I Need Your Prayers

Hello my dear friends,

just as you think things are going OK something happens that knocks you sideways. I need your prayers today for my mum. Three days ago I went to see her and she was feeling very unwell. She is now in the hospital and something is really not right with her so it will help hopefully if you say a little word for her in your prayers.

Thank you and I hope you are all well.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Beautiful Sage Green

Hello my dear friends,

I took at little bit of time out a few days ago from our backyard and went to visit Fabric Land where I hadn't been in a very long time. Not really looking for anything particular I am wandering through and looking for a bargain which I found in some very pretty sheer ribbon in 2 lovely shades of green and it was buy one get two free!! After grabbing the ribbon I saw the most beautiful velvet in the most beautiful color ~ pale sage green ~ the same color as one of the ribbons I just found! I am not really a green person at all but this fabric just had to be bought and at 75% off it was a steal!!

Isn't this just so pretty?

I already have an idea for the velvet which I am hoping to work on soon I will be able to share it with all you lovely bloggers out there in blogland.

Last but not least ...

...the latest on our outdoor project ...

... I hate to complain but I am a very unhappy cookie these days with our outdoor project. From the last 9 working days only on 2 of them did my contractors come and work and yesterday I was so angry if I could have I would have stopped everything and ripped the contract up and be done with it ... but I couldn't do that at this stage anymore. So far we are over 2 full weeks behind with everything and I am not sure when things will be finished at this moment. 

It is now day 32 and this is how bad my yard still looks!

I hope your weekend was without any hassle or stress or worry.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Remembering The Day The World Changed

Hello my dear friends,

I would like to ask you all, where ever you are in this world, to take a moment and say a prayer for all those that were affected on the day the world change 10 years ago ...

... and remember.

Have a peaceful day and may God be with you and watch over you,

Karen B. 

I'm a Treasure Seeker...And Finder... And Reciever...

Hello my dear friends,

the morning of yesterday started out OK and then turned sour shortly after when the rain set in and it meant that my contractors packed up for the day and left understandably again due to not being able to cut wood in the pouring rain or do the electrics either ( I am not a fan of rain at the moment!) so Tim Horton's it was for a nice cup of coffee and a chat with my daughter Ashleigh.

Looking outside at the weather the decision was made that shopping around for treasures would be the ideal thing to do so off we headed to one of the antique stores we often visit and after 45 minutes or so we left again ~ me with a few new treasures in my bag and with ideas of what to do with them in mind.

I found some old jewellery with the help from my daughter and an old shaker top ~ I feel another pincushion coming on, ha ha !!

Here are my latest treasure findings ...

an old brooch and belt buckle ...

a pair of tin earrings ...

and a new shaker top!

Feeling a bit happier than I was earlier we headed home with another treasure waiting for me ...

... in the shape of a package in my mailbox ~ it was my giveaway gift from Rhonda at "A Little Bit French"!!

And here it is ...

it is so beautiful and delicate!

Thank you so much Rhonda for your wonderful gift  ~  even though it is still raining outside, you have brightened my day and that was so nice of you!!

I hope you are all well.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

I Love Creative Therapy!

Hello my dear friends,

I have had a lovely time creating something new yesterday after not having a single creative thought in almost weeks now and I feel great!! I felt so relaxed and peaceful which working with all sorts of little treasures ~ just what I needed after my not so good weekend.

Don't get me wrong I did manage to do a lot of work in our back yard as well and I am happy that I didn't give up but being creative is the best and what is my most favourite item to create?

... Pincushions!!

I haven't made any for such a long time and it was just the right "therapy" I needed  ~ making those lovely little things and I must say I am very happy with the result of my work. 

 If you didn't see my post yesterday, these are the little treasures I decided to work with ...

... and these are my finished creations!

The first pincushion ...

My daughter Ashleigh came up with the idea of making the pincushion this way. I am so happy she told me about it because I wanted to do it differently and I know it wouldn't have looked this beautiful.

Thank you Sweetheart for your creative input!

Less is more in this case for sure.

The detail on the shaker top is so delicate and pretty ~ I just love it.

