antiques/junking – Page 5 – Karla's Cottage

Pony Creek Market

By Karla Nathan / October 11, 2023

One of my friends hosted an antique market, and boy, did she do a good job!

She had invited me to participate and at first I said yes. Then I realized that with Rich’s variable schedule with his consulting type thing he is doing, his truck might not be around when time came to haul stuff. So I had to say no, after all.

It is lucky that I did, because yep, he is working in Nebraska part time. And the show was an hour away, that’s a lot of trips hauling my junk in a RAV4.

I’d have loved to have been a part of it with my buddy, Angie who had a space there. She said it was a good show to set up at. I could tell, the parking lot had plenty of cars, there were happy people milling about with shopping bags, food trucks with lines, and vendors everywhere. All in a beautiful, country setting.

Beth and I shared a ride to go visit and had a delightful day.

Good Juju October Preview and and acting like a grownup

antiques/junking, collections, Good JuJu, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / September 30, 2023

Isn’t this dress to die for? (Ha, see what I did there, a Halloween turn of phrase).

I wish I’d gotten a close up of the lace. It is hauntingly gorgeous, but also delicate. This gown is a display only piece, it would be in shreds if even tried on.

Which is exactly what happened to this satin dress. And it was actually in good shape, but someone in my booth was twisting herself into it over some bulky clothes without trying to be careful. It was torn up under the arms. Well durn.

This probably would’ve made a lovely witchy dress for the right person at Halloween. Now it is also a “display only” a little before it’s time. Oh well. Vintage dresses are always just one tug over the head away from doom.

Plus, there is always breakage in retail. And now it is marked down to reflect its new status. Hopefully someone besides me will appreciate both black beauties for their qualities as is.

For September’s sale, my spot was over the top, nonstop, Spooky Season. I planned on two months of Halloween/fall goods, and that seems to have worked out well.

About half of my inventory that sold was the scary stuff. Since I was in the middle of a remodel in my studio at home, I thought I’d simply plop some fall merchandise in to fill holes and not do a flip like I try to make happen each month.

Because my talented boy got my floor redone in record time, I was able to replace everything in the studio much quicker than I could’ve dreamed of. So that gave me time to give my booth a shake up after all, instead of the refill I’d thought I’d be doing.

And since I am insane I enjoy the redos, packing everything in tubs, setting it aside, moving furniture, puzzle piecing it back together, adding in more. As soon as I am done, I get impatient for this month’s sale to be over so I can move onto my next planned design.

I was able to do half of the booth black with elements of October and the other side of my space in Autumn.

There was even enough time to add a delicious, fruity, fall, vintage wallpaper.

Then to fill that wall with what seems like a few hundred thousand knicky-knacky things. I might have done too much here…

This cabinet is stuffed with a Thanksgiving theme (I did it again, get it? Stuffing!)

I have jewelry at the front on my space. I didn’t get a photo of that.

And owls! More owls. I’d been collecting them all year just for this season. I know owls are popular and sell all year long, but for me, they seemed fitting for this time of year. Plus, I like saving up until I have a collection to display, groupings look good.

I was in the process of redoing this door on the end of the wall when my new neighbor came in and asked whose space it was meant to be. Well, since it had been there the whole time I was renting this spot, I figured it was mine.

It jutted out 10” or so onto her side, and she had hung items on that slice of the back of it, and my things were on the front. It was on a walkway between our two spots. I always used the tiny hallway to hang miscellaneous bits and pieces that didn’t match the themes I had going on, which was handy for me because they were often items that would’ve stood out too much if displayed with my other things. It had been a place for my hodgepodge stuff.

One of the owners was in, and told me that I should move it fully into my area to make it fair, and of course, she was right.

But it would’ve impeded walk space a smidge and that required moving furniture a couples inches and since I was set up, that was a step too much at the point, so I took it down. I have a more narrow shutter to bring in later, a better fit, half the size of the door. That door had been added by the previous occupant, and actually wasn’t my space after all, I just thought it was.

