Just Listed .. New Treasures In My Etsy Shop ..

Hello my dear friends,

I have just listed some of my creations in my Etsy shop and here is a little sneak peek for you ...

 

All three of these pieces are some of my favourite treasures I have created and now they can become yours if you wish. If you have a spare moment why not stop by my Etsy shop and take a peek?!

 

On a short note ... I am sorry to say that either of these three pieces can not be combined with shipping with another one of these pieces due to their shape and to prevent damage. I hope youunderstand.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B. 

 

Something New To Create With ..

Hello my dear friends,

a week or so ago I was searching for something new to create with and I decided to visit Ebay to try my luck and was I lucky! I have always wanted to have some pocket watch casings to work with but never was able to find any that I was happy with. Then I found a 'lot' sale on Ebay, I loved the look of it and bid on it and ... WON!

 

And this morning they arrived in the mail ... I am so excited!

 

 

Packed up all snug ...

 

 

... and safe.

  

 

There they are all wrapped up ...

 

 

... many vintage pocket watch cases!

Since the moment I won the bidding I was thinking of what I could do with them and then it came to me ... Christmas. I have had a really neat idea that I am not going to share with you today, even though I would really like to, because I have to see if it will turn out or not and ... it's only May and Christmas is still 200 and something days away or should I have said only?!

Right now the quilt I am working on is giving me a headache because for some reason it is not working the way it is meant to. Hopefully I can sort it out soon because time is flying by so fast. My bedroom makeover is on a stand still because I need a few pieces to complete it and it is not always easy to find things you are looking for which I am sure so many of you know.

I have been busy working on my decluttering and I have choosen new treasures that I will be listing in my Esty shop tomorrow, so if you have some time, do stop by and take a look.

It is always nice when you visit me here at Todolwen. Maybe I will see you here soon again and until then ...

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B.
 

I Love To Reuse ..

Hello my dear friends,

being the person I am I almost always have more than one project on the go and also being the person I am I love to reuse and fix items instead of buying something new right away. This is the case right now too as I am still working on my bedroom makeover and now I have taken to my lamp shades.

 

We bought our lamps 6 years ago when we returned to Canada and then I really liked them but now they are not so nice anymore. The glue that was used has gone all weird. It has ruined the fabric with some sort of a rust colored stain. Not only that but I would like a little different look too.

 

So far I have taken the top fabric off very carefully not to damage the inner white liner that I still want to use ~ can you see those ugly lines in the top photo, on the fabric that look like rust ... those are the glue lines I was talking about - they look awful! I am thinking of trying drop cloth for the new cover. I am hoping it would look good but right now I will have to wait and see. I will share more once I have tried my idea out ... if it works.

But that's not all again ...

 

I am very, very busy working on the quilt for Caylagh. Yesterday I managed to cut all the other pieces that were needed for the quilt top and also sew a quarter of the pieces together. It is going at a good pace because of the size of the pieces and I am so happy that I found my old leather thimble finally.

I have had this little gem for such a long time now that it is all worn out but it still does the job as it saves my poor finger from being all torn up again like they used to be before it bought it. If any of you lovely bloggers do hand quilting I can only tell you to head out and get yourself one of these leather thimbles ~ they are amazing!

I am so excited to see how Caylagh's quilt turns out in the end!

I am also working on a few new creations right now, but they will have to wait a little longer until they are finished because my daughter's birthday and my room make over come first right now. I will of course share everything with you once it is all finished so please make sure to stop by every now and again and see what else I have to share!

Until next time,

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B.

 

New Creations Listed in my Etsy Shop ..

Hello my dear friends,

my 'decluttering' is far from over and I have been very busy choosing creations and taking photos and now everything is listed in my Etsy shop.

Not only have I listed more ...

 

 

... of my early tarnished pincushions,  but I have also listed all ...

 

 

... of my scissor pouches that I had made from the pattern I designed.

 

So if you have a spare moment why not take your cup a coffee and pop over to my shop.

And last but not least ...

I am beyond busy with the Union Jack quilt and it is starting to look very nice. I have also cut out all the top pieces and I am still hoping I will be ready in time for June 13th and I can't wait to share it with all you lovely bloggers.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

Another Project I Am Working On ..

