antiques/junking – Page 19

A Polka Dotted Princess

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), jewelry, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 22, 2010

Before Sugarwings came over to play with me today, I got a few things listed in the Boutique. The jewels that I found recently are really nice, and in great shape. Someone took such good care of them, that you wouldn't even know they were at least 50 years old.

See what I mean? Nice sparkle to the rhinestones.

This picture is made from one of my teensiest frozen Charlotte fairies, in a vintage frame. I love it when a project can be made from ALL vintage materials. Usually, something, somewhere in it needs to be newer. Like a tag, or a bit of card stock. This little lady is all OLD. And as an older lady myself, I appreciate that about her.

Sugarwings and I have the afternoon to play. Her Hippy Chick Mommy came by to do some laundry and is going to watch DVR-ed episodes of True Blood while she washes her clothes, so that means I get to snag the fairy baby to work in the studio with me.

I'm not sure yet what we'll make. She did ask if we could make a polka dotted dress for her puppy to match her own dress. I'm not much of a sewer, but I think we can paint polka dots onto a hanky and tie it around the pup's neck. Sugarwings isn't very picky, that should make her happy. Especially if we use glitter paint.

The last time we worked with glitter, she had it crusted all over her and kept saying, "I have Project on me!!"

Not that she is fussy. That wild child is usually encrusted with something.

This tag book is listed in the shop too. Its two large tag covers and 5 small tags inside, all wallpapered up and ready to be embellished. I'm including scraps of the papers to finish it with.

Don't forget that I have a Peat Pot Pretty with a frozen Charlotte fairy as June's giveaway prize! Can you believe that June is almost over??? Geez, where did it go. I have two articles to write by July 1st, and am not usually a person who waits till the last minute to do things (well besides taxes, uchk) but the time just got away from me.

My husband is going to be gone all week, so I should be able to get them both done. When he is around, I tend to stop work early to fix dinner or just hang out. And we come up with excuses to see Sugarwings and play with her. I can be more disciplined when I am on my own. Well, kinda- I am playing hooky this afternoon to make a polka dotted dog dress.

And as a prize for the drawing for new followers, I have some of that nice old rhinestone jewelry. I'll draw from ALL of the followers, not just the new ones. I appreciate you signing up, thanks!! When the number hits 250, I'll give away the earrings.

Being inspired by other’s studios

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), parties, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 21, 2010

Thanks for all the nice comments about my studio!

Wow, what a TON of people participating in that party. I've not seen all the blogs in it yet (that's going to take a while) but I sure had a good time peeking into a chunk of them. As much as I adore my own studio, I was experiencing some studio envy
while looking around. There are some fascinating ideas and places out there. The more I looked at, the more I want to see.

I'll be hopping through more as I have time this week. Thanks for hosting, Karen!

And as much as I do love my own studio, sometimes its good to get out and go to another place to work. Beth invited me over on Friday for estate sale shopping and hanging out in her craft room. I'd brought stuff to work on, but she offered me a box of goodies to rifle through and I couldn't resist.

Its so much more exciting to play with new (old) stuff! I think that is why I keep shopping for more to add to my own stash instead of just working with what I have. Because I sure do have plenty, you might have noticed from my previous post!

New supplies are inspiring. So, I bought more goods while at estate sales that day too…

And I also found this wrought iron bench. For now, its setting outside the back door to my studio. I'm not sure if that is where it will remain.

None of the sales that day were over the top wonderful, but we found a little something here and there all morning. At one house, I got a broken vintage crystal necklace.

I divided it up, and listed some beads in my boutique ($2.50 an ounce), and will keep some for myself too. There is more to list from that day's haul, and I hope to have more time to add it tomorrow.

One of Beth's boxes is labeled "images" and is full of some great stuff. I made this tag with a picture from that and really wanted to make a matching set with another girl that was in the stash, but ran out of time so Beth sent it home with me to finish.

What started out as an idea for a tag became an ephemera book instead. Its in an old cabinet card folder and is filled with an assortment of old papers, ready to be used as an art journal.

