September 2014 – Karla's Cottage

An art journal made from a vintage prom dress and a cabinet card

Books, Dew Drop, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 29, 2014

When I made this book, I had no intention of making a book. Sometimes that happens. My son and I decided to clean out the fairies' closet. Sugarwings was a dedicated dresser upper (and still is) but had outgrown many of the play clothes.

Dewdrop, enjoys dress up tremendously, but is picky about her ensemble. She has one or two faves and will not try on anything else.

So, we decided to donate 5 bags (yes, an outrageous amount of dress up clothes!!!!!) from their stash to a thrift shop so other little kiddos could pick things out in time for Halloween.

Most of the stuff had come from thrifts anyway, so it was kinda like taking them home again. Or just borrowing them for a bit.

Anyway, in the closet was an old prom dress that I've adored since I bought it at a garage sale a few years back.

Here is Clover wearing the dress a couple of years ago in a photo from another album that I made.

When I saw the gown buried under a pile of fluff and nonsense under the bed, I decided to reclaim the it for myself. And HAD to go and make a book, right then and there.

I transformed an old cabinet card into a book, with a simple little trick and this lovely fabric. Most of the books I've done for the tutorial aren't sewn, and this one isn't either.

But in cutting up the dress, and using existing seams, it looks like a sewn cover.

Of course, I had to use some vintage wallpaper too! And I just happened to have the perfect shade of old velvet ribbon to add to the book.

This book is for sale. All of them will be, as soon as I get them listed in the Boutique. I've not done it yet, even though I have tons of photos to use. But I have been selling some through enquiries by people who have seen the pictures.

This one will be $55 if you are interested, just email me at karlanathan@sbcglobal.net. (postage included in the US) sold, thanks for all the interest!

Or, if you'd like to make a similar book yourself? Directions for turning a cabinet card into a journal are available here.

Pretty Puppeesh

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), puppies!, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 27, 2014

Albie is crazy about his sister. She is the center of his world, and he shows his devotion to her. If he could, he'd probably place a crown on her head himself.

But this time, it was Sugarwings who did it.

The dorkies finally got their hair cut mid September. Poor pups, I should have shaved them earlier when it was hot out. At least they are ready for the "dog days" of summer and any last blasts of heat wave that Kansas might throw our way.

How to make an art journal

Books, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 24, 2014

I sure made a LOT of journals as examples for the tutorial!

What started out as a basic class about how to make a book cover, turned into a whole pile of books to use as examples for different styles and variations of the basic book.

I was so involved with making one book after another, that my poor dogs started to feel desperate for attention in the studio. Dorothy had to insert herself into the photo session to get me to notice her this day.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that the photos weren't all about her.

The workshop also ended up with design ideas for the interior of the books too, and different ways to add closures. But mostly, it shows step by step instructions to build a basic cover and make the signatures (pages) all in a easy, no sew way.

(But I did add a couple of sewing options, for those who don't find sewing machines to be torture devices).

And once I had the basic steps down, I realized that they could apply to any number of projects, with some variation on the theme, and a few simple tricks.

So, I started turning photo albums, vintage books, and cabinet cards into books too.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased this $15 class, and for the great feedback! I've put a lot of time into the prototypes and process, it's wonderful to hear from people who are reading the blog, that they like the posts.

Here is a little video with some of the books you'll find described in the class.

Redoing the Fairy Berry Trail tree house

Dew Drop, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, Hand painted, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 21, 2014

We haven't had access to the Fairy Berry Trail for a while. First, a big storm turned some dead branches into widow-makers, dangling from the top of the trees. Then, my husband and son did some dangling from the treetops with the chainsaw, and trimmed it all up, leaving piles of debris blocking the trails.

This week, we cleared it up and repaired the Fairy Tree House by rebuilding its walls from the downed limbs and some grapevines.

It kind of looks like a big brush pile behind those two large trees.

One of those trees has grown crookedly down, to form a roof. We entwined branches into a dome shape over the crooked branch, creating kind of a igloo shaped structure.

Here is a picture looking through the archway "door" into the room. And a picture of one of my dogs sniffin the other's butt, apparently. Sorry.

After all the branches were in place, we wove fresh grapevine in and out of them to anchor it all. Hopefully, as the vines dry, they will keep the branches in place. The vines were laden with clusters of grapes, so I'm crossing my fingers that they will drop seeds and more vines will grow up the walls that we built today.

The grand fairies have always loved their tree house, but it is even more beckoning now. Very cozy, with full walls and a roof, made up of woven branches with sunshine peeking through. And I created an archway entrance out of grapevines, that is low enough that an adult needs to duck to get in, but just right for the kiddos.

