A Few More Roses Have 'Grown' ...

Hello my dear friends,

do you recall my needle books that I made and embellished with seam binding roses?

Well, I just couldn't resist making another one of them. This time using one of my favorite things ... drop cloth. I still had a little bit of my first one left, which is a grayish color and so lovely and I am fortunate to have to almost exact color of seam binding too and both together look just stunning.

And this is it, my newest needle book with seam binding roses. I actually made it a month ago but then totally forgot to share it with all of you.

I called it ' Pretty in Gray'.

Just like before, seam binding roses with glass beads that live in their midst and leaves made from sari silk ribbon ... together a perfect harmony.

This is one of my 'thicker' needle books again that has a quilted center 'page'.

I just love the way the roses 'shine' on the drop cloth. Rustic and delicate go so well together.

I hope you have enjoyed my newest creation today.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by here at Todolwen and visit me. I hope you come back some time again. I already have some new creations that I will be sharing soon.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Our Beautiful 'Shorter' Willow Tree ..

Hello my dear friends,

our willow tree means the world to me and always has from day 1.

The first time I viewed our house when it came up for sale, I fell in love with the willow and that hasn't changed. Over the years it just grew and grew and then when it got hit by lightning 5 years ago. We thought it would die but it didn't. It continued to grow but it was 'injured' now and getting a little too tall and somewhat dangerous too because of it's size and where it was growing. Therefore it was given a harsh treatment last November that is called 'pollarding' and I can't believe how well it is doing this year.

It had grown to be over 90 feet tall at one point and it needed to be taken down by half to become safe once again.

In early Spring this year whilst the snow was still falling, the first leaves started to appear.

After the snow left, more leaves grew ...

... but only on the whispy branches that had not been cut.

With the warmth of the Spring sun more new branches started to grow finally  ...

... and that all over the tree.

Slowyly but surely our willow was recovering and looking better than ever and much more safe aswell.

I have already had to trim it back so I would be able to cut the lawn underneith it.

 And now the sun shine can be seen again which is just so beuatiful.

Just look at our tree!

 I took this photo after a bad storm we had two weeks ago.
It is such a beautiful creation made by Mother Nature.

Our willow is once again standing strong and proud and I don't have to worry too much about it right now. I can just sit and enjoy it which I do so much. Hopefully it will be in our garden for many more years from now.

Come back soon and visit me here again, at Todolwen when you have a few spare moments 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.

Staying Cool And Being Creative ..

Hello my dear friends,

our renovations are done for the moment which is so nice (I needed a break) but the weather is still quite hot here in Southwestern Ontario. I try and stay inside alot and keep myself cool and busy with all sorts. I have been thinking about a few changes I would like to make with the decor of our house. You know little changes, things like new pillows, wall decor and a few other things, so I am busy sewing and painting amongst others things. 

I have also using my time inside to work on a few custom orders that I had to finish
Three of my lavender sachets with seam binding roses ...

... for one lovely lady and a pincushion ...

... made from a pewter tulip candle holder for another.

Now they are done and all wrapped up just waiting to be mailed.

I have also worked on my 'mystery' items that arrived in the mail last week and I will be sharing them very soon. It seems that I am mostly into making pincushions at this moment. I have even been out and about finding new treasures that can be transformed into little pin keeps and I have found some very neat pieces.

But as I said ... mostly pincushioins. I am also working on these right now ...

... lovely fabric flowers.

I am making these with the thought of using them in our living room. I have only made a few so far and I still need to think about the greenery for them. Right now I am not quite sure about them just yet. I am hoping, that I will like them more with leaves. Once they are done and I am happy with what I have made, I will tell you all about them then.

So, do stop by some time 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.

Helping A Little In The Hot Weather ..

Hello my dear friends,

you all know how much I love all of the critters (furry and feathered) that live and visit our backyard.

These past weeks have been quite hot and we actually got to 46C with humidex last week. Not only can it be too warm for us humans but also for the critters outside. Since about 3 months now I have placed some smaller Rubbermaid containers with water outside on our deck. I still have my old copper frying pan as a bird bath as well but in the heat the metal can get quite hot where the plastic doesn't.

