antiques/junking – Page 11

Hat Whispering in Texas and scooping up jewels

antiques/junking, collections, family, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2015

At our Texas/British bash, I was lucky enough to win this pretty piece from Cassandra! It was a door prize, and I won by having the closest birthday. Isn't it pretty?

All hand soldered. I love the flecks of silver in some of the pieces.

But that isn't my only special gift! There were treats galore, and our roomies had sweet things for each other too. Then, my sister and I saw two hand made from vintage pieces, matching necklaces. Like the artist had taken apart one necklace, added some bits, and redesigned it into two.

Well, we both liked them, but decided we didn't need them.

So, we continued shopping and poking around. But an hour or so later, I told Sissy that we'd remember those and regret not buying them, and I was going to get them as a gift for us both.

Til my credit card wouldn't work. No cards were accepted. And I didn't have a debit card for the ATM or a checkbook with me.

And I'd been shopping a while, and was low on cash for the rest of the trip. Here is a sampling of some of the hats I snagged in Texas. Yep, about THIRTY floral concoctions! I hat whispered my way across Kansas and Texas, snapping up millinery every where I went.

Which, wasn't cheap, even with the bargains that I was finding. My cash wouldn't support the necklaces. I felt bad because I'd wanted to give her a nice gift, she has always been extra generous with me.

Then, Sissy bought them both for us!

I did want to buy them, and hated that she had to do it, but wasn't it nice of her? I'll treasure my sister necklace and think of her wearing hers when I wear mine.

Kinda like those BFF heart necklaces cut in half.

But I did find something to get her the next day in Waxahachie! She saw this moon full of pink crystals, and said it was like one she had pinned on Pinterest and had been searching for. So, I felt a little better, about the necklace snafu. She was meant to have this moon pendant.

Canton was magnificent. I was enthralled by the variety, prices, and scope of the shopping. I could've used three days to see it all. I hit the dollar tables hard, and found a trove of treasures there, little bits of jewels, boxes to adorn, cute knick knacks. Plus, I was finding millinery in abundance everywhere I went on this trip.

One of my first purchases was this teeny, puppy creamer, for $1. I bought it for the grand fairies, so we could use it for our next tea party. Then, one of my last purchases was the matching sugar bowl, also a dollar, at the other end of the flea market.

Meant to be found for me to reunite it with its mate!

All of the shopping was top notch, great company, great junk, and just as much fun as you could possibly jam into an outing.

I miss Texas

And Whitworth Ranch Retreat.

Beth’s Birdsong Sponsor gifts

antiques/junking, bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / April 12, 2015

A couple weeks ago, I had an estate sale morning, then lunch and craft day with Beth. Poking around her home and checking out her latest auction and estate finds is always fascinating. This is a little pile of interesting things on her side table.

And woo hoo, lookie here! She scored this watch cabinet full of lenses. Or are they called crystals? The glass parts of a watch, no matter what you call em, are good to craft with!!

She has so many that she offered to share, and we are packaging some up for the "Tweet Bags" for our Birdsong guests.

Beth has been beyond generous with Birdsong, each year she creates an apron to use as a door prize. Here is her latest, under construction. What a delicious gift for some lucky Peep.

Or as Beth said, "Another apron for Tami". Well, odds are that Tami might win, she has TWO of these prizes from previous drawings!! And after visiting Tami's studio for craft days, I have to say, they have found a good home, and look gorgeous hanging up there.

Her boy, my grand dog, Button, didn't think I should take his picture, so I pretended to take it only of the apron.

I didn't fool him.

It was a good day, for estate sale shopping (I got a $10 vintage wedding dress to cut up and new pans for my kitchen), lunch with friends, visit with a grand dog, a mini redo at Beth's booth at the antique mall, plus I got to paw all of her vintage finds.

PS- if you'd like to be a sponsor, for the goodie bags or for the drawing, please email me at

Karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

I'll add your link to my sidebar until the next Birdsong and you'll make our Peeps very happy!

How to redo a cardboard chest with vintage wallpaper

antiques/junking, how-to projects, studio tour, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 28, 2015

I've got a thing for old drawers covered in wallpaper and collect as many as I can for studio storage. But, they can be rare, or pricey. So, when I find a newer set for cheap, I give it a makeover. Like the one on the right. The left one is an original, old chest of drawers, the pink one is a 50 cent piece I got at a garage sale and recovered myself.

This one is old too, and it is covered in vinyl, not wallpaper like most are.

And I like this mini one too.

It is full of birds, eggs, and butterflies. These whitewashed birdies were an estate sale find that Beth passed on to me.

