Autumn Gems

Hello my dear friends,

one of the things I did with my family over the holiday weekend apart from having a garage sale that went quite well, is go for a lovely two hour walk close to our home. The weather was just perfect ~ the sun was shining and it wasn't too hot or cold ~ just right! I took my camera to take photos of my daughters and anything else that I might like.

 

My two lovely daughters Ashleigh and Caylagh.

 

 

We took some lovely engagement photos of my daughter Ashleigh and my future son~inlaw Ryan on our walk.

 

 

Nature is so amazing this time of year with all it's colors and vibrancy.

 

 

 

There were so many beautiful things that you can only see in Autumn. I especially love it when all the seed pods open up and all the beautiful little fairy like seeds fly away in a wind breeze searching for a place to land and wait for the next spring when they will start a new life as a plant.

 

I don't know which plant this is but I love it ...

 

how it looks all dried up but with that tiny bit of magic still there. 

 

My favourite one is Milkweed with it huge pods filled with many, many seeds ... 

 

... that dance away in the wind.

 

 

I spotted this tiny nest way up high in a bare tree and I am surprised that the photo turned out so well.

 

All over the fields there were plants giving away their seeds ensuring next year there would be many new plants and flowers for us to enjoy!

 

And last but not least ...

 

... this was the weirdest looking thing I saw on our walk. It was on a type of Evergreen and I am not sure if it is a type of  'pine cone' or seed pod but it sure does look different.

 

 

Nature is such a beautiful thing, something we all need to look after and cherish. I can't wait for winter to arrive and the first snow to fall because then I will come back to this place to see how the white glistening flakes change it into a winter wonderland.

 

When you have some time I hope you will take a moment and stop by here at Todolwen soon again ~ I love you visiting!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.  

 

Happy Birthday Mum

Hello my dear friends,

today would have been my Mama's 75th birthday! Unfortunately she is now gone since ten months already and I miss her so much but I am happy that she is at peace and without pain now.

  

This picture was taken on her birthday last year when she already was in the hospital. We all had a very nice time together and I made my Mum laugh by telling her a joke that was a little 'dirty'.

 

Love you Mum ~ Happy Birthday!

 

If it is your birthday too today ~ have a lovely day with much love and laughter.

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.  

 

Hug Snug Mail

Hello my dear friends,

don't you just love getting mail? Well .. I do too! A few days ago I received this.

 

The sender of this package was no other than A. Feibusch Co. from New York.

 

What do they make? ...

 

 

... Hug Snug seam binding!!!

 

I had finally ordered new seam binding not even 10 days ago and it is already here!!

You have no idea how hard it is not to order a roll of each color!!! I had such a hard time choosing which colors to buy but in the end I finally made my choices and now they are here!!

 

 

From the top the colors are ...

 

... Violet (for my daughters wedding)

... Rose Beige

...Winter White

... Oatmeal

... Bark Tan

... Leather Tan

... Fig Beige

and last but not least

... Oloroso.

 

 

 

 

 

Seam binding is such an amazing thing to work with.

 

My dear friend Dawn from The Feathered Nest has the neatest charts with all the colors of Hug Snug that you can get. So if you would like to take a look, why not pop over to her blog or go to the company website: www.zipperstop.com and take a look at all the 'goodies' they have.

 

I am off now to crinkle lots and lots of Hug Snug!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.





Happy Thanksgiving

Hello my dear friends,


it is Thanksgiving here in Canada today and I just wanted to wish all of you lovely bloggers ...

 

... a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I am thankful for so many things in my life ...

...my daughters, my husband, my entire family with my sister and her family, all my Uncles, Aunts and Cousins. I am thankful for the time I had with my Mum before she passed away. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for being able to create and for my lovely home. I am thankful for all of you my lovely fellow bloggers and so much more.

 

I wish you all a day filled with fun, laughter, friends and family and  good food!

 

My day will be spent with my two daughters and our cats, since my husband is away with work.

 

From my  home to yours where ever you are have a wonderful day!

 

hugs

 

Karen B.

