Karla Nathan – Page 101 – Karla's Cottage

More storage space for the kitchen- sometimes making something work turns out even better than what you thought you wanted

By Karla Nathan / May 15, 2017

Last First Friday when West Bottoms was in full swing, I spotted this wonderful hutch at Good Juju, and thought it would solve all of my storage issues in the kitchen. Still, I dismissed the idea, thinking I didn't really need to be making changes or spending money on the house right now.

Throughout the month, as I juggled the avalanche of plastic containers, and struggled with the leaning towers of mixing bowls stuffed into my kitchen cupboards, I kept thinking about that piece.

By the time the West Bottoms opened back up for the big, monthly shopping experience, I was convinced that I couldn't live without it and was fretting that someone else had bought it.

Nope, it was still there. But it was over 10" longer than the wall I had in mind for it. Dang it! Now that I'd decided that I couldn't live without more storage space, and had shown up with a truck and a willingness to open up the pocket book, I WANTED A SOLUTION!

Well, Good Juju has about anything you'd need. I just had to get creative. I needed a piece with a big cabinets below, that measured under 59", and had a top with glass doors for the pretties.

No luck, in finding something that fit all the criteria, but this piece sure caught my eye. It was 58" wide and really deep, I knew I could fill it up with all my kitchenware overflow. All it needed was a top piece.

And here one is, found one store over at Serendipity for $70, all it needed was paint to tie the pieces together.

Now, this isn't as fancy as the one that caught my eye and got me thinking that I had to solve the space problem in the room.

But the kitchen looks good with a hint of primitive style. I like the mix.

And while this is 10" shorter and fits the spot, it doesn't feel smaller because the base is huge and deep. And the topper has a lot more room than the one with the pretty, arched windows. Sigh…I did love those arched windows….

I lined the back with vintage wallpaper to fancy it up.

I think I'll be very happy with this solution. All my favorite tea party or dinner dishes are easy to get to, no longer jammed in tightly like they were in the previous, narrow cabinet that used to be in the kitchen. And I think that the display shows off better than it would've in the hutch that I'd day dreamed about for a month.

My boy, Ryan, helped me put it together (it was heavy), and he also screwed the top piece to the bottom one so it wouldn't be tipped over.

Now, I could've taken my time looking for just the perfect piece, but that isn't how I roll. Once I get something in my mind, I follow through right away and move on to the next thing. This might not be the exact look that I had in mind, but sometimes you don't really know what you want till you find it and see that it works even better than what you planned for.

Bee Happy

cottage, how to's

By Karla Nathan / May 13, 2017

My husband has a new hobby. He has adopted a bee family, and added a hive in the field behind our "Food Forrest". I know little nada about bees, and was a bit worried when he didn't seem to either, as we were building and painting the hive (it came in a million little pieces!). And I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the idea of it.

But he quickly learned and has been talking to beekeeping friends, as well as reading up on the subject, and I am learning more about it from listening to him.

Not my hobby, so I am NOT going to read up on it. But I will enjoy the goods from the hive.

Apparently, you don't get honey for a while, you need to let the little buzzers build up enough for themselves before you can have any.

Seems fair.

But, they have to be checked up on, and if they are building combs in spots that aren't in the right locations, those need to be cleared away. Since our new pets got confused and built an extra piece, we got to harvest that bit.

Somehow or another (like I said, I'm not going to get into the details, NOT my hobby) the honey we get to harvest is separate, and doesn't have bee eggs or parts in it. This chunk was in an area that did contain those. Also, it held little honey so far. It wasn't edible, but the wax was good to use to make beauty products.

I double wrapped it in cheese cloth, submerged it in water, and let it simmer as the wax melted out. Then, squeezed out the cheesecloth to get as much beeswax as I could, let it cool, and scooped out the wax into a bowl. To that, I added melted coconut oil and a couple drops of lavender oil, and whisked it all together.

Oh my, it made the best, most creamy, body butter ever! It was soooo easy to do, too.

Now, I can't say that I did it correctly, or followed a recipe, but I like what I got out of it. I'd looked online for recipes and directions and all were too complicated and even involved scales. No way. So I winged it (fitting for dealing with the produce from flying creatures) and was happy with the results.

My husband is loving the new family members, and has made himself a little patio with seating to watch them buzz in and out of their home. I'm loving the beeswax cream that I made. And I have a feeling that our fruit trees and berry bushes will benefit too. So, I guess I'm happy that we invited them to come live with us after all.