One thing I like about these, is that they can be tucked away into odd spots to create storage. Or sat up on top of other pieces.

When I saw this tossed away in Beth's trash can, I had to rescue it.

First step- remove the knobs. I had some glass ones to replace these plastic ones with. Which is what I also used on the previous set of drawers that I redid. That is probably not an accurate thing to do, most of these little chests sport wooden knobs.

But glass knobs are my fave and I stick them on anything I possibly can. The ones I selected for this project are vintage, but I've seen some nice ones at Hobby Lobby that go on sale for 50% off an a regular basis.

Second step- choose your paper. I have a few billion rolls of vintage wallpaper (a little addiction of mine), and knew this pink with roses would be ideal for these drawers. But the roll was not only old, it was near its end, so tore very easily. A bit of ironing helped smooth it out so I could work with it.

Too bad the existing pattern was sooooo 80s. And so shiny. It is printed cardboard.

But that could be fixed. I decided that since I was redoing this for myself, not to resale, that I would leave the interior as is. If I was passing this along to a client, I'd have either painted or covered all of the shiny, printed cardboard design.

Using Crafter's Pick The Ultimate glue, I covered the front of a drawer, getting right up to the edges, then pressed the pink paper down into the glue.

The sides were too big to try to do with a squeeze bottle, so I put a thinner glue on a plate and brushed it on. I still used the Ultimate on the very edges, though. They stick down better with a stronger glue.

I don't precut or measure. I eyeball the paper to get a size that is close, glue it down, then I crease the excess paper and use a sanding block to "cut" the wallpaper to fit. No scissors.

The sanding block should be used only in a downward motion away from the edge. It not only buffs and burnishes the paper's edge tightly to the surface, it cuts off the salvage.

When possible, I lined up the side of the paper to the edge of the drawer. Less waste of paper that way. But I still used the sanding block on it. The above photo shows why. The straight edge of the wallpaper is glued down, but doesn't look quite right.

A little buffing with the sanding block, and it looks much better.

I also discovered, that I could take the gloss off the printed cardboard on the bits like this between the drawers that didn't get covered in vintage paper.

This is the side of a drawer, with the printed cardboard left as is and the vintage wallpaper adhered to the front. One tell tale sign that these cardboard sets are not vintage, is well, that they are cardboard and it shows. The really old ones are on wooden frames.

Now, I could have wrapped my paper around the sides like I did on the one in the very first photo on this post.

But I didn't.

Lazy?

Hmm, maybe.

I squirted a lot of Ultimate glue into the crevice and weighted it down to dry, that lessened the gap and helped hide the fact that this was made of cardboard.

I'm afraid that this picture doesn't show that last step. This is the picture that made me want to do that last step, though. Those gaps bothered me.

At first it bothered me that this was a little wonky, then I looked at the old ones I was using around the room. Well, wonky seems to be the natural state of most of them.

Victorian Trading Co. outlet store

antiques/junking, bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / March 17, 2015

Happy St Paddy's Day!

This picture is from a display at Victorian Trading Company's outlet store in KC, KS.

They have all the holidays covered there, year round.

If you ever need a Santa fix about mid summer, this is the place to go. Of course, you can always wait a couple days and most stores will be hawking their Christmas goods about then….

But year round Halloween is harder to come by. They have lots of it here!

As well as stock up goods, like apothecary jars.

And pretty things, just to treat yourself.

It is my number one favorite place to buy a new coat. And many of my clothes are from the clearance rack here.

You never know what will be in stock, but I've discovered that if there aren't many clothes to look through that day, there might be a whole, huge selection of some other things that I had no idea I needed, but fell in love with when I saw them.

There is always free hot tea, sometimes with cookies. I keep thinking I'll try the different flavors, but each time, I have a cup of maple tea.

The catalog is something I've drooled over for years, before discovering that the one and only outlet store is right here in my area.

It is a very unassuming place, in a warehouse district.

Much more exciting on the inside than what you'd think from the outside!

The manager has offered a special gift, of this pretty, soy candle to all the Birdsong Peeps in town for our party June 5-6th. And a nice discount coupon too! How generous of her.

Last year, many of the ladies stopped by to shop, so I thought I'd ask if the store would like to do something for them this year. And Diane, the manager, was happy to help out. She even remembered some of the ladies by name and is looking forward to seeing them again.

You can find out more about Birdsong here. Or click on the button on my sidebar to go to the sign up post if you'd like to join us.

