I'm Late, I'm Late ... New White Crabapples And Pears ...

 Hello my dear friends,

yes, another late listing in my Etsy shop! ( I don't think I will ever learn ... sigh) 

I had shared my miniature crabapple and pears ornaments with you earlier this year and I love their natural look so much but because off white isn't everyone's thing, I decided to also make them in white and must say that they turned out just as lovely!

I have a few sets still availabe so if you are looking for that little something for you Christmas tree, why not take a look at my Etsy shop?!

That's all for today unfortunately. I still need to work on getting our Christmas tree finally up and the house decorated and I also really want to craft a little something for myself soon too. I will have to see if I have time for it though. So until next time, which won't be too long from now fingers crossed. It was so nice of you to stop by again and visit me, it always is.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

My Newest Winter/Christmas Pumpkins ...

 Hello my dear friend,

I am again a little behind in sharing what I have been making lately but I am trying to catch up. 

Today I am sharing two of my new Winter pumpkins I have recently made. They are so enjoyable to make and I love how pretty they look once they are done all glistening and frosty.

The first one I am sharing was a custom order and I am so happy to say that my customer was very happy with it. 

And this is the second one is my newest Winter/Christmas pumpkin and most probably the last one for this year . I actually think that it might be one of the prettiest one I have made so far. I wasn't going to make another one but now I am happy I did.

All in white and glistening with an beautiful stem and a very special touch in the shape of two large silver acorns, just perfect!

This pretty thing is now listed in my Etsy shop and ready to find a new home.

I am still behind with so many things right now. My tree isn't up yet (it's hiding behind all sorts still in our basement) but I did get our outdoor Christmas lights up and I will share some photos soon. I still need to wrap gifts and write Christmas cards and clues for our yearly treasure hunt for our girls (yes, we still do it!) on Christmas day. And that's all for the moment but I will try and be back here soon again.

It was so nice that you stopped by today and visited me here at Todolwen. Do come back some time again and see what I have been up too.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Pretty Sparkly Snowflakes ...

 Hello my dear friend,

it's been a while again, hasn't it.

  I am happy that I can share my newest making with you today. It is one of those projects that I started almost a year ago, to be exact a few days before Christmas last year and that is where it also once again ended (this seems to be the story of my crafting life these days ... sigh).

 These days it's more and more about reusing and recycling which is such a great thing in my eyes and we should all try to do so much more of it. With that in mind I had wanted to make something neat, wintery/Christmassy and pretty but also very useful and that in more than one way and I think, I came up with a neat idea. ... I made sparkly snowflakes! I love to crochet and snowflakes are just so beautiful so that is why I decided to make them and I am so glad I did. 

 Like I said, they are not only pretty but quite versatile and useful too!

 You can hang them as ornaments on your Christmas tree or in your window. They would make a beautiful garland too or look pretty embellishing your wreath and ...

... you can decorate a gift with them too.

The best thing is that once you are 'done' with them or you would just like a change in decor, you can scrub your dishes with them ... now if that isn't versatile and useful!

Oh and just by chance, they stack up looking a little like a Christmas tree.

I have just listed a few sets of these pretties in my Etsy shop if any of you are interested. They are a custom order and I will need a few days to make them. I will also be listing a few more of my creations in the next few day, some pretties from last year and some new ones from this year. So, why not pop over and take a look?!

What is on my worktable right now? ... I am working on a Winter/Christmas throw cushion cover since I couldn't find what I wanted, so 'do it yourself ' is the solution to that and I am using my snowflakes to embellished it. Once done and if I like it, I will share it here at Todolwen with you.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and visit me, it is always so nice when you do

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Sharing Some Old Creations Again ...

 Hello my dear friends,

Life is keeping me quite busy but not too creative unfortunately these days.

 I have once again started to declutter our house/home. I do this every few years and it is actually enjoyable. When I worked on my closet, way in the back I found a few of my creations tucked away and I thought it would be nice to re-share them with you. I had made these two pieces I am sharing in my early blogging days and I love them like I did the day I made them. 

