Karla Nathan – Page 190 – Karla's Cottage

The No Fretting Rule

By Karla Nathan / November 8, 2011

Being sick for most of last week has set me behind a bit in my quest to fill both shops up for the looming holidays!

Earlier, I got so embarrassed by my inability to keep my Etsy shop stocked that I shut it down for a while.

Now, I am happy to say, that while it might not be filled to the brim with goodies, I have it semi stocked and reopened, at least.

And I am making a dent in the giant pile of vintage jewelry that I have been meaning to photograph for the Boutique too.

There is no use beating myself up about not getting it all done immediately. Old stuff just gets older, it doesn't rot or start to stink.

The piles will all still be there waiting for me when I get time to get the pictures.

I tell myself, there is only so much time in a day. There is no stretching it out, that is all there is. I can make the best of it, or I can just fret.

Between the kitchen remodelling project and my travel across country to play fairy tales with my friends and visit my sisses, then all the cuddly grand kid time and Halloween fun, I simply had no time left to get sick and be off my game for a week.

But I did, its over, time to move on. If I start out the beginning of November fretting and fussing and feeling behind, just how much fun will I be having this season? Its barely begun and I am already stressed!

So, I'm putting implementing a NO Fretting Rule, and just telling myself that there is only so much one little old lady can do, right? I should relax, bake cookies with the girls, be social, and enjoy spreading Christmas decorations all over my new kitchen!

So, I made a plan. I'll take a few pictures and list a few things every single day, and what I get done, gets done.

Plus, you'd rather have new things to look at on a regular basis than a jam packed shop all at once, wouldn't you?

Christmas is already in the air here. Last night, Sugarwings and I started our annual tree dying tradition. A few are already listed on Etsy, the rest still need to dry, then be glittered.

On another note, do you remember those "10 things about me" lists that were going around on blogs years ago? I think they are back. I used to love them and was so addicted to reading them, I would go from link to link to link and just get lost in all the lists and not even remember who I was reading about.

I was just picked to do one again, but, I'm afraid I lost the link and name of who asked me. If it was you, would you please let me know? Sorry.

Anyway, I thought that I would take the time away from doing something else that really needed to be done (kits for a class, a story for Somerset, a project example- or two- or three, gifts to make, listing, listing, listing, and not to mention cleaning house, just to mention a few) and with my new found, No Fretting Rule, I would goof off and write out my list of:

Ten Things About Me

1- I'm always behind, so it wouldn't matter how much I get done, there is always more I want to do, my mind is a swirling, twirling, blur of ideas and colors. Which I why I am always doing different things, and not trying to capture the market on one type of art. I think I could do well if I stuck with something, but I keep moving on and trying something else.

2- On the other hand, I love Holiday tradition projects, like dying the bottle brush trees with Sugarwings (she is my little helper elf and loves being put to work). She has helped me since she was tiny. I hope that the trees stay in fashion and I can still sell some. Or we will end up waist deep in pastel trees, because we are dying another couple hundred or so.

3- I watch way too much TV. If I'd be willing to give it up, or at least do away with a fraction of the time i spend in front of it, I probably would not be so far behind with everything else in my life. But I can't quit you, DVR. And I don't want to.

4- In the studio, I listen to NPR all day, and only allow myself to watch TV out here if I work late at night or on weekends. But I rarely listen to music and don't care much for silence. I do sing a lot, but not to the radio. I sing all day long, and am most likely the worst singer ever. Maybe its because I am singing to NPR?

5- I talk to the dogs all day while I work and sometimes forget they might not be in the studio after all, and carry on a whole conversation with no one.

6- This NO Fretting Rule will not be easy for me. I do tend to fixate on what I need to do. My husband doesn't care much for that trait.

7- I'm usually pretty quick in everything I do. I'm not a deep thinker or planner, and work off the cuff. I rarely sketch or plan ahead. When I worked as a muralist, I would walk up to a 60' wall and just start painting with no drawing to go from. I don't like to do the exact same thing twice, so if I had a sketch, chances are that the wall would come out different than it anyway.

