January 2015 – Karla's Cottage

Decorating chain reactions, one little change leads to another- Part 1

By Karla Nathan / January 30, 2015

Have you ever noticed that one little change means a chain reaction of other changes?

The new bed was great, I really did love it once it was painted. It saves space, it is cottagey-cute, and it has a cozy mattress.

But, not only did we no longer need the bedside dresser, the drawers udner the bed were blocked by it.

And all of my bedding was too long, and life is too short to tuck the bedspread under the mattress all the way every morning. But why have drawers if there is a blanket covering them up and you have to move it every time you want to open a drawer?

Plus, this head board was lower than the last one and the wall looked very blank.

I had this piece of stained glass made by a friend framed to hang over the bed, and that took care of the blank wall.

I found a white quilt and shams on sale at Target that fit exactly without tucking in under the mattress.

And best of all, I thought of using shelves on the wall in place of end tables. (they aren't lopsided, that is just a camera angle)

This smaller one is from Hobby Lobby, it is black metal and I painted it with leftover paint from the bed. We screwed the power strip up under it to plug in the lamp and my iPad chargers. The outlets are nicely hidden unless you are looking up from the floor.

For the other side, I needed a bigger shelf and couldn't find what I wanted. Till I noticed this old, broken drop leaf table out in the garage. My son took off the leaves, added iron brackets, and it was just what we needed for the wall space.

I've been really happy with both. And what a perfect fit! The two shelves, plus the bed are the exact size to fit the space. Wow, what luck.

But there was one more change chain reaction yet to fix….

A Cottage Bedroom Makeover, brand new dark oak gets lightened up, or why I will never use chalk paint again

cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Hand Painted Furniture

By Karla Nathan / January 28, 2015

We needed a new mattress. So, headed to Nebraska Furniture Mart to test a few out. While there, my husband spotted a bed filled with drawers underneath and he had to have it.

Now, he is NOT a shopper. We almost ended our marriage once at that same furniture store over a recliner. It is now and forever known as the Crying Chair. Long story, but basically, he hates to shop. He walks in, glances about, buys stuff, and leaves as fast as he can.

He prefers letting me make choices 99% of the time.

When shopping for a mattress, though, he had to go along and approve the fit. and we discussed that it had been a good life together, and if Nebraska Furniture Store succeeded in ending our marriage like it tried to do before, we knew that we'd at least had almost 30 years of happiness together.

Bravely, we decided that we could face the challenge. It was a quick trip for a mattress, right?

Then, he spotted this bed. When he does shop, and sees something he likes, he never hesitates, or looks around. He likes it, he buys it. And when he saw this bed filled with storage options, he thought it would streamline our lives.

I thought it was DARK. And too new. But figured, hey, it's his house too. I wasn't going to let the Crying Chair incident repeat itself. We bought the bed.

I repainted it within minutes of its arrival to our home. And found these great handles (at Hobby Lobby) to replace the heavy ones that came with the drawers.

Everyone raves about chalk paint, so I thought I'd give it a try. Hobby Lobby now carries this brand, it is $8 for a little bitty jar, but I made multiple trips with a 40% off coupon to get enough to tackle the job.

I'd heard that you don't have to prime, it covers well, uses very little paint, and is easy to sand through to see the previous layers of paint.

Hmmm….

Well, yes, I was able to paint without priming. (But a coat of primer and a coat of paint is an equal amount of work as two coats of chalk paint, and cheaper)

But- the coverage was not good. I had to go buy more paint. It took much more than I had planned.

And- I took a lot of care, layering colors, thinking I could sand through them for a varied look. Nope, when I sanded, I hit wood. You could not see the layers of colors underneath. I had to dry brush the colors over the white to get the look I wanted, after doing all those layers, and sanding.

Also, chalk paint simply must be sealed. You either wax it or use a sealer like Polycrylic. And I don't think everyone realizes that wax is not permanent. Just like on floors, it wears off, you need to re-wax. So, I chose the Polycrylic top coat (water based).