Puppeesh!

dogs

By Karla Nathan / May 10, 2017

The babies arrived 6 days early and gave us a big surprise. All did well, and in a week since, they seem to have doubled in size! Goldendoodles sure grow a lot faster and bigger than Yorkies do…

We thought we were ahead of the game, had the whelping box built, set up, had the puppy pads and birthing towels ready to go.

I had big plans all week for birthday celebrations and get togethers for myself, and figured the timing was perfect for the pups to arrive on their due date, 2 days after my birthday. But they had other plans.

On Tuesday, I'd been working in the studio till late and realized Honey was still out after dark. I called, and called, she didn't come!

Ryan and I went out to hunt for her, and she came running up, all wet and muddy. We put her in her kennel to keep the mud contained and she went berserk!

That made me realize she might have babies outside in the dark and cold, so we grabbed some flashlights and followed her out, of course, she went right to the big hole that she'd dug out under a shrub, in a fence corner. I reached in, after shining my flashlight down into the mud pit and seeing many little shapes and hearing squeaks.

Only to find a limp, wet, cold, dead thing.

ooooooh noooooo!

But then, realized, it was not a puppy, it was a stuffed toy. Honey had gathered every stuffed toy she owned, and filled the hole with them. Plus, had a couple pups too.

They, also were wet and cold.

But wriggling and alive.

We brought the two, icy babies in and warmed them up, getting them settled into the box with their mom, who seemed to be happy to be inside but still worried. She quickly had another one, but wouldn't calm down.

So I sent Ryan out with a flashlight to see if we'd missed any. Nope, no pups outside.

But she still fretted.

So, I went back out and gathered up the muddy, sodden, soaked toys.

Yep, that was what she wanted.

Once she counted and kissed all the toys, and tucked them underneath her, she went back to the job of having a few more pups.

3 girls, 3 boys total.

Honey has been a devoted mama, and I'm loving having a boxful of babies in the house. They will move out to the breezeway once they get big enough to climb in and out of that box, though!

I'm not enjoying the excess dog hair that is floating around my house at the moment. Apparently the stress of birth combined with warmer spring weather has sent Honey's fluffy fur into a full on, shedding attack. Oh my god, I'm sweeping every hour.

She reminds me of those cartoons of Pigpen and the dust that follows him like a cloud. Add on the fact that she has gone from part time to full time house dog and the amount of hair that she is producing is just outrageous.

Even with the mountains of hair that are covering the floor, it has been a wonderful time with the newborns. All of the grandfairies are smitten, so we get extra visits from them, which is a nice bonus.

They would all like to keep one, and Sugarwings is doing everything she can to prove that she can be a good puppy caretaker to get the option of having one stay with us. But even though these guys won't shed like their mom does, 5 dogs might be too much for me.

For now, I'm staying strong. Of course, none of them have opened their eyes yet. Those big, brown puppy eyes can be hard to resist when they stare into your soul!

Adventuring with Grand Fairies- tips and tricks for Disney with little girls

celebrations, Dew Drop, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 7, 2017

The Grand Fairies and I went on an adventure.

The 3 of us flew to Orlando together and spent a couple of days at Disneyworld. I was impressed with how smoothly it all went, considering it was spring break time, and we weren't the only ones who had the idea of going there then.

There were a few struggles, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Lost rental car keys? Take a bus. (There is great, free transportation from the Disney hotels to the park, it was actually easier than driving)

Chilly weather? Lots of layers. Lots.

Bag too heavy? Rent a stroller to carry it.

Kids too tired? Trade that single stroller in for a double and push those kids around, remembering to call it a carriage, NOT a stroller. Who cares if they are "too old" to be in one, it made the day much more pleasant for us all, and those strollers glide so easily, that it was no problem for me to manage it. It was actually more convenient to have the girls seated together as the day progressed and the crowds grew larger and larger and larger and larger.

Crowded restaurants at lunch time? Find a kids' zone to color in and wait til it clears. Patience and distractions got us through wait times, along with a bag full of snacks, and water bottles.

We took breaks and kept it as chill as we could. We arrived early to our scheduled events, like our dinner at Cinderella's castle, and read books or played games on ipads to rest up before the party started. For the "Wishes" fireworks show, we found a cozy spot with a family chock full of little girls nearby and hung out for an hour before the show began, for a perfect view, enjoying just BEING there, while making friends.

