antiques/junking – Page 30

The Rest of the Studio and a Bucket of Buttons

antiques/junking, redos, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 31, 2008

Over at Sugar Sugar, there is a button challenge. I’ve enjoyed looking at the linked site’s bountiful displays of beautiful buttons, but the best is Beth’s. (now we need to see Susie’s seashells or hear Hilda’s horn, I do tend to over do the alliteration, huh?)

All the buttons on the challenge tour are so nicely displayed and there are even tips on washing the collections.

Washing? I dump mine into containers, dig out a handful here and there to use in projects or to send in packages. Hmmm, they are supposed to be washed?

I am hugely ignorant of button value. I was floored when Beth sold a set of 3 buttons for $150 on Ebay!!!

I just use mine, gluing them onto pretty pieces I make. I wonder how many valuable ones I have glued onto a collage and sold the whole thing for $5-10? Story of my life. If you ever buy something from me, examine the button, it might be worth a lot more than the piece itself!!

Thank you for all the kind comments about my studio.

I am CRAZY about my studio and know just how lucky I am to have it. I’ve had to store supplies under a bed, and set up card tables in crowded corners in the past. It is pure joy to have all this space to spread out into now.

Heck, at near 1,000 sq ft this studio is larger than the 90 year old house was when we bought it, and started adding on to the building.

There are benefits to living in Kansas where land is cheap and prices are low!

I thought I’d show you some more of the room and how I use the space.

Of course, there is a spot for Sugarwings and her best pal, Twinkle. Or as she calls her "Yeenkle".

The space is one large open room, that I have divided up with old doors hinged together, and with large pieces of furniture. The desk sits under a gazebo I made from 4 porch columns ($6 each at a junk shop) and a miss matched bunch of 8 white wrougth iron corner brackets.

Right next to Sugarwing’s area is my office. (I’d like to recover the chair, but don’t know if I am up to the task)

This old hutch in the office area holds all of my mailing supplies and collage kits listed on Etsy and waiting to go to their new homes.

That office hutch sits back to back with this giant piece (known as the crying cabinet because it about caused a nervous breakdown at the auction Beth and I found it at- that is a long and whiny story you don’t want to hear).

I have two large closets in the room. One is full of shipping boxes and bubble wrap, the other is for utilities. The door with the iris was an original kitchen door in the farm house. I added the flowers with stained glass paint.

Here the door is from the other side, with the sunlight shining through the glass.

This storage room is in the back corner of the room and is where I keep my paints, tools, seasonal storage and just JUNK.

At the other end of the storage area, I keep completed projects I am sick of looking at and jewelry I have made and the displays I sell it from.

This odd assortment of furniture and a screen is what I have lined up to make the wall that forms the storage area behind it.

The more I look at this the more the black cabinet bothers me. I really think I need to paint that…

And what do I watch on TV while I work? Dragon Tales, what else? Although prefer the Hoobs and Tiddlypeeps.

My studio will never look totally pulled together, because I have so much stuff in it. I love all the little details, like ballerina fairies on the candelabras. What is a studio without fairy candelabras???

There are sentimental things too, like this "wishes" tag that my Sissy sent to me.

And a lot of my labels are made from gifts other artists have given me. This fabric covered piece is from Beth, as part of a birthday card she made a few years back. I saved the cover and turned it into a box label.

The birdie adorned box was a gift from my first swap partner, Karin.

It holds Valentine ephemera.

Of course, there is a picture of Sugarwings. This is her Easter picture, instead of putting it in the scrapbook, I decided to stick it into the corner of this De Longpre print that I found at a garage sale for $10.

My Sweet Treats and Roses recipe book sits near my desk too.

The cabinet it sits on holds my sewing machine (which rarely gets used) and its top is a ceiling tin that my son added for me. That sure changed the look of this piece that I found in the trash and fixed up.

As a matter of fact, most of this furniture was free or dirt cheap. Trades, trash, or cast offs from family that all got fixed up. My main splurges in this whole studio are the 3 folding tables that I actually use for work space. I’d say that $58.00, 6 foot table is the most expensive thing in the room.

That is, if you don’t count my collection of wallpaper. I’ve probably spent more on that than I have furniture.

Well, I seem to be organized now, I hope I can make it last. I love my new storage pieces, the trick will be using them instead of making piles everywhere.

Wish me luck!!

ps- birdhouse decorators are still adding their links to our party post on March 27th, if you want to see more, check out the lastest comments.

ppss- I will draw a name for the winner of March’s giveaway tomorrow, you still have time to enter!

Chocolate and Roses

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / March 12, 2008

I’ve been in a pink and brown mood lately, roses and chocolate, what a perfect combo.

And when little Miss Sugarwings came to visit, look what she was wearing!

She looked so grown up in her brown corduroy jacket with little pink rosebuds on the collar.

