July 2023 – Karla's Cottage

Setting up for Good Juju’s August Event

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2023

We had less than a week after July’s sale before we left to go on our North Carolina adventure.

I knew I would be fretting about the state of my space if I left it in its post sale shambles.

In my opinion, the spot needs a total flip-a-roo for a new look each new month. And that takes about two eight hour days for me plus touch ups.

I knew I needed to at least pack up stuff, bring in some new and rearrange the set up before I went out of town. As well as having to demolish the auxiliary booth that I’d been using to sell vintage clothing.

All of that got done, plus more. I was pleased to get it to a spot that would be just about fine as is for sale day.

Except the jewelry cabinet. Since there is silver on display, I need to keep it covered to prevent tarnish. But that’s a quick turnaround, mostly just hanging a few necklaces. Every other month, I take home the silver for a spiffing up to keep it shiny, too.

My nervous Nellie soul was pacified by getting so much done ahead of time. With the travails of our trip, I was sure glad that I’d been prepared too.

Since I returned, I have spent my days and evenings car shopping and haven’t had much time to finish my Juju set up.

After about 8 dealership visits, 10 other dealership phone calls, and countless online searches, I finally found exactly what I needed to replace the car we gave to my son. (If you think you’ll be needing a car in the next year, I suggest you start looking now! It’s nearly impossible to get a new one, and used cars cost just about as much as the new ones)

See how pretty the paint is when the sun hits it!?! Now- to keep it that clean, so I can enjoy my sparkles……hmm. Garage door openers are among the many things we had to store in NC since we were flying home, not driving a truck. Including a boxful of funky finds from antique stores across the country that I stopped at on the way there.

My quest to replace my 2017 RAV4 wasn’t supposed to be that imperative. But Rich’s truck got smooshed up on a curvy mountain road (he is fine). We don’t have rental car coverage on our insurance policy, so after flying home and picking up a car at the airport, we are trying to keep that rental down to just one week.

We had also planned on pulling our son’s car home for some repairs for me to use it until I found a car in a couple months. Without a truck, that wasn’t happening.

With that time frame changing from months to a few days, I was extra relieved that I wasn’t required to do a booth flip.

Now that car shopping is settled, and we have looked around to get replacement ideas and possible budgets for a new truck (still waiting to hear if it is gone forever) I have had time to add to and tweak the booth, then get the silver polished.

I even had time to make FALL banners, crowns, and a few more mushrooms. These photos are from the first go-round and don’t show the additions. It might not look like there is room, but I squeezed more in. I might even make more little mushroom paintings, there are only a couple left.

It is nice to be back in Kansas, especially after an emotional rollercoaster of a trip. I am not a fan of any rollercoaster. At all. The visit was a juxtaposition of pure bliss and worries. Yep, good to be home! As Dorothy likes to say, there is no place like it.

Magic at the Hawk and Hawthorn

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

By Karla Nathan / July 24, 2023

Hawk and Hawthorn (about 20 min north of Asheville on top of a scenic mountain) is my new favorite vacation spot.

The Airbnb is set upstairs of a newly renovated, charming old house and the patio over looks the farm.

Bonus- the view includes the barn/event center.

Double bonus for me- my son lives there.

He is their onsite trim carpenter.

He and his buddy just built this outdoor kitchen for tent campers. Spaces are available through Hipcamp, and campers have access to the barn for yoga, bathrooms, cooking, and more.

I think how much you can hang out in the barn depends on scheduled events. They had just held one, and this mushroom display from it was still set up. I spy a couple of my schroomies in there too!

They host workshops, festivals, retreats, music, etc. Our visit was Sunday thru Friday, so it was pretty low key.

We had full use of the facilities and after harvesting our food to fix in the apartment kitchen, we walked it across the field and up the hill to dine in the beautiful barn.

It had just started to rain and was getting dark. We ate while listening to the drops on the metal roof and the curtains swayed in the breeze.

I am not sure how many times I used the word “magical”, probably way too many, but it was justified.

