September 2009 – Page 2 – Karla's Cottage

Flights of Fancy

celebrations, fairies, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2009

We all loved the Kansas City Renfest
on Labor Day weekend during the camp-o-rama family reunion. Sugarwings, especially. Although, my husband and I were pretty happy, just following her around and smiling at her happiness. (which just about sums up what our life around here is on a daily basis anyway.. her smiles mean the world to us we. We spend most of our time just watching her with goofy, indulgent grins on our faces She'll either grow up to be secure and filled with well being and love, or an insufferable brat.)

Sugarwings wasn't the only fairy, my nephew's baby, Kaydence, wore her "toot toot" (tutu) and wings too.

(It brings tears to my eyes to look at her picture, knowing that her daddy is leaving to serve in Iraq, and that he won't be with her for an entire YEAR!)

My Sissy made these hair garlands for everyone to wear, aren't they lovely? And so is my niece, Shelli.

When Sugarwings saw the bag of garlands, she immediately asked, "Who made these?" She is so used to everything being hand made around here, it doesn't even occur to her that some people buy such things from stores. She just assumed that if there was something pretty at our cottage, then someone must have made it.

Kansas City has a scenic location for their annual event, its in a shady valley, with lots of permanent structures that lend the place an air of authenticity.

And magic.

Even more magical, seeing it through my fairy grand baby's eyes.

To her the baby dragon that hatches from this egg, is as real as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

Of course, I'm every bit as enchanted by the dragon as she is. And yes, I am one of THOSE people who wear a costume to the festival. I don't consider myself a Renny or a weirdo, I just think it is fun to wear fairy wings.

Or maybe I am a weirdo? Who cares?! Life is short, wear fairy wings and be silly and have fun!!

We all work too hard, we should take some advice from the fairies, and be light-hearted, do some dancing, and be in the moment. Because those moments go by too fast to waste them.

I'll leave you with a few more fairy photos. I hope you get to kick up your heels and have some fun too!

Paper dolls

Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 11, 2009

If you aren't following Daisy Cottage
(well then, you must be one of the only people who aren't) you are missing a treat. Kim has the cutest cottage, in the most cheerful colors ever. When she ordered something from my Boutique, I knew I needed to make the package extra special to go to such a special home, so I added some wallpaper, ribbons, and trim to the lid of this little tin to use as the packaging.

Five minutes and no expense (I bought the tin for the buttons that were in it, and the rest of it was lying around the studio) and I had a quickie gift wrap fit to go to live at Daisy Cottage.

But then, I always enjoy the wrapping part of sending out purchases. I guess I was in an autumn mood when I packed these.

Today, little Sugarwings was feeling ill and stayed home from school. I managed to photograph and clean some old jewelry while she was napping, and got a few listed on Etsy.

Not as many as I would like, but I have all day tomorrow to add more jewels.

Poor Sugarwings was so freaked out by spewing her breakfast across the dining room, that she insisted on keeping a roll of paper towels next to her all morning. I helped her out by turning the towels into a baby doll to hold.

One side is sleepy, the other is happy. Kind of like the moods of a sick kid, they seem to perk up and feel fine for a while, then crash and need to take another nap.

Yes, the paper towel roll seems like an odd doll baby, but it really did comfort her. And when you are three (or fifty one) anything can become a toy!

She is feeling much better tonight, and luckily the paper towel baby doll didn't have to be deconstructed and put to use. Here is a photo of her last week at the Kansas City RenFest, I don't want to leave you with a sad, tummy ache photo of her. So here is a happy one.

I'll post more Renfest photos of our happy, dancing fairy soon.

Here are directions for foofing a tin:

Turn the lid upside down and trace a circle onto the paper you want to use, then cut it out.

Using "The Ultimate" (my favorite) glue, adhere the circle of paper to the lid

Rub a dark ink pad around the edges of the paper, to age it.

