Practically Perfect In Every Way ...

Hello my dear friends,

in today's post I am sharing my newest creation with all of you. 

It is of the little something I made that is going to find a home in the small old box I shared with you in my post yesterday.

I knew right away that I didn't want to alter my newest found treasure at all but instead I wanted to create something that would do this neat box justice and pair up with it. It had to be beautiful but not too overwhelming or intense in any way. I had thought a lot and worked hard and it is now done and I am so excited to share my newest making with all of you. I can honestly say that I think I made the perfect creation for this piece!

To keep it short and sweet ... I made a pocket watch pincushion and it is "practically perfect in every way" in my eyes. It now lives in the antique casing and I couldn't be happier with it! To me it is like a sort of ode to the small box just not in words. I so love that my newest found treasure and my newest creation harmonize with each other so so very nicely.

So short and sweet as I said ... here it is!
I named it after the jeweler that would have created something for it the first time ...

"Julius's Gem".

I chose an old golden pocket watch casing and some velvet in a different but beautiful shade of purple for the pincushion. Some vintage sparkle, golden leaves and hand dyed seam binding made this creation what I had hoped for ... perfect for this beautiful antique box.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today and I hope you have enjoyed my newest making.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

A Very Neat And Unusual Finding ...

Hello my dear friends,

I know it's been a while again but here is my newst post. I hope you enjoy it.

A few weeks ago my two lovely daughters and I visited one of our local antique stores in search of any treasures that might be there, waiting to be found. I wasn't looking for anything in particular really, just something neat, unusual or just different.

Once we walk into the store, we tend to all go our own ways inside and if anyone finds anything the others might like, they grab and share andnd that is what happened on that visit. My younger daughter Caylagh went on the lookout and came back to me with something to neat, unusual, different and very special! She had found an old box/case for a watch, pocket watch or something else precious. I was over the moon when I saw it and of course it just had to be mine! Once back  home I started to do some research and this is what I found out.

The maker of the item that had once lived in the case was a gentleman named Julius Cornelius. He was born in 1825. He lived his life and worked in Europe and Canada until he died in 1916. His business was established in 1823 and he is classed as a Canadian treasure when it comes to his art which was being an amazing jewelry designer and goldsmith. Hmm ... so that makes this little case quite an old treasure and such a beautiful one too.

 But see for yourself what a stunning piece it is!

And it even has a tiny original tag ...

... on the bottom of it too but unfortunately I can't read it though.

Didn't I tell you that it was so special and so very neat?!

These days I try not to buy just anything but instead I try more and more to find those interesting and unusual pieces. I dislike buying things just for the sake of buying. More and more often I am out and about in antique stores or thrift stores and return home empty handed with the difference that these days I don't get frustrated by it like I used to be a few years ago. I now just know that, that piece for me just wasn't out there this time. I so love this treasure and am beyond happy my daughter had found it and shown it to me.

Of course a beautiful box/case can't just be left empty. Something lovely should live in it and I know exactly what that something was going to be but that is for another post. So ... if you would like to know what ends up living in my newest treasure, you will have to visit me again here at Todolwen. 

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Happy New Year ...

Hello my dear friends,

I just wanted to wish each and every one of you a ...

... Happy New Year.

Thank you all for visiting me here at Todolwen and leaving your thoughtful and caring comments. You have all been so very kind to me and I am so grateful for that.

May all your dreams and wishes come true in 2019! 

This Year's Giveaway Gift ...

Hello my dear friends,

I think this "being late" thing has become a permanent thing for me now. I should have shared this post weeks ago now but life was just busy.

Several weeks ago I had mailed the gift to the winner of my this year's "Christmas To Come" giveaway. It arrived safely and with good time before Christmas which I was so happy about.

And this is what I had picked as my gift ... 

I had chosen one of my Winter/Christmas Pumpkins.

I am so happy to say that she really liked it which again is so lovely and what I was hoping for.

To all of you that had taken part "Thank you". This is what makes me want to do this and because of that ... I will be holding a "Christmas To Come" giveaway in 2019 again! I will post about it here on Todolwen so keep an eye out in February for the post that will announce it!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Wishing You All ...

Hello my dear friends,

I would like to wish you all ...

... a very Merry Christmas!

Many hugs,

Bit By Bit ...

Hello my dear friends,

bit by bit I will be letting go of most of my creations which I made when I started blogging.

This now includes my three Christmas/winter scenes that I made in old cigar boxes. They were made in late 2011 and early 2012 and I can actually remember when I made each one of these boxes. I had been so fortunate to find these some small pewter/cast animals and trains and some old Monopoly pieces at an antique market. They were beyond perfect to us and make these lovely creations with. They have brought me so much joy over the years and now it is time for them to find new homes so I have space for new creations and for them to bring some one else joy too.

I have taken some new photos of my Winter scene boxes for those of you that haven't seen my them before and for those of you that might have forgotten what they look like.

And this is box  No.1 ...

"Oh, my little Christmas tree ..."

Memories of being a child and waking up on Christmas morning, all excited to find that Santa had left gifts under the Christmas tree brought this creation to life.

Box No. 2 ...

"Winter Time" ...

This reminds me of my childhood home and seeing the houses on our street covered in freshly fallen snow at Christmas time.

And last but not least ...

 Box No. 3 ...

"My Very Own Winter Wonderland" ...

This creation came to be after I saw a little rabbit sitting in our garden. There it was,in the  freshly fallen snow near our Christmas tree and I just feel in love with what I saw.

All three of my boxes are now listed for sale in my Etsy shop and I am planning on listing a few more things hopefully in the next few days. So ... if you are interested, why not pop over and take a look.

Thank you for stopping by today, 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.

Pine Cones ...

Hello my dear friends,

I just love pine cones!

 Small ones, big ones, light ones and dark ones, fat ones and skinny one, long ones and short ones! 

I have bowls filled with them in our home all year round because I think that they are just such a neat creation from nature.

 Recently I had found some little metal pine cones by Tim Holtz at Michaels, that I ended up using one some of my little felt mittens and stockings. I did like them a lot but now I am in love with some other ones that I had discovered on Etsy and they are so very beautiful in my eyes! Again they are again made from metal but quite a bit larger than the first ones I used and I just couldn't resist ordering them. I did so mid October but with the rotating postal strike we were having here in Canada and because they came from the other side of the world, I only received them a few days ago. Seeing them up close, I don't mind the wait that much anymore because their beauty makes up for the time it took them to get here.

And these are the pine cones!

Aren't they just stunning?!

Of course I just had to order them in antique silver ...  

 ... and antique gold and I am beyond happy that I did.

To give you an idea of their size I put them next to a quarter. Not only love their look but also love their size too! Each pine cone measures approx.1.5 inches in length. 

I don't think that I have ever made a Winter themed pincushion since I have been blogging but that is about to change now. I am already working on my newest creation using a few of these pretties and will be sharing it soon with all of you.

 So ... do come back again some time 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.