Author name: Karla Nathan

What to do when two connecting rooms don’t match?

cottage, how-to projects, redos

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Our newly redone guest room is two steps up from a little closet area that used to be a laundry room, years ago, before we moved the washer and dryer downstairs (best idea EVER) and before we carved this room out of the attic.

Previously, we redid the closet floor in a faux oak laminate. The upstairs of my house is all new, compared to the age of  the main house. We bought an 800 sq ft, old farmhouse, and added on, changed, redid, remodelled, and then added on some more. I adore the ancient wood floors downstairs, but for the guest rooms and kid's room upstairs, matching that gorgeous, old wood wasn't in the budget.  I was happy with slapping down some cheap laminate.  

And was very happy just to  have the carpet  gone.

Anyway, when it was time to redo the guest room, I went with a dark, hickory laminate. I feel like it is much better to go the opposite of what is down in a connecting room than it is to try to  match it and be a hair off.  Since the first floor had been done years ago. I knew I couldn't do an even match. So, I went darker.

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We talked about covering the step in the hickory too. But, I didn't like the two floors butting right up against each other.

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So, I covered the back of the steps, (is that called the risers?) with paintable, heavy duty wallpaper.  

Glued on tightly, not with just wallpaper paste, with real glue.

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Hmm, I reckon it would have been smart to have a photo of the finished project to show you, but this is as close as I have right now.  I could probably run upstairs and snap one pretty quickly…. but I think you get the idea from this?

I've painted the step and the wallpaper white to match the trim. (after caulking the areas that need it)

I think I'm going to like this solution!

 

Country Sampler Homes Tour giveaway

cottage, magazine pictures or articles

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The photos of my home that Fifi and Mark took a while back were split up between Romantic Country (last fall, I think)  and  Country Sampler Homes Tour 2015.

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I am beyond pleased with the photos, the colors are printed exactly as they look in real life, and they are nice and big, with a few full page ones.

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If you ever get a chance to work with the people at Country Sampler, please go for it, they are so pleasant, helpful, and generous!   Quite often, if your home is photographed, you don't even know when to expect seeing the issue it appears in, and have to check the magazine stands each month to see if the issue is out. And you don't get a free copy of some.

Country Sampler didn't do that. Not only did they send an issue and a letter to me to let me know that the magazine will be on stands soon, they also sent a second package full of magazines for me to share.

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Did I mention how pleased I was with the whole experience? And the spread itself?  

I'll keep a couple of issues for my own collection, send one to Guncle Randy, and then will have a giveaway at Birdsong 5, another on Facebook, plus one here on my blog.

If you'd like a chance to win, you can "like" and leave a comment on this post, on my personal FB page or "like" my Karla's Cottage FB page.  And leave a comment on this blog post.

 That is three ways to win one, or heck, come to Birdsong 5, I'll be giving one away there too.

A nice little pile of old, French Books. I shoulda bought more!!!!!!

antiques/junking, Books, cottage

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At Bottom's Up last week, I bought some books from Gwen.

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 A few, from the 1760's, were simply too wonderful to be art supplies. I tied a silk ribbon and flowers to these to set out in my living room. 

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Books were $5 each and notebooks were only $1!!!!!

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Which is why I was sooooo happy!

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The composition books were full of old, handwritten notes.  This one had some cards tucked into the pages. I was thinking this booklet was probably a medical student's journal.

I sure don't read French, but once I got a good look at it, a few words stood out.

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Hmmm, Syphilis….

Not the prettiest phrase for creating with.

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And it is on every page.  

Oh well, this was the only book about venereal disease.  And it still has some interesting and useful bits.

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Many included maps, drawings, and nice handwriting. I'll be serving these up for the journals we are making at Birdsong 5.

There are a couple seats left there, if you want to come and make books with old French pages too.

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The Old West Bottoms Antique District in Kansas City

antiques/junking, Books

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 I really wish I got to the West Bottoms more often. It is a major shopping experience that seems to expand every time I get there.  I especially love Top Hat Mercantile, one of the newest additions to what has become a street party/shopping extravaganza/festival of antiques.

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I had to take advantage of this pretty paper wall to get a photo with my friends.  And of course, my eyes were closed, as usual.  

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Gorgeous wall, huh? 

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Things are always looking good over at Bottom's Up too.  Two of my favorite dealers, Carol Spinski and Gwen of French by Design had very cool stuff there.

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Carol's "low color" look is always striking.

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See what I mean? I wish I could do this look, mine is always more flowery.

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But, I do like to incorporate bits of the look in my own home. This rusty stand was purchased from Carol that day, and here is how it looks in my dining room.

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And Gwen was having a sale on OLD, French books.  

I was slightly giddy.

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I don't think I bought enough of them.