Cut a length of ribbon to fit around the lid, and run a bead of glue around the edge to attach the ribbon

I glued a tiny crocheted daisy cut off of a doily to the end of the ribbon.

To the center of the top of the lid, glue down a matching button.

To the center of the button, add an embellishment. I used a daisy snipped from some old trim.

Comment issues and a pot-o-jewels giveaway

Uncategorized

By Karla Nathan / September 10, 2009

On the last shopping trip that Beth and I had, we spied this grate and both eyed it, thinking it looked like it might cost more than we'd like, but that it was cool. When I asked, the owner said it was in bad shape or he'd have already sold it. I looked at the chigger on the side of it, and it didn't seem bad to me, especially since I was going to use it as a welcome mat in the gravel. He sold it to me for $25, which is probably about what a generic, rubber mat would cost at Target. I have a rectangular one like it by my other back door, so like the way it looks now to have two of them out there in the rocks behind the studio. And I think it dresses up the doorway, making it much more welcoming. I like everyone to feel welcome when they come to visit!

Which is why I try to answer my comments. I enjoy hearing from you and consider blogging a two way street. I'm not just sitting at the computer talking to myself. (well at least I hope not!!) But now Typepad has yet another one of their un-asked for improvements.

All my replies go straight to my comment page, and can be read by anyone. I don't like that at all. I consider what I write to each individual, a personal response, not part of the blog. So, until I get this straightened out, please know that I am limiting my replies to comments.

So, please don't think I am rude if I don't respond to your comments. Blame Typepad, not me!! Anyway, I don't even know if you get my replies, it looks like they go straight to the comment page and I have no way of knowing if they are sent to you by email or not.

I've also removed the puzzle code, hoping that the spammybots have moved on and will leave me alone again. Those hundreds of comments showed up with this change, I don't know if they are related or not, both are frustrating.

If the dirty birds comments come back and fill up my email, I'll have to turn it back on. Hope not, I like it to be easy for you to visit. Especially since you need to leave a comment to enter the giveaway…

And here it is! The September Cauldron of Jewels Giveaway Or part of it, I'll add some more later on, as I find some goodies for the little sparkled cauldron. So far, I have an enameled leaf brooch in fabulous, deep, fall colors and an old rhinestone pin.

All comments, all month are entered, even the ones from before I announced the prizes. And please remember, I do value hearing from you, and if I don't answer, it isn't because I don't care, its because I'm having Typepad issues again.

And no, this isn't a break up speech, one of those, "it isn't you, its me." I really will answer comments again once this is fixed.

A meandering non-career

Uncategorized

By Karla Nathan / September 9, 2009

The house seemed empty after all my campers packed up and left, and I dropped my husband off at the airport for his business trip. But luckily, I had plans with my regular crafting group, Shawn, Marilyn, Beth and Mary. They came over to liven up my empty house and we laughed and chatted while we each worked on our own projects.

Mary brought a giant box of book covers and offered them to us to use. I picked out a couple, not wanting to be greedy, but there really was a LOT of them and she kept telling us to take more, so I got a hefty stack to use. I was inspired to make something with them right then and there, so I used two of the covers, layered with French dictionary paper, a calling card, a vintage cameo brooch, a little bloom from one of my hats, and a photo (also from Mary).

The collage is $14, please email me if you are interested.

These book covers make an excellent back drop for a collage and I can't wait to make more. One book was Alice in Wonderland and I am daydreaming about making a whole art journal with Alice themed pictures inside that cover.

The collage was a quickie piece of work, the rest of the afternoon, I put together crowns. (available in the Boutique at Karla's Cottage) Now, don't ask me why, it isn't on my list of things I am behind on, and that I desperately NEED to get done. (lets not talk about the pile of receipts on my desk, the listings I need to do for Etsy, or just the packages of stuff to make up for Silver Bella!)

This time last year, I was making crowns too. Back then, the article that Carol and I did together for Romantic Country was just coming out on the stands. She and I set up a garden party in my back field to photograph and she made some crown votive holders and I had written up a how-to for the story.

