Author name: Karla Nathan

The new issue of Romantic Country is on the stands now and looks like a really pretty one.  I can’t wait to make time to sit down and savor it. Especially the article about the Rachael Ashwell’s new Shabby Chic home. I’m intrigued by that. 

But, life has been hectic the last couple of days, so I haven’t had a chance to do more than look and see if my article was in it or not!

And, yep, there we are, Carol and I are in there.  She has made the most wonderful projects for the pictures, and we will be having a giveaway with one of her ideas coming up soon.

Stay tuned for details! 

By the way, just LOOK at all the blogger friends listed in the credits.

And did you also notice Diane Guthrie in the photo credits? She is a great pal, and my family and I met up with her this weekend for a bit of  "agri-tourism" at a local winery.

Diane was doing a photo shoot for New Holland Tractors and needed some models to pick grapes for the day.

So, here we are, the newest tractor pin-up girls, soon to be plastered on barn walls on farms everywhere.

Diane was sweet to take some extra photos of the 4 of us, my two sisses and niece, so we have some professional quality photos of all of us together.

I think that back in the 70’s my sisters and I went to have our portraits done  together, but not since then.  This will be a nice one to frame and keep.   It is so  much better than going to a portrait studio, this picture will be full of memories of our fun weekend together.

Our morning at the winery started out foggy.  (by the way, these are now my photos, not Diane’s, but I am sure you could tell that).

The atmosphere was moody and romantic.

But I am afraid that once the novelty wore off and the fog burned away to become hot sun, we are the ones who became moody.

This wasn’t just playing, we actually had to work!!

We picked grapes for HOURS.  It was kind of fun and we had a great day over all, but it went on tooooo long. 

Still, it was an experience that was worth having, and I am glad we went.  I felt a bit bad about making my family be migrant workers for one of their vacation days, though.

Once lunch was served, we started to feel much better and quite pampered. The food was the best!

How can you feel grumpy when there is an all you can eat hand made chocolate buffet?

We were given little boxes of wine infused chocolates to take home (made by Sleepy Jean and absolutely, melt in your mouth, delicious!)

The company was good too.  This is Moofy, he picked up anything left lying around, water bottles, coffee cups, etc. and put them all in a pile by the house.  I wish I could train Twinks to pick up trash instead of trashing things!

After lunch, we met Sugarwings downtown for a quick carousel ride on the horsies in front of the Lawrence Antique Mall, where I just had to pop in and do a quick hat hunt.

Jackpot!  I found a fall colored rose strewn hat and have already ransacked it for the flowers.

Hmm, the creature on top didn’t come with the hat, he is a tomato worm that Bobbie Sue made from Sculpy.

We ended our day by sitting in the studio and making creatures from sculpy.

I whipped up a "flight" of fairies.  These are babies, newly hatching from their cocoons and are tucked into another hat I found this weekend.

Poor fairy babies, they don’t look too pleased to have a changeling in their nest!

Today, was back to work, the family is gone now.  So, I plucked the new (old) hat clean of its roses and listed them in Autumn craft packs on Etsy.

There is a total of 4 packs, just in time for you to make some Halloween finery for yourself.

And now, I need to get back to work again.  Silverbella is looming over me, I need to get ready!

check back with me in the next couple of days and I will have the Raised in Cotton & Karla’s Cottage Romantic Country Inspired Giveaway ready for you to see. 

Well, my family is left, on their way back to Indiana and it seems pretty quiet and lonely around here, with them gone. We had such a fun visit,  I don’t even know where to start, junking day and my new vintage gown and pile of hats? Renfest and Sugarwings dancing with fairies? Grape picking at a local winery? Sculpy night and the fairies we created?

How about Sugarwings and her favorite part of the Renfest? She adored this dragon and talked about him all day.

All of us loved the festival.  Sissy really got into the spirit of it by dressing as a fairy.  I was inspired by her and had to put on a pair of wings myself.  All I had was a tiny pair that the fairy grand baby loaned to me, so I added a vintage rose and some rhinestones  to them to give them more oomph.

