bird song art event – Page 9

Birdsong Peeps

By Karla Nathan / April 9, 2014

The other day, I was invited to craft day at Tami's house. I was a BAD blogger and took almost no photos.

I started peeking around at her over abundant spring decor and got one little picture of this detail, then lunch was mentioned and the food was sooooo good, I could only think about that.

(you can see some of her spring pretties here)

Selfish of me, yes. To put dining above getting some pictures. Oh, and more selfishness, I did snap a couple of my own project. Tami provided a table top of fun items to play with. I love these shaggy acorn tops and made mine into a nest for this egg.

I had just happened to have a picture of a squirrel on the top of my pile of ephemera that I'd brought to work with, and thought with a tail-ectomy it could pass for an Easter bunny, so I cut open the paper mache egg and glued the de-tailed squirrel inside.

Here is the one and only photo I took of any of the friends. And is it a laughing, happy moment like the whole day was? Nope, but at least it shows some of the wonders of Tami's great studio and collections.

I sat next to Beth so she could teach me how to embroider. We are going to Kim's Downton Affaire and one of the projects is stitching. I knew it would be beyond me, so I asked Beth for a little jump on it, thinking that would help me keep up with the class better when the time came.

But I soon got very sick of filling the piece with stitches and started sewing things to the fabric instead of just doing embroidery.

I was very proud of myself for not resorting to glue, even tho I am a very poor sewer and it was rather torturous.

Even though I'll never be a relaxed and happy stitcher, I still had the most wonderful day hanging out with a group of my Birdsong Peeps. What nice ladies they are and I'm so glad we met! And how generous of Tami to have us all over. I need to take a turn and have a craft day myself.

But it will have to be after June. Between doing the banner for Downton Affaire, some major garden remodels, and getting ready for Birdsong, I'm a bit stretched to the limit. Like a piece of bubble gum that has been chewed up and spit out.

I'm very much looking forward to going to Downton in May (then on to Disneyland with Sugarwings for my birthday) and to seeing all the lovely Birdsong Ladies in June. Visions of fun with friends keeps me going.

The gifts from Sponsors are starting to come in. Suzanne Wingfield sent these vintagey egg cartons to give to everyone. Last year, she gave me a set to use and I filled them with a kit. This year, I'm not sure how I will use them, but thought they'd be fun to have.

She also included this silver mesh, which I think will be fun for fairy wings and other embellishments. And these vintage doily placemats. Sponsor gifts don't always have to be something for the drawing or the Tweet Bags, it was nice of her to think outside of the box (or carton?) and provide some things that will be helpful to have during classes. It's always good to be able to change out placemats after a gluey project, huh?

There was also this cuteness included. Her note to me was in this chick, along with some chocolates that the fairy grand girls and I devoured immediately.

If you'd like to be a sponsor, please email me at:

Karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

I'll add your name to the sponsor list on my side bar with your link and it will be there till the next Birdsong. If your gift arrives in time before June 1st, I'll take pictures to post on my blog. (after that I'll be rushed to fill bags before company comes to open them)

And you'll make our peeps smile when they see your gift!

Fairies under construction

By Karla Nathan / March 28, 2014

I've been working away on kits for my fairy project for Birdsong 4. To get to the point to even start thinking about kits, I had to make plenty of little wool roving fairies to figure out the very best way to get them done and to explain to others how to make them.

And of course, I made sooooo many, that I simply couldn't chose just one color for the kits. I loved them all. And I really love variety.

So, I made up packages with the different types of fairies that I had created. There are neutral or green toned Woodland Fay, Pastel Pixies in softer colors, and Bright Sprites for the ladies who like things a little splashier.

I also had to dye a lot of wool. And dye then sew crepe paper ruffles, by the hundreds of yards. And sew ruffled tulle for the skirts too.

I like it that I don't have two dolls that turned out the same and I can't wait to see dozens of fairy ladies in all the pretty colors when my Birdsong friends make their kits.

And of course, if you know anything about me, I'm sure you know that I like to give people choices. I even have a bunch of dog and cat faces that can be subbed for little girls faces on the fay dolls.