After a day of construction, well, most of a day. We trimmed up some other trees and cleared the paths in the woods while we had the chainsaw out, but a big part of Sunday was needed just for building the tree house.

Anyway, once it was done, I decided it needed a little something. So, got my paints and thought I'd turn the big knot hole by the entrance into a face.

Then, I thought, no, some eyes looking out from the darkness.

That morphed into two sets of eyes, with the lower ones looking up.

And that made me think of the two fairy girls who will be playing in that tree house.

So, I thought I'd make the faces into those girls. This green sprite is supposed to be Sugarwings.

And here is Dewdrop.

Stacks

Books, swaps, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 18, 2014

The covers for Nature's Blessings Journal swap are ready to be filled. And the pages are pouring in. There are boxes stacked on my porch from the mail lady every afternoon.

Here is a sample book I made up, and filled with my own pages, just so I could see how nice they looked filled and fat.

Are you a fast crafter? If so, you still have time to make some pages over the weekend to enter the swap. They are due to be mailed on the 10th, but I just realized that is a Saturday. I'm letting the swappers know that Monday the 22nd is fine for a mail by date.

There are also swap journal books with blank pages for sale, if you'd like to buy a book to fill yourself. $30 includes postage in the US.

Or, if you'd rather make your own book, in the style of the Nature's Blessings Journal, or from a vintage photo album, old book, or even an antique cabinet card folder, I have a new tutorial available here.

Kansas Sunflowers

family, flowers, photography, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 15, 2014

Outside of Lawrence, halfway to Tonganoxie, there is a sea of gold, stretching out as far as the eye can see.

I've lived in this town for over 20 years and this was my first visit there. How could I have been missing out on walking through the rows of sunflowers? What was I thinking?

While I always thought it sounded pretty and that I'd like to go and see the flowers in bloom, I had no idea that the field would have such an enchanted feel to it.

Lots of families were there, all taking photos, probably a dozen cars full of people. But, the moment you step into the rows of flowers and are swallowed up by the blossoms, you are alone in a world of yellow and green, lost in the rows of looming giants.

How strange, to be ten minutes outside of the city, and amidst at least 50 other people, but feel so isolated and hidden.

But not in a scary way, it is a magical feel. No, an enchanted feeling. That is the only way to describe it.

I grew up in the middle of an Indiana corn field. Walking into the corn, and into the sunflower field is similar, but the flowers are so much prettier and special. I loved playing the corn when I was young, and could lose myself in the stalks, or find a hiding place to lay back reading a book for a few hours with my Irish Setter as a pillow.

The sunflowers had me reminiscing about those days in the Hoosier corn fields, but as much as I enjoyed those times out in my brother-in-law's crop, this was something different. At some points, we were completely hidden away, with flowers topping 8-9'. Other spots, they where shorter, or there was a slight hill to stand on and we could see acres of yellow off into the horizon.

I think my girls shared my excitement. I don't know how you could walk out into the vastness of the field and not feel the magic.

In some spots, there are clearings, that beckoned me to grab a dog for a pillow and bring a good book to hide out with for a while. I could have easily spent hours in one of those little rooms with green walls.

And then, there would be places so dense, we had to back track and find a new route through, and we'd wonder just how far we'd wondered from the car, just to find out that we were actually only ten feet from the road.

And woven all about the stems, were blue morning glories, the color of our Dorothy's gown.

We discovered that sunflowers weren't just to admire, you could also play with them.

By plucking out a few seeds, you can make happy faces, we wanted them to look like they were laughing, so they would feel as happy as we did.

I hope that others walking through the field see our sunny faces and smile back at them.

Sugarwings made a happy face too.

The fields are free to visit, anyone is welcome. The farmers ask that you leave them as you found them, take out your trash, and pay a dollar each for any flowers that you pick. There is a donation box to help the land owner defray the costs of the field.

We paid for the ones we defaced (well, really we "faced" them) and we picked a couple too.

I hope to take Dewdrop there for a few pictures too. I think she'd look cute in a fairy gown. Being dwarfed by the towering blooms makes a perfect backdrop for a fairy photo shoot.

Plus, I just can't wait to get back there myself.

Old Summit Antique Show

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2014

On Friday, I took a day off to go to KC and do some shopping, I mean, help Beth set up her booth at the Old Summit Antique show.

Her booth is always the best deal in town. Great stuff, great prices, all arranged in an attractive way.

She and I used to do shows together on a regular basis, plus shared booth spaces at the mall. I kind of miss foofing up a booth for a sale.

So, every once in a while she invites me along to play with the goods and lets me arrange some of it.

Of course, as fast as it was selling to other dealers (I told you, GREAT prices!) I said we could have just set some tubs on the curb for them to look through on their way in and we wouldn't even have had to unload it, let alone set it up.

