When In Doubt ...

Hello my dear friends,

as promised in my last post here is another new making of mine. Again I used something from my latest findings to create something new and of course it did turn out to be another pincushion again ~ nothing new there really is it? (I just can't help myself!) When in doubt ... make a pincushion ~ it works for me!

This time I picked two old tarnished pieces to work with to create one new creation.

 

 

 

I am not sure what this used to be ... I just love the look of it!

 

Anyways ... this project needed a very good glue and boy it glued OK .. almost twice were my fingers stuck together!! But the one thing I hate is when you are gluing something and it needs to be held together for a while so it can set ... it's like watching paint dry ... right up there. After 5 minutes my fingers were starting to get unhappy so I needed to find a solution which I did in the form of elastic bands!! I remembered that when I work with old wooden boxes that needed holding together I used large elastics so I was sure normal office supplies would do the trick here and they did!! 

 

 

 

 

It didn't look too nice at that point but that would change soon and my fingers were happy again. 

 

 

  

 

The fabric I used for this pincushion is silk noil which is raw silk. It is made from the fibres that are leftover from making silk. It is such a lovely fabric with many tiny bumps and I am planning to use it in future makings of mine again.

 

 

 

 The final touch came in the shape of my tiny crochet flowers that were embellished with vintage little pearls.

 

 

All together my tarnished pieces, the silk noil and my little flowers turned into this ...

 

... my newest pincushion!

 

 

 

 

My daughter Ashleigh said it reminds her of a beautiful church roof with all the pretty details and looking at it I can see why. 

 

 

It is nice to be able to fall back onto old ideas from time to time and by using different bits and pieces together you can create something new every time.

 

 I will have to see what I can come up with next and until then ...

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B,

 

 

 

A Harmony In Rose

Hello my dear friends,

there is nothing better after a stressful day to sit down, gather up supplies and create something pretty. I took a little time on last Thursday evening, after being so busy with my pool closure and for some reason so stressed with it as well (my first one on my own) just to relax and do something that makes me feel good.

Looking over all my newest findings from the previous weekend I picked one and it didn't take very long for me to visualize what I wanted to create from it and the way it should look which of course turned out to be a pincushion.

I don't tend to use a lot of color in many of my creations but this time my choice was right. Everything went together perfectly and like a harmony! It is so nice to be able to create something beautiful from a few bits and pieces and I hope you will enjoy it!

The piece I picked from my newest treasures was this one ...

 

 

... a part of an old oil lamp.

 

 

And now for my newest creation which I called ...

 

 

 'Harmony in Rose'.

 

 

 

 

I even made color matching pins with sweet water pearls.

 

 

 

  

I hope you have enjoyed my newest making ~ it was just a joy for me to make.

  

I have been working on another new creation and it is almost ready so I can share it with you soon. It seems since the weather has gone cooler my creative muse is returning slowly.

 

Now don't forget to stop by here at Todolwen very soon again ~ something new might just be waiting for you to see.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

Finder's Delight

Hello my dear friends,

since the time has almost come when the one flea market we go to will be closed for the winter my girls and I tend to go there a bit more often just to spend time together and for me to stock up on neat stuff that I can hopefully use in my creations over the cold winter months.

So this past Sunday was one of those times. We headed out early and the weather was just lovely - a bit fresh but the sun was shining bright ~ just so lovely!!

I wasn't thinking of finding anything in particular but you never know really. I was so happy that I found not just one but several treasures to take home with me from our outing.

These are my newest treasures ... I can't wait to do something with them!

 

 

So ... let me see what am I going turn you into ...

 

 ... a pincushion perhaps ...

 

... another pincushion maybe ...

 

... hmm not too sure what I will do with these ...

 

... maybe a new tarnished get~together? ...

 

 

... and again, not too sure yet what I'll do with this one either.

 

And here are my two favourite findings of the day/week/month so far ..

 

... a Victorian crochet hook!

 

 

The hook is ever so tiny and can you see the little ring at the right side/top of the crochet hook ... the ladies in those days would wear this on a chain whilst crocheting so they wouldn't lose it! Such a neat thing.

 

 

And these ..

 

... a set of Victorian trivets around 1870/1880!!

 

These are so beautiful and the detail is amazing too.

 

I don't know if I am going to do anything to these or just leave them as they are and just look at them and admire them for what they are in all their aged beauty !!

 

 

They even still have their super old felt backing on them and it is in very good condition!!

 

 

I am in love with these!

There were two more of these just in other sizes ... maybe I will go back next Sunday and get them too.

 

 

Oh dear ... this time of the year is so great ... so many last moment flea markets and junk sales and garage sales and I can't possibly be at every one ~ sigh!

 

I wish you all a great treasure finding day!!

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

 

Karen B.

 

Once Upon A Time ..

Hello my dear friends,

I would like to share my newest creation with you today. It came to be after my daughter Ashleigh suggested that I try and maybe think of a fairytale I would like to use when thinking of a new project and that is exactly what I did with this creation. It took me a while to pick a fairytale that I was happy with but I did find one in the end.

Cinderella used to be one of my favourite stories when I was little and especially when Disney created it's movie. I loved the little mice that were so helpful trying to make Cinderella her dress so she could go to the ball and meet the prince.

And that was it ... the little mice ... my cupboard mice  ~ perfect!! I had a few unfinished little critters waiting in a tin to be brought to life. Everything else was really a case of finding all the bits and pieces I needed and most of it was in my studio apart from the right colored fabric, which I found in a Goodwill store in the shape of a blouse.

At first a cigar box seemed the right piece for this making but then, from the corner of my eye I saw my antique sewing machine  that I had bought at Goodwill earlier this year.  I had already used one of the drawers in a different project several months ago and for this creation one of those drawers would prove to be perfect again.

So that is how I spent a larger part of my weekend, turning a sewing drawer, a ladies blouse and other bits and pieces into a creation that was a part of the Cinderella fairytale.

I needed to tweak this creation a little here and there until I was happy with the result and when I thought I was done ~ I wasn't. There was something missing. I remembered that I had a vintage clock pendulum and some clock hands some where hiding in my crafting cupboard in the basement and after a short search I found the pieces I was looking for. After placing and gluing them into place my creation was finished.

And this is my newest making (many photos for you to see) ...


... Cinderella's Little Helper.

 

I hope you have enjoy my newest creation.

 I am very happy with the way it came together.

 

 

Please continue to stop by once in a while here at Todolwen ~ you never know what I might have been up too.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen  B.