I'll also have bags of colored feathers, and a rainbow of wool roving out to play with, so that individuality can explode in a blast of colors that day.

We'll be making peat pot swings for the fairies to hang out in. I'd tried a ton of other ideas for swings and all were kind of interesting, but there is something extra cute about peat pots, at least to me.

Gosh, I wish the photos of the fairies looked as good as they do in real life. They just aren't something that photographs well. Each has a lot of sweet details that make it special.

It was fun to plan the color schemes and fill the kit bags with tiny pretties, snips of lace, and itty bitty bouquets that when mixed with a dollop of creativity, will become a studio full of fairies when Birdsong comes around!

By the way, I know that this craft isn't something I invented. I simply figured out the best way to make them for myself, but they have been around since Victorian times. Does anyone know the real name of these dolls? They were often made into Angels for Christmas trees. I keep calling them wool roving fairies, but would love to know if there is something I should be calling them instead.

Bottoms Up KC, MO

antiques/junking, bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / March 21, 2014

The first Friday of every month, the Old West Bottoms warehouse district in KC is a treasure trove of antique shops. It started out with just a couple, and over time has grown into a bustling district with more than you can even get to in one day. In nice weather, it's almost like a street fair, with sidewalks and empty lots full of flea mkt goods, and food trucks parked everywhere.

Gwen McClure is one of the reasons this whole area is such a big success. Her shop is Bottoms Up and is floor upon floor of high quality antiques.

I always enjoy her own spot there in the mall. She and her sister haul back cargo loads full of finds from France.

Of course, I'm drawn to the ephemera to use in my work.

When I was visiting with her, she offered to sponsor a giveaway for my Birdsong peeps who are coming in June.

She is going to give us a drawing prize of a $50 gift certificate good for shopping anywhere in the shop.

I'd probably be tempted to spend it all on these $3 bags of lace, myself. I can't wait to see what the winner picks out, I hope she brings it with her to Birdsong to show us her purchase.

I've set the date for our gathering so that anyone who wants to can shop in the West Bottoms on Friday before our weekend classes, so I'll be holding the drawing ahead of time and the winner can pick up her prize there.

THANKS, GWEN!!!!!

Sponsors who give us little prizes for the gift bags or something for the drawing will be added to the side bar of my blog until the next Birdsong. Plus, I'll show off your kind gift on my blog.

And you will make the Birdsong peeps very happy! If you want to be a sponsor, please email me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

There are so many shops in the district, that I haven't even seen them all. My friend, Lori, and I spent most of the day and saw about half.

Not all are open only on the First Friday, some are available every weekend.

(notice all the floral hats? I had a lucky hat day, and came home with SEVEN wonderfully, flowery ones!)

My friend, Sarah, has a booth at Restoration Emporium.

And Lesa Daily had a temp spot set up at Bottoms Up for Easter. She will be there first Friday of April too. Then back again for Halloween. I treated myself to one of her birdies, and chose one with pink polka dots. I loved the bunnies too, but I am very, very fond of her special birds. They have so much personality!

One thing I appreciate about the shopping is that if you need a piece of furniture, you can find almost anything, and often redone and ready to go. Much of it is painted, and in trendy tones. You also can get many crafty items that are well done and in good taste, done with vintage materials. There are great uses of salvaged goods, like this centerpiece too.

Plus, the antiques of course.

Prices run the gamut from one store, or booth to another, but I've usually filled a bag or two (and I am cheap). And a couple times, even a truck. Springtime there is a perfect time to find white wrought iron garden pieces.

Another person’s trash….

bird song art event, holiday decor, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 12, 2014

As I've been gathering up fairy making materials to fill kits for Birdsong, I've taken a few breaks here and there to make a couple of other things too.

Beth came over for a craft day and brought me a bag of her trash. Now, that might sound odd, but she throws away stuff that I am thrilled to get. Like a stack of old books, half started projects, piles of ribbon, doilies, sewing supplies, all sorts of stuff that she cleaned out of her studio.

We thought the little fairies were going to join us for craft day, but they were busy outside all afternoon.