But we have fun decorating the space, even if the goods sell so fast, it doesn't matter where we place it.

We tried numerous times to get a good photo of the two of us, but after about 20 of me with my eyes closed, we about gave up.

If you are in the KC area on Saturday the 13th, it's worth a trip to Lee Summit to check out the show. Beth still has a ton of wares, and the show is a high quality production. Mostly primitives, and a lot of seasonal goods too.

Vintage cabinet card photos turned into art journals

Sugarwings, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / September 9, 2014

Wow, it has been exciting for me to see how many of you love to make journals as much as I do! Thanks for the purchases of the tutorial!

On Saturday, I added another book to the class, it is the small cabinet card one in the front, covered in barkcloth. (I also added scans of the cabinet card folders to use as a pattern if you do not have a vintage photo of your own to make one)

You can never go wrong with barkcloth, can you? Especially, a yummy, rosey pattern.

Yep, yum. Double yum, I love that stuff. Almost as much as old Rosy wallpaper, but not quite, because I'm just not as mechanically inclined to work with fabric as I am to handle wallpaper.

Which is why Beth posted this hilarious sewing machine illustration for me, knowing that any monstrosity of a sewing machine is a mystery to me.

And why the tutorial I wrote for the journals is about making them with GLUE. Although I an proud to say that I did brave a couple of sewing ideas to show too.

All three of these cabinet card books are done with glue only.

My world is a happy place when I don't have to go near that scary monster of a sewing machine.

Of course, a page like this would be just as nice stitched as it is glued. But I've done something nasty to my machine and the cry hole is all wonky.

(Isn't the title of this article great!? I thought it was appropriate for the tutorial, it is nice to help someone become more arty)

Sometimes all we need is a few tips and some cheering on.

Creating art journals- a new tutorial

Books, Tutorials

By Karla Nathan / September 6, 2014

In this class, you will learn how to build a basic art journal from scratch, using card stock, canvas, and chipboard. I'll be offering a no sew and a couple of stitching options too.

After you learn how to make the book, I'll show you how to use the same techniques in some different styles and how to employ them to alter an existing book two different ways plus a couple of ways to redo a vintage photo album, and a transformation of an old cabinet card too.

As a bonus, once your books are assembled, I'll have some romantically inspired tips on creating closures, and some ideas for getting started on the interior pages too.

Included is a section about doodling, and some hand drawn doodle pages for you to print and add your own color to. Coloring a page like this is a good learning tool for creating a page of your own.

Plus, remember how much we loved to color as kids? It is every bit as fun as an adult!

EXAMPLE

All steps will be written out, plus illustrated with large photos, that also feature steps written onto the pictures. The instructions are complete and ready to read at your own pace, and are available for an unlimited time. I've had my blog on Typepad for over 7 years at this point, and have no plans to stop in the near future. This tutorial, along with the other classes I've taught will be available as long as I have a Typepad blog.

Each segment will be a seperate blog post. You can easily find what you are looking for by accessing the category list on the right hand side bar of the blog. Just click on the title on the side bar to take you to the post you want.

I've also included lots of scanned images from my vintage collection for you to print and use in your own books.

When you purchase the class, PayPal will send a notice to me, and I will contact you with the website address and password within 24 hours.

Here is a button for the class if you'd like to display it on your blog.

The class is $15, and you can purchase by clicking on the paypal button that you will find on this site.

Thanks!

Hat Whispering in Kansas

antiques/junking, flowers

By Karla Nathan / September 4, 2014

At last week's flea mkt, I hit the jackpot on millinery blooms.

At a booth of mostly linens and doilies, Beth found a pile of flowers, and picked a few out. I nervously stood by, hoping there were be some left when she was done.

She had a handful, and I looked at her in disbelief and asked if that was all she wanted.

Yep, she was done.

You're sure, really sure?

Yep. She had enough.

Then, I dove in.

I don't have the control she does. I bought them ALL.

For THREE DOLLARS.

Yep, $3.

Seriously.

All were still in the original packages, so I had to hire a helper to get them all unwrapped. It was her idea to sort them by color too.

I found a few hats on our junkin trip, all under $5 each. Before I came across them, there was only two other floral hats I'd seen all day, and both were over $25, so I'd been worried that I'd lost my touch and wasn't going to score on millinery that day.

It was a relief to know that I had not yet bought out the last of the cheap hats in Kansas.

There was lots of shiny stuff there too. I bought a few giant bags of jewels to sort through, here are some of the keepers. There is another whole different kind of keeper pile, that my assistant found. She was happy to sort jewels with me and got some plastic beads and Easter bunny brooches to wear with her dress up clothes.

She also tried on a hat or two to see how they looked with a twirly skirt.

Pretty dang cute, if you ask me.