antiques/junking – Page 36

Scents, Roses, and a Drawer full of Bubbles!

antiques/junking, flowers, give away, jewelry, paintings

By Karla Nathan / June 11, 2007

99 posts, almost 4 months, 11,912 hits and counting! I had no idea when I started this blog what it would turn into, or mean to me. I thought I’d use it only to show more of my work to clients. (like this rose painting that I did and then turned sepia in photo editing and this yard long rose painting I did on a door panel)

But, I soon learned, that not only did I get to show and sell my work, and have my family living in other states keep up with what I am doing, I was now in a wonderful social network of people who enjoy, crafts, art, junking, and just plain old surrounding themselves with pretty things!For my 100th post, I think I’ll do list of what blogging means to me

I can tell you right now, though- I LOVE GIVEAWAYS!!!!!

Not only winning them (yippee) but doing them. I think I will try to have one going all the time.

For June, I am giving away one of these hand painted charms. Out of the 30 that I made for the charm swap I am in (I LOVE SWAPS TOO), I have these 3 left over. (The other two are for sale $10 each plus $2.50 postage, if you are interested)

Oh, I forgot to show you a few gems from my garage sailing trip with my life long friends who came to visit this weekend.

I found this book to read to my fairy grand baby, for $3.

We will both enjoy the pop up flowers on each page, but I might save reading it to her for when she is better at looking at things with her eyes instead of her mouth.

And CRYSTAL BUBBLES silver ware!!! A huge box full, maybe 3 sets? Or more, I didn’t count them, for mearly five buckaroos.

So many that my drawer barely closes. I will need to weed a few out and save aside for later.

I often get comments about how much I can get done in one day. Well this silverware drawer is one of my little ways of prioritizing my life. Why sort silverware??? I dump the whole basket straight from the dishwasher to the drawer. I’d rather spend time on something else.

The silver ware, the book, all the fun things I bought out junking with my buddies will always remind me of them. Much as a song will bring you back to the first time you heard it, or a scent will remind of of what you were doing when you smelled it.

Michelle Ward http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/ brings up that subject in this month’s challenge: "Whats that Smell?"

It is a coincidence for me that this is the challenge for June. I have recently started using scent on my packaging. If you received anything from me lately, and still have the envelope, let me know if it still smelled pretty when it arrived!

I went downtown Lawrence, KS to a cute shop that allows you to make your own scented oils. I mixed up a few old fashioned flower and vanilla ones. For years, I would add a single drop to the inside of an antique dresser before I sold it to combat mustiness and add a happy smell. Now, I am using a drop on the corner of each envelope I send out to someone who purchases my work, hoping to bring a smile to the recipient before they even open the package.

High School Hi Jinx at nearly 50

antiques/junking, parties, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 10, 2007

My friends are on their way back to Pendleton and my sides are still aching from all the laughing we did this weekend. It was like we were 16 year old school girls again.

It was a weekend full of silliness and fun. This photo just about sums it up. Out on the lake, we were waved over by the patrol for a routine safety check, but my friend, Madonna, who was facing the officers was waving back to them, like they were best friends passing by, not realizing we were being flagged over. So, I just kept driving and we just kept laughing and talking- until the red lights come on and they call out to us to stop.

Those poor officers never knew what they were in for. Lori offered them cocktails, we asked them to pose for photographs, and chatted with them about where they were from, what they were doing, got their entire life stories. Those boys had a deer in the headlight look in their eyes when they drove off.

There was a giant music festival going on at the lake campgrounds this week. I think that Lori’s tie dye shirt is what caught the officer’s attention out on the boat. They must have seen the bright colored shirt, heard the loud laughter and thought we were a bunch of stoners out joy riding!

Here are some signs up at the entrance to the park. Words to live by everyday!

We were able to park in a cove and listen to the music off in the distance. At almost 50, that is a beautiful way to attend a concert! Floating on a calm lake, enjoying a breeze and some sunshine, watching a blue heron along the edge of the water, and hearing a blues band play in the background.

We also had hours and hours being pulled in the inner tubes behind the boat. 3 of us along with my 14 year old niece, managed the trick of jumping from one tube to the other, back and forth at full speed.