This is just to show you the size of this pincushion.

The second pincushion ...

This is the little tattered jar lid.

I used bits of old doilies and antique buttons to embellish this one ...

...  and the pincushion itself is made from brown velvet.

The third and last pincushion for today ...

... is made from old lace and stained muslin.

 Again old trinkets and a antique button give this piece it's charm.

All the pincushions have been filled with bird gravel. I know that some crafters use crushed walnut shells but I only had this to hand and it's great for keeping your needles nice and sharp.

Creating ~ the art to take something old and to give it a new life. This is how I created my blog name 

~ Todolwen ~ old to new!

I am really happy I could share my newest creations with all you lovely bloggers today and I hope that it won't be too long before I can write my next post again.

I hope you are all well.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

My Long Weekend

Hello my dear friends,

where do I start today? Saturday was a disaster all round. I had to cancel my plans with my girls due to workers not doing what they are meant to do ~ my outdoor project aka pool ~ and me having to try and sort everything out so I don't fall too far behind with the work I have to do and the other contractors as well. I can tell you I was so annoyed and frustrated I could have blown up!!

Sunday morning was meant to be another morning out with the girls and fortunately we only had to delay our plans to visit a flea market for 3 hours and not completely so we tried to make the best out of it and in the end we all had a nice time. I found something little and I already know what I am going to create with it which makes me feel so much better than I did all last week. Once I am finished I will of course share my creations with you!

This is my little something ~ old tops of shakers and a little jar lid.

How sad! A small town near to us got hit by a nasty storm and some very big beautiful trees were destroyed.

The family that lost this tree also lost several more and their small barn as well.

Remember a post ago I told you about my old rosebush and how it had some new buds? Well I was wrong...

it must be our weird weather but now the entire bush is blooming again!! It looks so beautiful!!

I am so excited to finally have a creative thought again and to work on it apart from all the digging I have already done and still have to do. I never knew how long it takes to weed a large flowerbed and how much your hands and arms can ache afterwards but it needs to be done and that's what I am going to hopefully finish this week ~ wish me luck and strength!! Once I have new pictures I will share them with you.

I hope you are all well.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Creating Therapy Desperatly Needed

Hello my dear friends,

you know how people say "you need some retail therapy"? Well,  I need something called "creative therapy" and I really need it now!!


I have been so busy ~ still ~ that my body is worn down and my mind is a huge blank when it comes to anything to do with creativity!!! The only thing I think about is digging, planting, dirt and more dirt! Hoping it would help I took some time out yesterday and headed out to an antique store with my two girls. Did it help? Nope it didn't!! I didn't find anything that I liked or that made me even look twice. Oh, how frustrating!!! Where is my creative little muse gone and will she come back soon?? I hate being like this!!

On the other hand I am getting a lot of garden work and landscaping done that I should be very happy with the result. Yesterday it was way over 30 degrees C in the shade and I dug a tree out all on my own and I was over the moon when it was done. I was ready to drop in bed after that but I didn't. Instead my girls and I went for a late evening walk after dinner was done to Tim Horton's for a refreshing ice coffee. Relaxation in a plastic cup ~ yum!

To give you a short update on our outdoor project ~ I hate to say that almost nothing has been done this last week (so no new pictures) and partly it was due to a very heavy thunderstorm with a huge amount of rain which made our back yard into a giant mud bath (maybe I should have put a sign at the front of the house: "spa quality mud bath - $5" . . . I could have made a fortune, haha) and partly due to workers not coming when they are meant to. Today our decking guy is building the housing for all the pool equipment but I am not sure if it will be done by tonight. I can't wait for all of this to be done finally!

And last but not least ...

... a new picture of our little chipmunk friend...

I hadn't seen this little creature for almost a week and I was really worried that one of the neighbourhood cats might have caught him/her but not this time. Our cat Iris sits at the window for hours waiting for it to show up and then just watches it eat or rest in the sun. It is such a neat sight.

That's all really for today. I know it's not much but hopefully things will brighten up and I will have more to share with all you sweet bloggers in my next post so don't forget to keep stopping by and take a peak!

I hope you are all well.

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.