June 2013 – Karla's Cottage

Antique bookshelf makeover to a flat screen TV cabinet with no sanding and no painting just primer and glaze

antiques/junking, bird song art event, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, how-to projects, redos

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2013

When we were updating to a new flat screen TV, I knew I'd have to lose the cabinet we'd used for the older set that we had.

Our living room is pretty small, and the armoire we kept the TV in wasn't all that big, but it was kinda bulky and seemed to take up a lot of space. But it wouldn't be wide enough for a newer set.

It is one of the few brand new pieces of furniture that live in my home, it was bought to fit the TV, and looked way too new, so I repainted, and aged it, then added glass knobs the day it was delivered.

I searched everywhere for a cabinet that would fit a new 50" flat screen and still have doors. Our TV is on a LOT, but when it isn't, I don't like to see the big, black hole that it makes in my white on white decor. But when I looked at new cabinets, I was told that the door span would have to be so wide to accommodate a large set that it made the cabinets top heavy and dangerous. So, most TVs go onto a wall, a mantle, or a flat surface.

I turned to antique shopping (which I prefer anyway!) and found the same situation. No doors that were wide enough, unless they had a bar down the middle, which wouldn't work. I found this old bookshelf and my son pulled the nails out of two of the shelves to make space for the television.

It needed a deep cleaning too. It could have been in a barn for a while from the looks of it.

This is 11" deep and 46-1/2" wide inside. I measured 50" TVs and found the one I wanted before shopping with a tape measure in my purse to find a cabinet to fit the TV I'd picked out.

And yes, this doesn't have a door, but I thought some lace curtains would be nice.

I used 5 cans of Zinser Bullseye spray primer meant for glossy surfaces, with no sanding. I figured with so many cubbies, a spray would be the way to go.

After priming, I did some distressing with sandpaper.

And added some fancy work details and some tinted glaze.

For one pint of clear glaze, I mixed in one 2 oz bottle of coffee and cream colored acrylic craft paint. I brushed it on heavy and then wiped it off with a damp, well wrung out towel. A torn up old tee shirt works great.

If you do this, rinse often.

If you are wondering why there is a John Deere in the picture, it was doubling as a step ladder to paint the top and something for the piece to lean against as I wiped the glaze on. I was afraid it was going to fall over backwards.

And if you are wondering when I painted it, I didn't! I went straight from primer to glaze.

Primer CANNOT be left as is!!

It isn't paint and is meant to be covered.

But who says you have to use conventional paint? I skipped straight to the tinted glaze. It covers every bit of the primer and is basically about the same as clear paint with tint in it, so dries with a paint like finish.

I didn't top coat it, because it won't be a heavy use item. If I do this technique on a table top, or dresser, I always use a water based, non yellowing top coat, like Polycrylic from Minwax.

We drilled holes in the top compartment for wires to the DirectTV box and DVD player, and also in the big opening for the television.

I didn't try to match up the existing hardware in the places where some pulls were missing. Instead, I went with odds and ends that I had around. One drawer had just a screw as a knob, and I left that, but tied a chandelier crystal with an image added on the back to the screw.

Old calling cards were a good fit for the slots in the pulls. Especially favorites that I'd been saving for some special use, like one that says "Bella" and a couple Marys (my grandma's name)

And Martha, my mom's name.

I used some vintage floral paper and a couple of notes in my sister's pretty handwriting in others. I guess, if I was organized, I'd have gone with actual labels of what was in the drawers, huh?

Once it was set up, I wasn't thrilled with where the curtains would have to hang, past the sides so as not to cover any of the screen. So, a blind was suggested by my sis, Terry.

I'd seen some great lace blinds at the Victorian Trading Co. and since Birdsong was coming up and I had guests to show around KC, we'd planned to go there the next day any way. Kansas City is the headquarters for the online store and catalog and they have an outlet store here. Lucky us! And lucky me, the blinds are only $20 at the outlet store compared to $69 online.

