Karla Nathan – Page 218 – Karla's Cottage

June Giveaway and Inside the Treat Cabinet

collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), give away, Hand Painted Furniture, paintings, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2010

On Tuesday night, I had a little dinner party. It was an iffy day, sometimes too hot, sometimes too wet, so I set up a tent for shade in case the rain stayed away and we could eat outside.

Luckily, no rain, and the shade from the little pop up tent was ideal for dining outside in the evening after the heat of the day had passed.

Which made Twinkle and Agnes Rosebud pretty happy, they'd stay outdoors every minute of the day if I'd let them.

Since the day was unpredictable and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to eat outdoors if a storm came up, I cleaned my studio just in case we had to move indoors with our plates. I have two dining room tables in the front half of my workshop, that are usually piled up so high with crap, I mean, great stuff that you can't even see the tables.

The area usually only gets cleaned up for company, which is kind of sad. I wonder why I can't keep it nice for just me?

Anyway, its clean now and since it won't stay that way long, I thought I'd make the most of it and get some studio pictures.

This is the Treat Cabinet. (Lacking in treats at the moment.) I fill it up with goodies when company comes for dinner, or on craft days. If I'm out in the studio alone, that just is not a safe thing to do. If I had a full treat cabinet, I'd never get any work done.

Recently, I've decided to use the top shelf of the wardrobe as wallpaper storage, quite a bit of my collection fit up there.

This cabinet was meant to be a closet or wardrobe. It has the one shelf at the top and a bar for clothes. I added tables to set the goodies on, and cut a hole in the back to run an extension cord through for lighting.

Picking a vintage wallpaper to cover the back was tough. First of all, I wanted it to be kind of neutral- not a lot of color. Second, I wanted rosy. I chose this toile rose pattern because I think it would look good with lots of different displays when I change things up a bit.

The space under the table cloths makes great storage for cups/napkins/etc.

This is a new addition to the Treat Cabinet. My pal, Suzanne Duda, gave me this foofed up, old suitcase pocket. I thought it was ideal to use for serving pieces. I slipped a couple large cups inside it, one to hold plastic forks, the other to hold napkins, so they wouldn't all just fall into the bottom of the pockets.

Behind the cups, I slid the paper plates.

A few years back, I used to paint furniture and sell it at a Kansas City antique mall. Some days I miss doing that, but not very often. I didn't realize how hard I was working until I quit doing it. Its nice to concentrate on small items that fit into an envelope now instead!!

There are a few pieces of painted stuff still around the house, and even more in the studio. You can probably tell that the room is a bit of a hodge podge of what ever I had.

The two dining tables usually have either recently made items, or stuff for sale, or things I just bought set out on them.

The centers of the tables are filled with things that just kinda make me smile…

By the way, I do have a giveaway chosen for June! And the month is only half way over, too. All comments all month still count.

And here it is-

I'll be giving away a Peat Pot Pretty with a frozen Charlotte fairy. These will be featured in Somerset Life, I'm writing an article about it next week, which is always an honor!!

Leave a comment if you'd like a chance to win one!

I'll leave you with a couple more pics of some hand painted pieces in the studio.

And for more peeks into the room, please come back on June 19th, I'll be a part of the Where Bloggers Create party hosted by Karen Valentine.

While the room was cleaned up I made a little video of the space.

How I spent my summer vacation

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Sugarwings, Travel, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 15, 2010

Bringing puppies with us on the trip was such a good idea. I went back and forth up to the last minute on whether or not I should take them. I talked to a friend about babysitting them, I wrote everyone who had shown an interest to see if they wanted to buy one CHEAP before I went out of town, I fretted and fussed and worried about them getting too hot in the car or peeing everywhere in my sis's home.

Sissy said she'd be disappointed if I didn't bring them, and I hated the thought of missing the last bit of time with them before they were moving on to new families, so I decided to pack them up.

