A Few New Custom Orders Completed ..

Hello my dear friends,

I was recently contacted by a lovely lady, asking me if I would 'do my magic' to some of her found treasures and I happily agreed to do so.

She sent me her treasures, four of them and I went to work a few days later. Of course, just I have done before or rather not ... I didn't take and pictures of the pieces before I started to work on them. I must remind myself to do so in the future. I was give a free hand on what to do, the only thing I had to keep in mind which the colors that were requested .. naturals, beiges, creams, maybe even black and very muted colors. 

The search began to find the right bits and pieces. I wanted to make sure each pincushion had it's own theme but also wanted to make sure they all still went well together. All four pincushions are now finished and I am so happy to share them with all of you.

Treasure no.1 ...

... the base was a little tarnished creamer that unfortunately had it's handle broken off whilst on it's journey to me but that didn't stop it from becoming this  lovely pincushion. The pincushion itself is made from a linen and wool fabric, embellished with an old piece of crochet lace, a bow made from crinkled seam binding and a vintage broach.

Treasure no. 2 ...

... the base for this pincushion was a little tarnished toothpick holder and sits on a wishing bone and a little bird is hugging up to it. It is such a delightful piece. I actually have the same one and love it so much. I made the pincushion from a pale drop cloth and embellished it with an old piece from a doily and again a little bow made from crinkled seam binding. Three of my lovely old and tatty velvet violets complete this neat piece.

Treasure no. 3 ...

... for this one I had a large chalice as the base. Again I used drop cloth, my favorite one in a gray shade, as the pincushion itself. Two small strawberries also made from drop cloth with little caps of old tatting hang off one side. A crochet leaf, crinkled seam binding bow and a little piece of vintage jewelry make this pincushion complete and a lovely too.

And finally ...

Treasure no. 4 ...

... was a piece of jewelry with a gem in it center.
It became the cap for this strawberry pincushion. It didn't need more than an little old doily and a few stitches to make this little pincushion perfect and complete.It is partially filled with crushed walnut shells and fibrefill. The walnut shells will keep any little needle sharp.

They all look so very lovely and I couldn't be happier with how they all turned out.

This was a first for me, to have pieces sent to me and create with them. I must say I really enjoyed doing this.

My other custom order ...

... was for one of my little lavender sachets with seam binding roses.

It is going a new home together with my newest needle book 'Pretty in Gray'.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today, 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.

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.