8- Once I fell off a horse and broke my back, and thought I was going to have chronic pain forever. But I don't because I try to stay limber. Exercise and I don't get along well, but I have to make the effort, or I start to drag my left leg.

9- I travel a lot even though I hate to be away from home (and my TV, my dogs, my studio, my Sugarwings, my family, my garden, did I mention my TV?).

10- I will fall for any excuse to waste time, even when time is short. As you can see by this list. And by how often I post. And by how often I am on Facebook. Its a good thing I can't quite get the swing of Pinterest. I can feel a huge pit of time seeping away there if I did. And I do appreciate all the pins people have made from my blog, thanks!

Making a kitchen island from odds and ends

antiques/junking, Hand Painted Furniture, how to's, how-to projects, Kitchen remodel, Tutorials

By Karla Nathan / November 6, 2011

When I knew we were going to be remodelling our kitchen, I started making plans for a new island. But I didn't want a "new" one, I wanted an old one, of course. I knew that it couldn't be large, it needed storage space, wheels, and I wanted a granite or marble top.

I couldn't find a piece already like that, so I thought I'd marry an old cabinet with a stone top that I purchased.

Well, after a trip to the local granitorium (I made up that term, but it seems to fit), I realized that a new slab, even for a small piece of furniture was not in my budget after spending a wad of cash on a whole kitchen redo. At first, I tried to pretend that it was just in the "construction budget" but, I had to force myself to face the truth. Just because we were spending a few thousand dollars already, it doesn't mean that a few hundred will disappear into it that vast amount like a drop in a bucket.

What it means, is that I had already spent too much and shouldn't spend a few hundred more.

So, I searched for an old piece of stone at antique stores. I actually found quite a few, for a fraction of the cost of new (even though all of them are billions ?? of years old, the ones from the granitorium are like "new")

The best piece I found was 28" by 38" and came from the teller's window of an old bank in western KS. It was only 50 bucks too!

For a month, I carried those measurements around, hoping to find a piece of furniture to fit them. I went to flea markets, antique malls, and consignment shops and found some hopefuls, but was being cheap.

One day, I stopped at our Salvation Army to look for some warm pants for Sugarwings (did I mention that I am cheap?) and found this not so old, but not new Lane TV cabinet. Its nice, solid wood, and could support the weight of the marble.

Plus, it had a green tag and that was 50% off of green tags day! I got it for $14.

That is about how much I spent on spray primer. This is the BEST kind to use, and its about $7 a can now at Home Depot. But its worth every penny, no matter how cheap I am, because I hate sanding. With this product you do NOT need to sand!

There are lots of tutorials on my side bar about how I paint, if you want to redo something and need to know some short cuts.

You might notice that I sprayed the top. That was a waste, since I was covering it in marble.

I also used too heavy of a coat, because I thought I would be using this as the base coat, skipping the paint step, distressing the edges, and just glazing over it. I changed my mind and painted it white, so could have gone with a lighter coat of primer, since I had paint over it after all.

Once I had it primed, there were still some problems. One was that the back was just fiber board, stapled on. The other was that the wheels had no where to attach because of the shape of the bottom of the piece.

Also, the cabinet was a bit smaller than the marble.

While the contractor was here to finish up a few trim details in the new kitchen, I asked him to do a little trim work on this too.I figured that for the small amount I had into it, I could afford to pay him to help me with the hard part of the redo and still be way ahead on this.

My garage is full of tidbits and doodads. I found a couple of iron brackets and he cut out notches to add them to the side of the cabinet to support the marble that was too long.

And to cover the fiber board, I added an extra piece of ceiling tile leftover from the ceiling job, then had him trim it out for me so that the rough edges wouldn't snag anyone's pants (or slash anyone's leg, that stuff is sharp!)

We added a block of wood under each corner and screwed the wheels to them.

The marble was attached with liquid nails and set into place.

Then, all I needed was some white paint. I decided it didn't need distressing or a glaze. I kind of liked just the pure white.

