A Little Beach Creation

Hello my dear friends,

having spent a day at the beach on the weekend and always coming back with something little I find walking along the water or in this case stepping on it ... I have a little creation to share with you today.

As I said I stepped onto this shell whilst walking on the beach and as soon as I saw it I had the idea to take it home and give it a purpose. The tiny shells were a find in a store called 'Sea Jewels' and they were perfect for my idea in mind. I remember as a child we would spend our holidays in Holland in a place called 'Katwijk ann Zee' and there they would sell the neatest boxes covered in the most wonderful little shells. My idea was a much simpler one but just as neat in my eyes. You see since I have a love for making/creating pincushions that is exactly what I did with this shell and the little shells turned into a important part of it too. I took many pictures for you to see and because I just couldn't stop taking them. So ... here is my newest making!
My little beach creation ...

The sand you see in my pictures is something I 'found on the beach' last year and I brought it home too and until today it sat in my garage.

I hope you have liked what you have seen today since I have enjoyed making this little creation so very much even though the pins were starting to become a little headache at one time but nothing that a little E6000 couldn't fix.

I would love to see you back here at Todolwen some time again.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B. 

My Crown Jewel

Hello my dear friends,

having no rock to shovel has been such a blessing you have no idea. My arms were aching so much lately that at times I almost couldn't pick up anything that had some weight to it. So, what better to do then relax and ... create!! Yes, finally time to use my hands for more delicate things like sewing and gluing (chuckle)!

I was very lucky to have a wonderful project on hand that I could work on and it was ... my felted crown kit from Donna Goss. I sat down and took my time making her beautiful creation and I enjoyed it so much especially that hand sewing part of it.

I almost never use a sewing machine when I create, even when I quilt, everything is hand sewn from start to finish. When my husband was in Bosnia for 6 months fighting a war many years ago I made a king size quilt for our bed and I worked on it every day and especially at night when I couldn't sleep and every stitch is by hand. I am sure there are still one or two tiny blood stains hiding somewhere from my fingers being so sore and pricked so many times but there is nothing more relaxing to me than sitting down and sewing something in piece and quite.

So ... where was I ... oh, yes Donna's felted crown. I had so much fun making it and love the result! There were so many bits and pieces in the kit to embellish the crown but I decided that I liked the 'less  is more' look for mine. After this one I am sure I will be trying to make another one once I can get my hands on some wool felt which I am going to have to order from the States because for some reason I can't seem to find it here anywhere.

And here is ...

... my crown jewel!

I really like that way this little piece turned out!

I decided not to slip stitch my crown like Donna but I used a blanket stitch instead to sew my felt together.

I love the way the delicate lace, rhinestones and other trim just harmonize with the rough felt!

I am so happy I got the chance to make one of Donna's felted crowns and I am sure this won't be the last one I would have made.

If you don't know Donna's work, why not pop over to her blog and take a look!

http://artstudio522.blogspot.com/

And last but not least ...

I am actually doing a bit more creating and making these past few days, so if you have a spare moment  why not stop by here at Todolwen ... you never know what I might have waiting for you to see.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

I Did It!

Hello my dear friends,

I am so happy today!! At last ... after months of shoveling and carrying rock, pushing the wheelbarrow back and forth almost 200 times, breathing in dust from the clay and some blisters and many bruises ... it is all gone!

Not only once ...

... but twice my driveway was filled with yards of crushed rock!

And finally ...

 ... the last shovel full was taken into the back ... 

... which left my driveway empty! As of today... all gone!!!

 I still have leftover rock but now it is sitting tidy in cat litter buckets at the side of the house. I am sure in the near future I will find a spot that hasn't got enough rock and then I can top it up! Did I mention that I just love cat litter buckets?! They have been such a big help the entire time I was working on my yard. From being a weed holder to rock/soil container ~ perfect!!

Now it is tidy up time. I have some weeding to do, grass to cut and other bits and pieces to tidy and after that I will take some photos of the front and back yard to share with you.

I am a very happy lady right now. I had challenged myself to do this all on my own and I did. I had so many people offer me a helping hand and thank you to all of you but I needed to do this myself without any help and ...

I did it!!!

I hope you have enjoyed my little journey with my outdoor project. The rest is up to my hubby now with things like painting the new part of the deck and pool surround, the outdoor lighting and a few other little jobs that are his.

Now I have some spare time on my hands and I am hoping to be able to sit and create something new very soon. I have been able to squeeze a few minutes of creating time here and there over the past few days but nothing is finished just yet.

So ... that is the reason to visit me here at Todolwen soon again. Hopefully something new will be waiting to be shared with you!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

I Love Getting Mail!

Hello my dear friends,

I just love getting mail, don't you? I received something I have been waiting for at last. What am I talking about? ... mail from Donna Goss containing my felted crown kit!! I am so excited to start working on this beauty but I have to do my chores first before I can donate my time to this little treasure!

Donna was so sweet and made me a kit with all the bits and pieces I need to make one of her beautiful felted crowns and this is what the kit contains.

Lots and lots of bits and pieces ...

... just waiting to be turned into something special!

All sorts of lovely trims, ...

