February 2020 – Karla's Cottage

St Augustine isn’t exactly near Disney, but it really isn’t all that far away…

family, Food and Drink, paintings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 27, 2020

I took advantage of being in Florida and made a day trip to Orlando. My sis, Terry and her fun husband were there on a spur of the moment trip.

It was pretty dang cold out for that part of the country, so we thought we would try something different. Instead of going to a park, we had a sightseeing day.

And we based our wanderings around whatever reservations we could get for meals. If you know much about Disney, you might know about the big hoopla around making reservations for meals 180 days in advance. They book up that quickly, especially character meals.

I’ve discovered that people hoard those reservations and make as many as they can, deciding at the last minute which to keep.

You can usually snag a good one with the 24 hour window there is to get refunds on deposits when cancelling.

We were lucky to get into tea at the Grand Floridian for lunch and dinner at Storybook Woods with Snow White.

Along with the Evil Queen.

Both restaurants are in hotels, not in a park, so no ticket was required. But we still got to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks over Wilderness Lodge when we arrived to dine with Snow and Dopey.

The rest of the day was spent riding the skyline and monorail to sightsee at hotels along the way.

I’d never seen the Grand Floridian before and loved all of the details.

Of course, Disney is all about the details and art. This giant mosaic is at the newest hotel, the Riviera.

Keeping with our laid back attitude, we took a break at the Riviera in the kids’ craft room. Dale got some hot chocolate, we watched a movie on the big screen, and I did the day’s project.

It was a lesson in doing an animation cell, where you paint on the back of the clear plastic, then flip it over when done. This is what the back of mine looked like.

We took the time to watch a bride arrive for her wedding, a teeny girl dressed as a princess get a photo shoot, we meandered through lobbies, gift shops, and looked around Disney Springs.

You never know what sights you’ll see when you slow down and take the time to look.

Like a biker paying tribute to Walt, or a cross eyed Elsa made of crystals.

I can’t say that I have ever had a bad day at Disney, but this lazy, no plan, wandering around day, sure was extra special.

The Great Camping Adventure

Dew Drop, family, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 24, 2020

We have only had minimal beach time so far, but when we made it to the shore, it was the best!

Some trips required jackets and were quite short.

But even a chilly, brisk walk on the beach is uplifting to the soul.

The dogs agree.

And so did Dewdrop. She and her dad drove down from North Carolina to see us, and get a bit of Florida sunshine.

Uhm, at least that was the plan…

Our camper is TINY.

Or should I say tiny?

We have two adults, two big dogs and one little Twinkle living in it. Add a cold, relentless rain and two more people? Since one was a little fairy with a bad cough, it simply wouldn’t work.

The solution? We found the only hotel with an indoor pool that had a single room left (it was Daytona 500 weekend, and not only were the hotels full, they were doubled in price).

And we could check in at 9am so we had a place to get the kiddo out of the rain and take advantage of the free breakfast that morning as well as check out day. (Two free breakfasts that I didn’t have to make in the camper took away some of the ouchiness of paying twice the cost of a room that night.)

Did I mention how teensy weensy the camper is?

A meal outdoors is nice, but indoors, impossible. it was even nicer after Guncle Randy gave me a box of lace curtains from an estate sale, and our “dining room” had a bit of privacy.

I have never done anything interesting to the interior of the camper, it is not only on the extra small side, it is dark and gloomy too.

If we decide to do more of this, I see a makeover coming.

And do I think I want to do this again?

Yes, I think I do…

Camping is a affordable way to travel with our dogs. Bad weather complicates things, but that can happen on any trip. You just have to adjust and make the most of it, and I feel like we have made this work.

After being here almost two weeks, I’ve got lots of ideas on how to do it better next time.

Such as not bringing as many clothes with me. Traveling with dogs means hitting the washer and dryer a lot, so I shouldn’t need to bring that much along and take up valuable packing space.

I was doing laundry quite often. (Thanks, Guncles! They live near by and welcomed the whole crew, dogs, laundry and all.)

And feeding us royally!

While the kids were here, we stayed in Guncleland a few days and helped rebuild their deck.

The family bonded over hard labor, good food, laughter and togetherness.
And it was a welcome break from what I was calling, “The Crappy Camper”

So was exploring old town St Augustine.