If I'd used a bonding primer, painted it gloss white, and drybrushed acrylic craft paint over that, it would have cost much less, I wouldn't have to seal it, and it wouldn't have taken as long.

For the exact same look. Oh well, I'd been wanting to give chalk paint a try. I won't be spending that much on paint again. And I like the bed now, so all is well. Lesson learned, and it still looks pretty.

My Handsome Husband also made another purchase that day. After buying the oak bed, and walking out, he saw this velvet bench and said it would be ideal for the dogs to be able to use to get up and down with.

I think I might just have to take him shopping more often, whether he enjoys it or not. He is pretty good at it! I love the new bed and bench, (after they got lightened up).

I'll show you details of the rest of the room next time. We had to come up with a plan for bedside tables, because what we already had blocked the drawers on the new bed.

Craft day doodles with Beth and another Birdsong teacher announcement!

bird song art event, Books, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 26, 2015

Last week, I grabbed my journal along with a handful of pens and markers and headed to Beth's house for craft day.

Her space is jammed beyond imagining with the BEST stuff. Oh my goodness, I love peeking in the cabinets there.

I knew I didn't have to bring much with me, she has anything I'd need. ( I always check out the trash can too. Including when she comes to craft day at my house. The stuff she tosses can be really nice)

And I scored in the trash can. She'd thrown away a very nice, old book. I tore a page out of it to glue into my journal, and started doodling on it.

She also had been telling me about this book that she'd received for Christmas, and after hearing her talk about it and then seeing my friend, Laurie mention it on her blog, I was intrigued.

Here is what Beth had been working on from the book.

Well, I'm all about doodles and could use a dab of Zen in my life so I started drawing. I think we were laughing and having too much fun for me to reach a Zen state, and I didn't exactly pay mich attention to the book, but it was a nice little push for me to create a page.

It was a little different than what I usually do, I normally doodle around words. But with words or without, you can't go wrong with an afternoon of drawing when you are visiting with a friend.

Here is one I did previously, with words. It was a coloring sheet for the Nature's Blessing Journal swap. You can see the style isn't much different than my zentangle attempt. I like to get inspiration from the lessons of others, but still make a project my own. And when I teach a class, I always hope the students will do the same, so I provide options for them to try. This page was copied before I added the color and included in every book, so that the artists could each color their own page however they liked.

Hmmm, I think I'll make a page for the journal I'm teaching at Birdsong….

I love an excuse to do more doodling!

And guess what???? I already told you that my BFF Beth is going to be a co-teacher for my journaling class at Birdsong 5, right? Now, I've got more news.

Hope is going to co-teach too!

Yep, I've got art journaling royalty coming to show us some tricks. And boy, is she tricky. That girl has some smooth moves. I can't wait to see what both of them have to offer.

Yippee! I'm beyond thrilled with the line up of talented friends coming to share their knoweledge at Birdsong.

Using the GOOD STUFF to make an Art Journal, and my Birdsong project

antiques/junking, bird song art event, Books, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 23, 2015

Beth and I finally had a chance last week to have a play date and exchange Christmas gifts. Here is what I made for her.

She is as much of a journal junkie as I am, so I figured I could indulge my own love of making books by creating this one for her.

I bought this little framed photo of best friends when I was at a flea market with Beth, so I thought it was fitting to add to the cover.

These laces are both cut from the curtains in my house. I have very old lace curtains at the window and they got a bit shredded on the ends from blowing around when the window was open, so I had to chop them a little shorter.

The interior of the book is lined with canvas drop cloth, and the pages are card stock.

The "latch" is cut from an old necklace.

The exterior is remnants from the slip cover I made for my couch.

This is my idea of "Using the Good Stuff". Although, to some people, the ingredients might sound like trash. Trimmed pieces of torn curtains? A broken necklace? Scraps from a slipcover?

What makes supplies "GOOD STUFF" isn't what you pay for them. It's an item with a lush feel, something special, or sentimental. Maybe something old that you found at a flea market. They can be one of a kind, or just your very favorite kind of thing.

