Karla Nathan – Page 81 – Karla's Cottage

Our respect for the bird is slipping….

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

By Karla Nathan / November 19, 2018

Sugarwings and I LOVE decorating for the holidays, but we try to hold back and wait til after Thanksgiving. Our reminder to each other is, "We must respect the bird!"

Last year, our home was on the holiday tour plus I was hosting a holiday workshop (A Snowbird's Song) and I had a great excuse to ignore our rule and toss tinsel everywhere on November 1st.

And this season, we started our holiday fun a bit early by attending the play, "Elf" at the KU Lied Center. We decided to throw a mini dinner party before the show, and simply had to have appropriate decor to serve our meal, right???? Heck, it wasn't our fault that the date of the play was before Thanksgiving.

Sugarwings was in charge of the tablescape and made up this Candy Cane Forest, from the story.

Cocoa parties are a big part of our Christmas celebrations, and Buddy the Elf loves cocoa too. Typically, we do not have our first cup until the tree is up and lit. We made an exception, and served hot chocolate with organic candy canes and marshmallows in both vanilla and peppermint. She made a banner from one of Buddy's quotes.

He does have some of the best quotes.

While she crafted a candy cane forest, I hot glued some felt and feathers into elf hats to wear that night.

I was kind of surprised that we were the only group decked out for the theme, but was proud of my girls for rocking the look.

We served finger foods and things we thought elves would like, although we didn't go whole hog with Buddy's list of elves' favorite food groups:

1- Candy

2-Candy Canes

3- Candy Corn

4- Syrup

We decided to compromise on our respecting the bird rules and leave our tablescape set up. I dodged a bullet on breaking the rule even further by being very busy, and having a couple of trips come up to prevent me from pulling more yule goodies out of the closet.

But I'm twitching with the need to tear into the storage closet and fling lights and ornaments from one end of the house to the other!

From inside my travel journal

Books, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 16, 2018

Our sister trip to Florida included lots of craft time. I pack my portable printer and we slap photos into the books I made for us along with doodles, scraps, and other memorabilia of the day.

This is a drawing I did for Bobbie's pages, with highlights of her Disney time. She is a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, so I drew a Capt. Jack for her, and he is holding her cell phone with its Hocus Pocus cover to take a selfie with a giraffe (in honor of taking animal pictures from our balcony at Animal Kingdom), Timon (who has heart pupils because I teased her about flirting with the character at the park), and a flamingo wearing MIckey ears, because she loves those birds.

And here are the three of us as Sandersons stating, "We will put a spell on you if we remember what we were planning to do"

It references lots of fun moments from the week, including our names for the week, Bibbity (Sis) Bobbity (Bobbie, of course), and Boo, (me). My face is painted witchy pink, from our night at the guncles'.

Sis is wearing her Gundren clothes, Bobbie's hair is meant to be both from Hocus Pocus and an ice cream cone shape.

We posed for mermaid shadow selfies on the beach, and I found a shell that I thought was a heart at first, then realized that it was really a tail fin. So, I glued it to my shadow.

Here is Sissy at the Beast's restaurant.

I used paper from Michaels and words cut from the Disney Springs map on this page.

And made a broom for this picture of us in front of the castle after watching the Hocus Pocus show.

This rug was part of the carpet in our room, I cut out Bobbie on it, and glued it over a napkin that looked like a starry sky.

(Her name is Valentine, so I thought the cut out phrase was appropriate.)

At the Bippity Boppity Boo salon, we were frosted with fairy dust. For my book, I added glitter over the sprinkles.

I used a trading pin, and pictures from the map for this picture of Sissy dancing at Animal Kingdom. Then, I cut out names of the places we visited there and glued them onto the page.

For our photo in front of the stain glass window at the Beast's castle, I layered rose papers and added a charm that looks like the enchanted mirror from the story.

This animal paper from Michaels was ideal for Animal Kingdom!! It is two layers, one as a background, then I cut out the animals that got covered up and glued them over the photo too.

