My Christmas Nest

Hello my dear friends,

last week as I was getting my morning chores done ~ I looked outside my kitchen window and what do I see .... SNOW!! Yes, the beautiful white little fairies are making their first appearance this year. That makes it the perfect time to share a new creation of mine with you ... it is my Christmas nest.

I made the nest again from an lambswool sweater that came from Ireland ...

 

... and the wool I used is from all over Europe that I have had since some time but never really had a use for ... until now.

 

 

This is one of my favourite wools ~ it looks like it is glistening ever so slightly.

 

 

I wanted to use lighter red pip berries for this nest but I only had burgundy red berries on hand. Well ... at 6 am in the morning you some times get really good ideas ... like using your daughter's red nail polish to create the right colored pip berries you need!

Another good thing to do first thing in the morning is to take photos in the frost when the sun is rising and that is exactly what I did with this nest.

 

I hope you enjoy my new Christmas Nest.

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

As you can see, it was hard for me to decide on which photos to share with you and these are the ones that made it to the short list and I thought I was happy. Then ... the a little snow fell and I just had to get a few pictures in the nest in the snow.

 

 

And as you can see ...

 

... even Tugs is happy with the new nest.

 

If you look at my free tutorials on the right sidebar you will find the 'felted nest tutorial' and the 'kissed by the frost' tutorial just waiting for you to start and create!

 

And if you do and would like to, why not send me a photo so I can see what you have made.

 

And until the next time ... here at Todolwen ...

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B. 

 

Once An Old Pillowcase ..

Hello my dear friends,

since it is getting closer to Christmas it just seems right for me to tell you about my next creation and I thought it would be neat to write it like a short story ...

 

~

'Once upon a time there was a little pillowcase. It was older and not so white anymore and had a few tiny holes here and there. It would spend most of it's life now tucked away in the far corner of the linen closet where it was always dark and away from the warm sun and everything else nice.

One day the pillowcase was taken out of the closet and placed into a plastic bag. It was carried to a car and taken to a thrift store where it was hung with many other unwanted pillowcases on a rack. Then one day a lady came by and saw it. She liked it so much that she bought it. She took it home and thought of how she could give this little old pillowcase a new purpose in life and she did. She transformed it into something very lovely and unique.

This way the little pillowcase would be able to be around for many more years and it's new life would be a very special one too. It would be taken care of and placed in a box where it would wait for the most wonderful time of the year. This time the pillowcase didn't mind it at all because every time it was taken out of it's box now it would be placed in a beautiful room with a big tree with shiny decorations and twinkling lights and if that wasn't a wonderful thing ... every year a very special person would come and visit the pillowcase and pay a lot of attention to it because it was no longer just an old pillowcase but now a beautiful Christmas stocking with sparkling snowflake jewels with dazzling crystals and trims, ribbons and jingle bells.'
 

 ~

 

I love how an old unwanted pillowcase now has a new life as a Christmas stocking for many more years to come. I actually had made this stocking earlier this year some time and only now did I think the time was right to share it with you. I do hope you have enjoyed my newest creation.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

What Is On My Worktable At The Moment ..

Hello my dear friends,

don't you too wish that at times the day would have 36 hours? I so do! I feel and actually am ever so busy these days.

I can give you a short run down of a part of my current to do list ...

... finish scarves for Vicki's pink scarf project and mail them,

... finish and mail Christmas cards for Jillayne's Christmas card swap,

... start making heating pillows as gifts,

... start knitting a scarf for Caylagh,

... start crocheting slippers for Ashleigh,

... start staining the dining room set,

... start decorating the front and back yard for Christmas,

... start decorating the house for Christmas,

... work on a new tutorial for my Etsy shop,

... finish Christmas shopping,

... bake cupcakes for the nurses that looked after my Mum,

... start writing Christmas cards ...

... and so much more!!

The actual project I am working on at this moment is Jillayne's Christmas card swap.

 

Lots and lots of snowflakes are being made and every little scrap is being used ...

 

... to cut little snowflakes and large ones!

 

And that is all I am going to share with you so far. I am hoping to be finishing them soon and then of course you will be able to see the cards completed before I send them on their way to British Columbia to the lovely Jillayne.

 

And ... since it is me, I don't tend to start just one project at any one time, no ... I have more than one on the go right now and if things work out I will be able to tell you more about them very soon, project by project, once they are finished.

 

So ... don't forget to stop by from time to time again and come and see what I have been up to.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

Karen B.

Waste Not ..

Hello my dear friends,

like many of you creators out there I too love to hang on to almost any and every small scrap of  something for the reasons of  'just in case' and 'you never know' and 'I might be able to use it'.

This little creation is one of those cases. If you recall I made the lovely felted crown designed by Donna Goss and just like the other crown makers I too had leftover pieces of the most lovely felt and I too, just like others, turned some of my little leftovers of felt into a lovely heart ... well, to be exact a small felted heart pincushion.

 

 

 

 

 

It didn't take a lot of time or supplies to make this little treasure. Half an hour time and a little scrap of felt and a piece of doilie here and some treasures there. It is so neat what can be created from very little and things you might have on hand ~ you just have to put a little thought into it and off you go creating something lovely!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

How Could I Resist ..