Our meal was trout that the kids caught with their grandfather that day and deliciousness we gathered from the vast gardens.

I would say that the term, “magical”, had to be correct. There had to be some magic in the head grower’s touch. Look at the size of this corn! All the veggies were lush and vibrant, over the top with health and vitality.

It made me think that my Kansas garden back home was a sad comparison.

We picked fresh produce daily. And had flowers in our salads, and even cooked into chewy brownies.

And I got to forage for chanterelles! It was my first successful mushroom hunt.

We walked through what felt like an enchanted land of moss and streams to find them. While on the hunt, my boy taught me tricks about different types and what to look for.

He is always on the lookout and you never know when he will abruptly pull over the car to spring out and return with a handful of berries to share. He spots tasty treats everywhere he goes.

At the farm, there are baby bunnies to hold and goats to visit. There is a fresh mountain spring set up with pipes to fill your containers.

Pretty and rustic areas to enjoy, trails to explore, and vistas so lovely, all you want to do is sit back, sip a glass of wine and take it all in.

Plus-NO CHIGGERS! It felt oddly uncomfortable to walk through tall grass without bug spray. In the back of my mind, I kept worrying that I’d be up all night itchy and miserable.

But I got used to not needing a thorough spritz before going outside. And I was not homesick for any midwestern bugs that typically torture me all summer long.

There is cool art everywhere, including on these shirts.

The dragon was by our front door.

I don’t know why I didn’t get any photos inside our cozy studio apartment, maybe because there was so much to see and do outside.

The tranquility was just what we needed, the rest of the trip was so stressful. Serious family illnesses, an auto wreck, all were overwhelming.

Thank goodness for the peace and welcome we found at the Hawk and Hawthorn.

It was MAGICAL.

Family tradition or tacky habit?

family

By Karla Nathan / July 20, 2023

On the dog park trail down to the Kaw River the other day, I saw this white heart. Fungus? I think?

Speaking of fungus, look at the cool shirts my pal, Sam, makes. My son is a mushroom hunter, he saw this pic on FB and asked for one, so I got one for him too. We will be hiking together in NC, I wonder what the odds are of getting a mamma/son photo in matching shirts?

Awwww, that brings back memories of my mom dressing her and me in hand made, matching dresses, along with my Barbie. She sewed a shirt from the same fabric for my dad. I’d sure love to have that photo! I remember that vacation to Florida with them, stopping at an alligator farm, way back when there was roadside wrestling with reptiles.

The tradition lived on when I had my own kids. Sorta. I hand painted matching shirts for them, one of the favorites was ET. We didn’t have much, the kids typically only wore hand me downs. If I bought something new, it was on clearance at KMart. So I’d look for plain, cheapo shirts and spiff ‘em up with paint.

I used to do portraits of the kids with their favorite characters on some. Like Ryan eating ice cream with Bert and Ernie.

The grandfairies got matching dresses too.

Not only because they were adorable, but because it helped me find them in public places too. Sugarwings was always drifting (or running) off and when I have a matching set of children, I can find them easier in a crowd.

And yes- ADORABLE!

My dolly redo obsession has GROWN (to about 4’ high)

antiques/junking, holiday decor, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / July 16, 2023

I have remade many, many old dolls into fairies, angels, witches, and zombies. I can’t help it, I see a doll that needs a makeover and I’m itching to start gluing things all over her and giving her a new look.

St Nick, here, is my latest and my biggest. And while he might not be a fairy, he is a jolly old elf.

He was at a garage sale where everything was a dollar.

(Including a dining room table with six chairs. Seriously, every single item was $1. The same day, I was at a sale where everything was 50 cents. You just gotta love garage sailing, you never know what you’ll find. Even if it is something you do not need. I’m very proud of myself for not coming home with a dining room set.)

He caught my eye, because I knew he deserved better than a felt suit. Poor guy. I’m sure he was fine as is, but he was not living up to his full potential.

I had no idea what was lurking beneath, or how I was going to redo him, so I just started pulling him apart and taking it as I found it.