This cardboard box lid was in there. She'd lined it with the bird print on text and some ribbon, then quit. I couldn't leave it like that. I added beeswax to the background, more trim, some rhinestones, a nest and more birds.

It reminded us of that challenge on Top Chef where the chefs go from station to station doing the next step in a dish others started.

I'm setting this aside to use for a drawing prize for Birdsong 4. I'll be using the doilies she brought over to wrap up drawing prizes too. I'm already setting things aside to make up bundles of gifts to pick from when I pull a name out of the flowered hat during our weekend.

And I have a bonus gift too, from Gwen McClure She is giving us a $50 gift certificate to Bottoms Up!

Sponsors who give us little prizes for the gift bags or something for the drawing will be added to the side bar of my blog for a year. Plus, I'll show off your kind gift on my blog.

And you will make the Birdsong peeps very happy! If you want to be a sponsor, please email me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

This was made with trash from Beth too, or at least some of it. She tried out the hot wax I was using on the bird piece, but didn't like the technique. So, I rescued her waxed French postcard and layered it with lace, flowers, and this baby picture.

The wax was interesting, but I doubt if I'll make much use of it. I am too impatient to get it hot enough, and it was gloppy and hard to work with. I like things I can do without thinking about ahead of time or planning.

Gee, that sounds lazy.

Is it that hard to warm up a pot of wax before I need it????

I've added the baby collage to the Boutique, along with a few Easter Eggs on stands too.

Making kits

bird song art event, how to's, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 3, 2014

One down, one to go! I've been slugging away on making Birdsong 4 kits for my first project, this mobile, titled, "Songs and Wings."

When I saw this phrase in an old book, I knew it would be ideal for the mobile.

Strips of vintage lace, soft ribbons, and hemp twine dangle from a hand made wreath and each will feature a little treasure or two.

Making it and coming up with the design was so much fun. Packing up all the elements, was a little more complicated. Have you ever done kits? It is a process that takes a lot of time and care. And when they are made with vintage items, a lot of planning has to go into them, to make sure that all elements are of equal value and style, because these pieces are one of a kind.

Here is how I make up kits. First, as I create the piece, I keep a log of what I am using next to me on the desk. For instance, If I glue on a snip of velvet ribbon, I make sure to add that to the list. So that when the student is making her kit, she will also have some velvet ribbon to use. (don't you hate it when the teacher's finished piece is soooo cool because of all the great supplies she used, and then she gives you second rate knock offs of what she used herself? I've been there, and I've felt ripped off!)

Normally, I eyeball things, not measure. But when making a kit, I have to stop and figure out about how long that strip of lace was, or how much wire did that loop take, so the kit will hold the correct amount. And it is better to error on the side of too much rather than too little.

After the project is done and the list is made, I start working my way through it. I'll begin with one element, prep those, bag 'em up, put 'em in a box, then move on to the next item.

Once my box is full, over the course of a few days or so, I'll start bundling.

Once I have the correct amount of every single item that went into the original, I start "trick or treating". I'll open a kit bag, and go from pile to pile adding one from each stack to my bag.

While the design is still fresh in my mind, I write out instructions. As I type out the how to's, I save space on the paper to doodle some illustrations. Then, these and the collage sheets go to the copy shop, and when ready, get slipped into the bags as I wrap them up and add a label or decoration to the complete kit.

Usually, the bag is decorated with something worth saving and using in the project. A pretty bow, a flower, something along those lines.

I always make an extra kit up for myself. Since I try to be ahead of schedule and get these done months before the event (I get a creepy crawly feeling if I do anything last minute) I often have to open my own kit a couple weeks before the event to re-acquaint myself with what went into it.

I'm pretty happy to have these boxed up and ready to roll. If my arm wasn't aching from repetitive movents, I'd be patting myself on the back right now!

Valentine Fairies

antiques/junking, bird song art event, fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / February 10, 2014

Our family day Valentine fairy workshop was very special to me. I simply do not get enough time with my sisters and their kids. Not all of them could be there, a couple of nephews are far flung, like I am. Because of they are not nearby, it was a good day to be together, we found out that my oldest nephew's son was going through a crisis and wasn't expected to live. I was glad to be with family as the story unfolded, and even more glad to be there when we got the news that he was recovering and was going to be fine.