After it was done, I realized that the brackets were perfect to hold a paper towel roll. So far, the roll is just tied up with a ribbon, I'll be looking for a better way to hold it in place.

Hey, if you are looking for a project for yourself, on a slightly smaller level, my good pal, Mary is doing another glue book class.

A Christmas glue book!

I was with her when she was searching for ephemera to use. We went to a flea mkt together last summer and it was interesting to watch her sift through all the papers, picking and sorting. She is very knoweldgeable about old paper.

Mary and Beth were both here for craft day and I got a glimpse of what Mary was making, and I have to say, its a cool class. Button might not look very enthusiastic about it, but he isn't into ephemera like we are.

Craft day meant working on my Cuff Bracelet tutorial, and Beth was nice enough to make a cuff for me to show, using my guidlines for the construction. Pretty, huh? I love craft day!

Cuff bracelet tutorial

Dew Drop, family, jewelry, Mayara, Sugarwings, Tutorials

By Karla Nathan / November 4, 2011

The cuff bracelet tutorial I promised is up and running. There is a button on my side bar to click on for more info, or click here.

Its a $6 class.

The class is online, in blog form, and holds written instructions lots of photos of the steps that I use to make my own cuffs.

(why on earth don't I ever think of polishing my nails before I do one of these???)

Here is a button for the class if you'd like one.

Its up and running, with no end date. So you can refer back to the blog in the future for a refresher.

I've also made up some kits for sale. You can find them in my Boutique, on this page.

The tutorial is included in the kit price.

There are a few kits listed and I am waiting on a bulk order of the aluminum cuffs to make up a few more. For now, I have the 1-1/2" size, next week I'll also have the 1" cuffs. Today I found some toasty, cream cotton velvet too, won't that be pretty?

And if you aren't in the mood to make your own, I have listed a few that I made myself too.

You can find some here, and some in the Etsy shop, here too. (Yay, I got it reopened! And have big plans to restock it for the holidays)

I've got another half dozen cuffs to photograph and list, but today was busy with putting packages together. I've been in bed with a cruel stomach bug all week and haven't had a chance to get my orders filled. But if you are waiting for a package from me, thanks for your patience, its on its way now!

Little Dew Drop and the rest of these photos don't have anything to do with the stomach bug, I figured they were much prettier pictures than anything along the lines of what I was talking about. Its been a rough week, but with a trip to the ER for fluids to revive me, I am on the mend.

Seems like the worst part of being sick (beyond losing a week of work, when I am trying to fill my shop for the holidays) is finally crawling out of my dark, depressing, sick room to find the house a mess. Now, I'm not blaming my sweet husband, who spent the night sitting up in a stiff chair at the ER while my veins were pumped full of that wonderful IV nectar that made me better, and who watched Sugarwings on his own while I was out of it.

He was just great. He was helpful, he was loving.

But he just doesn't notice messes.

I honestly think he doesn't see them.

So, when I finally was able to get up on two legs and left the bedroom, instead of just crawling from the bed to the bathroom, I was a bit down to see how things had piled up around the cottage.

But the worst part was that I passed the bug on to him and to Ryan and then had to take care of them, while I was still feeling like noodle legged mush myself. Not to mention taking over the care of an energetic Sugarwings for the night.

The two girls were already exposed to the bug last week when their Daddy and his Gypsy were sick, and haven't caught it yet. I'm hoping they don't. Its awful. I feel guilty enough that the guys picked it up while bringing me juice. They were very brave and are paying for it now. So, I'm off to go check on my menfolk, and see if they need a refill.

I hope all is well at your house. WINTER IS COMING (that Game of Thrones quote stays with me) and so are the bugs. Dang, I miss the summer bugs, as much as I hate mosquitos, they are better than the stomach flu!

Fairy Laurel Swap At Once Upon a Dream

Once upon a dream

By Karla Nathan / November 3, 2011

At the fantastic,big girl, fairy tale retreat Jenn threw, I volunteered to host a swap. Fairy crowns are a favorite thing of mine, so I chose those to host.