It should be in the shop soon. But if you are interested now, please let me know. It will be $24.

Playing in Beth's studio got me all fired up to make some stuff in my own when I got home. It was Father's Day weekend and we had a lot going on, but I managed to squeeze in a little bit of creative time here and there between boating and baking with Sugarwings and petting and playing with Agnes Rosebud.

For Father's Day I took Sugarwing's Daddy and my husband to see Toy Story with our little fairy grand baby. I'm a sucker for Pixar, our whole family is. But man, this movie was extra good. I thought the plotting for breaking out of the day care was right up there with something out of Ocean's 11.

And Big Baby could be more terrifying than Chucky.

And the end tugged at my heart so much, with Andy going away to college, that I sobbed. I don't think any mother of a grown up son could have prevented herself from crying at that ending.

Speaking of boys growing up and leaving the nest… I got to visit Button at Beth's. Here he is up on the craft table, bounding across the supplies to come and see me.

Seemed like he was glad to see his baby sis too. This was the first of many play dates for the two little fuzz balls.

Lucky charms

antiques/junking, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, Sugarwings, Travel, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2010

We had a great trip to Indiana! Traveling with 3 puppies and one 3 year old made the drive challenging, but unique. Instead of stopping for typical roadside breaks, we needed to find spots for all the little ones to stretch and play. Lunch was a quick trip to Trader Joe's in St Louis to pick up a picnic, then take it to a city park to eat it and play for an hour or so.

And for one break, we found a giant field of clovers to run in.

Adam's loved one has magical four leaf clover hunting skills. I've spent a life time trying to find just ONE. She says its all in the way you look at them. I consider myself a lucky person, and I have sharp eyes, but I can't find a lucky clover for anything. And I search!!

Its been a quest of mine since I was a little girl. Other goals, I've had to leave behind. Like trying to go one full mile on a pogo stick. I spent an entire summer when I was about 8 years old on that one, and had to give it up. Or the summer I tried to learn how to do a back flip into the pool. My body just doesn't do those and I gave up that dream too.

I'm not giving up on the clover search, and now I have a Clover Master to teach me her skills.

My poor little car was filled to the brim on the way there, and we had to half unload it every time we got the pups out.

But it was not too full to add some purchases along the way! My hat whispering skills were in fine form and I found so many (cheap!) along I70, that I am almost embarrassed to tell you about it.

These are just a few that I have unpacked so far. The rest are in my suitcase with all the dirty laundry and I am avoiding that. Its hard enough to admit a vacation is over, doing up the laundry and unpacking is just too much to face.

(The wallpaper covered box is full of old corsages. I got a bag filled with them for $11.)

So, I maybe my lucky charm isn't a four leaf clover its a millinery flower?

All the puppies are settled into their new homes now. We are down to Agnes Rose, who I am calling Rosebud instead of Rose now. She is just too little to be a big flower, she's just a bud.

I'm adjusting to the fact that we actually KEPT one. A couple days ago, she was one of the pups, now she is MY dog.

Well, that point is debatable. Someone else claims Agnes Rosebud.

They kept each other company for most of the drive home.

How much fun can you fit into one day?

antiques/junking, celebrations, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, I do tend to run on, don't I?, parties, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 7, 2010

Omaha was great, we had such a nice trip! Don't I have the world's sweetest husband, to chose a weekend at the zoo and the Holiday Inn's water park with all the kids as his 50th birthday celebration?

We LOVE this little water park in Omaha, its in a newer Holiday Inn that has great service, and free meals for kids. The indoor pool area is meant for smaller children and has never been crowded or busy while we are there.

Plus, the hotel is located near the Old Town area, with great food and shopping. While the kids napped between swimming in the morning and zoo time in the afternoon, I escaped to 2nd Chance. Where I found a pile of floral hats for under $7 each.

Plus a pile of Victorian scrap and old photos. I'm planning on making some fairy ornaments (hopefully a make and take at Silver Bella in November.) Have you ever noticed how hard it is to find just the right photos to make into fairies? You need to make sure you get both feet, a standing or sitting position that works well when the person is cut out of the photo, and no fingers to have to cut around.