It hasn’t been a perfect trip, but there have been moments of perfection.

Yes, I’d do it again.

Seashell pups at Crescent Beach

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 20, 2020

Our Great Camping Adventure is going wonderfully. We have had so-so weather some days, and others perfectly lovely. On the extra nice days, we have headed to the beach for walks with the dogs.

While there, I was inspired to make seashell pups instead of my typical fairies or angels. The first one I made washed away with the tide, which felt rather pleasing to see. I liked watching my little creation float off.

It felt like making an offering to the sea.

So I looked around to find a few more bits of shells to whip up another, this time arranging them up higher on the sand.

This one is Twinkle the Yorkie.

And here is Sugar the doodle.

Uhm, you will just have to take my word for it that this is Honey the golden.

Not an anteater.

Maybe I should stick to fairies?

The dogs are loving the beach as much as I do, so I attempted the little shell critters as a beach thank you from them.

A peek inside my Parisian Travel Journal

Books, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / February 18, 2020

No, my camping trip wasn’t to Paris…but I still worked on pages in my Paris themed journal.

The books themselves are what I will be making for my class at a Midnight in Paris.

I don’t know if there will be time to work on the interiors of the books during class, but I wanted to have some examples of what it could possibly be used for.

It will be more of an art journal than travel journal for me.

But of course, they can be used in anyway the students would like.

I simply enjoy working on pages, no matter what the theme or use of the book will be.

But day dreaming of a trip to Paris is always fun to do.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

celebrations, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / February 14, 2020

We are spending our Valentine’s Day in the tiny trailer at St Augustine Beach. But before I left, I enjoyed the holiday pretties that I’d made at my friend’s valentine get together and had them on display out in the studio.

I’d crafted this pipe cleaner heart from the inspiration of Lori Oles’ Christmas project during A Snowbird’s Song.

Hers was a ball made from pipe cleaners and filled with flowers. I reshaped the ball into a heart.

At the craft day, Tami provided furry pipe cleaners and printed faces for us to make dolls.

I made a white kitty.

And a little girl.

While my home was light on the displays of holiday pretties, what I did have out was special to me.

Baby Bro, Guncle Randy, surprised me with this gorgeousness more than a week before the trip, so I had time to enjoy them before our adventure. And the few tidbits that I’d made with friends were filled with memories of a fun day.

A Galantine Gathering

friends, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / February 11, 2020

My pal, Tami, invited a group of us over for a Valentine Craft Day.

I enjoyed the ambience of all of the decor even more than usual since I am not doing anything for the holiday myself. I will be in the camper in Florida for Valentine’s, and there isn’t a spare inch in it for any decoration at all.

When I return, I will be having knee surgery, so I was afraid I would not feel up to clearing hearts and roses from my home after our trip.

Tami transforms her home for each holiday or season and I am always impressed with her displays.

And her hospitality!

Thank you for the beautiful, eye candy, Tami!

And for the actual peanut butter heart shaped candy too- Yum!

A “Charming” Make and Take

Workshops

By Karla Nathan / February 8, 2020

My southern belle friend, Miss Lulu Kellog, is doing a make and take for Randy’s Parisian arty weekend.

Ooh La La, Lulu!

I have spent the last week building kits for the event and am pleased as punch to say they are complete. We are pulling the teensy camper filled with giant dogs to Florida for a couple of weeks, so I shoe horned a big ole box of kits in there to drop off with the Guncles.

Not only does it feel good to be done early, it is great to avoid shipping costs.

And even better? Guncle time! See you soon, bros!

Jenn Hayslip’s project at Midnight in Paris

Workshops

By Karla Nathan / February 5, 2020

Delightful, isn’t it? Yet another gorgeous bit of sweet whimsy from Jenn.

Please contact me if you would like more info about how to join us.

Randy has arranged $79 hotel suites with free breakfast. Two lunches, two evening parties with lots of fancy deliciousness, two days of classes, all with a French flair are included with the event cost of $375.

Karen Hillman’s class at Midnight in Paris

Workshops

By Karla Nathan / February 2, 2020

My friend, Karen Hillman, makes lovely things.

And oh my goodness! This project is quite something!

I cannot wait to make one at Guncle Randy’s event.

If you want to also, contact me for more info.