I Just Couldn't Resist

Hello my dear friends,

after my last baby dress creation I just couldn't resist making another one, but different this time. I had this antique little dress in my cupboard and unfortunately it had some stains on the front so I decided I would tea stain it hoping the stains wouldn't be to obvious anymore but it didn't work for one stain. OK, I thought - I can still work with this. I just wasn't sure how yet but I was hoping it would come to me sooner or later and after not being able to do anything at all on Friday and Saturday since I hurt my right hand, I was more than willing to try anything out. (I had spent many hours in the garden and my right hand had swollen up so bad I couldn't even bend my fingers and my palm was bruised as well).

As with my the last canvas - which I covered with book pages - this time I covered this entire one with old music sheets. As I was looking through the sheets, one of the titles jump right at me and I knew then exactly what I wanted this creation to look like. All the bits and pieces I needed like ribbon, wire, pearls, lace and everything else were on hand in my craft room ~ no need to head out at all which was great since it was very hot again.

The title that inspired me was:

"The Modest Violet"

This is my finished creation!

I just love it!!

I tried to make it quite different than the last one and I think it really worked out.

This little dress was speckled with tiny stains all over the front, but it would have been such a shame to just throw it in the trash ~ it still is so beautiful ...

... and it has so much detail!

Tiny embroidered flowers ~ so delightful!

Now you know why the title of the music just spoke to me.

I used just one of my own made little violets ...

... it was the modest one!

Right now whilst I am writing this post I am looking outside my dining room window which is a very big and I can see the fireflies playing in the dark in my garden. It is such a beautiful and also peaceful sight ~ I wish you could see it too.

I hope you are all well.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.



I Was Inspired!!

Hello my dear friends,

my post today is about me being inspired by a fellow blogger and the result of it. The blogger I am talking about is Dawn from "The Feathered Nest". It is due to Dawn in the first place that I started Todolwen and she still inspires me all the time just like so many of you other lovely bloggers!!

I am sure that many of you out there shop for supplies without knowing exactly what you will do with them. This happened to me with some larger canvases that were on sale at Michaels last week and the baby dress from my recent post. I didn't really have an  idea as to what I was going to do with either of them and then one day I read Dawn's post about her birds nest on the inside of a canvas. I was  taken by her creation and suddenly it just went 'click' in my head and the idea of what to make from a canvas and baby dress was there.

Lovely vintage looking paper roses.

An old vintage book with aged pages.

 Brass hardware from my daughter Ashleigh's old desk.

And some old boot buckles.

The supplies that I needed were waiting upstairs in my craft room, I just had to choose what I was going to use. Once that was decided it didn't take me long to start and finish this creation. I can't believe how sticky your fingers can get when you modge-podge book pages to something, and the worst thing is that if you aren't careful you get stuck to your work and rip pieces back off! (this happened to me more than once with this project and my temper did get the better of me once or twice).

But despite that, here is the result!

For my first attempt I am happy that it turned out nicely, very simple, yet pretty. If you feel like it and have a moment leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!!

And last but not least ...

thank you Dawn, my dear friend, for inspiring me to become a better artist! I hope all of you out there in Blog-Land have someone you can look to for inspiration too, because it makes crafting that much more special.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Shopping Therapy Does Help!!

Hello my dear friends,

I must say it is true when somebody tells you that shopping is a therapy. I felt a bit down a few days ago so I visited a few antique stores with my daughter Ashleigh and I must say, I did feel better afterwards. Maybe it's down to all the neat things and one weird thing I found.

I found this lovely baby dress and the price was just shouting out to me to buy it. It is a bit stiff and has an old dusty smell to it, so I am still deciding if I should wash it or not?? What would you do??

Next in line are some neat old metal buttons. I am thinking of using these as the center of flowers, once I decide on what kind of flower to make.

I also found these three different pieces of cutlery. Not sure what they are really, but that won't stop me making something out of them. Now what that will be ~ no idea yet!!

An old pair of glitzy earrings.

More vintage lace. I really love this lace ~ I used it in my "little pink box".