Apparently it was never mine to use, I just assumed it was. Although, after adding the shutter, I’ll still have half of it. And it will be legit this time.

A month ago, the front border of my booth was moved back 18” on one side and if you see how tightly I pack every inch, you know how much that hurt too. I’d always been extremely careful to never, ever go one tiny smidge over the marked line that I had been told was my border when I started. There had been tape on the floor which left a ghostly mark, so I could check myself. I was a bit shocked to find that the whole time, the taped off line had not been as straight as it should’ve been and when measured, it was incorrect.

I am trying to be a big girl (at 65 this shouldn’t be an issue) and telling myself, “Wow, wasn’t I lucky to have some bonus space for over a year?” But my inner, whiny little bitch says, “MINE!”

Working on acting like a grownup at any age isn’t easy, even after all of these years of making the effort. (Atthough, I almost wonder, is it even harder as a senior?)

I need to let go that I’ve lost some of my beloved space and act my age, making the 8-1/2’ I have look as good as I can, not complain about what I don’t have. I took myself for a walk around the block, calmly removed the door, vented to my bestie who always listens and gives a good prospective, then went on with my day.

Oh, but then I vented to you too. I guess I’m still a little whiny. I’ll get over it and hush up about it.

Nobody wants to hear an old lady sounding like a spoiled child.

A musical interlude

antiques/junking, collections, guncles

By Karla Nathan / September 16, 2023

A few years back, Guncle Randy and I redid a couple violins and fell in love with the process. He has been on the search for more instruments for us to recreate.

After finding another violin for himself, he came across TWO more that his brother, Mark had. Mark and his partner, Allie had found them tossed away and snatched them out of a landfill.

How nice that they offered them to us to use. Allie wanted us to Halloween one up for her, and we were thrilled to have THREE to play with.

The one Randy wanted for himself had glowing wood grain that he didn’t want covered up, so his stayed natural.

Mine got painted white. (Big surprise)

With a crackle finish here and there.

I used crackle on the black one for Allie too. It didn’t show up much til it was accented with silver wax.

We used lace as texture too.

I didn’t get a full photo of mine, but will show one when I get it hung in the house with my previous creation. Allie says hers will go onto her mantel. And Randy’s will be wired into his Xmas tree.

This was our work space.
we moved all of the furniture to one side of the room to have it ready for my son to install the new floor. Randy and I had a small table hidden in the forest of cabinets. And we were lucky to have the guys here to help move stuff so the room was ready when Adam arrived to start on it.

I’ll leave you with some close ups of the musical trio.

I spend a lot more time on these things than I probably should

antiques/junking, Chandeliers, Good JuJu, hand painted signs

By Karla Nathan / August 20, 2023

For the September sale at Good Juju’s First Friday weekend, I conjured up some witch’s hats to hang in my entry. They are hung with black chandeliers and the frames I already had up there.

The frames help give the giant, up high slice of my real estate some more “umph”. I think the hats would just disappear with out the frames behind them.

When I plan such things, I need to remind myself just how big this area is. Previously, I hung some teensy birdcages which was a complete waste of time. These witch hats teeter on the edge of time wasting too, I shoulda made them larger.

For the August event, I finally made a sign with my name on it, but once I had the hats dangling, it didn’t look right.

So I replaced it with this fall wreath that I’d picked up for a buck. That seemed to go with the rest of the look much better.

My first inclination was to write the word “haunted” on a piece of paper and tape it above Cottage. I thought it would be funny.

But honestly, I just don’t like the sign itself. My writing is a mess and makes the sign look amateurish. I need to rethink and redo the words before I rehang.

The “KarlaNathan.com” was left up there, the black and white simplicity of it seemed to go well with the rest of the design. But I do want a nicer Karla’s Cottage to add, so back to work.

Sometimes I wonder at my choices for how I spend my time. Does this even matter?

