Karla Nathan – Page 246 – Karla's Cottage

Remembering

By Karla Nathan / June 21, 2009

This time last year, I was gathering up the 100 plus cards made for my Great Aunt Caroline's 100th birthday and heading down to Florida for the birthday bash. She was to turn 101 on the 26th, this week. I have my plane tickets ready to go, so I could be there for the big day.

Sadly, I got a call today, saying that she passed away last night. I'm still traveling to Florida this week, but now it is for a funeral instead.

She was a gracious and classy lady who could really tell a story and had a lot of stories to tell. I'm so sorry that I won't get to hear another one from her.

Thanks again to all of you who sent cards last year. They were a huge hit at her party! If you'd like to see the cards that generous readers made for Caroline, click here.

Today, I am also remembering my dad. I love this old photo of him from my scrapbook. He sent it to me years ago, with a note on the back telling me how many crappies he'd caught at his favorite fishing hole.

Its been an up and down Father's Day weekend for us. Lots of fun times, out on the lake, but also the sadness of losing Caroline and remembering Dad. But we had a frightening moment too, when Sugarwing's mom told us she had been snacking on mushrooms growing in the yard! After calling poison control, we were told to bring in a sample of the mushrooms to the ER (and the baby led us directly to them in her mommy's yard).

A mushroom expert examined them and said they weren't poisonous, but the Dr. had Sugarwings drink charcoal in chocolate milk.

She's fine now, just a few tummy rumbles here and there. It could have been much worse, I shiver just thinking about anything bad happening to my fairy grand baby! She doesn't even LIKE mushrooms, and will not eat them on her plate. What goes through kid's heads when they put stuff like that in their mouths? Or noses for that matter, she had a big marble up her nose yesterday too.

I told her to never, ever, ever eat mushrooms out of the grass, because then the fairies will not have any place to sit.

I hope all of you are having a good Father's Day, and hopefully one less eventful than ours.

Flower bed visitors

fairies, family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / June 19, 2009

Finally! I was able to do some yard work. Normally, I am way too early with my plants because I just can't wait to get the blooms started. This is the latest I have ever been in setting out annuals. But I discovered if you wait till this late in the season, all the plants are half price! That made me feel a bit better about it being so far behind.

Sugarwings was quite the helper. She discovered how easily the plants popped out of the ground and right back into the divided plastic trays they came in. So, we had to elaborately tuck the new flowers into their "beds" and pat the soil around them to distract her from replanting them right back into their previous containers. After giving them plant food and a drink, I think she got the picture.

Did you notice this unusual planting in the first photo? My first reaction, was, "oh no, the Lamb's Ear will be smashed!". Then I realized just how prolific this flower is, and how hard to kill. Plus, who could blame her for wanting to pull off her dress and sink down into soft, fluffy leaves of Lamb's Ear?

In the past, I've been quite a flower lover, but for now, I think I'd rather spend my time growing fairies.

It was the day for soft and fluffy.

This little guy was hopping around in the flowers too. We held him for a while, then sat him down to hop on home to his family. That wasn't easy to do, Sugarwings was pretty fond of him. When I asked her what his name was, she said it was "Mine".

Daisy Fresh

flowers, housework

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2009

It was such a joy to get home from Virginia to see that the floor in Sugarwing's room was finished! My Handyman brother-in-law, ripped up the nasty carpet that had been in that room since her daddy lived in it years ago, and replaced it with laminate.

The clean fresh feeling of a shiny new floor threw me into an over-drive mode of Spring Cleaning. All of the bedding and curtains had to be sparkling clean to go along with the glistening floor, of course. And after washing the quilt on the day bed, I flipped it over to the opposite side I usually display. This side was whiter and brighter, perfect for my mood.

The frenzy continued through out the house. Freshly washed slipcovers now grace the sofa. And I bagged up about half the throw pillows and put them in the closet for the summer.

The bathrooms got lots of shining up too, and the rug in my bathroom is all fluffy and clean.

