September 2010 – Page 2 – Karla's Cottage

A furry transformation

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 10, 2010

Little Agnes Rosebud got her first hair cut this week. All Yorkies are born black and as they grow, their puppy hair gets fuzzy and matted over the new silky, adult hair underneath. And I mean matted. Her hair was so bad, that when I tried to just snip off a bit, I realized it was all one big, connected mass. Ugh. So, I slid my tiny scissors beneath the knots and started to snip.

It all came off in one hunk. Like a pelt. Or like a little old lady's wiglet. You know the ones that you see in every closet at an estate sale?

Yea, gross. I'd rather think of it as her cocoon. She emerged from it as a beautiful butterfly. It certainly is a transformation. Her brother, Button and sister, Lili Bella, got theirs cut this week too. Teresea has cute before and after pictures of Lilli, I didn't since my hair cutting was unplanned. I just snipped a bit away and realized I was trapped and couldn't stop.

I don't think this poor dog has two hairs the same length on her entire body. Maybe I should stick to using my scissors on old paper…. but she still manages to be pretty durn cute.

We spent some time doing yard work over the 3 day weekend, and I planted some late summer to fall blooming hydrangeas. For about a decade, I couldn't get a hydrangea to grow for anything. I could have just as easily been planting dollars in the ground instead, it had the same result.

But I seemed to have found the secret to keeping them alive and now can't get enough of them.

And of course, I can never get enough of old jewelry. Beth and I spent last Friday at one of my favorite places in the world, Sparks Flea Market. Its always good for a big bag of jewels!

I've yet to go through my pile of goodies to sort and see what I bought. Hopefully, later today, I'll get a chance. I'm making cuff bracelets today, and will need to at least pull some blingers out of the pile for those, even if I don't get to sort them completely.

When I buy piles of jewelry, I sort it into these categories:

Too Nice- add to Boutique
needs minor repair
broken, missing stones, not worth repair but great for crafting (some to keep, some to sale)
single earrings
suitable for making jewelry

Then there are sub-categories:

clear rhinestones
colored rhinestones
flowers
shapes/figures
cameos
buckles
lockets
pearls

See why it takes a while? Plus, its so fun, I feel like the King in his counting house while I play with it all. So, I don't like to be rushed.

One of the new brooches from the flea has already found a home on this wall hanging that I made for Romantic Gothic Ghosts. I thought this would be nice on a door, in place of a wreath. Its a quickie, and simple to make.

Its a BONUS tutorial! I've added it to the end of the class. I've had so much fun with the class, that its hard to stop, I had to make another piece for it! We've included lots of extras in the class, videos, giveaways, lots of images, and decor tips.

The tutorial blog will be up for as long as I have a Typepad account, and many of the ideas can be used for more than just Halloween. But, if you want to enter the giveaways, you need to play along in "real time", because they will end this Sept.

If you'd like to see what some of our artists have made with their take on the class, you can look here.

And if you'd like to win one of the projects I've made, please leave a comment. Sandy at Quill Cottage is giving away one of hers too!

Oh, you are NOT going to paint THAT are you???????????? Yep, and here is how.

Hand Painted Furniture, holiday decor, how to's, how-to projects, redos, show and tell, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 8, 2010

Thanks for all the compliments about my pretty little fairy baby at the Renfest! I have to agree, she's a cutey.

We had her most of the holiday weekend, along with my mother-in-law here for a few days from Green River, WY. Chasing Sugarwings kept me busy most of the time, but after she left, I had a day to spend with my husband's mother. She sat at the dining table and embroidered and at first I was up and down doing little chores here and there, and tidying up the place (after Hurricane Sugarwings has blown through, there is a lot of picking up to do).

But I did spend a bit of time sitting at the table and the more I sat, the more I stared at the buffet and the painting above it. The buffet had been maple finish and I painted it gray with a cream glaze over it last spring. And the picture was one that I have loved for years but always thought about lightening up.

For the last few years, EVERYONE told me not to paint it. And I rarely leave things as is, but I knew that this frame was worth money the way it was.

