We’ve had a few days of glorious sunshine and warm weather, and I’ve caught the spring bug – bad.  I’m taking a short break from cleaning out the porch so it will be ready for the “season” (spring until fall).  I plan on having breakfast on the porch Saturday morning and spending the entire day out there as well, working on my design work.  The birds have been chirping like mad, windows have been opened to let in some fresh air (which smells like heaven), and the garden is popping with all sorts of bulbs.  These are the first crocus I’ve spotted so far, and I didn’t even notice them until I knelt on the ground to photograph the green bulbs and saw these little ones blooming under a shrub.  I think I’ll start brainstorming on my garden to-do list this weekend, which includes the big clean up (I don’t rake until spring; I like the dead leaves to act as a blanket on the perennials for the winter) and moving the catmint (which narrowly choked out all other plants last year in the front garden beds).

I can’t believe that spring is already here!  What do you plan on working on this spring weekend?

{for more of my in the garden photos, check out my Flickr}

{images shown belong to Rifle Paper Co.}

Wow.

It’s officially been a full year since I wrote my first post on craft lovely, and it’s been quite an experience to say the least.  I started a blog for many reasons, but the main reason being that I have a creative outlet (at a time when I wasn’t feeling so creative) that I had a commitment to.  I hardly knew if anyone was reading, but the fact that I made it part of my everyday life, Mondays through Fridays, to always post was something that I’m glad that I’ve kept.  There are days when my mind is flooded with ideas of posts, photographs, recipes, designs; and then there are days when I’m doggone tired and realize, “Shoot, I haven’t done my blog post yet.  What on earth am I going to blog about today?“  Not counting the time away I took from the holiday season, I believe I only missed 2 of my five weekly posts over the whole year.  It’s this commitment that I have to myself and to you loyal readers, that I’m most proud of… it’s taught me that whether or not you’re feeling creative, or even feeling in the mood to post, you stick to it.

It’s been extremely fulfilling to write on craft lovely, and I appreciate each and every one of you.  Thank you for your readership, your support (there’s been so much!), your comments and feedback, and most of all your friendship on this little corner of the web.  Here’s to starting off another wonderful year!

~ Colleen

{images in mosaic are from my Flickr}

{images shown belong to Abby Try Again}

I’ve been curious to try making doughnuts for some time now, and these photos are making me drool…

Cherry Blossom Doughnuts from Cannelle et Vanille

{image shown belongs to Cannelle et Vanille}

(PS: Before you dare watch the HBO version of Grey Gardens, you MUST watch the original documentary!  Big Edie and Little Edie were QUITE the pair.)

With St. Patty’s coming up and all the Irish folk in my family, I think this recipe is in order for the weekend!

Caraway Soda Bread from Simply Recipes

{image shown belongs to Simply Recipes}

{images belong to helloyarn, koko studios, ex.libris respectively}

{images shown via Mossière, actual owners of the photos are listed there}

{images shown via 100 Layer Cake, taken by Jose Villa}