Karla Nathan – Page 146 – Karla's Cottage

Abundance

By Karla Nathan / October 8, 2014

My pal, Angie, and I decided that we needed a junking day out.

Before we left, I showed her the wonderfulness of the Nature's Blessing Journal pages that were taking over my studio.

Tables and tables filled with pages.

And there were towers of empty books waiting to be filled.

I'd made up a blank book for her as a gift, and she asked if she could make pages and join the swap. After seeing the studio filled with the amazing art, she couldn't resist!

And it takes forever to put this many books together, so she had plenty of time to make pages. I was so glad she joined, she has a lovely, vintage style.

And when she delivered them, she brought cookies!!!!!

How could she resist wanting to have some of this gorgeousness of her own? It's remarkable to see it all in person. I often am overwhelmed by the mass of creations and wish I could share the experience with more people. In person, they are quite something.

Here is one side of the pages for the first book, all laid out and ready to be tucked into the covers.

Here is another set.

When I am working on sorting the pages as they come in the mail, I try to arrange them on the table in groups that look pretty together, so that when I pull out six to tie into a book, I chose from the groupings, hopefully creating books with pages that are complimentary to each other.

Here is the flip side of that last set.

I'm trying to get photos as I compile the pages. But I don't think the photos do justice to them. You almost have to be here to soak in the abundance. Kind of like seeing the Grand Canyon instead of seeing a photo of it.

Here is another set.

And its flip side.

By the way, if you are in the swap and reading this, don't freak out and think I am way behind. I write my posts in advance, sometimes I'll write five or six in one quick setting. I whip out a few when I'm in the mood and postdate them like bad checks.

I'll be in Florida and New Hampshire for a while and plan to have lots of Blessing pages to share with you while I'm away.

Want to make your own journal? I have step by step lessons, in this tutorial for $15.

Here are a few more pics of the books for the swap in progress.

Autumn in Kansas, with two free pumpkin patches to visit

Dew Drop, flowers

By Karla Nathan / October 6, 2014

Dewdrop and I had a day out together and visited the two pumpkin patches here in Lawrence.

One has a butterfly sanctuary. You are given a flyer with info and pictures of the different species living there, and instructions on using a "one finger touch" when approaching the little flutter-ers.

Then, the hunt begins.

Of course, it doesn't take long to spot the butterflies, they are everywhere.

Dewdrop tried holding very, very still, hoping one would land on her.

And decided that the butterflies on the pink flowers were ideal for one finger petting.

But the best part was watching them fly away after the petting.

The butterfly sanctuary was the highlight of her day.

While both pumpkin patches are free and have lots of things for kids to do, Pendleton's Country Market was the only one that had a batch of kittens to hold.

She much preferred the kittens and butterflies to the pumpkins. The gourds aren't nearly as cuddly. This one had a crack and she felt very sad about that.

I love the vastness of the fields, and the open views off into the horizon.

Yet, if you turn and look the other direction, there is Kansas University off in the distance, up on the hill.

Schaake's Pumpkin Patch has a lot of cute, kiddie elements like the hay bale minion in the previous picture and this witch on the silo.

There is also a hay bale maze, multiple play grounds, and cows to watch. Pendleton's is also a garden center, both are working farms. Pendleton's also has a lot for kids to do, a tricycle track, a corn bin filled with dried kernels to play in, and a scenic tower to climb. There is also a pretty bonfire pit for cooler days.

Both have free hay rack rides and nice stores. I left with 4 big mums, a bag of sweet potatoes, a jar of pumpkin butter, a bag of gourds, a large green pumpkin, a large white pumpkin, 3 smaller white pumpkins, 2 mini orange pumpkins, and a couple of bottles of water for the two of us, FOR ONLY $45!

You really can't beat Kansas for free fun.

Of course, with Dewdrop around, any where we go is fun!

Garden Love

Food and Drink, Garden, Nathan Family Fairy Food Forest

By Karla Nathan / October 4, 2014

I'm ready to fill the house with pumpkins from the local patch, the grand fairies and I love to hang out there and spend our time picking the world's best pumpkin out. I like the white or gray ones, Sugarwings likes the small orange ones, and Dewdrop always goes for the very first one she sees.

This little orange one is a drawing I did with the finger painting app on my iPad. I hope to do a few more paintings with the app on vacation soon with my sisses. Sitting on a balcony and watching the waves is a perfect time for sketching.

Our garden produced some winners recently. This heirloom tomato was a perfect heart. Which we thought was about as special as can be. Sugarwings isn't a big tomato fan, but she couldn't get enough heart shaped slices.

Then, what do you know, here comes an orange heart shaped tomato the next day!

Then, we find this. Our garden loves us as much as we love it.

Sugarwings helped me harvest the potatoes. But only one was heart shaped. After all of the special ones we'd found, we were spoiled and slightly disapointed with normal taters.

How can you go back to eating plain old garden produce after you've been treated to this?

