April 2022 – Karla's Cottage

A new venture

antiques/junking, collections, Hand painted, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, junk

By Karla Nathan / April 29, 2022

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be setting up my pretties at Good Juju, starting next Friday! It was a rather quick decision, and pretty bad timing because I’m dealing with the after effects of my doodle running joyfully at full speed across a field, straight into my head.

Yep, concussion time again.

I have not felt my best. But because of this head injury, I had to cancel a trip, knowing that I couldn’t do the long drive. Joining the Juju family has been on my mind, so when Pam welcomed me in, I thought I might as well go for starting right away in time for the next sale since I wasn’t going to be traveling after all.

So, I have been combing through my stash, sorting my jewels, stringing banners, and tying up papers to prepare. I’ve had to take a lot of breaks, then stop by 4-5pm because of my eye strain and headache, but I have managed to pull together even more than I expected to.

I will have a small spot, so it wasn’t too hard to fill, even with a headache. And as I feel better throughout this week, I hope to craft more items to bring in.

I’m also doing something new, a sort of “Charm Bar”. I’ve made some sweet charms/pendants with a mix of vintage, crystals, and pretty bits and pieces. Each is ready for a chain, or to be clipped onto a leather or silk cord that I have ready to go, clips added. I love them, and think they will be excellent Mother’s Day or graduation gifts.

Since I am a bit confused now and then, I will not be working at the desk for the sale. But I will be there to visit, please stop to say hi.

https://www.goodjujukc.com

The rest of the ice resin

cottage, Hearts, Ryan, sea shell fairies

By Karla Nathan / April 26, 2022

While in Florida, I found a never ending treasure trove of hearts on Walton Rocks beach near Ft Pierce. Some rocks, some shells, all eliciting squeals of joy from me. These were found in three trips.

I had big plans for a beachy toned display, but then decided I wanted to fill this black tray and use it in Ryan’s apartment. I pressed the hearts into tile adhesive which was a sandy gray tone.

Sorry, no pics of that stage. But- the hearts all sorta disappeared into the background and the adhesive was blah. So, I tried some gemstone flakes in aqua shades, still not enough contrast.

I decided to use fluorite chips for more distinction. I’m not a person who has much purple in their life, but I have nothing against the color. And Ry’s room has pops of bright colors in it to brighten up the grays, so in theory it should work.

But overall, it was just kinda messy. I should’ve done something else with my treasures. Plus, the hearts were all different thicknesses and it wasn’t functional as a tray, and too heavy to be a wall hanging.

That is when I decided to use ice resin. Which was a good idea, but maybe I should’ve used more? There are still some high points. But, overall, it did make the tray more functional.

Many of the rocks had holes, and I tucked heart shaped garnets (Ryan’s birthstone) into them before pouring on the resin.

Ryan would’ve liked it, and I am enjoying using some colors in his room that I don’t typically use in my cottage. And I think I will probably try out more resin projects in the future.

Using up remnants, playing with ice resin

sea shell fairies

By Karla Nathan / April 23, 2022

I am new to resin and a bit leery of it, but had something that needed a coat, so went for it. And because that stuff is NOT cheap, I didn’t want to waste any that might be leftover.

There were a few shells left from my Florida trip, and I managed to cobble together a little fairy. Now, while she isn’t perfect, I’d have been very happy to create her as a beach offering. Since she was going to be immortalized in resin, I wasn’t quite as happy with her, but hey, this is what I had to work with.

The shells are glued to the inside of a takeout lid, then I poured the leftovers onto her. She seemed bleak and empty, so I sprinkle gemstone flakes onto the wet resin and that helped. She now lives amidst fluorite stones.

This is a process that I really, really liked. I still will always leave beach fairies as thanks to nature, but maybe I will also scoop a few more up for making resin fairies too.

A much delayed, simple project

cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / April 20, 2022

At my Peeps Craft Day, I had a couple of little side projects to get done too. Once we finished our Easter pictures, we all turned to our own things. I made some labels for my various spray bottles in the bathroom.

Finally.