As much as I love vintage papers, for scrap books, it is nice to use some actual scrap book paper, because you can always find something to fit the them. I also like using maps and brochures from places I visit.

On this Halloween crafting page, I cut out a label from a pack of supplies that says, "Halloween Crafts". So, sometimes, it is worth it to use the trash too.

Sparkle papers and textures are great too. I've glued shells and a vintage stir stick (found on one of our shopping days) to this one.

This one is a fave, it is a photo of our grandma, her mom and sister that I doctored up.

Oh, and here are a couple pics of the cover too!

Kismet Forest Farm Barn Clean Up Day

family, Sacred Circus

By Karla Nathan / November 13, 2018

My son and his family live on a sprawling, 13 acre piece of wooded land that they call Kismet Forest Farm. There is a barn full of possibilities sitting on the grounds, and last week a group of friends came to help get started on making those possibilities into realities.

This is the interior of the barn. For now, the plan is to strip down the old dry wall, paint everything white, and add a wood stove for heat. Then, the circus performers can use it all winter.

Later on, more renovations will happen, as budget allows.

Once completed, there will be all sorts of workshops, from yoga to circus classes, as well as sustainable growing classes and music.

Helpers got started on tearing down old outbuildings, and sorting the materials into piles to save and reuse.

Nails had to be pulled out of the wood before it was stacked up for reuse.

Lots of good supplies were salvaged for the work on the barn that day. And a bonfire was enjoyed with the rest of the wood.

It was a beautiful, fall day to be out and enjoying the colors, and helping make Kismet a gathering place for camping, learning, and music.

The family made a vat of vegan chilli for the group, then we all went for a walk in the woods to explore the trails my son has carved out of the wild.

I was quite impressed with what he has already accomplished.

This place will really be something when they get done!

Seashell Fairies in St Augustine, and a Beach Blessings Angel in Cocoa Beach

family, sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 10, 2018

The beach house I rented with my life long buddies for our birthday get together was so nice, I rented it again with my sisses!

And like I did in April, I also made a seashell fairy for each of us as a thank you to the beach.

Each expresses the joy that I found while strolling along the sand.

Aren't they happy little sprites?

And of course, I had to make a boy fairy for Guncle Randy, who joined us for some crafting.

The shells were plentiful, the weather was beautiful, the company was ideal,

I had much to be thankful for.

There was even sea glass! And this shell/tooth thing…

Which was perfect for a Winnifred Sanderson bit of fun.

Staying on the Atlantic side, meant no sunsets over the water, but one morning, I was up in time to catch the tail end of a sunrise. I was pretty impressed with myself for that.

This was the balcony view, at our Cocoa beach place. We hopped around and stayed at 4 different places in our ten day trip.

Beach Place Guest House had some fantastic landscaping, it was just too bad that the red tide made it too hard to breathe for us to spend much time outside to enjoy the well sculpted views.

The shells at Cocoa Beach were harder to come across. This was the total of what I found, but it was just enough for this one little girl.

I crafted a blessings angel for that beach, in hopes of healing the red tide.

As well as a witch, just because I'd found these broken bits of shell and one looked like a jaw, so really wanted to make something with it.

Hubert the Gnome

family

By Karla Nathan / November 7, 2018

While in Jacksonville, my sisses and I checked out the antique mall that the guncles sell at, Southern Crossing. I found a couple of glorious hats (very affordable, too!), a gigantic and gorgeous roll of older lace, some sparkly tinsel, and…

My Dad!

I wish I had a better photo of him to share. This gnome is so much like him, I just had to buy it. And it was even in Guncle Randy's booth.

Not only that, Hubert the Gnome was holding a seashell, suitable for a beach vacation souvenir!

Hidden Mickeys everywhere- And thank you, Disney for the upgrades!

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 4, 2018

One thing (among many) that I love to do at Disney is hunt for Hidden Mickeys. This flamingo island, seen on the safari is a great example of how these little tricksters hide in plain sight.