And this is what was hanging hidden away,  two of my little altered cotton baby dresses.

I had dyed them in my kitchen sink with tea and embellished them both with lace and ribbon and an embellished tag with a lovely saying. I also made the little wooden coat hanger for them.

I have decided that instead of having these two pretties hide in my closet any longer, it is time for them to find a new home. So if you are interested, you will be able to find them in my Etsy shop some time next week.

I am hoping to work on a few new Christmas pieces soon, that is as soon as an order of mine arrives in the mail. Things just take so long these days don't they.?! Of course what ever I made, I will share with you here on Todolwen.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and visit me. I hope you enjoyed your short stay and that you will return again.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Another Knobbly Pumpkin ...

 Hello my dear friends,

when life will give you 'happy mistakes', enjoy them because they are the best ones to make!

Today I am sharing my newest knobbly pumpkin. It is made from the same vintage bedspread that I used for my other pumpkins but this one is a "happy mistake'. I had wanted to dye it a deep orange like the seam binding that I used with one of my other pumpkins but it turned out this pale and pretty shade of orange instead and I love it! 

And this is it ...

Again I used a piece of a branch from our much missed willow tree Salisbury as the stem and some pretty cream colored seam binding to make this pumpkin the neat Autumn fruit it is. It is now listed in my Etsy shop for anyone that might be interested.

It was so nice of you to stop by again and visit me here at Todolwen.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Autumn Fruit Harvest 2021 ...

 Hello my dear friends,

it's been a while again, hasn't it.

It's been a very hot and also stormy summer so far and life is still busy when it comes to our house and garden. Due to the heat I am not able to do as much as I would like too outside but thankfully there is no rush in getting things done so far. Our garden is still quite a mess and our basement is still unfinished but we will get there again.

 I have been using a little of my time to be creative again and new pumpkins are now listed in my Etsy shop. I have tried to venture out a little when it comes to my style, since I am such a 'stick in the mud' and I like what I have made so far. A vintage bedspread, drop cloth and some beautiful fabric in fall colors combined with drift wood or old silverware, leather and seam binding have become my newest pumpkins and that is what I am sharing with you today. My newest creations, my newest Autumn fruit. A couple of them have already sold but there are still several available. 

Take a look ...

Made from drop cloth with a old silverware handle as it's stem and a seam binding bow, this pumpkin is so me. (SOLD)

I made the next two pumpkins last year. 

(SOLD)

But they both were just missing something so I gave them each an oak leaf made from leather and I love that they have a little cottage vibe to them.

I also made another drop cloth pumpkin.

Again a hand dyed the seam binding in my kitchen sink with some leftover dye I had and the color is just Fall perfect!

A vintage cream colored bedspread from one of my outings became my next pumpkins and each one has a special part to it which is the stem. It is cut from a branch from my beloved willow tree Salisbury. A bow made from crinkled and hand dyed seam binding is the final touch. 

I just love the farmhouse feel that these three have.

And last but not least my two last pumpkins.

These are the two that made me go out of my comfort zone.

 They were the first two that I gave leather leaves and I am so happy I did. They work so well with the beautiful fabric and drift wood stems. And now you have seen what I have been making. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting me, for not forgetting that I am still around once in a while and just for always being so kind and thoughtful.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

New Look Christmas Apples And Pears ...

 Hello my dear friends,

I know it's mid summer, mid July to be exact but I am trying to be of ahead of things a little this year when it comes to thinking about ideas for Christmas.

I have been making and selling my Christmas/Winter crab apples and pears since two years now and because I love making them so much, I am not thinking of stopping yet, but it is time for a little change. This year my little apples and pears are going to have a more natural, softer and delicate look. I am using unbleached cotton batting with small singed edge leaves and no glitter. Like I said very natural, a bit simpler but still very lovely looking in my eyes. They are perfect for a nature themed Christmas tree or a farmhouse look too.