But honestly, was I ever going to sell it? No, I've had it for a long time and always plan on keeping it. I figure that I deserve to look at it and enjoy it, without debating whether or not it should be painted.

I know, there will be gasps of horror. But I'm glad I did it. And I didn't just slap some white on it, I took my time and made the frame look old. Well, "took my time" is all relative, I guess. I paint fast, I had the buffet, the small mirror frame, and the large, antique frame done in about 3 hours while I chatted with my mother-in-law.

Here is what I did:

Primer, good bonding primer. I just tucked some wax paper behind the frame and painted it on the wall right where it hung. The wax paper protected the wall from my brush.
A coat of ivory/bisque eggshell paint
Thick coat of porcelain crackle finish (I worked on the buffet while this dried)
Next, I brushed on and wiped off coffee with cream colored glaze
After that dried, I lightly sanded all raised areas. I was careful to do this lightly with a sanding sponge, because much of the ornamentation was plaster. I wanted to get down to the gold paint, not the white plaster.
I added another layer of crackle glaze.
As the crackle glaze dried, it had a chemical reaction with the exposed gold paint and turned a greenish tint, like a copper patina. (this is a trick I discovered accidentally a while back and love to use. Its unpredictable but pretty)
Over this, I brushed on and rubbed off an ivory glaze and a sepia glaze, randomly putting them over the frame, some over lapping, some spots one color, some spots no glaze.
After it all dried, it was a little too green, so I dry brushed the ivory/bisque colored base paint over the areas that were too vivid.
Then a little more sanding to bring out the dark wood and more of the gold paint underneath.

This was a lot of steps, but I think they paid off, the frame looks like it was out in someone's shed being stored away for years.

The main trick is to not be too perfect. Nature doesn't age things perfectly. Sometimes the trick to a good faux finish is to be messy.

I did NOT cover this with clear coat. If I had, there might have been another chemical reaction with the newly sanded spots with gold paint showing through. It would have turned more green after the clear coat dried.

The buffet got a very similar treatment, with a creamy white painted streakily over the existing gray, so the gray showed through.

Then, crackle glaze, and sepia brushed on and wiped off over the crackle, after it dried.

I used the sepia very heavy in corners and edges.

When it was all dry, I used an acrylic clear coat over the entire piece.

I love crackle. Its tricky and unpredictable, but wow, when it comes out nice, it is really something. Don't ever use too much, use it selectively in spots. Not on every single inch of the piece. And feel free to add another coat or two if needed, and you're not thrilled with the first. (this only applies to porcelain crackle, weathered crackle is a different product. Read your labels!!)

After repainting, I re-foofed the top of the buffet, using some of the projects that I made in the Romantic Gothic Ghosts class. This cone was done from Beth's images and tutorial. I didn't have a cone handy, so I used an upside down party hat.

I'm so glad that I have the class pretties to display in my "new" dining room for fall! The moody, wistful shades (with NO orange!!) are just what this room needs to look festive and still look like "my" house- not the Halloween party store.

We are adding some little videos, giveaways, and decorating tips to the Gothic Ghost blog. The posts will be left up as long as I have a Typepad account (and I don't see me leaving any time soon), so you can take the classes at your leisure. But if you want to win any of the prizes, those are time sensitive. There are still three to give away.

Often, I see the beautiful posts up for White Wednesday, but I'm never in time to enter. Well, today seems to be a good fit and timely too. So, I'll be linking with Faded Charm.

As much as I love whites, I really should make more of an effort to be a part of it regularly!!

There are so many link parties now a days… Here are more that I joined. I usually don't get around to it, but they are always fun when I do!

Power of Paint

Transformation Thursday

A mini Cinderella

celebrations, family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / September 5, 2010

I hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend! Ours is jam packed with lots of Sugarwings time. Her poor Hippy Chick Mommy has strep throat, so she is staying with us. It works out well, because we have my sweet little mother-in-law here for a few days and these two have become buddies.