So, Sugarwings asked me to cut out french fries with cookie cutter shapes. I was slightly busy that day and almost said no, then remembered that I'd been so busy that morning that I had accidentally sent a thermos of hot water in her school lunch instead of the roasted chicken I was warming up for her.

I always fill the thermos with hot water, swish it around and heat up the container while I wait for the food to get hot and then I am SUPPOSED to switch hot water for hot food. But this day, it slipped my mind.

So, I made time to fix her a special dinner with all of her favorite things to make up for it. (and her daddy delivered a replacement meal for her that morning, she didn't go hungry)

And really, those french fries didn't take much more time than cutting up regular fries, and were as she said, "The cutest french fries in the whole world."

Sports

family

By Karla Nathan / October 2, 2014

My husband has always been a sports fan, and has been disapointed that my sons and I detest sports don't follow his teams with him.

But now, he has the girls, and Dewdrop will watch anything on TV if it means she gets to snuggle, so he has a baseball buddy on some evenings. And Sugarwings is a cheerleader fan. She has gone to a couple of KU football games to watch the cheering.

She doesn't care about the game itself, but he is happy to have someone to go with him anyway.

She is pretty good company. She likes to hang out and help me around the house too. And I hate housework about as much as I detest sports. don't enjoy following teams with my husband, so appreciate anything that makes it go by more quickly.

An art journal made from a vintage prom dress and a cabinet card

Books, Dew Drop, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 29, 2014

When I made this book, I had no intention of making a book. Sometimes that happens. My son and I decided to clean out the fairies' closet. Sugarwings was a dedicated dresser upper (and still is) but had outgrown many of the play clothes.

Dewdrop, enjoys dress up tremendously, but is picky about her ensemble. She has one or two faves and will not try on anything else.

So, we decided to donate 5 bags (yes, an outrageous amount of dress up clothes!!!!!) from their stash to a thrift shop so other little kiddos could pick things out in time for Halloween.

Most of the stuff had come from thrifts anyway, so it was kinda like taking them home again. Or just borrowing them for a bit.

Anyway, in the closet was an old prom dress that I've adored since I bought it at a garage sale a few years back.

Here is Clover wearing the dress a couple of years ago in a photo from another album that I made.

When I saw the gown buried under a pile of fluff and nonsense under the bed, I decided to reclaim the it for myself. And HAD to go and make a book, right then and there.

I transformed an old cabinet card into a book, with a simple little trick and this lovely fabric. Most of the books I've done for the tutorial aren't sewn, and this one isn't either.

But in cutting up the dress, and using existing seams, it looks like a sewn cover.

Of course, I had to use some vintage wallpaper too! And I just happened to have the perfect shade of old velvet ribbon to add to the book.

This book is for sale. All of them will be, as soon as I get them listed in the Boutique. I've not done it yet, even though I have tons of photos to use. But I have been selling some through enquiries by people who have seen the pictures.

This one will be $55 if you are interested, just email me at karlanathan@sbcglobal.net. (postage included in the US) sold, thanks for all the interest!

Or, if you'd like to make a similar book yourself? Directions for turning a cabinet card into a journal are available here.

Pretty Puppeesh

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), puppies!, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 27, 2014

Albie is crazy about his sister. She is the center of his world, and he shows his devotion to her. If he could, he'd probably place a crown on her head himself.

But this time, it was Sugarwings who did it.

The dorkies finally got their hair cut mid September. Poor pups, I should have shaved them earlier when it was hot out. At least they are ready for the "dog days" of summer and any last blasts of heat wave that Kansas might throw our way.

How to make an art journal

Books, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 24, 2014

I sure made a LOT of journals as examples for the tutorial!

What started out as a basic class about how to make a book cover, turned into a whole pile of books to use as examples for different styles and variations of the basic book.

I was so involved with making one book after another, that my poor dogs started to feel desperate for attention in the studio. Dorothy had to insert herself into the photo session to get me to notice her this day.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that the photos weren't all about her.

The workshop also ended up with design ideas for the interior of the books too, and different ways to add closures. But mostly, it shows step by step instructions to build a basic cover and make the signatures (pages) all in a easy, no sew way.

(But I did add a couple of sewing options, for those who don't find sewing machines to be torture devices).

And once I had the basic steps down, I realized that they could apply to any number of projects, with some variation on the theme, and a few simple tricks.

So, I started turning photo albums, vintage books, and cabinet cards into books too.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased this $15 class, and for the great feedback! I've put a lot of time into the prototypes and process, it's wonderful to hear from people who are reading the blog, that they like the posts.

Here is a little video with some of the books you'll find described in the class.

Redoing the Fairy Berry Trail tree house

Dew Drop, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, Hand painted, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 21, 2014

We haven't had access to the Fairy Berry Trail for a while. First, a big storm turned some dead branches into widow-makers, dangling from the top of the trees. Then, my husband and son did some dangling from the treetops with the chainsaw, and trimmed it all up, leaving piles of debris blocking the trails.

This week, we cleared it up and repaired the Fairy Tree House by rebuilding its walls from the downed limbs and some grapevines.

