Karla Nathan – Page 92 – Karla's Cottage

Valentine workshop at the studio

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2018

Thanks to those who have already signed up for our Valentine craft day on Saturday, Feb. 3rd! I've made some examples of the three colors to choose from for the candy box class.

And I hope to have kits available online for those who can't make it to Lawrence for the party.

Here are the options for the two classes, plus card making and lunch, if you would like to join our group at the cottage:

Love Bird:

9:30am til 11:30am,

11:30am- break

11:45- Valentine Card Making (Free time, with guidance if needed, make as many as you'd like. Examples will be on display to help get your creative juices flowing as you make your own holiday cards.)

1pm- lunch (home made, fresh, and organic)

Candy Box:

Please join the earlier class for card making at 11:45 and lunch at 1pm.

2:30- 4:30- class

Please come 10-15 minutes early to get settled.

Costs:

Bird/Cards/Lunch- $50

Cards/Lunch/Candy Box- $50

Combined day with both classes- $90

So far, all participants are attending both classes, which I was happy to see!

As with all kits and classes at my cottage, we will be using The Good Stuff.

Lovely millinery blooms…

Delicious, flocked, old wallpaper…

And soft, velvet ribbon…

This pink color was created by soaking nylon/silk velvet in boiled avocado peels. It makes the prettiest shades of pink! The lighter pink was on white ribbon, the warmer tone is over ivory.

Our morning class will be this sweet birdie in an old, tart tin. And in between, we will have time to make some cards for our loved ones.

To sign up, please email me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

I'd love to see you here!

PS- if you are looking for an excuse to visit the Kansas City area, the Old West Bottoms Antique District is open for their First Friday sale dates. It features some of the best junking you will find.

Around the Cottage in Janurary

dogs, family, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / January 15, 2018

This Christmas season, I had my halls decked extremely early, and when the holiday passed, I was ready to say toodle-doo to what all of a sudden felt like clutter. So, on the 26th, the marathon pack up began. Surprisingly, the tear down goes pretty fast. I have to be very organized to make soooooo many things fit into one closet under the stairs.

And it did fit! I had my doubts because I had added some decor to my previous years' stash.

As glad as I am to streamline in January, I can't bear to put it all away at once, and always leave a bit out. Like the angel wings mounted on burlap over my bluebird and roses paintings. They will stay up through Valentines. And over the windows in the grand fairies' craft nook, I have frosted branches and white lights. To me, those are considered "winter decorations."

And it has been TOO COLD to put away the outdoor stuff.

This girl doesn't seem to feel the cold. It has been hard to convince her to come in when it snows. Although, right now, it seems hard to convince her of anything. She has developed a stubborn streak. Sugar has been the most perfect pup I've ever had the joy to work with. So, I think I took her good behavior for granted and stopped working with her. She got into some bad habits and we are back on a training schedule again.

She is only 8 months old, and I have to remember she will be a puppy for at least another year, even tho she is such a big girl now.

This big girl isn't ready to complete give up on our Christmas cocoa parties in front of the tree. I miss them too, but have to limit them to December while the tree is up and sparkling, to keep them special. But they are hard to give up on cold turkey! So we have been having some tea parties with our favorite dolls as a transition into January.

The girls, as well as I, have a very hard time going from so many fun holiday activities to "real life." We are already on the countdown to December 2018!

Having a special Valentine party to look forward to helps. If you'd like to come too, please check out the details on my previous post.

Romantic Valentine Craft Day- 2 classes, 3 ways at Karla’s Cottage Coming Up!

bird song art event, Valentine's Day, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 12, 2018

On Saturday, February 3rd, I'll be hosting two mini workshops in the studio. You have the option of attending the morning class, afternoon class, or both with a luncheon and card making session in between.

This sugared dove nests in a bundle of vintage netting set into a heart shaped tart tin. She features vintage laces and trims, ruffled crepe paper, and millinery blossoms picked from my garden of flowering hats.

(Due to the number of heart shaped tins that I gathered from estate sales, this class will be limited in size)

The afternoon class is a candy box, made from a small Russell Stover candy box transformed into a keepsake.

(And yes, the candy inside is for you!) This photo will be included (along with everything you need to complete your piece) but other old photos will be available to choose from if you'd care for another picture.

I will offer this one in:

Warm Whites

Rosey Pinks

Romantic Reds

We will paint the boxes, cover them in vintage papers, lace, and velvet ribbons before adding a lovely lady to the lid and adorning her with millinery blooms and rhinestones.

As with all of my projects, I believe in using THE GOOD STUFF.

Vintage supplies, hand glittered birds, old photos scanned and printed onto high quality papers, sparkling rhinestones, and soft velvets, of course!!!

You will get a printed sheet of phrases in different fonts and sizes to pick the words that mean the most to you, so that you can personalize your artwork. Also feel free to bring anything from home to add to the piece and change it as you'd like. Since many of my supplies are vintage, the kits will vary a bit in looks, but will be equal in value.

