As My 'Decluttering' Continues ..

Hello my dear friends,

as my need to 'declutter' my studio continues I have spent some time finding creations to let go of. I really need to think twice at times to see if I am OK with the items I have selected. Today I have chosen some new pieces that I will soon be listing in my Etsy shop but I will give you a wee preview of what they will be now.

I will be listing...

 

 



... 3 of my original millinery heads I made when I was creating the tutorial for them and ...
 

... several more of my pincushion creations, ...

 ... including the original one from another tutorial I created.

And last but not least ...

 

... I am also listing my two wee birds that I created for the tutorial on how to make them and I am including a little nest with this listing.

 

I will be listing all these creations in the next few days and I will let you know when I do so.

 

Last but not least ...

 

... soon I will be sharing my 'Christmas Book' that I received from Jillayne.

 Jillayne is an amazing quilt artist from Salmon Arm in the beautiful British Columbia and has taken it upon herself to create Christmas books for bloggers that have taken part in her project. But like I said ... more about that soon!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day.

 

 

Karen B.

 

An Extremely Busy Weekend ..

Hello my dear friends,

it has been another very busy weekend for me. I had taken to my river bed again which was so needed. I hadn't worked on it in weeks (shame on me) and I am really hoping to get it completed some time soon but I must say that working on it is truly back-breaking and knee-hurting work!

Friday and Saturday were my outdoor working days and day 5 and 6 of my project. I normally am good when I give myself a limit and when the aching starts I stop, but not yesterday. I was determined to do double my set limit and it was such a strain in the end but I did it and now I have almost completed half of my project!

 

I started where I left off last time I worked outside ...

 

... and I am so glad that I mostly use a trowel when I dig otherwise I am sure the main

pipe from our underground sprinkler system would have been damaged when I unexpectedly unearthed it, but at least I know where it is now.

 

I can't believe how bad things have gotten ... apart from weeds I had to even dig up a few small trees that had started to grow between the rocks. This one made it really difficult for me to get it out but in the end it had to go.

 

I actually moved the bridge back into it's place on my own (never tell a girl she can't do something!) and was so happy with myself that I was able to do so because it has quite some weight to it.

After putting my gloves and garden tools down for the day ...

... I then went on to learn how to lay laminate flooring which my husband showed me the how to do, so my poor knees were not able to rest until later that evening.

Am I paying for it?... Yes, my back and knees were so sore that night. Sunday, the next day should have been a day of rest for me .... (remember I said should!) ... but it wasn't. I went on to helping my husband with laying more flooring in the basement and the first room is all done now by one piece of flooring which will be done tomorrow.

Then came a little me time ...

 

 I found half an hour or so to work on my Wynken, Blynken and Nod nest. It is still in the very early stages and I still haven't thought the complete design of it through yet. I just hope that these plain black 'bowls' will end up looking the way I see it in my mind. There are so many different ways I could do things ... gold speckled or guilded eggs, ... paper or fabric leaves, ... how many shades of blue to use? ... like I said so many decisions to make.

Today things are going to be a bit slower ... well, I think they might be. I will work more on my nest design, the basement will have to wait for a day and so will the backyard. There will be a visit to Michaels later on with my daughter Ashleigh to find some ribbon for her wedding favours and maybe a short stop at our Tim's for a coffee. After that my house chores are awaiting my attendance so I am sure I won't be bored.

It is so nice when you stop by here at Todolwen and visit me and I hope you do so soon again and until then ...

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B. 

Hopefully Almost There ..

Hello my dear friends,

work on our basement has started again and hopefully the end is in sight soon.

It has been a few months now that we haven't had any progress happening in our basement. Repairs were made over and over again and if you ask me I would say there were too many of them but at least our contractor was always willing to fix anything that was wrong. Would I hire him and his company again? ... no, for sure not. His heart was in the right place but I hate to say that his workers weren't the best and the finished work wasn't the best neither. Such a shame! (You do not want to know how much money we paid this company.)

Right now we are having the floors leveled out by a new company so we can finally get our flooring down soon. I am one to try almost anything DIY but I didn't know how difficult it would be to try and make a floor level. Mixing the concrete and moving it around that it becomes a smooth finished floor ~ never again! I think I am getting to old for this kind of stuff ... maybe not too old I think I just had enough  of trying some things out and not succeeding. This way it will hopefully be done properly and much quicker than my husband and I could do it.

 

This is what my basement looked like again ...

... and now it's like this.  

