation of Spring around the corner - and St Patricks day next week - I think it'll be a perfect time for the monochrome palette of the greens for a while!

I also love the quilts that Kaffe designs to showcase his amazing fabrics, one day I'll make one of my own, the hardest part of it would be deciding on which colors, and which of his fabric lines, ahhhh, all the choices! I found these at the Stitchin' Post, here.

what I used to watch as a child -

Maybe I'm biased, or blinded by nostalgia, but the childrens' programs of my youth were so much better than a lot of today's programs. Of course, it was a different country also, so many of you won't recognise this show. But it was a gem! The maker of this show was the late, Oliver Postgate, a genius indeed, and he made many others. I think I'll start a mini series of his works, so check back in later in the week for another installment. Maybe, you'll find a new favorite to add to your child's viewing library, I believe some are still available, or are being reissued. Also, there are Noggin the Nog books here, which are great for reading a kind of Norse saga to your children. Check out the Dragon's Friendly Society, it's a good thing!

what we love to play -

Our favorite game, at the moment, is the Enchanted Forest game from Ravensburger. It's a great game with a fairytale theme, you need to have good memory and counting skills, and of course, a bit of a competitive nature. It looks good, and takes a perfect amount of time to play, long, but not too long! Sometimes it's hard to find a game that can be played by both a 4yr old and a 6yr old, but this one is good for that, with only a teeny bit of help needed! I love all the Ravensburger games, and this one is a must-have.

i ♥ journals

especially these -

Avenue by Summersville

Notebook Naturalis by Aruricards

Scooter by Rabbit and the Duck

monochrome

mon⋅o⋅chrome 
 
–noun
1.
a painting or drawing in different shades of a single color.
2.
the art or technique of producing such a painting or drawing.
3.
the state or condition of being painted, decorated, etc., in shades of a single color


–adjective
4.
being or made in the shades of a single color: a blue monochrome seascape.
5.
having the images reproduced in tones of gray: monochrome television


So, I guess I had the meaning of the word off just a little - it doesn't have to be all black and white! Ummm, what to choose, which to do first! I guess I'll stick with the greys for a while at least. I have to say, after I changed the colors of my blog to the greys, I was not feeling terribly inspired by it at all, but maybe I just need some time to get to love the grey family. If it doesn't work I can just move on to another color family, I think I'm going to like March!!!!!!!

march is monochrome...

monochrome 6
Originally uploaded by notesfromabbeyroad

...in the Year of Color! So new inspiration is sought and found, via the wonderful world of Flickr. I have to say I love and adore Flickr, it is a wonderful place for inpsiration, and for connecting with many amazing and artistic people. So, for at least this month, I must see the world in black and white!

March, in like a lion

Even though I'm desperately waiting for the start of Spring, it's a nice time of year to reflect on the beauty of Winter! We were lucky for this storm, only getting a few inches, even though most of New England was slammed, and boy it's still cold! But, it gave another great opportunity for those crazy enough to participate in winter sports, like snowmobiling; skiing; snowboarding; snowshoeing is more our game and we took our dog out for a winter walk the next day in the local state park, the kids even played on the playground, brrr!

The storm kept the birds hidden for a little bit, more from the cold winds I think, but lately we've been watching the usual Blue Jays; Chickadees; Cardinals; ruffed grouse; ravens, but also a flock of newcomers, Pine Siskins. Ever since we put up a thistle feeder, a flock of usually around 8-9 pine siskins has been dining daily, they're eating us out of thistle seeds quickly!

It's such fun to watch the different birds that come to feed, I highly recommend putting the feeders somewhere, so you can view them from your window easily, especially if you have children, mine are loving spotting the different species. Also, you can help collect data for Cornell Lab of Ornithology, by joing Project Feederwatch, like we did, check it out here!

Enjoy the snow while you can, and daydream about spring flowers and grass under your feet! Sigh!