And to top it all off, I picked some flowers from the garden. "Fresh as a daisy" suited me just fine today.

So, the floors and surfaces around the house are clutter and dust free. Seems like I normally pick up here and there, but it is hard to find a big block of time to really get into the corners and clean the whole house all at once. I have about 2 more hours to enjoy the triumph of having everything all spiffy, then Miss Sugarwings arrives. She is a master at re-cluttering! In no time flat, the house will be knee deep in magic wands, books, and giggles.

I just can't wait!!

By the way, you still have about 10 days to enter the June Giveaway drawing for this tag journal. All comments, all month, are entered!

Girls Trip times Three

antiques/junking, celebrations, Food and Drink, Moving to DC

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2009

Washington, DC is a beautiful place to be. Even if you are not a huge museum fan, simply wandering about is pretty entertaining. Our Girls Trip was such fun. I even let them drag me from one museum after another with few complaints. One thing that surprised me, was how much I knew about the exhibits. I guess from reading Time and Newsweek, I see reveiws of art and absorbed it without even noticing.

One of my pals had lived in the area previously and knew where to go and what to do. Of course, I kind of live here part time, but I sure didn't know much. I can tell you where the best antique shops are, though.

Her advice on lunch? When you go to Chinatown, don't stop on the first block, like a tourist. Go down a block and over and get deeper into the area. Seemed to work for us, my lunch was delicious!

Even though we had some gloom and rain, we kept going. We didn't get too wet. And luckily, we changed our schedule to go and see the Portrait Gallery before the Haulocast Museum. Because if not, we'd have been there during the tragic shooting. That is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

No tragedies in our group! Even Jen's lost wedding ring turned up in her suitcase later on. My husband had to go out of town at the last minute, so it was just us girls. We stayed up late, sipping wine and telling stories all night. Now, to me, that is the best part. It doesn't matter what location you are in, where the trip takes you, it is who you are with that counts.

While we were exploring the Adam Morgan (?) district -in a down pour that kept us from seeing too much- we did get to see some Hollywood set crew guys taking down a scene from a movie being filmed there. I guess we were a bit late to see Reese Witherspoon, but it was still interesting to watch a fake brick store front being carried away.

This week has been extra special to me, not only did I get this Girl's Trip with my friends from Lawrence, and the Blogger's Day out in Leesburg with those pals, I had Beth come to hang out too. It was like a Girls Week on steroids, three gatherings in one!

After dropping off my first set of pals at the airport, I picked up Beth for the 2nd leg of the journey. We explored Baltimore a bit, drove down to the Wharf and ate crabcakes and walked through Little Italy.

With a GPS, you can go just about anywhere! I had some time between dropping the first batch of friends off and picking up the 2nd, so I drove around a bit all by myself too. Then, on the way home from the airport, Beth and I took a little side trip to Kennsington to look at the old Antique District there.

My husband got back in town just in time to take Robin, Beth, and I out to the Tower Club for an extremely schmancy dinner. I usually photograph the gorgeous food there, but my new camera is so much bigger and brighter, it seemed a bit obnoxious. So, my husband reminded me not to disturb the other guests and to be polite. That isn't easy for me…

Its also not going to be easy for me to get back into a routine of being at home and doing my normal chores, not being wined and dined daily while giggling with girlfriends. But, Sugawings is around and I have a feeling there will be plenty of girly gigglling time with her!

I’m shallow and I admit it

antiques/junking, Moving to DC, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 15, 2009

Wow, how much fun can you jam into a week away? Enough that when all the running around stopped, I slept for about 12 hours straight last night! And today is a day of goofing off and that is about all. Since I don't fly home until tomorrow, and I have literally shopped till I dropped, and seen all the sights to see, today I am not doing much of anything but staying at the computer in the apartment.

I've been exploring Picassa as an editing tool and learned how to make a collage!!!

On the way to taking Beth to the airport in Baltimore so she could fly back to Kansas City, we started early and made a few side trips. I'd heard a lot about "Accessories of Old" in Bethesda, but had never been out there yet.