...everything from beads to pearls, from wire to rhinestones, even thread to sew with.

Samples of different colored felt ...

... of course the pattern and instructions ...

... a sweet little pincushion made from felt and ...

... a lovely tag Donna made.

Everything I need I have apart from the time right now to sit and create but please do stop by when you have a moment ...

maybe I will have been able to steal a little time for myself to relax and create.

So I hope to hear from all you lovely bloggers soon again!

 

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Slowly Back On Track

Hello my dear friends,

thank you for all your well wishes ~ you are all so very kind and sweet. I am much better again and happier too.

I have already started working outside on my front yard and as of now I have only two yards of rock left over that need to be taken into the back. The weather finally cooled down at last and it even rained again. We are able to sleep with the windows open again and the air conditioning off.

On the other hand unfortunately I seem to have not been able to have one creative thought this whole past week but I have been diagnosed finally ... my daughter Caylagh lovingly calls it 'crafters block'! I tend to get a bit impatient not being able to just sit down and visualize something you would like to make but I am sure that I am not the only one that has this 'block' thing going on every once in a while.

One thing I would would like to do today is to share some of my newest treasures that I found some time ago but never got to actually posting about them for some unknown reason.

This is such a neat item ... a tin tea infuser and I am pretty sure I know what I am going to turn it into.

 

A variety of vintage parcel handles.

I love the look so much. I think they would make amazing holder for a picture frame or a fabric collage.

An old, rusty and very frail frame of a pocket watch. No idea what I am going to use it for but of course ... I just had to have it!

And last but not least ...

... a little crochet bag.

All I really need now are some new ideas and time to work on them which will hopefully happen soon, so I hope you will keep popping by and visit me here at Todolwen soon again.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

Karen B.

Getting Better .. I Hope

Hello my dear friends,

there is nothing worse in the summer than getting sick and that is exactly what happened to me.

First it started with my younger daughter Caylagh the day after school finished. Sore throat, not feeling well, a temperature and other symptoms. Then my older daughter Ashleigh fell unwell after that as well and I thought that I was fine. Little did I know that I was the one that would get it the worst. For almost a full week I have been feeling unwell with a very sore throat, aching bones, always tired and no big appetite. I spent the first days more in bed than out just wanting to rest and sleep. On top of all that is the heat here in south-west Ontario and the humidity together along with being unwell is just too much for me right now.

I have not been able to concentrate or work on anything at all which makes me sad because my to-do list is already so long and I can't even think of time to create. I did manage to find some time to check in on all of your lovely creating spaces though and oh my they are all so very amazing!! It makes me want to work on mine once I can find the time to do so. You never know, maybe next year I will join in the fun of 'Where Bloggers Create'?!

I am hoping to be much better this week so I can resume work in my yard again and finally finish it and to also get some time to sit down and create something new to share with you.

Be sure to stop by from time to time and visit me here at Todolwen to see what I have been up to.



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

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B.

Neat Findings At Michaels

Hello my dear friends,

slowly but surely Michaels is getting more and more neat new items in it stores here in Canada. We always seem to be behind the ones in the US so it is nice that the store where I shop had some neat things the last time I was there a few days ago.


I found a lovely piece of scrap booking fabric which I am going cover a small a pillow from my  Mum's chair. She is now gone just over 6 months and I miss her very much!

The clock faces on the fabric are meant to represent the time we had together ... the time it will take to heal from losing her and the time it will take until we will see each other again.

My other find were some small muslin drawstring bags. These are perfect to use in some of my creations! I love sewing but when it comes to little things like that it is nice once in a while to use something ready made. I have a few ideas for these but I need to think of a few more still. I think these would be great to embellish with all sorts of bits and pieces of old lace and neat stuff!

 I am not too happy with the finish of the inside really but I am sure I will be able to sort something out that the don't only look good on the outside but also on the inside.

One other thing I would like to share with you are some lovely little note cards I bought last week. 

My daughter Ashleigh spotted them, thought of me right away and showed them to me and I am glad she did. Now if I need to drop someone a note the good old fashion way, I have lovely cards to do so!

I have some more treasures to share with you but at another time. They are the treasures I had found at church sales so far this year and I didn't get around posting about them yet.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B. 

Where There Are Scissors ...

Hello my dear friends,

finally ... finally I got time to sit down yesterday morning, relax and create and it was about time as well. I decided to make something useful and not just decorative this time and looking around all my little treasures I came upon a tray with my collection of old scissors and that is when I knew what I wanted to make. Where there are scissors ... there shall be scissor pouches!

After gathering together all sort of bits and pieces and once I had thought of a look it didn't take long before I had not only made one but four of these in 3 different sizes.


And these my latest makings ...

 

I actually got to use some of those beautiful vintage violets I bought last week!

 

These are a pair of Victorian scissors that my two lovely daughters gifted me with a few years ago.

 

 

 

I am very happy with the way these have turned out and at the moment I am working on a case that is made from velvet and I am planning on using more of the vintage violets to embellish it, but that is for another post.

 I would love to see you here at Todolwen some time soon again so please don't hesitate to pop by again!!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.