Since I knew most of the ladies coming to Birdsong were from out of town, I made sure to tell them about this store. When we pulled up, we saw an Iowa plate in the parking lot, and I rightly guessed that some of our friends were inside shopping. When we went in, the manager gave me a huge hug because I'd sent so many people her way.

There just happened to be a set of blinds exactly the size I needed in the clearance room! But they were very, very white. I placed them in the tub and poured coffee over them, then laid them out to dry in the sun and got just the color I wanted.

I'm looking for more old, wallpaper covered boxes to set on the bottom shelf to hold the kids' DVDs, I think it looks too busy right now with all the doodads on the shelf. A few boxes would be better.

Later on, I might print an image on linen and add to the blind…. that would be pretty wouldn't it? .

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or
your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it
will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very,
very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on
FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on
my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

Tagging along, some stuff for sale, and a BIG Summer Sale too

bird song art event, how to's, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / June 27, 2013

Lori had some great vintage images and pretty papers in her kits for Birdsong. Her project was a wreath wrapped in frothy fabrics with tricked out tags tucked in it (how's that for alliteration?). Since I didn't add tags to my own wreath, I made some tags up separate because I wanted to play with the images she had included.

I'd also wanted to try using the Dimensional Magic by ModPodge with crystal glitter over it. I outlined the image (not the background) with the D. Magic, then slowly filled in, and the stuff did a good job of staying where I'd put it.

While it was wet, I coated it with clear glass glitter, and then tapped away the extra after the glaze dried and it was safe to pick it up.

I've got about 6 bottles of that stuff, because we used it on the knotted ribbon necklaces class that I did, and I had a bottle of it out on each table for the students, and a little bit goes a looooong way.

This tag is all from Lori's kits too. I tore the label off her kit and left the edges rough, glued it onto a tag, then inked the edges. I scrunched up some pattern paper, and added some of the twine trim Lori provided and a rhinestone from my stash. Then, I did the same glaze and glitter trick as on the other tag, this time over the whole thing.

She had a playing card in the kit too, and I used it as a tag. I made a ruffle from some of the text she provided, and cut the bottom off of another playing card to go over that, and topped it with a millinery flower.

The center is a piece of pattern paper layered with text, and an oval image from Lori's stash. I did the Dimensional Magic and glitter over the torn out oval, and I think I got too much glitter, because it dried a gloppy mess and you couldn't see the image at all. So, i cut a rose out of something else and glued it over the top and added another pretty bit of sparkle and some millinery buds. It's also tied with the twine from the kit.

On this one, the D. Magic and glitter once again obliverated the image. I guess you have be careful to have a light hand with the glitter when doing this. Or to use a very simple, clear, graphic image. I think it turned out really pretty over the first one, the lady's black and white face.

Around the screwed up image, I glued odds and ends that were in the kit, in a free form frame. And I liked that part, it was too bad the rest was a mish mosh mess.

After it dried, I tried to fix it by gluing a snippet of text and a bird out of a book from the 1800s. I'd used this same text and some birds from it for each of the kits I'd made up for the necklace class. These were the birds that we put in the pendants, although this bird is a little more colorful than the ones I used for the class.

I know, it was only a little tag, but I hate to leave anything badly done, so I did what I could to salvage it. I finish all my projects, and save the bad ones as much as I can. I figure that I've already invested time and materials into a failed piece, why let it go to waste if a little more time will fix it?

If you are interested in one of Lori's lovely kits, I found two of them left here when I cleaned up. I offered to sell them for her, and ship them out. Her wreath kit comes with the form, the fabric,images, papers, trims, and tags.

It's self explanatory, and a simple, pretty project.

The kits are $35 plus postage.

When I sold my own leftover kits, I counted wrong and sold more than I actually had, so had to whip up a few more real quick. Well, I made up some extras and have one knotted ribbon and one captured fairy birdcage (that comes with a free online course) left for $30 plus postage, each.

Please email me if you are interested in any of these, with your zip code and the email address you use for PayPal and I'll send you a invoice with the postage figured.

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

As well as one completed necklace that I used as a sample. The one that says "nest" with the brown antiquing is available for $65.