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But the best part of the day? Hanging with my friends. I don't see these two often enough. It was a good afternoon of walking around, looking at old stuff, and catching up.

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Mom

family, paintings

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Happy Birthday, Mom. I'll always miss you!

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These are some roses I painted recently. She'd have loved them. She liked anything I did, no matter what. You just don't have a fan base like that once your mom is gone, do you? 

A Sweet Valentine Gathering

celebrations, cottage, Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings, Valentine's Day, We're having a party

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One of my favorite things is to have a studio full of friends, whether it is at Birdsong, a craft day, or a kid's holiday party.

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I don't always get to host a bash for every holiday, but love it when the timing works out to have everyone over.

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Sugarwings and Dewdrop went to Michaels with me to fill a cart with pink and red heart supplies, I nabbed a few Dollar Store tablecloths and balloons, and we were set to go.

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We made faux cupcakes by gluing a styrofoam ball into a cupcake paper, smearing it with modelling compound icing, and glitter.

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Lots of glitter.

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Besides that, the projects weren't organized, it was every artist on their own.

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Valentine cards for loved ones were a popular choice.

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Dewdrop completed this one for her mommy.

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Lizele made lots of colorful hearts. She is a prolific crafter.

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Besides the cart full of stickers from Michaels, I had vintagey goods out too.  And had saved empty valentine candy boxes to be redone.

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Sugarwings and her mommy made a mail box for her upcoming class party.

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The littlest workers got a bit burned out and turned to coloring books full of ponies, then decided to work with playdough. That is always a hit with Dewdrop.  

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The older kids had already headed out to the creek and woods behind the house when I got my camera out.  They usually make a few nice things, then head outside, not caring that it was horridly cold out there. Of course, someone always slips into the creek and needs dry clothes, but it never stops them.

I really should plan more summer time craft days, where they can get out there and enjoy the woods when the weather is better.

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Before the party, Sugarwings and I made chocolate dipped strawberries to serve, and I saved the plastic containers that the berries came in. Those were ideal for sending wet modelling compound cupcakes home in.  Cars might have been muddy from the creek on the way home, but at least they didn't have any pink, fake icing all over them.

I can't say there wasn't any glitter drizzled into the seats, though…

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My new water jug from Victorian Trading was ideal!  I filled it with ice, poured cold water over it, and it was still chilly the next day. 

The pottery really keeps the water cold.

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For punch in the cut glass dispenser, I mixed white cranberry/strawberry juice with a couple cans of Sierra Mist.  The night before, I froze cranberries in juice to make a giant, floating ice cube to slip into the punch.  Very pretty, and tasty, but so easy to make.

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I'm already looking forward to the next party.

Vintage Valentine Images

bird song art event, free images, holiday decor

Valentines

While getting ready for a Valentine Craft Day with friends and family, I scanned a few old cards to print for the group.

If you'd like to use them too, just click on the picture to open in a larger window, save it to your computer from there to print.

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Here is a page of labels that I'd made for a Valentine journal class a while back. I don't know if I shared them before, but thought I'd do it again if I already have.

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The treat cabinet got a sprucing up while getting the room set for our party.  I taped up some vintage rose wallpaper, right over the old, green toile roses already glued to the inside of the cabinet. I'm sick to death of, ready for a change from the green, but didn't want to go to too much work. This is far from perfect, but I like the idea of being able to switch it out.  And the toile roses make a nice background to the pink roses. 

Like the new beverage dispensers? I splurged at Victorian Trading Co. because I couldn't resist this floral pottery one.  Pink roses???? Well, of course, I NEEDED IT!!

Then, I saw the cut glass one. Elegant and timeless.

What to do???

 Well, Birdsong 5 is coming up, so I bought them both.  I think they will be delightfully useful.  And it felt good to not be so cheap, like I tend to be.  Well, they were on clearance….

And guess what? While shopping at the one and only, Victoria Trading outlet store, based in KC, I talked to the manager about being a Birdsong sponsor.  She offered to have a gift for each attendee who stopped at the store that week before Birdsong. How nice of her! And my Peeps usually drop by to visit the shop while in KC on their way to Lawrence , so I think they will like it, don't you?

If you'd like to join us, we still have seats.  Info can be found here.

A Cleaning Tip from Guncle Kevin

guncles, housework

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When I was in Florida last month, Guncle Kevin had a trick to show me. He uses "Peek Polish Paste"  to eliminate scratches from china and pottery. In this photo, the left side has been Peeked, and the right has not.

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He quickly, very quickly, showed me how to use it. Rub it on. Rub it off, do a little scrubble and the lines disappear.

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Again, left side polished, right side all scratched up. Nice, huh?

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This guy is not just handsome, he is pretty handy too!