Our sidewalk neighbors were Muslim (I'm guessing on this) and didn't speak English, I'm not sure where they were visiting from, but I got a kick out of watching Dewdrop befriend them, even with a language barrier. They were joined by a couple Hispanic girls behind us, and it became a little United Nations of princess talk and giggles.

One trick I regret not using on this trip, was watching the parade from Frontierland instead of Main Street. It begins in Frontierland and the crowds are much smaller there. We didn't have a good view this time, and it was my own fault for not getting to a good spot early. Because it is hard to see the show if you haven't staked out a place ahead of time.

My thought is that a trip to Mickey's place isn't a contest to see how much you can do to "get your money's worth", a day in the park is meant to be completely enjoyable and fun, not rushed and crazy.

I plan ahead as much as I can to make the most of the time, but we leave plenty of space for just plain old sightseeing, hanging out, and rolling with the day. We spent the entire day in Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land, without seeing a single other area, and didn't care. So what if we didn't see it all in one day?

What we saw, and what we did was amazing!

My biggest tip for a good day at the park is to make the most of fast passes and use the Disney park ap on your phone to keep them updated, as you use them up, you can book more. Also you can check wait times on all rides so you know where you can get in quickly without waiting for crowds. We never waited more than 10-15 minutes throughout the day, unless we were purposely taking a break.

And if you can't get reservations for the meals you want, keep trying. Even during spring break's larger than usual crowds, we were able to dine at Cinderella's Castle as well as in Belle's. Both were full up when I first checked, but I made a point of looking online for openings periodically the month before we left and eventually, spots opened up both places we wanted to go.

(okay, I admit that I was a bit obsessed with that, and some days, I checked the dining reservation site 5 times a day)

Another tip that I found helpful was dressing the girls alike. I dread the day they won't let me do this anymore, because it sure makes it easier to find them in crowds. I always make sure I am wearing something colorful myself, so they can spot me easily too. When they get too sophisticated for twin outfits, maybe we will all chose a family color to wear when we go to zoos or amusement parks.

I have never splurged on taking the girls to the Bippity Boppity Boo salon, but I do buy them each a new dress for our visits. Kohls has the cutest Disney lines of clothes, and with their sale prices, I got two dresses from the Beauty and Beast collection that will be worn over and over and over for much less than I'd have paid for a gown from the salon. And I knew the girls would be comfortable for the day. Some of those gowns that are sold in the park are too flimsy to be warm in the early mornings and after dark, but look hot in the middle of the day when the sun is out.

We went on St Pat's day, and I checked out the Dollar Spot at Target before we left for some light up necklaces and crowns to celebrate in an affordable way. We also packed glo-sticks from the dollar store to give us some sparkle once night time came.

If you want to get into the park early to get decent photos of the castle before Main Street becomes shoulder to shoulder traffic, you should go early and be there when it opens (or before). We were lucky that the Extra Magic Hours (a free hour to go early or stay late at a park) happened to co-inside with Magic Kingdom that day. Sometimes the park that has the Magic Hours isn't the one you have tickets to, they change daily. And you have to stay at a Disney hotel to get that free hour.

Or you can book a reservation at a restaurant in the park, for an early breakfast and get in early that way. When you go early, you can often walk right onto rides, no line at all.

We had no waits at all for Winnie the Poo, Small World, and the merry go round, all in about 35-40 minutes or so. We even rode Small World twice. And you are welcome for the gift of that song in your head for the rest of the day, it is still in mine, we rode it later that day too. Twice. Yes, it will be in my head til the end of time after that, but I kinda like it, so didn't mind.

Here is another tip- if your kids are into gymnastics, and trapeze like mine are, please council them before getting on the carousel about not standing up and doing tricks on the horses.

The operator stopped the ride to talk to these two after they were caught showing off their circus skills as the ponies went round and round. And funny enough, they hold the ride up for a LONG time talking to the kids, they didn't simply tell them not to do it, or to get off. I was surprised by the length of the lecture. Or did it just seem like it was forever because they were all pointing to me in the crowd as the reprimand was going on?

A lot of time waiting can be spent looking for Hidden Mickeys too. I don't know if this counts as one, but it was delicious anyway.

This was the first time we used the Disney dining plan, we chose "quick service" which is the lower end one. And we were not able to use it for the upper priced meal at Cinderella's castle, so we had extra meals on it. The quick service plan was honored at Belle's castle tho, and the meal even came with this bonus tray of pastries.