My best surprise was that under the fake fur covers, he had nice boots. All they needed was a shine in the form of some high gloss spray paint.

His rubber face needed paint too, and a lot of it. I primed that first thing, to let it dry while I worked on other elements.

There, that new face is better!

The painting part was easy, but the clothing? That gave me some issues, I am not a seamstress. And the heavy, cut velvet fabric (it used to be my old sofa’s slipcover) was pretty thick. I envisioned many broken needles if I attempted getting the sewing machine out.

So, first I tried staples, and discovered that they sorta worked. At least a couple could hold material in place while the glue dried. So with a combo of hot glue and The Ultimate, I started sticking the fabric to the plastic and gluing seams in the clothes. Since I wasn’t using a needle and thread, I carefully cut the velvet to make sure that finished edges made up my hemmed areas.

But then, I started to fret about the pants. His previous britches were real pants, with an elastic waist. As I tried to figure out how to replicate that, I realized that he was not going to be pulling them off and on, and I did not need anything that complicated.

So I made two legs out of rectangles glued them to his thighs.

While they already had a finished edge from the hem of the slipcover, I still covered that with fur. Because, well, dur, Santa! Of course his trousers are fur trimmed.

And not just any old, fake fur this time. I used strips cut from a vintage, white mink pillow.

Next, I covered up my most hideous glued together seams with trim and old lace, then added more mink in appropriate places. I did not have quite enough to go around the bottom of his jacket, like a traditional Santa suit, but did what I could and made it go as far as I could by using thin strips.

I knew that my husband had the world’s rattiest belt in his closet, one that should’ve been thrown away years ago. It was practically in shreds. I cut the buckle off, glued it together where I could, peeled off the worst straggles and spray painted it like the boots.

The buckle is an antique, mother of pearl one that I slid in place and glued on. But first, I tucked a couple handfuls of stuffing under the jacket. I thought this guy was looking too slim.

Originally, Santa had a bag of badly wrapped gifts (more felt) and cheapo plastic garland. No kid wants that delivered down the chimney.

So I lined the bag with a pretty doily and added a fluffy teddy and an old doll (she had no legs, and was scheduled to become a zombie, I’m sure she prefers this life).

The bag is glued, stapled and pinned into place, and the rope to it is glued to his mitten.

I left the mittens as is, they are the only part that did not get a makeover.

His too shiny glasses got a little tarnish with paint and I made his beard, mustache, and eyebrows from curly locks goat hair.

The hat is pretty simple, it’s from another fabric, but with a similar look, and is also trimmed in mink and glued together.

All in, it took me almost five hours on a day that I should’ve been working on something else. But I could not help myself, it had to be done. And everything I used was stuff that was repurposed and hanging around in the studio.

And speaking of hanging around in the studio, I have nowhere to put this guy til Christmas. I have a feeling he will become my loyal companion while I work out there.

A Barbie Dollhouse turned into a Haunted Mansion

cottage, how to's, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 13, 2023

In the previous post, I left out pictures of Sugarwings’ Barbie House redo. At first, I was going to vintage it up with old wallpaper and sell it at Good Juju. But as I was starting to wrestle it down the stairs, it dawned on me that the kiddo had requested “Haunted Mansion” as the room theme.

Well, dur.

This thing could make a fantastic haunted house plus it was large enough to use as shelving for books and stuff.

On high gloss surfaces, I brushed on a primer then painted it black. Elsewhere, I used black acrylic paint directly onto the existing dollhouse wallpaper, trim, and flooring.

The paint was watered down and wiped off in some spots, and I tore the paper on the walls before washing it with the black.

I especially like the effect in this room.

I could’ve easily gotten carried away and dolled it up with furnishings, but held back because I knew it was meant to be a bookcase/shelf. I filled it with some of Sugarwings’ belongings and added this antique, plaster lion for the teen’s 17th birthday in August (Leo time).

It still needed a nod to its dollhouse beginnings, so I let this person move in.

From Fairytale to Haunted Mansion

antiques/junking, cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / July 10, 2023

Sugarwings will be SEVENTEEN this August.

