July 2011 – Karla's Cottage

Thanks soooooo much, swap buds!!!!

By Karla Nathan / July 31, 2011

It feels good to be done with the swap, but I've got that after the holiday let down now. There is still the pile of goodies that came as gifts to play with tho, that sure helps.

And I can take my own book down to enjoy and flip through whenever I want. That is if I can lift it… its HUGE! Over 40 artists gifted me with an extra tag for my swap book.

Its a book that is so big, it can practically bury a Dorkie.

Poor dog. She sure is patient with me. Yes, she is wearing the book around her neck.

Here it is in its full magnificence.

That is a whole heap-o-tags.

And I have the BEST display for it! Debra G. sent me this birdie-shaped iron hook, and I sprayed it white, then beat it around in the gravel a bit to distress it. I added a bird nest charm that was a gift also.

Of course, between my bad hand writing and the fact that I got a couple of different kinds of nests, I'm not sure who this one is from.

And its such a sweet little nest, I just love it and the way it looks on this hook.

Here is a peek at my pitiful list. Its all color coded, and I am rigorous about marking items off as I go. The typed names are just fine, its my hand written notes that screw me up. I have hand writing that is almost as bad as my singing voice. And you DO NOT want to hear that. It compares with my dance moves. Only Sugarwings can appreciate my dancing and singing skills. She even thinks my notes are fine, but then she can't read. She likes me to make notes for her to tape to things around the house.

I need to keep better lists when I do a swap. Another problem I have is that I scratch things off the list after I've contacted the person, then I can't go back and read what I'd contacted them about.

How embarrassing.

The grand, globs of gifts are extreme! Its always a surprise to see that someone has packed up such nice, thoughtful things for me (and my fairy baby too)

These metal birdies were from Chloe Rose.

I did the same thing with these as I did the bird hook from Debra, painted it white and beat it up in the gravel. Then, I hung the whole flock from the chandy above my desk.

The pink twine they are suspended with was from Jennifer Phillips.

One other problem that I have with some names in swaps, is that people go by lots and lots of names, between their full, given name, a nick name, a blog name, email address, or the return address label that might even be their husband's name, or just an initial along with a last name I've never heard.

I try to keep it all straight, but sometimes people contact me with one name, sign the note with another, or have a different one on their return address. I can't always figure out who is who or match up names with email addresses or blog names.

All I know for sure is, that EACH SET OF TAGS GETS A BOOK MAILED TO THE ADDRESS THAT CAME WITH IT!!

And that is what is the most important thing to keep track of.

I am deeply appreciative of all the thought and care that goes into the gifts. Thanks, everyone!

Kathy made the Dorothy charm for me, and the rosette is from JoAnne.

Becky made this for my budding little artist.

And I got one too!

The sparkly locket, I'm afraid, is on the list of bad handwriting mistakes. I don't know who its from at this point, but I'm wearing it and enjoying it right now. Thanks so much for thinking of me, kind swapper!!

I hope I don't get my crown taken away because I'm not linking with everyone who was so generous and thoughtful to send things…

But hopefully, everyone will enjoy their books and this public THANK YOU will suffice!

And I will share some of it with you. I've scanned some of the great ephemera I was given, and all you need to do is click on it to open in a larger window, save, and print from your saved file.

I'll leave you with some eye candy, a few of the yummy treats that I was lucky enough to get from my swappin buds.

family

By Karla Nathan / July 29, 2011

The weather is still smoldering and sizzling around here. I've been indoors avoiding it, with the excuse that Sugarwings was ill and I needed to cuddle her, and that I had tag books to do. The heat has had me house bound almost as much as a big snowstorm would mid-winter.

The dogs and I have barely shuffled outdoors long enough to move the sprinkler, which has been running pretty much non-stop daily. Its good to live in the country and have well water, I'd hate to see a water bill after this heat wave.

But I've had enough of being held captive by the weather! This weekend, we are hitting the shores of Lake Clinton and getting some splash time in.

There is nothing like playing out in the water to make the most of a hot summer day.

(That is Sugarwing's daddy and his Gypsy Beloved doing aerial yoga while being pulled along behind the boat.)

I hope your weekend is a good one and you find some ways to beat the heat too!