Or, maybe you'd like to be a sponsor too? If so, please email me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

Deb Mitchell, a friendly blog reader has sent a package of birdie charms for the tweet bags. It's my first package to arrive for the event and I was so excited to open it. Over the years, the BEST stuff has come in the mail for our Peeps to share. And it gets to be like Christmas as the packages start rolling in! Thanks Deb!

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PS- I've got 50% off the Boutique right now. But you MUST use this link:

http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=Fling

to get to the sale site. If you go through the regular link, the 50% off won't register. If you can't click on it to get to the page, you might want to try cutting and pasting it to your browser. Thanks for helping me spring clean!

A nice little pile of old, French Books. I shoulda bought more!!!!!!

antiques/junking, Books, cottage

By Karla Nathan / February 19, 2015

At Bottom's Up last week, I bought some books from Gwen.

A few, from the 1760's, were simply too wonderful to be art supplies. I tied a silk ribbon and flowers to these to set out in my living room.

Books were $5 each and notebooks were only $1!!!!!

Which is why I was sooooo happy!

The composition books were full of old, handwritten notes. This one had some cards tucked into the pages. I was thinking this booklet was probably a medical student's journal.

I sure don't read French, but once I got a good look at it, a few words stood out.

Hmmm, Syphilis….

Not the prettiest phrase for creating with.

And it is on every page.

Oh well, this was the only book about venereal disease. And it still has some interesting and useful bits.

Many included maps, drawings, and nice handwriting. I'll be serving these up for the journals we are making at Birdsong 5.

There are a couple seats left there, if you want to come and make books with old French pages too.

The Old West Bottoms Antique District in Kansas City

antiques/junking, Books

By Karla Nathan / February 17, 2015

I really wish I got to the West Bottoms more often. It is a major shopping experience that seems to expand every time I get there. I especially love Top Hat Mercantile, one of the newest additions to what has become a street party/shopping extravaganza/festival of antiques.

I had to take advantage of this pretty paper wall to get a photo with my friends. And of course, my eyes were closed, as usual.

Gorgeous wall, huh?

Things are always looking good over at Bottom's Up too. Two of my favorite dealers, Carol Spinski and Gwen of French by Design had very cool stuff there.

Carol's "low color" look is always striking.

See what I mean? I wish I could do this look, mine is always more flowery.

But, I do like to incorporate bits of the look in my own home. This rusty stand was purchased from Carol that day, and here is how it looks in my dining room.

And Gwen was having a sale on OLD, French books.

I was slightly giddy.

I don't think I bought enough of them.

But the best part of the day? Hanging with my friends. I don't see these two often enough. It was a good afternoon of walking around, looking at old stuff, and catching up.

Using the GOOD STUFF to make an Art Journal, and my Birdsong project

antiques/junking, bird song art event, Books, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 23, 2015

Beth and I finally had a chance last week to have a play date and exchange Christmas gifts. Here is what I made for her.

She is as much of a journal junkie as I am, so I figured I could indulge my own love of making books by creating this one for her.

I bought this little framed photo of best friends when I was at a flea market with Beth, so I thought it was fitting to add to the cover.

These laces are both cut from the curtains in my house. I have very old lace curtains at the window and they got a bit shredded on the ends from blowing around when the window was open, so I had to chop them a little shorter.

The interior of the book is lined with canvas drop cloth, and the pages are card stock.

The "latch" is cut from an old necklace.

The exterior is remnants from the slip cover I made for my couch.

This is my idea of "Using the Good Stuff". Although, to some people, the ingredients might sound like trash. Trimmed pieces of torn curtains? A broken necklace? Scraps from a slipcover?

What makes supplies "GOOD STUFF" isn't what you pay for them. It's an item with a lush feel, something special, or sentimental. Maybe something old that you found at a flea market. They can be one of a kind, or just your very favorite kind of thing.

Now, some GOOD STUFF, can certainly be brand new and from a hobby store, of course. It can be any supply that you just plain old adore.

My idea of using the GOOD STUFF, is delving into supplies that I really love and feel like they need a special project for.

And then NOT saving them for something special. Anything you use them on becomes special by using the best supplies. I feel like any project worth my time is worth my best goodies.

But when I am making something for someone extra special, I'll use a double dose of goodies for her. This book is loaded, layered, and piled up with pretties. I hope she enjoys using it, half as much as I enjoyed making it.

I have not yet got my prototype put together for Birdsong. But I do know what I am making. And I promise, the kit will be over flowing with GOOD STUFF!

Last year, I couldn't stop making books. And I am still loving the process and making more and more. So, I simply have to do a book for Birdsong 5. How could I not? I'm more than a little bit obsessed with art journals lately.