Stopping along the way- the journey is an important part of getting there

antiques/junking, family, Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 4, 2023

Asheville is about 13 hours from our house and Paducah, KY is halfway. We often stop there when traveling with our camper, but don’t get out to explore since the trailer is hooked up and it’s a hassle for a temporary stop to undo the hitch.

This time, we didn’t have the trailer so with two drivers wouldn’t need the break. But since we were taking two vehicles, we thought an overnight stay at the half point was a good idea.

This was a place I’d been wanting to spend time in, not just because it’s such a pretty place but because on of my favorite Top Chef contestants has a restaurant there!

Sara Bradley took second in World Allstars this summer and I was perplexed as to how or why such an acclaimed chef would be in a small, rural area. Once we settled into our hotel and took a walk through this Kentucky village, it dawned on me that this was a tourist town. That explained a lot. Her eatery wasn’t just dependent upon the locals, she had people from all over wanting a break from cabins and campers on the lake, who’d come into the little city for some night life.

Even with the traffic from the tourists and locals, we had no issue getting a reservation. The place was full, but with the week’s notice we had, we were golden.

The food was spectacular! I pretended to be at the judges table and had a blast, not just with the meal, but with my imaginary status.

I felt like I was dressed the part too. I’d just bought this from Angie at the last Good Juju sale for $8, and loved the dress. I love most clothes from Sundance catalog, but rarely can afford them even in the 40% off clearance area, so was thrilled to get this one for less than a Goodwill priced dress.

Here is a version in the current catalog.

Yep, I was feeling The Gail Simmons, Top Chef vibe in this outfit. There was no need to tell anyone to pack their knives and go, the meal was great, the price about what we’d pay on any normal dinner out, and the ambience was inviting. The staff was friendly and down home, no pretensions there at all.

My other stops were Midway Antique Mall and Artichoke Annie’s on I70 for some shopping in Missouri. I didn’t have much luck with any other antiquing across Kentucky or Tennessee, though. Durn it.

I made a pit stop at a legendary Buckee’s in TN, my first time at one of these out of this world gas stations.

Impressive.

But way too much for me. Crossing the parking lot was like the Thunderdome. I felt as if I was running the gauntlet while walking across it, and the line to even turn into the lot was crazy, as was the one for the pumps. Not to mention trying to leave and get back on the road.

But I have to admit, the bathrooms were some of the best I’ve ever seen. Not good enough to tempt me to go again, it took a big chunk of time away from the road. When I stop at junk shops, I can zoom through, in and out, seeing if there is anything I want. There is no zooming at Buckees.

While stops are needed to breakup my drive, I’m in a hurry to get to this.

I had loved ones waiting for me to explore the mountains with!

(Please ignore the sour face, my son is a sweetie, he just hates photos)

We had such a good time, and I got so many lessons in mushroom hunting. And how often does a mama get to wear matching shirts with a grown up son? ( My friend, Sam, is the artist who sells these at Juju).

Setting up for Good Juju’s August Event

antiques/junking, Good JuJu, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2023

We had less than a week after July’s sale before we left to go on our North Carolina adventure.

I knew I would be fretting about the state of my space if I left it in its post sale shambles.

In my opinion, the spot needs a total flip-a-roo for a new look each new month. And that takes about two eight hour days for me plus touch ups.

I knew I needed to at least pack up stuff, bring in some new and rearrange the set up before I went out of town. As well as having to demolish the auxiliary booth that I’d been using to sell vintage clothing.

All of that got done, plus more. I was pleased to get it to a spot that would be just about fine as is for sale day.

Except the jewelry cabinet. Since there is silver on display, I need to keep it covered to prevent tarnish. But that’s a quick turnaround, mostly just hanging a few necklaces. Every other month, I take home the silver for a spiffing up to keep it shiny, too.

My nervous Nellie soul was pacified by getting so much done ahead of time. With the travails of our trip, I was sure glad that I’d been prepared too.

Since I returned, I have spent my days and evenings car shopping and haven’t had much time to finish my Juju set up.