We also shared two meals three ways a couple of times. And didn't really buy much in the way of snacks. So, was purchasing the meal plan worth it? Well, it ended up being so for us, because we met up with Dewdrop's mama the day after we went to Magic Kingdom and I paid for them to go to Animal Kingdom together, and the credits on the meal plan carried over for them to use. The points were good until midnight the day you check out of the hotel and could be used at Disney Springs too. Sugarwings and I went there to hang out, had some dinner, and bought snacks to go to use up some of the credits. We ate caramel apples at our beach hotel for the next couple of days.

But for just one adult and two little fairies, for just two days, it wouldn't have been a good deal, it was too much food for the three of us. I don't know if I'd do it again or not.

Check out was at 11, and we were able to get a later one, (request a later check out upon checkin, don't wait!) so we spent time at the pool at our hotel, then spent the rest of the day at Disney Springs, seeing Beauty and the Beast and having dinner. That gave us an extra day to use up the meal plan, and we shared it with Dewdrop's mama, but it was still hard to finish up all of the credits without stuffing ourselves.

Here is something I learned about the dining plan we were on. 10 years old is ADULT PRICED! But- when I used the dining plan, it wasn't divided up between "adult" or "child" meals. There were two credits each, each day for just a meal, plus snack credits and a refill cup good for use at the hotel only, but it was great for refilling with ice water- free at any counter service restaurant.

We could order two adult meals and split them three ways, and could order the highest priced meals on the quick serve menu.

BUT- you have to purchase a meal plan for each person in your hotel room. So, the only way I see doing this again would be if I had two separate hotel rooms, and we shared a meal plan somehow. Or once the kiddos are older and eat more, it would be worth it. For now? Not for us.

We stayed at one of the "value" priced hotels and it ended up being the favorite of any we'd been at. At least from the kiddos point of view. (I've stayed at the Animal Kingdom resort with my sis, Terry, and I can't say any hotel anywhere is better than that one!)

This one, Art of Animation, was over the top gaudy, bright, fun, and full of 3 story high characters the kids love. So, it was an ideal choice, was much less expensive than any of the other hotels I've stayed in there, and it made the grand fairies VERY happy. The pools were such fun that we wished we had more time to stay there. The hotel itself was a blast for the littles, although it might have been a bit much if my husband had come along.

It was at least $150 less per night than the medium value hotel we usually go to (Caribbean Beach). That alone was good for me, the girls loved the Ariel decor, and the bus to the Magic Kingdom was direct and quick.

A tip I got from my sis, the Disney master (Terry) is to get a fast pass to see Belle's tales. It is a cute, interactive play and every child gets to be in it, meet Belle, and get a free book mark. That is much more interesting than simply standing in line to meet a princess.

If you do a character meet and greet or one of their meals, pick up a note book from the Dollar Spot at Target, or somewhere else with bargain prices so the kids can collect autographs. No reason to buy one for $10 or more at the park. And Target has Disney themed books that are every bit as cute. My girls saved the signature pages to make a scrap book with the photos I took of them meeting their royal friends.

Here is another tip- pick up extra maps, they get torn up, lost, and fought over if you don't. No reason to play tug of war with one if there is an unending supply.

Another activity to keep busy between rides is Pin Trading. The grand fairies like doing it so much, they even traded back and forth with each other all day.

We had the best time with our stay. I wish it could be longer, I've never taken the little ones when we could go to the park more than one day, the timing just never works out for us. This time, we had an afternoon and evening at the hotel, then a day at the park, and another night at the hotel, then a late check out.

Here is another tip- don't over do it!

We probably could've squeezed in one more day at a park before driving to the beach to meet up with my husband after checking out of the hotel. But, as tempting as it was, I knew I'd be exhausted if I spent another day in one of the parks, then had a two hour drive to get to our beach hotel afterwards. Hanging out at the pool and at Disney Springs for a couple of hours was ideal for us, plenty more Disney fun, and no more ticket purchases. There are a lot of fun things to do in the area without buying a ticket.

These are all tips that I've learned after taking children a few times, and I know that I am in no way an expert. I just wanted to pass on some things I've learned along the way.

Restoring an antique table with no stripping

antiques/junking, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, paintings

By Karla Nathan / May 4, 2017

I love my "new" French side table!