It was the right decision. We spent a lot of time outside enjoying Sissy's lovely garden and patio, and the pups could run and play with Sugarwings.

And since I had litter box trained them (smartest thing I've EVER done!!) they were safe to leave at home, penned up with their box nearby while we went out and explored.

We took our fairy girl to the June Jamboree in Pendleton, IN. It was an event I impatiently waited for all year when I was growing up there. I really thought she'd love it too. And yes, she had fun and rode some rides, but my little nature girl was much more interested in the park and waterfall we walked through to get to the rides. Walking along the creek and watching the waterfall was mesmerizing her so much that we had to convince her to come along to the flashing lights and carnival music up ahead.

Smart kid.

She is realizing at a young age that true happiness comes from the simple things.

We also spent time in Mounds State Park. When I was a kid, we were taught in the Indiana history books that it was an Indian burial grounds. Now they know that the mounds were built for some equinox reason.

Its been 30 years or more since I've been there, and I'd forgotten what a beautiful place it was. Sugarwing's Daddy, Mr. Zen Master really loved it there.

Leave it to my family to go hiking in white clothes and barefoot. But aren't they pretty that way?

Yes, very pretty. What a sweet, happy couple these two are.

White didn't work out so well for me. My sisses and I went to Sephora while out shopping and I leaned up against a sample lipstick display and ended up with a series of pale pink through plum polka dots along my skirt.

Any hints on how to remove lipstick from white cotton?

That is, if there are any of you left out there to answer after making you look at all my family vacation photos. I promise, next post will have some arty or old stuff in it.

Lucky charms

antiques/junking, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, Sugarwings, Travel, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2010

We had a great trip to Indiana! Traveling with 3 puppies and one 3 year old made the drive challenging, but unique. Instead of stopping for typical roadside breaks, we needed to find spots for all the little ones to stretch and play. Lunch was a quick trip to Trader Joe's in St Louis to pick up a picnic, then take it to a city park to eat it and play for an hour or so.

And for one break, we found a giant field of clovers to run in.

Adam's loved one has magical four leaf clover hunting skills. I've spent a life time trying to find just ONE. She says its all in the way you look at them. I consider myself a lucky person, and I have sharp eyes, but I can't find a lucky clover for anything. And I search!!

Its been a quest of mine since I was a little girl. Other goals, I've had to leave behind. Like trying to go one full mile on a pogo stick. I spent an entire summer when I was about 8 years old on that one, and had to give it up. Or the summer I tried to learn how to do a back flip into the pool. My body just doesn't do those and I gave up that dream too.

I'm not giving up on the clover search, and now I have a Clover Master to teach me her skills.

My poor little car was filled to the brim on the way there, and we had to half unload it every time we got the pups out.

But it was not too full to add some purchases along the way! My hat whispering skills were in fine form and I found so many (cheap!) along I70, that I am almost embarrassed to tell you about it.

These are just a few that I have unpacked so far. The rest are in my suitcase with all the dirty laundry and I am avoiding that. Its hard enough to admit a vacation is over, doing up the laundry and unpacking is just too much to face.

(The wallpaper covered box is full of old corsages. I got a bag filled with them for $11.)

So, I maybe my lucky charm isn't a four leaf clover its a millinery flower?

All the puppies are settled into their new homes now. We are down to Agnes Rose, who I am calling Rosebud instead of Rose now. She is just too little to be a big flower, she's just a bud.

I'm adjusting to the fact that we actually KEPT one. A couple days ago, she was one of the pups, now she is MY dog.

Well, that point is debatable. Someone else claims Agnes Rosebud.

They kept each other company for most of the drive home.

My fairy grand baby’s room

fairies, family, flowers, Hand Painted Furniture, paintings, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 13, 2010

While I am away from my computer for a few days I thought I'd leave you with some photos of the cottage. I'll be back on Sunday, and will have trip photos as well as some new listings to add to the shop (well, hopefully, I'll have some successful shopping while away!!) Any orders while I am gone will be sent out on Monday the 14th.