And I also followed Sissy’s lead and added a bird to my garland.

When our little one saw the birds, she had to have one on her head too.

Her daddy learned how to do magic tricks with an orb. 

And we got to meet lots of real live fairies.

One of my favorite things was the dance of the fairies.

Our little sprite couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t supposed to be a part of the act.

When volunteers were asked to come up from the audience and join in, of course, Sugarwings was the first one up there.

She did her special dance, that looks like a marionette flying through the air, we couldn’t tell if her feet ever touched the ground during the performance. And of course, all of our group agreed that she stole the show from the other fairies.      

Durning dance, Sugarwings met some kindred spirits.  The only thing cuter than a little toddler fairy is a whole pack of them. Or do fairies come in packs?  Flocks? That sounds better.

This sleepy fairy says it all for me. Lots of fun and magical times are being had this weekend, but I am worn out!

I’m just popping in to say hi, while downloading our photos from the Renfest.  It was a beautiful day and Sugarwings had a great time showing off her dancing skills in a fairy circle.

More photos later- I hope you are all having a lovely weekend too!

This air clay and sculpy is just the best!  So far, so good, on figuring out what needs to be baked and what doesn’t. At least, I think I got it right….

I’ve only had time to paint a couple of the pieces and glitter them up.

Instead, I have been hanging with Sugarwings, she had a couple of sleepovers in a row.

And I finally managed to convince her to put  on the vintage dress from Auntie Beth for a short lived tea party.  A couple of minutes into the tea party, she got up to read a book to one of her fairies ( a gift from Sugar Bear Karla), then yelled-

"Pree dress OFF- I paint!!!!"

So, we spent the majority of the last couple of days making play dough snakes and painting.  Instead of saying ‘art studio’ she says ‘our studio’.

While she painted, I decked out this witch that I had made from sculpy (it had to be baked, and I baked it in the oven with the vintage marble "crystal ball", and the glass didn’t explode.)

She is wearing a hat made from old black velvet topped with a flower from my stash and a dove that I painted black and glittered to be a crow.

Her eyes are green crystals, but I think black would stand out more. I might pry the glued in crystals out and change them for a darker color. She looks kind of eerie with the light eyes.

There are a few air clay punkins that got painted too, but they are not done yet, just paint and glitter so far.  They have big plans for their future.  After the next issue of Romantic Country is on the stands, I’ll show you what to do with the pumpkins!  But it is a surprise until then.

And what happens to the pumpkins will also be involved with the fall giveaway from Carol and I, so remember to leave a comment if you want to enter that! (as well as my Sweet September Giveaway)

The three tags are for my sisters and niece who will be here in a couple hours!  They are driving in from Indiana where we are all from, and they still live. We will be going to the Kansas City Renascence Festival together on Saturday, and also doing some grape picking at a B&B and being treated to a gourmet luncheon there after a photo shoot that I am helping with on Sunday.  So, I might not have time to post in the next few days, or answer comments. But please, do leave me some, I will love reading them when I catch up! And each one is an entry into the TWO giveaways.

Since the fairy grand baby has been here for a couple of days and we have done nothing but paint and play dough, I haven’t had time to get ready for guests. Today is hectic! Groceries, cooking, arranging flowers, burning muffins.  Yep, I made a double batch of Pumpkinbutter muffins and burnt them so bad the house was full of smoke. 

Looks like pop tarts for breakfast tomorrow.

And the tags were all I had time to make, since I’ve had my helper here for a few days.  We went to TJMAxx and bougght a couple of their fairy dolls to give as gifts since nothing got created. 

Well, I’d better get moving with the rest of my preperations, I think I hear the baby monitor now, which means my little window of computer time has come to an end.

Have you ever played with Sculpy or air clay? After seeing Sugarwings have such fun with her play dough, I thought I should give it a try.

And in the upcoming article Carol and I worked on for Romantic Country, Carol has created some amazing fall decor with the stuff.

So Carol came by today to give me a lesson.

Instantly, I was in love with this new craft!