So, my 1st class will be creating a journal, and embellishing it with lace, rhinestones, and millinery flowers. We will make it from the ground up, step by step.

My 2nd class will be about filling the book up. I'll provide a big, ole, scrap pack of fun and inspiration,, along with guidance from myself, and tips from Beth about designing pages. You'll get two for one teachers for the second day, Beth and I will teach together!

It's wonderful to have such talented friends. Class project pictures from Lori and Andrea will be coming soon. I can't wait to see what they have designed for us to do.

If you'd like to come to our classes, we'd love to see you here. And I know that you will just love these talented friends of mine, too!!

Old Summit Antique Show

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2014

On Friday, I took a day off to go to KC and do some shopping, I mean, help Beth set up her booth at the Old Summit Antique show.

Her booth is always the best deal in town. Great stuff, great prices, all arranged in an attractive way.

She and I used to do shows together on a regular basis, plus shared booth spaces at the mall. I kind of miss foofing up a booth for a sale.

So, every once in a while she invites me along to play with the goods and lets me arrange some of it.

Of course, as fast as it was selling to other dealers (I told you, GREAT prices!) I said we could have just set some tubs on the curb for them to look through on their way in and we wouldn't even have had to unload it, let alone set it up.

But we have fun decorating the space, even if the goods sell so fast, it doesn't matter where we place it.

We tried numerous times to get a good photo of the two of us, but after about 20 of me with my eyes closed, we about gave up.

If you are in the KC area on Saturday the 13th, it's worth a trip to Lee Summit to check out the show. Beth still has a ton of wares, and the show is a high quality production. Mostly primitives, and a lot of seasonal goods too.

Hat Whispering in Kansas

antiques/junking, flowers

By Karla Nathan / September 4, 2014

At last week's flea mkt, I hit the jackpot on millinery blooms.

At a booth of mostly linens and doilies, Beth found a pile of flowers, and picked a few out. I nervously stood by, hoping there were be some left when she was done.

She had a handful, and I looked at her in disbelief and asked if that was all she wanted.

Yep, she was done.

You're sure, really sure?

Yep. She had enough.

Then, I dove in.

I don't have the control she does. I bought them ALL.

For THREE DOLLARS.

Yep, $3.

Seriously.

All were still in the original packages, so I had to hire a helper to get them all unwrapped. It was her idea to sort them by color too.

I found a few hats on our junkin trip, all under $5 each. Before I came across them, there was only two other floral hats I'd seen all day, and both were over $25, so I'd been worried that I'd lost my touch and wasn't going to score on millinery that day.

It was a relief to know that I had not yet bought out the last of the cheap hats in Kansas.

There was lots of shiny stuff there too. I bought a few giant bags of jewels to sort through, here are some of the keepers. There is another whole different kind of keeper pile, that my assistant found. She was happy to sort jewels with me and got some plastic beads and Easter bunny brooches to wear with her dress up clothes.

She also tried on a hat or two to see how they looked with a twirly skirt.

Pretty dang cute, if you ask me.

Sparks Flea market

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / September 2, 2014

Last week, Beth and I went to my favorite flea mkt. Years ago we never missed it, but in the last few, we've not had the best luck with timing or weather to get to it as much as we'd like.

The weather almost kept us away this time too. I guess the day before we went, it had been pretty stormy there.

The forecast for Thursday was rain early, then again after lunch, so we decided to get up there and try to time the trip for the window of clear sky that the weather man predicted.

I'm glad we arrived when we did. The air was still cool, and parking was decent. Shortly after we got there, newcomers had to park along the highway, way up the road. The normal spots in the fields were a sea of mud. We snagged one of the last close places available.

Which really wasn't all that big of a deal in the morning when we got there. With all the excitement of hitting the booths, we wouldn't have minded a trek from the car.

But as the morning wore on, and the Kansas humidity from all the storms mixed with the heat of the day as the sun started to beat down, we were thrilled to not have to hike to the car. We were starting to feel like this poor fellow and decided we had shopped enough.

He'd taken up the best shady spot around, so we decided to head out.

It's a unique place. You don't often see shoppers walking their goats in many other antique venues.

We were satisfied with our purchases for the morning and ready to go. With age comes wisdom, and we were old enough and smart enough to leave before the weather got to us.

Back in the day, we'd have stayed til everyone closed shop and we had no where left to shop, no matter how blisteringly hot the day was.

We had time for a nice, long lunch in an air conditioned restaurant on the way home. And a stop at a couple of antique malls too.

Air conditioned, of course.