This is Sugarwing's room. She's pretty proud of the fact that she is big enough for her own night light (shaped like a tea pot) next to her bed. Her closet doors are painted with a mural of fairies in the flowers, and our dog, Sparkle.

Since she only comes to stay, and doesn't live her full time, the closet didn't need to be filled with her regular clothes, so it holds all of her dress up and play clothes. I'm always on the hunt at garage sales and thrift stores for fairy wings and princess dresses that are cute and cheap.

The ceiling and the area above the shelf are both painted like the sky. The shelves hold a collection of fairies and pixies, and little bird houses covered in vintage wallpaper for them to live in.

Her princess bed is vintage, I found it at an auction, and painted it white with pink glaze (instructions on my short cut paint technique are on my side bar under "tutorials")

Since the room is upstairs in an old house, it tends to get stuffy, so we had to add a window air conditioner. It doesn't exactly look great there, but it keeps her comfy.

There are white sheers on the windows, then above them, I screwed painted and glittered branches to the wall and tied trailing ribbons to them. We've clipped little butterflies and dragonflies to the ribbons and dangled fairies from the branches.

When Sugarwings was tiny, these pastel pails hung over her changing table and held her lotions. Now they hold fairy dolls that readers have sent to her.

I painted the fairy to look down at her on the changing table and she used to love to coo and talk to her while getting diapers changed.

I've painted LOTS of murals in nurseries over my lifetime and one thing I always make sure of, is that the pictures are interactive for the kids. In places where the baby spends time, like the changing area or crib, I was careful to add something of special interest for them to see. And in the rest of the room, all the creatures had friends. No matter what the theme was, fish, dogs, teddys- they all were in conversational groups.

One night when my fairy grand baby was just learning to string sentences together, we were laying on the floor of her room playing and she said "Grammy has pretty stuff". I told her, no baby, this is all YOUR stuff, this is YOUR room. She was speechless for a moment, probably for the only time in her chatterboxing life.

I think she likes her space.

A cottage tour

flowers, housework

By Karla Nathan / June 11, 2010

I will be away from my computer for a few days, but have some
fresh posts scheduled for while I am away. I won't be able to answer
comments, and all packages will be mailed on Monday the 14th.

But please
do leave a comment if you'd like to be entered in the JUNE GIVEAWAY.

Before I had everyone come to visit for my Creative Cottage Girls Weekend, I actually cleaned my whole house. All of it! at once!

While it was spiffed up, I took advantage of the tidiness and snapped some photos. I thought that I'd post them while I was out of town. This is the back door of my studio. I found this table (at a garage sale) made from an old grate that matches the round grate that I use as a welcome mat.

The shutter is an old one that I painted for a design show house that I was part of a few years back. Its been out in the shed, because I don't have a lot of red and black around here. But I kind of like it in this outdoor spot.

A month or so ago, I did a major over haul on the bathroom and posted about it then. But it got a few more switcheroos recently. Some of the mirrors that were in the dining room got moved into the bathroom. Not a big change, just some bigger mirrors.

Its a small room with no windows, so an assortment of mirrors is good for making it feel bigger and lighter.

On the side of the built in cabinet, I hung 2 old bird pictures from a flea market, that were under $1 each and a $2 framed picture that I got at Bottoms Up market.

The redecorating that I started after Christmas was mostly a lot of editing and lightening up. I've removed most of the colorful things from the downstairs of the main part of the cottage and gone all neutral.

I'm finding it very calming. And with a houseful of puppies, a couple of elderly dogs, and a 3 year old, calming is not bad.

When I repainted my dining room furniture and redid a buffet that had been in my son's room as a dresser, I showed you some photos of what I'd done. But here is a final look, with it all pulled together and cleaned up. You won't see that often around here.