It was quite a party, there were tons of swaps and lots of creative pretties being traded about while we dined on cupcakes.

I'm hoping that I wasn't considered obnoxious when our turn to swap came, and I bellowed out the names of the swappers while holding up my glowing wand.

I often am considered obnoxious. I get carried away sometimes.

It was a bit loud in there and we were the last swap scheduled. And there was so much cool stuff to see and talk about and compare, that I was maybe a bit too loud while trying to call out the names….

It was such fun to see what everyone made.

Swaps are a blast. In the past, I didn't participate much in the ones at other events, but I always felt left out when I saw the glee people opened their gifties with.

So, I've told myself now, that I will always join at least one swap for every event I attend.

And now, I think I want to host a swap for each event I go to! I really enjoy that part. I know I've always loved hosting online/by mail tag book and other swaps, and in person ones are just as much fun.

After this event, I want to do a fairy swap of some kind. I've been thinking about it for a long time, and my sissy has been asking me to.

If I can get my butt into gear in time, it might be a xmas one. But, with all the projects, trips, and holiday foofing that I have to do, probably not…

Oh well, its fun to plan and day dream about. I'll let you know when the plans coagulate into something firm!

Prairie fairyland classes and pretty scenery

celebrations, Chandeliers, Once upon a dream, parties, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 2, 2011

I wish I could teach more often. Its a blast. Of course, I am a bit of a ham, and I talk too much, so its wonderful to have a trapped crowd listening to me…Actually, its just plain old FUN to do. When I make something, my brain works in How-To Steps as I go. Its natural for me to break down the process of creating something.

I find myself telling people steps of something when they give me a compliment, which is silly, most people don't care, they are just saying something nice about it. I can see their eyes glaze over when I go into too much detail, so its nice to have people who really do want to know how something is made.

The class I taught for Jenn was a mini "workshopette" for opening night, so I only had an hour. I needed to package it up so that it was easy to assemble. It seemed to be just the right timing, the ladies had time to finish and come up to the supply table to embellish with glitters and mica flakes too.

I had felt like it was so simple I didn't need written instructions, but then started to freak out and worry that maybe I was wrong. And yes I was. So, I'm glad I scribbled out some in the bar the night before. The front desk printed them out for me and I was glad to have them for the class.

One of my favorite things about the class was seeing all the variations people made on the prize ribbon. Individuality is important to me and I made sure no two kits were exactly alike, but the fairy ladies took them even a step further to make each unique.

Amy mentioned that she would love to make hers into a magic wand and wished she had a stick. I suggested gluing two glue sticks together and wrapping them with paper. It turned out really cute!

If you'd like to make your own, I had some materials left over to make a limited amount of extra kits. They can be found for $11 each in the Boutique

The projects at the event were all such fun! This is Dee's and she provided cool images to use.

Mine ended up a bit different. I wanted to use one of my mushrooms that I made for the centerpieces. It still needs a little sumthin sumthin… maybe small prize ribbon rosettes on each side, in neutral colors?

This is my chandy from Natasha's class. There were a few changes on mine too, I had strands of rhinestones with me and wanted to use those instead of the beading she gave us in the kit. I also wrapped the wire in tulle and lace.

Then, I added a few dangles.

Well, durn, I don't have a photo of Andrea's lovely necklace kit. She packed up the best stuff to make the bracelet/necklace. Lots of semi precious beads, that really made it special. If you know Andrea, you know she has exquisite taste. (Plus she is sensitive, sweet, kind hearted, and beautiful)

My pal, Tiffany, taught about taking better photos, and I learned a LOT from her. She fixed the settings on my camera and I didn't even know they were wrong.

My roomie, Lori, had a fun class too. I didn't get to sit down and make it yet, because I was walking around and helping with it. Her kits were packaged really special, and I do have mine to make later.

On our welcome night classes, the acoustics were a bit off, so all the teachers pitched in and walked around to help, since we couldn't be heard as easily as we'd hoped. Their help made the classes a success. I was sure glad to see them all come to my aid!