Yesterday, we spent the day at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. That place is beyond charming. Its tucked away into a hilly, shaded area that is a permanent location for the event, so lots of time and money have gone into the quaint little buildings. You really feel like you are in a fairy tale village when you go there.

And where else do you get to mingle with royalty?

There are stages all over the park with silly plays going on throughout the day. Sugarwings was picked from the audience to participate in one, and after that, she seemed to think that she was meant to be a star. That kid has some ham in her.

But at the end of the day, when I asked her what her favorite part of the festival was, she said, the play ground. There is a kid's area set up with a pirate ship, jungle gym, and lots of crafts. She would have sat and made magic wands all day if that had been an option.

Another favorite for both us us was this tent. It was such a simple thing, a floaty, diaphanous tent that hung from a tree. When you darted in and out of it, the whole thing would sway.

In past years, we have gone with big groups to the Ren Fest. This year, it was just my husband, his mom, our fairy baby, and me. We mostly followed the little one around and let her explore as she pleased. So, we were happy to sit and talk while she made friends with kids playing in the tent. She spent at about a half hour just hanging out there.

We've been to the park numerous times, so didn't feel the need to press on and fit the whole thing into the after noon. We paused to enjoy the little things and took our time watching a dragon fountain splashing against the rocks and contemplating some eggs that might just hatch into baby dragons.

The gown that she wore was just beautiful. It was a gift from a friend who shops estate and garage sales and found it for a couple dollars. The dress is vintage, and very nicely hand made, but since there wasn't a huge investment in it, I was comfortable in letting her run and play and get as dirty as she wanted.

Plus, why have nice things if you can't use and enjoy them?? "Use the good stuff" is my motto in life as well as in the studio with my supplies.

The festival has a different theme each year, this year it is Cinderella, so that is who Sugarwings pretended to be all day. And this gown was just perfect for it! Tiny girls all wanted to stop her and meet her, I think she made them think she was a real princess. She was Queen of the Toddlers that day.

Just the same way that she believed all the royalty that she met there was real.

This woman is my favorite, every year she has the most elaborate costume, and is so good natured and friendly to the little kids. For the Cinderella theme, she is playing Fairy Godmother this year, and is ideal for the part.

There are lots of games to play, too, including putting for unicorns. My husband works for a golf course company, but I'm afraid that Sugarwings and I just are not the Country Club types. I've never played a round in my life. But if we could find some courses that had horned Pan creatures as caddies and everyone dressed up like princesses, I might be able to get into the game.

And especially if country clubs awarded good putts with unicorns!

If you have a little princess or pirate in your life and live anywhere near KC, you really need to take them to this place. It goes on for 8 weekends every fall, and is $18.99 for adults, $9.99 for kids. But if you bring 5 canned goods to donate to a homeless shelter, you can buy one get one free.

The place is just too charming for words. Of course, you wouldn't know by these pictures, all I've shown you is my little obsession grandchild. The site is picturesque, and there is a lot to do besides follow a 4 year old around with a camera. There is jousting, games, elephant and camel rides, great food (beer and wine too), parades, fairy dances, shows, plays, comedians and magicians. You can be as silly as you want and dress up, or just go as yourself and enjoy seeing all the other people's crazy costumes. (wear comfy shoes, no matter how dressed up you get!!)

Older, wiser, more tired

fairies, holiday decor, paintings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 2, 2010

Today, I've been working on a little fairy picture. So far, so good, but now I've run out of time. Its always so hard for me to stop a project midway…. but as I get older, I get wiser. Or more tired? Maybe that is it. Once upon a time, I'd have stayed up all night to finish it. Now, I know that I need some sleep because tomorrow is a big day.

The best kind of day, a flea market!

But I did finish this- its Beth's first project for Romantic Gothic Ghosts. She made this mini journal easy for us, you have the option of following the directions and making it step by step, or just downloading the cover as is and embellishing it! That was my choice. Quick and easy!!

I copied and printed it exactly as she made it, then added inks and marker. After that, I used "Paper Glaze" on the girl for a bit of a shine and to make her stand out, then I gave her a crown.