The island itself is a Mickey!

Here is another example, I didn't even notice them until I glued this photo of Orleans Riverside hotel into my journal. See them lurking on the fence railing? About knee cap height.

Sometimes they are right there in in your face, like the citrus in the water jar at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Or under your feet, like the carpet in the halls of Jambo House.

Sometimes they are subtle like the grates outside Animal Kingdom.

Or very prominent, like this pumpkin.

Our room at Orleans was full of them! On the lamp…

The shower curtain…

The tile in the shower…

I'm sure there were more that I missed. It was a great room. And an upgrade. When I saw where our reserved room was on the map and realized that it was very, very far from the parking lot, plus upstairs. I knew it might be hard on my sisses to get to it after a long day at Disney Springs.

I asked if there was anywhere that we could change to, hoping we might have easier access from our car and was offered a free upgrade to this Princess suite. And it was really cool. The headboard scene has embedded lights that mimic the swamp scene with the fireflies in Tiana's movie. The portrait is 3-D.

This wasn't our only upgrade. Back in April when I was planning the trip, the room we wanted at Jambo House wasn't available for two nights, so we were given a suite instead of a double queen room for the same price.

It was wonderful to be overlooking the animals beneath our balcony, plus having a nice, big room to spread out in.

Every room I've stayed in on Disney World grounds has been comfy, clean, and well kept. The themed rooms are extra wonderful, and not really that much more expensive, but I rarely splurge on them, since not that much time is usually spent in the room itself. But after staying in these two, beautifully themed, specialty spaces, as free upgrades from the lower priced rooms I'd booked, I'm thinking that next time, I will certainly spring for the nicer rooms, they were so fun.

Where else can you ride a magic carpet in your hotel room? This one was printed into the flooring.

And the whirlpool bubble bath was much appreciated for tired feet after tramping through the parks.

We were very lucky to be given not one, but two upgrades on our trip. There were other moments of Disney Magic, including being directed to the front of a line at one point, and many other kindnesses. I've heard that each "castmember" (employee) at Disney is supposed to gift someone with an extra each day. It seems to me like there are more than that, because I've seen so many instances of these extras over the years.

Lucky me!

Thank you, Disney World!!

Speaking of luck, how unusual is it to run into family members at Animal Kingdom Park??? Yes, we were all at Gorilla Falls Trails taking some quiet time to birdwatch, and surprise! There was Carol and Jim with Carrie and her kids.

Wow!

A haunted mansion in my car

celebrations, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / November 1, 2018

Since we have lived in our country cottage, for the last 25 years or so, we haven't had trick or treaters. Family or friends have dropped by to show us their costumes, but we've not had strangers knock on our door.

I LOVE costumes!

And I LOVE Trick or Treaters!

So, when I heard that Sugarwings' martial arts studio was hosting a Trunk or Treat, I decided to join in and transformed my car into a haunted mansion. There were a dozen or so other ghoulish cars there, and a bouncy house too.

Some people went all out.

One family even rented a U-haul van and turned it into a black lit, haunted house.

It was all pretty cute, and I was glad to be there, even though I really didn't know anyone until Sugarwings and Fin came by to visit with our Hippy Chick.

She was only there a few minutes, and I was a surprise for her, she didn't know I was going to be there with a spooky car.

It has been decades since I bought Halloween candy BEFORE the holiday, instead of the day after when it is on sale, or got to hand it out to a constant parade of kiddos excited to be in costume.

I think that trunk or treating is even more fun than having them come to the door, I got to talk to them and get a good look at the get ups they chose to wear. Their joy in their disguises shines through and I had a blast visiting with them when they came by my hatch back to get their treats.

Funny, this year, Sugarwings and I didn't do as many holiday activities as we usually do, but I didn't let it stop me from doing them on my own. Any occasion is what you make it and I wanted to make Halloween festive for myself. I carved a pumpkin, decorated the car, and got myself all witchy for the evening, then picked up a pumpkin shaped pizza to share with Ryan when I got home.