It kind of looks like a big brush pile behind those two large trees.

One of those trees has grown crookedly down, to form a roof. We entwined branches into a dome shape over the crooked branch, creating kind of a igloo shaped structure.

Here is a picture looking through the archway "door" into the room. And a picture of one of my dogs sniffin the other's butt, apparently. Sorry.

After all the branches were in place, we wove fresh grapevine in and out of them to anchor it all. Hopefully, as the vines dry, they will keep the branches in place. The vines were laden with clusters of grapes, so I'm crossing my fingers that they will drop seeds and more vines will grow up the walls that we built today.

The grand fairies have always loved their tree house, but it is even more beckoning now. Very cozy, with full walls and a roof, made up of woven branches with sunshine peeking through. And I created an archway entrance out of grapevines, that is low enough that an adult needs to duck to get in, but just right for the kiddos.

After a day of construction, well, most of a day. We trimmed up some other trees and cleared the paths in the woods while we had the chainsaw out, but a big part of Sunday was needed just for building the tree house.

Anyway, once it was done, I decided it needed a little something. So, got my paints and thought I'd turn the big knot hole by the entrance into a face.

Then, I thought, no, some eyes looking out from the darkness.

That morphed into two sets of eyes, with the lower ones looking up.

And that made me think of the two fairy girls who will be playing in that tree house.

So, I thought I'd make the faces into those girls. This green sprite is supposed to be Sugarwings.

And here is Dewdrop.

Stacks

Books, swaps, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 18, 2014

The covers for Nature's Blessings Journal swap are ready to be filled. And the pages are pouring in. There are boxes stacked on my porch from the mail lady every afternoon.

Here is a sample book I made up, and filled with my own pages, just so I could see how nice they looked filled and fat.

Are you a fast crafter? If so, you still have time to make some pages over the weekend to enter the swap. They are due to be mailed on the 10th, but I just realized that is a Saturday. I'm letting the swappers know that Monday the 22nd is fine for a mail by date.

There are also swap journal books with blank pages for sale, if you'd like to buy a book to fill yourself. $30 includes postage in the US.

Or, if you'd rather make your own book, in the style of the Nature's Blessings Journal, or from a vintage photo album, old book, or even an antique cabinet card folder, I have a new tutorial available here.

Kansas Sunflowers

family, flowers, photography, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 15, 2014

Outside of Lawrence, halfway to Tonganoxie, there is a sea of gold, stretching out as far as the eye can see.

I've lived in this town for over 20 years and this was my first visit there. How could I have been missing out on walking through the rows of sunflowers? What was I thinking?

While I always thought it sounded pretty and that I'd like to go and see the flowers in bloom, I had no idea that the field would have such an enchanted feel to it.

Lots of families were there, all taking photos, probably a dozen cars full of people. But, the moment you step into the rows of flowers and are swallowed up by the blossoms, you are alone in a world of yellow and green, lost in the rows of looming giants.

How strange, to be ten minutes outside of the city, and amidst at least 50 other people, but feel so isolated and hidden.

But not in a scary way, it is a magical feel. No, an enchanted feeling. That is the only way to describe it.

I grew up in the middle of an Indiana corn field. Walking into the corn, and into the sunflower field is similar, but the flowers are so much prettier and special. I loved playing the corn when I was young, and could lose myself in the stalks, or find a hiding place to lay back reading a book for a few hours with my Irish Setter as a pillow.

The sunflowers had me reminiscing about those days in the Hoosier corn fields, but as much as I enjoyed those times out in my brother-in-law's crop, this was something different. At some points, we were completely hidden away, with flowers topping 8-9'. Other spots, they where shorter, or there was a slight hill to stand on and we could see acres of yellow off into the horizon.

I think my girls shared my excitement. I don't know how you could walk out into the vastness of the field and not feel the magic.

In some spots, there are clearings, that beckoned me to grab a dog for a pillow and bring a good book to hide out with for a while. I could have easily spent hours in one of those little rooms with green walls.

And then, there would be places so dense, we had to back track and find a new route through, and we'd wonder just how far we'd wondered from the car, just to find out that we were actually only ten feet from the road.

And woven all about the stems, were blue morning glories, the color of our Dorothy's gown.

We discovered that sunflowers weren't just to admire, you could also play with them.

By plucking out a few seeds, you can make happy faces, we wanted them to look like they were laughing, so they would feel as happy as we did.

I hope that others walking through the field see our sunny faces and smile back at them.

Sugarwings made a happy face too.

The fields are free to visit, anyone is welcome. The farmers ask that you leave them as you found them, take out your trash, and pay a dollar each for any flowers that you pick. There is a donation box to help the land owner defray the costs of the field.

We paid for the ones we defaced (well, really we "faced" them) and we picked a couple too.

I hope to take Dewdrop there for a few pictures too. I think she'd look cute in a fairy gown. Being dwarfed by the towering blooms makes a perfect backdrop for a fairy photo shoot.

Plus, I just can't wait to get back there myself.

Author name: Karla Nathan