After about 8 dealership visits, 10 other dealership phone calls, and countless online searches, I finally found exactly what I needed to replace the car we gave to my son. (If you think you’ll be needing a car in the next year, I suggest you start looking now! It’s nearly impossible to get a new one, and used cars cost just about as much as the new ones)

See how pretty the paint is when the sun hits it!?! Now- to keep it that clean, so I can enjoy my sparkles……hmm. Garage door openers are among the many things we had to store in NC since we were flying home, not driving a truck. Including a boxful of funky finds from antique stores across the country that I stopped at on the way there.

My quest to replace my 2017 RAV4 wasn’t supposed to be that imperative. But Rich’s truck got smooshed up on a curvy mountain road (he is fine). We don’t have rental car coverage on our insurance policy, so after flying home and picking up a car at the airport, we are trying to keep that rental down to just one week.

We had also planned on pulling our son’s car home for some repairs for me to use it until I found a car in a couple months. Without a truck, that wasn’t happening.

With that time frame changing from months to a few days, I was extra relieved that I wasn’t required to do a booth flip.

Now that car shopping is settled, and we have looked around to get replacement ideas and possible budgets for a new truck (still waiting to hear if it is gone forever) I have had time to add to and tweak the booth, then get the silver polished.

I even had time to make FALL banners, crowns, and a few more mushrooms. These photos are from the first go-round and don’t show the additions. It might not look like there is room, but I squeezed more in. I might even make more little mushroom paintings, there are only a couple left.

It is nice to be back in Kansas, especially after an emotional rollercoaster of a trip. I am not a fan of any rollercoaster. At all. The visit was a juxtaposition of pure bliss and worries. Yep, good to be home! As Dorothy likes to say, there is no place like it.

My dolly redo obsession has GROWN (to about 4’ high)

antiques/junking, holiday decor, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / July 16, 2023

I have remade many, many old dolls into fairies, angels, witches, and zombies. I can’t help it, I see a doll that needs a makeover and I’m itching to start gluing things all over her and giving her a new look.

St Nick, here, is my latest and my biggest. And while he might not be a fairy, he is a jolly old elf.

He was at a garage sale where everything was a dollar.

(Including a dining room table with six chairs. Seriously, every single item was $1. The same day, I was at a sale where everything was 50 cents. You just gotta love garage sailing, you never know what you’ll find. Even if it is something you do not need. I’m very proud of myself for not coming home with a dining room set.)

He caught my eye, because I knew he deserved better than a felt suit. Poor guy. I’m sure he was fine as is, but he was not living up to his full potential.

I had no idea what was lurking beneath, or how I was going to redo him, so I just started pulling him apart and taking it as I found it.

My best surprise was that under the fake fur covers, he had nice boots. All they needed was a shine in the form of some high gloss spray paint.

His rubber face needed paint too, and a lot of it. I primed that first thing, to let it dry while I worked on other elements.

There, that new face is better!

The painting part was easy, but the clothing? That gave me some issues, I am not a seamstress. And the heavy, cut velvet fabric (it used to be my old sofa’s slipcover) was pretty thick. I envisioned many broken needles if I attempted getting the sewing machine out.

So, first I tried staples, and discovered that they sorta worked. At least a couple could hold material in place while the glue dried. So with a combo of hot glue and The Ultimate, I started sticking the fabric to the plastic and gluing seams in the clothes. Since I wasn’t using a needle and thread, I carefully cut the velvet to make sure that finished edges made up my hemmed areas.

But then, I started to fret about the pants. His previous britches were real pants, with an elastic waist. As I tried to figure out how to replicate that, I realized that he was not going to be pulling them off and on, and I did not need anything that complicated.

So I made two legs out of rectangles glued them to his thighs.

While they already had a finished edge from the hem of the slipcover, I still covered that with fur. Because, well, dur, Santa! Of course his trousers are fur trimmed.

And not just any old, fake fur this time. I used strips cut from a vintage, white mink pillow.