Well, you don't want the person to be fingerless- you just don't want the fingers to be splayed and beyond the edges of the girl's dress. Its just easier to not have to cut out each tiny finger.

Normally, when I am on a family trip like this, I don't get in much shopping. This time I also got to stop at Rusty Chandelier in St. Joe on the drive home. It was a quick trip, to stretch legs and for my husband to fill up the car while Sugarwings and I looked around antique mall.

But I just knew that I had to stop, and I was right, my hat whispering skills had led me to a couple more hats that were waiting there for me.

How PERFECT is this sequin top hat???? Silver Bella's theme this fall will be hats and Teresa has been using a cute top hat as the symbol of the event this year. I found not only this hat, but this bit of Victorian scrap with this little girl wearing a top hat herself. There are some possibilities for that rolling around in my head right now!

So much for my theory that pictures for fairies need feet. I can see her as a little sprite, can't you? She might be the foundation for my design for the make and take for vendor night.

And there are a few pictures of Sugarwings that I might make into a fairy for my photo album.

We had lucky weather while in Omaha, there was sunshine and a light breeze at the zoo. Sugarwing's Daddy and his new family (well some of them, not all the kids could make it) came along for the trip and I discovered that its even more fun to have extra grand kids to spoil and play with!

Before the trip, I bought the girls matching dresses, and a coordinating red shirt for the little guy. Corny? Yep, but I thought it was adorable, plus it made them so easy to keep track of all day. We knew that the red blurs running up ahead were ours.

Our hotel was around the corner from the Qwest Center, where Barnum and Baily Circus happened to be for the weekend. We hadn't planned on attending, but the kids had never been, so when the zoo closed at 6, we swung by for the next performance at 7.

The morning started at the pool, then napping, then zoo, then circus, then ended at the pool again. Whew! That was one jam packed day.

But, my husband and I decided at the last minute to play hooky and just buy tickets to the circus for the rest of the group. He and I snuck over to Old Town and had a romantic dinner, then walked around holding hands and enjoying the evening.

As ideal as the kids were all day, sweet, polite, and fun- it was nice to have a night out with just the two of us. When we got back to the hotel, we joined the kids at the water park, where I taught them how to play shark tag, and let the parents go have their own little get away dinner.

I think my handsome husband had a fantastic birthday, I hope he enjoyed the trip as much as I did! He's a great guy and deserves a good celebration!

Still, its nice to be back home with our puppies again.

Bottoms Up!

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / May 7, 2010

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If you are in the KC area, you need to go see Bottom's Up! We went there tonight to see Beth's booth and spent a couple hours wondering around the old warehouse building enjoying the unique setting and all the cool stuff in it.

The show is always the same weekend, once a month, if you are planning a trip to KC in the future. And down the road, a couple blocks away, is another once a month vintage shop called Good Ju Ju, that is a fun place too.

Both stores are in old, old buildings with interesting chippy paint walls, or exposed brick, and roughed up painted floors. Great backdrops for all the goods.

Plus, wine, cheese, and live music. this is my pal, Angie, who went with me tonight. I call her my Shabby Chic friend because of her beautiful coloring.

Beth surprised me with a giant spangle disco-ey ball for my birthday! I kinda am in love with it. Can't you picture it hanging from a tree branch at my next garden party?

She also gave me the most touching, lovely, hand stitched sampler ever. I'll get some photos of it when the light is better. It deserves great lighting for its close up. (there is a photo on her blog of it now)

See what I mean about the cool setting for the store? Look at the background behind me. What blows me away is that this is all set up for just one weekend a month. Man, what a huge space to fill for such a short time. They really put a lot of time into well styled displays too. I left wanting to go home and redo everything in my home. A good display will bring that urge out in me every time.

I'll leave you with a few photos of my favorite displays.

Around the May Pole

antiques/junking, celebrations, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, I do tend to run on, don't I?, Sugarwings, We're having a party, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / May 3, 2010

What's the only thing better than scoring over a dozen floral hats at a flea market? Playing with them when you get home! Especially when you have friends who want to play too.