The kits will be complete with all you need to create your heart shaped treasure. All you need to bring are scissors and glue. I'd suggest a regular pair of scissors and a small, detail pair too.

Sweets, and beverages will be served throughout the day, lunch and card making is included with both classes.

Love Bird:

9:30am til 11:30am,

11:30am- break

11:45- Valentine Card Making (Free time, with guidance if needed, make as many as you'd like. Examples will be on display to help get your creative juices flowing as you make your own holiday cards.)

1pm- lunch (home made, fresh, and organic)

Candy Box:

Please join the earlier class for card making at 11:45 and lunch at 1pm.

2:30- 4:30- class

Please come 10-15 minutes early to get settled.

Costs:

Bird/Cards/Lunch- $50

Cards/Lunch/Candy Box- $50

Combined day with both classes- $90

To sign up, please email me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

I'd love to see you here!

Girlfriends’ Craft Day- the holiday edition, glitz and sparkle time!

friends, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 9, 2018

Tami and I got to be friends through Birdsong, and a group of local-ish Peeps who met through our crafty weekends got to be close. Tami has coordinated many get togethers for us to gather together and have some girlfriend time.

She sets up space in her basement studio and offers up a generous and (eye popping) array of supplies as well as some ideas for projects.

This is a lid to a chewing gum tin I've spiffed up with one of the little angels she had out for us to use.

I used another one in this little mint box.

I'd brought supplies of my own to use too, and got quite a few ornies made. This one is sold, the others were for gifts. The glass dome on this is from an old clock, I had a few, but not as many as I'd like! It would be nice to find a big pile of those to play with.

One I used to make a gift for Guncle Kevin, the other I put together as a kit for Guncle Randy to make one for himself.

Since I had some specific gifts to get done, I didn't participate in a mini class Tami offered for the morning.

But I sure enjoyed watching the others make theirs.

Cute, huh?

Beth numbered hers in sections to use as a journal/calendar.

The day goes by way too fast, and I usually have to rush back to Lawrence for family something or others, and am jealous when some of the rest of the group turns it into a sleepover!

Some weekend, I'll just have to make that work somehow. Because there is never enough time to treasure with good friends!

Bad girls day out

friends

By Karla Nathan / January 6, 2018

For most of December, my pals and I tried to get together for a day out and movie. First one thing came up, then another. Sad things, sore throats, business concerns, and more.

Finally, we decided that we were going for it, no excuses. We'd seen Bad Moms and Bad Moms Christmas together in the past and planned a Bad Moms' Day OUT.

Beth had a rough week and told me to "bring the tooth", a basket to carry her in (she was feeling like a basket case) and a selfie stick for photos with Santa.

I took her serious and did just that.

Back when I knocked my front tooth out, I had a flipper with a fake one to cover up the gap. If she was sad, I could make her laugh by taking it out and letting it dangle a bit while wiggling the tooth around.

I brought the flipper on our day off, in a basket along with a selfie stick, and wore it so that the single tooth could stick out of my mouth. (I thought I looked a little bit like Nanny McFee)

We went out to lunch, redid Beth's antique mall booth, and crafted. Not such bad girl stuff, huh?

Time got away from us and we hadn't seen Santa yet, it was time to go to the movie we'd chosen for the night, so we decided to pass on trying to visit Mr. Claus.

But as we were driving away, we saw a blow up St Nick at the neighbor's house and yelled, "STOP THE CAR!" We jumped out, feeling that delicious, naughtiness that can cause laughing fits when you are being extra goofy as we ran up to the lawn and posed with the giant Claus.

We were selfie stick rookies and had some issues with getting it to work, which caused even more laughs, as well as that feeling of trying to hurry to escape from a situation, but being trapped by nervous fumbling while trying to rush.

There was a deflated one across the street we raced up to photo bomb also.

And we found a small Doggie Claus that we had to lay down on the ground with to get in our shot.

While we really weren't doing anything to break a law, just a tiny bit of trespassing, which I doubt if anyone would have minded, we felt like we'd made our Bad Moms' quota. There was running as fast as we could, pulling each other along, and laughing our butts off.

I was reminded of the silly pranks I did with my high school friends way back when, giggling and running, thinking we'd be caught and in trouble. But having such fun, no one cared.

Sometimes, a little bit of silliness is just what you need, huh?

There isn't much better than having friends to play with, huh? I think we got Beth out of her basket.

Jeweled seashells

sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 3, 2018

While in Mexico, I picked up some iridescent shells to bring home. I turned them into small, ring holders by stacking an upside down one as a base and upright ones onto it, and adhering with glue.

Then, decorated them with some vintage blingy bits in oceany colors. These two, I mailed to my sisses along with two heart shaped abalone heart pendants that I bought for them there too.

This makes me want to go back to the beach to gather more shells to embellish!