SEVENTEEN

How and when did that happen? That also means my blog will soon be 17.

This is the very first photo I posted of that lil sprite.

And this is my most recent photo of this piece of my heart. Before leaving for a summer in North Carolina with Dad, we went to the Omaha Zoo together. And I have to say that trips and outings with this kid are 100% as enjoyable as they were years ago. This person will always be filled with magic, curiosity, and joy in exploration.

Sugarwings has been a good sport about living in a mermaid/fairytale bedroom but confided in me that there was a Pinterest wish board of a Nightmare Before Christmas/Haunted Mansion style that they loved.

At first, I thought that I would redo the room as a surprise, but had second thoughts and decided to include their wishes long distance. And I was glad that I did, we had a good time texting pictures and colors back and forth across the country.

So, I repainted and put the room together, showing the steps by text as they were completed. ( One bit of control that I kept over the process was gathering color samples that I approved myself before saying, “what color do you want.” This way, I got a shade of plum that I was fine with on the walls as opposed to a possible tone that might’ve driven me bonkers.)
Sugarwings also did not want to rip up the murals that were in the room they had used off and on. We have two rooms upstairs that have been switched up over the years from nursery, guest room, Dewdrop’s space, Sugarwings’ dwelling, toy room, etc. We like to redecorate periodically.

This photo is from a few years ago, the bed had been repainted since, but the walls are the same, and my soft hearted sweetie was too sentimental to lose this mural.

The solution was to flip rooms. This one was much smaller and had no closet.

But there was a little walkway into it that had a linen closet. At one time, this was our laundry room, now the washer and dryer are downstairs. We were able to move the linen closet shelves to the mural room’s closet and set up a clothes rod in this area, and there you go.

This new bedroom was now feeling much larger than it would have if I’d had to squeeze in a wardrobe for storage.

Once things were repainted or reconstructed, the fun part began. I went through my Good Juju inventory and shopped for black furniture and odds and ends to decorate with. Sugarwings already had dragons, and a few other things they’d want to use. I arranged everything for now, but I am sure that when the kiddo gets back from NC, there will be some rearranging to suit their own taste.

When Dewdrop was little, she loved Snow White, so I’d made this for her with that theme as a magic mirror. The silver in was scraped off with a razor blade and a picture could be seen inside the mirror.

Now, I’ve given the pink flowers a black wash of paint and removed Snow White’s photo. There is now a skull with a flower crown peeking through the mirror. If this is too creepy, we can easily change it, the picture is just taped on the back. I might’ve gone too far with this, Sugarwings did have more of a Disney theme planned.

But I knew a slightly creepy edge would be appreciated.

I discovered that a coat of black changes many things from shabby chic to gothic. Both are ornamental styles.

Because of the low ceilings and small footprint, this room has a platform bed with drawers underneath. I added a piece of a vintage iron headboard on the wall behind it to make the bed feel more substantial. It had been hanging outside, so was nice and rusty.
I left both white to keep the room from becoming too heavy.

The ballerina bats are some that I sell at Halloween. Simple, plastic bat skeletons with vintage flowers and tutus.

Sugarwings wanted green for sheets because that is a shade from Disney’s Haunted Mansion. And a striped comforter similar to Jack Skellington’s pants. This was as close as I could get in a comforter at a reasonable price. I found it at Ross along with the fluffy rug. The sheets and curtains are Amazon. Besides paint and rid brackets for the closet, everything else was scrounged from the house or repurposed.

I sure miss having that child around, but we will be visiting the North Carolina side of the family soon. And redoing this bedroom has made me feel a little closer to Sugarwings during the separation.

Feeling beachy

antiques/junking, Good JuJu

By Karla Nathan / July 7, 2023

July at Juju is Beachy Keen on one of my walls.

I have found some great, old pitchers and pottery with an ocean theme like this fish.

As well as these lobsters and mermaids. Oh my- those mermaids!