Ps- I'm going out of town on Wednesday. If you are still sending tags and haven't got them to me, TUESDAY morning, I'm making the LAST books!! So, over night them if you are serious about being in the swap and just didn't have time to get them here. And please contact me so I'll expect them.

Feeling rag-tagged but lucky

swaps

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2011

All of the people who sent in their tags now have a book sent back to them! There are a few stragglers that I am waiting on, and those books will be made this weekend. But for now, FREEDOM!! I'm feeling a bit worn out and crossed eyed from doing so many tag books and labels, its good to be away from it.

My desk is calling to me, I've missed my arty time there. I bought some new Copic markers and am dying to play with them.

I want to show you some of the pretties that came in the mail to me along with the tags. Thanks to all of you who joined the swap, and thanks to those of you who sent treats for Sugarwings and I. We are having fun with our packages!

This queenly bird was a gift from Mercedes.

How wonderful are these bird house tags??? Cheryl always comes up with something extraordinary. She had them packed in the darling box, which is now living on my desk.

I'll miss checking the mail every day to see what shows up. I was always blown away by the lovely wrappings, like Sheila had on her vintagey tags.

And this simple burlap bag was a cute idea. Even cuter, it was filled with fab metal tags from ________.

Oops, I lost where I wrote down her name and they are not on the tags!! Sorry.

And I love old wallpaper boxes, this came from Debbie Mc Renoylds and was filled with great, old trims.

Jingle sent Sugarwings this pretty pink clothes pin doll.

Robin sent a mini purse full of jewels. I've already shared some with my son who makes jewelry too, and the rest are in a glass bottle on my desktop.

Of course, Sugarwings had to scoop up the pink purse and sashay awasy to go and play dress up!

My pal, Cami, is as big of a bargain hunter as I am. She knew I'd appreciate hearing that she found this Fitz and Floyd dish for only 75 cents!

I'll have some more photos of the goodies later. And wait til you see my own tag book, made up of over 40 tags given to me as hostess gifts. I think I could enter it into the world record book for its size.

All of you will immediately be hosting swaps to snag a book like that of your own!

Thanks again, swappers!

I honestly enjoy doing these swap books, even if this time, the size of it got a bit overwhelming and I wasn't able to get much done besides tagging. Its a joy to open each package and see the creations inside. I show you all the crap I make on a regular basis. Its fun to see what is on the other end of the blog, the things YOU make.

I'll announce the latest winner of an online dress form class soon.

I'm giving one away every couple of weeks. Leave a comment if you'd like to have a chance to win.

Holding Space

family, holding space

By Karla Nathan / July 27, 2011

This girl is just getting cuter and cuter. She seems to think she is big enough to keep up with her sibs and likes to chase Sugarwings now.

And when all the big kids got balloons at the ice cream shop, she had to have one too.

She likes hanging out at her parent's new business, Holding Space. There is plenty of room to crawl around, a big mirror she can meet another baby in, and lots of bright colors.

I painted the rooms for my son, according to his feng shei designs. The entry is all metallic, the treatment room is blue and purple swirls for water. This room is "fire", so I did my version of a sunset.

We painted the top 1/3 of the wall red, the bottom 1/3 yellow. Then I brought up some yellow rays into the center, and around that, I painted the middle of the wall orange. (I saved money by mixing the red and yellow to make the orange, instead of buying another can of paint)

With a torn up tee shirt, I dabbed on, and blended some bright colors of acrylic craft paint.

The lower part of the wall is very colorful, but as I worked my way up, I changed to accenting with just a couple of colors.

There are high ceilings with a skylight, so its the perfect environment for plants.

The whole place is so inviting, I love the bright colors, even if they are the opposite of what I do at home. I used to do murals and faux finishes for a livng and kind of miss getting to lots of things that I wouldn't do for my self. Its fun to experiment with the bright side.

I gave up doing this full time because it is such hard work, and I felt like I was crippling myself doing it. But now that I rarely do decorative painting, and have a son who is a massage therapist, it isn't as painful as it used to be. After i finished this work, my sweet boy gave me an hour's treatment on my neck and shoulder and I felt better after that than I did before I'd even started painting.

Kind of makes me think his business will be a success, since he is so good at making aches and pains go away!

If you are in the area and need to feel better, give him a call.