Well, mostly cleaned up, kind of looks like I was in the process of cleaning, see the mop? Which reminds me, have you tried the Mr Clean Magic Eraser mop?????? It is beyond wonderful. I have light floors that are always all dog tracked and dirty. This mop cleans the tile with one light sweep across the floor better than all the scrubbing and scouring with my old mop ever did.

This is the last of our peonies for the year, I already miss them!

Most of the peony bushes that I have are white with a blush of pink. They were planted years ago by the farm wife who lived in this home way before we did. I owe her a thank you!

Finally, I have found the right chairs for Sugarwings' table!! These are pastel, old, and just the right amount of chippy. I sanded them up so more paint wouldn't chip off, then sprayed them heavily with poly to baby proof them, and painted her table white to coordinate. (lots of poly on it too) I'm thrilled to have her plastic and vinyl Disney Princess table and chairs gone now. There was always something disturbing about dining off of Cinderella's breasts.

Notice the rug? Its bamboo and can be mopped. Which is good because I have a dog about to turn 17, is senile, and he can't be trusted to know where he is peeing. No other rugs are allowed in the house because of him. Probably more than you wanted to know about my house… But I am diligent about keeping the dog pee cleaned up and gone. I clean the floor with vinegar and orange peel, so unless I am just fooling myself, the house doesn't stink.

I'm pretty paranoid about that, but besides keeping that old guy corralled most of the time, there isn't much I can do about it.

Next post while I am with my sisses and away from the computer will be Sugarwing's room.

Reunited

Uncategorized

By Karla Nathan / June 9, 2010

I will be away from my computer for a few days, but have some fresh posts scheduled for while I am away. I won't be able to answer comments, and all packages will be mailed on Monday the 14th.

But please do leave a comment if you'd like to be entered in the JUNE GIVEAWAY.

Sugarwings and I were happy to have an afternoon with the pups on Monday after unpacking from the weekend trip to Omaha. A friend found this hand made vintage princess gown at a thrift shop and our fairy princess had it on all evening, doing plenty of curtsies to the puppies and calling herself "my highness".

Remember that I had prizes for the Oz names that readers entered for the Name the Puppy contest? Well, since I changed Glinda's name to Aggie Rose, I thought I should send a prize to my cousin Paula who suggested the name Agnes, after our Grandma Downey. When she first suggested it, I told her that I wouldn't waste that name on a pup we were sending on to another home. But since we decided to keep one, I just had to use it and sent her a little "dog tag" as a thank you.

There hasn't been much creating time lately, with the busy weekend away, and now a trip to Indiana to see my sisses. Sugarwings, her daddy. and his loved one are coming along, but we aren't sure about the pups. My Sissy says they are welcome, but I'm afraid that 4 babies might be a bit overwhelming for her.

We're not sure if we can leave them behind, though… Sugarwings and I are slightly obsessed with them. You might have noticed.

I certainly cannot leave them at a kennel. A friend could come by to check on them twice a day and Ryan will be here to check on them at night, and dump their litter box. I mostly worry about them being lonely, those guys are used to attention all day long.

My husband thinks I am a bit silly over the whole thing, but I take the puppy responsibility very seriously. Having a litter of babies is a commitment to nurturing them until they go to their new homes as well as finding just the right homes for them.

One will leave next Tuesday and another goes to Beth soon. Of course we
will still get to keep our teensy Agnes Rose, having her will help us
when we have to say goodbye to the others. There is still one available if you are interested… Did I mention that they are litter box trained????

While we had Sugarwings in Omaha at the zoo, circus and water park, her Hippy Chick Mommy took advantage of the time on her own and took a trip to a music festival. When her mommy got back tonight, that fairy girl flung herself into her mom's arms, she was so happy to see her.

Sometimes the best part of a trip is getting home.

Who is the Dork?