Does the chain reaction redoing ever stop? A Studio Shuffling

cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, studio tour

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When we decided to rip out the carpet and redo the guest room floor, I also decided to get rid of most of the things in the room. It was a hodge podge of misfits, leftovers from an antique booth, stuff that never sold, things that I just shoved in there to fill the space.

This piece is a good example of the decor.  It had a piece of wood on the top and a tablecloth over it and was filled with stored books.

I'd kept it for years because I felt like it had potential, but I'd never done anything about it.

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A coat of white paint was a big help. But it still had a huge, gaping hole on the top.

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But that was easy to fix with two 18 x 18" marble floor tiles from Home Depot. Then, I sat another book shelf on top of it after giving that a coat of the same paint.

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Previously, I had this table in the space, it was okay, but not as efficient for storage.   And the mosaic shelf above it was useless. Purely decorative and a waste of precious storage space.

Even in a large studio, every bit of space counts!

(I might use this table in the freshly redone guest room, I don't think it counts as a leftover, or unwanted piece, I still like it)

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I'm still not done with my rearranging, but I'm liking the use of space so much more.  I've redone a lot of the shelves and have the things I use on a regular basis nearer to my desk chair than before.

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Hmmm, yes, I know this doesn't look very tidy, but for me, it is.   

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While moving things around, I found this mini cabinet I'd made from two old boxes glued together and covered in old paper. 

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It is going to be ideal to fill with little tidbits for crafting.

When my guest room gets all settled and finished, I'll be sure to show some pictures of that too.  

 

 

A Grand Fairy Indulgence, or the chain reaction of redos keeps on

cottage, Hand painted, Hand Painted Furniture, paintings

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When I was showing Dewdrop the paint chips for the guest room, she came up with a brilliant plan.

 I should paint their bathroom pink.  

The cute part was  when she tilted her little head, tapped her tiny chin, and acted like she was really making a deep consideration about the color.

 Which is funny, because in her mind, PINK is the only color that should exist.

And since I kinda like some pink myself, and since I'd been redoing and shuffling things around the house, and was still in that mode, I said, "Great idea!"  And went for it.

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And anyway, when redoing the guest room, I moved a piece of furniture to the studio, and when I redid that area of the studio, I no longer had a place for this sweet little tin box covered in old wallpaper.

So, heck, I needed to redo the bathroom to make a spot for it.

Right????

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The shower curtains were due for a freshening  and needed to be taken down to be washed. The room used to be grey, and the shower liner was tan, so I bought a new white liner. That alone really brightened up the space.

 There is something about dull, Kansas winters that makes me want to brighten and lighten. I felt so much happier with my pretty, soft pink, sparkling walls and white shower curtain.

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The best part of the pink is that sparkle.  I dumped a few gold and silver glitter bottles into the paint before rolling it on. But to make it really dazzle, when the paint was still wet, I gave it a fairy dusting.

I filled my palm with glitter, and blew it onto the wall to stick to the wet paint.  Perfect results! (Unless you consider what a mess the floor was, and how much of it got tracked through the house. Which doesn't really bother me. I like to leave a trail of glitz and sparkle every where I go, and apparently the dogs do too.)

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And while I am pinking up the bathroom, I am considering de-pinking the kitchen.  I moved one of my paintings from the kitchen to the newly pink guest bath. 

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The door stayed gray. I liked that neutral shade with the wall color. I almost painted it white to match the trim, but am glad I changed my mind instead of the door color.

I also left the old tins on the ceiling rustic and natural instead of painting them all white, like some already are.  And not just because I detest painting ceilings, but because the roughness of the rust helps cut through the sweetness of the pink.

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And there is plenty of sweetness going on.  Previously, there was a similar wall of mirrors. The largest and smallest were here with two other ones. But in looking around the house, I realized that I had two more mirrors with a rose patterned frame and I switched them out and added them to the other rose rimmed mirrors.

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Dewdrop hasn't been by to see it yet (as I am writing this ahead)  but Sugarwings was very pleased. And I am too. It is so dainty and pretty that I no longer can refer to it as a guest bathroom, I think I'll have to call it a "powder room".  That seems to fit it so much better.

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There was a very ugly light fixture in there, previously it was painted to match the wall and disappear.   I thought I'd paint it white, but wasn't happy with that.  I bought a new fixture to hang, but decided I didn't want to spend that much. So far, my only expenditure was for a gallon of paint, a few bottles of glitter, and a $9 shower liner. The $89 light fixture gave me a pause, plus it was just too new looking for this old house.

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The tin box covered in wallpaper that had been moved from the studio, made me think of these rolls of wallpaper border I had.

A strip of old paper dressed up the light fixture just fine for me.  

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And I'm happy with the mismatched, vintage shades on the fixture.  They seem to suit my old cottage.

I think Dewdrop will like the pink flowers on the light.  Of course, she'd probably rather of had pink kitties…. I can't leave all decisions up to her!

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