 

Apart from dirt, noise and dust there are some little beautiful things in my life too ~ like the roses that I received from my lovely neighbour Katherine. She is an amazing gardener and yesterday she shared her roses with me. I wish here was something like 'smell internet' because her roses smell so beautifully.
 

 

 

The red one especially smells stunning, almost like an expensive perfume and the peachy rose is an English rose and smells so lovely too.

I have also trying to be busy with things as well ...

 ... I have just completed a little custom order for my crochet flutter~bys.

They are now all wrapped up neatly and on on their way to Christina in beautiful British Columbia.

I have also slowly started to work on a new nest that I have been wanting to make since a while now. ( I think I have already told you about this before?) It is my Wynken, Blynken and Nod nest that I am going to give a try out. Will it work? ... I have no idea if what I can see in my head will actually look the same in reality. I will just have to wait and see. It took me a while to find all the bits and pieces that I am hoping to use in the creation and I am still working on the fine details too. ... To glitter or not to glitter?... That is the question!? I will keep you lovely bloggers up to date on how things are going with my newest project.

Talking about nests ...

http://vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.ca/2013/08/pink-scarf-project-updates-new.html

... have you seen Vicki's little preview of her 'Breast Cancer Awareness' nest?! If not ... you are missing something and you should take a look! It looks so stunning and it is only a little part of the nest she is sharing right now. That girl has so much heart and soul and is so caring! ... Love you for that, dear Vicki!

So ... if you knit or crochet and have a little spare time and want to be a little part of a great cause, why not start today and make a scarf and if you are not one of the needle working kind that's OK too because you could always find a little pink scarf and send it to Vicki. I would love to be able to made just one more scarf before the deadline ... you never know.

All in all things are crazy in our house once again ... with the work on our basement on again and a wedding in now 41 days and trying to spend time together as a family and I don't think it will calm down for a while, so if I don't blog very much in the coming weeks you all will know why. One thing I will do is take photos and when I can, I will share them with you lovely bloggers.

Thank you for visiting me here at Todolwen ... it is always nice when you stop by.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B.
 

My Daughter's Baby Shoes ..

Hello my dear friends,

it has now been a few weeks now since I have painted our master bedroom but unfortunately it still is missing some of the final touches that I would like it to have but I am working on it. That's why I haven't shared any photo of it yet.

One of the things I always have on my bedside table are my daughter's first baby shoes. Years ago I didn't like the look of them as they were ( they were white made from some sort of man made leather lookalike material) and that's when I changed them the first time.  At that time I was into the vintage look of metal like pewter, so I took to my paints and brushes and gave them a tarnished metal look by dry brushing them and I have loved them for years like that ... until now!

I was on the search for a new look and I found one!

 I love the look of ceramic where the glaze has crackled so I decided to try and give the little shoes that look. I am still not sure if I should apply a coat of stain that will make these little shoes look older and a little more distressed. Even thought they might not be quite done just yet I would like to show you the before and after photos of my daughters baby shoes today.

These are they little shoes before I worked on them a few days ago ...

 

 

  

... and this is what they looked like now!

 

 

Doesn't the new finish really looked like the glaze of ceramic that has crackled?!
 I so love their new look!

Now they can return to their rightful place ... on my bedside table, next to where I sleep so when ever I open my eyes I can see them and think of my babies.

And last but not least ...

... whilst I was writing this post, early in the yesterday morning there were three little feathered critters that caught my eye and also my camera lens.

The first one was a woodpecker, who decided that our house siding and especially the foam under it was a perfect place to start pecking holes into.

I was sitting at my dining room window and heard this somewhat weird noise and headed outside with my camera  (always prepared) and there the little critter was making a racket against the siding.

 

 

This photo might look a bit unclear especially where the critters beak is but that isn't the photo or camera ... it is the pecker pecking away on my wall!  He was so busy, that he didn't even notice me and that's how I got so close to him. ... I was only 5 feet away from him!

The second little feathered creature was a little sparrow that landed in our maple tree and sat there and started schimpfing loudly (complaining) about something that he didn't like at all ~ you should have heard him carry on.

 

By this time I was back inside at my dining room window and he was so busy telling the world he wasn't happy that I again got some lovely photos of him and this is the little guy here ... so neat!

And finally ...

... the third little feathered friend was a bright red cardinal on the search for a little something to eat.

It would be nice if you were to stop by and visit me here at Todolwen soon again and until then ...

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B.
 