Carol is a sweetie and didn't mind me making some of my own up. Our styles are very different, plus why would you do a tutorial and not expect people to make some themselves? She meant for the directions to be shared. Any way, I still had some of the wire cut and painted from last year's crown making marathon, so I thought I'd whip a few out while avoiding my real work that needed to be done.

And I guess Romantic Country had been on my mind lately. I had mentioned in a posting last winter that I was scheduled to write an article about Jenn's home. Well, it didn't happen. Seems like in the magazine business that sort of thing happens a lot. Things get planned, plans get changed.

The article that Diane Guthrie and I did about my bedroom still hasn't been published. I think I'd told you that it was on its way too. Somerset Life has said they were using some of my wallpaper journals and that hasn't shown up yet either. Jo Packham talked to me about shooting my studio for Where Women Create, had to reschedule, but then it never got shot. Lets, see, what else? Hmm, seems like I've had a string of near misses lately.

Maybe I shouldn't talk about upcoming stories until I actually see them in print?

You might have noticed that I don't really think things out or plan what I write in these posts, I just kind of ramble on about what is going on in my life or is on the tip of my tongue at the moment. I guess I should be more careful about announcing things, because after years of doing magazine articles here and there, I know how the business fluctuates and changes. Plus, for me, its just a hobby, not a job, so some years I won't have a single story printed, other years I might have 4 or 5. I don't really pursue it much, I just kind of do what comes along.

Sometimes I wonder what I could have accomplished with my life if I'd actually tried…Instead of just doing what comes along or feels like fun that day? If I had gone after a career or stuck with one thing????

But on the other hand, I know how durn lucky I am to have the odd ball, do what I want-when I want,
no career-career that I am plopped into right now.

But I still wonder.

Cousins

family

By Karla Nathan / September 8, 2009

Even Twinkle enjoyed meeting cousins at the reunion. You can tell by the blur of her tail in motion that she was glad to have Boomer come and stay.

She and Elphie didn't get along so well, though. Maybe she was just jealous because Elphie was too durn cute?

Except for the Elphie/Twinkle feud, and one little minor meltdown that I had while trying to hurry home from an afternoon on the lake, run to the grocery for more food, and get dinner started before all the hungry kids got back from the boat (not so pretty while it lasted, sorry, family!!), the camp out was a success. At least it was on my end, but then, I was sleeping in my own soft bed, not out in the yard….

If you can measure happiness by bags of empty marshmallows, we had a 4 star (bag) weekend. The bonfire pit got a workout and became the gathering area we spent the most time at. Lots of s'mores were consumed.

Along with some other junk.

When I have a houseful, I'm not constantly picking up. Piles accumulate and I don't worry about it. So this is the view of one corner of my kitchen for most of the weekend. With that many people around, its easier just to go with it and enjoy the company, I can enjoy a tidy kitchen when I am home alone and have nothing better to do. But while family is here to play, I want to be playing too, not clearing messes!

And all the important stuff gets done, with plenty of help!

I made sure I had plenty of time for neice cuddling, this is my nephew, Aubrey's daughter, and she was as snuggly as can be. Her dad is in the military and has served a few tours in Iraq. It breaks my heart to pieces to imagine him having to leave her to go overseas, but he is being sent back again in October.

FOR A YEAR.

He is a braver person than I am. I couldn't do it. Not just the war and the danger, but leaving behind his two babies, who are some of the sweetest kids ever.

We are lucky to have guys like this that are there for all of us. Aubrey has grown up to be a great guy and I am so proud of him and so lucky to have him and his sweet babies and wife as part of my family.

And Twinkle is thrilled to count their dog, Boomer as her cousin too.

We had perfect weather all weekend, with just a few drops of rain at the Renfest on Saturday (I'll have photos from there later) So, we were able to eat most meals outdoors. It could have been a disaster if we'd had rain all weekend!