Next, I covered up my most hideous glued together seams with trim and old lace, then added more mink in appropriate places. I did not have quite enough to go around the bottom of his jacket, like a traditional Santa suit, but did what I could and made it go as far as I could by using thin strips.

I knew that my husband had the world’s rattiest belt in his closet, one that should’ve been thrown away years ago. It was practically in shreds. I cut the buckle off, glued it together where I could, peeled off the worst straggles and spray painted it like the boots.

The buckle is an antique, mother of pearl one that I slid in place and glued on. But first, I tucked a couple handfuls of stuffing under the jacket. I thought this guy was looking too slim.

Originally, Santa had a bag of badly wrapped gifts (more felt) and cheapo plastic garland. No kid wants that delivered down the chimney.

So I lined the bag with a pretty doily and added a fluffy teddy and an old doll (she had no legs, and was scheduled to become a zombie, I’m sure she prefers this life).

The bag is glued, stapled and pinned into place, and the rope to it is glued to his mitten.

I left the mittens as is, they are the only part that did not get a makeover.

His too shiny glasses got a little tarnish with paint and I made his beard, mustache, and eyebrows from curly locks goat hair.

The hat is pretty simple, it’s from another fabric, but with a similar look, and is also trimmed in mink and glued together.

All in, it took me almost five hours on a day that I should’ve been working on something else. But I could not help myself, it had to be done. And everything I used was stuff that was repurposed and hanging around in the studio.

And speaking of hanging around in the studio, I have nowhere to put this guy til Christmas. I have a feeling he will become my loyal companion while I work out there.

From Fairytale to Haunted Mansion

antiques/junking, cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / July 10, 2023

Sugarwings will be SEVENTEEN this August.

SEVENTEEN

How and when did that happen? That also means my blog will soon be 17.

This is the very first photo I posted of that lil sprite.

And this is my most recent photo of this piece of my heart. Before leaving for a summer in North Carolina with Dad, we went to the Omaha Zoo together. And I have to say that trips and outings with this kid are 100% as enjoyable as they were years ago. This person will always be filled with magic, curiosity, and joy in exploration.

Sugarwings has been a good sport about living in a mermaid/fairytale bedroom but confided in me that there was a Pinterest wish board of a Nightmare Before Christmas/Haunted Mansion style that they loved.

At first, I thought that I would redo the room as a surprise, but had second thoughts and decided to include their wishes long distance. And I was glad that I did, we had a good time texting pictures and colors back and forth across the country.

So, I repainted and put the room together, showing the steps by text as they were completed. ( One bit of control that I kept over the process was gathering color samples that I approved myself before saying, “what color do you want.” This way, I got a shade of plum that I was fine with on the walls as opposed to a possible tone that might’ve driven me bonkers.)
Sugarwings also did not want to rip up the murals that were in the room they had used off and on. We have two rooms upstairs that have been switched up over the years from nursery, guest room, Dewdrop’s space, Sugarwings’ dwelling, toy room, etc. We like to redecorate periodically.

This photo is from a few years ago, the bed had been repainted since, but the walls are the same, and my soft hearted sweetie was too sentimental to lose this mural.

The solution was to flip rooms. This one was much smaller and had no closet.

But there was a little walkway into it that had a linen closet. At one time, this was our laundry room, now the washer and dryer are downstairs. We were able to move the linen closet shelves to the mural room’s closet and set up a clothes rod in this area, and there you go.

This new bedroom was now feeling much larger than it would have if I’d had to squeeze in a wardrobe for storage.

Once things were repainted or reconstructed, the fun part began. I went through my Good Juju inventory and shopped for black furniture and odds and ends to decorate with. Sugarwings already had dragons, and a few other things they’d want to use. I arranged everything for now, but I am sure that when the kiddo gets back from NC, there will be some rearranging to suit their own taste.

When Dewdrop was little, she loved Snow White, so I’d made this for her with that theme as a magic mirror. The silver in was scraped off with a razor blade and a picture could be seen inside the mirror.