Bobbie's home is the best place to be for a Valentine party, the dining room's color scheme was ideal! And she had plenty of space for all of us to gather. We had kind of an open house seating, with nieces coming and going through out the day to make fairies with us.

I'd brought all the supplies and turned everyone loose with them to see what they'd come up with. The best part of a class is the variety of styles and creative ideas that show up in the end products. Dang, I don't know how I missed getting a picture of Hannah's basketball fairy, it was a cutie!

Bobbie put her own face on her doll. It's fitting, because her last name is Valentine!

Here is the three of us posing with our dolls. The cheery, cherry wall was a good place to pose, and the rose painting was a good match for our Valentine theme too.

Doesn't it look like Sis is wearing a magnificent floral hat tho? So, I had to put a hat on too. Sadly, all that was near me was a skein of yarn. Not a fancy as hers.

Sissy brought some curly wool roving in deep tones that made ideal hair.

I'd dyed wool and crepe paper in pinks and reds to use.

Then decided that my wool was too pink and redyed some yellow over it to make it more fleshy. Great for the dolls, but in a pile, it looked like intestines or worms.

I sewed up some strips of sparkly tulle for dresses petticoats too. You should see the drifts of glitter left behind in my sewing machine, when I opened the bobbin compartment.

I'm not sure that is good for it…

The more fairies I made, the more I got the hang of it and came up with tricks and short cuts.

Whenever I do a class or tutorial, I need to make a bazillion prototypes before I figure out the very best way to tackle the project. My studio is going to be knee deep in fairies by the time I'm ready to host the class.

For now, I've got the pretties hanging off my dining room chandelier for the holiday.

These will differ from what we are doing in Birdsong, since for one thing, they are all pink and red Valentines, but for another, I used some new flowers instead of all vintage millinery.

While experimenting with the new petals, I ran into a lot of trouble with my glue. I've always used the Ultimate, and love it. But when it came to these brand new petals, it just wouldn't stick, they were slipping and sliding right off of the skirt. I asked around and Fabric Tack was suggested. It did the trick, worked great on the new materials. My fave, the Ultimate was used on the rest and also on the old flowers.

I've come up with lots of different shoe styles for the fairies, I always like to have a lot of options to show the class attendees.

I even have extra face options. Dogs, cats, cherubs, ladies. No dorkies, though, durn it. I wish I could find some Victorian scrap Yorkshire Terriers!

After making a quite a few red and pink girls, I was ready to try some other colors.

And I ended up with a few witches.

Bobbie's witch had a face from Oz.

Sissy moved onto using her wool for another purpose and felted a scarf. And when my niece, Stacey, saw what we were using, she offered to gather some angora from her friend's goats. I can't wait to felt and dye that soft, fuzzy wool. I'll show you the steps as I do it. Of course, it could be a "don't try it this way yourself" version of instructions, because I've never done it before.

One thing I tried didn't go so well. I thought that maybe the sprites would look better with more rounded bodies. So, we tried wrapping the wool over cotton balls, only to find that the dolls looked like cinched in pillows, not curvy fairies. The one on the left is an example of how NOT to make one.

I'm excited to make more and get my kits made up in soft springtime colors for our Birdsong gathering.

And I'll enjoy memories of our family weekend filled with fairies while I am making kit after kit after kit.

A special surprise

antiques/junking, bird song art event, celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / February 8, 2014

When I got an invitation to my niece's surprise 50th birthday party in Indiana, I couldn't say no. As soon as I finagled the kiddo watching schedule and made sure my turn was covered, I cashed in frequent flyer miles and packed my bag.

My niece, Shelli, has always loved mermaids, so I made this one as a gift for her. It's the same pipe cleaner and wool roving as the fairies we will be making in Birdsong, but with shells and a tail instead of clothes and legs. A little more complicated, but not much. And harder to sit up, so I packed a sea shell in the gift bag too, now the little mermaid has a seat.