The white one that says "nest" in this photo too. I think I'll keep the blue one myself. The rest of my samples are at Somerset right now, for an article in Jewelry Affaire. I might have some of those for sale later, but it could be months before they are returned.

And if that isn't enough shameless huckstering and trying to sell stuff to you, here is a little more.

I've got a ton of new things to add to my Boutique. But I'd like to clear it out a little bit first, and start fresh. So, I'm offering a 30% discount till July 1st. You'll need to use this link:

http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=30%

And type in this code at check out:

30%

Bubble Art Fun and not so fun

family, games, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2013

Sugarwings came to spend three days with me, just the two of us. My husband and son were both out of town and her mommy was working. So, we were on our own and decided to plan lots of activities, wear lots of princess dresses, do some baking, and go to a movie. It was a weekend plan jam packed full of things we love. She is here a lot, but it's rare that just the two of us are on our own for such a stretch and we decided to make the most of it.

Plus, I'd been feeling awful from an infection that set in after gum surgery and I was hoping to have enough things planned ahead of time, so I'd get some downtime to rest (during movies, mostly). To start our 3 day weekend, we saw Monsters University in 3 D, then grabbed some supplies and went to play outside.

On Pinterest, I'd seen some bubble ideas.

You add dish soap to a half cup of water, blow bubbles with a straw, then drizzle food coloring over the top, and place paper into the bubbles.

The effect was so cool, I made enough pages to do a journal. Won't they make good backgrounds?

After a sparkling lemonade break, we decided to use up the colorful bubble mixture we'd made.

We cut the end off a water bottle, and covered it with a sock. Then dipped it into our sudsy, food colored waters, which by then had all been dumped together, mixed and played with till they were all the color of the bottom of a creek.

So, we squirted the little bits of food coloring that were actually left over after the painting, onto the end of the sock, and got some really colorful bubble snakes.

And even a bubble heart!!!!

That flew away in the wind.

And splatted up against the side of the house. Too bad it didn't leave a heart shaped mark.

The food coloring all came out of the princess dress when I washed it that night, so there is hope for the siding of the house. At least, I figure the sun will fade it over time.

Bright green bubbles were taking over our courtyard.

More floated over to land in the flower beds. I'm hoping the dish soap helped with the aphids on my mini roses.

At this point, I figured maybe we should move away from the house before our home started to look like something that the Cat in the Hat made when he had Thing 1 and Thing 2 try to clean up while Mother was away.

We were laughing and running and blowing, while covered in soapy, colorful fluff. Then, it turned ugly. Sugarwings, inhaled instead of blowing and that hit her pretty hard, she choked, got sick, and soon I was covered in barf instead of foam. (you're welcome, about me not having photos of that part of the adventure)

She was pretty upset and so was I, it really scared us. She was fine, but shaken. Not as shaken as me, it was terrifying to see her choke like that, and we spent a lot of time, cuddling with me patting her on the back.

Day 2 of our adventure wasn't quite as exciting. She woke up with an earache and wasn't up for doing much.

We wanted a toned down activity that was still fun, so picked up Mr. Fin and Clover and took them to see Monsters University with us again. The rest of the day was laid back, and mostly consisted of movies, luckily there was a Cinderella double header on TV. Even though my grand fairy wasn't up to her usual self, she was healthy enough to insist upon wearing her Cinderella gown while watching the shows.

I was kind of ready for a down day myself, I'd been feeling pretty rough all week after the post gum surgery infection. But when she woke up on our third day together, asking about Bubble Art, I knew she was feeling better, over the earache and the choking scare.

We were both ready for more fun.

Game on!

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or
your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it
will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very,
very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on
FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on
my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

Hugelkultur food forest update

dogs, family, flowers, Food and Drink, Nathan Family Fairy Food Forest, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 23, 2013

When my son and our Gypsy started the landscaping, we trusted them to grow some tasty, organic meals for us. We provided the land and the financing, and turned them loose.

What I didn't expect was the pure beauty that was created out there.