We still have work to do, at the Habitat resale store, we bought a $5 window to put in this opening to give the massage room more privacy. After that, we'll paint the trim. Around the doors, I painted the trim with bronze glaze in a dry brush technique. For this, I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see how the window turns out, we are going to paint the glass with a mandela pattern.

Canvas drop cloths are waiting to be dyed and made into curtains and Sugarwing's Daddy has some other green/low cost decor planned too, but the space is already functional and open for business.

I gave them one of my favorite lamps, made by a friend. I hated to see it go, but it looks so good here, I just had to. I've got some hand blown glass lamps that I'm sending over too. I love them, but right now, they are just hanging in my shed, which is a silly waste of their beauty.

His Gypsy Beloved will be making her "Freaks", for sale. She makes funny little fairies and sock dolls too. Plus, she will be doing guided meditations. There is already a good following building up for her Wednesday night group sessions.

And my boy will be selling his silver wrapped jewelry. He has some skills, doesn't he? I love seeing the detail in his work.

Of course, I think these are his best creations.

He also travels to festivals to do massage and energy work, so I made a sign that he could easily transport. Its an old door panel, that I painted blue, flicked with white, then did some swirls on. This looks complicated, but takes only moments to do.

I dip my rag in multiple colors and do quick swirls with it.

Over that, I did some lettering, making the "o" a planet. My writing is far from professional, but suited the theme.

To get the watercolor look on the lettering, I let the white dry, outlined one side with black, let that dry, then outlined the other side with blue. While the blue was still wet, I used a brush loaded with water to bleed the color over the white paint.

I hope to do a larger, more permanent sign for the business too, but need to wait till I get caught up on a few more projects. Tag books for one… a painting of my grandma for a family cookbook, some decor for Jenn Hayslip's event in the fall, and about a billion more things. If you were wondering why I hadn't been making my little pretties or adding new goodies to the Boutique that explains it!

Thank goodness this is still selling each day! Thank YOU to all of you who are signing up for the $15 online classes. And I'm sorry I haven't had more kits to list, the ones I put in the Boutique went fast. I'll try to make up some more, I have a table top of supplies set up to go…. But- there is only so much time in a day. And not quite enough of it.

If you have any questions about the classes, feel free to ask. And I'd love to see what you make. Maybe we should have a linky party and show our creations? No two turn out the same.

Seems like this is becoming my "Summer Giveaway" too. I'm giving one away for each drawing I do. Leave a comment if you'd like to have a chance to win.

Marauders

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By Karla Nathan / July 25, 2011

On Friday, Sugarwings and I had a Girl's Night Out. We got all dressed up to go to the local community theater to see a play about pirates. Before it was time to leave, I double checked the theater's online site to see when we needed to be seated and saw that there was a costume party before the play! Now, how did I miss that before, that is the kind of thing that we just love to do!

We had about 15 minutes to devise a costume that looked piratey. What we came up with is kind of a shabby chic, princess, cowgirl, gypsy pirate, but she loved it.

Especially since she had a treasure bag hung on her belt that held some jewels and a half a roll of Lifesavers.

She also raided my jewel box and put on an armload of bracelets and a few necklaces.

The cowgirl boots were the only boots we had in her dress up closet, and were a few sizes too big, but she insisted that they were just right. Of course, they ended up in my purse, and I carried her most of the night because they kept falling off every time she took a step.

She was entranced by the play, and thinks she won the costume contest, even though she didn't. She was so enthralled by the show she let her "Shiver Me Timbers" float melt and forgot to drink it.

I'm hoping the theater will have more kid's productions, this was a blast for both of us.

So, Friday ended much nicer than it started. I got up early that day, with a fistful of dollars, and all the garage sales circled in the ads, finally heading out for some thrill shopping, it has been months since I got to scour for junk. Even though there were only a minimal amount of sales listed in the paper, I was up at 7 am and ready to hit them.

Instead, I walked out the front door into the breezeway and saw this mess! (it was even worse than pictured, I took the photo after picking up a bag of ripped up trash)

We'd had our own pirates over night. Coons came through the window to raid the cat food.

That is my curtain and the rest of the window's weather stripping on the floor. They tore the screen right off its frame and shredded it.

