Books – Page 12 – Karla's Cottage

Hosting a tag swap

bird song art event, Books, how to's, swaps

By Karla Nathan / July 20, 2011

The tag books are starting to come together. Well, sorta. I have about a dozen or so made up. Thats a start! Its been such fun to open them all and see the talent inside the avalanche of mail. And here and there, I come across a sweet treat like this extreme goodie pile from Sharon, and that makes it even more fun. Like a treasure hunt. Its all I can do to be polite and gently unwrap everything and be organized with the tags, and stop myself from being like a kid at Christmas ripping into pressies!

And look at these beauties from Rebecca! There is the perfect spot for that spoon in my kitchen cabinet.

I thought you might enjoy a rundown on the process of the whole swap. I am NOT an organized person by nature and I have to be very strict with myself to make sure it all runs well. I have lots of steps each package goes through and I have to concentrate while doing them, so I don't screw up.

It starts with the sign ups, as people email their info to me, I add it to a word doc on my computer, when it is full, I alphabetize it and print it out.

No packages get opened till the swap begins. They trickle in a few at a time for weeks, then as the deadline approaches, they arrive in a daily mountain on my porch. The mail lady doesn't even knock any more, she just stacks them on the chairs in front of my studio.

Here is a snippet of the list, as I open a box I mark it delivered, and paid.

Everyone was asked to send their mailing address on a separate piece of paper. If they forget, I cut it from the return address on the box.

I arrange each person's pile of tags with their info underneath. I don't use these as the mailing label, they are just to keep me straight on whose tags I am dealing with and whose books have been made.

When the books are done, I make pay pal labels. It costs more and takes a lot more time than just taping down the label they sent in and having the mail man add the postage, but this way I can track each package, just in case we need to trace it.

It would also be quicker to just make books willy nilly, without knowing who each one goes to. This might sound silly and time consuming. but I like to know who is getting the book I made, and I enjoy looking at the artist's tag and trying to make a book of other tags that I think she'll like.

It probably doesn't even show, but it matters to me. I make the books with love.

I try not to send the artist her own tags back, but sometimes it happens, especially with later tags when there aren't as many to chose from. In the beginning, with billions on the tables, its easier. As I compile the books, I mark each off the list.

Cash and checks go in this box, with the tags that were sent to me as gifts. I think that my personal swap book is going to be extra fat and gorgeous this time!!!!!!!! There must be 30 tags in there. How lucky am I to get so much cool art for myself?

Tags that look pretty together get stacked near each other as I open the boxes, so as I make the books, I gather the tags from the area surrounding the artist's own tag. A more left brain person would probably put the tags out in the order they come in and work from first to last. I go by color and style instead.

Hey, I have to make it fun and interesting to me, or I'd go crazy! This is hours and hours of work. I know I could do it more simply, but I want to do it right. Each book of tags has to look good together. I'm not going to put a wild colored one in a book with all muted colors. The wild colored one will go with a selection of other colorful and fun tags.

While I am unpacking, I sort and recycle. Pretty ribbons, tissue, and wrappings get saved in one tub, and another fills up with bubble mailers. Boxes get stacked and saved, too. I can always tell when it is time for another swap, when my packing materials get low! I'd like to say that I am saving the earth, but honestly, I'm just cheap.

As I go through the packages, I have to force myself to stay on task, and put all the gifties aside for later. But all I want to do is PLAY with them! Its hard to not open and peek inside the gifts for Sugarwings too. I get as excited as she does about them. And when I get art supplies, it takes a lot of self control to not go sit down and make something right then and there. You know how tempting new supplies are.

There are too many to make to wait till all are here before I start the assembly. It will take me a couple of weeks to get them all made and shipped.

My workspace has a stack of fresh, new padded envelopes, lots of lace and ribbon, a crop-o-dile to punch holes for the people who forgot or made them too small (about 1 in 6), pretty bird paper of some kind to wrap the books in, and tape to add their label to the envelope.

I'll make up a dozen or so loose books, then sit and tie them all, and stuff then slip the envelopes into a basket by my side. When its full, I go and make labels. After the label is made, I mark that person off the list as shipped.

It helps to break the job up this way, bringing a dozen or so to completion before making more. Selecting the tags for each book is the fun part, if I did it all at once, then the tying and labelling would feel like punishment. I like to know that I can get up and go make more choices as soon as I finish my stack of envelopes.

I will be working on these for quite a while, so if you haven't sent yours yet, don't waste money by overnighting them! Please email me and I'll let you know whether you have time to get them in.

Thanks so much to all of you who sent your artwork in to me to enjoy and play with. I'll do my best not to drool on it. And I'll try to keep plugging away at these books and not get too sidetracked by how pretty the tags are. Just don't make them too sparkly or shiny, because I get mesmerized pretty easy by shiny things.