I have to admit, I didn't really get the concept of sustainable gardening. Well, I knew what they meant and it sounded great, but when it came to grass or weeds popping up in the middle of the veggies, I really didn't get the need to leave them as is.

Or the vast mix of plants together. I was raised by an avid gardner, and my dad was concise on his measured rows and spaced plants. Of course, he also used lots of Sevin Dust, Miracle Gro, and weed preventer.

This way of gardening by passes all of that. There are flowers scattered throughout that repel bad bugs or draw good ones.

Food, flowers, herbs, all sorts of plants are grouped in "guilds" of related vegetation and the ground is completely covered to prevent erosion and to attract the right bugs, and lots of other jobs that they are busy doing.

It would never have occurred to me to plant a ton of clover around the baby perennials to feed the soil and keep the ground covered.

Or to add Borage to the melon patch. It does something or another. But mostly is plain old pretty.

My son has collected exotic and heirloom varieties of plants, including this curly stick tree that will produce magic wands. And the whole thing is irrigated by swales and trenches that are filled with gravel and look like trails.

They are lined with the daintiest little wildflowers I have ever seen. As well as some grass that apparently should be left to protect the earth there until the trees grow more and create shade, then the grass will naturally die out, along with the other ground covers he has added to keep the dirt safe till things start to take off.

Until the trees get big enough to block some sun and the area truly becomes a forest, we are using the beds for our regular garden too. Tomatoes, peas, beans, heck, just about everything, is growing among the perennials.

In a few years, we won't be able to use this space for our annual plantings, because by then, it will be all fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vines and other food producing vegetation.

This archway of branches will soon be covered in kiwi vines and grapes, but for now, I'm enjoying the stark beauty of it as it is. And at night it is lit with twinkling solar lights.

The produce is beginning to come in, this year, just a few handfuls of berries, but next year, and the year after there will be more and more.

This is a garden that will grow over time, bigger and better. It will not need to be tilled in the spring like my Dad would have, it will develop and change, but once established will take care of itself, with plantings that cooperate and take care of each other.

The mounds are known as hugelkultur, and make for a beautiful layout, as well as a healthy growing space.

Our regular garden is a masterpiece this year too.

It's lush, full, and delicious.

Daily, we have been eating every variety of lettuce you can grow, plus kale, chard, spinach, herbs, and other things that my son sneaks into salads. He is quite a cook and also has been foraging in fields for wild thistle to saute as a side dish. It is every bit as good as asparagus (which we also have growing).

My Dad would be fascinated, I wish he was here to see it. He'd wonder about the lack of rows, but I know he'd love the vast harvest we've been picking! I do too.

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or
your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it
will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very,
very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on
FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on
my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

MORE Thank yous for Birdsong

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / June 21, 2013

I owe a big THANK YOU to all of the sponsors of Birdsong 3. We had fantastically overflowing goodie bags plus an individual gift for all the ladies there.

This delicious wallpaper pack door prize is from Tina at Patina Paperie

As well as lovely velvet leaves for each tweet bag.

And many of the Peeps who came to the party shared goodies to stuff the bags with too.

And it is so sweet that previous sponsors have come again sent pretties for our friends to play with. Mitzi shipped us a boxful of vintage wallpaper die cut birds and other treats.

Cathy sent fabulous lace embellishments.

Linda sent tweets for the bags too.
Plus a piece of art for the drawing, and my fave popcorn for me to snack on and keep my energy up with preparing for the party. She also had a clever move, and used large trash bags as cushioning for the box. I thought it was a useful idea, I was able to use all the bags over the weekend in our waste cans as opposed to just "trashing" some tissue if she'd used that instead.

Sissy provided doves for the project as well as a necklace for the drawing. And my sister, Bobbie made up a goodie bag to add to the drawing too. Sister Terry brought a cooler filled with baked goods, bags of beads for the sacks of tweets, as well as a messenger bag of beautiful items as a door prize (she is an over achiever, and I LOVE it).

There was a whole table filled with prizes to pass out throughout the event. (Bobbie's hand decorated gift bag is the red one in front, and it was filled with fun things)

Beth's sis-in-law sent hand made soaps that smelled heavenly.