These little guys are starting to get interesting. They all try to come to me (but are still kind of stumbly) when they hear my voice now. It has not been easy to get any work done today, its the first day that the pups really seem to want to spend as much time with me as they do with their mom. Its funny to see how fast they develop and change. Just yesterday, they were mostly sleeping and today they are crying until they get picked up!

Between snuggles, I've been plucking hats. My hat storage is overflowing, so I needed to make space by pulling all the flowers off the newest arrivals. Finding 15 in one day is kind of amazing, even with my hat whispering skills. But I have to admit that I had a little help at the flea mkt, Beth pointed a few out to me and was nice enough to let me at them.

She and I are good shopping partners. I try to point out things I know she'll love. Even if I love them too. We kind of let things go to who ever has the most passion for the item, or take turns with the greatest stuff, or even share. We started a wallpaper pact years ago to prevent jealousy. If one of us scores big on wallpaper, we always share with the other.

(The hat with the brown ribbon only had a few flowers on it, but LOOK at that fabulous dotted Swiss ruffled ribbon that rims it!!)

See why I can't resist these guys? They are finally starting to look around and observe their world and its so cute when they just stare into my eyes. I don't know if I've ever been more in love with a batch of pups… its going to be hard to say goodbye in just a few weeks!

Its always hard to say good bye to the flowers too… I fall a bit in love with each bloom. I was reading Jenny's blog the other day and drooling over some flowers she used on a May basket, then she mentioned she had bought them from me!

Its never easy to say good bye to Sugarwings when she goes home to her mommy or daddy either, but its easier knowing that her parents are generous with letting us have time with her and with them too. We are so blessed and lucky that our extended family can all "share" her and get along. Even though her parents aren't together, we are all still family. I'm hoping that her Daddy's new family will be able to blend with us all too.

My theory is that you can't have too many people to love.

We celebrated May Day together by going to a carnival at her school, then my handsome husband and I did hours and hours of yardwork.

The school is out in the country, and was a lovely setting for all of the events. The big kids did a May Pole dance, there were arts and crafts, live music, and a hula hoop class. (That's my husband showing his moves)

Our tiny little hooper had a blast.

Especially with the glue and scissors. Sometimes I wonder if she really cares about creating anything, all she cares about is cutting and gluing. That kid is obsessed with scissors and glue.

And when I buy her clothes at Goodwill (this is a $4 dress) I can relax and enjoy watching her go wild with the glue.

I probably shouldn't go so many days without posting, I tend to have too much to say as it is, when I post every day or two! It was such a busy and fun weekend that there is just too much to blather on about. Flats of flowers, working in the garden, redoing a guest room, parties, boating, puppies to play with, May poles and more. No wonder I didn't have a chance to do a post!

I'll leave you with some photos of the flower packs I added to the shop, stop running on and on!

Buried Treasure in a Ghost Town

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 29, 2010

We had a GREAT day at the flea market! I bought tons of sparkly rhinestone bits and about 15 floral hats. A few other odds and ends too. I'll show you some photos after I unpack. This is the tub in the back of the car with some of my hats in it.

Sparks and White Cloud, KS have the most unique flea markets ever. I really can't figure out what the towns are about, it looks to me like they are ghost towns that only are used twice a year for this market. But then, I did see a few houses that looked occupied too.

Sparks is mostly a big field with some old buildings scattered around, and lots of tents and trailers filled with treasures.

About 10 minutes down the road, is White Cloud, a downtown area filled with empty buildings. Some of the stores are filled up for the weekend, the rest of the dealers set up in fields and on the street. Every time I go, I see the same 3 legged dog running around town, no owner in sight.

You never know what you'll find there, and I sure would never miss it. To me, its not just shopping, its an Event. With a capital E.

It was a wonderful day, it always is for us up there, rain or shine. And today, we had lots of sunshine!

But its good to be home with all the babies.

Bejewelled

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), jewelry, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 3, 2010

We are hoping that the Easter Bunny will bring us some puppies. Twinks gets bigger each day, and is very restless. I've had to make a bed on the floor for her, since she can no longer jump up onto furniture.