We've had trouble with raccoons in the past (I've walked right into a herd of them in the pitch dark, lurking in the breezeway, waiting to eat me- now I turn on the light before entering the room at night) so, I keep the windows closed out there, but since its been 104 degrees with a heat index of the surface of the sun, I cracked it open a a few inches to let out a bit of steam.

Who knew that the marauders could get through such a small opening?

The destruction they did seemed unwarranted for the small amount of food that they got. I think they were mad there was so little there for them and they wanted to teach me a lesson. They got a handful of cat food (stored in a plastic jug with a lid on it) and two juice boxes from the cooler. There was no good trash for them to eat, they just ripped the bag open out of spite.

You'd think that these guys might have barked while our home was under siege. They bark if a bunny comes within a 100 yards of our house or if a leaf falls from a tree. Although, even if they had warned me, I doubt if there was anything I could do. Coons intimidate me, they show no fear and always win a stare down contest when we get into them.

At first I was sad about these curtains, but then, I realized this was just the reason I needed to redo the room and get new ones. Its been this bilious green for years, and I've been wanting to redo it, just haven't done it.

Now, of course, its too hot to even think about, plus I'm still knee deep in tags. But I'll start the hunt for the curtains and that will lead me to the right colors for the room and I'll be thrilled to get it painted. I chose this green the day a beloved puppy died and I wanted something physical to do, and a color that was bright. So, not a lot of thought went into the color, I just grabbed a bright can from the store (oops paint, which someone else was smart enough to turn down), ran home and started to paint to take my mind off being sad.

The thing is, I just don't like living with brights too much. I prefer soft backgrounds. So, time for a change. And when I get the new curtains up, I'll keep the windows all the way shut to protect them from pillagers.

I'm continuing this giveaway. The prize is a dress form tutorial. If you have already purchased one of the $15 classes, (thank you!!), then I'll send you a kit of vintage goodies instead if I draw your name.

Name That Tag

bird song art event, swaps

By Karla Nathan / July 23, 2011

Yesterday, 50 tag books went out in the mail! That means I'm over 1/3 done. I'll work on as many as I can this weekend, then take a break for a few days while the stragglers come in. Your tags should all be mailed to me by now. If they have not been, please let me know.

photo #1

I thought you might want to see some of the combos I'm sending out.

photo #2
There have been some lovely books being compiled, because there is so much beauty for me to chose from.

Photo #3

Great work was sent in for this swap, I'm loving the theme and what everyone has done with it!

Photo #4

Sorry I can't link to each and every artist I'm showing, but these have already been mailed, I can't look at the backs to see whose is whose. Some I remember and some I don't. I don't want to list a couple people and not all.

Plus there are about 3 billion of them and I just don't have the limitless time to do the links PLUS make the books. Sorry.

You can look at our Flickr group to see more tags and see who has done which if you'd like.

Photo #5

Ya know, it might be nice if the artists left comments if they see their work and let us know where they are, such as:

"photo 3, row 1, tag 2" and their name.

Photo #6

With so many tags to pick thru as I put the books together, playing match up and assembling ones that look nice together has been a piece of cake.

Photo #7

But I do have to warn late comers, that their books might not blend as well, if I don't have as many to chose from. When it gets down to the last few books, whatever is left goes into them.

Photo #8

But honestly, I don't think anyone will mind! The artwork will be just as fun in a variety as it is in a matched up book.

Summertime

Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 22, 2011

Some of us don't mind this heat wave at all!

Hope you are finding ways to keep cool too.

Hosting a tag swap

bird song art event, Books, how to's, swaps

By Karla Nathan / July 20, 2011

The tag books are starting to come together. Well, sorta. I have about a dozen or so made up. Thats a start! Its been such fun to open them all and see the talent inside the avalanche of mail. And here and there, I come across a sweet treat like this extreme goodie pile from Sharon, and that makes it even more fun. Like a treasure hunt. Its all I can do to be polite and gently unwrap everything and be organized with the tags, and stop myself from being like a kid at Christmas ripping into pressies!

And look at these beauties from Rebecca! There is the perfect spot for that spoon in my kitchen cabinet.

I thought you might enjoy a rundown on the process of the whole swap. I am NOT an organized person by nature and I have to be very strict with myself to make sure it all runs well. I have lots of steps each package goes through and I have to concentrate while doing them, so I don't screw up.