Lori gave us one of her gorgeous creations to gift some lucky someone with.

This is a scrap pack from Kristi.

Gosh, I sincerely hope I didn't leave anyone out. I've tried to show photos of the gifts as they arrived over the last few months, then add the link to my side bar. If you were a sponsor and I didn't add you, I am so sorry. Please let me know and I'll put your link up right away.

Thank you all for your help in bringing even wider smiles to the happy Birdsong faces.

During our weekend, I was also hosting a family reunion, so my Handsome Husband could play some golf with his bros while all of the ladies crafted and created. Last minute arrivals to the giftie bags could have gotten overlooked in the chaos, and if you were someone left out, please send me a message so I can fix it.

The list will be on my sidebar till Birdsong 4 begins. Yep, I'm planning another one. How could I not??? It's way, way, too much fun. I'm also hoping to do a "Raven Song" craft day in the studio for Halloween and time it around First Fridays in the West Bottoms Antique District in KC. (I even started the project I have in mind for it)

Here is the list of generous, kind hearted sponsors who gifted us with so much at our Beloved Birdsong. Thanks, everyone!!

Birdsong 3 Sponsors

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or
your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it
will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very,
very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on
FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on
my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

A BIG Thanks!

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / June 19, 2013

Every time I host one of these arty weekends, I'm blown away by the talent and generosity of the guests. This was my matchbox swap creation from Suzanne Wingfield. I see things like this and smack myself upside the head and ask why on earth I think I can teach a class to any of these ladies??? They have so much creativity and skill.

And this beauty? It's from the beautiful, Karen Hillman.

I wasn't in the Rosette swap sponsored by Mercedes, but Hope gifted me with one that she made as a nest.

Lindy gifted me with one of her hand painted (with a toothpick!) matchboxes. They were quite a hit over the weekend, everyone oohed and awed over her paintings.

She also hand painted and dyed a bag full of candy for each and every friend who attended. No two were alike.

And Laurie made a special book for me.

Filled with delightful, personal and birdie themed pages.

Tami made cuffs for the teachers, mine is anointed with a mother of pearl dove.

See what I mean? If any of these gifts were offered as a class, wouldn't you love to attend? These ladies are gooooooood!

Sweetness poured in for the grand fairies too. Judy Stafford, sent the girls these foofed flip flops. Which Dewdrop calls fof fops. Mercedes is a kindergarten teacher and filled a box with books she knew the kiddos would love and they were showered with magic wands, puzzles, stickers and play make up by the ladies.

Lee did the cutest thing, and hid a captured fay in the fairy tree house for the girls to find later. Sugarwings was transfixed by the sparkling little sprite. (no, she is not bruised, she keeps a stepladder under the mulberry tree and does a lot of snacking up there. Her bare feet are permanently purple, I think)

I'd say we were all beyond spoiled.

Judy also was a sponsor and sent this necklace filled with fairy magic to give away.

I was completely blown away by the bounty. It's quite a gift for all these women to travel so far and spend their some of their vacation time and budget here at the cottage, and that alone means the world to me.

I feel like I should be the one burying them in gifts! And am grateful that so many kind sponsors did that for me. (I have more sponsor gifts to show too)

I'll leave you with some photos of the thoughtful pressies we were given.

And a big thanks to all the Birdsong Peeps who shared them with me and my family!

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very, very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

Birdsong class projects

bird song art event, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2013

Lori sent the prettiest kits to make these tone on tone, romantic wreaths. She'd sent a couple boxes by UPS ahead of her flight, filled with kits and packaged pretties to sell at our vendor night. The boxes arrived soaked to the bone! So wet that the tape was falling off and the boxes were caved in. Luckily, she'd wrapped everything in plastic and there was no damage.

What did the driver say about it? "Sorry, my truck has a leak" Well, it must have been quite a leak, or else he has been parking in the lake.

This is my second bad experience with UPS. The mural I sent to CA was dropped off to be packaged and sent by UPS, and when it arrived, the paint was damaged due to the box being too loosely packed and the painting bobbing around, and rubbing inside the box. I was able to repaint the damaged area, but wasn't very happy about it.