Now, some GOOD STUFF, can certainly be brand new and from a hobby store, of course. It can be any supply that you just plain old adore.

My idea of using the GOOD STUFF, is delving into supplies that I really love and feel like they need a special project for.

And then NOT saving them for something special. Anything you use them on becomes special by using the best supplies. I feel like any project worth my time is worth my best goodies.

But when I am making something for someone extra special, I'll use a double dose of goodies for her. This book is loaded, layered, and piled up with pretties. I hope she enjoys using it, half as much as I enjoyed making it.

I have not yet got my prototype put together for Birdsong. But I do know what I am making. And I promise, the kit will be over flowing with GOOD STUFF!

Last year, I couldn't stop making books. And I am still loving the process and making more and more. So, I simply have to do a book for Birdsong 5. How could I not? I'm more than a little bit obsessed with art journals lately.

So, my 1st class will be creating a journal, and embellishing it with lace, rhinestones, and millinery flowers. We will make it from the ground up, step by step.

My 2nd class will be about filling the book up. I'll provide a big, ole, scrap pack of fun and inspiration,, along with guidance from myself, and tips from Beth about designing pages. You'll get two for one teachers for the second day, Beth and I will teach together!

It's wonderful to have such talented friends. Class project pictures from Lori and Andrea will be coming soon. I can't wait to see what they have designed for us to do.

If you'd like to come to our classes, we'd love to see you here. And I know that you will just love these talented friends of mine, too!!

A Recycled Gingerbread House Tradition, and a Home for the Fairies

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 21, 2015

We've had some nice weather this week. And Sugarwings has been here with me to share it. We took advantage of the break in the cold to deliver our Gingerbread house to the Fairy Berry trail.

It is now a home for the woodland fairies that live out in the woods behind the cottage.

Lucky little fay!

The dogs were happy to get out and explore too. You can hardly see them, they are as grey and brown as Kansas is in winter.

This week long break in the winter has been exactly what I needed. That and having my buddy around a lot, Sugarwings and I have had quite a bit of girl time. Nothing beats the January blahs like a ray of sunshine and a dose of little girl smiles.

I've also started some redos around the house. My son ripped up the carpet in the guest room and I gave the walls a fresh coat of sunny day blue. He will be laying a dark hickory floor for me, and then I get to fill the space back up, after shifting furniture from room to room and figuring out where I want to place what.

There is something about January that makes me want to shuffle my belongings and brighten up the house. I guess, at other times of the year, I'm outdoors a lot more. Being cooped up in January during the cold spells, after all the sparkle of the holidays is packed away, lends itself to redos.

Although, I do need to get into the studio… I've got to make prototypes for my Birdsong classes. If you'd like to come visit the Fairy Berry Trail yourself (when the grey days of winter are gone, and spring makes the woods inviting again), there are spaces available for Birdsong 5.

Project pics from me will be coming soon.

All guncle-ed up

flowers, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2015

My trip to see Randy and Kevin was just delightful. Kevin promised they would "guncle me up." And they sure did. I was spoiled all day.

Randy and I had a whole day of hanging in the craft room.

Between eating piles of seafood, that is.

And after I slept in to an unbelievable hour. Due to a late start, and pure stupidity in taking a drastic wrong turn, I got in after 1am the night before, not dinner time like I had planned.

At home that is no big deal, I'm a night owl. But I guess the stress of the drive and being lost, exhausted me. I slept till, well, LATE. I never do that. Not in years. I hated to waste a vacation day snoozing till, well, way, way LATE. But it did feel really good. Although it was embarrassing too.

Back in the craft room, we watched their wedding video while we created. And Randy had a bunch of surprises for me, that Kevin had found while out junking the week before. We pretended that there were prize drawings like we have at Birdsong, but the name that was called over and over was mine.

There was a lot of squealing every time I won a prize. And I got lots of prizes, old lace, die cuts, Victorian scrap books, and more.

We took a break to go outside and pick some fruit. Even though it was cold out, they hadn't had a freeze yet this year and the sight of all that lushness was eye candy to me!