I love those colors accented with blue too. I know, trendy trendy, but I have ALWAYS loved them. I remember a favorite outfit as a kid, brown shorts that I would wear one day with a pink tank top and the next with a blue one. And back in the 70s when everything was earth tones, I had a brown and white couch and all my accessories in the room were blue. I simply couldn’t handle just the earthy shades, I needed that soft, pretty blue to make the combo work for me.

These colors have been on my mind a lot this week, since I have been redecorating in my house and thinking about blue shades to paint the bedroom adjacent to the pink and brown master bath.

And when I sat down to make something in my studio, I guess thoughts of these colors stayed with me.

I filled this pink flowered Limoges cup with a brown china egg (hand painted years ago by someone’s grandma) with a pink rose on it, lots of pink, blue, and white millinery flowers and a sweet little vintage butterfly.

It is for sale on Etsy now.

And remember the old hats, little figures, buttons, and the oval print I found while out junking this week? I used something from all of them to create this Marie Antoinette inspired box. I just had to, it was fate! I’d bought all of this stuff, then the movie was on TV that night!! (Isn’t Marie Antoinette one of the prettiest movies ever?? One eye candy scene after another)

The base is one of those unfinished craft boxes from Michaels. I poked holes in the top to wire the china figure in place, after covering the top of the lid in vintage wallpaper.

To hide the wires on the inside of the lid, I covered it in text from an old French book. I used another French book to cover the bottom of the box and line the interior walls. (I don’t speak or read French, so if you do and this is about boogers or warts or something ugly, please don’t tell me and ruin my illusions! I think it LOOKS pretty!)

The outside of the box was painted white and rubbed with an umber and a pink stamp pad, then trimmed out in vintage pink ruffle ribbon and some old brown silk ribbon.

I haven’t had much time for studio work, my fairy grand baby has been here 3 days in a row. We’ve been to the indoor pool, to the park, and out shopping. Then she helped me take down some Christmas decorations I still had up.

At least I got them down before Easter! Oh well, you can’t do everything, there is only so much time in the day.

All of you who comment about how much energy I have and how much I get done, need to know that I am selective about what I do and have priorities. I’d much rather sit in my studio and make tons of pretties than put away dusty holiday decor up in the guest room. I’d rather rip out a stairway and redo a room than work on my taxes. Oops, I really shouldn’t avoid that one too much longer. Maybe I need to have a look at those priorities!

I really didn’t need to go shopping today, but wow!!

antiques/junking, collections, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 9, 2008

Don’t I have enough hats yet? What is wrong with me??? I can’t resist.

Truth is, I do use the flowers in my projects a lot. But even if I used them daily, I probably have enough millinery flowers to get me through the next decade or so.

Yet, today I buy 4 more hats. One has a large, single velvet rose, nicely smashed with age (for $2- how could I leave it behind??). The others are LOADED with flowers and were $4 each.

I might have bought a few buttons too…… There are some not pictured also. Lots of cute shapes and rhinestoney ones in the jars, so I just had to get them at about $5 a jar.

Scranton and 4-Corners, Kansas are small towns in the middle of nowhere, but they have some great antiquing bargains!

Most things were cheap to start with, but there were also sales, of 25-50% off a lot of booths. Except for the hats and buttons, everything in the picture here was $2 or under, including the glass jar. I think I’ll use it for my paint brushes. But on the other hand, I do have plenty of buttons to fill it with!

And how many vintage photos can you get in 4-Corners, Kansas in a bag for $5? I stopped counting at 50.

Of all the things I got today, these are my favorites. Oh, I can’t wait to get started on these projects!! Don’t they look like Marie Antionette?

One project will involve these figures, some small round boxes, vintage wallpaper in soft pastel colors, lots of millinery flowers and more than a few rhinestone buttons.

The frame, I will paint white and put a different picture in. I will be needing this print for the lining of one of these boxes that these mini Maries will be perched upon.

What a sweet baby photo this is. It was in the bag of old pictures that I got today and I think it might be my favorite of the bunch. Feel free to copy and use it in your own projects. This baby needs a loving home! How sad when family photos are lost to the family and for sale in antique stores. I always feel like saving them.

There certainly is no worries that my little fairy grand baby’s pictures will go neglected!

I had a little scrapbook party on Saturday and between fixing a big dinner, playing with babies and just plain old hanging out, we managed to get a few pages done.

Sugarwing’s cousin out grew this dress and it was torn. Her mom had the idea to use it for our pages of the little girls.

I cut out a square to make a pocket out of it, with the dress ruffle at the bottom. Then glued the buttons down the side and added sparkly flowers to their centers. The velvet bow was part of the dress already.

When I put photos in pockets, I always glue two back to back, or glue scrapbook paper to the back of one, to make them sturdier. I also punch a hole in the corner and add a ribbon to use as a pull to take the photo out of the pocket.

This page of a summer day on the lake with the family is laid out on a piece of paper that I did a water color wash onto.

I added a frog cut from a copy of one of my paintings. Its only in black and white, maybe someday I’ll tint it, but I doubt it. Once I move on from a project I rarely go back, no matter how good my intentions are.