Anyway, nothing of Lori's was ruined and her kits were wondrous.

During her class, I was a bit busy due to bad planning on lunch. I was too busy with other stuff to chop and prep ahead of time (oops!) for our build your own burrito bar and spent the whole length of Lori's class working on it instead. Silly me!

I did pop in to visit and get a peek of the class every once in a while, but didn't get to sit down and make a wreath myself with them. But Lori saved a kit for me and I was able to get to it later on. She included some great images and papers to make tags to tie onto the fabric wrapped wreath, and I had a good time with it later in the week when I had a chance to get to it.

Mine is a little different. I actually used a necklace from my class to cut up and add to it. (Lori's suggestion, it is what she is planning on doing with hers too)

This way, I have two projects in one! Double the memories to hang in my studio.

Both teachers were just The Best! I loved having them here. Both pitched in and helped with miscellaneous chores, and Beth was in charge of accounting for the vending tables. And while I was trapped at the cutting board, I had no worries about being needed out in the classroom, which was quite the relief.

Beth had a great project that everyone enjoyed too.

Wasn't her teacher table set up pretty?

She had tons of extras to share, and we had a huge variety of hearts and birds being stuffed and potted.

I was doing two classes, one each day after lunch was served and cleaned up.

I have a few kits that I'd made up extra for my birdcages with fairies and my knotted ribbon necklaces. If you'd like to buy one, they are each $30 plus shipping. The birdcage kit includes the online workshop, with instructions for multiple birdcages and cloches.

Please email karlanathan@sbcglobal.net or comment if you are interested.

Cute, huh? I'll leave you with some scenes of the creativity in action.

More gratefulness

bird song art event, family, guncles, Sugarwings, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2013

More Birdsong photos are on their way. I'm kind of taking my time and enjoying the editing process, reliving the moments. And wishing I'd taken more. Luckily, there are pretty pics from friends too. It's always interesting to see the same event through different lenses. Tami, Mercedes, and Beth have all posted some that I've shared on Facebook.

When Picnic closed last year, I was frantic about what to do to edit my pictures. It has been replaced by many sites just as easy to use. My favorite is Picmonkey. Not free, but well worth the little bit that they charge. It's self explanatory and simple to adjust photos with. And boy, does it make a difference in a picture to take the time to edit it.

On Birdsong Eve, we had a little gathering at a restaurant downtown. All of my pictures were off color and too dark due to the lighting there. Once again, I wished I'd taken more, but I did make time to snap a few. But when I opened them, they all looked like this. Here is a before of Angie and Sugarwings.

With Picmonkey, here is the same photo. It has been cropped, lightened, sharpened, and then I used Orton Effect, and faded that.

This was a bonus gathering for our group, I asked if anyone was going to be in town the night before and wanted to meet up, and we filled the front of one of my favorite restaurants with a flock of 26 Peeps.

This photo is a bit beyond repair, but I liked it so much, I salvaged what I could of it.The evening happened to be my lovely friend, Angie's birthday and she baked cupcakes to bring. She was a vendor at our little shopping extravaganza and is always a welcome addition to any gathering. I hope she can attend classes next time.

Sugarwings passed out cupcakes to everyone, after not taking her eyes off of the beautiful display throughout her dinner. When she finally was allowed to have one, she didn't eat it, she politely asked Angie to take a bite of her own first, because the birthday girl always needs to go first.

Birdsong had ended up being a family reunion for me as well as an art gathering. Guncle Randy, Sissy, Bobbie, and Terry all came to be a part of it. For me, it was an opportunity for my family to see just what it is that I do. (I don't know if my husband has ever quite figured that out yet) It was wonderful to have them here and to meet my friends and be a part of my world.

And on the other side, it was very special to have so many friends come to see me and be a part of my family for the weekend. Birdsong is a homey, comfy event where all guests are family while they are here, not clients. I hope that they can feel that while they are here.