Randy thought his yard looked too messy for photos, but I loved every inch of it. Fresh fruit? Tall bushes of rosemary? FLOWERS??? Oh my.

Blooms in January left me feeling a bit giddy. There were dozens of angel trumpet vine blossoms hanging over head. They were so large and fragrant, I couldn't resist them. I was thrilled to bundle up in a borrowed sweatshirt and coat to check out the gardens. At home, January is grey.

Just grey.

As far as the eye can see.

Especially this year, no pretty snow to liven it up.

Just grey.

But things are lively in the Guncles' garden! This is a double camellia.

The angel trumpet doesn't make a good cut flower to put in a vase, it soon wilted.

But it sure smells sweet and is worth picking to wear on your head like a fairy's hat.

A while back, I painted the floor of the craft room. These mermen were at my feet all day while I worked back there.

Randy and I had done the walls together over the last 18 years or so. I'd visit and we'd add a few more sprites with every trip I made to Florida.

The company is pretty good there too. Doggies every where under foot or on laps.

This little guy, especially is full of sweetness. That could actually be a halo above his tiny head.

No, must not be. From this angle, it is over Randy's head.

And he ain't no angel.

Although it was pretty sweet of him to redo his dining room so I'd get the full Christmas decor effect. Much of it was still up, but some of it had been taken down and he actually re-decked it out for me and set this table back up like he'd had it for Christmas.

Including this cake stand filled with a winter wonderland. Martha Stewart had a similar idea on her magazine cover, but Randy had beat her to it, he arranged his before he saw hers.

It was pretty festive there.

And I was happy to see that the wedding centerpieces we'd made were part of the holiday scheme. They say they will use them year round.

For now, the top box is filled with a winter arrangement of branches.

And the little fairy I made is holding court in the greenhouse box. Or whatever you call that thing. It's from Pottery Barn and I want one. But I'm cheap…

I'll leave you with some pictures around the house. And I wanted to let you know that Birdsong is now open for registration. Please contact me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

if you are interested in attending.

A quick trip to Ft Lauderdale

Food and Drink, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 17, 2015

My poor husband flies a lot for business but lucky for me, he flies so much, that he earned a companion pass for me to go anywhere he goes for free. When I heard he was flying into Ft. Lauderdale to play golf in Palm Beach, I decided to tag along and snag some Florida sunshine.

Well, I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but there wasn't a heck of a lot of sunshine. I didn't even need to unpack the sunglasses.

But Ft. Lauderdale was warm, or mostly warm enough. Better than Kansas, that is for sure.

Oh, there was some sun, and we had a whole day of exploring, walking along the beach, and dining by the ocean at H20 Cafe The food was great, the view even better.

And yes, my wine was almost empty before my food arrived, for lunch. It was vacation time!!

We only had the one day and night together there, but we squeezed in two ocean side meals. Dinner was at our hotel, and I fell in love with the back lit menus.

The veranda was a bit chilly, and other guests left to eat inside. But we were near a heater, and in a more closed off spot, so the wind didn't bother me, I just wore layers and braved it. When you only have one night on the beach, you just have to go for it and not complain about a little cool air.

Because it is OCEAN AIR!!!!!!!!

And worth a couple of shivers here and there.

This was my tip top, best ever, most favorite hotel to stay at. It was pricey. But, for just one night, we didn't mind. I loved all the details, our room had plantation shutters, lace curtains, gingerbread, and lots of white wicker.

Pretty furniture too. Oh, yes there was a mattress on that pretty bed frame.

But we moved it to the seating area, so we could prop the patio doors open and be near the ocean waves all night. The room was a little chilly (like my whole trip) and the outdoors was warmer than the indoors, so having the doors open warmed me up.

And nothing is as soothing as listening to the waves.

Cute entry ways to the rooms, huh?

I wish I could've stayed longer, but I was happy and lucky to get one night there. Of course, the rest of my trip wasn't too shabby either. I went to the Land of Guncles. I thought I'd hitch hike a free ride to Florida with my husband, "swing by" and visit family a bit, and enjoy being warm during the middle of a freezing Kansas winter.

