Feelin' Crafty

It is spring and there is a surging of creativity and renewed energy and dirt that has sat all winter waiting and...and...SO, it is only natural that I have been very busy harnessing all this creative energy to do a deep clean on my room, oh! and I made these endearing, little blue bird peg dolls!

I think peg dolls are a great little gift for kids, or even adults; one of these bluebirds is bound for a friend of mine's Waldorf Kindergarten classroom!  I hadn't really known about the boundless potential for peg dolls until a good friend of mine brought me back a book from a trip.  Here's the book.... 

This book goes through the seasons with different peg dolls for each season.  It is nicely illustrated with patterns and easy to follow directions.  Peg dolls are a superlative gift for children; they are small and inexpensive to make, and it's always nice to give something you've made!  

  

I made this "little family" for my good friend's birthday. It is our family--I'm the one on the left!  (I must admit that the little white dog, that is so adorable, was made in Germany).

Every spring, I look for the Pussy-Willows to come out; it's a sure sign of spring!!!!!  Here are a couple of my favorite illustrations of Pussy-Willows! 

From The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
by Edith Holden

"In the spring, at the end of the day,

 you should smell like dirt."

~~Margaret Atwood

Elsa Beskow

"You can't use up creativity.  
The more you use, the more you have."

~~Maya Angelou

Spring Fever!!!!

"It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" 
~~Mark Twain 

We are finally having some nice weather!!  No words can tell you how absolutely elated I am!  The snow is slowly melting leaving lakes of mud, and the mud has never been such a wonderful sight!

  We have been cleaning some things up outside and even got out our bikes!  I have gone bike riding the last two days and its been so nice.  Here is some dog and bicycle art I found, nothing too deep, just some whimsical pieces....

To tell the truth I've been feeling a bit burnt out, just the end of winter blues, but this weather has started to make me feel doggish again!  And when my friend suggested a new, slightly different recipe experiment, I jumped at the chance!  Here is the proposed recipe: Paleo Saffron, Rosewater and Pistachio Ice Cream.

Here is the link to the RECIPE

  

My friend has been experimenting with eating a Paleo diet, which for those of you who don't know what that is, it means you eat like a dog (basically), meat, vegetables and a lot of coconut products (which I admit not many "bone-afide" dogs eat), and no sugar, dairy or grains.  This new Paleo recipe was absolutely delicious!  And the nice thing is you don't
need an ice-cream maker!

  "Under the giving snow blossoms a daring spring."

~~Terri Guillemets