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, Sugarwings, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 8, 2010

We are heading out of town again, this time to see my sisses in Indiana where I grew up. I've decided to take the pups with me, Sissy is being brave about a house full of little Stench Monkeys, as we call them sometimes. I should be packing, especially gathering up the dog paraphernalia and stuff to entertain Sugarwings on a 9 hour drive.

Instead, I'm playing in the studio. This photo of Sugarwings at the water park was just calling out to me, I had to turn it into a fairy collage for my photo album.

Especially after Beth pointed out that this water spray looks like a dorky! I printed the picture and drew over it, following the dog shape in the water, then cut out the puppy.Okay, so now you know what you suspected, I am totally dog crazed. Maybe I am the dork, not the dogs. But Beth saw it first, so its not just me.

Between playing with the dogs and imagining dog shapes in water fountains, I listed some new things in the Boutique.

But since I'll be away, I can't mail any purchases till Monday. Thanks for your patience!

All the pups are spoken for now. I decided not to sell ANY of them after all!! Each is going to family or friends. I'm delivering one to Indiana to my niece, and another will go to my MIL in Utah. This will most likely be our last litter ever, so I wanted to keep them as "family". I just got too attached.

Between listing and gluing this morning, I also made some puppy pillows. I had a pair of rose patterned flannel PJ bottoms that had ripped, and I couldn't bear to toss them. So, I cut the legs into squares and stitched up little pillows, then tossed them in with all the pups. I'm hoping that when the pups go to their new homes, taking a pillow that smells like their siblings will help with the transition.When Teresa picked up her Lily a couple weeks ago, I sent a rosy pillow home with them too. I'm NOT a good sewer, and the pillows are simple as can be. But I think they are a cute idea for the babies.

Twinkle and the other big dogs will stay behind on this trip, with Ryan to watch them. Its great to have a grown son around to dog sit! Plus my dogs have a fenced in yard with a doggy door to let themselves out whenever they want. Ryan only has to fill their bowls once a day and say hi to them.
He lives in an apartment above my studio, so when I am away, the house is not empty.

Well, as much as I dread packing, it can't be put off much longer. I'd better start wedging stuff into my poor little car. I have 3 adults, a preschooler, 3 puppies, luggage, puppy gear, toys, and a cooler to fit into a Scion. My car is roomy for a small car, but this could be pushing the limits!

How much fun can you fit into one day?

antiques/junking, celebrations, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, I do tend to run on, don't I?, parties, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 7, 2010

Omaha was great, we had such a nice trip! Don't I have the world's sweetest husband, to chose a weekend at the zoo and the Holiday Inn's water park with all the kids as his 50th birthday celebration?

We LOVE this little water park in Omaha, its in a newer Holiday Inn that has great service, and free meals for kids. The indoor pool area is meant for smaller children and has never been crowded or busy while we are there.

Plus, the hotel is located near the Old Town area, with great food and shopping. While the kids napped between swimming in the morning and zoo time in the afternoon, I escaped to 2nd Chance. Where I found a pile of floral hats for under $7 each.

Plus a pile of Victorian scrap and old photos. I'm planning on making some fairy ornaments (hopefully a make and take at Silver Bella in November.) Have you ever noticed how hard it is to find just the right photos to make into fairies? You need to make sure you get both feet, a standing or sitting position that works well when the person is cut out of the photo, and no fingers to have to cut around.

Well, you don't want the person to be fingerless- you just don't want the fingers to be splayed and beyond the edges of the girl's dress. Its just easier to not have to cut out each tiny finger.

Normally, when I am on a family trip like this, I don't get in much shopping. This time I also got to stop at Rusty Chandelier in St. Joe on the drive home. It was a quick trip, to stretch legs and for my husband to fill up the car while Sugarwings and I looked around antique mall.

But I just knew that I had to stop, and I was right, my hat whispering skills had led me to a couple more hats that were waiting there for me.

