March 2024 – Karla's Cottage

A craft day to crow about

By Karla Nathan / March 30, 2024

Guncle Randy and I had an excellent craft day together.

We both worked on crowns, I painted some of my book page drawings, and helped him with a base coat on a violin he wants to embellish.

He had a couple bridal gowns to share, so I cut those up. He is using some of that on his violin too.

It was a lot for one day, but we jammed in as much fun as we could, and made time to take pictures of our hand crafted crowns on the heads of his many garden friends.

On our furry friends too.

So many heads to fill with royal toppers.

This guy looks like he is ready for his kiss.

So does this tiny guy.

It was a joy to be outside, with sunshine and flowers.

And very joyful to have a day with my baby bro to crank out crafts. I think we had about 13-14 crowns between us.

To thank him, I painted a crowned crow.

Yep, it was a day to “crow” about.

Mini redos and pussy willows

antiques/junking, flowers

By Karla Nathan / March 25, 2024

Is this just weird, or is it cool? I had a pair of old skates, and I liked them as is, but thought they might be even more interesting separated and used as an art piece.

The left has been stuffed with tissue, then the old paper and a photo of old timey skaters were glued to the tissue, not to the skates themselves. The millinery bloom is simply wired to the shoestrings that way, it can all be removed if this skate needs to be reunited with its mate. The right is waiting empty to see if it should be foofed up or left as is.

Here is another mini redo. It’s a styrofoam head that I painted to look like cement. The trick is to throw some grout into the paint.

While I had the mixture stirred up, I repaired this statue. (The tall one) it had a crack, so I filled that with silicone, then repainted with my grouty mix.

Currently, we are visiting an ill family member in Georgia, having a mini reunion, then heading to Florida for more family fun.

Between this trip and my stays in Indiana, I haven’t gotten a lot of crafting accomplished. I managed to flip my booth to be set up and ready for Good Juju First Fridays, spring clean my house, then pack for our latest adventure.

Of course I packed art supplies! While it was Rich’s turn to drive, I did some sketching, hoping to have time to add color to these drawings later. For spring, I’m putting most of my sweet birdies onto pussy willow branches.

Since I was a kid, I’ve those bushes. We had one in our yard back then, and I used to name the tiny puffs, and sit under the shrub to talk to and pet them.

Yes, I was a weird child, and desperate for a pet to call my own,. With the raging asthma I had back then, pussy willows and stuffed animals were as close as I got to having one.

Over the years, I’ve planted a few of these fluffy bushes at different homes we owned, then sold. At our current cottage (32 years) I do not have one and honestly do not know why not. As soon as I get home, one will be going into the ground. Heck, while I’m at it, I should plant a bunch of them.

That is, unless I hop right back into the car and go to Indy to watch the eclipse!

A modern shelf gets a vintagey redo

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / March 20, 2024

A friend at Good Juju bought this LED lit shelf on Amazon and I loved it so much, I asked it I could be a copy cat and get one for myself.

Lighting on jewelry means all the difference, I have clip lights, lamps, and cords all over the place. A set of shelves that has built in, direct lighting shining right onto my goods, WITH ONLY ONE CORD?

Yes, I want one!

After dithering over the cost (not that much) for a few days, I finally went for it. It arrived in two days, went together very quickly, and the lights were magnificent.

But it looked very mod, and slippery. Like all my jewelry might just slide right off the back of this sleek shelves.

So, I painted the black, metal bars white. Then, to create a barrier for keeping the jewelry where it belonged, I made backs from the styrofoam packaging panels wrapped in ledger paper.

The styrofoam is wired to the bars, which I quickly discovered wasn’t the best choice, foam rips easily. As does paper.

A friend suggested Velcro. And that is probably something I will redo it with later. But for now, this is working okay.

My necklace display (on top) is too tall to fit, so my plan is to modify that then place it under the lights.

I’ll gleefully show you the finished piece, loaded with glittery jewels, sparkling under the shining lights once it’s all set up. (Can you tell how excited i am? I love this thing!)

First, I’ll need to make some jewelry to fill it up. Which I am very much looking forward to, as soon as we get back from our trip. My husband’s brother is ill, so we are headed to see his family, and Weill meet up with some other Nathans while in that part of the country.

This was my previous jewelry shelf, which I’d been very happy with. It’s still being used at Juju and is an excellent display piece, due to the lack of sides. I can put cords through the open areas to plug in lights. For now, it sits in a spot where outlets aren’t available but I’ve got big plans for using it lit up next month. My booth flip was a bit quick this month, due to all the traveling I have been and will be doing.

Not being around also means I’ve not been shopping much for the booth, so I’ve had to delve into my cabinets around the house and studio to see what I can bring in.