More Tarnished Treasures

Hello my dear friends,

do you ever get this?... for weeks and weeks you find nothing at all that appeals to you when you are out and about shopping for treasures to create with and all the sudden almost every time you go anywhere you find something that is just calling out to you 'buy me'!

It seems since the temperature has fallen to a very pleasant level in these past few weeks, my shopping trips have increased and have been successful and now I think I almost have enough treasure to get me through the cold winter months.

After my lace findings these are my newest tarnished findings ...

 

The lovely vase is going to stay as is for my home but the other pieces are going to be used in a new creation in the future.

 

I love the tarnished look and especially with the punch out detail on this little stand.

 

I still have one more treasure lot to share with you. I just need to get the time to sit down and take the photos which I hope will be very soon. I am terribly busy sorting out my basement right now, tidying things away as good as possible and sorting things out for a garage sale I am hoping to have this Saturday ~ last chance for this year and I need to get rid of some stuff that isn't needed anymore. I also am hoping that the contractors are going to start work within the next 2 weeks in the basement and I will share the progress with you as it happens. 

 

I hope you stop by again some time soon!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B. 

 

Lace, Lace , Lace

Hello my dear friends,

every once in a while a visit to a thrift store can turn into something really good because of something you find that you didn't expect to. That is exactly what happened to me a few days ago when I visited one of our local stores.

I saw a bag in the sewing section from the corner of my eye and I knew right away it would be worth buying and it was as you can see below ...

 

... there were so many different pieces of lace in it.

 It was like opening one of those surprise bags you can buy for children.

 

These can be cut into single little pieces to be used as embellishments.

 

 

There was all sorts of lengths, widths and different types of lace. Now I just have to think what I am going to do with all of it ~ my studio is starting to overflow with supplies at this moment. I think it's time to stop shopping because I do have plenty of lovely things to work with this winter but that doesn't mean that I haven't got more treasures to share with you still.

 

So whenever you have a spare moment, why not stop by and visit me here at Todolwen.

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B. 

 

 

At Last ...

Hello my dear friends,

I have been keeping a little secret from all of you and I am so excited that I can share it with you today at last!  It has almost been like just before Christmas ~ there is a present waiting for you but you are not allowed to open until a certain day.

Several months ago I received an e-mail from the editor of the magazine 'Stitch, Craft, Create' ~ which is a newer magazine ~ asking me if I was interested in designing something including the how~to for their Christmas issue.

I was published once many years ago in the magazine 'Country Marketplace' which was one of the best crafting magazines in the States in those days. I never after that thought really about being published again so of course I was over the moon that I had been asked and after a short thinking period I said yes (the thinking period was me being worried if I could come up with a creation good enough and on time and so forth ... I am a born worrier you know!)


Looking through my studio with all it's bits and piece I found something that caught my eye and it gave me the idea for my creation.

 

 

This is what I picked to work with ... the larger matchbox of the two.

 

I wanted to create something that was fairly easy and wouldn't cost too much money for anybody to recreate and it should look very pretty ~ I think pretty was my main aim since it is for Christmas. Looking at it I think I succeeded with my creation. Shannon Miller, the editor of  'Stitch,Craft, Create' was very happy with it as well and that's why it is now published!!

And here it is my published creation ...

'One The First Day Of Christmas'

 

 

 

 

 

These were two of the photos I sent in to Shannon, the editor.

  

 

 

  

The newest cover of the Christmas issue of Stitch,Craft, Create.

The magazine will be on the stands now in October!!

 

 And this is how my creation has been published ...

I hope you have enjoyed my Christmas creation. I am so very happy with it.

And last but not least ...

 I would like to thank all of you lovely bloggers out there for all of your kind and sweet words about my creations. You have all touched my heart since day one and it means so very much to me. Dear Dawn from The Feathered Nest and Lisa from Tarnished and Tattered, dear friends, thank you for your advice when I needed it and believing in me and my work ~ you are two very special ladies and I am so happy that you are in my life.

 

Whenever you have a moment why not stop by here at Todolwen again some time.

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.