Now, I’ve given the pink flowers a black wash of paint and removed Snow White’s photo. There is now a skull with a flower crown peeking through the mirror. If this is too creepy, we can easily change it, the picture is just taped on the back. I might’ve gone too far with this, Sugarwings did have more of a Disney theme planned.

But I knew a slightly creepy edge would be appreciated.

I discovered that a coat of black changes many things from shabby chic to gothic. Both are ornamental styles.

Because of the low ceilings and small footprint, this room has a platform bed with drawers underneath. I added a piece of a vintage iron headboard on the wall behind it to make the bed feel more substantial. It had been hanging outside, so was nice and rusty.
I left both white to keep the room from becoming too heavy.

The ballerina bats are some that I sell at Halloween. Simple, plastic bat skeletons with vintage flowers and tutus.

Sugarwings wanted green for sheets because that is a shade from Disney’s Haunted Mansion. And a striped comforter similar to Jack Skellington’s pants. This was as close as I could get in a comforter at a reasonable price. I found it at Ross along with the fluffy rug. The sheets and curtains are Amazon. Besides paint and rid brackets for the closet, everything else was scrounged from the house or repurposed.

I sure miss having that child around, but we will be visiting the North Carolina side of the family soon. And redoing this bedroom has made me feel a little closer to Sugarwings during the separation.

Feeling beachy

antiques/junking, Good JuJu

By Karla Nathan / July 7, 2023

July at Juju is Beachy Keen on one of my walls.

I have found some great, old pitchers and pottery with an ocean theme like this fish.

As well as these lobsters and mermaids. Oh my- those mermaids!

The coral vase isn’t old, but suits the theme well, right? And there are lots of beachy blue necklaces and pearls spread out.

Can’t you picture the blue comb in a mermaid’s hair?

Speaking of mermaids, here is a collage I’ve done.

The blues are spread throughout, it’s a loose interpretation of beach style, but goes with it okay.

Like this lil guy in a sailor suit.

And juice glasses with Florida oranges on them.

Above it, I’ve hung a wreath I made from seashells picked up at Marco Island, and hand dyed silk ribbon. There are also my flamingo friends that I showed in an earlier post.

My half booth is divided up into small areas with different goods. I’m surprised at how much I squeeze in.

Some things from the previous month, like this garden statue get shifted around. I like to give the spot a whole new look as much as I can, without taking too much home after a sale.

Then there are things that did okay so I replenish the stock. Like these crowns.

And my shroomies.

I made quite a few crowns. The first time I brought some in, they lingered a bit. So I took a hard look at them and decided they were too shiny. I used some patina liquid on the metal and that turned the whole ambiance of them around.

First Friday weekend is today. If you’re nearby, come in and say hi!

https://www.goodjujukc.com

Painting with grout? Yep

antiques/junking, cottage, Hand painted, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / July 2, 2023

For years, I have been using the grand fairies’ outgrown craft table as a side table in my living room. Not because I loved it, but because it was the exact size I needed at the holidays to set the Christmas tree up on. It wasn’t ugly, it was just a simple, round, white table. But it wasn’t anything I adored, that’s for sure.

Then, I found this table at a garage sale for FREE. Well, basically free. The lady sold me an entire car load of stuff for twenty bucks, and the car was stuffed to the brim. I felt like this table was a bonus thrown in with all the inventory I’d bought.

Here is how it started, perfectly nice, no problems, just a little too traditional for me.

I wanted it to look old. Well, that’s not exactly right because it already is old.

It needed to look like it had been painted and repainted over time. More cottagey.

So, first it was primed, then I mixed up grout into gray paint and gave it a thick, gloopy coat of that. Next, white paint, then sanding the clumps away. There were some ugly spots that didn’t sand well, so I touched up with the white again, then a glaze of umber went over it all and was wiped away.

To finish, a polycrylic clear coat went over that.

The paint looks properly mistreated now.

My Christmas tree will look great on its new pedestal! And I think I do adore this one. Bye-bye to the kiddo’s craft table.