It started like this. $30 at an estate sale, good lines, ruined finish, missing a few bits of trim, but sturdy. The first thing I did was rough up the finish with a sanding block, taking off as much old varnish as I could, but not all of it.

I thought I could touch up and restore the flowers, but it turned out they needed completely repainted. The style was so pretty, I used that as a basis for my own painting, and tweaked the colors to suit my own taste, a little less purple and orange, a lot more pink and blue.

You can tell the varnish was still spotty, some came away when I sanded, but I didn't try to get it down to bare wood.

There are flowers on all three sides.

Next I painted the edges aqua with chalk paint from Hobby Lobby. And added trailing viney-swirly gold, and painted the beaded trim the same gold. I rubbed that gold paint over the raised carvings on the table legs with my finger tips.

After that dried, I generously brushed on dark wax, and wiped it off with a soft towel. A chip brush is the best tool for getting down into the crevices of the trim and carving. I added more in places where the bare wood still showed, and made sure it got soaked in to those spots. The photo above is with one coat of dark wax, it looked better after a second.

The finish isn't perfect, but perfect is over rated. I like things to look aged and worn. So, some spotty varnish is okay with me. I also didn't try to replace the few places where the beaded trim was missing, that sort of thing happens over time on vintage pieces.

If you are not a painter, you could still use this technique on old wood, without the flowers I added. It was all pretty quick and easy.

A gallery wall and fresh paint for the Office

Uncategorized

By Karla Nathan / May 1, 2017

Recently, I gave my husband's office a spiffing up.

Rich travels a lot for business, but when not on the road, he works from the room above my studio. It is trimmed out in wood salvaged when we had to tear down our 100 year old barn, and I'd had an accent wall painted this bittersweet color.

Which looked fine with this leather sofa and pool table, but those moved on to other places and he now has new furniture and has exchanged the pool table for gym equipment.

Once he picked out this charcoal sectional, I couldn't stop thinking of Halloween every time I came into the room when I saw it with the orangish wall. (I preferred the leather sofa, but it is his room and he wanted a giant TV with a series of recliners built into a sofa).

The orangey wall was getting dinged up, with glaring white drywall showing through. It had been time to repaint a long time ago, but was never convenient. Because I wanted to do it while he was away so I wouldn't bother him at work, and also, he had to move everything out of the way for me, printers and charts, and other work stuff that I didn't want to mess with.

(This picture is of the barn wood wall, that my son put up when our barn came down, the rusty sign is from Rich's grandfather's old filling station.)

Eventually, our schedules meshed, he got the stuff out of the way, I got to painting on it. Two hours later, I was done. Why wait years to get around to doing a two hour job????

The room is much fresher and brighter now, with no lingering Halloween goblin feel.

I also redid his pictures, put all of the work related things behind the desk, and did a big gallery wall grouping in rustic frames as the main focus when you walk into the room. All the pictures are from happy moments in our lives, not just school pictures or formal shots. That theme went well with the farm house feel of the space.

Each picture tells a story of a special day.

I'd already had a few pictures hung up in there, but didn't have a complete set of matching frames. And they'd not been hung well, were kinda wonky and often tilted. This time, I made sure I had the right hardware to hang with, and I think I'll pick up some of that sticky stuff to put behind each one to keep it from sliding sideways. That hasn't been done yet, so they do tend to drift a tad for now.

These frames are all from Hobby Lobby. Most are the same style in different sizes, but I mixed it up a bit, used some of the washboard metal and different rustic woods.

I started by hanging the biggest across the top, from the center of the wall and out. Then added smaller frames around them until I had the collaged look that I wanted. Some of them might have three or four nail holes behind them…..not a process for anyone with OCD, my grouping isn't measured or accurately spaced.

My son, Ryan, suggested it needed a banner. I had this old panel in the garage, but my hoarder fearing husband had "tidied up" the space and thrown it away. Luckily, I found it in the bonfire pit, that hadn't been lit yet, and was able to save it to paint on. I wrote:

"Family, Together Forever"

from a little ditty he sings with the grandfairies. (although, if he keeps throwing away things I have gathered up to save for projects, he will be lucky to have a family at all, right???!!)