A bunch of old small brass curtain rings.

 I think they look a little bit like miniature frames, don't you?

And last but not least ...

... the "weird" things!!

These are coffin studs.

Yes, I did say COFFIN! These came from a funeral home that no longer is and they are new and unused! I was taken by their beauty and how delicate they are. They are made from very thin tin. You certainly don't find something like this every day. My daughter was a bit unsure about these because of what they are. I think they are great.

And the best thing of the entire shopping trip was, I didn't spend a lot of money. So it is a win~ win situation for me and that makes me happy. Let me know what you think about my findings!!!

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Little Violets and Sweet Baby Dresses

Hello my dear friends,

it has been such a busy weekend for me again. Yard work, decluttering (yes, I am still at it) and treasure hunting were only a few of my tasks I had given myself over the week and ... I did get time to create, which was great.

I crochet more of my little violets and tea stained them again.

Little glass beads made the center of these pretty flowers.

Now they were complete wee flowers ~ what to do with them?

And after looking through my craft room I found what I was looking for ...

baby dresses !!

I had bought this set last year or maybe even longer ago. It is a vintage christening dress with a matching coat. These pieces are beautiful as they are but a little something was missing ~ tags!!

This is such a lovely dress with all the details.

And this is one of the tags I made for it.

The quote says:

"Wonder of wonders,

so soft, sweet and small".

I think that the tag complements the dress with the delicate colored violets.

And this is the other part of the set - the little coat.

This tags quote says:

"Babies are such a sweet beginning".

These would look so pretty as a wall decoration in a baby room.

Like with my other little baby dresses, I made the hangers myself and embellished them with ribbons that drape softly down but don't cover anything too much so you don't miss any detail on the dress or coat.

I have more violets left over after this creation and also a few new ideas of what to do with them but I am already thinking of which others flowers I could make too. We will just have to wait and see!

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Baby Dresses and A Treasure To Share

Hello my dear friends,

I am very happy that you liked my felted nest tutorial and it would be great if I would get to see some of your creations! My wee bird will be the next thing I will be working on, so just give me a little time to write up the instructions and get the photos taken and I will post it as soon as it is done.

I would like to share some of my makings with you today again.

Since I have two daughters, girly things are a must in our house and I am always on the lookout for any new ideas and treasures. On one of my outings I found two little cotton dresses in a thrift store and I knew right away what I was going to do with them. My thoughts were directed toward a little girl's or baby's room decor.

I wanted the dresses to have a vintage look so out came the hot water and teabags.

 Once that was done I needed to make hangers for the dresses, which I created from old wire and pieces of broken wooden coat hangers. I painted and distressed the wood and for the hanging hook I twisted the wire and formed it around the wood.

Now I wanted to embellish the dress. I decided to make a hanging tag for each dress. I used a tea stained manila tag and decorated it with bits of muslin, an old crochet pansy with a pearl center and a small quote that I love. Using lace and delicate ribbon I strung the tag over the hanger and dress.

This is the other dress, this time a sleeveless one, but none the less just as pretty as the first.

Yet another sweet quote. Just imagine these two little dresses hanging on the wall in a little girl's room. I think it would look just lovely!

And last but not least ...

My treasure I would like to share with you.

This is an old Victorian infant school locker (long name). I bought this cupboard about 10 years ago back in England off of eBay. It came from an old school that was being torn down and I was so lucky to happen to see it on eBay, bid on it and WIN!!

 It is from the late 1800's and has three compartments. You can see the old airing holes in each door and each door has also a name tag for the student's name.

It took me weeks to hand strip it and clean it up. The hooks are the original ones but the numbers are replacements since only the outline was left from the originals and that's how I knew the number for each locker.

I am so in love with this cupboard! I have it standing in my hallway, so everyone can see it's beauty as they come into my home!



I only have a few pieces of Victorian furniture, but the ones I have are really special. I will have to show you my biggest treasure one day. It is a 45 drawer cupboard also from the late 1800's.

I wish you a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.