There was a mouse on her shoulder in Beth's version, and I turned it into a more 3-D look by printing the same mouse picture, ( provided in our image collection), and gluing it directly over the other mouse with a bit of folded cardboard underneath to raise it up. It's eye is a little black crystal and its tail is a bit of twine.

After that, I added a key. One of the images that I scanned and provided was a cool, gothic style key, but I had a bunch of keys on my work table so I used one of those.

It was easy to finish, I printed some of the papers we had in the collection onto cardstock and cut them out with Beth's pattern.

Beth's tutorial for the book starts Friday. Then, over the weekend, we have some Halloween decorating tips coming up. Information to join the 12 days of classes (including tips, giveaways, and LOTS of good images) can be found here.

This book is in the mail now, to the winner of my August giveaway, Debbie. I'll offer another one of our projects from the class to the September winner. If you are interested, just leave a comment!

Last week while shopping my way across Ohio, I found another old Wizard of Oz book. Not as old as the first one, and not as many illustrations, but hey, it was only $2! And its pages will be great for wrapping up the Dorothy tag books as I make them up and package them to send out to everyone.

My lollipop charms are done and ready to tie onto the tag books. I made them with paper clay, stuck them onto vintage stir sticks, then painted and sugared them.

Some are better than others, no two are quite the same. They are far from perfect, but I think they'll be fun to have on the tag books, some books will get lollipops, some will get ruby slippers.

I'm also looking for "emeralds" to foof some up with. I found these two pins at the same store I found the book, and they were only $1. Heck, I couldn't go to Hobby Lobby and buy charms for that. And these are nice, old rhinestoney bits.

Here are some images from the Oz book I just got in case you still need pictures for your tags. Or just like Oz images, help yourself! Click on the images to open the pop up window and save that one to your computer to print, it will be a larger version and print more clearly.

And here is a site with free Oz images to use too. Amy reccomended it to me.

Falling for pastels and the August giveaway winner

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), give away, holiday decor, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, Tutorials, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 1, 2010

Beth and I had the best day on Tuesday with our craft day/photo day. We sat up a few displays using the finished products we made in Romantic Gothic Ghosts so we could add some posts with Halloween decorating tips. Orange-FREE tips!

We also made a few little instructional videos, and it took a bit longer than planned because we had to scrap most of them due to giggle fits. After that, I was able to work on one of Beth's first projects, and she made it easy for all of us. Not only did she include how-to's, she provided the entire collage as a finished piece. I printed it as it was and just embellished the piece.

Some of the classmates are posting their projects on Flickr if you'd like to take a peek. If you want to join the class, please do! Its open indefinitely, but all the giveaways end when we post the last set of instructions. To win the prizes, you need to be enrolled during the "live" part of the class. (The millinery pack is just one of our presents to be offered during the class)

Today I was able to get around to adding some things to the Boutique as promised.

Maybe because I've spent so much time working with the warm tones and sepias of the Romantic Gothic Ghost class, I've been especially drawn to pastels and sweetness.

As I was flipping through my stash of things that needed to be photographed for the shop, I kept going back over and over to florally pastels.

And cutie pie baby things.

Like this 1940s baby book.

The can of Mennen baby powder still smells so fresh, like the top of a new born's head. Funny how long that powder scent lasts.

And can't you imagine this pillow being under a tiny baby's head years and years ago?

In honor of fall, I did list some more neutral tones too.

Can you believe its September???? Sugarwings is back in school and doing well. I think that for her, the Montessouri school is a better fit than the Waldorf. She seems happier there.

And since Sept. is here, I need to announce the winner of the August giveaway-

Debbie Berracha!!

I'll be sending her one of the projects I completed for our Ghost class. I think I'll do the same thing for September. If you'd like to win one of my Romantic Gothic Ghost Halloween decorations, just leave a comment on any post all month. I'll get some pictures soon.

Here are Button and Agnes Rosebud, enjoying yesterday's play date while Beth and I set the table for a fake dinner party to take pictures of it. But we didn't mind, we got to eat the chocolates afterwards. And the dogs had fun watching us!