How PERFECT is this sequin top hat???? Silver Bella's theme this fall will be hats and Teresa has been using a cute top hat as the symbol of the event this year. I found not only this hat, but this bit of Victorian scrap with this little girl wearing a top hat herself. There are some possibilities for that rolling around in my head right now!

So much for my theory that pictures for fairies need feet. I can see her as a little sprite, can't you? She might be the foundation for my design for the make and take for vendor night.

And there are a few pictures of Sugarwings that I might make into a fairy for my photo album.

We had lucky weather while in Omaha, there was sunshine and a light breeze at the zoo. Sugarwing's Daddy and his new family (well some of them, not all the kids could make it) came along for the trip and I discovered that its even more fun to have extra grand kids to spoil and play with!

Before the trip, I bought the girls matching dresses, and a coordinating red shirt for the little guy. Corny? Yep, but I thought it was adorable, plus it made them so easy to keep track of all day. We knew that the red blurs running up ahead were ours.

Our hotel was around the corner from the Qwest Center, where Barnum and Baily Circus happened to be for the weekend. We hadn't planned on attending, but the kids had never been, so when the zoo closed at 6, we swung by for the next performance at 7.

The morning started at the pool, then napping, then zoo, then circus, then ended at the pool again. Whew! That was one jam packed day.

But, my husband and I decided at the last minute to play hooky and just buy tickets to the circus for the rest of the group. He and I snuck over to Old Town and had a romantic dinner, then walked around holding hands and enjoying the evening.

As ideal as the kids were all day, sweet, polite, and fun- it was nice to have a night out with just the two of us. When we got back to the hotel, we joined the kids at the water park, where I taught them how to play shark tag, and let the parents go have their own little get away dinner.

I think my handsome husband had a fantastic birthday, I hope he enjoyed the trip as much as I did! He's a great guy and deserves a good celebration!

Still, its nice to be back home with our puppies again.

my Rose Room

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, Hand Painted Furniture, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 5, 2010

I'll be away for a couple of days to celebrate my husband's birthday. Ryan will be here with the big dogs and the pups will stay with their dad's family, where they can visit their spotted brother who has gone to live there with them.

So, I won't be able to answer comments, but I will enjoy reading them when I get back. And each is entered into the June Giveaway.

When I was getting ready for friends to come for the Creative Cottage Girls Weekend, I decided that my guest room needed a redo. It was inspired by this 1940s bedspread that I picked up at a local flea mkt. I already had the floral curtains, they came from a dumpster a few years back. The shutter that I hung over the bed was out in my shed, and all of the tins and rose pieces were scattered around the house.

The shutters on each side of the window were some that I painted for a client who never came to get them. So, I guess they are mine after a couple of years, huh?

This isn't exactly zero dollar decorating, since I bought the bedspread. But everything else that I used was pulled from another room, or out of my storage shed.

I've been collecting porcelain roses for years, but have been trying to use more neutral colors downstairs, so it was a perfect fit to bring all of the roses upstairs to my new guest room, and call it the Rose Room.

This chest of drawers is another item never claimed by a client. She had it in lay-a-way for years, and never showed for it. Should that make me feel like a loser, with both of these unwanted, hand painted pieces left behind?

Actually, I'm kind of glad that this was never claimed. I just don't paint furniture any more like I used to, and now am glad to have a piece to keep for myself. It was always one of my favorites, even while it was taking up space in the garage for 3 years waiting for the person to come and get it!!!

The De Longpre roses are from a garage sale for 50 cents. I've had all these things in my studio for a few years, and as much as I liked them, they just never matched all the other things out there. So, I was glad to move them into the Rose Room.

This is a room we added in the attic when we bought the 800 square foot farmhouse 19 years ago. Its been through many transformations, both boys used it as their bedroom at one time or another, for a while it was my studio, before we built the addition. A brother moved in for a few months, and later on a niece. Then, Sugarwing's Daddy has used it off and on in the last few years. Each time, it got a make over.