Well……. while the Guncles have a heart warming and welcoming home, it was forecasted to be 25 degrees in Jacksonville. And "swinging by" to visit Jacksonville while in Ft. Lauderdale is like telling someone who is visiting Lawrence, Kansas that they should "swing by" St Louis while they are in town.

Which is not close.

But Jax from Ft. Lauderdale is even further.

And so worth the drive. I even got to pick some flowers and oranges from the garden before anything froze.

I'll have more pictures from the wonderful world of guncles next time. It was very festive there!

Will we be seeing you at Birdsong 5?

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / January 14, 2015

Wow, five years??? How lucky am I to have such a great group of friends come to Kansas each spring to visit me and be a part of Birdsong?

We will be having 2 classes, plus lunch on Friday June 5th, with dinner, wine, shopping and swapping that night. On Saturday, there will be two more classes, with lunch. Coffee, tea, and plenty of goodies will be served throughout.

At Birdsong, you are a guest in my cottage, it is relaxed, casual, and homey. No dress codes, (heck, I've sometimes forgot to change out of my slippers for the day), we just hang out in the studio and on the patio with friends, creating and laughing.

Class kits will provide 100% of everything you need to create something lovely, you just bring the suggested tools. And they will be taught by my delightful buddies, Lori Oles and Andrea Singarella. as well as myself.

4bs

Cost is $395 and can be broken up into 3 payments.

Registration is now open to anyone who has attended any of the workshops in my home or has donated to the goodie bags for Birdsong. It is so meaningful to me that many past attendees want to return each year. Thank you so much!

I'll open it up to new friends after our buddies have had a chance to enroll. If you are interested, please contact me for an invoice at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

I hope to see you here!

Cottage Garden Fence

cottage, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 11, 2015

Way, way back, before the cold snap hit here in November, my son built us a new fence.

I had some very specific needs for it:

*The gate had to be on a spring, and swing closed so the grand fairies didn't let the dorkies out.*

*The gate had to be very lightweight, and it had to open easily, so those fairies could get in and out by themselves.*

*IT HAD TO BE PRETTY!!!!!!!!!! And if it looked like it belonged on a fairy tale cottage, that would be a big plus.*

The gate is under the deck off my husband's office, right outside my studio door. Here is a photo in process, where my son started wrapping vines around the posts. The top photo shows all the vines twisted into place. I plan on planting Clematis at the base of it, to fill in even more.

The metal filigree panel at the very top, under the deck, is a vintage one I had hanging around. The ones built into the fence and gate are from Hobby Lobby, and were on sale for 50% off. I love my son's idea for building them in.

The area outside of my studio is where the girls play most of the time. So, their Daddy made the fence feel like a play area instead of a barrier. He cut hearts into the wood so they could peek through.

And he drilled holes to pound marbles into, to give the space some sparkle. There are plans to add a lot more marbles later on, but while finishing up the fence, we were hit by a huge wave of cold air.

It was the weirdest thing, one minute, it was a beautiful fall day…. the next, a huge whirlwind of leaves blew over us, bringing temperatures about 10 degrees lower. From one minute to the next, the temps dropped. And then kept dropping. So, we were done working outdoors for a while.

At first, I was worried about the kitties, and wondered if a new fence would pen them in. Nope, they love it and spend a good part of the day running around on the top of it.

And now, our entire courtyard is fenced in. The place looks like a maze, with so many partitions and gates, but the dogs and chickens love it. There is a fence in the front yard, with a doggie door for the little fuzzballs. Then, there is a huge chicken run. And the side yard is fenced. Now the courtyard. All the gates can be opened to connect them, or only select areas can be left closed off. And then, there are extra gates big enough to drive a truck or 4 wheeler through if jobs need to be done in that part of the yard. And a gate that can connect our yard to the neighbor's yard so their dogs can come and play with our dogs.

It's kind of weird. But that is how my whole house is built too. All customized just to fit our needs. We will never be able to sell this odd conglomeration of mazes, doors, hallways, gates, fences. We are stuck here forever.

