Month: March 2012

From My Inspiration File: Spring Is Here

| terriaw

I photographed some new treasures in our yard and gardens over the weekend, as we continue to find more signs of this early spring we are having… and loving!

This week, our forsythia bloomed with an explosion of yellow. Every time I look out our windows that face South, I see this magnificent yellow glow.

The buds on our magnolia shrub are about to open. They are so elegant looking at this stage.

Our first tulip opened over the weekend. I am always surprised when this one opens because I forget that we planted such a classic red tulip.

The buds on many of our trees are popping too, adding that fresh spring green color, which makes me so happy.

Such an exciting time of year to watch the colors change from brown and grey to spring green and yellow and red and purple. Thanks for stopping by!

From My Inspiration File: First Bulbs to Bloom

| terriaw

I’m here today to share with you the start of another new column I am going to be doing. Today, I am introducing “From My Inspiration File,”  where I hope to share  everyday things I’m passionate about, such as treasures discovered in our yard and gardens, time spent on a trail, a visit to the botanical gardens, a morning at the farmers market, an afternoon at the zoo, a day on the beach or on the trails.

These are things in life that bring me peace and require unplugging from social networking as a way to find my own voice, to be more original, and to create my own muse. (how ironic, I know) I’m hoping you might be inspired too or simply uplifted by some of the shapes, textures, and colors I hope to share.

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We’ve had an streak of unusually warm weather around here lately. In fact, it feels like summer already, rather than the cold, damp days we usually have in March. So I spent a lot of time cleaning up our yard and gardens over my spring break.

Spring is my favorite season, so I’ve started my daily treasure hunt. Right now, the crocuses are opening.

They are the tiniest, most subtle flower that could easily be missed if you don’t know where to look.

Our daffodils started to open too! They are such a cheerful flower.

Stay tuned for lots more garden updates as everything around here comes out of dormancy and back to life. Thanks for stopping by!

PS – in case you missed the release of my first sewing pattern (yippee!) over the weekend, click here for more information. More patterns to be released soon!

From My Kitchen: Bars and Cake

| terriaw

First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone for all the love on the release of my new sewing patterns! It feels good to have my first pattern out there, so stay tuned as I feverishly finish many more in the works that I can’t wait to share with you.

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I am starting a new column here on my blog to share with you things I’ve baked or cooked lately that we loved, since I really love to bake and cook, or recipes I’ve found that I want to try.

I made Raspberry Oatmeal Bars recently. They remind me of apple crisp, one of my favorite desserts. I might add that they are also good for breakfast!

I followed Amanda’s recipe, which can also be found at allrecipes.com. I was happy to be able to use homemade raspberry jam I froze last year after an abundant raspberry crop in our backyard.

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 8 inch square pan, and line with greased foil.

Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

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I think the highlight of our baking endeavors was the confetti cake we made in our giant donut cake pans on Saturday night. I say we because we made it together: I baked the cake and Dave frosted it. He likes to do that part.

It was a last-minute, spontaneous decision, so we used a box mix.

A small piece was just perfect after our nightly walk under the stars.

Have you baked anything delicious and decadent lately? Thanks for stopping by!

Sketchbook Pages – Calendar and Close-ups

| terriaw

I spent another Friday afternoon playing in my sketchbook, beginning with a calendar page for March. It was fun to layer this page with watercolor, brush strokes, ink splatters, and doodles using the color we are all craving this time of year, Green.

The Sketchbook Challenge provides themes each month for participants to use as inspiration. Sometimes, it’s hard to narrow down ideas, so this prompt can be helpful to get focused.

The theme for February was Close-ups. For some reason, I’ve been wanting to drawing a set of silverware lately, so I used that idea for a mixed-media close-up illustration.

The theme for March is flowers. We have a garden full of flowers in spring and summer, so I have a ton of pictures to use for reference.

When I was trying to think of something to write on this page, I pulled a couple gardening books from our bookshelf. I didn’t realize there were so many varieties of flowers in the daisy family. I’ve decided that we are going to need more daisies this year. I think they will be good subject matter for my sketchbook for awhile, a good way to tie me over until gardening season begins. Thanks for stopping by!