And thanks to those of you who sent my little fairy grand child some tidbits. I've given her a couple of them, and might throw a tea party and let her open the rest then.

The winner of my mini dress form online workshop is Debbie Jullieret.

I think I'll do another giveaway. The prize is a dress form tutorial. If you have already purchased one of the $15 classes, (thank you!!), then I'll send you a kit of vintage goodies instead if I draw your name.

Yay Carol!!!!!!!!!

antiques/junking, Books, give away

By Karla Nathan / March 26, 2011

Have you ordered yours yet??? This is going to be the prettiest book, wow, I can't wait. you can get it early through Amazon, right here. I ordered mine today!

My beautiful friend, Carol's beautiful home is in the book, along with lots of our favorite bloggers. I went to visit Carol during the shooting and finally got to meet Fifi. She and I had worked together before, but I'd mostly dealt with her by email and a couple times over the phone.

Next weekend, while I have a houseful of arty, bloggy friends, we'll be headed to visit Carol, and ooh and awe over her home in person. She's invited us for wine and pizza after we do some shopping in KC.

And great shopping is in store! Its Bottom's Up weekend, and I can't imagine a more interesting place to bring out of town friends.

Maybe we'll see you there?

Ready for a prize? I know I was supposed to bring you back something from the Long Beach Flea mkt while I was in Cali. But since I ran with the Bad Girl Crowd, I didn't make it there, we played hooky and hung out elsewhere.

After unpacking, I realized I didn't buy a suitable souvenir for a blog prize. So, here is your memento of the event, one of my projects.

I'll leave sign ups open for a bit longer, please leave a comment if you are interested. All comments between March 16 and the 31st will count.

A few thoughts on Good Stuff

Books, give away, show and tell, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 21, 2011

In honor of our challenge coming up, I delved deeply into the Good Stuff yesterday. I had a stack of chipboard rectangles covered in fantastic old wallpaper, that had been on the shelf above my desk for about a year, and I'd never used them.

Now, I have tons of wallpaper, and plenty to chose from. In my mind its all great stuff. But weirdly, there was something just a little special about these covered boards, all set and ready to go that held me up. I kept thinking that they were too "nice" to just use for nothing special.

So, I decided that if they were all that nice, it just meant that they deserved to have other great supplies added to them! Each little book that I made was done with only the best stuff in my stash.

There are different ways to attack the Good Stuff pile of accumulated supplies you are afraid to touch.

You can ease into it, just using one nice thing to elevate your creation. Or you could sprinkle them throughout, for a nice mix. (my typical plan) Or you can just go for it and use all Good Stuff. I chose the latter when I made these and went whole hog.

Every bit that went into these journals was from my Besties pile.

Including inside the books. Why have a boxful of French post cards if I am just saving them? I never see them inside the box on the shelf (although it does feel really good to know that they are there, near by and sooooo pretty).

But you know what? It feels just as good to know that there is a beautiful French postcard inside this ephemera book!

Once you get going, its a very liberating feeling.

Of course, there are limits, and you don't want to waste your best things on projects that aren't good enough. Well, maybe that isn't how I meant to say it. I believe that everything I make needs to be good enough, everything should be done to my best abilities. When I make something I picture someone picking it up, looking at the details, turning it over.

I want it to be well constructed and properly finished as well as pretty.

But- I also figure price. Would I make a tag with a $5 piece of jewelry on it? No, but I'd make a tag with the best supplies I could afford to put into it and still make it at a reasonable cost.

Also, knowing what the piece is going to be used for plays into the supply decision. A special gift deserves an upgrade, right? But the label or tag on the gift itself should be looked at as possibly thrown away later on by the recipient.

Another thought, for artists who sell their work, is "Can anyone afford to buy this piece???"

Its tempting to layer on the Besties, but there comes a point when the cost factor comes into play. Luckily, I find good bargains on my pretties, and also the things that I often consider my best stuff aren't exactly high priced items.

Its not always the price that makes something wonderful, of course. Like the ruffle on this tag. I trimmed the fabric off a very old pair of curtains that were falling apart. The curtains weren't worth a fortune, that isn't what makes it special to me. Its the perfectly faded old pink color, and the softness of the old fabric. And the fact that I can't just run to Hobby Lobby to buy more if I run out.

Sometimes it seems like we artists tend to work for the cost of materials. Our time isn't always covered in the price of what we sell. But when the creations are from the heart, it just feels so good to have someone care enough to buy them, that we just keep on cranking the stuff out.

Beth and I like to quote Jenny Doh's speech from Kim's mermaid event last summer, when she spoke of why we make art.