I accented this picture of a couple of my friends and I with a paper doll dress that Beth gave to me.

I like to use tags, ATCs and other art that I have been given in my scrapbooks.

Not only are they usually well done and attractive, but they are sentimental to me too and I love to keep them somewhere that I can enjoy them.

Speaking of friends, my pal, Carol, and I are collaborating with the Fabulous Fifi on an upcoming project! Fifi called last week, and she is every bit as wonderful to talk to as her blog is to read. No details yet, but here is a teeny sneak peek of something Carol is whipping up for our prospective article.

Another pal, Heather featured in an article in Romantic Homes. How cool. I can’t wait to pick up a copy. Heather and Carol are both buddies that I met through Silver Bella, and blogging.

And my poor pal, Beth, is under the weather. The pitiful thing is suffering from a horrific knitting injury. Actually, I think it is just tendinitis, but she was achey enough to miss Scranton and 4-Corners today. If you get a chance, wish her a get well soon.

My Sissy sent these St Pats tags in for the Two Tag Swap I am hosting. You wouldn’t believe the pile of pretties I get to go through and send out to people! Such great tags came in the mail this week, I can’t wait to play with them all.

Oh- I have been tagged by Connie to list seven things about myself. I know I’ve done the 7 weird things many times, but don’t seem to run out of weirdness to write about.

This time, I’ll keep it simple:

1- I am a serial painter. It is a serious mental problem, I am sure. I really can’t control it, I paint, and repaint rooms all the time. Right now I am considering blues for my bedroom.

2- I work really fast, and can get quite a bit done in a short amount of time. My studio is drowning in finished projects. I think it takes longer to try to sell them than it does to make them.

3- When we have a litter of kittens or puppies at our cottage, I pick a theme and name them all to match. My favorite Dorky puppy names were herbs, I had Rosemary and Dilly in that batch of pups.

4- My Great Aunt Caroline is about to turn 100 and I plan on taking after her and living at least that long. I have a lot I want to make or paint and it will take me till then to do it all.

5- I fell off a horse and broke my back 15 years ago this summer, and never thought I’d be without pain, but really am doing very well now.

6- I no longer own horses!

7- I never get tired of these 7 things lists, but I am bad about those award things. Louisa gave me a couple and I want to thank her for them. And instead of passing them on to another blogger, I’d like all you readers out there to be winners. Thanks for coming by and listening to my rambles and obsessions, and for keeping me company.

Oh, before I forget, I wanted to remind everyone about the Birdhouse Blinging we have going on March 27th. Join us here and at Beth’s, please!

And everyone, blogger or not, is invited to show birdhouse pictures on our Flickr group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/692795@N22/

Why does getting something new in your house make everything else look dirty? I can’t really be THAT bad of a housekeeper, can I???

antiques/junking, collections, Etsy Goodies, redos

By Karla Nathan / March 6, 2008

All of the re-dos that were spawned by spiffing up the stairway are about to finish up! This snowball has to melt sometime, one thing has led to another, to another, and on and on.

I even CLEANED MY HOUSE! This is getting serious, it has to stop somewhere. I was blissfully ignorant of the dust before I redid those stairs.

After repainting and adding trim to the corner cabinet, I realized the interior of it was a bit of a mess. Dusty and overstuffed.

So, I cleaned all the shelves, and rearranged all the pretties.

I used to store all my vintage linens on the bottom shelf, but decided that I wanted the room less country cottage and more romantic cottage. And less cluttered!! That is a hard one for me.

But I got rid of some of the things on these shelves, packed the linens in a linen closet, and redistributed 3 shelves worth of blue and white knick knacks and dishes onto 4 shelves.

It is a bit more streamlined and less cluttery, but heck, I can’t go clutter free cold turkey!

And I can’t do away with all the cute stuff, I need my pixies and birdies.

And my little angels.

I’m fond of anything winged. Well except mosquitoes of course. And those horseflies that bite.

When I went to hang my new curtains (of course, I HAD to have new curtains, that matched the new look!) I noticed the the cobwebs that had been ignored for … well I don’t want to admit for how long. Anyway, I cleaned all the pottery collection above the window while I was up there. And while up high, I saw how dirty the chandelier was…

And of course, after taking my old table out to the studio, I could see that the tile floor in the dining room needed a good bleaching.

Thank goodness my friends arrived to deliver the new (old) table, I was about to clean the windows!

Ta Da!! Isn’t it fancy???

How elegant is this???? I’m not usually one for unpainted wood, but this set has a nice mix, with just the top as natural wood and the rest painted. And it kind of feels good to buy something and enjoy it as it is, to not have to completely redo it.

The set goes perfectly with the new stairs.

I’m just in awe of the change. I really was never too happy with my old set.

The old set will be perfect in my art studio. It has 3 leaves that I can put in it. When I have big family get togethers, we always go into in the studio so we can spread out and have a sit down meal together.