It starts with the sign ups, as people email their info to me, I add it to a word doc on my computer, when it is full, I alphabetize it and print it out.

No packages get opened till the swap begins. They trickle in a few at a time for weeks, then as the deadline approaches, they arrive in a daily mountain on my porch. The mail lady doesn't even knock any more, she just stacks them on the chairs in front of my studio.

Here is a snippet of the list, as I open a box I mark it delivered, and paid.

Everyone was asked to send their mailing address on a separate piece of paper. If they forget, I cut it from the return address on the box.

I arrange each person's pile of tags with their info underneath. I don't use these as the mailing label, they are just to keep me straight on whose tags I am dealing with and whose books have been made.

When the books are done, I make pay pal labels. It costs more and takes a lot more time than just taping down the label they sent in and having the mail man add the postage, but this way I can track each package, just in case we need to trace it.

It would also be quicker to just make books willy nilly, without knowing who each one goes to. This might sound silly and time consuming. but I like to know who is getting the book I made, and I enjoy looking at the artist's tag and trying to make a book of other tags that I think she'll like.

It probably doesn't even show, but it matters to me. I make the books with love.

I try not to send the artist her own tags back, but sometimes it happens, especially with later tags when there aren't as many to chose from. In the beginning, with billions on the tables, its easier. As I compile the books, I mark each off the list.

Cash and checks go in this box, with the tags that were sent to me as gifts. I think that my personal swap book is going to be extra fat and gorgeous this time!!!!!!!! There must be 30 tags in there. How lucky am I to get so much cool art for myself?

Tags that look pretty together get stacked near each other as I open the boxes, so as I make the books, I gather the tags from the area surrounding the artist's own tag. A more left brain person would probably put the tags out in the order they come in and work from first to last. I go by color and style instead.

Hey, I have to make it fun and interesting to me, or I'd go crazy! This is hours and hours of work. I know I could do it more simply, but I want to do it right. Each book of tags has to look good together. I'm not going to put a wild colored one in a book with all muted colors. The wild colored one will go with a selection of other colorful and fun tags.

While I am unpacking, I sort and recycle. Pretty ribbons, tissue, and wrappings get saved in one tub, and another fills up with bubble mailers. Boxes get stacked and saved, too. I can always tell when it is time for another swap, when my packing materials get low! I'd like to say that I am saving the earth, but honestly, I'm just cheap.

As I go through the packages, I have to force myself to stay on task, and put all the gifties aside for later. But all I want to do is PLAY with them! Its hard to not open and peek inside the gifts for Sugarwings too. I get as excited as she does about them. And when I get art supplies, it takes a lot of self control to not go sit down and make something right then and there. You know how tempting new supplies are.

There are too many to make to wait till all are here before I start the assembly. It will take me a couple of weeks to get them all made and shipped.

My workspace has a stack of fresh, new padded envelopes, lots of lace and ribbon, a crop-o-dile to punch holes for the people who forgot or made them too small (about 1 in 6), pretty bird paper of some kind to wrap the books in, and tape to add their label to the envelope.

I'll make up a dozen or so loose books, then sit and tie them all, and stuff then slip the envelopes into a basket by my side. When its full, I go and make labels. After the label is made, I mark that person off the list as shipped.

It helps to break the job up this way, bringing a dozen or so to completion before making more. Selecting the tags for each book is the fun part, if I did it all at once, then the tying and labelling would feel like punishment. I like to know that I can get up and go make more choices as soon as I finish my stack of envelopes.

I will be working on these for quite a while, so if you haven't sent yours yet, don't waste money by overnighting them! Please email me and I'll let you know whether you have time to get them in.

Thanks so much to all of you who sent your artwork in to me to enjoy and play with. I'll do my best not to drool on it. And I'll try to keep plugging away at these books and not get too sidetracked by how pretty the tags are. Just don't make them too sparkly or shiny, because I get mesmerized pretty easy by shiny things.

And thanks to those of you who sent my little fairy grand child some tidbits. I've given her a couple of them, and might throw a tea party and let her open the rest then.

The winner of my mini dress form online workshop is Debbie Jullieret.

I think I'll do another giveaway. The prize is a dress form tutorial. If you have already purchased one of the $15 classes, (thank you!!), then I'll send you a kit of vintage goodies instead if I draw your name.