A year of Sea Shell Fairies

celebrations, sea shell fairies

By Karla Nathan / December 31, 2017

My year has been full. Trips, family, events, puppies. Wow!

When I looked back over 2017, these sea shell fairy photos stood out to me as examples of just what a good year it has been.

Some represent trips to beautiful shores, others, like this, a walk along the edge of Lake Clinton, right here in Lawrence with the kids, dogs, and my husband. The girls and dogs all ended up soaking wet, splashing in water way too cold to play in, but not able to resist the fun.

This is from my favorite place to visit, Siesta Key.

I made two that week, while playing in the cool, white sand with Sugarwings. She flew her kite, collected shells, and took long walks in the waves with me.

And I was lucky enough to have a second trip to Sarasota in the fall with my sisses.

While there, I made two more.

Double gratitude!

Bobbie and Sissy and I have gotten together each fall for the last few years to catch up, shop, giggle like little girls, and watch sunsets together.

No shells were found in Missouri at a creek bed while camping with family, but my grand fairies helped me find some rocks that fit the purpose.

Rocks at Lake Alcova in Wyoming were gathered to make this angel for Grandma Joan's 80th birthday party, a colossal gathering of the Nathan clan, jam packed with fun, ping pong, food, and love.

And I snuck in one last trip for the year, a romantic getaway to Mexico with my handsome husband. The laziest, most delightful trip, ever.

These little sprites mean more to me than just tokens of beaches. They represent time with people I love, in beautiful places I feel lucky to be able to visit. As I make each one, she is a thank you to the universe from me for the life I've been given.

Yes, this was a full year.

Full of people I care deeply about, and wonderful times spent with them.

Happiest of New Years to you in 2018, with sincere wishes that you have a much to be grateful for too.

Our Zombie family

family

By Karla Nathan / December 28, 2017

Ryan and I are Walking Dead superfans. So, when he wanted a new wallet for Christmas, I decided to special it up by filling the empty photo slots with family pictures.

As zombies of course.

This is my fave. Dorothy adores Ryan, he could be her favorite human, of course she had to be included in his wallet.

None of the pictures are monster poses, I just used some previous pics that I had handy and edited them on Picmonkey.

To me, that made them even creepier than if they'd been staged.

HIs other gifts were a Walking Dead book and a coffee table, that he caught me working on in the studio. I'd found it at a thrift store, but the inlaid wood top had pink nail polish spilled on it.

I sanded down the top only, leaving the legs as is.Then painted the trim grey, coated it all with a dark wax and buffed it out. He loved the table and was telling me how perfect one like it would be for his room, after I told him that I was fixing it up for someone. Which he believed, because I used to do painted furniture for my job. But those pieces were usually white and hand painted with roses. Still, my story worked on him and he was surprised when he realized the gift was for him on Christmas Eve.

Ry was such fun to surprise. He doesn't' expect much, but appreciates everything. What a sweetheart!

He loved the wallet filled with edited creatures too.

While these photos might not exactly be, uhm, tasteful, they are from the heart and he was thrilled that I refinished a table for him and turned our family into monsters for his wallet.

Aren't those the best kind of gifts? The ones that don't take much money, just some time, creativity, and knowledge of what will make someone you love surprised and smiling?

Some holiday fun

celebrations, Dew Drop, dogs, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 24, 2017

My goal for December is to round up all of the Christmas fun I can find, wrangle, or create. I do not say no to an invitation, and I try to do a lot of inviting to others too.

Luckily, I have a couple of partners in my quest for holly jolly joy.

We gathered up all the sisses and a buddy for a night out to see Beauty and the Beast at Theatre Lawrence.

And we have non stop craft-a-thons by the Christmas tree or in the cardboard cottage.

And of course, delicious cocoa parties that come afterwards.

The rule around here is "First one up turns on all of the tree lights", so the house always feels festive.

After the holidays end, and the decor comes down, I think it is the lights that I miss the most of all the decorations. Sometimes, I leave some white lights over the windows thru January as a transition to help me survive the end the celebrating.

For now, I'm still revelling in the joy of it all.
And in the cookies. Maybe the only thing better than white twinkle lights throughout the house is decorating and eating sugar cookies.

Especially in good company!

Hi there, Mr. Claus!

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 22, 2017

We love to visit Santa and have a fabulous brunch at The Nicklaus Club at Lionsgate.

And not just because the napkins are folded like trees.

It is a fun excuse to get dressed up and spend some time with family and that jolly old elf, himself.

This year, the grand fairies made gifts for him, and he liked them so much, he offered the kiddos jobs at the North Pole as elves. I told them that I'd miss them a lot, but it sounded like a good opportunity.

We've been visiting him for years.

Since Dewdrop was just tiny.

Oh, they grow sooooooo fast, don't they?

And the holiday season is gone in a flash.

I'm enjoying every single blessed moment of it! And I hope that you are too.

Author name: Karla Nathan