Actually, you can tell, it isn’t a set at all, it is mismatched chairs from garage sales ($10 or less each) that I painted to match the flea market table.

ooooh, what a difference!!!!!!!! All of a sudden, my house looks all grown up.

But I know that no one at this house acts like a grown up, so I used two cans of Scotchgard on these chairs to protect the fabric.

I am having friends over for brunch tomorrow to try it out. It is going to be so much fun to set the table and get ready for them.

Oh by the way, the packages of tags are coming in daily for my St Pats Two Tag Swap and I am overwhelmed by the quality of the tags that are arriving! I am trying to not peak yet, I am just double checking each package to make sure all is there, and will open and enjoy them all together after the deadline. But WOW you should see some of these tags!! The luck of the Irish is with us on this swap, its like finding the end of the rainbow!!

The mail lady also brought this package back to me. Somerset Life is using this framed vintage doll dress in their next issue and sent back the frame since they were finished with it.

There is mail that needs to go out too. I sold a scrap pack of my stairway wallpaper remnants on Etsy ($6). It just kills me to waste anything, plus, vintage wallpaper is so beautiful it should never ever ever go to waste!

I will be listing more, and also cut up some to put in the St Pat’s Two Tag Swap envelopes when I send out the tags.

You know, there are still a little time left if you want to be in the swap. Have things in the mail to me in a couple days.

Well, if I am having a breakfast party tomorrow, I’d better be in the kitchen, I need to make a fruit salad and get cinnamon rolls and muffins ready for the oven.

The Snow Ball Effect- Avalanche Style

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, fairies, holiday decor, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 2, 2008

After seeing that gorgeous stairway while shopping in Virgina, I have been on a redo roll. Avalanche style, right down the mountain, gathering momentum and growing and growing.

I call it the snowball effect for two reasons. One- we’ve had the worst winter I can remember in years and I have been snowed in staring at my house way too much. Staring and finding fault.

Two, because as the project rolls along, it grows and grows.

Redoing the stairs meant that the walls should be repainted while I had the carpet up. I am entranced by Strawberry Whoppers right now and love the color as much as the taste. So, I mixed up a gallon of paint just slightly muted in that shade. (I used some leftovers in the garage, mixed and matched and added some tints till I got just the right pale, malty pink)

Under the rug, I knew the wood was going to be construction grade and meant to be covered with carpet, and that there would be some gaps here and there. But man… it was bad.

We ended up buying new pine steps for $7 each at Home Depot.

And to cover the gaps along the risers and the wall, I found these little corner pieces ($2 each) that just fit.

The steps are replaced, the paint is on, the walls are painted. Now I need to wallpaper them all.

When I cut out and held up slice of vintage rose patterned wallpaper, I loved it so much, I started to hate the rest of the room. The stair way is open to the dining room and all of a sudden it just wasn’t measuring up.

I bought a new (antique) dining set on sale at my friend’s store ($600). Then, of course, the curtains won’t match the new chairs. I picked up lace panels at Target ($60) Doesn’t Target have the best curtains???

And now, standing back from the baby’s room and looking down the stairs, I am thinking that carpet in there could use replacing…. And I saved so much by making my own paint and using vintage wallpaper that I already had and finding bargains for the dining room. And by doing the work myself with my son instead of hiring someone, that labor savings was huge! Heck I am redoing TWO rooms for way under $1000, on Trading Spaces they can barely do one. (well does a stairway count as a room??)

Aren’t I good at rationalizing?

I am feeling very spoiled by getting these re-dos done, but I am not nearly as spoiled as this little one. Sugarwings got some gifts in the mail from blogging friends.

How cute are these?? The little purse is from my pal, Phyllis and the cute collage with the baby’s photo on it is from Mahala. I think I will fill the little bag with Easter grass and toys, and tie the tag to it to give to her at Easter. Won’t they be cute together?

Of course, this little girl is just as happy to eat mud as she is to eat candy. I babysat her all day yesterday and she did quite a bit of mud snacking. (notice her lips)

So Grandmama taught her how to spit. That is a trick I am sure her parents will appreciate. We also went down to the creek to sit on the bank and throw rocks. Spitting and throwing rocks, yep, her parents will be thrilled with me.

Between working on the stairway and babysitting, I found some time to make pretties too. I bought these child’s tea cups from Shabby in the City with plans to give them to the baby, but she is too young yet for china cups.

So, they became nests for a fairy and a couple of sugared birds with vintage millinery flowers. I hope to get them all listed on etsy but time seems to be getting away from me.

Time has not been on my side lately. Listing seems to eat up a lot more time than actually crafting!

I managed to list these two little Easter peat pots that I made, the pair for $10. I made a TON of these last night, because I just can’t seem to make one of anything. For me, creating things is like a bag of Lays potato chips. (remember those commercials?) One is never enough.

If you would like one of these I will sell them to my blog readers for $4 each, plus postage instead of the Etsy cost of $10 a pair, for the saving me the time of listing them!