Thankful for family

family, flowers, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2011

Our family getaway to Utah was very special. It was good to see nieces and nephews we rarely get to visit and to catch up on laughs with some of my husband's sibs.

We'd never been to his sister's newer home, and it was a beautiful place to stay, full of original artwork that was right up my alley.

I never got tired of walking through the house and admiring the paintings. Especially the fairy themed ones.

They also had family portraits that were so beautiful, they held as much magic as the sprite and fey paintings did.

Even the pets were represented in oil. What a dreamy place! The artist of many of these works is Lynn Lupettii and I have to say, I'm quite a fan.

But the magic wasn't all just paint, we muggles spent some time visiting Hogwarts too.

Quite a few of the group headed to the theater about 5 am on Thursday to watch a Harry Potter marathon that ended with the midnight showing of the latest flick.

Due to flight delays, I didn't get to join them quite that early, but I made it for movie #4 and was surprised at how fast 3 am came and it was all over with. We had blankets, a ton of snacks and food and drinks, and it was such fun to be part of the large crowd saying a fond farewell to Harry. The very last movie was just as moving to me as the book was. I sobbed again just like when I read the happy ending to the series. Even knowing what was coming up, I still cried like a baby when**************************.(sorry, don't want to mess up the end for you, but I can't quite believe there are Harry fans who haven't read the book yet!!)

Its one of the best series endings I've ever read. Heck, I have tears in my eyes now just thinking about it.

But the real, honest magic of the trip, was Utah itself. Everywhere we went, there was beauty. And not much is more beautiful than Thanksgiving Point.

Its kind of a botanical gardens, but it is very user-friendly and almost like taking the kids to the park for the day. A very special park!

(this photo of Grandma Joan is NOT doctored up, the colors were that vibrant there!!!)

Kids are allowed to run and play, and even to roll down the big hill. The grass was a thick, cushion of plush green, nothing like around my house. Better than any golf course I have seen too. Plus NO CHIGGERS! Its been years since I have sat down in the grass out of chigger fear. I was so drawn to this lawn that I even tried rolling down the hill with the little girls.

Since I weigh quite a bit more than the kids, I took off rolling a bit harder and faster than they did, and after about 2 turns, was dizzy and ready to stop. But gravity had other plans for me, and it felt like an hour on a roller coaster later when I finally stopped, although it was probably only a few feet. It made me so dizzy that I even feel slightly nauseous looking at this photo, although the picture doesn't really capture just how steep it really was.

This park reminded me of Disney-world with no rides. It was over the top, and the detail was amazing.

The whole weekend, I kept seeing things Sugarwings would have loved, and I missed her terribly. I knew she'd have had a good time with her 2nd cousins.

And this park was a perfect setting to play fairy. She'd have been deep into her imaginary world if she'd been there.

I can just picture her having a conversation with this dragon. Its the base of my sis-in-law's mailbox! Her home is filled with dragons and fairies and gnomes.

The back yard was two levels, with a curving downhill path following a series of waterfalls.

The pool at the base of the falls was lit up and misty. Of course, Sugarwings is what we politely call a "hands on" child. It would have been an non-stop challenge to keep her out of the waterfalls.

But I was pretty content to sit out there to enjoy the veiw adn the sound of trickling water. In Utah, we had zero humidity, and could open our windows at night and listen to the creek as we slept. Not like the 110 degree heat index we have today in Kansas.

That fountain alone would have been worth the trip! I had to change from the upstairs deck to the downstairs porch back and forth, I couldn't make up my mind which had the best view.

Still, the very best part was getting to spend time with my husband's sweet family. What nice, generous people they are. It was a lovely trip.

I know how lucky I am to have a husband I love so much, but I'm also lucky that he has a family that I love too.

Next post, I'll announce another winner of my online dress form tutorial. If you have already purchased one of the $15 classes, (thank you!!), then I'll send you a kit of vintage goodies instead if I draw your name.

Leave a comment if you want to be entered, you still have a couple of days to enter while I am waist deep in Bird song swap tags!

My Studio Tour link

Uncategorized

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2011

If you are here to see my studio tour for the 3rd annual Where Bloggers Create party, please look HERE

For newer posts, please scroll down.