Suzanne was another roomie, and is always a delight to spend time with. We also got to share a table on work day.

Our buddie, Kana was at our table too. She was our 4th roommate. I've never shared a room 4 ways for an event like this, but it does make it even more fun. Twice the giggles late at night than you get with just one roomie.

And three people to tell me to stop snoring. They said I was a polite snore-er and would stop when told. Suzanne taught everyone that if they snap their fingers I roll over and shut up. Its a good trick. I felt like I should have gotten treats for it, though.

I've heard that if you pin a tennis ball to the back of your jammies, you won't roll onto your back, and I snore only on my back. But I didn't have a tennis ball, we had raquet balls, and golf balls. One was too soft, one was too small, but I tried putting both into a sock and pinning it to the back of my sleep shirt.

The trouble was, the sock was too long and it swung around and whacked me in the face, and did no good at keeping me off my back. I was actually more comfortable on my back, with the sock-o-balls on my shoulder, and I would dream it was little Agnes Rosebud nestled up on my shoulder as I slept.

The details at each place setting were as wonderful as everything else Jenn does.

She didn't miss any opportunity to make even the smallest detail into something special. This is the seating chart!

Our table was the "Water Sprites" which of course reminded me of my little Sugarwings who thinks she is a mermaid.

Jenn had wonderful photo ops set up for us, this wall of frames was sooooo pretty. And so is Valerie (wearing one of the crowns I made)

This vintage angel was a great spot to pose too. Doesn't Natasha look like an angel herself too? Well, while she is nice as can be, she is also far from angelic, that girl is full of fire, is stunningly funny, and always ready with a great story. But she sure pulls off the angel look!

It was great to see old friends, make new ones, and play dress up while surrounded by such stunning scenery. I'm honored that Jenn asked me to teach, it meant a great deal to me to be part of this one of a kind event.

Thanks, Jenn for everything you did to make us all feel like pampered princesses right out of a fairy tale for this enchanted weekend

Zombie Invasion

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 31, 2011

We live in a great town, it has everything, a good school system, community arts, a vibrant downtown, loyal Jayhawks, great food, and zombies.

Yep, real live zombies. Not the dead kind.

We went downtown for dinner, and snagged a street side table to watch the annual parade.

At first, Sugarwings was enjoying the site as the zombies arrived and made their way to the start of the parade.

But soon, we were in the middle of HUNDREDS of the walking undead.

That is when she dove under the table.

I have to admit, it was pretty freaky.

I thought about joining her under there!

But she could see we were having a lot of fun with the parade and we'd been talking about costumes and how zombies aren't real, so she came out and joined us for dinner.

But she did stay on her Pop Pop's lap.

The food was great, the weather was perfect, what a great night to sit outside and eat a big ole juicy steak as blood drenched corpses walked by.

This was a fund raiser for the Humane Society.

It was $15 to join the parade, and I'd love to know how much the shelter made, there was a huge turnout.

Zombies of all ages participated.

Brides seemed to be very popular.

And the local costume stores must have sold out of fake blood.

We saw the Skipper and his Lil Buddy, Santa, Batman, Superman, you name it, that zombie was there.

And many were ready to stop and chat at our table.

Some of the acting was really impressive.

And some of the costumes were almost too scary.

One little zombie boy stopped and gave our Sugarwings a flower. She was really warming up to it all by then.

Soon, she was hiding under the restaurant's menu board and jumping out to scare people herself.

But her bravery didn't last, one zombie pulled the same trick on her, jumped in her face and growled. The poor kid was terrified after that and just sobbed.Luckily the parade was over and it was time to go home.

I felt so bad for her. She'd been having so much fun watching the hoarde go by, til that one girl jumped into her face.

My mom raised me to love horror movies, and my boys watched them growing up too. Sugarwings has always been attracted to the scary characters in every fairy tale and story, she is a big fan of flying monkeys, witches, and trolls.

But I don't know if zombies will be very high on her list of faves.

We'll see. If she takes after me, she'll be fond of them.