So, I put a blanket down in my room for her to sleep on, but most of the night she paces and wants up with me. I scoop her up, but an hour later, she needs to get down again. Then, she paces some more. I was tempted to lock her out of the room so I could sleep, but I really need to keep an eye on her and be ready to help with the delivery. The most important thing about newborn Yorkies is to keep them warm. Sometimes, during delivery the mom gets busy with the newest pups and one will get pushed aside and gets lost and cold. If their body temperature drops too much, they will die. I've learned the hard way to stay with the mom constantly and be there for the babies when they come.

At least we have a pretty view while we are not sleeping at night! I saw Andrea's new ceiling fan/chandelier and asked where she got it. When I saw they were on sale for 1/2 price with free shipping, I ordered one for the bedroom. Our fan was getting old, loud, and sometimes would just quit for a day or so. (I was worried about fire hazards)

This thing is gigantic. And heavy. But glorious! I am probably going to paint the ceiling medallion to match the fan better, its glazed bronze now. I'll swipe some ivory paint over it, letting the bronze peek though.

My poor husband has deserted Twinks and I, he seems to think he needs some sleep. Sugarwing's passed on more poison kisses to me, and I have caught her latest cold. Which make me snore 50 times worse than I normally do (and normally, it ain't pretty). Plus, I'm so worn out with the limited sleep Twinkle is letting me have, that when I do zonk out for an hour or so, it is DEEP and apparently LOUD. So, Rich is sleeping on the office sofa till the puppies are safely here and my snoring is under control.

The office is in our addition, over the studio, and he jokes that my snoring is so loud, he has to go sleep in another house.

Oops, I hope any potential Silver Bella room mates didn't read that.

Today, I'll be listing some new goods in the Boutique. I've got lots of sparklies and some ornate perfume bottles.

What I have to say has nothing to do with the photos. I just wanted to let you know that my friend, Hope, (who designed my blog layout) is starting an online journaling class. We met at Silver Bella, but got to be friends at a blogger's luncheon in Virginia that Heather set up.

At the lunch, she brought one of her journals with us to have us all sign as a memento. So, I've seen her work in person, and have to tell you, its really, really good!

She has had to deal with my endless questions about various blog/online/design oddities and has been a thoughtful teacher and very helpful when I was too dense to understand something that she was patiently explaining for the 5th email.

So, I'm quite sure she'll be an excellent teacher! Check out her class, Nostalgic Musings, HERE.

There are some great classes available out there now. Mary (my Craft Day bud) is hosting another Artist Class right now, with projects I wish I had time to do… Her last one was impressive and I hear this one is too.

I'd better get busy listing all these schmancy, bejeweled baubles so I can get on with my day. We are hoping to get the pontoon out of storage and into the water today. And those pesky taxes need some attending also. urgh.

I hope you have some fun plans for Easter! I might be taking a boat ride…

Party prep

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, I do tend to run on, don't I?, jewelry, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / March 25, 2010

We are counting down the days till puppy time, poor Twinks looks about ready to pop! She still has some time to go, and it looks like she is going to spend those days resting.

The whole time I am in the studio, she curls up in this dog carrier/purse. She barely fits anymore, and I'd hate to have to sling it over my shoulder with her (and that tummy full of pups) in it at this point.

It was given to her when she was a puppy herself by a friend, and I used to carry her around in it. It has become her dog bed under my work table. Now that her birthing time is getting closer, she rarely leaves the bag.

Or maybe she just hides in it to escape the chaotic mess that my studio has become?? I feel like hiding when I look at it too. I have two craft days and an Easter Egg party coming up, one tomorrow, so I might need to rent a back hoe to clean this quickly.

Here is something I have learned about having a nice, big studio to work in.

THE MORE TABLES I SET UP, THE MORE STUFF I LEAVE OUT.

Its really sad, because I enjoy having a pretty place to work in, and I'd never let my house get to this point. My home always looks lived in, but not scary like the studio. I like things pretty and peaceful. But out here, things just pile, and pile, and pile. Till I force myself to do something about it.