Hello my dear friends,

I am sure I have said it many of times and what can I say ... I couldn't resist!

Tuesday was all about renovations, dust, dinner and last but not least piano lessons ~ I am sure you get the picture.

Renovations ... we are slowly but surely ~ I hope ~ seeing the work coming to an end soon. At the moment there are still some things that have to be sorted out.

Dust ... OK this is where I can't see the end in sight yet!

 Dinner was good ~ chicken Caesar wraps ~ so tasty!

And then we had piano lessons that my younger daughter, Caylagh, takes at the music store in our local mall. That is 30 minutes of me walking around a mall that I pretty much don't like at all due it being dull and boring in my book (I am not one for looking at make~up, shoes and clothes all the time and don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that if that is what you like but personally I don't).
 

Whilst strolling past the stores looking into their windows, hoping that time would pass by fast I came across the Carlton Card store where they were having a sale. Of course a sale sign can not be just walked passed and a quick look is a must, so I did. And this is where my mall visit turned from not so good to great! Amongst all sorts of beautiful Christmas bits and  pieces there they were ... bottle brush trees! But not just any bottle brush trees ...  large bottle brush trees - the largest I have found so far!

 

The larger one is just under 12 inches and the other one just under 10 inches and they are so neat!!

 

 

Here are my new large trees and one of my smallest ones too, so you can see the size difference.

 

Isn't this the cutest little Christmas tree?! Just slightly larger than a little pine cone.

 

 

And this is what I might be using with the 10 inch tree ~ an old canning jar that I found at the Goodwill store a few days ago. Bleaching the tree again is another thought too. Right now it is still a 'I am not sure yet' but I am not in a rush to make a decision about it. I have a picture of how I would like this creation to come to life and I can't wait until I can share it with you ~ hopefully soon. 

 

So whenever you have a moment ... do pop back  ~ I would love for you to visit Todolwen again!

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

A First For Me ..

Hello my dear friends,

at last I have had a little time to sit and work on something creative over the weekend! (I am one happy lady) I have so many things I could be working on right now but the one I chose to do is a first for me.

It is a lovely project that Jillayne from 'A Fine Seam' came up with some weeks ago. It is a Christmas card swap... but not just a simple swap... no ... in this swap cards will be made/bought for a group of people and sent to Jillayne in BC. She has taken it upon herself to then create beautiful Christmas books from these cards and each participant will receive one of them in the new year. I have never taken part in a swap before and I think I was the first or one of the first to sign up to this and I am so excited to take part in it. If you don't know Jillayne's blog, why not drop by and take a look. She is the creator of beautiful things.

http://quiltingfabrications.blogspot.ca/2012/11/hearts-content.html

The weather is so lovely right now ... it is cold and the sun is shining and no workmen in the house over the weekend and I was sitting at my dining room table and punching out many, many snowflakes. The night before I was searching my studio for all sorts of goodies that I could use in the project and since I love to reuse I was so happy to find a box of Christmas cards that I bought quite a few years ago and only used a few. My choice was to either stamp something very elegant or use these cards which shout out Christmas with a Santa and a snowman and lots of glitter ...and the cards won! And again I am happy because they will hopefully bring joy to somebody this Christmas again and not sit in one of my drawers for more years to come. 

 

 

I am just hoping I have picked the right theme and that my cards will turn out as good as I can see them in my mind. Once I have completed them I take some photos and I will share them with you and I would love to hear from you my dear friends and what you think about them.

 

And last but not least ...

 

  

 

... a feathered visitor that captured my eye.

This beautiful feathered creature spent quite some time in my Flame bushes gathering berries. I am so glad I was able to get a photo or two of her. I just love these little visits from nature every now and again - so beautiful and sweet.

That is all for now my dear friends, stop by soon again and see what I have to share!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B. 

 

Life's Little Pretties

Hello my dear friends,

you have seen these little dried pretties in some of my creations before but I just had to show them off again. I harvest my tiny rose buds twice a year and these are the last ones for this year. I love them because they are so petite and so lovely. I think I already mentioned that my rose bush is already over 20 years old and still growing strong which I am very grateful for ...

 

... and I hope I can find many more ways to use them in my creations.

 

 

 It is so very neat when you can use an old thimble as a vase ~ don't you agree?!

 

Wishing you many of life's little pretties!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

Kiss Me Under The Mistletoe ..

 

Hello my dear friends,

today I would love to share another one of my matchbox creations with you. I made this one a little Christmas box. It was made early summer time when it was so very hot already. I'm not sure what made me come up with mistletoe but I liked the idea of using an old tradition and kissing under the mistletoe is one of them.

 



 

 

The mistletoe itself  I made from pearls, gold wire and book pages which complement each other  nicely and bring this creation together.

 

Tiny golden jingle bells were a must for this making!

 

 

And what would Christmas be without glitter, pine cones, jingle bells and mistletoe and if you wish and like ~ kisses too?!

 

I wish you all many kisses under the mistletoe this Christmas time!

 

I would love for to visit me soon again here at Todolwen.

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.