This mermaid is holding a heart shaped coral from the Maui beach and her seahorse wand is a cocktail pick from our dinner cruise there. And my family wonders why I fill my pockets with "junk" sometimes, it's not junk, it's supplies!

My flight arrived in time for a lunch out with my sisses and the birthday girl. She didn't realize there was more in-store for her birthday the next day and had no idea I was there just for her. She thought that the lunch was the celebration itself, along with dinner out with her husband and kids that night.

So, the evening after her birthday, when everyone surprised her at the party, she was looking over her shoulder trying to figure out whose shindig this was.

It was cute to see her face when she realized everyone was there just for her.

My sisses and I were able to fit in a little antiquing the first day, just enough to score 3 floral hats and a few other tidbits, not a lot, but it scratched my junking itch.

Mostly I was there for family time, and glad to have it.

Our cousin even drove all the way down from Northern Indiana in the snow to join us for craft day.

Everyone consented to be my guinea pig students for the Birdsong fairies. This is Sissy's Valentine fairy, I'll have more to show later.

**********************

ps- have you seen the Facebook movies that have sprung up over night? At first I wondered what the heck they were, then thought they were hokey, and soon after got sucked in to looking at them all.

Some are off a bit, like showing exes from years ago, or odd pictures. But some are golden. I even got a little teary eyed at a couple, including my own. Yep, I went along like a lemming and posted one.

Here is the page it is on.

They are fun to look at, but it's also creepy to see how fast they spread. In one day, it seemed like every other post was a fb movie. Like a zombie epidemic.

Birdsong 4 early registration

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2014

I'm happy to announce that planning for Birdsong Four is underway and once past attendees and sponsors have had first chance at signing up, I will open registration to the public.

If you have participated in any of my previous workshops, as a student or sponsor, please contact me for early registration at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

if you would like to attend Birdsong 4 and I will send you a PayPal invoice, or set up a payment schedule.

OPENS TUESDAY JAN. 21ST FOR NEW PARTICIPANTS

This year's teachers will be myself, Andrea Singarella, and Lori Oles. We have been friends for years and I am thrilled to have them both here for our weekend adventure. Andrea is about the most kind hearted and talented person you'll ever meet and my buddy, Lori, while being one of the most prolific creative minds I know, is also about as witty and fun as a person can be.

Birdsong is held at my home in Lawrence, KS. This city was just remarked upon in Country Living for being so cute. I'm afraid most Lawrencites might think we are more hip than cute, but hey, we'll take the compliment. Anyway, it's a fun downtown area to visit while you are here, with lots of independent restaurants and shops.

Lawrence is about 50 minutes from the Kansas City, MO airport and there are numerous hotels within 10 minutes of my home.

This is the same weekend that the West Bottoms Antique district in Kansas City is open, with many warehouse sized shops filled to the brim with one of a kind finds. If you are coming in a day early, First Fridays are a good time to scratch your antiquing itch. (This is not part of our workshop, just an idea for you out of towners who want to get out and about while you are visiting)

My studio is now featured in the current issue of Where Women Create and is the destination for our 2 days of play time. There will be two classes each day, and the kits will be complete with everything you need to produce the 4 unique pieces of art being taught.

Our workshop will be Saturday June 7 and Sunday June 8, 2014

Cost- $325 includes:

Lunch, beverages, treats both days
Dinner on Saturday night with wine and desserts
Four classes with complete kits

Birdsong is a comfy, casual, cottage weekend. Don't feel like you have to buy a new wardrobe or glitz up. This is a relaxing getaway to my country home for some fun with vintage goodies and pretty projects!

(photo by Mark Lohman, styling by Fifi O'Neil for Romantic Country magazine)

Saturday night we will open swap surprises and have a shopping venue set up with lots of vintage treasures, art supplies and some other pretties. The food is all home cooked, using organic items from our own garden as much as possible.

If you have any questions, or would like to join us for our 4th annual Birdsong, please email me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

If you would like to be a sponsor for the weekend, all gifts are appreciated and your website will be listed on the side bar of my blog.

