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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Now Listed ..

Hello my dear friends,

just a short note to let you know that two of my newest pincushions are now listed in my Etsy shop.
The 'Vintage Linen' pincushion is already spoken for and reserved.


So, if you are interested ... why not pop over and take a look?!

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.


Monday, September 29, 2014

Sew Much Time ..

Hello my dear friends,

can you believe it ... yet again I am sick with a nasty cough and bad cold and feeling unwell but that hasn't stopped me from being creative, it has just slowed me down a little.

 Do you remember these?


I bought these old pocket watch cases over a year or so ago and they have been laying in a box since then because I wasn't sure what I wanted to turn them into. Well, that is until a few days ago. I have  used a few of them and turned them into my newest creations. I still have quite a few left and I have an idea or two for the rest of them, I just haven't had the time yet to work on them.

I love the way my newest creations have turned out, just so neat and I don't even know why I didn't think of making them earlier.

 I am happy to share them with today, which my daughter Ashleigh so perfectly named ...

...'Sew Much Time' ...


... my newest little pincushion creations.

I made three different ones ...


... 'Rose' ...


... 'White Lace' ...


and ... 'Vintage Linen'.


The neatest thing about these little pincushions is because the pocket watch cases are double backed, they are able to either lay flat or stand up ... love it!

  






















  

I am so in love with my latest little pincushions ... I just find them perfect in each and every little way.

I hope you have enjoyed my newest creations as much as I have enjoyed making them.
And because I can't keep everything I make, I will be listing my little pincushions in my Etsy shop tomorrow morning,

Tuesday, September 30th at 10am ET.

So if you are interested, why not stop by there and take a look.

Thank you for visiting me again here at Todolwen ~ it is always so nice when you do so.

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Busy, Busy ~ That Is What I Am ..

Hello my dear friends,

I am very busy these days and enjoying it so much too.

 I have now started to work on my gifts for my friends and the lucky lady that won my 'Christmas To Come' giveaway. On top of that I am also working on a new tutorial or two and I am hoping to list them in my Etsy shop with plenty of time before Christmas if things go well but that is as much as I am going to share with you today. I will though give you a tiny little sneak peek of some of the projects that are on my worktable at this moment in time.

I am already so tuned into Winter and Christmas and it can be obviously seen in my creations and again that is all I am going to say for today.

Please ... do enjoy my little show and 'not tell'.




Told you I was all  into the white season to come but that isn't all I am working on. There are a few more things and projects that I am working on, inside as well as outside of the house too and also on my worktable.

As I said, I am busy, busy, busy these days and I can't wait to share what I have been up to properly which will hopefully be soon with all you lovely bloggers.

And until then ...

I hope you are well and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.


Thursday, September 25, 2014

It Has Been One Year ..

Hello my dear friends,

I can't believe it but it is already one year since my daughter Ashleigh got married to the love of her life.


Two days ago they celebrated their first wedding anniversary and I wanted to gift them with something special. I think, I have always known that one day I would create this gift and finally that day had come.

Just after the wedding I had ...


... dried and pressed some of the flowers that were the centerpieces on their wedding day.

They had been waiting in my heavy books for a year now, for the day to come and ...


... for me to them bloom once again.

I created my gifts and wrapped them nicely ...


... and made a lovely tag to go with them ...


... all simple ...


... but very pretty.

And this is what they found under the wrapping ~ I called it ...

'Remembering Your Special Day'




I had saved a piece of the ribbon that was used with their wedding favors and it was perfect.





My daughter and son-in-law loved the gifts I created for them and I was beyond happy that they did.

And now this is where tears came into this lovely day ...

... one her first wedding anniversary my daughter Ashleigh wrote her Dad and I a letter. It was so sweet and thoughtful and touched my heart so much..( you might need tissues ~ I did!)

 I end this post today, wishing you a day filled with love and gratitude my dear friends and many hugs.

This is what the letter read ...


 Dear Mama and Dad,

Today is mine and Ryan's first year wedding anniversary! I am so happy to have found someone I love as much as I love Ryan, and I am so lucky and grateful that he is the person I get to spend the rest of my life with. Today is not only a celebration of our marriage and our love for one another, but for me today is also a celebration of you. Both of you. Because if it weren’t for either of you, I wouldn’t be where I am, or who I am today in this very moment.