On Friday and Saturday mornings we did some garage sailing.

My best purchase is this cabinet for $50, slightly in need of some repairs. I have to attach the top back on to it. Not hard to do at all. I don’t know if I will repaint it or not, I like it as it is and hope to use it in my kitchen next to the fridge to keep my garbage can in. But I have to wait till my husband goes out of town to bring it in from my studio, he HATES it when I get new furniture. The poor man would live with a bed, a couch, and a recliner if he had his way. Well, I guess he’d need his pool table too.

The etched mirror was $10, but well worth it. The white vintage basket was $1 and the linens were only 10 cents each! Two weekends in a row, scoring dime linens!!!

This blown glass frog paper weight will be a gift for my brother-in-law when he comes to visit next month. It was $2, and just made for his collection of frogs.

I met a lady who has been a cake decorator for 35 years who was selling a box full of old items she didn’t want, for only $5. This is just a fraction of it.

I’d like to paint flowers on the cake cover.

All the cake toppers looked looked vintage to me, some older than others.

Sugarwing’s first birthday will be in August. Maybe I will make a tradition of using these little angels on numbers each year for her cake, starting with the blue #1.

Or maybe she’d like a circus carousal with a yellow monkey? My son’s nickname for his little fairy girl is Monkey Stuff.

Speaking of my little Sugarwings (who also got a haul of goodies from the garage sailing adventure), I miss her, since I have been so busy. Her hippy-type parents are at the music festival out on the lake today, so I will get to babysit. That will help me today, I’m sad about my friends going back home to Indiana. But I’ll have my fairy grand baby all day and we’ll have some new adventures of our own.

Meandering thoughts on roses and Meandering paths in the garden

antiques/junking, fairies, flowers, paintings, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 5, 2007

Once again, my local grocery store had $1.99 a dozen roses on Monday! At those prices you can fill a house with them!

Actually, this bright pink bundle contained a lot more than a dozen. I used them in the matte white dog planters here in the guest bathroom and also up in one of the guest bedrooms.

Isn’t that a perfect pink for this room?

I placed a goody filled pot by the bed as a surprise. I added some chocolates too, that seemed to be the finishing touch that it needed.

The other guest room upstairs got pale, blushy pink roses.

The painting on the wall behind the daybed is an old one, not one that I painted myself.

I used the painting for a photo shoot that I did for Romantic Homes, and thought I would sell it after the article, but I just never could. I even had a lady call me from Florida after reading the magazine and offer to buy it.

I have made copies of the picture, maybe I should find some old frames to paint white and pop some prints into them?

I bought white roses for the dining room.

There were bunches of other flowers for $1.99 too. I divided them up and used some with a few of the roses in kitchen window.

That is the one place that I will ALWAYS have fresh flowers. I spend too much time cooking and washing up at the sink to not have something lovely to look at. If there are no markdown flowers and I have nothing to pick in my yard, I will indulge in at least one single bloom to put in the window to enjoy while I chop and peel at the sink!

I don’t have a green thumb, but I sure try. I have learned that I can cut ivy from my garden and grow it in vases of water, not dirt. So, I always have ivy in pots and vases in the window too. Potted plants don’t live long in my home, but sprigs of ivy or pothos seem to do well in just water.

Speaking of green thumbs, I had some help in the garden today. Sugarwings spent some time eating dirt while I set up a series of soaker hoses in and around the tomatoes.

Marigolds are planted to line the stepping stones that I use in between the veggies.

I started collecting stepping stones years ago. A lot of the garden step stones are cheapy, 90% off clearance ones from Hobby Lobby at the end of the season.

All of these stained glass mosaic stepping stones are from art shows, where I have been able to trade a necklace I made or a print of my paintings for a stone.

I just planted begonias to line the walkway, they are still quite a bit puny. Try to imagine them all full and flowering!

With my lack of a green thumb, that is the only way they’ll get to that point, is by imagination.

This is my favorite, but then, you might have guessed I love fairies.

Plus, I got this at an art show in Pendleton, Indiana where I grew up, so it is sentimental to me.

A friend made this one, I added a bit of paint to age it.

This round one is from Walmart!

