A New Pewter Tulip ..

Hello my dear friends,

I was very fortunate to have found another pewter tulip on one of my outings a few weeks ago and today I am sharing my finished creation with you.

Just like my first tulip, this one too has become a pincushion. This time I used a dusty rose pink velvet for the pincushion part itself and a crinkled seam binding bow with a vintage piece of sparkle as embellishments. It is very subtle and lovely looking in all it's prettiness. 

What do you think?

I named it 'A Dusty Rose Tulip'.

(Sold ~ thank you!)

This pincushion is now listed for sale in my Etsy shop if any of you lovely bloggers should be interested in it.

With this creation now done and I am already working on something new and am hoping to be able to share it with all you lovely bloggers very soon.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today, here at  Todolwen. It is always so nice when you do.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

My Mailbox Has Clattered Once Again ..

Hello my dear friends,

last week my mailbox made my favorite noise again.

There is was a larger letter from British Columbia from the lovely Jillayne, from 'A Fine Seam'.

Inside the envelope was something new for me to learn which I am so looking forward to and can't wait to start.

Jillayne is a sweet lady that does the most amazing and beautiful things with her skills which is almost anything to do with fabric and embroidery and I love everything she does.

Here are a few photographs of her work ...

(Photographs courtesy of Jillayne W.)

Here is the link to her blog ... A Fine Seam.

You should really visit her some time, say "Hello" and take a look at her work ~ it is so lovely.

 In one of her posts Jillayne shared her project that involved 'waste canvas cross stitch'. I honestly had never heard of it before and told her how much I loved what she was doing, ...

... so she put a little tutorial together for me with a little piece she had made to show me how it is done ...

... and everything else I would need to learn this technique. 

I always love to learn new things and now I am so buzzed (my newest favorite word) and waiting for a quiet moment so I can start on this new little creative adventure. I will keep you up to date on how I am doing.

Something else I would like to share with you today is some of the most beautiful embroidery 

thread I have ever seen. It is called 'Cottage Garden Threads' and it is made in Australia. I found it in this Etsy shop named 'Braidwood Heritage Crafts'.

(photograph courtesy of Braidwood Heritage Crafts)

Just click here Cottage Garden Threads and it will take you to where you can find this lovely thread.

This thread comes in the most amazing colors and the all have so pretty names too like ... Sail Away, Hugs 'n' Kisses, China Doll and Bird Bath and I could just keep going on and on.
So if you like to embroider or even if you don't, whenever you have a few spare moment, just pop over and take a look at all the wonderful color combinations that are available.

And that is all I have to share for today.
I have been intensely busy these past days. I am working on my older daughter bedroom that I turning now into a guest room. Unfortunately I am also somewhat under the weather these days but trying to ignore it still a little but a doctors visit is also on my to-do list because of it.

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you have enjoyed your visit here at Todolwen.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Can You Blame Me? ..

Hello my dear friends,

 everyone loves to surround themselves with things they find beautiful and I am for sure one of them.

 It could be an a pair of old worn baby shoes, some old keys or an old tatty doily that cost 25 cents. For me one of them is my newest found love for sari silk ribbon in the most stunning colors or a breath taking creation by a friend. The price tag doesn't really matter all that much because I have found items for 20 cents or free on the curbside ~ you just have to love it.

These days I find it a little hard to say 'no' when I see silk ribbon in truly beautiful colors and once the images of what I could turn it into pop into my mind, I am lost. That is the explanation of  why I just bought some amazing silk ribbon over the past few days.

Just look at these color ...

 (Sari silk ribbon from Designtalentedone via Etsy)

But then all this lovely ribbon is not for me to keep but to work with.
 These days I try not to hold on too many of my creations which can be hard at times but I do have photographs of everything I make and that is all I need, most of the times. Of course there will always be the one creation that I just can't let go and these days those tend to be my Christmas pieces.

I usually don't really spend a lot of money on myself  these days but once in a while I gift myself with something beautiful which I did so last week. I couldn't resist this lovely piece.