I tried both kinds of product, but didn’t realize one kind needs to be baked and the other doesn’t. So of course, I mixed them all up…. I am hoping I figured out which is which correctly.

So, some are going in the oven and some are not. I’ll see how they turn out.  If they burn or crumble, then  maybe I don’t love this craft as much as I thought!

In honor of the beautiful things that Carol made for the magazine article, we have decided to have a giveaway of one of the creations. We will also be selling some pretties from the shoot, and offering kits for you to make your own too.

Until the story comes out next week, these pictures will be your hints about what we will have to offer. (and no, it isn’t mice)

But I can tell you now, that Carol sure has some mad skills.  Wow, pretty stuff!

Miss Carol will be my Silver Bella roomie, and she had an idea to throw a party (Carol is a non-stop, idea producing machine).

So, on the first night of the event, we have invited the girls from our Pre-Bella Swap to our room, other wise known as the "Glitter Lounge" for wine and chocolate.

And of course, if you are inviting Bellas, you want it all to be pretty!  Today, we made wine charms with little silver bells on them.  We also added vintage beads, some charms, and semi-precious beads from my stash.  All of our glitter gal guests will get a charm to keep as a souvenir.

I want to find some tiny crowns to add to them too.

Speaking of machines, you should have seen the stuff Beth made today while Carol, Gwen and I planned Silver Bella projects.  I wish I’d gotten some photos of her pile of tags, she was a work-a-holic.

And she brought us each a bundle of these warm, Autumn colored ribbons.

Gwen is starting a blog too, as soon as I have an address, I’ll be telling you all about it.  She is fascinating and such fun. Its not every day that you meet an FBI anti-terrorist agent who collects French ephemera!

Sweet Gwen let me copy some of her rare and wonderful papers that she just picked up from FRANCE last month.   She will also be attending Silver Bella and is going to be a vendor there, and this is a sample of some of her wares. Directly from France and straight to Omaha!

Bellas will get first pick from Gwen’s French loot. That right there is enough reason for you to sign up to go to the event, if you haven’t already!

Just listening to her describe some of the displays for the booth she is planning made me drool. Then, she spread all these Chocolat cards out on the table and I swear, we almost needed a mop, the drool factor was way up there.  

Details will be coming about Raised in Cotton and Karla’s Cottage’s Fab Fall Giveaway in honor of the magazine article, but for now, remember that every comment counts toward my Sweet September prize!

Look what came in the mail today! I haven’t had chance to read it all yet, I need to save some for when I have time to savor it.  This is one magazine that always has one beautiful photo after another, and never disappoints.

Since I enjoy this publication so much, I really appreciate being included in the pages.

The theme I created for was "burlap". I used the rough fabric to make some labels for old bottles, and embellished them with some doodads I had around, like a watch face and some millinery flowers.

I did take time to read one article right away. My buddy, Carol, has written a heart felt story about her mom, and her laundry day memories.  It was especially touching for me to read, knowing that her mother, Stella Mae, passed away last week. 

This was a sweet tribute to Stella Mae, and Carol should be so proud of what she has written about her.  I’m sure her mom is proud too.    

Normally, I am a world class sleeper. I’m out like a light most nights, but yesterday, I was tossing and turning.  So I was up before 5am, and started painting charms.

They are metal charms that I have glued watercolor paper too, painted and covered with paper glaze.

There are birds, crowns, cuppy cakes, roses, and tea cups full of flowers. Getting such an early head start, sure had me get a lot done. Not enough that I want to set my alarm for 5 am tomorrow, though.

This big, round charm was a broken bit of old jewelry that I turned into a centerpiece for this jewelry box.

Although the box isn’t done yet, it already looks better than when I started.  I bought this red, crown shaped jewelry holder for $1, and then primed and sprayed it silver.

The paper glaze is still wet on the rose painting, it looks a bit cloudy yet. And I am still gluing sparklies to the piece.

I’m thinking a few tiny millinery flowers would be nice too. And of course, the interior needs to be all decked out so that it is a proper space to store gems in!

