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!