I like to have them out to use instead of keeping them in a cabinet, and it always bothered me that they never matched my bathroom.

Silly, because it was such a quick and easy thing to do. That I had thought about for YEARS. What makes me put off little projects like that? It’s not like my plate was so full, I never had time.

But maybe having them done and displayed wouldn’t have made me as happy as it does now, after looking at the previous labels for years as is? I sure like them now!

Playing with ceramic underglazes

friends, Hand painted, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / April 17, 2022

I was lucky enough to have not one but THREE craft days in one week! My friend, the stained glass artist has us over on Thursdays to do mosaics in her studio.

Then I had some Peeps over for Easter crafting. And my ceramic artist buddy invited a group to her studio to make ceramic mosaic tiles and paint them in underglazes. Can a week get any more crafty-riffic?!

Melissa had slabs rolled for each of us and provided all of the materials. She will then fire them, and glaze the bisque to fire again. She is being quite generous with her time, I can tell that all the little, tiny pieces will be a lot of work.

Not everyone finished, so I offered my place to use up the leftovers and then got the painted shapes to Melissa later. I ended up doing my own, plus a few for a couple other friends, and one person came by to work on hers.

I found the process addicting and sat at my table painting for six solid hours, only quitting when there wasn’t any paint left.

At Melissa’s studio, we all had puddles of paint on takeout lids as pallets and the remnants couldn’t go back into the jars, so I thought I might as well pack up the ones everyone left behind and paint to the last drop. I discovered that my friends really like orange.
Almost every pallet had orange on it. A lot had purple. So as I got to the dregs, I ended up making pumpkins and fall leaves.

There was an abundance of orange in the flowers and butterflies too.

I have no idea how they will turn out. The clay is charcoal, but fires white, so everything that looks gray will not be later on. I haven’t worked with this kind of paint, so who knows if I did it correctly. The seasoned ceramic artist told us to use the paint more like royal icing on a cookie, but I kept going back to my own style of painting, even though I tried really hard to remember how opaque the paint was. So, we will see after they are fired.

Whether they turn out as desired or not, I sure had a great time! Thank you Melissa! And thank you, Shanna for the mosaic days in your studio where we will be using these on future projects.

Peeps Day

celebrations, cottage, drawing, Food and Drink, friends, holiday decor, wallpaper, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / April 14, 2022

We had a little get together for a Peeps craft day at the cottage. Angie brought a cookie display that was so pretty, it had to immediately become the center piece for our luncheon.

Sadly, three people had other things come up and couldn’t make it. Beth offered to bring a salad at the last minute so I wouldn’t have find a side dish for the quiche and homemade bread I’d prepared, which was very helpful of her.

She always makes the best salads, too.

I’d tried my hand at making brioche bread, and while it’s a lot of extra work compared to the kind I typically whip up, I think it is way worth it. But- there is almost a whole stick of butter in it opposed to the tablespoon of heart healthy oil I usually use, so maybe I won’t make a habit of this decadent bread that feels more like a pastry than a slice of bread.

The remainder of the loaf home was sent with the gal pals, thinking I would save myself from all that butter. But then, Nora left some of her cream pie tarts, Angie left cookies, and well, here I am having both for breakfast and feeling pretty happy to have them.

Lunch was only a little part of the day, the main event for me is always the projects.

We had vintage album mats and little girls images to make Easter wall hangings. This one is mine, and since I’d previously made a yellow daffodil one, I wanted a different style, but this might be too dark to be springy. I also don’t like the green pattern in the brown wallpaper and might peel up the girl to add another layer beneath her. Maybe some blue ledger paper…

This one is Nora’s next to her cute picnic basket that came full of tarts and fruity, sparkly wine.

(It did not leave full)

Everyone got a hand drawn placemat. Well, since only half of the group could come, they each got two.

I might make a habit of these. When I host real events, not just get togethers, I usually draw on tablecloths. But lately, instead of plastic table cloths that tickle your legs, and are pretty flimsy anyway, I’ve been covering my work tables in poster board and using large scrap book paper as place markers.