(Until the Birdsong 5 sponsor list goes up the next year.)

Here is a button for your own site if you'd like to display it.

Complaining, but still thankful

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / July 9, 2013

Well, I'm still recovering from my hard drive's slow and painful death during my wireless black out. Both at once? Now really, is that fair? It did make solving the issue a little harder, but both are repaired now. Hundreds of dollars and endless hours later, I'm almost sane again. There are files still playing lost and found with me, including all of my email contacts and most of my older photos, among a slew of other things that I'm discovering as days go by, such as an inability to save passwords, each has to be typed in every time I open something.

It might not look like I was gone as long as I really was from my computer, because I had pre-written a few blog posts, and then did a few quickies from my iPad. But it felt like forever to me, even though it was only a little more than a couple weeks.

I'm back now and I did manage to redo all the pass words to my website and find my way back in to finally mail out purchases. And I set up a new 40% off sale HERE if you'd like some Christmas in July savings from my Boutique – and there are lots of: tutorials/trims/flowers/junk/pretties/crapola/doodads/millinery/and other stuff till left. (fair warning- my computer will be going back to Best Buy to do a hunt for lost items, and might be gone a few days again later this week, so shipping could be interrupted a little)

My time off was a mix of illness, issues, stress, and family traumas offset by leisure activities and playing with the grand fairies. So, while it wasn't an ideal situation, it was a good time to take some time off, and it was nice to have the sweet sprites around to cheer me up.

It's good to be back, even if some of my info is lurking in the dark depths of mysterious workings of the new hard drive!

It seems like Birdsong was eons ago, but I still have some pretties to show you from it. The crystal perfume bottle (filled with fairy dust) was a gift from Guncle Randy. And this half doll in blue is the one that I received from the generous boxful of handmade dolls sent by Brier Rose.

Terry gave me this mother of pearl necklace topped with rhinestones. As well as a whirling, twirling, wonderful salad spinner! She saw me washing and patting down lettuce leaves to feed 30 people and decided I should be spinning them dry, not trying to dab the water off each one. She was right, it was a great gift. I've found that storing the lettuce in it after washing, keeps it crisp and fresh much longer too.

Sissy gifted me with this beautiful jewel box topped with brass birds.

Along with a silver bird charm to wear on a chain. I might add it to the knotted necklace that I made for myself.

My sister, Bobbie had filled a decorated bag with lots of fun items, including this pie rooster.

These sweet S&P shakers were just the right touch for the cubby on my new TV cabinet, and were part of Bobbie's bag-o-goodies.

This bounty is just a few examples of the thoughtfulness at Birdsong. I just have to look at a single one of the gifties I got from my family, or from my friends and be reminded that I'm pretty lucky to have such nice people in my life. I was in a foul mood from the gum infection and all the online woes I was having. And even though the computer repair was (and still is) very time consuming and costly, my gums have hurt like heck, and my poor kids are going through a rough time, over all, the good very much out weighs the bad.

I'm lucky that I could afford the computer repairs and time off, and the dental bills that went along with the sore mouth. I'm lucky to have a family that I care about and who I think also care about me. And who I know will be around for each other and make things work, no matter how hard it all seems at the time.

Plus, I had my beautiful Birdsong memories to get me through some unpleasantness.

PS-While I was computerless, I realized that I'd left off Jennifer from our list of sponsors! Sorry, Jennifer. That has been fixed now and here is some info about her upcoming event if you'd like to build some art getaway memories of your own.

Antique bookshelf makeover to a flat screen TV cabinet with no sanding and no painting just primer and glaze

antiques/junking, bird song art event, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, how-to projects, redos

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2013

When we were updating to a new flat screen TV, I knew I'd have to lose the cabinet we'd used for the older set that we had.

Our living room is pretty small, and the armoire we kept the TV in wasn't all that big, but it was kinda bulky and seemed to take up a lot of space. But it wouldn't be wide enough for a newer set.

It is one of the few brand new pieces of furniture that live in my home, it was bought to fit the TV, and looked way too new, so I repainted, and aged it, then added glass knobs the day it was delivered.