Ariel, Ursala, and some odd witch thing

family, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 29, 2011

Ariel and Ursala the sea witch were also guests at our Halloween party last weekend.

Sugarwings has been a huge fan of Ariel since before she could even talk. Dorothy and Ariel have been a in tie for her affections for her entire life, she has loyally loved both forever.

I found this dress at TJMaxx for $9, because it was part of a whole princess set, but was missing the rest of the pieces. I bought it because I knew we could always use another pink princess dress, not even knowing it was meant to be Ariel's. Lucky find, because our little princess was thrilled.

They kind of look alike now that Sugarwings has the firey hair do, don't they? Of course, by the end of the evening, her hair was a tangled mess, and the red spray had it sticking up every which way, her face was all dirt, and her gown was too. She looked like ghoulish Ariel after playing flash light tag in the woods and sword fighting with the boys for hours.

And we have one pink chair from where she rested after getting worn out. Happily, it was the recliner in my husband's office. I hate that chair. You know, recliners can be pretty ugly, but a little bit a pink helps makes it look like it really belongs in my house.
After playing fairy dress up all weekend in Asheville earlier in the month, I was still in the mood for getting my fairy gear on. But since it was Halloween, I took it up a notch and added green/blue eyeshadow to my face and lots of glitter.

And some witchy socks, too. No one knew what I was supposed to be, and I really didn't either. A witchy fairy? That is probably close.

We all love dressing up. I'm lucky to have this little sea sprite to play dress up with anytime we want to.

Its been a while since I had a chance to do any creating. So, I was happy to have some time to make this Halloween tag. Its a good example of "Using the Good Stuff". All the supplies are filled with vintagey goodness.

And what did I do with it? I tucked it into a package that I was packing for a very nice customer. Its fun to surprise people.

I hope your Halloween is filled with the spirit of fun too!

(don'cha love picnik?-what fun for Halloween!)

Romantic Cottage White Shabby Chic Farmhouse Vintage Kitchen remodel before and after

Kitchen remodel

By Karla Nathan / October 27, 2011

Since the remodelling began, I've been showing bits and pieces here and there, but haven't posted a completely finished view of the room. So, here are some pictures of the mostly done space.

there are a few things left to do. This dark chair by the window needs fixed up. I got it for $3 at a garage sale recently. (this is the mud room, the main entrance to the house from the breezeway)

I still need an island, and found a piece at the Salvation Army to redo. And the chandelier over the table needs to be hung so that it hangs over the center of the table. I'm missing a light switch cover.

The best part is the floor!!!!! (I do have some rugs, but had to wait a few weeks to set them out so the top coat on the wood would cure)

I had hoped for a more even, cocoa brown, but love this dark color the stain turned out. After all of my trials of stains, it didn't even matter, because the spot under the fridge and stove where I was experimenting was a different wood than the rest of the floor anyway. The house was built on whatever wood was growing nearby, and all took the stain a little differently.

But its all perfectly beat up, and wonderfully distressed, and exactly what I had hoped for. We got lucky, when we started tearing out the layers and layers from years of linoleum and vinyl, we could have found a big mess. Instead just a few areas needed fixed, and it all worked out better than I could have hoped.

The glass block back splash (only about $150 from Home Depot's online store) is really pretty with the sun coming through.

There had been a regular window on this wall previously, and I was hating the thought of losing that light. This was a last minute idea to fix that and it is one of my favorite parts of the room.

(wooden spoons are kept in the pitcher)

This is the same spot before, you can see the window that we lost.

And here is a before shot while the wall was still between the two rooms.

The buffet is now under the dining room windows, and I moved the corner cabinet over to this side of the room.

This is a before of the same angle.

My son keeps teasing me because despite the flooring, ceiling, and wall changes, everything is just the same. I kept the color of the walls a toasty tone, the cabinets didn't get repainted, I reused all the stuff in the room.

Mostly because now, even more than before, our house is very open and you can see from one room into the next. If I'd changed the colors too dramatically I'd have had to redo all of it.