"It's the process"

She meant that as artists, it's often not what we get out of selling the piece we've created, it's just the process itself of making it that counts. So, why not treat ourselves to making our art with the best possible stuff we can?

I take a lot of joy in using beautiful and special materials. It elevates not only my artwork, but the process itself. It makes me happy to play with pretties. What a great job I have!

I may never be rich, but I sure do like what I do for a living!!!

If you'd like a chance to win a packet of my Good Stuff supplies, please leave a comment on any post (or all of them for more chances) between now and our challenge link party on March 6-7.

And if you'd like to do a little show and tell of creations you've made using your Besties, please come to our link party on Sunday March 6 and Monday March 7.

That gives you two weeks to get up the nerve to dig in to the Good Stuff. Believe me, you'll be glad you did!

If Dorothy was a scrap booker

Books, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 22, 2011

Back when I was working on the Dorothy Tag Book Swap, and I was knee deep in all things Oz, I made up a book with all the leftover odds and ends and pages from the two vintage Wizard of Oz books I'd been using for the swap.

Its a little bit different, as I made it, I pretended to be Dorothy putting together a scrap book.

I went through all my old photos and found people who looked like characters in the book and did a page for each of them.

Dorothy is a ceramic silhouette. Em and Henry are a vintage sepia photo.

Each page is themed to fit the person. Hunk (the farmhand who becomes the scarecrow) got burlap behind his picture. And Hickory (Tin man/farmhand) got a heart charm and I used lots of silver toned items around him.

My favorite likeness was of the lion. Look at that guy's face!

Professor Marvel/Wizard got a hot air balloon made out of a rainbow of ribbons and I added elixir bottles from an old ad to his photo.

Nessa Rose, the Wicked Witch of the East (yes, I was throwing in some ideas from Wicked too) got lots of glitter and glam added to her photo.

And I painted her legs sticking out from under the house in this cottage print from the 30s.

The ballerina cake toppers represent the Munchkins.

For Glinda's bubble, I took apart an old alarm clock and used the plastic dome. There are lots of sparkles and glitter on her page too.

Elphaba has been slightly tinted green and has a broom made up of burlap threads and a stick from a shrub growing outside of my studio. Its glued down to a page featuring the melting scene.

As many old photos as I have, there are very few with dogs in them. So, I used a greeting card and some other random charms, plus a hand drawn basket for Toto's page.

The end has a pocket with a tag I created for the swap. And on the very last page, is the label from a 1930s book, signed by the owner of it, a girl named Dorothy. I tried to use as many original elements as I could, and the older the better.

Sugarwings doesn't quite know what to think of the book. I made it for her, but the concept is a bit beyond her for now. She likes it, but doesn't really think I have the right people in it, she'd rather see photos of Judy Garland than a ceramic silhouette of a girl in pigtails.

But, that is just part of teaching her about creating art and about looking beyond the ordinary. I have a feeling that she will grow to appreciate what I am trying to show her.

A year in pictures part two

Books, celebrations, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2011

This is the book that I made for our Hippy Chick from all of my favorite 2010 images of her and Sugarwings.

Before I wrapped it up, Sugarwings wanted me to "read" it to her over and over. Of course, being the drama queen that she is, she loves any story that she is the star of.

And if she is a princess in the story, even better!

And combining princess crowns with fairy clothes, just about makes her giddy with happiness.

Still, I think what she liked about this book was that it was a story of her and her mommy and things they had fun doing this year.

Happy New Year! I wish for you a year filled with hugs from people that you love!

PS- to shop at 40% off in my Boutique, you need to use this link:

http://www.karlascottage.com?code=happynewyear

A year in pictures part one

Books, family, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 31, 2010

A couple of days before Christmas, I decided to make up photo albums as gifts. My husband came down with a horrid bug and I didn't feel like leaving the house to go over to the studio, so I worked with what I had with me in the dining room from my trip out shopping that day.

I had a stack of pictures, and a bit of sparkly glitter paper, along with a few colored pens, some Stickels glitter, and a fresh bottle of glue. So, I went through the recycling and found boxes to tear up to use as pages, and put together the base of the book from those.

I had to make a quick run to the studio to grab a stack of ephemera from my desk, but didn't take the time to go through any piles or make any plans. I gave myself a "Make it Work" challenge and went with what I had handy.

Since the albums were for my kids, I knew they'd love the idea that the books were made from trash and old things. All are big on recycling and appreciate a green project.

The main part of the books was made with what I grabbed, but the next day when my husband started to feel better, I went out to the studio to embellish some of the pages and make the cover for the book.

The dyed velvet for the cover was an old skirt that got torn up to make a purse. I saved all the scraps and used them for many different projects this season.