I Am Behind With Everything ..

Hello my dear friends,

I can't believe how behind I am with everything these days.

 I tend to start writing a post at times with something that I made, 'found' or saw and then something else comes up and then more and I just get forget about some of these little posts until days, weeks or even months later!

Right now I have 28 started drafts of posts saved and one is even from last year. I just never got to it which is so sad. But it's not only the posts that I forget ...  it's the actual creation I forget to make too! I have an idea and doodle it in my little booklet and start writing the post and then ...... nothing!

I have found started creations from last Christmas that are still not completed. I so wanted to start my first Christmas in July this year but it wasn't meant to be. Almost every other day I see something I would like to change, re-do or create and then it all builds up in my mind and studio.

But it doesn't stop there ... I have many projects that I want to work on that involve our house and it is the same there. I start and then for some reason just don't get to work on it that it can be completed in a good time matter.

I don't know about you but at time I would love to have 8 hands and 36 hours in a day just to be able to do everything that I have on my to do lists.

 I think that I have slowed down a little to much for my liking not only with my creations, with Todolwen but also maybe even a little with my life. I feel that I used to do so much more and get so much more done than I do these days. If I put my mind to it ... it was a done deal and I really need to get back into doing things that way!

So ... here's to me trying to start changing things again ... hopefully I will have the willpower to do so.

 Why am I telling you all this? ... I was wondering if any of you lovely bloggers have the same issue and feel the same ... it seems easier to deal with issues when you are not alone!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B.
 

My Little Backyard Zoo ..

Hello my dear friends,

I haven't shared any photos of the wild life in our garden lately so I thought it would be nice to do so again.

I just can't get enough of the little zoo that we have this year. It is so nice to see all the critters visiting our garden ... from ducks in Spring to doves and all sorts of other small birds and from rabbits to chip monks, baby skunks and raccoons ~ it's almost like a small 'Noah's' garden here these days.

Here are some photos I would love to share with you ...

 

These two little birds were together but settled on different parts of the wall for a little while ... 

 

... and then flew away again.

 

 

An old pan filled with water helps the little feathered critter to stay cool whilst ...

 

... this little rabbit loves to nibble on the fresh leaves of my flame bush.

 

Such a beautiful little creature!

Many little sparrows gather around the old pan to drink when it is very hot outside in the late afternoon ...

 

... whilst two little rabbits rest in the late shade of the day.

 

 

This year we have many little golden finches in our garden and ...

 

 

... of course the summer in not the same without the little chip monks.

 

 I don't know if I ever told you but almost all my critter photos are taken from inside the house. To be exact ... through my dining room window and at times they don't always work but I think they are still worth sharing.

 

Unfortunately my camera also doesn't take very good pictures when it comes to the darkness of the evening/night, not only that but raccoons and skunks are critters that move fast to stay undetected and safe. I would have to loved to share photos of them too! The baby skunk was just so cute!

 

Simple things like this bring joy to my life and I wish you much joy too!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

I Am Beyond Touched ...

Hello my dear friends,

several days ago I was up early working in my garden before the garden waste truck would come. I had not gotten everything done this past week so I needed to fill a few more bags with branches, twigs and weeds. After I had finally gotten it done I headed back into the house, to have a coffee in the kitchen where my laptop always waits for me to take a look at all your lovely blogs and creations. But this morning there was something different. The background on my laptop had been changed and instead of a lovely photo with a quote underneath it, there was now a new message for me. And this message read ...

...' Check your e-mails'!

So that is what I did and I found an e-mail from my daughter Ashleigh to me. 

The e-mail had a quote that read ...

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes." —Marcel Proust

 ... with the request to click on the following link. So that is what I did and the link took me to another site where I found something so sweet and lovely! 

If you would like to know what I found then just click on the link below ...

 http://mothersniche.com/julys-mighty-mom-award/

... and you will see!

 

Isn't this the sweetest thing my daughter did for me ... she nominated me as a 'mighty mom' ... I am beyond touched by this. You see my older daughter isn't just my daughter ~ with time she has become my best friend ever!

Oh yes, ... something you will see for the first time I think is ... ME!
 I have never been one to share photos of myself really and that's why I have never put photos on Todolwen of myself but my baby girl did and that's OK. To give you a little hint ... I am the 'old one' in the photo next to my two beautiful daughters ~ I am so blessed to have my them!

 

Wishing you all that you are blessed with something special or someone special in your life.

 

Many hugs,

 

 

Karen B.