And I like my stuff. And did I mention that I am cheap? I tried to keep costs as low as possible by reusing what I had. If you only buy what you love, and shop for unique things with a timeless feel, I think you can get away with shuffling it around and giving yourself updates by reusing your pretties in different ways.

I like to use lots of neutral colors, so there is a soothing background in my home. Its easy to mix and match that way. And if I need a splash of color, I can add accessories here and there.

The big painting that was in the dining room, is now in the living room.

And now the dining room curtains are in the living room too. The living room curtains might become a shower curtain later on…

This is another before shot, looking into the kitchen from the mud room.

Same angle, without the wall.

I can't get enough of the ceiling!

We took out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, but added a small wall between the kitchen and mud room. Our fridge is now turned to face the kitchen with its back to the new wall, this has been a good change, and is much more functional than before.

We really like the new fridge with the double drawers on the bottom for the freezer but- it has a teensy little ice maker. I didn't notice that before… I might get a smaller freezer to keep in the garage too.

I'm also going to try to wean myself from the habit of cooking way, way too much, then freezing some for later. Because months later we just throw it away.

These are two watercolors I did years ago. One was hanging in the mud room, the other in the living room, now I've moved them to the kitchen for a spot of pink in my creams and taupes.

While the room is mostly neutral, there are still lots of roses and pinks in all the smaller details.

And there are still whimsical pieces scattered about too.

Believe it or not, I really did scale waaaayyyyy back and didn't put all my pretties back out again.

But I kept all my special favorites, and some things are tucked away to rotate back in with seasonal changes. Somehow, having one big space made me feel like the clutter was too much. I had to pull some things down off the wall and pack some more stuff up after I thought I was done. I felt better after those changes.

I did away with some stuff, and tried to be more practical with others. A lot of the dishes in the step back cabinet in the mud room are things that I use a lot, and they were hard to get to in the regular cabinets buried and stacked up out of reach. Now they are behind glass, easy to find, easy to grab when I need something.

I guess what I am saying is that I put the more decorative, less useful stuff away in the harder to reach places or got rid of it, and instead gave myself easy access to things that are practical.

Best of all, the contractor was great to work with, and the job went fast, and came out under budget. He still has a few loose ends to tie up and will be back for those, but I am over the moon, thrilled with the job he did and my new space! Sometimes I just like to sit and look at it. And pinch myself.

I'm linking today to Cindy's show and tell.

PS- I have FINALLY added some more dress form kits to the Boutique. They are neutral, like these examples, with French text, old German sheet music, some flowers, ruffled crepe, sparkly bits, lace, pearls, and buttons. Plus everything else you need to build your dress form. Half have wooden spools, the other half comes with porcelain insulators.

Just in case you are ready to start making some Christmas angel dress forms. If you order a kit (which comes with online directions) please let me know if you want a packet of mica flakes to go with it to embellish an angel. I'll throw it in for you.

Also- if you have already paid for the online class, please let me know, and I'll refund that amount from the cost of the kit. edit- one kit is left, it has a wooden spool topper

And another PS- Pixie Pie is home from the hospital and recovering nicely! Thanks for all your care and concern. We were very worried about our little sweet heart. Her best buddy, Sugarwings has been talking nonstop about her and waking up with nightmares about her cousin being sick. I'm so glad she is better, it was pretty scary to think of her so ill.

Halloween decor, cheap and simple

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 25, 2011

Note: Pixie Pie is still in the hospital, and in a lot of pain. Thanks so much for the cards you sent, her mom has them all hanging by her bed where she can see them, and she enjoyed having the nurses deliver them to her. The site was easy to use, wasn' t it? Very simple and quick, its a nice service for the hospital to provide for the kids there.

Our little Halloween party was such fun. And it was a good excuse to show off the new kitchen!

Complete with its new spooky decor. This beaded cob web was one dollar at a thrift store, and the shabby chic witch is the one I made at Sissy's house last week.

She has a paper clay head and jet bead eyes pushed into the clay while it was still wet. I made her hat from pink velvet millinery petals and it is sporting a beaded spider made with an old button for the body.