Well, garage sale season is starting here in KS. I’ll be missing two weekends of rummaging because of this trip, and a third for our first Friday sale at Juju. I’m looking forward to getting back to normal, being home and stocking up inventory, as well as time to be creative.

I have shelves to fill!

Dolly do overs and a fun day of gossip, griping, and laughter

fairies

By Karla Nathan / March 16, 2024

Yesterday I had a craft day with Beth, it has been way too long since we did that.

She worked on vintage paper journals, and I pixied up some unloved dollies.

See what I mean? Not the best. They deserved a makeover.

I worked on all four at once, going back and forth between them as I let glue dry. My first step is always cutting away or pulling off clothes. I try to salvage what I can. In this case, the white dress received some trimming and overlays. The green gown lost its skirt and the bodice was redone as a blouse. And that wonderful, but too country-cutesy pink silk? I used it to craft a dress for the tiniest doll.

Doesn’t she look pretty in it, with her matching pink hair? (It’s yarn)

This is a detail from the white gown. It has sequined bridal satin glued onto it and a net overskirt.

You don’t see much of the original dress, but it made a good foundation for the new, more fairy princess frock. Typically, I don’t keep the hair as is, but I kinda liked this headful. She only needed a posy crown to add a new look instead of ripping it all off (hair comes off easier if you use pliers) and starting fresh from a bald dome.

The green, velvet gown felt like a good beginning for a flower fairy. I had some vintage, velvet and sequined leaves to fashion a skirt for it. I dyed her bloomers and glittered her shoes, then added teensy weensy velvet flowers. She might look more like autumn than spring, but she does look more like a fairy than a faux Elizabethan doll at least.

It was a happy day, chatting with a buddy and creating little sprites from discarded dolls. And heck, I even got to play with some of my new beads too, it was quite a fruitful afternoon. When I finished these gals, I made a dozen gemstone bracelets to finish off my time in the studio.

I could use more days like this, it was good for me. There doesn't seem to be enough hours to get done what needs to be tackled, so now I’m off to make price tags for Good Juju.

Which is high on my list of most hated and put off chores – like taxes, which is also on my to do list for the next couple days.

Those fairies will be on my desk as I work, and I could lie to myself and say something uplifting like “their delightful spirits near me will make my chores more tolerable as I reminisce about our lovely crafting get together.” But that would be a whopper of a lie, because nothing makes taxes or price tagging not suck.

So nice I went there twice

family, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / March 11, 2024

I have developed a problem.

I cannot stop buying beads.

Gorgeous, luscious, luminous, gemstone beads. Not the kind from Michael’s or local craft stores, the kind you have to order online, or even better- get at a gem show.

There is one twice a year at a convention center in KC, and it holds vast row upon row of enticing beads. Also, crystals, rocks, and fossils. Oh and dinos.

I went with a friend on Friday, bought way too much, then went back on Sunday with a Grandfairy who was visiting from NC and bought too much once again.

But can you seriously, ever, say “too much” when it’s about art supplies? Art supplies are necessities, not indulgences!

Won’t these pendants add a special bit of wonderfulness to some beaded necklaces?

Here are more pendant type bits too. I’ll put the stone mushrooms and a few of the other things on leather cords, a couple on chains. But most will be used in my creations.

While by my sister in the hospital, I made many, many bracelets. And at Sissy’s house I’d bead necklaces in the evening after spending days with Bobbie. We all adore crafting jewelry and before she got sick, Bobbie made even more bracelets than I did. Beading will always make me feel connected to her, and I was emotional walking into the gem show. The last time I’d been to one was in Indiana with my family last year.

So I was slightly amuck while shopping. (We are all fans of Hocus Pocus, and when we were all leaving our phones places, forgetting things, saying dumb stuff, we’d say we were a mess. Then, Sissy said, no, we are amuck! So that’s what we call this grieving/stress brain fog- we are all amuck amuck amuck like the Sanderson sisters.)

At the convention center, I might have gotten weepy at times. And I did some dumb things. Like when gathering up handfuls of rings at wholesale to retail in my booth, I included my wedding rings in with the bag of silver ones. Luckily, the cashier caught what I’d done and was honest. Even sweet about it. When I tearfully told him about losing my sister, he was very kind.

Yes, I weep to strangers about her.

See how easily I almost lost my own rings? I pulled them off with the others. I’m glad I decided to purchase them instead of putting them down and walking away. I might have put my own rings with the others as I left the booth.

I’m giving myself some grace right now, having a sister shaped hole in my heart makes me sorta unstable. Or as we say, amuck. I’m constantly on edge, and anything at all can make me cry. From something cute I see, to a touching moment in a movie, to seeing the aftermath of wreckage on the road (the loss those people must be feeling!), or just a pretty pile of beads, I cannot be trusted to stay calm.

But I’m owning those tears. And not apologizing. Bobbie earned each and every one.