The coral vase isn’t old, but suits the theme well, right? And there are lots of beachy blue necklaces and pearls spread out.

Can’t you picture the blue comb in a mermaid’s hair?

Speaking of mermaids, here is a collage I’ve done.

The blues are spread throughout, it’s a loose interpretation of beach style, but goes with it okay.

Like this lil guy in a sailor suit.

And juice glasses with Florida oranges on them.

Above it, I’ve hung a wreath I made from seashells picked up at Marco Island, and hand dyed silk ribbon. There are also my flamingo friends that I showed in an earlier post.

My half booth is divided up into small areas with different goods. I’m surprised at how much I squeeze in.

Some things from the previous month, like this garden statue get shifted around. I like to give the spot a whole new look as much as I can, without taking too much home after a sale.

Then there are things that did okay so I replenish the stock. Like these crowns.

And my shroomies.

I made quite a few crowns. The first time I brought some in, they lingered a bit. So I took a hard look at them and decided they were too shiny. I used some patina liquid on the metal and that turned the whole ambiance of them around.

First Friday weekend is today. If you’re nearby, come in and say hi!

https://www.goodjujukc.com

Off to see the Wizard

Books, Good JuJu, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 5, 2023

When Sugarwings was just tiny, that kid was obsessed with the Land of Oz and all things Dorothy. That theme lasted for many years, with a Dorothy costume in every size from baby to teen. Ruby slippers were worn out and replaced over and over. The beloved Dorothy doll was restitched and salvaged many times. A yellowbrick road pathway was put into our flower bed. Every Oz event, movie screening, or play that was available was attended and we wore our costumes each time.

I perfected my witch’s cackle and my husband learned all the words to the scarecrow’s song. I also got really good at pretending to be a flying monkey and sweeping in to run off with Toto (our Yorkie, Twinkle.)

That child’s love of the Wizard of Oz never waned. So when I saw a collection of Oz books at an auction a decade ago, I snapped up the stack for Sugarwings to read someday. But the Grandfairy ended up being an audio book fan instead, so I don’t have any sentimental reason to hold onto this collection of old books.

So now, they are going into the mall, along with some other Oz themed loot for the next First Friday weekend sale.

This special set deserved a display worthy of it, so I started with a vintage wallpaper rainbow backdrop and added some colorful items to amplify the rainbow effect.

Then I sorted my collection of books into colors to match the shelves and filled in with Totos, witches, lions, and more.

There is a heart for the woodsman, a picnic basket on top of the cabinet, and an antique black satin dress made for a wicked witch hanging on the door.

I used copies of a portrait I’d done of Dorothy as tags.

Isn’t this chalk ware Lion great?

After it was all set up, I liked the look so much, I almost packed it back up to take home and reset up in my studio. Nope, time for these books to go to another Oz fan.

Painting with grout? Yep

antiques/junking, cottage, Hand painted, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / July 2, 2023

For years, I have been using the grand fairies’ outgrown craft table as a side table in my living room. Not because I loved it, but because it was the exact size I needed at the holidays to set the Christmas tree up on. It wasn’t ugly, it was just a simple, round, white table. But it wasn’t anything I adored, that’s for sure.

Then, I found this table at a garage sale for FREE. Well, basically free. The lady sold me an entire car load of stuff for twenty bucks, and the car was stuffed to the brim. I felt like this table was a bonus thrown in with all the inventory I’d bought.

Here is how it started, perfectly nice, no problems, just a little too traditional for me.

I wanted it to look old. Well, that’s not exactly right because it already is old.

It needed to look like it had been painted and repainted over time. More cottagey.

So, first it was primed, then I mixed up grout into gray paint and gave it a thick, gloopy coat of that. Next, white paint, then sanding the clumps away. There were some ugly spots that didn’t sand well, so I touched up with the white again, then a glaze of umber went over it all and was wiped away.

To finish, a polycrylic clear coat went over that.

The paint looks properly mistreated now.

My Christmas tree will look great on its new pedestal! And I think I do adore this one. Bye-bye to the kiddo’s craft table.