Early Sunday Morning ..

Hello my dear friends,

I just love early mornings so much ... everything is so peaceful.

These past few days it has been so hot and then came the thunderstorms and the torrential rain as well. Early Sunday morning I woke up at around 6.30 am. The rain had stopped, the thunder and lightning had moved on and the clouds had started to let the sun peek though. Everything looks so fresh and alive in our backyard. It was the perfect opportunity iforme to grab my camera and take the time to take some photographs of it.

Our dining room window was covered in condensation on the outside when I got up ...

... and our yard looked so green and inviting.

Our willow tree is looking so amazing!

Do you see the little Christmas tree underneath it? ...

It is gorwing so much. When we bought our house it was about 4 inches tall and just a little stick with needles and now it is just over 3 feet tall!

Looking up into the tree's branches ...

... it's like a waterfall of cascading leaves.

My little old bird feeder is still hanging on strong in our pussy willow tree.

And believe it or not ...

... I only discovered that I have a Hibiscus plant and it is blooming so nicely.

Actually it's two plants really ... one white and one purple growing together.

There are so many buds on the branches and I can't wait for them to all open up.

Of course a morning outside includes feeding my little furry critters too.

The fresh pieces of apple were the right thing for this little guy.

He sat on the deck and enjoyed the tasty fruit.

Back in the bottom of our yard, our riverbed looked stunning ...

... with the reflection of the sun in the leftover rainwater.

This must be the most favorite part of our garden. The willow is doing amazing and ...

... it's branches are almost touching the rocks in the river bed again.

But this also means that it is ...

... clean up time soon again with all the leaves and twigs falling.

My little rosebush was weighted down with the rain water ...

... but that doesn't take away from the beauty of it's flowers.

This little bud had it's own umbrella  ...

... which kept it safe from the harsh falling water drops.

The sun moved a little then started to shine ...

... through the branches of our maple tree. This is where our stone path ...

... has been overtaken by many wild daisy plants.

Everything was just covered in drops of rain ...

... and that's when it is the nicest being barefoot outside. It makes you feel a little like a child again.

Right at our stone path is the fence to our lovely Greek neighbours. They love the wildlife in their garden as much as I do and love to feed the critters too.

This rather wet and straggly cardinal was sitting on their wash line and ...

... was waiting to get a little dry again I think.

This little guy was just there for the food ...

... and he sure enjoyed it!

Every where you looked, there was something to see ...

... our holly bush had new leaves growing, ...

... where the leaves from our 'fairy bush' was already start to exchange it`s Summer green for Autum colors.

Just before I was going to head inside ...

... two little squirrels come on the deck again, ...

... so more apple pieces were needed and enjoyed too.

When turning around and trying to finally go inside again for the morning, I was happy to be stopped by the sight of this little furry baby. 

This little rabbit lives underneath our neighbours shed and ... 

... visits our garden almost on a daily base ...



... to have a nibble on some of our weeds ...

... and I am so happy he/she does because it just make my day.

And now you all know why I love early mornings so much and I wish you all an early morning to enjoy.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Change Of Plans ..

Hello my dear friends,

at times when I would like to sit and work on something, I am obviously not meant too.
That was the case late last night.

I wanted to work on making a few more of those beautiful big white flowers I had share with you a little while ago or at least cut the petals out that I needed for them but our cat Alexia had other things in mind for me.

She sure didn't want me to cut my fabric as you can see ...

... but I just couldn't make her move.

Look at that sweet little face ... cutting fabric can wait for another day.

The heat is still a thing here in Southwestern Ontario but hopefully we will get a few cooler days soon. I would love to go for a walk again but I am not going to do so in this yucky weather.

When I woke up yesterday morning just after 5 am it was quite foggy outside due to all the moisture in the air.

I make sure that my little watering stations are with clean fresh water all the time now ...

... and I think the critters are grateful for me doing so.

This little dove had a drink and then decided to lay down and spread it's wings in hope of cooling down. I just wish it would have done so in the shade and not the sun.

And last but not least ...

... a day ago a tornado close to our town was confirmed ~ what a scary thing!
Today it is going to fell like it is 42C with humidex again, so it's inside work only for me. I am sure, I won't be bored for too long. I am going to use this time to get some photographing done so I can share some of my newest creations with all of you very soon.

 Please stay cool today if it is hot where you are!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

My 'Mystery' Mail Revealed ...

Hello my dear friends,

today I am going to finally show you what was in the box that arrived in the mail a few weeks ago.

I took me 'forever' to find treasures like these but they are here and I am so happy that was able to work with them.

So far you have only seen this ...

... and now I will show you what is under that bubble wrap and paper ...

... it was these lovely old egg shaped table lighters ~ all neat and that in pink enamel. 

As far as I know they were made in the 1950's or 1960's. The enamel is all tattered and chipped, in some places a little more and in some places a little less but that doesn't take away from their neat character and look. 

I am sure you all know where this went again once again and that is what I am sharing with all of you today ... the first one of my three newest creations.

On the outside nothing has changed at all and that is exactly how I wanted it but ...

... but once you open it up and ...

... turn it around, you will be able to see what I have done with it.

Of course I just had to give it a new life as a pincushion and such a delightful one in my eyes.

Vintage pale pink velvet, some old tatting and a vintage porcelain broach were meant to be together and make this creation what it is ... just lovely!

What do you think?

Instead of covering the original decor up in this piece ...

... I decided to just enhance it by framing it with some old tatting.

I am definitely not a pink person but I do love how this creation has come together, pink or not and I hope you have enjoyed it too. Don't forget, there are two more 'pink eggs' to come very soon. All three of these 'pink eggs' will be listed in my Etsy shop once I have shared them all with you, just in case any of you might be interested in one of them.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today, here at Todolwen and it would be so nice if you would do so again some time.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

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.