I had to dig a trench to help the water flow away from the house. I turned the mucky project into a curving path, and filled the area with rock. then, I lined the path with white dessert plates.

Well, I’ve shown you a painting that is an antique, flowers from the grocery and stepping stones other people have made. I feel like I should show something I did myself!

This is a fairy watercolor using plates as a border like I have done in front of my own home.

I’ve probably ran on long enough, but don’t forget you can enter the charm give away simply by leaving a comment or email this month. And as many times as you’d like to leave one, too, they all count.

Eat with Caroline

antiques/junking, flowers, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / June 3, 2007

Thanks for all your votes and input. I Love hearing from everyone, its nice to know I am not just writing this to myself, that there is actually someone out there who sees it!

Remember, you can still win a hand painted rose charm by simply leaving a comment this month. I love comments and don’t mind bribing you to get them!

I had a lucrative garage sailing morning with my sis-in-law, Sharon and her girls. First of all, she is an expectant grandma, and I am a slightly newbie grandmama, so we enjoyed scooping up baby goodies today. I used to drive right on by the sales that were all baby stuff, but now we squeal with joy when we pull up to the curb and see piles of tiny pink dresses and big, colorful, plastic baby paraphernalia that takes up half a room.

I loaded up on pretties for Sugarwings, including a monitor to keep here for when she naps and the foo-fooiest pink dresses ever ($1 each!) I will keep the dresses at my house for her to wear to our tea parties.

I managed to squeeze in some non-Sugarwings purchases too. This tray was $4 and the overnight case was 50 cents. I plan to line it with vintage papers and paint roses on the exterior.

The linens were 10 cents each! (I bought 32) Heck, that is less than bubble wrap. At that price, I should wrap all my packages in linens when I mail breakables.

I always seem to find a new birdie for my collection when I am junking. These pink tweeties were only a dime.

"Eat with Caroline" was a quarter, how could I pass that up?

I don’t know if any of Caroline’s recipes will grace my table, but they sure will adorn my collage work!

We took a break from junking and strolled through the farmer’s market. Because an interesting market like ours, here in Lawrence, KS deserves strolling, not just walking through.

I really liked all the hand painted signs the vendors use.

"Friday Night Bakers" was the prettiest sign. but it was late in the day so there wasn’t much left of the baked goods.

Isn’t the bundle of wheat next to the simple daisies and the yarrow a lovely combination?

Kansas is known for its wheat, but I have never thought of picking it and using it in my flower arrangements.

And look at this flower, it reminds me of Queen Anne’s Lace, but has bigger petals.

I’d love to grow Queen Ann’s Lace, and have tried digging it out of a field of weeds and transplanting it to my garden, but it never lives. Now how hard can it be to grow a weed?? I seem to be a whiz with dandelions and poison ivy in my yard.

I got up at 6am (not like me) to go Garage Sailing this morning, spent the middle of the day in the garden, then cleaned the basement. Which in our 100 year old house, is more of a cellar. Nasty. But after that was done, we went to a movie, then out on the lake to watch the sunset from our boat (and eat cheeseburgers with sweet potato fries from the Marina). Not a bad way to end a day. Although, it didn’t end there, I have a dozen people coming for biscuits and gravy tomorrow morning and a dinner party and house guest tomorrow night (with a day of boating in the middle). So, groceries and baking came after the lovely sunset. And of course, BLOGGING! Now, off to clean bathrooms for company and then finally, to bed. Night, night

Sisters Junking Day in Indy and MORE $1.99 roses!

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, flowers, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / May 29, 2007

What’s one good thing about being back a day early from vacation? Being at the local grocery store for the Monday markdowns on flowers! $1.99 bundles of roses are almost enough to come home early for. (But I also got a day with Sugarwings!)

I bought the roses in a lavender pink color, and got a $1.99 bundle of snap dragons to match. Then it just so happened that the color of the flowers looked so beautiful with the mail I happened to be opening- look at my presents!! I received a bundle of pretty cards and papers from Vickie at Stampin’ Up and a dainty little rose scented candle that came all the way from Norway and http://brittarnhildshouseinthewoods.typepad.com/brittarnhilds_house_in_th/. She gave the candle as a prize for her Caring Bloggers Rose Day and I was lucky enough to win it. But, I think I have mentioned before that I am a lucky person. Thanks to you both for the pretties!!

