Karla Nathan – Page 99 – Karla's Cottage

A small break from puppy pictures, redoing the wallpaper cabinet

By Karla Nathan / July 9, 2017

Recently, I cleaned out my wallpaper storage. It had gotten away from me, and honestly I couldn't even remember what I had or even find it if I did know what I was looking for. Plus, the rolls had been put away haphazardly and were tearing and shredded in places.

First, I took every roll down, and cleaned inside the shelf. Then, I took everything off the top of the cabinet while I was at it, and got that area straightened up. The stained glass window had been buried behind piles of books, so I moved the books and added a string of lights behind the colored glass. It is so pretty, I'm vowing to myself to keep the top clear so I can enjoy the twinkly colors.

When rolls get near their end, they become brittle. So, the tiniest rolls aren't very useful. I decided to gently unroll them, iron them flat and cut the paper up to store flat in a cabinet, ready to use. A lot of it tore, so I stacked the smaller bits into a scrap drawer by my desk to pull out and use for cards, tags, and other projects where a tidbit goes a long way toward adding some interest to the final result.

None of the treasured, old paper was wasted or thrown away! And now, it is much easier to get to and use.

The larger rolls got trimmed up, with torn parts removed (and saved with the other scraps). Then, I re-rolled the first few feet inside out, so that when I glanced at the cabinet, I could see which were which without taking the rolls down to open and look inside.

It is hard to tell from this photo, but they are also placed onto the shelf in a sort of color combo. I have neutrals on the left, followed by blues, next pinks, greens, and finally, brights on the right. (flocked wallpapers are stored elsewhere)

Redoing the cabinet makes the room feel cleaner, and inspires me to get in there and play with those pretty papers. I can't wait to make something with one of those beloved rosy patterns. I came across many I"d totally forgotten about and some that will be ideal for the Snowbird Song projects we will be making.

A walk in the woods down to the creek

dogs, puppies!

By Karla Nathan / July 7, 2017

We are down to three pups now. Ashlyn Ella is with the owner of the stud, and is still for sale if anyone wants a dog from this magnificent litter of spectacular cuties. Pip is with his new Mom and Bella has a forever family too. The other two are on their way to their new homes as soon as their new owners get back from vacations.

And of course, Sugar is our own baby to keep.

We like taking the pups and the other four dogs on walks in the woods behind our house.

Now that they are bigger, we let them explore the creek. Or if you are from Indiana, the crick.

At first, they were cautious, but it didn't take long for them to go for it, and start splashing.

The water isn't very deep, this is where we drive the 4 wheeler across to the back acreage. There is a little swimming hole to the side, and that is where Dewdrop hung out. In her jammies, splashing in the muddy water.

Everyone was a muddy mess, so we took turns soaping them up in the wading pool. My assistant was in charge of rinsing.

Of course, no one stays clean around here very long, the boys ran right into the bushes after they were bathed.

Dirty already!

It was a day of firsts for Sugar, after the creek, we went to the lake and took her along.

She floated with us, swam a little bit, took a two hour nap, then waited to tinkle when we got back to the shore. She has the makings of a great lake dog!

Happy Fourth of July!

dogs, puppies!

By Karla Nathan / July 4, 2017

Well, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to resist this cutie's sweet snuggles as well as the little grand fairies pleadings.

Yep, we are keeping her!

This is Sugar, who is staying with us and with her mom, Honey. And yes, there are a couple of catchy tunes that go with those names and yes, they are crooned over and over around here.

She can sit, shake, and sometimes stay. She comes when called and potties on command. So far, this is looking like a good choice. What a smarty pants!

An Elf taking a break in the forrest

fairies, guncles, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 1, 2017

My pal, Beth, had some vintage photos of guys for me to send to Guncle Randy. I needed to make a card for his birthday, so I appropriated one for myself to repurpose.

It started like this, I used green marker on his suit, then metallic pen for polka dots on it and on his tie. The boots became elfin shaped by going over them with a black, sparkly marker and extending the toes into a curled point.

His party hat is vintage paper, decorated, and the buttons are small rhinestones. I then cut him out, inked the edges with brown, and glued him to a woodland scene of old wallpaper that I'd added to the photo folder that he'd come in.

There was a stone wall in the picture of the woods, which was perfect to seat him on! But the piece of paper wasn't quite big enough, so I added a strip of vintage paper below that, and decorated it with a butterfly stamp.

The rest of the inside of the folder is covered in nature inspired, vintage wallpaper, and the edges are rubbed with copper ink. I made a "happy birthday" message to glue to the bottom segment.

The folder can become a stand, too.

As a last touch, I glued brown, velvet ribbon over the seam, and some metal fairy and dragonfly charms to fly around him.

Happy Birthday, Guncle Randy!

First vet check, and trying to convince the doods to get in the crates

Dew Drop, dogs, family, puppies!, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2017

Getting the pups to the vet for their 6 week shots required a couple of side kicks to help me load them up.