Same with the child’s tea cup nests- if you’d like one with birds now, it is only $10. $12 for the fairy.

While my house is torn up with remodeling and changing out furniture, I am extremely behind and am happy to give you a discount if it means I don’t have to edit pictures for Etsy right now!

These aren’t the best photos are they? Come to think of it, this isn’t a real pretty posting, with the murky photos and the ripped up stairs. Oh well, there is a Sugarwings picture, that makes the post beautiful to me!

In case you can’t tell, the peat pots are glittery and sweet, I used lots of vintage goodies, old soft yarn and trims, plus some German die cuts. No two pots are alike.

Email me or comment if you are interested. If not, I hope to get them Etsy sometime before Easter passes me by and it is too late!

And oops, I can’t forget this–

My winner for my February giveaway is:

PENNY

And don’t forget, if you are entering my St Pats Two Tag swap, they need to be mailed to me by March 7th. Isn’t that the date I said? I forget.

And honestly, it isn’t my fault- look at my calender!!!! It has the first half of Feb. and then goes directly to the second half of June!!!

Last year the calender I had gave me 31 days in each month, and I didn’t notice until August. Now, two years in a row, I get a bad one, what are the odds of that???? And I never know what date or day of the week it is anyway, so this really doesn’t help me at all.

Thanks everyone for entering my drawing. In March, you get another shot at winning, actually two, because I am giving away a bird house on March 27th too.

Good luck!

Obsession trumps Phobia

antiques/junking, Books, give away, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 27, 2008

Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to comment on my birdhouse decor post Monday. I always appreciate hearing from you.

When I wrote the how-to’s I knew I couldn’t exactly tell anyone how to do the decorating of their bird house, that is up to an individual artist’s taste. I just wanted to give you some background tips, I hope they were helpful.

The winner of this little house is Bethany. She was chosen from comments left on that posting only. Comments from every single post this month (including that one) count toward my February giveaway.

I hope that Beth and I get a good turn out for our "What do you LOVE about your birdie’s home?" party (otherwise known as "Bling your Birdhouse Day")on Thursday, March 27th, I can’t wait to see all the pretty birdhouses out there. To me, birdhouses are such a symbol of springtime coming. And I am certainly ready for a shot of springtime!

Today, I am painting my stairway. Remember how I was entranced by the wallpaper risers I saw on a staircase in Virginia and decided I HAD to have one like that?

Of course, I decided to redo the ceiling and walls since I am ripping out the carpet, because one redo always leads to another.

I hired a friend to come and help today because I am too short and too afraid of heights to reach the ceiling in the stairwell, but she came down with the flu. And being me, with my obsession, I simply couldn’t wait till she was better, so I did it anyway. By myself- quaking with dizzy fear every time I had to stretch out to reach a corner of the ceiling, too impatient to wait for a nice tall helper.

But, by using the same pale pink color on the ceiling as the walls, I didn’t have to cut in with a brush- no way I could reach to do that. And with a long handle on my roller, I was able to reach as much as I could.

I’ll show some after pictures this weekend after my son helps me redo the stairs. Now, if he comes down with the flu too, will I be able to wait?? Nope, I’ll drag the power saws out and try to keep all my fingers out of the way.

I truly hate heights and today’s project was stressful. So I took a break to get out side into the fresh air and shopped downtown a bit. It was actually sun-shiny and bright, no wind, no snow, no rain!!!

I found this little French Grammer book from 1927 at the Goodwill store across the street from Home Depot where I had to stop for more paint.

Then I hit two antique malls downtown Lawrence and found a bonanza of hats!

I always feel so lucky to find pink and white hats at affordable prices. And even luckier when they have roses on them!

This beautiful bauble is missing a couple stones, but imagine it glued to a box covered in pretty vintage wallpaper, with a spray of millinery flowers over the missing stones!

But the best thing I found today on my $50 spending spree during the one hour break that I took from dangling over the stairwell to paint a ceiling?

A vintage Easter dress for Sugarwings!!!!

Dotted swiss dappled with rose buds, with a frilly petticoat and a matching head band for only $20 all wrapped up into a dainty little size two frilly package just meant for my fairy grand baby to look adorable in.

She might just have to wear it every time she comes over here to play, not just save it for Easter.

How cute is she going to be in this?? And she LOVES dress up. I think she’ll be excited to see this. I certainly was!

Now, if I could just find a matching dress for Sugarwing’s Cuddly Cousin, they’d be pretty cute doing their piano duets for the family.

We were having a birthday party for my neice this weekend, and these two were the evening’s entertainment. What’s more fun to watch than a couple of smiling baby girls who want to put on a show?

I did some short cut cake decorating for the party. Wal-Mart, (of all places! You don’t expect to find lots of cuteness there. ) had these little pink puppy cakes for $3 each.

I baked a layer cake, iced it in chocolate, plopped a puppy in the center of it, then wrote her name in white icing.

I took my new favorite snack, Strawberry Whoppers, and added some along with more white icing around the base of the cake and put the rest of the Whoppers in a dish next to a glass filled with horns.