We don't mind though. We all kind of like it here.

2014 Resolutions, pass or fail? Happy New Year!

family

By Karla Nathan / January 8, 2015

Do you do New Year's Resolutions? I did a whole list last year. And maybe over promised myself…

Some were accomplished. I've tightened up control on the pupeesh. Dorothy (or Derffy, as Dewdrop calls her) is a leash dog. She has favored pee spots, but if she is leashed while in the house, she won't go to them. It's not a perfect solution, but it works when I pay attention.

SO-SO, NOT REALLY A FAIL, BUT NOT A SUCCESS EITHER

I had a miserable fail with the resolve to repair my handwriting skills.

BIG TIME FAIL

Another resolution was to host little workshops. Romantic White Christmas was a result of that one, and it was so fun, that I left my tables full of supplies up til, well…. they are still not put away…. and had friendly little gatherings with buddies and family to make more ornaments. I think this year, I'll have multiple dates of ornie workshops, maybe a few weekends in a row.

I really love doing that.

Small, intimate groups, where you can just sit and chat while making pretty things is so relaxing and rewarding.

But maybe I should resolve to not let the mess pile up into January? Nah, I've learned to stick with resolutions I can reasonably manage. Nothing hard like correcting illegible hand writing or keeping a tidy studio.

Along the lines of doing more workshops, I'm happy to have got this online one launched too.

YAY, PASS!!

One more from 2014 was trying to get my Etsy and Boutique shops up and running again. Hmm, well, uh, hmmm…..

When I list things, I sell pretty good and am happy with it. Sugarwings and I sold a ton of dyed trees (she and I work on them together every fall and I pay her for her help) and kits always zoom out of the shops (there are a few left, since I made lots of extras this season), but did I work at it consistently and add things on a regular basis?

Nope, and there were months that I paid that $12 fee for the Boutique that I didn't make the money to cover it.

FAIL

The 5th goal for 2014 was to host a swap. So, I made about 100 book covers and had artists mail in pages to put together "Nature's Blessings" journals. That goal was another happy spot in my year and gave me a major sense of accomplishment.

PASS!

(you can click on this image, open in a larger window, save it to your computer)

On a more personal side for the year, I learned to let it go. (I heard that song enough from the grand fairies, I had no choice but to focus on that).

To walk away from negativity. I heard a quote that stuck with me, and has really worked for me. It was "What you focus on gets bigger". So focus on the positive, not let worries pile up. Because if I think about the bad things, those just grow and grow.

I'm not saying that I don't face my problems, because problems do need solving. But I decided to not let the ones I couldn't fix take over my head. When something is out of your control, you have to accept it, cope and do your best.

And I am truly blessed with enough positive aspects of my life that I have plenty of wonderful things to use as a focus point!

I'm thinking I'll make this an official resolution this year. I'll make it #1 of the 5 I decided on for 2015.

*****************************************************************

2015 RESOLUTIONS

#1- Focus on the right things, don't let the bad ones grow into boogie men in my head. Deal with what I can and accept that is all I can do.

I notice myself getting impatient and easily irritated as I grow older and I DO NOT want to become a crotchety, old geezette. I embarrassed myself three times this year by being a grouch. My poor sisses heard it on the last day of our Florida trip, and I had a behind the scenes snit fit at Birdsong, (that hopefully, only good friends saw), and the other was just too embarrassing to say out loud. What a Bi**%%#$tch.

So:

#2- Be nice, stop, take a breath, and smile before snapping. Maybe even a sip of wine, then think about it. By then, if I still am feeling impatient, irritated, or pissy, I can feel free to show it, it must be justified.

Or else I'll become a wino…

#3- Stop letting Diet Coke sneak back into my life after I worked so hard to give it up a few years ago.

#4- Keep Derffy Rosebud on a leash or train her better. I'm not giving up. And along those lines, I'll say that I'm going to still work on those 2014 resolutions, even though the one about the handwriting is as doomed as it can be.

#5- Maybe a double dose of #2. I really wasn't very nice a couple times this year.