It is my dear friend Vicki's newest 'Shabby Chic' nest creation.
(Photo courtesy of http://vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.com)

I saw it, fell in love with it and like I said just couldn't say 'no' to it and since I have been good and I have been saving, I allowed myself to treat myself.  Honestly, can you blame me?! I love working with lovely treasures and bits and pieces and I love having a few of them as mine too.

After this though it is 'no spending time' again for a while and I am so fine with that. I think that if you treat yourself once in a while and not too often, you will really appreciate it so much more.

Thank you for taking the time and stopping by today to visit me here at Todolwen. It is always so nice when you do so and I would love for you to visit me maybe sometime again.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

A Nest To Give ..

Hello my dear friends,

I just love to surprise others with gifts once in a while. This is one of the reasons I love doing my ' Christmas To Come' giveaway and it is no different with this creation. (By the way don't forget to enter your name to my giveaway!)

Today I am sharing a special little sari silk ribbon and hemp nest I have created as a gift. I made it for a lovely person I know and right now it is on the way to it's new home and I am so excited for it to arrive there!

As I have said this many of times before (sorry for repeating myself) you know I am not big into colors but I wanted this nest to be like a new Spring day, bright and full of lovely colors ~ I think, I have have achieved it. It took me a little time to find the right fabrics, in the right colors so that the roses would harmonize with the sari silk ribbon I wanted to use and in the end it was so worth the search. I love this nest and I think it has turned out perfect in every way! 

And here it is ...

... my nest to give which I have named ' Spring Roses' .

What do you think?

Hopefully it will arrived at it's destination soon and safe too. I will let you know once it does.
Fingers crossed the person I am gifting it will like it as much as I do.

Thank you for stopping by today and visiting me  here at Todolwen and do come back some time soon again and see what I have been up too.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Something 'New' And Neat To Transform ..

Hello my dear friends,

this is the post I was wanting to share with all you lovey bloggers yesterday but the snow fall over night made this one wait for today.

Like many of you I am always on the look out for something new to work with when it comes to my creations and it seems that I have become quite picky when I choose something these days.

I finally had my Winter tires taken off my car and on the way home from the dealership I passed one of the antique stores I like to shop in. I walk through it slowly and carefully, looking at anything and everything but I had no luck in finding something I would like. Well, that was until I was almost ready to leave the store and there it was. A very neat piece, old, very tarnished and something I hadn't come across before. That all noted, it had to me mine and a few minutes later I left the store with a smile on my face and a new treasure in hand. 

And this is what I found ...

... an antique napkin ring/holder.

It is the neatest shape I think. It think it is meant to be one a little lily pad leaf with a little bud on it.

I am sure that it was shiny and silver in color many years ago but this way it is perfect for me. Of course my mind was working full time on my way home and in the end it was obvious to me what this neat piece would become and I am sure, you all know that too.

Now I just have to wait until I have the time to turn it into my newest creation. That will have to  be after I have planted some more of my cedars and then I will need the relaxation again after working hard.

So ... whenever you have a few spare moments, grab a cup of coffee and come and visit me again, here at Todolwen. You never know what I might have to share.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

A Change Of Post ..

Hello my dear friends,

I was planning on sharing a new treasure I had found today but I had a little change of plan and I am something else with you today.

Two days days ago I had taken some photographs of our garden as it is just starting to wake up for the year and looking so bright and alive as you can see.

Everything is budding and growing in the warm Spring sunshine.

And then yesterday we had a 'little' change in the weather.

It got a little colder again ...

... and it started with a little hail at first.

And this is what we woke up to this morning ...

S N O W!!

I checked .. it is April 23rd today.

We had about an inch of new Spring snow fall overnight.

It seems my tree planting will have to wait a day or two now until it warms up again. That leaves me with a little more time to be creative today then which is a added bonus. I know for one thing for sure I won`t be doing today and that is complaining, because you know what? ... Just like amazing Louis Armstrong sang ...

... if you think to yourself ... what a wonderful world!

And with that said I am leaving you today with a few photographs of my lovely neighbor Katherine's Spring flowers ..

 

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.