Yesterday as I was doing my dishes, I saw several birds taking a bath in one of my Rubbermaid 'tubs' on our deck. I was very fortunate being able to caputure this in a few photos. These days I have my camera close by so if it is 'needed', it is handy which was the case yesterday.

And these are those photos, unfortunately some of the photos are a bit blurry. (I had taken them through the kitchen window.)

At first a little sparrow decided to have a drink.

The next time I looked out ...

... a bright red cardinal was enjoying a bath in the little tub of water.

He actually spent a good few minutes in it ...

... that a little sparrow had to stand at wait for it's turn.

At last it was this little ones time to freshen up ...

... and it sure did enjoy it. 

The little sparrow looked quite messy after it's bath but soon afterwards it was dry again and flew away.

It is important to help the creatures that visit your garden when it is hot outside. A little cool water will go a long way, just make sure you refresh it every day or every other day so mosquitos don't get a change to breed in it.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

My Mail Fairy And New Treasures ...

Hello my dear friends,

I have my very own little mail fairy and she is the sweetest ever.

At times I find the most lovely pieces on Etsy or Ebay and am so wanting to buy them but the seller won't ship to Canada which is a little sad for me. That is where my little mail fairy helps out. My dear and sweet friend Dawn from 'The Feathered Nest' is my little mail fairy. She is so kind and helpful when I have problems having something shipped to me which thankfully isn't too often. 

This post is about one of those times I found some pieces that I just had to have. I found them on Ebay and I was the lucky winning bidder in the end and now my newest treasures are here.

I could hardly wait to open the box when it arrived.
Dawn had been so kind and re-wrapped everything because the person that sold them didn't do a good job of it.

 As I opened the box, under the first layer of old pattern pages, there was a lovely little gift waiting for me. It was one of Dawn's beautiful embroidered lavender sachets. I was so touched by this kind and thoughtful gesture.

'Thank you so much Dawn, you are so kind and I love your gift so much!'

This is the lavender sachet ...

... it is so pretty and smells so lovely!

Underneath another layer of vintage pattern sheets ...

... there they were ...

... my newest treasures just waiting for me to unwrap them.

I did so but I am not going to let you know what they were just yet. You will have to wait until they have become my newest creations, which knowing me, will be very soon. 

So whenever you have a spare moment, do stop by again here at Todolwen 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.

The Winner Of My 'Christmas To Come' Giveaway 2016 ..

Hello my dear friends,

it is July 25th and that means that it was time to pick the 'winner' for my 'Christmas To Come' 2016 giveaway! I am so excited!

Just to explain how my Christmas giveaway works again ...

... I pick a name from all of those who have entered my giveaway. What happens next is ... nothing! Yes, you read right, nothing. If you are the winner all you have to do is send  me your mailing address. Then you sit back and forget all about it until Christmas.
 I will mail you your gift so that it will hopefully arrive before the most magical day of the year. Once it arrives, it is up to you really. I would hope that you would put it under your tree and wait until Christmas morning before you open it because that is the thought behind this giveaway. I would love you to feel the way you did as a child, waiting for the time when you are finally allowed to open your presents and then the surprise of what it is!

What will the 'winner' be gifted?! ... That will stay a secret until after Christmas morning. This way it will be a true surprise for the recipient of the gift. And now you know how it works and why I do it.

As before, I gave each name a number ...

... and each number became a little white butterfly.

Over 100 butterflies ended up in here ...

... and then I closed my eyes and picked one of them.

It was butterfly No. 23 and that is ...

... Olivia Villaronga!

Congratulations Olivia! You are the winner of my 'Christmas To Come' Giveaway 2016!

Please, drop me a line with you mailing address.

I would like to say 'Thank you' to all that took part in this years giveaway and making it so special to me. Don't forget that I am planning to do this again next year, so keep an eye out for that special post.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.