Spring cleaning for the soul

cottage

By Karla Nathan / March 9, 2024

Rich took good care of everything while I was away. And that is with a poor, tiny Yorkie who was sick for weeks and had to go to the ER vet, Sugarwings got Covid, then he got it while caring for the poor kid.

Yet, I still returned home to a clean house.

But it was a slightly neglected house. I still had winter decor up, and gift wrap out since Christmas. It was swept and picked up, but not fresh.

I spent my first day back de-winterizing the cottage. I did one of those deep spring cleanings where you pick up things and wash them down, not simply dust them off. The velvet curtains came down, and the florals went up.

Is it rude that I rearranged flower arrangements that came to me at the funeral? These were from the Guncles, I brought them home and redid them into different containers. I think it gives the blooms more longevity, by trimming the stems and changing the water. Plus I like to see the flowers in various vessels.

My deep cleaning is usually when I take down the holiday decor. This year, we had a foundation emergency that forced me to rush to get all the trees put away, and I didn’t quite finish before we left on our Florida camping trip. Then, I heard Bobbie was going on hospice, and we zipped home quickly so I could be by her side.

More floral arrangements have arrived since I took these pics and my home feels even more springlike. I appreciate the kindness and cheer these bring, it makes the cottage welcoming.

Next up? My studio. My poor, lovely, new studio has been trashed since everything I’ve done in the last few months has been a quick in and out. Not taking time to return anything to its proper place, just creating piles, then shoving those piles aside to make room for more. Before I feel like I am truly “home” after months of back and forth traveling, I need to be comfy in my surroundings by getting everything tidied up and attractive again.

As I always tell Sugarwings- A clean, pretty environment is good for your soul.

My soul needs some of that right now.

Continuing

family, paintings

By Karla Nathan / March 6, 2024

While my sister was ill, I spent as much time by her side as I could each day. I tried to balance wanting to never leave her with respecting her immediate family’s needs to be with their mom. So, I’d arrive in the morning, set my painting supplies up by her, find some of her favorite movies to watch, then just hang out together until her kids arrived. Some nights we gathered with other family too, but if it was just her girls there, I’d leave so they had private time.

I’d help with meds, drinks, shampooing, etc if needed, but mostly we were just together. Each day Bobbie slept a little more than the day before, but I’d always tell her not to stay awake for me. Rest and be strong to see her daughters and those grandkids at night.

When she was gone, I felt rudderless. I couldn’t be with Bobbie.

How on earth was I going to fill my days?

The world just keeps turning. And we do fill our days. Sissy and I went with her daughters for a day out to see a shark movie Bobbie would’ve loved. We all had craft days together making Bobbie’s favorite bracelets.

We spent time with family.

One afternoon, I painted this chair for Sissy. She loves the designer, Gudrun Sjodren, and wanted this done in her style. It was an excellent distraction. Painting chairs is good busywork, with all the spindles that are tedious, but also give your mind a chance to wander. Then practicing a style that I am not used to kept me focused. It was a project that let me both reminisce yet move forward.

For me, keeping busy, staying creative is helpful. After I lost Ryan, I filled my closet with hand embroidered shirts and worked in the garden until it was a mass of blooms. Each activity of creating doesn’t exactly heal, but maybe gives me hope? And a sense on continuing.

Beading and lessons

family, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / March 2, 2024

While staying with Sissy, I spent most evenings beading after being with Bobbie during the day (I was painting while sitting with Bobbie, it helps me to stay busy).

Sissy would cook something healthy and delicious, we’d watch some tv, pet pups, and play with jewelry supplies. Sometimes we’d cry together, too.

I will treasure these times with both of my sisters. While tragically sad, these days were also shining moments in my lifetime.

The three of us all love making jewelry, but Bobbie was just too ill at the time. Although she couldn’t make any pieces then, we could still talk about beads and design and we looked through what she’d been working on previously.

She had racks and racks of bracelets and necklaces in every color of stone.

I took her advice and ordered some high quality gems from Tejas beads, and was so pleased when they arrived.

Thanks for the tip, Bobbie, these are beautiful.

I already miss having my big sister to look up to and talk about things with. I don’t know if she had any idea what an influence she had on my life. From an introduction to painting as a child, to finding peace in adversity. And finally, in learning about how to gracefully face some of the biggest challenges life offers.

She left this world bravely and with little complaint. Typically, I whine about any tiny thing. I’m going to try to learn from her last weeks and be a stronger person. She was quite an example of calmness throughout her life, but even more so at the end of it. And she looked good while doing it. She kept up her skincare routine, wore lipstick, her sparkly watch, and pretty rings through it all.

I’ll follow her example of excepting what we cannot evade, being calm under pressure. Then put on some lipstick then order more great beads from Tejas.