So this then my "Christmas In July" post today and here are my Christmas 2021 mini crab apples and pears. I love there new look so much!

 My little crab apples and pears are now listed for sale in my Etsy shop and for the first time, I will be giving my customers options to choose from.

There will be two colors to choose from for the leaves and then three options on what you can order. It will be either 6 apples, 6 pears or a mixed set of 3 apples and 3 pears. I am so buzzed to try this and see how it goes. All orders will be custom made and will take me about a week to get them done and in the mail. 

I am hoping to come up a few new idea for the most wonderful time of the year and once I do, I will make sure to share the with you.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting me today, 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.  

Following By Email ...

 Hello my dear friends,

this is information for those of you that have signed up to the "follow by email" option.

I just wanted to let you know that the widget "follow by email" that some of you are signed up to, to receive an email letting you know that I have posted something here on Todolwen, will be gone August of this year, so you won't being getting that email anymore. I am not sure if there will be anything like this in the future to replace it or not, so if you are one of my followers that have signed up to it, please, sign up to my blog if you wish to continue to see what I am up to. You can also follow me on Instagram. There is a link to it on the right hand side of my blog (it's the little camera), just click on it and it will take you to my page. I am also going to finally work on getting a new Facebook page set up, so that will be an option soon too.

Thank you for taking an interest in what I do.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

When It Rains, It Sometimes Pours ...

 Hello my dear friends, 

in my last post I mentioned that things have been crazy here so I thought I would tell you a little more about it.

So, where do I start? ... 

... A few months ago we suddenly had water come into our basement through an old and not well repaired crack in our foundation wall. We ended up having 1/4 inch of water under the laminate flooring in three room. The flooring started to swell with the moisture and the furniture had to be taken out of those rooms very quickly and is now sitting over the house. The entire flooring had to be ripped out including the floor leveling concrete which is still an on going job for me. Drywall that had gotten wet had to be cut out. We thought that we had found the problem, but we were wrong! We then discovered then that we also had a sewage pipe that had a crack and had been slowly leaking in the basement powder room. Repairs were needed and thankfully have now been done. The powder room was a quicker fix. Because of the crack in the wall and the way it would need to be repaired (digging up 14 feet of the wall all the way down to the foundation floor) we had to remove our air conditioner which was the original one and very old. Because of that a new one was required and because of that we then also needed a new furnace (it was older too) so they could work together properly. Thinking that was it, we were yet again wrong! Out of the blue our water heater decided to join in and stop working properly. The hot water would come out of the taps steaming hot and after an inspection we were told it needed to be replace too. After weeks of waiting and days of work, all the all of the new equipment is installed and pipe and wall are fixed but our basement and parts of our backyard are a total mess. I feel somewhat overwhelmed on where to start with the tidying up of things. The basement reno will wait until next Summer to make sure all the repairs are doing their job and I am going to work on the garden bit by bit this year. In the end, I know I will get there and everything will be OK and I can't wait for that day right now.

 And we still weren't not done yet with because to me the thing that happened is a real heartbreaker.

Most of you know of our beautiful willow tree Salisbury.

This Spring our arborist had informed us that we would have to have our beautiful tree cut down! She had become unstable and dangerous due to her size and the rot at the bottom of her trunk which was caused by being hit by lightning 9 years ago. It took over 3 months to get everything organized and I was already under so much stress after the other things that were happening here. Then the day came. The street had to be closed off and we had to hire a 250 ton crane to lift her huge 2.5 ton pieces over our house because she was too big to take out of the yard through either of the side gates.

 It was a sad day for me but it had to be done.

She is now gone and there is a huge emptiness where she used to be. 

I miss seeing her every time I look into our backyard and it is going to take some time for me to get used to it. I am sad because my critters are without a safe place to hide and live in our garden. I made sure that we saved several larger branches because we are going to try and regrow a new willow tree again. Fingers crossed it will work.

And now you know what has been happening here these past few months. Here is to better times  heading this way I hope.

It was so nice that you stopped by today and visited me here at Todolwen.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.