Hello my dear friends,

it seems that I always do this .. either take on too much all at one time or leave something I need to do very late. And that is how it is in this case again. I am still not finished with my master bedroom makeover and now I am working on another larger project ... namely a quilt.

It is my younger daughter Caylagh's birthday on June 13 when she will be 13 this year  .. 2013! A lot of 13's I know and very neat. For her birthday she asked me if I could make her a quilt and I said yes of course. I haven't quilted in many years so I am a tiny bit 'rusty' but I am sure the quilt will turn out nicely.

 

 

Caylagh wanted me to design her a Union Jack quilt - not traditional but a bit more modern with non traditional colors. Together we went fabric shopping and the colors that she picked were shades of purple (plain and patterned), white and beige and they all look great together.

I made the design and yesterday I cut the first pieces out and today I have sewn them together already and all by hand ~ my fingers are sore right now. I have made 6 or 7 quilts over the years and I have never used a sewing machine. All the pieces are sewn together and quilted by hand and that is how this one is going to be made too and I am hoping that I will be able to finish it on time for Caylagh's birthday. After her birthday I will share the finished result with you, because even though she knows that I am making it I don't want her to see it completed before her birthday, I just want it to make her happy!

And last but not least ...

... I will be listing new items in my Etsy shop tomorrow. There will be more pincushions and maybe even my scissor pouches which I have created from the pattern I designed but I am not quite sure yet. So if you would like to know what is newly listed and if you have a spare moment why not visit my Etsy shop tomorrow and find out.

It was so nice that you visited me here at Todolwen and maybe you will visit me again some time in the future.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

My Little Wren ..

Hello my dear friends,

since quite some time I have wanted to gift myself with something little from Michelle Palmer, who I am sure many of you already know and who is an amazing artist! I have finally allowed myself to buy one of her beautiful creations!

Michelle was so very kind and sweet to custom sketch me a little wren. Well, she actually drew 3 little wrens so I could choose which one I liked the most and today I would love to share it with you.

 

I was so excited when I saw the larger envelope in my mailbox and the stamp was so neat on it ... 

 

... but the best part of it was inside the envelope ...

 

... along with a sweet note and a little tag ...

 

there was my little original wren sketch by Michelle!

 

 

I love this little feathered critter so much!

It is still in the clear plastic sleeve to keep it safe until I can find the right frame for it.

 

Not only does Michelle do amazing sketches but she is also an amazing painter too.

You should really pop over to her blog and take a look at her newest creations. To give you a tiny idea of what you will find ... she uses color and nature in such a unique way ...

 

(Photo courtesy of Michelle Palmer)

 

Isn't this just beautiful?! 

Here is a link to Michelle's blog ~ do pop over and visit her ... you won't regret it!

 

http://michellepalmerart.blogspot.com/

 

 

And last but not least ... 

 

... here is my little beauty of nature ...

 

 

... a tiny pansy not even 3 inches tall. 

I have the most lovely neighbour. Her name is Katherine and she is such a sweet lady and an amazing gardener too. She gave me this little pansy a few weeks ago and it was the tiniest plant with two little flowers and now look at it ... still tiny but so lovely. It now lives and blooms beautifully with all it bright colors in my front yard at our big rock and makes me smile every time I look at it. 

 

It would be nice if you were to stop by some time again and visit me here at Todolwen and until then ...

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

 

Please Pray ...

Hello  my dear friends,

Please pray for all those unfortunate that were affected by those most terrible tornadoes these past days.

 

 

Many Hugs



Karen B.

 

 

 

Happy Victoria Day!

Hello my dear friends,

I just wanted to wish all of you Canadians out there in blogland, facebook and all over the world ...

... Happy Victoria Day!

(Her Majesty Queen Victoria)

 

I hope you have a fun filled day with family and friends!

 

Many hugs,

 

 

Karen B.

My Newest Project ..

Hello my dear friends,

even though I haven't been very productive when it comes to my little creations,  I have been very busy with a new bigger project.

Since we bought our house almost 5 years ago I have always wanted to repaint our master bedroom because I wasn't happy with it. The color of it was something between an ochre yellow/mustard yellow; basically a 'in your face' intense orange/yellow color that I hated. I never actually did anything because we were thinking of maybe having the windows renewed so painting would come after that really. So I made do with what I had and left it as that and didn't really donate any proper time to design and style my bedroom either. These days the windows still haven't happened and I just got so fed up opening my eyes to that horrible color that two days ago I decided enough is enough.

