Copyright of Content and Name of Todolwen Karen Bailey 2013

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Friday, October 28, 2011

These Past Weeks

Hello my dear friends,

it has been a little while since I have had time to work on my blog. I hope life is slowly calming down for me which would be so very nice since I have been feeling the strain lately. The running around with our outdoor project, my Mom very sick in hospital and my younger daughter's fracture and on top of the all the other normal things in life were getting too much for me at one point. I fell sick over Thanksgiving with being so exhausted that I stayed in bed for almost two full days.  I am better now and I am even getting a bit of creating time in between chores lately.

I have restarted a "old" project which I had been working on and then gave up and my friend the sweet Dawn from the Feathered Nest was the driving point there for me to restart it. I am hoping it will not take too much time to create it and that I will be able to finish it they way I see it in my mind. I am not going to tell you what it is just yet. Actually I have had several new ideas that are now waiting patiently in my little companion (my wee idea booklet) for me to start working on some time soon.

I did have a few hours to myself a few weekends ago so I visited a few of this years last church sales and found many treasures that will help keep me busy once the cold weather starts and the beautiful snow is back. I find there is something very special about sitting at my table looking out the window into my back yard and watching the first glistening snowflakes fall to earth. It's like magic!!

But now I would like to share my new treasures with you ...


 a few vintage doilies ...


 an old strainer/egg cooker (well that's what they told me it was!) and a vintage jelly form ...


 a few vintage pieces of jewellery and sparkling buttons ...


 a wee old tin and cardboard "tin" filled with little bits and pieces ...


 a small vintage globe ...


 a little box filled with these lovely small prints of maps ...




and finally a little silver tray, a silver handle or knife stand and a silver and glass candy dish. I am sure they will all come in handy for a project in the future.

Also a short update for you on our outdoor project ...


our pool is now closed for the year. Unfortunately we never got to use it once this summer but I hope that next summer will be a good one. I did manage to get our new lawn done before it got too wet and cold. Unfortunately I hate to say that there were so many problems with some of the companies that we had hired that I will think twice about any larger projects in the future.

And last but not least ...


... I took my 11 year old daughter Caylagh to see Selena Gomez a few days ago here in London and it was just fantastic!! Selena was sick on the night but she still gave a great performance which I am sure my daughter will never forget!

I hope it won't take me weeks to be able to share something new with you all again but please, do stop by once in a while!

I hope you are all well and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

My Witch Hat Creations ~ Part 2

Hello my dear friends,

as promised I would like to share the second part of my witch hat creations with you today and again I will let my pictures speak for themselves because I did all the explaining in my last post. Even though this is a black hat it doesn't mean that it belongs to a "bad" witch. Mabel is just like Florence ~ kind, caring and loving.

This hat belongs to Mabel ~ the Witch of Shadows.


















Again I hope you have enjoyed my latest creation! Please keep stopping by from time to time to see if I have something new to share with you.

I hope you are well and that life is treating you well also.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.



Tuesday, October 11, 2011

My Witch Hat Creations ~ Part 1

Hello my dear friends,

as most of you know my life has been pretty stressful these past weeks and creating is my way of getting away from all of it even if it's only for a short time. I have worked when ever I felt the need to escape which was almost every day some times only for 10 minutes but now I have completed my creations and can't wait to share them with you.

I told you about my witch's hats that were made from muslin a few posts ago. They sat in my craft room for over a year being some of the few remainders of my primitive times. I used one of my old primitive techniques with this project which was painting the muslin hat with acrylic paint before embellishing it and it worked out very well. These would be called make-do's when it comes to primitives. You use anything you have and just make do with it almost like it is with altered art.


I was going to do a project with these hats involving "good and bad" witches but my daughter Ashleigh made me change my mind about that. Now they are about "light and shadow" witches. Both hats belong to good witches - one that loves the day and one that loves the night. Both believe in God, are gentle and kind and love everything good in this world.

Today I would like to share my first hat with you ~ it belongs to Florence ~ the Witch of Light.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let my pictures speak for themselves.














I hope you have enjoyed my newest creation today!

Tomorrow I will share my other hat creation with you ~ it belongs to Mabel ~ the Witch of Shadows.


I hope you are well and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Monday, October 10, 2011

A Wee (Fairy) Witch's Tale

Hello my dear friends,

today I would like to tell you a wee witch's tale ....

Once upon a time, there was a witch named Florence; she was the witch of light. Florence was beautiful and
radiant. She had lightening white hair and had seven little fireflies who were her very best of friends. Together, Florence and the fireflies would raise the sun into the sky every day to shine its glorious beams down upon the earth. It was because of Florence and her fireflies that the birds sang their sweet melodies, the tree's sprouted and bloomed, the flowers blossomed, and the brooks babbled; they gave life to the world.

Florence also had a sister and her name was Mabel who was the witch of shadows. Mabel had raven black hair and much like Florence, had 4 moths who were her very best of friends. Some felt sorry for Mabel and wondered why she only had four friends, but the truth was that because her friends were moths, they were bigger than fireflies and had bigger hearts therefore giving Mabel just as much love as Florence received from her seven little fireflies.

Together, Mabel and her moth's would sail across the sky every night to pull the moon into place where it could glow and watch over the earth. Mabel cascaded the night, much like a blanket, across the earth to tuck it in after a long day of light. It was because of Mabel and her Moth's that the sweet birds finished their songs and tucked their young to sleep, the tree's stood still and let their branches droop, the flowers closed their pretty petals for the night, and the brooks politely kept their babbling down to a gentle whisper. Mabel brought peace and calm to the world.

Even though these witches are sisters they could only meet at dusk and dawn each day to share their thoughts of the world and their love for everything good and each other. Until today you can still see the little fireflies and moths flattering around every dusk and dawn and even if you can't see the witches in person, they are there doing what they do best; helping to make this world a wonderful and beautiful place for us to live in . . . one shadow, and one glimmer of light at a time.

(This wee witch's tale was created by my daughter Ashleigh with a little help from me.)

Tomorrow I will share my first witch's hat with you, it belongs to Florence ~ the Witch of Light.

I hope you are all well and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Friday, October 7, 2011

A Short Update

Hello my dear friends,

the only way I can describe the last week is draining and terribly heartbreaking. I am so grateful that my aunt had come from Vancouver to be here with me. Decisions had to be made and now the time has come to accept these decisions. My mom is OK and comfortable at this moment in time. We will have to wait and see what the future will bring and that is all I can really say.

One thing I hope I have learnt from this past week is to be happy with what you have in your life and enjoy it and don't ever take anything for granted! Also don't be envious of things you don't have because in a flash everything could change with no return. I knew this all along but just now it has been brought back to my mind very strongly.Especially show people that you care about them. Always say " I love you" to somebody you care about. A smile and a kind word is like sunshine on a early summer morning ~ warm and beautiful.

I am still working on a few projects and I am hoping to be able to share them with you soon but til then I would like to wish you a happy Thanksgiving ~ have a wonderful weekend !!

I hope you are well and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.