Now, I had a great time exploring DC with my friends earlier in the week, and seeing all the monuments and museums. BUT- to me, this stuff was every bit as full of history as that was! Am I shallow? Or ignorant? Well, possibly, but I sure loved being surrounded by all these old, beautiful things in this shop a lot more than looking at the Washington Monument.

Yes, I'll have to admit, I am not very deep. All I need is something pretty to look at and I am happy. Add a touch of sparkle and I am thrilled.

Everything in the store is OLD stock, that was stored and never, ever used. Some of it looks brand new, it is in such good shape. Not just some of it, most of it. I'm used to seeing worn out, dog eared button cards at flea markets and antique stores. Not brand spanking new, straight from the factory cards that have never been messed with, but are still about 100 years old.

That is how I love to see history!

Its lucky that Beth had to get to the airport, or I'd probably still be sitting on the floor in that shop going through bins of trinkets.

They had everything, from buttons and trims to jewels and supplies. I was enthralled by it all.

As a painter, I really did appreciate spending time in the National Portrait Gallery in DC, and going to museums. So, I am not completely uncultured. Although, my very favorite part of the city was some extremely old flocked wallpaper on the walls of a store we stopped into. But in my defense, that was paper like I'd never seen anywhere, a real heavy velvet, not a typical flocking!!!!

Next time I go back to Embellishments of Old, I'll be picking up a few of these to dress up a sweater for Sugarwings. There was even one with a Big Bad Wolf, one of her favorite characters. That girl loves the spooky parts of stories, and always prefers the wolf to Red Riding Hood. She is also crazy about the Wicked Witch of the West, but not more so than Dorothy.In Sugarwing's world, Dorothy is the biggest star on the planet, and Ariel is right after her.

On our way to Bethesda, we stopped at Sue's yard sale. She gave us some spectacular deals and I found a pile of cute stuff.

I wished this $20 chair would have fit in my suitcase.

Driving between Arlington and Bethesda, we saw some beautiful scenery. The GPS took us on a round about way, through some old neighbor hoods we would have missed if we'd stayed on the interstates. That kind of sight seeing is one of my favorite things to do. Its much more likely for me to drive around an old neighbor hood and explore there than poke around a museum when I travel. I like to think of it as "living history". But on the other hand, maybe I am just not very deep….

PS- I learned how to make a mosaic just in time to join "Mosaic Monday" at Mary's. She has a list of links to other mosaics that you can check out too.

Heading to Leesburg

antiques/junking, celebrations, Moving to DC, parties

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2009

What a fun group! Here we are in front of Prom Dress Central, other wise known as the "Anti- Hope Room", (Hope is such a funny person to be with, and she came up with that name, since it is pretty over whelmingly beautifully stocked with froof, and she doesn't care for that stuff)

Pictured in the back row is: Jessica http://www.suchprettythings.typepad.com/

Pamelahttp://www.suchprettythings.typepad.com/

Lori myfaeriewindow.blogspot.com/>

Amy http://www.inspireco.blogspot.com/

Heather prettypetals.typepad.com/>

Andrea http://www.velvetstrawberries.typepad.com/

Front is: Hope http://besottment.typepad.com/

Beth http://bethleintz.typepad..com/

Stephenie justalittlebitpink.blogspot.com/>

and Robin http://thriftymissprissy.typepad.com/

We were at On a Whim, a place of pink polka dot loveliness (that I don't have the web address for right now, sorry). One room there is nothing but vintage gowns and hats. I've been there before and have made the appropriate sqeally noises when I first saw the room, so really enjoyed listening as each new person came in and saw it all for the first time. There might have been a happy squeal or two…

The owner, Donna Trexler has done a breath taking, squeal producing job of displaying her gowns.

And her HATS!!!!! I was in love with the hats!!

What better backdrop for a group photo of this group?

