All Wrapped Up ..

Hello my dear friends,

it seems that I am being very lucky and fortunate lately when I am out and about and it comes to finding neat treasures. These days I try not to just buy 'stuff ' for the sake of buying it but instead I search for a particular creation I want to make. Well, that is most of the time but not this time.

I was at one of our local Value Villages a few days ago after donating some things to the store,  just looking around and when something on their 'bag wall' caught my attention. I took it down and carried it around for a little while, trying to decide if I should or should not buy the item. It looked interesting but I couldn't tell how good it was due to the way the item was rolled up tightly in the scuffed up bag and also stapled up with a tag onto of it too. In the end I thought why not and took it home. 

I was over the moon when I opened the bag after arriving at home and took my newest finding out because it turned out to be a lovely treasure.

First I pulled out a little silver plated basket ...

... it was very neat, all tarnished up and exactly what I like but that wasn't all that was in the plastic bag. Out came two little salt and pepper shakers next. And this is where I got excited! The shakers were little metal critters, namely two little birds.

Just take a look ~ aren't they just so sweet and precious?!

The detail on the little birds is amazing!

I am in love with my newest treasure and I think that these little metal feathered creatures will have to stay with me. I am sure I will find a new home for them in one of my nests. What I am going to do with the little basket is still something I am not sure about. Sooner or later I will try and turn it into something lovely and give it a new life. So do keep an eye out for it in the future.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and visit me 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 'Tatty Strawberry Delight' ..

Hello my dear friends,

it is done! ...

Today I am sharing my newest Christmas light reflector pincushion and it is very different from the first one I made.

With this pincushion I chose to use color and to make it a little more vibrant than my 'Olde Strawberry Delight' and I think it has turn out exactly that way. Again I picked each part of this creation for it's own little 'thing'. Put together they just harmonize so nicely and make this creation 'just right' in my eyes but now you can see for yourself.

Here is my ...

... 'Tatty Strawberry Delight'.

 

I love the way this pincushion has turn out ~ the red textured fabric with the ripped sari silk strips and the old tatty pearl earring together with the old reflector are beyond perfect together.

I hope you have enjoyed my newest creation. I am already working on something new and will share it soon here on Todolwen ~ so do stop by from time to time 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.

This Past 'Christmas To Come' Giveaway ..

Hello my dear friends,

I almost forgot to share this with all of you Lovelies ..

I have made it my little tradition to hold a 'Christmas To Come' Giveaway every year now and these are gifts that were gifted to the winner of my last Christmas giveaway.

I had chosen one of my poinsettia Christmas stockings as a the main gift and then filled it with a few more little presents.

There was one of my little drop cloth Christmas tree ornaments, some rusty snowflakes, some very neat vintage style tinsel garland and last but not least several little ornate white metal snowflakes and stars. All in all a neat little collection of Christmassy bits and pieces. The final part of my giveaway was that the winner was also gifted with two of their favorite tutorials from my Etsy store.

 Barbara Jean, who was the winner of this giveaway was very happy with her Christmas surprise. 

I have already started to think of this years 'Christmas To Come' giveaway ... so do stayed tuned, soon it will be time to start entering you names again. What will the gift be? ~ As always that will be kept a secret until after Christmas.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

My 'Olde Strawberry Delight' ..

Hello my dear friends,

today I would like to share my newest creation with you in which I used one of the vintage Christmas light reflectors.

 As soon as I saw them in the store, I had the perfect creation in mind. You all know how much I love making pin cushions and my thing for my drop cloth strawberries. What better to make than one of these with one of the light reflectors and that is exactly what I did.

And this is my ...

'Olde Strawberry Delight'.

I made it a little elegant and a very subtle subtle colored pin cushion and every part of it was picked because of it's particular look.

Every part of this creation stands out so nicely on it's own ... from the old tatty lace to the lovely seam binding, from the vintage Christmas light reflector to the antique crystals from an old chandelier and from the drop cloth to the simple stitching on it. In the end they all make this lovely creation.

Right I am working on finishing my second creation also using another one of the reflectors. I too is also a strawberry pincushion but it is very different from the one I am sharing today. Hopefully I will have it done in the next few days, so do pop back soon.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

   

A Neat Finding ~ Christmas Light Reflectors ..

Hello my dear friends,

as I was out and about with my daughters last weekend we came across a consignment store that we had never visited before. We decided to pop in and take a look around and I am glad we did. I was fortunate to find these vintage and very beautiful Christmas light reflectors.

There were two different types of old reflectors and all in all there were six of them. Looking at these very neat pieces, I was in 'old to new' heaven with my little find. I knew exactly what I wanted to use at least a few of them for and that is what I am working on right now. I will be sharing my finished creations in the next few days with all of you Lovelies. So when you have a few free moments, why not stop by and visit me here at Todolwen 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.

Saved From Being Trashed ..

Hello my dear friends,

our local Home Depot was getting rid of their leftover Christmas planters and this one was going to end up in the trash too. A lovely cashier told me that I could buy it for a quarter and it would be mine.

You have no idea how fast I had 25 cents in my hand. Just look at it ... it is so lovely.

The little pine tree on the right which is already growing two new little branches, is going to end up in our garden in the spring and the fern and poinsettia are going to stay in my studio and brighten my days every time I look at them. 

I wish you all a little something that will brighten your days.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

My Love For Christmas Lights ..

Hello my dear friends,

ever since I can remember, I have had a thing for Christmas lights and especially when the lights are outdoors.

The fire station and the church in the little town where I was born were always decorated so festive that it would make my heart fill with joy.  I can remember as a child standing in front of houses that were lit up with bright colored lights and just taken back by the beauty and that hasn't changed. This past Christmas my daughters and I went out and about in the car, driving through our neighbourhood and stopping at all the pretty houses. Unfortunately I couldn't take any photos being the driver but just I was just happy looking at them. Instead I took some photos of our lights to share with all of you.

My daughter Caylagh's little Christmas tree. It is now seven years old. She received it at a home show when it was about 4 inches tall. It has grown a lot since then, this year it reached the 4 foot mark.

I took this photo with a 'sparkle' effect and love the way it turned out. Just magical!

I am always one of the last people in the neighbourhood to take their lights down after Christmas and this year it will be no different. But really can you blame me? ... Don't they just look so lovely?! I am thinking of adding a few more light chains next Christmas, I am not sure where I am going to place them just yet. Will I find a place? ... You can bet money of it that I will. I hope you have enjoyed today's little 'light show' from this past Christmas.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Winter Has Arrived ..

Hello my dear friends,

thank you all for your kind well wishes. You are all so sweet and thoughtful.

I do feel better since a few days now and I am glad that I do because winter made another attempt and now has finally arrived here in Ontario. We received about 6 inches of snow over night two days ago. The temperatures had already been falling to minus 22 with the windchill over the past week already but without snow. To my dismay our snow blower decided it didn't want to 'play' that morning and I ended up shoveling our driveway and sidewalk nice and slow by hand but. Thankfully I have found out what was wrong ... namely me not reading the instructions properly and now the snow blower does all the hard work again.

I am behind in posting about Christmas and what I have been up too but I will try and catch up on sharing in the next days. For today I will leave you with a few photos of Olde Man Winter.

Snow everywhere the eye can see and loving it as always.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting me again here at Todolwen. I love it when you do!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.