I searched everywhere for a cabinet that would fit a new 50" flat screen and still have doors. Our TV is on a LOT, but when it isn't, I don't like to see the big, black hole that it makes in my white on white decor. But when I looked at new cabinets, I was told that the door span would have to be so wide to accommodate a large set that it made the cabinets top heavy and dangerous. So, most TVs go onto a wall, a mantle, or a flat surface.

I turned to antique shopping (which I prefer anyway!) and found the same situation. No doors that were wide enough, unless they had a bar down the middle, which wouldn't work. I found this old bookshelf and my son pulled the nails out of two of the shelves to make space for the television.

It needed a deep cleaning too. It could have been in a barn for a while from the looks of it.

This is 11" deep and 46-1/2" wide inside. I measured 50" TVs and found the one I wanted before shopping with a tape measure in my purse to find a cabinet to fit the TV I'd picked out.

And yes, this doesn't have a door, but I thought some lace curtains would be nice.

I used 5 cans of Zinser Bullseye spray primer meant for glossy surfaces, with no sanding. I figured with so many cubbies, a spray would be the way to go.

After priming, I did some distressing with sandpaper.

And added some fancy work details and some tinted glaze.

For one pint of clear glaze, I mixed in one 2 oz bottle of coffee and cream colored acrylic craft paint. I brushed it on heavy and then wiped it off with a damp, well wrung out towel. A torn up old tee shirt works great.

If you do this, rinse often.

If you are wondering why there is a John Deere in the picture, it was doubling as a step ladder to paint the top and something for the piece to lean against as I wiped the glaze on. I was afraid it was going to fall over backwards.

And if you are wondering when I painted it, I didn't! I went straight from primer to glaze.

Primer CANNOT be left as is!!

It isn't paint and is meant to be covered.

But who says you have to use conventional paint? I skipped straight to the tinted glaze. It covers every bit of the primer and is basically about the same as clear paint with tint in it, so dries with a paint like finish.

I didn't top coat it, because it won't be a heavy use item. If I do this technique on a table top, or dresser, I always use a water based, non yellowing top coat, like Polycrylic from Minwax.

We drilled holes in the top compartment for wires to the DirectTV box and DVD player, and also in the big opening for the television.

I didn't try to match up the existing hardware in the places where some pulls were missing. Instead, I went with odds and ends that I had around. One drawer had just a screw as a knob, and I left that, but tied a chandelier crystal with an image added on the back to the screw.

Old calling cards were a good fit for the slots in the pulls. Especially favorites that I'd been saving for some special use, like one that says "Bella" and a couple Marys (my grandma's name)

And Martha, my mom's name.

I used some vintage floral paper and a couple of notes in my sister's pretty handwriting in others. I guess, if I was organized, I'd have gone with actual labels of what was in the drawers, huh?

Once it was set up, I wasn't thrilled with where the curtains would have to hang, past the sides so as not to cover any of the screen. So, a blind was suggested by my sis, Terry.

I'd seen some great lace blinds at the Victorian Trading Co. and since Birdsong was coming up and I had guests to show around KC, we'd planned to go there the next day any way. Kansas City is the headquarters for the online store and catalog and they have an outlet store here. Lucky us! And lucky me, the blinds are only $20 at the outlet store compared to $69 online.

Since I knew most of the ladies coming to Birdsong were from out of town, I made sure to tell them about this store. When we pulled up, we saw an Iowa plate in the parking lot, and I rightly guessed that some of our friends were inside shopping. When we went in, the manager gave me a huge hug because I'd sent so many people her way.

There just happened to be a set of blinds exactly the size I needed in the clearance room! But they were very, very white. I placed them in the tub and poured coffee over them, then laid them out to dry in the sun and got just the color I wanted.

I'm looking for more old, wallpaper covered boxes to set on the bottom shelf to hold the kids' DVDs, I think it looks too busy right now with all the doodads on the shelf. A few boxes would be better.

Later on, I might print an image on linen and add to the blind…. that would be pretty wouldn't it? .

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
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