The room is far from perfect, we still have the pool table lights hanging above the couch, which looks odd, and I can't convince Rich, to replace the carpet with wooden floors. But he loves the room, with its gym equipment, big TV, and lots of open space to do yoga or for the grand fairies to play in while he works. It's a comfy room when we have a big group, and while I think the sectional is… uhm… well, I guess I won't say "ugly", it is nice and soft and seats a lot of people.

I like it a lot more now that the Halloween vibe is gone, and am kicking myself for waiting so long to exorcise those ghouls!

Framing solution

cottage, dogs, paintings

By Karla Nathan / April 29, 2017

When I was in Florida, I painted these watercolors of our view of the beach from our condo. But when I got home, I wasn't sure what to do with them. They were not a standard size, to pop into a ready made frame, and not that great that I wanted to spend money on a custom frame for them. Plus, they looked better up close, they were not paintings that showed much from across a room, so wouldn't display well on a big wall.

These floating glass frames were on sale at Hobby Lobby, and didn't have to fit exactly like a matted frame would have. (although they do fit better than they look like they do in this photo, it is shot from an angle)

Cheap, easy, and I like the way the sandy colored wall shows through from behind the glass. That would have been a good mat color!

Hanging them on this narrow wall at the bottom of the stairs was a good solution too. All viewing of them is from close up, the way they show the best.

And walking through here to go to my studio is a nice reminder of a wonderful trip.

Making friends?

Uncategorized

By Karla Nathan / April 26, 2017

This is a rare sight around here. All of our dogs aren't exactly friends. I've made a big effort to get them to form a pack after realizing that it was probably my own fault that they didn't get along. We had three yorkies, and I liked small, non-shedding dogs. We'd had big, goldens before, but they were outside, farm dogs. When we got Honey, I resented her hairiness and her destructive puppy qualities.

I think that Twinkle took my lead and resented her too.

These guys aren't exactly perfect themselves. They might not shed, but Twinks can sure scrape the paint off of a door if she sees a rain cloud and is outside wanting in. They all can pee on the floor at random times too, sometimes right next to the doggie door that they could walk through to do it outside instead.

So, it wasn't really fair of me to resent Honey, she wasn't any worse than the rest of the dogs. Her shedding certainly wasn't her fault.

And she has outgrown doing things like eating the siding off the house and emptying all of my flower pots to wear on her head as she runs around the yard spilling dirt and plants.

She is past her puppy stage, and is smart as can be, always listens.

So, we are working on it. I'm doing everything I can to make them into a pack before the pups are born.

If they are coming, they are due May 7th. She had a false pregnancy last time she went into heat, without being near a male, and this time we bred her to a poodle to create Golden Doodles. I don't know if this is another false pregnancy, I'm ready to be there as her midwife if it isn't.

I'll let you know if there are babies! Keep your fingers crossed.

More painted furniture

collections, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture

By Karla Nathan / April 24, 2017

The grand fairies love to do art projects in front of the tv. (Actually, I won't let them watch tv without a project in their hands, Legos, play dough, coloring, anything other than simply staring at the screen).

So, we've used various folding tables over the years, while I've kept my eye peeled for the perfect solution in a table the right size that looked good and didn't have to be put away every time, because if left out was an eyesore.

This is a marble topped, walnut one, with wheels! I can roll it from in front of the couch to in front of the tv when they need it to work on. I'd painted it white with dark antiquing glaze and didn't like it that way, so put another coat of white over that glaze to tone it down.

This cabinet has been in the room since last summer when we remodeled. It has a broken drawer, and a crooked handle, so I got it cheap. I bought it mostly because I like having side tables with storage space in them, and it has a great, marble top. I even didn't mind the natural wood tones in my house, it was a nice change. But I got tired of that, and decided to paint it after all while I was on a roll.

I repositioned the handle, painted the wood gray, and white washed over that. Then, added a rusty, old bit of hardware.

I might change the handle out to a glass knob. But for now it is fine.

But that wasn't the end. I was in a painting mood.

I'd found this drop leaf recently, and fell in love with its lovely, turned legs. I'd searched for a year for just the right table. I wanted one that folded to a narrow size, so I could store it in the new hearth room, and pull it into the dining room to add some space when we had a big group for meals.

It was $145 and is very solid. Some gate leg or drop leaf tables that I looked at weren't as sturdy, but this one seems good. If you are seated at the corner, you could use bad manners and keep your elbows on the table without worrying about the top drooping.

With the dark floor, the table was a little too dark for the room. So, I painted it the same gray as the other piece, accented it with gold, and wiped a dark wax over it.