My family were all soooo helpful. Terry baked and baked and baked, her treats were the highlights of our meals. (and brought her husband to keep my own guy entertained on the golf course all weekend) Guncle Randy nominated himself "Parking B**ch" and directed cars, plus spread his charm around and welcomed everyone. Bobbie and Sissy were hauling trash to the curb and unloading the dishwasher non stop.

My son, Mr. Zen, cleaned up the yard and helped with a lot of prep for the weekend. Then, walked around the room to do some head and neck massage for those who were getting kinks from leaning over the tables and working on projects (and dealing with some of my not-so-great chairs).

Sugarwings had been as excited about the upcoming party as I was, and was constantly wanting to help get ready for it. She was very busy making plans for "Our Birdsong" and wondering what the "Birdsong Ladies" would be like. She was hoping they would show up in beautiful gowns, but we are a bit more casual than that.

When I took down the table that Sugarwings and Dewdrop had been working at all week to make room for the big tables for Birdsong, her little heart was broken. She'd been so sure that there was a place for her to be there and craft along with everyone else.

But, all the ladies made her feel welcome and Auntie Beth did some work with her out on the porch. She forgave me for taking her work table down.

I hope that our friends didn't mind all the family being included. It probably wasn't all that professional of me, but if anyone who knows me or reads my blog, they probably don't expect me to be all that professional.

Once again, I'll have to say how lucky I am that I was able to have the people I love here with me, along with so many kind and generous friends. I can't imagine a better weekend.

Thankful and lucky

bird song art event, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / June 12, 2013

I've been seriously derailed by Empty Nest Syndrome now.

The last of the "Birdsong Ladies" have flown the coop.

Birdsong ended on Saturday, but the fun continued for me a while.

Guncle Randy, Sissy, Bobbie, and Lori were still here. Karen and Sherry stayed to play for the evening too. We snipped and glued till after midnight.

Lori had to be off to the airport on Sunday morning and was gracious to offer to go a little early so we could combine trips and take 2 of my husband's brothers who had been in town to play golf and keep him company while we whooped it up in the studio.

We spent another evening in the workplayroom past midnight with Guncle Randy on Sunday, but had to take him to the airport on Monday.

My sisses and I had a day of shopping in KC after dropping him off, but by then, I was starting to droop. Hopefully, I wasn't too cranky, but man- was I tired! Days of prep, then the blast of excitement (and work) of the event, and so much fun hanging out with family that we kept staying up past midnight, were starting to hit me hard.

I just don't get to see my family often enough, so I did my best to stay awake, but I'd finally hit a wall and gave up. I climbed into my bed mid afternoon with the Puppeesh, and 3-1/2 hours later, I woke up more like myself than one of the walking dead.

That was the best nap of my life. At least the most needed!

So, I was able to enjoy the rest of the visit with my sisses, and we had yet another day to play in the studio, where Beth joined us after a birthday lunch for her downtown.

But the party couldn't go on forever, as much as I'd like it to.

Today, I had to drop my sisses off at the airport and the place seems soooo empty and quiet with everyone gone now.

The quiet has given me a chance to reflect on all of the hustly bustly goings on of this last week.

Time to go over the details while it's all fresh in my head, what to do differently next time, what to add, what to change, what to adjust.

But mostly, just to savor the memories and think about how lucky I am that so many people came to see me and spend time at the cottage.

How lucky I am to have a family that helped me pull it all off and never stopped washing dishes, to have such talented friends who taught classes, and to have so many old and new friends who wanted to be a part of our weekend, who came from all over the country to cut, snip, glue, and laugh with us.

I've got lots of photos of our party to edit and show you. But for now, I think I'll have another little nap. And I'm sure it will be filled with sweet dreams of Birdsong and the lovely people who came to see me here.

Birdsong 3 friends

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / June 9, 2013

What nice people! We had a lovely time.

I'm missing the "Birdsong Ladies" as Sugarwings calls them.

But I still have my sisses and Guncle Randy for a bit of a visit. I'll edit some pictures of all the fun and post again soon. But now, I'm off to enjoy the last bits of Birdsongness, with the remaining guests.