By the way, I am loving my new camera! I'm getting used to it, and learning a few tricks. Plus, I downloaded Picassa photo editing and have had a chance to experiment with that. I'd love to learn how to add tint to a sepia photo, wouldn't it be pretty if I had been able to add a blush of pink to the roses in this one?

The Cottage ( www.cottageatleesburg.com ) was as cute as a bug, just as its welcoming front porch implied.

There was lots to talk about all day, and you might think it was complicated for a big group to shop together, but we all had such similar interests we had an easy time staying together while we poked around here and there in Leesburg. There was time to mingle and talk one on one too, and talking to Amy and Andrea and hearing about thier toddlers helped my homesickness about missing Sugarwings. (only 4 more days till I get to hold my little Fairy Grand Baby again!!)

Here is Andrea, Hope, and Amy. I've met them all at Silver Bella, but never really got a chance to spend time with Hope or Amy till yesterday, and am so glad I got a chance to hang with them both.

This year have been lucky enough to get to visit with Andrea once in April, then again in May, and now here in June. We both have husbands that travel a lot, and she joked that we might see each other more than we see them.

Amy has invited me to come to a craft day at her home when I "head" back this way again. Can't wait.

Most of the things that I was really attracted to, like this statue, weren't feasible for my suitcase. I guess the shopping part of the day was more for social than for buying purposes for me. The stores in Leesburg will always be some of my faves, but on this day, I was too busy chatting to be seriously shopping.

Although, this little guy might have fit into my suitcase…

We did manage to buy a few goodies, and Pamela provided the cutest travel folders filled with pockets for receipts, business cards and custom tags with our names on them to tie onto our shopping bags so we could tell whose was whose. When Beth, Robin, and I loaded my trunk, Beth saw this and said we had to snap a picture of the tagged loot.

If you travel with bloggers, there is one photo op after another!

I'll have some pictures of the little (did I really say little? I meant extravagant and generous) gift exchange as well as the haul from shopping later on.

Thanks, Heather for pulling it all together for us to meet! What a fun group, and a beautiful day.

Happy Birthday Beth!

jewelry, Moving to DC, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 12, 2009

This is another post written before I left for Virginia.

One of the things we have planned while hanging out in the DC area is a big birthday celebration for Beth. She is flying out for a couple of days to visit and we are meeting up with blog friends in the area for a shopping day in Leesburg, but before that, she and I are going to go out for a ritzy dinner with Robin.

I wanted to make something special for as a gift for her, so when I came across this vintage bracelet, that says "Virginia" on it, that gave me an idea for something sentimental.

Its an old ID bracelet, and I'm sure the owner's name was Virginia, but I thought it was the perfect base for a charm bracelet to commemorate the trip.

Well, that's a tiny photo, huh? Sometimes I have no idea what I am doing.

Her birthstone is pearl, so I added lots of genuine pearls to the chain. Another stone for June is a moonstone. I had some sweet little moonstone settings that my Sissy had given me and told me to only use for special pieces. I think this is special. Beth is like my Kansas sister, my real sisses are all the way across the Midwest in Indiana.

This little silver treasure chest is meant to signify all the fun days we have had out treasure hunting together. Plus, I bought it at our favorite flea market in Sparks while on one of those treasure hunting trips.

The Eiffel Tower symbolizes our Miss Frenchie's sale.

Of course, more pearls. And a vintage heart charm, because I know how much she loves old things with a lot of history, that aren't in perfect shape. And also because I just love her to pieces!!

Now, I need to make a card and get it wrapped. Plus pack my suitcase, gather all the goodies I am packing for the other girls we are meeting up with, and get ready to hit the road. Hmm, seems weird writing this before the trip and planning for it to post next week. Well, next week for me, Today for you as you read it.

Do you remember seeing these? When I first showed them, I mentioned they were for a special event coming up. They are the little gifts that I am packing to take to the other blog pals who are meeting in Leesburg.

Some are old friends, some are people I have been wanting to meet. This is going to be a very special day, all organized by Heather, who planned it all and sent out the invitations. I owe her a big thank you for making all the arrangements from meeting places in the morning to dinner reservations that night. Also a thank you for inviting me, as well as timing it so I could be in the area to attend.