But of all of the redos, I like this one best. To me, it says Cottage B&B. I hope my guests feel that when they come to stay.

Upstairs in the old part of the house, I have Sugarwing's room, the Rose Room, and the Library. My fairy grand baby and I love to curl up in that big, soft chair with a good book to share. This room is a bit of a hodge podge. Doesn't every house have a catch all room with all the left over pieces in it?

While my house was actually cleaned up (that happens so rarely) I got photos of all of it. I'll show a few more next week.

For now, I'll leave you with another puppy video. You didn't think I'd do a puppy-less post did you???

Taking better pet photos

Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), how to's, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 3, 2010

Here is another little video of Sugarwings and a puppy. When I ask her which puppy she has, you can't hear the answer very well, but she says "This one". Well, dur, Grams.

There is an ad in the paper to sell two of the remaining 3 pups. (the last one will go to Beth, she says any of them are fine with her) Here is Dorothy, who will be bigger than the others, and is chocked full of personality. Her tail is in constant motion, she can't contain her happiness.

This little guy, has an explorer's view of the world, he is the one who is always off deep in the bushes looking for something exciting.

And this fella has a darker face, his coloring is a bit different than the rest of the group. He is a snuggler.

Of course, this little beauty isn't for sale, I'm keeping Miss Aggie Rose. She is modeling one of the items I just listed in the Boutique, a vintage rhinestone bracelet. I have a feeling that Agnes will be every bit the camera hog that her mom is.

Thanks for all the compliments on the puppy pics. I do love my camera, a Cannon Rebel XSi, even though I've never learned how to use all the bells, whistles, tricks and doodads on it. I'm afraid I'll always be a point and shoot kind of photographer.

I use my pocket sized Cannon for some of the pictures too, and I think it does very well also.

For me, the trick to good animal (or child) photos, is to get down on their level. With the 1 pound baby dogs who have 3" long legs, that can be a hard to do. Sometimes, I am laying on my belly in the gravel trying to get the right angle. Then, the other pups tackle me and try to play tug of war with the camera strap.

Also, have a good background. Don't just snap a picture of Fido (does anyone really name their dog Fido anymore?) in front of Dad's Lazyboy, or the kitchen trash can, or a garish dog blanket. The photo might be of your PET, but the background is a big part of it!

I don't always clean up the yard before pictures, so you'll see a garden hose, or some of Sugarwing's toys sometimes. But, I do try to angle the camera away from clutter, or kick some of it out of the way.

Pose your pet. It takes practice for the animal, and LOTS of snaps of the camera to get one good picture. I set them where I want them to be, pet and love on them a bit so they are comfortable, then take about 20 or so pictures to get one good one. And remember to still bend down to their level with the camera! A straight on shot is so much better than one looking down at the animal.

EDITING! I use Picassa and Picknik and adore them both. Both are simple and easy and make a huge difference in your pictures. Crop, crop, crop, cut out all the extras and bring the focus to the pet.

I crop and tune on Picassa, then upload to Picknik. On that site, I do the auto-fix, and sharpen. Then hit the creative area and play with all the buttons. It sounds complicated and time consuming, but I promise it is not. I never spend more than a couple minutes per picture.

I'll leave you with some photos of what's new in the Boutique.

A vintage paper covered mini birdhouse/fairy house.

A mini collage sampler book.

It was Beth's idea to call it a "sampler" because it didn't really have a theme, beyond coordinating colors.

It was also Beth's idea to make these. She brought cabinet cards to share with everyone at my Creative Cottage Girls Weekend, and showed us how to turn an old photo holder into a book.

I kept the photo theme going with mine by using old pictures on the inside and outside of the covers. The rest is watercolor paper, blank and ready for its new owner to use it as a scrapbook, photo album, or art journal.

Oh! Before I forget, here is something fun! Lisa is having a challenge. I'll be playing along and hope you will too.

Author name: Karla Nathan