I hope the rest of the group loved our tent city as much as I did, and will come back to set it up again. The yard seems empty with everyone all packed up and gone.

PS- I had to add codes to the comment log, sorry, I hate that. I like it to be easy for you to leave comments, but all of a sudden, I was inundated with hundreds of bizarre and BAD language robotic comments and needed to block them. I'm sorry if this makes it take more time for you to comment, but you really wouldn't want to see those….

Also, please remember, all comments all month count toward the giveaway, which I'll look around the studio and scrounge up a little giftie for this week.

Too much fun

family

By Karla Nathan / September 5, 2009

The Camp-or-ama weekend is going great! Here is a corner of my yard…

But after all the bonfire and Renfest excitement, we are all feeling a bit like Sugarwings does in this picture. I'm off to bed to rest up for another day packed with fun.

Hope your weekend is great too!

Welcome!!

family

By Karla Nathan / September 4, 2009

Have you ever seen the Once Upon a Time scrap book paper?  Its so pretty, and has the perfect mood for a Renaissance Festival scrapbook.  
 

The pages are filled with fairies, mermaids, knights, castles, all tipped off with hints of glitter.  
 

Normally, I'm all vintage, all the time. But I love this stuff and it is soooo right for these albums to commemorate the family reunion.  I  made a cover from glitter paper (cool stuff too, but it "sheds" so I spritzed it with clear poly spray) and drew up a label, made color copies of it and added some glitz and sparkle to each one to make them all a bit unique.
My sissy is coming with her four kids and all of their families, so I created 5 books for them.  All are pretty simple, and ready to add photos of the weekend to.  I foofed only a few pages in each book, with pockets, and other little touches. When you use this paper, its so cool, you don't want to do too much to it.  
Its great as is.
The tag on the page in the photo is only glued down on 2 sides, so it is a pocket to slip ticket stubs or other mementos into.
 

I tied a golden photo mat inked up with sepia to age it, and filled with a fairy picture of my Sis to the albums.  To that, I added a little pewter dragon charm.
Now, I am wishing I'd made one for myself too….  
  

There will be lots of photo ops this weekend!  One of my nephews is a professional photographer, I'm hoping to get some good family group shots from him.

Today, I am doing last minute spot cleaning to be ready for everyone.  The yard is cleaned up, floors are mopped, laundry is done.
 
The bonfire pit is being cleaned out and a fresh load of logs will be laid out and ready for the campers.  Yep, we'll have a tent city in the yard, at least 4 or 5 tents will be set up for the party.  Looks like the weather will hold too, we got lucky.  Now, I just need to get to the grocery store and getting chopping and dicing and cooking to have the house filled with food and treats when they arrive.
 
I can't wait!

A bonus giveaway to share the joy

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, give away, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 2, 2009

Yesterday was such a good day! One for the record books.

* Lovely weather

* Family helping with yard work, getting things trimmed and tidied, and enjoying being outside together

* A bonus of a few extra, unexpected hours to play with Sugarwings

* The look of joy on my fairy grand baby's face when she saw the new additions to the Fairy Berry Trail

* A thoughtful, surprise gift in the mail from a reader (thank you, Susan!!)

* Giant mums in bloom, on sale for only $5.99 (I bought 6!)

* A delicious meal whipped up from our garden, by my son

* The happy anticipation of getting ready for the big family reunion this weekend

* A furry friend, who is always happy even when I have to pick tons of burrs from her silky hair.

* Time to spend in the studio making up some pretties

It was one of those days that make me happy and grateful for my life.

It was such a good day, that I wanted to share some of my good luck, and draw two names for the August giveaway instead of just one. Plus, I realized it was my SIX HUNDREDTH post.

So, here are the two winners, each get one of these hand painted charms.

And the second winner is:

Gabrielle

Bur dog 115

Yep, yesterday was a beautiful day, and you know, today is starting off pretty good too. Hope yours is also!