I just can't wait! And yes, there will be LOTS of photos. This will be my last "pre-made" post, the next will be in real time and I'll have pix of the trip.

Here is a list of who Heather has gathered up for this party:

Lori www.myfaeriewindow.blogspot.com myfaeriewindow.blogspot.com/>

Beth http://bethleintz.typepad..com/

Andrea http://www.velvetstrawberries.typepad.com/

Robin http://thriftymissprissy.typepad.com/

Jessica http://www.suchprettythings.typepad.com/

Stephenie justalittlebitpink.blogspot.com/>

Heather   prettypetals.typepad.com/>

Amy http://www.inspireco.blogspot.com/

Pamela http://pamelajanes.blogspot.com/

Hope http://besottment.typepad.com/

If you'd like one of these journal/tag books, I am offering one as a gift in my JUNE GIVEAWAY. You enter by leaving any comment on any post.

There are also some for sale in the Boutique.

Crowning Glories

Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 10, 2009

Andrea is asking us to show our crowns. And since I am a crown lover, just had to play along, even though I will be in DC and unable to participate in real time. So, I'm pre-posting this before I leave.

Funny, I never really thought of myself as a doll person, but I look around my studio and seem to have become a doll collector at some point…. Little figurines, statues, toys, all sorts of babies.

And I've always loved crowns, but just didn't realize how much till I went to my first Silver Bella. I think that my crown love was a hidden away secret till I joined a group where crown loving was accepted and common!

Tiaras and crowns were always something I enjoyed, but not really wore, or used much in every day life. Now, they are a big part of my life, and I seem to have an abundance of them. These that I am showing you are from a quick walk around my studio. My home itself is all royall-ed up too. Can you have enough of them?? Not as far as I am concerned.

Especially if they are hand crafted or vintage. This one is both., I made it from a vintage metal trim.

Working on this photo shoot for Romantic Country with my pal, Carol and seeing the darling crowns that she made, was right up my alley.

Carol taught me how she makes these little sparkling beauties from gutter guard wire. I wrote the article and included instructions from her on how they were assembled, then of course, HAD to make up a bunch myself!

This one is sporting a glittered dove.

And my sugared Twinkle figurine wears a crown that once was part of a vintage earring.

I'm not always lucky enough to find old jewelry that is crown shaped, but when I buy vintage pieces I always try to find bits that could be elements to form a crown, like this fairy's rhinestone bauble.

And of course, little cake topper ballerinas come with a crown already in place. I just enhance theirs a bit with a rhinestone or crystal.

You could almost call this fairy's crown more of a hat, than a crown. But in my mind, it is -of course- a crown!

Every fairy deserves a royal headpiece! Sugarwings loves them too. Although she calls them "corns".

Homesick before I even leave, but just ask Beth, I’m kind of a whiner about things

parties, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 8, 2009

Since I'm going to be away for over a week, I thought I would "pre-post" a few entries that would come up while I am away.

As much as I love travel and look forward to meeting up with good friends and having adventures, I'm basically a homebody. I'm homesick already just thinking about being away. So I thought I'd show some pictures of my house. Probably more for me than for you, I'll be able to turn on the computer any time and take a peek at my sweet home and not feel as lonely for it.

Here are the front steps, that I mosaic-ed in a vining pattern. I wanted something organic looking, in honor of my Dad, who was an avid gardener. I was working on these steps while we waited for the test results that diagnosed his cancer.

My favorite place in the house, though, is Sugarwing's room. I'll never forget when she was old enough to talk and she told me, "Grammy has pretty things". I told her, "No, baby, this is YOUR room, these are YOUR pretty things". The look on her face was one of the most special things I have ever seen. I will always treasure that moment with her. Its a joy to me to know that she loves her room as much as I do.

My kitchen is extra special to me, because my son, Sugarwing's Daddy, custom built these cabinets for me.