My Sissy made these pretty, glittery pink birds for me for Christmas and I left them up for Valentines day. Then for Nicoles birthday party, and now I think they’ll be up till Easter. I’m sure I’ll think of another reason to leave them up, I enjoy having them there.

I hung some party hats that matched the horns (bags of 6 for a dollar at Dollar Tree) and filled them with dried roses, then hung a couple of my hand made tussie mussies up with them. Simple and easy decorations for a simple party.

We set out pizza toppings, small Bobboli crusts and everyone fixed their own dinner, not too much work for me at all. I was able to relax and enjoy the show that the little ones were putting on for us over at the piano.

I love to be able to kick back and enjoy my guests and not have things too fussy!

Buttons, Baubles, Bottles, & Bears, plus a sick Baby

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, magazine pictures or articles, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 19, 2008

As much fun as I had out east, it is so good to be back home. But look at this, I came home to a sick baby! She really, really, wants to try to play, but simply isn’t up to it, she is droopy and worn out.

Even with a new hat for dress up and a new doll that was waiting in a package on the porch from Fluffy Flowers, Little Sugarwings just can’t manage to muster up the energy to play. We’ve been cuddled up watching Care Bear videos and now she is napping.

I had even more packages waiting for me when I got back from my trip.

Somerset was done photographing these vintage wallpaper folders filled with ephemera. So, now I have them photographed and ready to list on Ebay. These 3 will be in the next issue of Somerset Life.

This roll of wallpaper was waiting for me too. I had a bit of an Ebay frenzy while on vacation. I didn’t have any work to do, so am afraid that I got a bit carried away with the bidding. I guess I will be expecting a porch full of packages any day now.

This isn’t my favorite pattern, but it really will make a nice background for many projects. It would be hideous on someone’s wall though.

The hats are some from my shopping day in Lucketts, VA. (previous post) I am not a huge yellow fan, but I bought these for the flowers, and most of those are white. Plus, $3.50 each??? What a deal!

For a while, I have been collecting old fabrics to make spring time slipcovers for my couch. I got two more in the mail (Ebay again), the last two on the right. I plan on dipping all of the materials into a tea dye to coordinate them more.

They should be gorgeous with my French book decoupaged wall behind them after they are on my sofa.

I will use an actual fiber dye in a tea stain color, so they will be washable and color safe. The only trouble is, that I will have to face the sewing machine again. Oh no!

Here are the two pretty birdies in trophies that Robin gave to Beth and I. My dilemma, was which birdie could I chose?? They are both so cute.

I went with the one with the pink roses. I simply am a sucker for any rosey buds!

Here are a few of the bottles I filled my suitcase with. There are more still unwrapped. I plan on filling them with vintage buttons, making labels from old wallpaper and ephemera, then tying up the necks with soft ribbon and a charm.

This little fawn was a dollar at Lucketts. How could I let her stay there? I knew she’d be happier at my house with some old millinery flowers as a welcoming lei around her neck.

I always decorate with china figurines of deer for Christmas, but I think she will be quite nice at Easter too. If you think about it, the fawns are born this time of year, not in December!

These buttons were $1 a bag in Leesburg. The simple mother of pearl ones are teeny, meant for doll clothes or baby clothes, I think. These won’t be going into my button jars to sell, I’ll save these to make paper doll dresses.

And look a the tiny white butterflies!! Oh, the things that I can do with those! I can’t wait to start.

But for now, I hear the baby monitor calling out for Grandmama. My poor little sick girl is up from her short nap (3rd one of the day) She is going to need some snuggling.

I prefer white furniture to the White House

antiques/junking, Moving to DC, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 17, 2008

I’m having a lovely time in our apartment out East. Although it is hard for me to not have anything to do…. I am used to keeping busy. I need to set up an art studio next time I come out or I will go crazy. I’ve done some shopping, some sight seeing,and I filled the freezer with ready to go meals for my husband. I must be bored, if I want to spend the entire afternoon of Vaelntines Day baking and freezing food.

Luckily, Robin, a blogger friend, met me today to keep me company.

We met at Starbucks, and both got phone calls from our husbands to check on us, the guys were worried we were meeting up with internet predators instead of blog friends!

I made sure to get a photo of the guy behind Robin so I could show my husband and pretend that he was right.

Here he is, my new buddy, Thrifty Miss Priss. He does look a bit shifty. But he seemed so nice on the blog!

The REAL Robin was such fun, we ended up talking for 2 hours. She brought me the cutest nesting birdie in a trophy, I promise to get photos of it when I get home, what a perfect gift!! She made one for my buddy, Beth too. Beth and I are getting together on Thursday for some co-craftiness, so I’ll take it to her then. In the mean time, I’ll set them both on my computer where I can enjoy them and try to decide which one I can part with!!

I am in love with the antique shops around here!!! I wished I had a truck with me instead of a camera while shopping. This is the dining set I have been day dreaming about forever. But it would be a bit complicated to get it back to Kansas, and my luggage is already full.