I have so much to thank you both for. So much, that words will never be enough to express the gratitude and love I hold in my heart for you both. Dad, I remember when I was little you teaching me how to ride my bike I got from Oma - that awesome pink bike with the green dragon on it. If they made that bike in my size now I would go out and buy it again. You have also taught me how to work hard, how to be focused, how to strive for more, how to be responsible, how to handle money and what it means to sacrifice for your family. Thank you.

Mama I remember when I was little you and I would cut potatoes into different shapes and dip them in paint to make Christmas table cloths which I plan on doing sometime soon again. You have taught me to be creative, to be silly, to laugh to be loyal and forgiving, and to put others before yourself. Thank you.

Mama I remember when I was little you and I would cut potatoes into different shapes and dip them in paint to make Christmas table cloths which I plan on doing sometime soon again. You have taught me to be creative, to be silly, to laugh to be loyal and forgiving, and to put others before yourself. Thank you.

Dad on my wedding day you walked me down the aisle and once we reached the end you whispered ‘I love you Ash’ (here come the tears), you watched with a smile on your face as your little girl married the man of her dreams, you made a wonderful speech (which you will be happy to hear I finally have a copy of for you!) in which you said that I was the best thing you had to give, we had our father daughter dance, followed by our ‘Co-Pilot’ dance which ended up working out just like we wanted it to all along! And without you there, the day would have never been the same. Thank you.

Mama on my wedding day you helped me get ready - you did the buttons up on my dress, you helped me set everything up, and you decorated the beautiful shoes I got to walk down the aisle in - you were in all of the little details. You stood right next to me as I said ‘I do’ to the love of my life, and you shed tears that only a mother could cry as she watched her baby girl grow up in front of her eyes (here come the tears again). And without you there, the day would have never been the same. Thank you. 

And now things have slowly but surely started to settle back into normality again and I always look forward to talking to you over the phone Dad on Saturday’s and having conversations that end up lasting WAY longer than we intend for them to, talking about anything and everything together.

And I look forward to seeing you Mama whether it is for lunch or on the weekends when we go shopping because spending time with you is always something I love to do.

And so you see, no matter what happens in life, no matter where we all end up, no matter what happens between the two of you, no matter what happens… you will always have a daughter who is SO grateful for her parents, and all that they have done, and all they continue to do. There will never be words to convey the love I hold for you both. Please just know that I do, and always will.

All my love,
Your daughter (big or small),
Ashleigh xoxo

Friday, September 19, 2014

Another Sunday Junking ..

Hello my dear friends,

I just finished sharing my posts of my outing with my daughters a week ago Sunday and my newest creations and now I already have more to share from our outing on Sunday five days ago.

I shouldn't have gone ... really. I should have stayed home but I didn't and I had such a lovely time with my daughters again and again I shopped and I am so delighted with the treasures I found. One is for me to keep and the others are for me to work with.

These days I try and be very sensible when it comes to shopping for treasure that I can use in my creations. I try to only look for what I need mostly but today I had fun finding bits and pieces even though I am not sure what for just yet.

Here is what I found ...

 
... lots of neat little bits and pieces that I am hoping to turn into neat new creations sometime soon.






 
 
I think this could be my favourite finding of the day ...
 
 
... old metal drawer pulls .. well, at least that is what I think they are.
I am hoping they will become feet for two of my Christmas music boxes.
 
 
This was my 'free~bee' for the day ... acorn caps.
I have always wanted to make velvet acorns, maybe now is the time to finally try.
 
And this is my gift to myself ...
 
 
... it is a scrapbook from 1953 in honour of HRH Queen Elizabeth's crowning.
 
  
Inside I found a paper napkin in memory of the coronation,...
 
 
... a special edition new paper and ...
 

 
... a beautiful picture of the HRH the Queen as well.
 
All a bit tatty and torn but yet so beautiful.
Three dollars for this lovely piece of history was well worth it ... don't you think?!
 
I just love junking so much and I am already excited for the next time I will be heading out again which will be as far as I know right now, on October the 4th for a church rummage sale.
 I wonder what I might find there? ..
 
It is so nice that you stopped by to visit me today here at Todolwen. I love it when you do.
 
I hope you are well and life is treating you kind.
 
Have a peaceful and creative day.