He is a talented carpenter, but no longer does that work. He has to take good care of his hands now, since he is a massage therapist. Which is also a handy skill to have in a son! Especially when my back goes out like it did last week.

I can still get him to do a special project for me here and there, though. He and I ripped out the old stair way and rebuilt it last year.

It will be hard to be away from my little Dorkies for 8 days too.

But those 8 days will fly by fast, and soon, I'll be walking through my front door again to a house full of barking dogs jumping up and trying to sniff out where I've been all week. And honestly, I have a GREAT week planned, with my best friends and so much fun to look forward to, so I have nothing to complain about. But like I said, I'm a homebody and will miss my house and my gardens, and my fairy grand baby, and all the dorkies.

In the meantime, Andrea will be having a "Show me your Crown" party and there is no way I could miss that. I might have a few around…. So, please join in on Wed. the 10th for that, and please link up and show your royal head gear too.

I've been very lax all week in returning comments and emails. Since I hurt my back, my time in a computer chair has been limited. I've read and enjoyed each and every one of them, sorry if I didn't get back to you. Also, with this trip, I will be even further behind. Please keep in contact, I do read them all, and each is entered into the monthly drawing. This month's prize is a vintage wallpaper covered journal that I made.

A Mermaid’s Tale

Moving to DC

By Karla Nathan / June 7, 2009

Tomorrow, I am going to Virginia for 8 days of fun. Three friends are flying out with me to stay at our apartment in Centreville and we plan on exploring downtown DC, going out to dinners, and just plain old having some girl time away from home.

Before getting packed and ready to go, I was able to squeeze in some creative time, and made a couple of wallpaper covered books. This one is a butterfly. Well, that probably is something that you already noticed….

The cover, is a pretty, pink paper (old, but not as old as most of what I collect) that I turned into a butterfly with inks and markers, then glued some millinery flowers to. I added more old flowers to the soft ribbons and lace that bind it, and tied on a tag too. I drew another butterfly onto the tag, and glued an old butterfly shaped brooch to it.

This one is flower shaped (well, durr). It has the best, old faded velvet rose EVER on the top of it. Both are available in my Boutique. But since I'll be out of town for those 8 fun packed days, I can't ship anything until I get back. Sorry, but if you want one, I promise to send it out as soon as I return.

The three friends who are flying out with me, will be going home on Thursday, then Beth will fly out to join me and to celebrate her birthday there!

She and I will be meeting up with a slew of blog friends for a shopping date that Heather has invited us to. Then, Beth flies home on Saturday and I will have a couple of days to hang out with my handsome husband and enjoy his company. We'll probably be lazy, go to a few movies, sit by the pool, go to the gym, maybe snuggle a bit…

While we are away, my brother-in-law, Mr. Handy, will come over and rip this nasty old carpet out of the baby's room and replace it with laminate flooring!!!!!! That is a dream come true, to leave on a trip and come back to a completed home improvement project. Life does not get any better than that!

Since the carpet was going, and I had the room emptied out, I thought it was a good time to tackle repairing this small hole in the wall.

And while I was at it, I painted a mermaid for Sugarwings. I gave my fairy grand baby that nickname when she was just a few days old, because she just has always looked like a fairy to me.

But that kid LOVES mermaids. She isn't an air creature, she is a water nymph. Maybe I should have called her Sugartail, but then, that sounds kind of creepy, doesn't it?

Her room has a fairy theme, but I figured a mermaid would fit right in with the magical feel of the room. And I really enjoyed wiping my brush on the soon to be gone carpet!

I seem to be about ready to go. The dogs are bathed and have new haircuts, so they won't get anything caught in their fur while I am not here to help them out. I've pre-written a few blogs that will post while I am away. I have little gifties made and packed for the blogging group day, and a gift for Beth. Boarding passes are printed, the suitcase is full.

I might just go sit on the patio with a glass of wine and a good book and enjoy the last few hours I have at my home before I take off. See you when I get back!

Author name: Karla Nathan