I made another one to climb on my white pumpkin. The big ole punkin is sitting in an old wash bowl and is the center piece for the dining room table. Or should I just call it the kitchen table now? There are no longer two rooms, its all one space!

Our local grocery store had the fancy schmancy pumpkins for the same price as the orange ones. I'd never tried cutting one before, but this white one was soooo much easier to carve than the traditional ones. It was more like slicing honey dew than a jack o lantern.

When I redecorated after the remodel, I kept everything pretty simple. Well, simple for me at least. It seemed like all the stuff I had out before was way too cluttery in a big space, I guess because your eye takes it all in at once. In the small, divided spaces I had before, I liked more stuff out than I do now in the bigger area.

I thought it would be the opposite of that, I was surprised.

The Halloween decor I added is simple too. Just a few touches here and there, mostly black and white.

These crows are from the dollar store, I'd like to add some glitter but haven't had a chance.

Normally, I try to seat everyone together, but that is one more thing I didn't have a chance to get done. I set up room for about 10 in the studio, some people ate in the kitchen, some in front of the football game playing in my husband's office, and a few outside. We were lucky to have beautiful weather.

Still, NO rain though, so that meant no bonfire.

This was a quickie center piece, the boot, baby head, and flowers all came from the same garage sale and were $1 each. I just stuffed the witchy boot with paper, and sat the head in it, then tucked the flower in the laces and added a feather.

And this doll head is modelling the witch hat I made for a bonus tutorial on Romantic Gothic Ghosts.

(scroll down on the workshop page if you are interested in taking the class, White Christmas is also on that page, both are $25)

This one broke my no orange rule. I bought the hat for its pinky flowers, but after plucking them, I thought it was ideal for a stylish Halloween hat, with a bit of black ribbon on it to cover up the globs of glue left behind when I tore off the flowers.

Speaking of breaking the no orange rule, the garage was an explosion of orange and purple.

Well, with black and white ghosts. They are cut up, paper drop cloths left over from my kitchen redo. I stuffed their heads with newspaper, tied a ribbon around the neck, and painted a cutey pie, kid friendly face on them. They serve the purpose of hiding a closet with no door on it.

Sugarwings planned the decor and helped with it. We painted a tarp with glow in the dark paints, to hang over some more garage mess that I was too lazy to move, and when we started throwing the paint for a splatter effect, she had the idea to climb up a ladder for a better aim. I told her that was how Jackson Pollack did it, and started calling her Action Jackson while she was at work.

Most of what is in the room was hand made by the two of us, from the dollar store, or a thrift store. My advice for party decor (for kids) is to shop the dollar store first, get as much as you can there, and then look at thrift stores.

The lighting was the only expensive thing, and the strands of lights were on clearance at Hobby Lobby, and I can use the lights again and again. I would NEVER buy black light bulbs again, they were my biggest splurge and were useless. No effect at all, and I spent $9 on three bulbs to add to the clamp lights that I hung by the ghosts.

The other expensive thing was glow in the dark paint, about $10 worth, and it wasn't dark enough in there for it to glow. But we had fun smearing it on everything!

I'll leave you with some scenes from the party.

Its so fun when grown ups get in the spirit and dress up too! Beth and the other Karla got their husbands to play along.

They were "gang green".

Beth had to give the "dur" sign a lot when she explained it. It was pretty cute.

I hope you have some spooky good times ahead for your Halloween too. Are you dressing up?

Prayers please for Pixie Pie’s speedy recovery

family

By Karla Nathan / October 23, 2011

Dear little Pixie Pie is ill. She is in the hospital with meningitis.

Her mother posted on Facebook that the hospital has a site where you can make a free card for her, with a message that the staff will print and take to her. She is 4 and loves to get cards. If you'd like to send her one, it just takes a couple of seconds to do, and I'm sure she will enjoy getting one.

It breaks my heart to think of her in pain.

If you want to send her a card, please contact me for her info. The site is here

Author name: Karla Nathan