March 2014 – Page 2 – Karla's Cottage

Making kits

By Karla Nathan / March 3, 2014

One down, one to go! I've been slugging away on making Birdsong 4 kits for my first project, this mobile, titled, "Songs and Wings."

When I saw this phrase in an old book, I knew it would be ideal for the mobile.

Strips of vintage lace, soft ribbons, and hemp twine dangle from a hand made wreath and each will feature a little treasure or two.

Making it and coming up with the design was so much fun. Packing up all the elements, was a little more complicated. Have you ever done kits? It is a process that takes a lot of time and care. And when they are made with vintage items, a lot of planning has to go into them, to make sure that all elements are of equal value and style, because these pieces are one of a kind.

Here is how I make up kits. First, as I create the piece, I keep a log of what I am using next to me on the desk. For instance, If I glue on a snip of velvet ribbon, I make sure to add that to the list. So that when the student is making her kit, she will also have some velvet ribbon to use. (don't you hate it when the teacher's finished piece is soooo cool because of all the great supplies she used, and then she gives you second rate knock offs of what she used herself? I've been there, and I've felt ripped off!)

Normally, I eyeball things, not measure. But when making a kit, I have to stop and figure out about how long that strip of lace was, or how much wire did that loop take, so the kit will hold the correct amount. And it is better to error on the side of too much rather than too little.

After the project is done and the list is made, I start working my way through it. I'll begin with one element, prep those, bag 'em up, put 'em in a box, then move on to the next item.

Once my box is full, over the course of a few days or so, I'll start bundling.

Once I have the correct amount of every single item that went into the original, I start "trick or treating". I'll open a kit bag, and go from pile to pile adding one from each stack to my bag.

While the design is still fresh in my mind, I write out instructions. As I type out the how to's, I save space on the paper to doodle some illustrations. Then, these and the collage sheets go to the copy shop, and when ready, get slipped into the bags as I wrap them up and add a label or decoration to the complete kit.

Usually, the bag is decorated with something worth saving and using in the project. A pretty bow, a flower, something along those lines.

I always make an extra kit up for myself. Since I try to be ahead of schedule and get these done months before the event (I get a creepy crawly feeling if I do anything last minute) I often have to open my own kit a couple weeks before the event to re-acquaint myself with what went into it.

I'm pretty happy to have these boxed up and ready to roll. If my arm wasn't aching from repetitive movents, I'd be patting myself on the back right now!

Here comes Pretty Cottontail

Lately, I've been working on building kits for Birdsong, but I just had to take a little break to create something JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT. Just because I wanted to make something.

I'd found this styrofoam, hollow egg at a flea mkt, years ago and came across it in the cabinet while looking for something I needed for the kits I was gathering together. At that point, I simply had no choice but to stop everything else I was doing, and sit down to remake this thing.
The interior of it was filled with a scene that included a bunch of this kind of stuff. The outside of it was covered in pale blue fabric and crispy, cheap lace. Ugh. I should have got a photo of the whole thing, but you are probably glad that I didn't, it wasn't all that pretty to see.

I remade some of the pieces from its center into this. The horses are saved for something else. I thought it would be cuter with a bunny pulling the cart. The wheels were painted and put back on, but I added mother of pearl buttons over them, to match the MOP paint I used on the carriage.

The egg itself got all of the lace ripped off (I'd love to know what fantastic glue had been used on it, that stuff really held!), and I decoupaged right over the fabric with pages torn from an old French book. That was a little harsh for me, so I brushed over the words with cream, then with white Mother of Pearl paint. And over that, some fine, clear glitter.

It's pretty from the back too, but simple.

When I started on it, the plan was jelly bean colors. Hmm, that didn't happen, did it? It turned into a soft, low color piece, which is often how things go with me. I love the tones of vintage lace and old pages, and lean towards using them even when I planned on doing something else.

To me, it makes the piece less Easter-y, something that you could display year round if you wanted to.

What will the bunny be bringing to you this year? If you'd like one of these pieces in your basket, you can find them here.