I bought a set of these little plastic plates for Sugarwings and I to play tea party with. That is easy enough to pack.

And when I bought a few of these old blue bottles, I thought, that isn’t so bad either, they’ll be fine in my bags.

But then, I found more bottles. And some paper mache buckets. And some more bottles. Then I found even more bottles.

I’m sure I’ll figure a way to get them all home, and turn them into decorated button jars. Yes, I am just sure I can make them fit. Somehow.

Did I mention that I also found some old hats?

This seems to be the land of prom gowns and flowered hats. Everywhere I look, I see gorgeous, feminine, flowery things.

The hats I bought should be fine, if smashed, I bought them mostly for the flowers, I peel them off and glue them onto other things. And these hats I found are ENCRUSTED with flowers!

I’ve found so many curly-q, carved chairs too. All of this furniture is just my style.

I need a truck!

It causes me pain to go home without this $89 table that just screams my name! I just don’t find stuff this cool at these prices back home. And here I always brag about shopping in Kansas and the low prices. Well, yes we have great prices, but our stuff is more country looking, or primitive, or traditional.

Of course, there is stuff in this style back home too, but not in the abundance that I’ve seen it here, or at the prices I have seen here.

Also, I came across more than one store that was predominately pink and white!

Heck, I feel like canceling my flight home and renting a U-haul and buying a load of stuff to redecorat my house.

One thing I could take home with me, was an IDEA. Look at these stairs!!

I have a plan to pull up the ugly carpet from my stair way, and cover each riser in a different vintage wallpaper, then paint the steps white. Trouble is, my stairs were built to be carpeted, and are very unfinished looking. It will take lots of bondo (meant for car repairs, but great for painted furniture repair too) and sanding. I’ll have to router the edges too. The steps at my house are plain boards, builder grade, not cool, old stairs. I now, HAVE to make them LOOK like cool old stairs. I have a mission!

Here is another tempting piece from Lucketts. Just a bit big for my suitcase. Heck, I am wondering how I will make hats fit, what am I even doing thinking about buying salvage?

In the spring, Luckets has an outdoor flea market. Oh, I will be back for that! The outdoors is pretty cute and fun to poke through now, just picture this area filled with 60 different dealers.

What a pretty thought!

I also went to downtown Leesburg. It was quaint and wonderful, but I didn’t have much time. A lot of the decor there is more traditional or formal like I expected this area to sell.

And OLD. This is a gown that might have been worn by Dolly Madison, from the looks of it!

We ate dinner at Rivercreek Country Club over looking an extraordinary view of the Potomac while in Leesburg. My husband had to work there for the day, I had tagged along and gone on the shopping trip while waiting for him.

We also took a train into downtown DC and looked at dinosaurs and monuments and the White House.

But of course, to me, nothing downtown DC compared to the dining room table I saw at Lucketts! Am I shallow? I was defiantly feeling like Becky Bloomwood in the Shopaholic NY book, when she pretends to go on a museum tour and ducks out to shop. If I could’ve gotten away with it, I would have gone back to that antique mall and skipped all the dino bones. Yep, that is shallow, alright.

Maybe it was because it was such a chilly gray day, and I was bundled up like a cocoon to keep warm as we walked the city. If I go back in the spring with the cherry blossoms in bloom, maybe I will get into exploring the city more.

Some how, I think I’d still prefer the white, ornate furniture to the White House!

I’m spending a lot of time blog browsing too, since I haven’t got any work to do. And Ebay browsing, which can be dangerous when you are bored and killing time!

But here is a blog that will keep you from boredom- check out Angela’s pink round up for Valentines, so many pretty pink links to visit.

That is where I am going now.

Ready * Set * GO!

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, fairies, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / November 29, 2007

I’m DONE! I’m ready for my sale!!!

I even had time today to cover this cash box in old wallpaper and foof up the keys to it.

I had bought it at a garage sale this summer for $2, and it was a plain, industrial grey color. A little bit of vintage papers, some glue, ribbon, a charm and some old pearl buttons, and I am ready to make change in style tomorrow!

I also made a few more teacup posie arrangements.

Pretty teacups that were slightly chippy got a makeover with oasis glued to the inside, then covering them with moss or shredded papers and gluing in some pretties. I used a variety of goodies inside of them, tiny Christmas balls in silver, millinery flowers, and glittered birds. After putting them in place, I drenched them in white glue and did another light fairy dusting of glitter over the top.

Price tags are done, stuff is arranged. This cabinet is all whites.

I have more than one area done in reds and greens. There are plenty of traditionalists who want the old fashioned Christmas colors. I love them myself, and have fun setting up the displays, but have gone with more pastels and neutrals in my house this year for holiday decor.