The box will go with me to Silver Bella (yes, I know, you are all getting tired of hearing me yammer on about that event, but I am afraid it is just going to get worse and worse as November approaches)

Beth gave me these jewelry displays, (I should have taken before photos. )

They were a beat up white.  I like age on a piece, and love a great, old patina. But that isn’t what this was, it was just dirty white.

So, I spray painted all the displays a shiny silver, which needed to be taken down a notch.

I roughed up the silver paint with sandpaper, then rubbed ink over the area.

To keep the ink from rubbing off, I top coated with clear poly.

There is a spot right outside the back door of my studio where Sugarwings and I like to spray paint stuff.

Afterward, I rake the rocks around and they all look so pretty.  I have all colors of rock out there now, from the different sprays that I use. 

The fairy Grand baby thinks it is fun to pick up the painted rocks and plunk them into a bucket, then dump them on the floor of the studio. I guess she figures they belong in there with the other art work.

Too bad I don’t have more of these display pieces!  I’m happy with the way they turned out, and a pretty display goes a long way in making the stuff for sale look good.

Well, I’m off to paint more crown charms.  Don’t forget to leave a message if you want to enter the Sweet September Giveaway!

You know you can just about always find PINK here, but I never remember to join in on Pink Saturday, hosted by Beverly.

Today I remembered! I just hope I didn’t sign up too late…

Here are a couple of photos from pink millinery packs that I listed on Etsy today.  I added these faded pink trims to the packs, they seemed so perfect together.

While working away at the computer, this was my view.

Poor Twinks, wondering if her mommy was going to stop slaving over her Etsy shop and pay attention to her.

So, the two of us went out into the garden, during a break in the rain. Yesterday was a day of solid downpours and tornado sirens.  Today is just soggy.

September is a good time in the flowerbeds, the heat of the summer is gone and the plants get a final burst of glory before they get cold and die off.

Seems like I wait all year for the yard to get to this point, of fullness.

I wonder what it would be like to live in a climate where you don’t need to spend an entire summer waiting for the flowers to get nice and thick, just in time for them to start dying off?

This summer, I have fallen in love with pink foliage. 

Especially with as much shade as I have around my yard. The pink leaves have a nice glow in places where flowers never do well due to lack of sun.

And just when I gave up on my morning glories, the first blooms showed up!

My theme, is EASY.  I don’t plant anything that takes any work, no pinching back, no staking. Its all stuff that goes into the ground and is left to its own devices.

Which is why I LOVE the Knockout Rose. What a brilliant concept! I could just kiss the horticulturist who developed this plant. It is the only rose I have even been able to grow, because, it grows itself and is no work at all.  I’ve planted them everywhere and each one has thrived.

This has a been a good year for the moss rose too.  I didn’t plant a single one, they all came back from seed!  And lots of them too.

Poor Twinkle, would have been happy to spend the day outside walking around the yard with me, but I had some studio plans to get on with.

I got this pink cabinet out to line with old wallpaper, and when I laid it down, I decided it made a better display on its back, as a box, than standing up and being used as shelves.

One of my favorite pinks, is my studio wall.  I only painted one wall this way, so it isn’t overwhelming, and it is just right for me. I never get tired of it, and haven’t once though about repainting.

And I am a serial painter, not many walls escape my brush for this long.

Years ago, Beth made this apron for me, and I really enjoyed the barkcloth crazy quilt look of it, but it was too long and not as comfy as I’d like it.

So, finally, I cut it in half, took out the midsection, and put it back together shorter.  I added some fabric from a vintage table cloth as a belt to re-hook it together, and a pocket at the top made of half a doiley that Lori had given to me.

And in honor of Pink Saturday, I added some pretty pink lace to the Sweet September Giveaway.

It now includes:

1. * a white sheer apron
2. * Sugar and Creamer set
3. * A cruet "vase" with a moon charm
4. * a selection of my favorite teas
5. * and a vintage minty green doily
6. * a flocked white vintage rose bow

Leave a comment on any post if you want to enter!