 

I am not sure if I had mentioned our time in the army, where the walls in your house were allowed to be cream or white and that was that. After leaving the army of course I was all for bold colors but now I am wanting simple, plain and subtle back and that is the plan for our entire house sooner than -later back to all one color.

 

After the basement renovation we picked a color ~ a grey/beige from Benjamin Moore 'grant beige' ~ for the walls and this is the color I used for the master bedroom too. Oh and by the way the basement is still not completed due to some issues with moisture coming through the floor now ~ it never ends!! That is why I haven't shared any more photos with you about it so far but I will when I have new ones.
 

Back to the bedroom ... so day before yesterday I prepped the room with pulling all nails out and filling holes, priming a little .. the things you do before painting! And yesterday morning I started at about around 11 am and I was finished with the painting at 3 pm and so happy!

I am only going to share a few photos with you today because I am still not quite done. My plan for today is to do touch-ups and the final clean up and shopping for new blinds for the windows.

This color might look nice in this photo (it is much brighter in real) but it has always been bothering me and now ...

 

... see the transformation slowly before your eyes ...

  ... LOVE IT!!

 

Depending on the light it looks a bit more gray than beige at times but that is OK with me because ...

the yellow is gone and it only cost me $37.25 for paint!

 

That is all I am going to share with you today. I am sure it is going to take me a little while to get everything just they way I want it. I still have to decide what I am going to put on the walls (pictures) and I need new lamp shades and new night stands but as soon as I am happy with it and it is done in my book I will share the result with all you lovely bloggers.

 

 If you have a spare moment I would love for you to visit me soon again and until then ...

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B. 

 

Now Listed ... 'My Little Cupboard Mouse'

Hello my dear friends,

I just wanted to let you know that my first cupboard mouse is now listed in my Etsy shop ...

 

 

... why not go and take peek.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

For The Very First Time ..

Hello my dear friends,

for the first time ever I am going to list one of my little critters in my Etsy shop.

This creation is one of my first designs that I have made and after many failed attempts the end result is just the neatest, cutest little thing that I love. This design is my 'baby' and very special to me and believe it or not I have never sold or even given one of these away as a gift.
 

And this is the little critter that is searching for a new home ~ it is one of my 'Cupboard Mice'.

 

 

He needs very little care ~ just a little space to call home.

 

 

He loves to sleep in his little bed ...

 

 

 

... which he made in a little old tart tin and he even brings his own food.

 

So if you don't mind a little critter living in your cupboard ...this little mouse is going to be listed in my Etsy shop early tomorrow morning. Maybe he will come and live with you?!

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

 

Thank You All..

My dear friends,

thank you all for your support, understanding and kind words.

You are all so very sweet and kind and that is why these flowers are for you ..

 

 

Many hugs to you my dear friends,

 

Karen B.

The Same Old Subject Again ..

Hello my dear friends,

 here I am yet again talking about the same old thing but I need to air about this because it is wrong. I hope I don't bore you with this subject because that is not my intention. I need to talk about it again and not only for my sake but also for other bloggers and designers like you out there.

I know my work isn't totally amazing and 'all that' but it is my work, my ideas and it makes me annoyed when I am on Pinterest and see my ideas copied to the point that it looks like it has almost been traced and even my photographs with other people's names and websites on them. They don't have to talk about me but don't put your name on my property and make it yours!

 

I was on Pinterest yesterday and saw that more than one person had copied a pattern of mine or just placed their name on my photos again.

 

And here is what I found ...

 

 

I normally wouldn't share any photos with you but enough is enough.

 

There is a request on Todolwen in which it states not to copy or alter my photographs or designs/tutorials in full or part and that they are protected by copyright laws but some people just don't seem to understand. I have been in touch with one of the ladies from the above blogs and made her aware of where I stand with this and she has removed my work from her blog.

 

I am sorry for writing another post about this again but I just needed to get this off of my chest.

Thank you for 'listening' to my little rant.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

Happy Mothers Day ..

Hello my dear friends,

I would like to wish all you Mums/Moms/Mamas  all over world a ...

... HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! 

 

 

 

May your day be filled with love and laughter.

 

Many hugs to all of you ...

 

Karen B.