I knew I'd let it go too far when Sugarwings lectured me about covering up her Play Doh table with packing materials. We talk a lot about her not messing with my stuff, and I was in the wrong to over flow into her area. And I sure heard about it too.

It may look like utter chaos, but there really is a working order to it… at least that is what I tell myself. I'm sure that is what all the people on "Hoarders" say to themselves too.

So, today, I've spent the morning clearing away the last of the Alice themed goods. I've listed the remaining 4 tag covers (I think I'd made about 100!) in the Boutique and all of the materials I used while working on the tags and books are stowed away.

Then, I finished up making Peat Pot Pretties with Charlotte fairies from all of those materials that were still out. I've listed these two and have a few more to photograph. Soon, I hope to gather up what I need to make up the kits that you have asked for to make your own. Maybe after I face the taxes….

There was a big pile of flea market finds that I was trying to get photographed and listed, and that is done now too.

The trouble with cleaning up, is that I can't just put things away. I have to finish up whatever I had them out for in the first place. And use up the scraps. So, of course, when I come across something like an old candy box that was torn, I had to make tags out of it. If I'd packed it away, then it would have just become clutter and would have looked like I was saving torn up trash. Then, I really would have felt like a Hoarder!

So, I made tags from the box. And took photos, and listed them. (I'm patting myself on the back big time over that) I used tidbits laying around on my desk. That is such a much more fun way to clean than to just pack it all away. Plus, its a challenge to limit myself to using what is on the desk, not getting anything new out.

And then, when I get to the place when there is not much left to use on the desk, I can get back to the rest of the clean up.

I'm kind of looking forward to it. I have all day and all night by myself, till as late as I'd like to stay out here and putter and clean. I'll watch the Idol results and Runway while I work and eat granola bars for dinner.

Although, so far, this season of each has been kind of blah to me… Still a fan, but just not as excited about either this time around. I'm still hanging on to LOST too, but I kind of feel like every time they give us one of the so called, promised "answers" its still a question. So, is Richard right, is the island Hell, or was that just his way of seeing it, because of his background??

And please remember, if you want a chance to win this month's giveaway- the shard and rose quartz pendant, you can leave a comment on any post, you don't have to go back to the one where I ann
ounced the MARCH GIVEAWAY.

Okay, back to work for me. But first a quick trip to the PO and the gym.

The Tiniest Dancers

antiques/junking, celebrations, fairies, family, parties, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 23, 2010

When I found these teeny little ballerinas, I was just charmed by them. At barely an inch, they are just as dainty and sweet as can be. I didn't get many of them, just a few to add to the shop along with some of their big sisses, and a few for me to use too.

It was a girly day for the Boutique. I added fairies, ballerinas, Charlottes and Alices.

Don't you just love the badly painted faces of the OLD cake topper ballerinas? So ugly they are cute.

This shipment of Charlottes is of all eensy weensy little girls. Each is every bit as dainty as that tiny ballerina, at about 1 inch long.

I scrubbed at a couple to see if the dirt comes off, and most of it will. But I am leaving it on, in case the new owner likes "patina" as much as I do.

They are just so tiny and sweet.

Kind of like these two, the sweetest little dancers ever.

We had a little tea party so Pixie Pie and Sugarwings could open the gifts that were sent to them by Debra Ganas. They loved them!! Thanks, Debra!!

Sugarwings loves her cuddly dog. But I made a mistake in my Swap Book notes and only wrote down that there was a gift for Sugarwings next to the giver's name, not what it was, because it wasn't open at the time. So, I won't know what is from who!

How rude of me. I'm sorry.

She has a couple more to open, and tomorrow is my Sugarwings Day, so she and I will spend some time enjoying the thoughtfulness of the givers.

You know that feeling after a holiday, or big event when all of a sudden, its over and you wonder what you are going to do with your time? That is kind of how I am feeling right now, I miss the Alice Tag Book Swap!

So, today I made up a book of my own tags, plus a few kits if anyone would like to make a book.