It would have been easier to simply spend the day as any other day in October, since I didn't have any grand fairies to hang out with, but I decided to go for it and celebrate on my own. (My poor husband tried to join in and play along with me, but had a business trip come up at the last minute., he'd flown in from Boston at noon, and found out he had to be in Pittsburgh that night, and to turn around and leave as soon as he got here.)

So, by myself, I created my own fun, participated in the festivities, and had a great day.

One thing I know, is that fun is out there, just waiting for you, if you make an effort to look for it.

Happy Halloween!

holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 31, 2018

I hope you have a Spooktacular Day!

Ghoulish Guncle Goofiness, and some bootiful Halloween decor

celebrations, family, guncles, holiday decor, Travel

By Karla Nathan / October 29, 2018

During our Sister Trip to Florida, we took a jaunt up north to Jax and the Land of Guncles.

Where we were met with the typical Guncle charm and hospitality, and an added dose of creepiness.

We were greeted by this sign.

Their welcoming home was in its full, Fall glory.

With ghouls, goblins, witches, and more.

So, we decided we needed to fit in with our surroundings and got out the face paints.

I went Pink.

Sissy got some purple witchiness going on.

While Guncle Randy embraced his inner warlock and went full on, goblin green.

Lovely Lily didn't need to change colors, she has a pretty, autumn glow year round with her auburn hair.

The guys had the house foofed up to the hilt.

It is always an honor to see my artwork making it into some of their displays.

Randy's art was prominent too.

Here are pages from a Romantic Gothic Ghost art journal he did.

The house was creepy, cool, and very well done.

Our pal, Regina, made this banner.

No detail was neglected.

I'll leave you with a few more pics from our fun night there.

A Hocus Pocus Trip and a Sandy Winifred Sanderson with Seashell Teeth

celebrations, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / October 26, 2018

Our sister trip to Florida was Sanderson Sister themed all the way.

So, when I found these "teeth" on the beach, I had to make myself into Winifred with the seashell in my mouth.

(And looky!! I found SEA GLASS too!! It was a treasure trove of unique goodies from the sea on Vilano Beach)

When I was done playing with the shell teeth, I used them to make a sandy Winifred Sanderson.

There were also a ton of black shells, which lent themselves well to making a sea witch. Her broom is a palm frond. I'm afraid black shells don't photograph well, it really did look cuter in person.

Our whole trip was Hocus Pocus themed, and we started off at Disney to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and watch the Sanderson Sister Villain Spectacular.

The lighting on the castle was pretty durn spectacular!

To save wear and tear on our backs, we rented a stroller to haul our extras around in (you never know when you'll need a jacket or an umbrella at Disneyworld) and for a name tag, I wrote in

"Sanderson"

Of course.

And I witchied up our magic bands with Sharpies and glitter nail polish. (Why wear a plain band when you can transform one easily with a waterproof sharpie?)

We needed a Spell book to carry. I painted canvas bags for each of us with the witches' book on one side.

The other side had our name and a witch hat.

All three were a bit different, but all had plenty of glitter. I think we left a trail everywhere we went.

I was thrilled with every second of the Halloween Party and hated to see it end at midnight. I'd love more than anything else to go back for the upcoming Christmas party and take my grand fairies.

But as my husband says, it is excessive to be flying to Disney every few weeks….

Even though there is a Christmas party that just happens to fall on a day she is out of school for a 3 day weekend, and I have free airline ticket points and enough Disney Credit Card points for the park tickets, and could take the free Disney transportation… we would just have to pay for hotel and food, and heck a person needs to eat wherever you happen to be, right????

Sooooooooo tempting, but- he is right. I think it is bordering on greedy, and spoiled to even contemplate a return so soon. Still, it is fun to think about.

(by the way, the Chase Disney credit cards give you a $200 gift card just for signing up. And a percentage back to spend on anything Disney, including movie tickets at AMC)

Author name: Karla Nathan