I wouldn't use wax on a dining table that got used daily, but I'm fine with it on something that only gets set up for special occasions. I'm afraid that heavy duty use and wiping down would be too much for wax. I have clear poly on my kitchen table.

The gold makes the pretty legs show up more too.

Oh, but that isn't all! I figured that while I had my mess and paraphernalia in the house, I should do this piece the same day too.

I've had this chair, ($30 from the Habitat for Humanity REstore) for a while and keep thinking I'm going to recover it. The colors match my house, but the fabric isn't quite me. But it is silk, neutral, and in good shape.

I decided whitewash the wood with cream wax, but then hated the look on the leg where I'd sampled it. The carvings on the chair just weren't pretty enough to accentuate. So, I painted it all white with chalk paint.

Still didn't like it.

I dry brushed cream over that. Better. But not quite.

Dry brushed some white over that to blend. Not bad.

Then, decided it needed distressing. But my sand paper was worn out, it was midnight and I was DONE. It got a tiny bit of distressing, a coat of clear wax, and kept its original fabric. NO reupholstering for now. Also, my camera battery died, so no picture of the finished chair. I'll post one later.

It was a busy day, I'd also painted the hive for my husband's new bee keeping hobby, and made this necklace too.

(This is the top of my kitchen/dining room table.) One thing I like about the room is that there are lots of different finishes and colors that all go together. I like to vary the tones and treatments on pieces around the room, so that they do not look like they were all painted in the same day (as many were), instead like they were gathered over time.

Registration for “A Snowbird’s Song”- aka Birdsong SIX

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / April 21, 2017

Birdsong is BACK!

I sure missed hosting it in 2016, and was afraid that this year would zoom by and I would miss seeing my Peeps yet again. So, I decided to make it work for later in the year. And my very, very, very favorite season is Christmas, soooooo, we are having a Holiday version of our gathering, with lots of sparkle to kick the season off.

The party will begin Friday morning, November 10, 2017 (Veteran's Day) with classes again on Saturday the 11th at my studio in Lawrence, KS. (We are about 50 minutes from the Kansas City airport.)

The weekend will include two days of classes, with lunch (and plenty of treats) served both days, and a dinner party with wine on Friday night.

Please scroll down through previous posts to see photos about past Birdsong events, if you'd like to see some of the fun we've had. Or feel free to email me:

Karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

Classes will once again be taught by Lesa Daily, Lori Oles, and myself.

Lesa will be showing us how to make a cute, lil candy box with a Snowbird and Angel. (photos to come later, but here is an example of her beautiful work)

And Lori will be decking us out in this elegant necklace, perfect to wear to any holiday occasion.

As for me, I'll have two classes.

The first is this "Sugarplum Fairy" banner. With kits available in blush or ivory, both with accents of gold.

I'll be pulling out some of my treasured vintage wallpapers for these, you know my motto- "Use the Good Stuff- your work deserves the Best!"

The last class of the weekend will be mine also, we will make a selection of ornaments for the tree. I'll have a couple of kits to pass out and explain, plus a table of supplies to use for free time. You can spend it making ornies, or maybe a Christmas card for somebody special? Or continue foofing up that banner, or adding last minute details to one of the other projects. We will eat cake, chat, relax, create, and think about how hard it will be to say goodbye to friends at the end of the day.

Unofficially, those who are in town gather for "Birdsong Eve" on Thursday night before our party starts. And we try to get a group together for dinner Sunday night after it ends, to put those good byes off just a little while longer.

I'll have photos of some of my ornament ideas soon. But I've already starting pulling kits together for the banners. The wallpaper and millinery are piled up in my studio, and I've been sorting through my vintage tinsel collection too.

But please don't be on the fence long, while making plans to come! Since the weather will be cool, we will be downsizing our group a bit. There aren't as many seats available as there are for the spring time parties, where we can sit in the garden for meals.

If you have attended any of my events in the past (including the Halloween or Valentine ones) or have sponsored one of these, you can sign up today through Tuesday. Also, you can have a pal who is new to the cottage retreats register with you, I know it is much more fun to travel and room with a buddy.

Tuesday at 5pm, we will open up registration for new friends to join us.

The cost for the event is $395. This can be broken up into 3 payments with $150 due at sign up. Please email me for a paypal invoice, or for an address to mail a check to.

I hope to see you here!

Author name: Karla Nathan