The pink poinsettias are my favorite, I love the rich deep pink ones, that are almost the color of an azalea. (by the way- if you think your house isn’t ready to photograph for our "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home" party on Dec. 12th, here is a good example. There are dirty dishes in this sink, but the angle I took the photo hides them. And the mess on the counter top, just got pushed aside for the picture. Your house doesn’t have to be perfect to show us some pretties in it for the party!!) But I should replace that light bulb before the open house.

Or you can just zoooooom in.

The grocery store had $1.99 roses again this week and I bought 3 dozen (all they had) for my open house.

I also buy pink and white poinsettias ($3 a pot at Wal-Mart) and use them as cut flowers instead of potted.

Yes, these are sitting on the back of my toilet. Is that tacky? Should toilets just be left alone??

I was able to take the 3 dozen roses and 2 poinsettia plants and spread flowers all throughout my home.

Most of the roses were still buds, so I am gambling they’ll still look good by Sunday. I had to arrange all the flowers on Wed. since I’ll be tied up with my sale the next few days.

Actually, I don’t arrange them much. I just plop them into vases. More cottagey than a true arrangement.

Oh-oh, I see some price tags coming lose. I hope I don’t run into many of those situations in the studio for the sale.

Its too bad the price tags have to be so visible, they don’t make a pretty photo. But I like them to be right in your face for shoppers, easy for them to see. Don’t you HATE having to wait for someone to get a key to open a case and flip something over so you can see the price???? Why do people hide their prices so often????

Remember the clearance stockings I bought earlier? I got them all foofed up with glitter, buttons and old jewelry and will be hoping to sell them for $15 each. Seems like a good price for them, I hope the shoppers agree.

I put $18 on my little ballerina fairy under glass.

Can you see why it has taken me so long to pull this together? I hope the care that went into it shows.

Right now I am off to bed. Well, that is after I watch Survivor. Wish Beth and I luck tomorrow!!

Tiny Dancers and Globs of Glitter

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 26, 2007

Do you ever have days when you are trying to meet a deadline, have tons to do, but get easily sidetracked anyway?

I have an open house as part the local Holiday Home Tour and a 3 day sale in my studio this weekend. There are so many things I need to be doing for it.

But what do I do instead? Give the dogs haircuts and baths.

And go to Goodwill. Where I found this vintage jewelry box!! For 49 cents!! It plays "When you Wish Upon a Star" and the ballerina twirls. I need to cover the exterior in vintage wallpaper. Of course.

There has been some work getting done- I’m still painting ornaments and charms. Although, yesterday I took a movie break and went to see "The Mist". I have always been a huge Stephen King fan, but more of his earlier work than later.

Last night after the movie, I painted about a dozen charms.

Including some especially for Kansans- Jayhawks and Sunflowers.

I have no idea how many hours I have spent making price tags. They seem to have taken over my life. I know that on Thanksgiving Day, I put in 9 hours of tagging!

I looked around and think I am about 95% done with pricing. So, I have today and tomorrow to make more things (and more price tags for them too, I guess).

I made this up real quick this morning, it was a glittered bucket with ugly stuff on it, that I pulled off and exchanged for flocked wallpaper (that I bought from Dede during vendor night at Silver Bella) and a German die cut cherub, some old trim, and a bit of vintage velvet ribbon.

I painted this little fairy ornament last night too. She still needs a dollop of glitter on her.

These ornaments from yesterday could use a shake or two from the glitter jar too. I think that the poly top coat and sparkly glitter just makes them look finished.

Of course, I think everything looks better with glitter.

I won an giveaway this summer from Michelle and she had made this darling little blue bird for me. She told me it was OK to glitter it up, I think she knew in advance that the poor little bird couldn’t escape my glitter shaker!

This little ballerina fairy has been sparkled too. She is standing in a shallow dish, that I have no idea what it could have been meant for, it is an odd shape. The dome was 49 cents at the Goodwill.

She is wearing butterfly wings and crystals, and is perched on an old bulb from a string of Xmas lights. That wasn’t easy to do.

I glued a nest of shredded paper to the bottom of the dish, then added tiny, vintage glass Christmas balls onto the nest, making sure to attach them to the glass below so they would be secure.

Then, I turned the light bulb so that it pointed upwards, and glued the base to the glass and the tiny dancer to the tip.

I think she has a little bit of acrobat in her too. She did a great job of hanging in there while I held her in place while waiting for the glue to dry.

I stuffed a lot of ribbon and velvet millinery posies around the base of it all and globbed a lot more glue on it. It seems to have dried solid as a rock and very stable, but you should have seen my gluey fingers and all the shredded paper and glitter stuck to them while doing this. She kept slipping and sliding down and I didn’t think I’d ever get it all to stay in place.

Did I mention I had a million things to do for my sale? So, add blogging about glitter and price tags to giving the dogs a hair cut and shopping at Goodwill to avoid working.

I’d better get on with it.

Don’t forget, you can still do some shopping from the previous two posts (as well as the ornaments in this post). Just email if you are interested.

And every comment you leave is an entry into my drawing for the November giveaway. the prize will probably be something glittered.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

I added glitter to these balls, better, huh?