These guys are not yorkie pups, that is for sure. When Twinkle had babies, all 9 could go in one carrier. These ginormous fur balls generously filled 2 crates with three in each. In many ways, golden doodles are easier to raise, they are hardier and more independent. Yorkies are such tiny, delicate babies that they require more hands on care. This litter, lives in the breezeway with the door open so they can take themselves out to potty. Twinkle's pups lived indoors, in a wading pool, and I picked up the itsy bitsy poops to keep the area clean. I still have to scoop up after the doods, but at least it is out in the yard. Those pups are great about not going anywhere near their nest, since they have a full run of the yard.

It has been a lot of work, though. The first hour of every day was spent cleaning up, changing bedding, disinfecting their area when they were younger. Now that they are older, I'm still out there every morning, cleaning up, but it is with a grabber, picking up piles from the yard. And I'm doing it over and over throughout the day to make sure they have a clean area to play in.

And each day, those dogs get larger.

And larger.

You can almost watch them grow.

But they are laid back for pups, pretty easy to take care of. When my assistants and I took them to the vet, they cooperated very well, none ran off or caused too much mischief.

The doc gave them all good health reports. None cried when it got a shot, either.

Sugarwings took notes during the appointment for us.

It was all pretty cute. A crowd gathered around at the office, smiling and laughing a the scene we made carrying in the passel of pups and getting them weighed.

Here is a little video of the girls loading them up for the trip. (Please excuse the messy garage.)

I hope you aren't sick of all the pup pics, just in case, here is one of some roses I am painting.

Pros and cons

dogs, puppies!

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2017

There is a looming decision to be made.

To keep her, or not to keep her. I've put it off for about as long as I can. The litter is scheduled to go to their new homes the first week of July.

CONS:

I have FOUR DOGS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!
We travel a lot.
Twinkle is still angry about us getting Honey two years ago.
I just finished raising Honey for her first two years of rowdy puppyhood and she is a sweet, calm, adult now, it would be hard to start over.
There is way too much dog poop to scoop DAILY already.
It is a big commitment of time and resources, and I am already stretched with all the kids and dogs and chickens and the yard and on and on….
I just spent two months tied down to raising puppies and need a break.
The little dogs and Honey are just learning to tolerate each other and not fight.
Her hair is silky, not poofy and curly like the other pups, what if she grows up to shed???? There is no guarantee with a first generation golden doodle that they won't shed.

PROS:

What is one more? We have a lot of land, and big areas are fenced.
My adult son has an apartment here and watches animals while we travel.
Honey doesn't have a pack of her own, since the Yorkies don't like her, she deserves a buddy.
The grand fairies adore her. So does Ryan.
THAT FACE!
She is a very sweet pup.
I'll have a big hole in my life and in my heart when the puppies are gone to their forever homes. Having a baby to keep will fill that hole back up again.
When she was born, she almost didn't live, and I had to revive her.
She is the softest, silkiest dog, and loves to be snuggled.

Golden summer skies and goldendoodles

Dew Drop, dogs, family, Garden, puppies!, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 22, 2017

Sugarwings keeps a ladder under the mulberry trees for the whole berry season, for easy access when she needs a snack.

What on earth is better for a kid than running in the clover fields with puppies and climbing trees to eat berries on a sunny, summer day?

The grand fairies and the babies raced across the field, collapsing onto the ground for wriggling hugs when they got worn out.

It really doesn't get any better than this.

Perfection!

PS- Happy birthday, Guncle Randy!

Lesa Daily certainly makes lovely things!!!!!

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / June 19, 2017

I am honored to have Lesa Dailey teaching a class here for A Snowbird's Song in November. She has her example created and sent me this sneak peek.

Oooooh, those angel wings on that bird!!!

When I create mine (Yep, I sit in on classes as much as I can and love learning from the other teachers) I know that this little gal, "Tweet Tidings" will have a prominent space in my future holiday decor. I'm already in love with just the thought of her! And I can't wait to make one of my own.

Yay, Lesa!! Thank you!

Dewdrop and the doggies

Dew Drop, dogs, family, puppies!, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2017

While Guncle Randy was here, pet butlering and then hanging out in the studio with me, we had a room full of pups, along with one grand fairy. She saw us taking photos of pups (and being a bit of a ham herself,) she scooted off to her dress up closet and wriggled into a gown that would be properly eye catching for a photo shoot.

Nope, not exactly a wallflower, huh? She was into posing.

And made an adorable model, huh?

Her furry friends were slightly cute themselves.

Oh, this baby looks so sweet and tiny here! The puppies are growing so fast! This was such a short time ago, but they look nothing like this now.

Time with babies is precious.

The time slips away so quickly.

The golden doodles at 5 weeks

dogs, puppies!

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2017

Oh my goodness, we are enamoured with the puppies! As their time with us gets shorter and shorter, I get more and more worried about how we will all react with them leaving.

See what I mean?

Such cuteness. And goofiness. They are keeping us laughing too.

And they are getting into trouble. A suicidal chicken came over the fence for Honey to capture, and being a good mama, Honey shared with her pups. I came outside to find one of the pups, appropriately named Hunter by his new family, sitting on a dead hen with the proudest look on his face that any dog could ever have.