Here is a pile of the loot I found on my Sisters Junking Day in Indy.

Southport Antique Mall was HUGE, it had wings, upstairs, downstairs, back alleys, hidden rooms, and felt like a maze that went on forever. Why aren’t all antique malls built that way????

I accidentally left with the clothespin that was used to mark my pile of purchases. It said "Carolina" on it, and I had just been in N. Carolina a couple days ago, seemed fitting. My niece was given a clothes pin that said Loo Loo, but she insisted it was 007 007. Bobbie Sue had one that was just a number 3, so I asked if they would trade it in for a pretty name. She got "Peace" in place of #3, much better!

A favorite find was the cute jar with the pink lid, that was full of rhinestone buttons for $6.

I found 2 of these albums, for $12 each. Both in decent shape, but one a bit better than the other. I will probably make one into an art journal and use the 2nd for parts.

The dish with pink flowers is actually tin! very pretty. I also got a big bundle of china flowers for $12. I never really like the plastic stems on these things, and often just use the buds in mosaics. Not sure what this bunch will be yet.

We had a mini shopping trip the day before, a stop at Goodwill and a spin through TJMaxx. I found new towels at the Maxx, Sissy found the new sheets and the chocolate bars wrapped in pretty papers, as well as the 3 sisters mug.

She found the blue skirt with pink roses (a Ralph Lauren) at the Goodwill along with the pink basket. I got the soap dish at the thrift and plan on painting it ivory to use in my kitchen to hold the sponge by the sink.

I’m jealous about the basket Sissy bought, it was just the right size to fit 3 Dorkies in. I loved the skirt too, but my sis is about a size minus zero and that skirt would have ripped in half just holding it up to my hips.

Tonight I started working on my vacation scrapbook. (Walgreens has a special now for 15 cent prints by email, ready in an hour). I thought I’d turn some little nieces into fairies, this first one is Hannah. I was lucky enough to be in Indiana while she was having her nursery school graduation and got to attend. Hannah and her friends sang and danced for the crowd and it was so cute, I laughed till I cried.

Her cousin, Mikaela is a couple years older and loves pink and princesses and fairies. She makes an elegant little flying sprite. Their grandparent’s last name is Valentine, so I added some hearts in the pictures.

Garage Sailing & Gardening

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / April 30, 2007

My weekend got off to a good start with some garage sailing on Sat. This year was different for me, I had to close my showroom due to major road work, and no longer buy in volume to resell old junk I fix up. I was in mourning most of last garage sailing season and hardly went at all.

This year, I am learning to be pickier and buy just a few things for myself or some lightweight items for ebay. I heaved a few heavy sighs when I had to pass up bargains I normally would have been loading into my van. But I did enjoy the small purchases I made, and heck, it is stuff I get to keep! Which makes it even better. Plus, zipping in and out of tight spots in my cute little Scion is a lot easier than driving that big ole cargo van I had. And my unloading at the end of the day was simpler too!

Here is what I limited myself to:

a rosy juice cup- 25 cents
berry bowl with roses- 10 cents
McCoy aqua flower pot- $4
McCoy matte white vase- $8
rusty iron gate-$4
toys for sugar wings- $25
2 Victorian chairs to fix up for my breakfast nook- $50

In the past, I NEVER would have spent that much on stuff to keep. I feel like a princes with all these presents for myself!!

Here is where the rusty gate went, it matched one I already had, so I put them at the entry to the flower bed I am building. Its still in progress, but a lot was done on it Saturday. All the shrubs and trees are in place. Just need to spread mulch and add annuals for color.

I also planted a wisteria vine that will hopefully grow up the posts of my vegetable garden entrance. Every spring I plant something different there, every year they die. Next year, if this wisteria doesn’t make it, I might as well plant a $20 bill instead. I’m ready to give up!

I’ll post pictures later on when the flowers are all blooming,right now it all looks a bit sad. The metal rocker is meant to have a bucket of flowers in it, and there is nothing planted in the hanging baskets yet. I need something there that is drought tolerant, maybe lantana?