While these quick cartoons aren’t exactly major pieces of art, they are a little different. Plus, I really like drawing, so, yep, I think it might become something I’ll be doing more of.

Although the square size isn’t ideal for dining room placemats, a rectangle would be better.

Once we finished our Easter pictures, everyone had something else they’d brought to do. I made some little people to use on something else some day. Just because I love making little people. It reminds me of all the hours of playing I spent with paper dolls as a kid.

After the last couple of years that we have had, days like this mean more to me than ever. It was the best!

Repainted roses

cottage, flowers, Hand painted

By Karla Nathan / April 11, 2022

I recently repainted the flowers on the shutters by my kitchen door.

The “shutters” are actually parts of a byfold door, found at a garage sale that I took apart and painted to look old.

Years ago, I added roses to them and they were fine.

But I decided the flowers were too simple and I wanted more.

So, here they are, touched up.

And I like them soooooooo much better!

It was a quick project, since it was sort of an overlay on top of a previous design. I just added to what was already there.

Now, I can’t wait to tackle the matching shutters on my studio doors.

The Easter Bunny has Come to Town

cottage, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / April 8, 2022

I felt like adding some springtime to my house when I got back from Florida, even though it was cold here.

Or maybe because it was cold here?

Well, a bit of hoppiness warms things up, either way.

Before we left, I had Valentine pretties in place, and was smart enough to quickly box them up before heading out of town. Because as nice as it is to come home, it’s a bit sad to return to decor past it’s prime by a month or so.

Instead of just doing some springtime displays, I went full on Easter Bunny.

It was up a tad early, but I’ve liked having time to enjoy it. And of course, putting out the bunnies also means it’s time to set out the candy dishes of jelly beans, and I have really, really been enjoying those.

Galentines Day

cottage, Food and Drink, friends, holiday decor, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / April 5, 2022

Since it is almost Easter, how about if I show you pictures from…Valentine’s Day?

Right before our never ending trip, I had friends over for a Galentine bruncheon and farewell for my pal, Karla who was moving away.

I made a photo album for her and painted a Kansas Sunflower on it. Beth printed photos of our times together and we worked on book pages while we hung out.

When I saw these iridescent crystal beads at an antique store, I knew they’d be pretty on some copper chains that I had and that I wanted to make them up as Valentine necklaces for my friends.

And while they did end up ideal for that holiday, I think the pretty pastel color makes them nice for any springtime day. I’ve been wearing mine.

I’ll leave you with some photos of our day and in my next post, I’ll show you my lazy, decor transformation from roses to bunnies.

More fun from St Augustine and the Guncles

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Garden, guncles, Travel, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / April 2, 2022

Our five week, meandering trip included 2 single and one four day visit to Guncleland, where the family pitched in and rebuilt some of the fencing. While guys were busy sawing and hammering, I took some time to clean up the pathways, reset stepping stones, and spread mulch.

They replaced two gates and one length of fence, then added a privacy fence for trash cans and storage.

After a dozen years or so, the garden stones had all sunken down under the earth. So I un-earthed them and reset the pathways along one side of the house and the garbage can storage area too.

Which is where I found these! I felt like an archeologist, digging up ancient ruins. Apparently, they had been on the ground there, and like the stones, had worked their way deep down under the dirt.

But I preferred to think of them as from an earlier inhabitant of the land.

Our evenings were spent relaxing in the Guncles’ unique home with all eight of our combine canine family having some cousin time.

Oh and eating! There was lots of eating! That’s what you do when you go to Jax and visit the Gunks. They feed you endless, yummy, seafood. I thanked them with a pie.

But it wasn’t all manual labor and big meals. Randy and I took a mini road trip down to St Augustine to meet up with my sister, Bobbie who was visiting elsewhere in the state.

Where we met some interesting new friends.

In some cool places.

See what I mean? This steam punk store is a cool addition to George Street.

My favorite thing I saw downtown was this wallpaper in a shop.

Or was it this wallpaper?

No, my FAVORITE thing from the day was this. I love those two so much!