Last Minute ..

Hello my dear friends,

this year, it has for some reason been hard for me to get focused and to get things done in a timely matter and also on time. I had so much planned that I wanted to do and only got a small part of it actually done. Now it is 'five to twelve' and I need to get my skates on and work fast. I hate last minute things so much but I have only myself to blame for this.

On my to-do list I still have gifts to make, Christmas cards to write and other creative jobs. One of them is sanding a small table and finally giving it a new top and to top my list off , I want to sand our basement stairs down and that in the coming two weeks. Thankfully I am almost done with all my Christmas shopping and almost everything is wrapped already. Being very productive is my priority this week and my work table and palm sander are already waiting for me.

Of course this is when you don't want things to go wrong or not turn out they way you want them too but that is what happened to me. I had started a project and wasn't happy with the way it looked and instead of placing it aside, I continued to try to make it work and ended up irritated. Once I finally put it aside and started from fresh ... I had the perfect idea on how to change what I didn't like and now I am very pleased with the outcome of what I made. That will be something I am going to share with you very soon. Of course there is a lot more that I would like to create, will I get any of it done?... You and I will have to wait if it happens.

I will leave to today with some photographs I had taken. Some of them are older ones and I can't remember if I have already shared them or not and some are from a week or so ago. All of them are from around our property and I hope you enjoy them.

These pictures I took last winter but forgot to share with you. Do you just  love the little rabbit and squirrel?

And these photos are from a week or so ago.

I bought new Christmas lights and some of them were for our deck. It looks so lovely when it is dark outside now.

We even had a little snow over night about a week ago.

Can you see all the snowflakes falling?

It snowed quite intense but it didn't last long. The following day after it already started to melt away.

And then after the snow ...

... came the frost and it kissed everything in it's way and made it just look so lovely.

I know you can't see it but this little rose is actually frozen and hard to the touch.

My little rosebush is determent to bloom as long as possible this year ...

... as you can see by the buds still growing.

And last but not least ...

... Winter sunshine in my studio ~I just love the the morning sun.
The left plant belonged to my Mum and the right poinsettia was a gift from my neighbour last year Christmas. It is still growing but there are no bright red flowers this year by the look of it but that is OK, I still love it.

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to visit me here at Todolwen. It is always so nice when you do. Do come back soon, I will have some new creations to share with you.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

At Christmas Time ..

Hello my dear friends,

Christmas is a very special time and at times little miracles do happen and that is the theme of my newest creation. I have a 'thing' for something new which is my little pearl snowmen. I just love the way they look so much and couldn't resist making a creation using one of them and I am so sure it won't be the last one either. 

I was happy to finally use a base I had created over two years ago and it turned out to be the perfect one. I was also able to use one of the neatest things from Swarovski Crystal Elements which I had bought a little while ago. It was a tiny crystal butterfly. These things together made a so sweet little Christmas creation that I have named ...

... 'A Little Christmas Miracle'.

I am so buzzed with this little creation and I hope you haved enjoyed me sharing it with you.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me here at Todolwen and I hope you will stop by soon again

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Wanting To Be A Little Creative? ..

Hello my dear friends,

looking for a little something to create that is Christmassy?

For those of you that don't know, I have several little free 'how-to's on my tutorial page and they are all about Christmas.

 I also have a these two tutorials listed for sale in my Etsy shop that just shout Christmas is coming.

My music sheet poinsettia would look lovely anywhere, from a festive table to a Christmastree ...

... and my poinsettia stocking would look so lovely hanging from the fireplace mantel.

From cochet littel snowflakes to poinsettia napkin rings, if you are wanting to be creative, you might just find something you will like to make. So why not head over to my tutorial page and check it out and after that stop by my Etsy shop and take a quick look there too.

It is so nice of you to stop by here at Todolwen today and I hope you have enjoyed your visit.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Not Such A Giant Anymore ..

Hello my dear friends,

the work on our willow tree is finally done.

 It took three days and now our gentle giant isn't too giant anymore but still a wonderful gentle piece of nature. All in all 4 truckloads of her were taken away ~ 3 of them were chipped and one had the largest pieces of the tree. Overall the work went very well with only a few things I wasn't too happy with but I can now sleep at night again when it is stormy and our tree will hopefully have several more years to live in our backyard and bring us joy.

The final piece 'falling'. The crown being cut and then lowered to the ground.

Our tree went from this three days ago ...

... to this now.

Much smaller and safer too.

Looking a little closer, now covered with newly fallen snow ...

... it doesn't look too bad.

I am actually surprised, that I wasn't more upset after the work was done and so much of the tree was taken away. Instead I felt a little more peaceful about the entire thing and that is one good feeling.

Thank you all for your kind comments and understanding of how I feel about our tree. These days it is too easy just to cut a tree down without thinking of how long it took to grow. I am so happy we decided to do the right thing for us and our tree.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

A Neat Wreath Kit ..

Hello my dear friends,

you all know how much I love to create.

And it is so nice to be able to find neat things that just 'talk' to you once in a while.  A few evenings ago I saw this neat kit and I just couldn't resist. It is a wreath kit from Lisa Mcilvain. Her blog is 'Tarnished and Tattered' but you will find her on facebook more often these days.

And this is her kit ~ just take a look!

Felted Wool Holiday Wreath

Isn't this such a lovely wreath?! It is made from small pieces of felted sweaters and blankets. Of course I had to have one of these neat kits because I just love the look of it. Now I can't wait for it to get here and for me to make it! I am already looking for the right ribbon to create bow for it. If you are interested in making one too and want to purchase a kit, just click on the link above, it will take you to Lisa's listing of the wreath kit.

Once mine is done, I will for sure share it with all you Lovelies here on Todolwen.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

The First Day Of Work ..

Hello my dear friends,

work has started on our willow tree and I am surprised that I am not more upset about it. I think it is because I am telling myself over and over again, that it is this or the tree will have to go and it is working. Today I am sharing a few photos of what happened yesterday.

A few days before work started I took a photograph of our daughters under the tree, it is the only one believe it or not since we have owned this house.

 The evening before I took quite a few photos,sat on our deck and just looked at our beautiful gentle giant and a few tears did flow. I think, I was just stressed out and worried. After all it is a huge tree with very heavy limbs, something could go wrong. I am one of those people that always worry before things happen you see.

One last picture of it's lovely canopy.

The tree went from this ...

... to this.

 A lot smaller in volume already. 

Day one went without any big problems and a lot got done. The crew will be here most probably for three days due to how big the tree is. With all the lower branches now gone, you can see how tall our willow stands. I will take more photos as the work progresses and share them with you soon again.

Apart from running around and ensuring that the protective ground mats were always in place at all times, I spend my day inside at my dinning room window. I choose be a little creative to take my mind off things. I worked on a new little making for Christmas but it is not quite done just yet. Hopefully it will be later on today and if I get a chance to take photographs of it, I will share it maybe tomorrow with all you Lovelies.

Last but not least ...

... it is now November 17th today and tucked away, hiding from the colder winds ...

... my little rosebush is still sharing it's last little blossoms of the year and putting a smile on my face and maybe yours too.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.