Speaking of buckets – don’t forget- every comment enters you in the May Bucket giveaway!

Porker Mommies, Dorkies, and Waller Worts

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / April 20, 2007

Another trip? I seem to have something every week, whether house guests or a trip somewhere. We’ve had a houseful 3 weekends in a row, went to Minneapolis last week and today we are heading to a cabin in the Ozarks. I wonder how I manage to get anything done besides have fun….. Well, if you think about it, all I do is fun stuff anyway. Junking, painting, playing with the fairy grand baby, more painting, making jewelry, painting. Not a bad life. Company, trips and painting roses on junk!

Thanks for the inquiries about the green doodads I rescued from the bonfire and painted flowers on. Heather of http://prettypetalsboutique.blogspot.com/ and Becca of http://bluebirdroses.blogspot.com/ have asked to purchase them. I love to save things that were destined to be trash and turn them into a piece of art that someone wants to have in their home. Thanks to Heather and Becca for helping me on my quest to prettify the world by recycling!

Michelle Ward’s crusade challenge this month is interesting, "Say What?" http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/. I didn’t do an art journal page and enter, but here are my family phrases anyway. Maybe I’ll get around to illustrating them???? Sure I will. I’ll get my floors mopped too, I’m positive. Any way, thanks again, Michelle for a fun project, even if I only get half way through it!

Porker Mommies- hidden candy, usually bags of chocolate on clearance after a holiday. My family always knows there is a stash of porker mommies somewhere in the house.

Dorkies- what we call our Yorkshire Terriers.

Leash Kids- children of our houseguests who are entranced by our Dorkies and want to drag them all over the house on leashes the whole time they are visiting.The dorkies go along with it, but glare at us over their shoulders as they are drug away.

Waller Worting- Rassling and tickling and snuggling with your small child, usually ending up with one person blowing a razzberry on the other’s tummy and making them giggle so hard they snort like a wart hog.

Speaking of small children, my only good find on the Big Kansas City Junking Day was a pile of books for my fairy grand baby, Sugar Wings. Here are a couple that look pretty in her room here at my cottage.

Beth, http://bethleintz.typepad.com/gathering_dust/ and I had a good time, though. A day out with a buddy, whether you hit the mother lode of treasure or not, is always fun. Well, that goes right back to what I said earlier- all I do is fun stuff!

I am trying to decide if I want to go horseback riding on this Ozark trip. I used to keep horses here at the old farmhouse cottage, (well, actually out in the barn behind the cottage) and fell off one and broke a few vertebrae. I am a bit shy of riding now, but might muster up the courage to give it a try again. A broken back isn’t much fun, but years of pain taught me to enjoy every minute and make the most of everyday. Probably not a lesson I need to learn again, so maybe I won’t ride this weekend……..

One more thing before I go and pack for my weekend getaway- Kelli at http://www.kellishouse.blogspot.com/ is hosting a show and tell Fridays (just like in grade school!!! It was always my favorite day of the week).

So I am showing my find– this cute vintage toy piano I bought for SugarWings. It was $12 and ugly, I sanded, primed and painted it a pale sage green, then added a touch of crackle for age and texture and finished with a top coat with a hint of stain in it for depth. The fairy grand baby pounds away at it and it seems to be her favorite toy here.

OK, now I am off for my fun weekend. hmm, wonder how I can convince everyone to let me stop at a couple of roadside antique shops on the trip???

Dizzy from the Re-dos??

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / April 11, 2007

Oh it feels good to be home again, we drove through a blizzard all day to get home from Minneapolis! The weather was too bad for me to sweet talk Rich into stopping at any roadside antique malls so I could browse while he waited outside with a book, or doing emails on his Blackberry.

I was thinking about him not recognizing his own home in the magazine (posted on April 8, Clueless but Cute), and I have decided that maybe it isn’t his fault. Here is a photo of my living room for an article I wrote for Paint Magic Oct 2005.

This photo was taken maybe a year later.

(Both photos taken by Bill Mathews and styled by Gloria Gale)

Well, maybe he is right to be confused?