Just Wanted To Take The Moment ...

Hello my dear friends,

I just wanted to take the moment to wish you all a ...

... Happy Valentine's Day!

May your day be filled with a ton of love, a tiny bit of chocolate and maybe even a little rose or two.

Many hugs.

My "Christmas To Come" Giveaway 2018 ...

Hello my dear friends,

it is that time again!

Time to put your name into the basket for this year's ...

... "Christmas To Come" giveaway!

Can you believe it?! ... This is my 5th year now that I have been doing this. I started it in 2014 and I am still loving it as much as I did it the first year. For those who have never heard of my "Christmas To Come" giveaway or taken part in it, this is what it is all about!

 Sometime in February, I share a post about my "Christmas To Come" Giveaway like this one and that is it really. All you have to do to take part is two things ... please follow me and once you do, just leave a comment on this post and on this post only! Then you have to wait a while.

Sometime in July I pick a winner for my giveaway. I notify the lucky person that their name has been picked and then ... nothing! ... Nothing until early December. That is when I mail my gift to the winner, just in time for it to be placed under their Christmas tree. What that gift will be, is kept a secret until after Christmas Day or if the winner decides to open it before that, maybe earlier. When it comes to what the gift will be, at times I don't even know until November what I am going to choose and this way it will stay a Christmas surprise for the winner.

Why do I do this?! ... Because I love putting a smile on someones face and in their heart. But there is another reason too. I remember all the excitement on Christmas Day when I was a young child. I would take a gift from under the Christmas tree and I would have no idea what I was going to find under all the pretty wrapping paper, ribbons and bows. It was just such a neat feeling and that is what I am wanting to give to the winner, that feeling of being a child once again on Christmas morning.

And now it's your turn, click that follow button if you are not already following me and then just leave a comment below!

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Rub A Dub Dub ~ A Little Rusty Brass Tub ...

Hello my dear friends,

my studio is like a huge surprise box at times because I never know which neat piece I might "re-find" in one of my drawers or boxes. That is what happened with this piece that I am sharing today.

 I must have had this tarnished and rusty little brass bathtub since years now, all tucked away in one of my drawers. 

Again when I bought it, I did so because I liked it so much but also again I had no idea what to do with it back then ... until now. That changed when I recently found a pair of vintage earrings in an antique store.

They were perfect to become partnered with the little tub and I was excited to be finally able to work with the neat brass piece. What would it become? ... Of course my favorite things I just love to create!

I had some more seam binding that I had hand dyed. This time in a lovely shade of blue. I was fortunate to again have a piece of cotton velvet that was a close match to it and both were exactly what I needed for this creation. I couldn't stop myself to work on it right away but I had a little doubt at first if I would like the end result of this piece. That was soon gone because it actually turned out very nicely and I like very much.

And that is what I am sharing with you today.  It is my little brass rub pincushion.

I named it simply ..."Rub A Dub Dub".

 

Did you see the little pearls? They are meant to be little soap bubbles!
 My younger daughter Caylagh came up with the idea and I just loved it! They added that little touch to make this creation that tiny bit more neat in my eyes.

I am loving being creative again these days and I am going to make the most of it while it lasts and the ideas are popping into my mind. I am working on a few more bits and pieces at the moment and will be hopefully able to post something new with all of you soon.

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you have enjoyed your visit here at Todolwen. Do come back some time again! ... I might just have something new to share.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

More Berries ...

Hello my dear friends,

I am "walking" down my path of making strawberry pincushions right now and it seems that I found my "happy place" for the time being when it comes to being creative. 

Last year I had a custom order to create a pincushion using a beautiful candle stand/holder and I decided to use a large strawberry made from drop cloth with it and created this!

I love the way it turned out ... just lovely! I was very happy and so was my customer.

I liked it so much, that now after several months I wanted to make something like it again.
I had a few candle stands/holders hiding away in one of my drawers since what seems forever and one of them was perfect for what I had in mind. Of course the berries had to again be made from my favorite drop cloth and this time I didn't use seam binding but instead beautiful sari silk ribbon in a pretty shade of green. Also instead of embroidering the large strawberry, I decided to embellish it with some vintage tatting. Little berries that are filled with crushed walnut shells were also a must for my newest piece.

 My pincushion is now completed and I am excited to share it with all of you today. I am so very pleased with the way it turned out, just like I had imagined it would.

And this is it ...

... my "Simply Berrylicious" pincushion.

And that is my newest pincushion. 

I feel that every individual part of it was meant to come together to become one lovely creation.

I already have another pincushion to share with you. I should have done so before I shared this one but I seem to have camera issues these days. The focus on my camera might not bet working properly because some of my pictures turn out slightly blurry. As soon as this is fixed, I will of course share it with all of you again. Right now I am busy working away on another pinkeep as I am writing this post and I am hoping to share it with you very soon.

I hope you have enjoyed my newest pincushion as much as I am enjoying making them. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today, it is always so nice when you do.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

It Just Gotta Be Pink ...

Hello my dear friends,

it is no secret that I love subtle colors very much, and especially the colors of drop cloth and natural fibers. They just appeal to me and that is why I tend to shy away from using colors a lot in my creations. This time is was different. From time to time I do step out of my little comfort box and that is what I did with my newest creation. My thoughts were "it just gotta be pink"!

I had dyed some seam binding last year sometime in a lovely shade of pink, almost like a salmon pink but never actually got to work with it until now. I recently saw a few photos on Instagram with beautiful strawberry pincushions and just had to make a few myself again. You see I have a thing for strawberry pincushions. I just love making small sweet berries and fill them with crushed walnut shells which makes them very useful for sharpening needles and pins.... So a lovely pink cotton velvet was combined with my pink seam binding. It was so neat because the velvet was almost the same shade as the seam binding I had dyed. It wasn't even intentionally done, it just happened by chance which turned out to be beyond perfect.

Two berries is all I needed, one a little larger than the other. Finding a right base for this pincushion wasn't too hard either. I had so many to pick from in my studio and I found the perfect one!

I chose this tarnished piece and I am happy I did. 

It was simple but had that loveliness too. I was buzzed to find a pair of  leather earrings that were the perfect match to the velvet and seam binding and exactly what I need to embellish my newest piece.

It is now finished, my newest pincushion creation and that is what I am sharing with all of you today.  I named it ...

... "A Touch Of Pink".

It turned out very neat I think and I am happy that I chose to use a some color.

I am already working on my next creation and this one too has some color to it. I am hoping to share it very soon here on Todolwen, so do come back soon and visit me again.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.

A Neat Piece Called "Jill"...

Hello my dear friends,

several weeks ago whilst out "junking" with my younger daughter, Caylagh, found a very neat piece she thought I might like to work with and she was right. It was this nice tarnished tray that has a handle with two hooks - something perfect for me so of course it came home with me. Now I have finished my newest creation and that is what I would like to share with all of you today.

This is the piece my daughter found. I'm lovin' it so much without even touching it.

...and this is what I did with it...

I made a lovely pincushion using old linen, vintage lace and seam binding ...

... and I just had to add a little strawberry filled with crushed walnut shells.

All put together it looks lovely and I am very happy with the way it has turned out. 

Sort of simple but then again not  ... but just right! My newest creation, a pincushion, sewing helper,  scissor holder, pin and needle sharpener ... a "Jill of trades".

I have called her "Jill" and this is what it looks like now! ... 

 

What do you think?

I am already working on another new creation as I am writing this post and I have several others that I am planning and I hope to share them with you in the near future. 

Thank you for stopping by today and spending a little time here at Todolwen. I hope you have enjoyed your short stay.

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

Have a peaceful and creative day.