Like this little stuffed bird.

The bird was glued to a page with the new baby on it, since the fabric was from one of her mom's favorite skirts.

The butterfly is hand drawn in metallic inks on the white envelope the photos came in from Walgreens. I made it into a pocket to hold extra pictures.

I've added blue trim from my Great Aunt Caroline's estate to that page too. I like to mix sentimental things in with the trash as much as I can.

Not all of the pages are the same size, I think that adds a bit of interest to the book.

I like to use trim or ruffles or lace that hang down from the edge of the page, and got lucky on this one when I realized how pretty it looked on this side as well as on the other. After that, I paid more attention and did this with the ruffles on other pages on purpose. I'm glad I didn't have the boys' photos on the back of the ruffley page, it wouldn't have worked out so well when it peeked out and showed on this side!

The pictures I used were some of my favorite family photos from 2010.

While I adore digital photos to pieces, I don't like only having them stored on the computer. Its nice to have a pretty book to flip through, so that everyone can enjoy the pictures, not just me.

This album was a gift to my son, Mr. Zen and his Beloved. Its filled with all 7 kids, and photos of the two of them together too.

Plus myself, my husband and RyGuy.

I made this album and one for our little Hippy Chick as gifts this year, and I think they all liked the presents. But in a way, it was a gift to myself too. I loved taking time from all the hustle and bustle of the holidays and just look at pictures of the people I loved.

PS- to shop at 40% off in my Boutique, you need to use this link:

http://www.karlascottage.com?code=happynewyear

Bookworms partying

Books, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Food and Drink, give away, holiday decor, parties, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / December 7, 2010

Last night, I hosted our book club's holiday party. It happened to fall on a dear friend's birthday, so we got to sing and have cake too. How festive!

Now, I'm trying to remember what books we have chosen for the upcoming year…. I know that one was Cleopatra, I heard a reveiw of it on NPR and was interested in reading it. Lets see… something about freaky cows by a local professor, A Tale of Two Cities, and an apocalyptic book called …. uhm…. Hand Made World? or something like that There are a total of 6, but I can't remember them.

I was most intersted in that last one, I'll have my fingers crossed that there are zombies. I'm sad that the AMC series, Walking Dead is done for the season. Wow. It was like a new horror movie every Sunday night, so well made and scary. Of course, that is what you can count on from AMC, very well made, not always scary though.

We also each brought a wrapped book to trade, and played that game where you can open a gift or steal one from someone else instead. My pal, Shan, brought a wrapped book for me, I was such a loser this year in the reading department that I had nothing to give away. I read too many novels that weren't quite up to book club standards and didn't want to look like I had low class taste.

Not that I was embarrassed, I just didn't want to give a book that no one wanted.

I guess what I mean, is that my books this year were not high quality literature, they were just books that I loved. The only "good" books I read were the same ones that we read in book club last year, so everyone had already read them.

Novels that I enjoyed- the latest Sookie (and can't wait for the next!), the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, the latest from Jennifer Weiner and Sophie Kinsella, and not much else. I used to read at least a book a week. Now, I'm down to about one per month.

TOO MANY GOOD BLOGS OUT THERE TO READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are the club books that I read:

Edger Sawtelle

The Worst Hard Times

Something about gay rights at Stonewall

And… well, I've forgotten again. I remembered first two because I loved them so much.

My friend not only brought me a worthy book to give away, she made this stain glass star for Mayara! And tied it to a bottle of wine!!

Its just perfect for my little Star Brite's first Christmas ornament. Hey, that seems to be a good nickname for her….I like that. Sugarwings and Starbrite.

My living room was a bit crowded, with 13 people in it. We all squeezed in anyway and everyone was so nice about it. They all said they would come back next December for our holiday party even if we had to practically sit on top of each other.

My old house has the original living room, and its small. We have a big house, just small rooms in the old part of it. But I have space where it really counts- the studio!! I could have had the party out there, but decided to stick with the main part of the house since it was decorated more.

Plus my studio is knee deep in stuff again.

And I waxed the living room floor! That rarity deserves to be noticed and enjoyed!!

For the party, I set up a coffee service, with home made, fresh whipped cream, shaved light and dark chocolates, orange peels, cinnamon sticks, decaf, and a bottle of 150 year old Grand Marnier.

When I go to schmancy dinners with my husband at restaurants his company owns, they always impress me with the goodies that come with the coffee. You don't need to order dessert there, the coffee treats are dessert enough. So I wanted to set up something similar.

I think I'll do it again for my next craft day. But I doubt if the orange liqour will be as popular at lunch time as it was for this party. Everyone drives in from Kansas City, so there isn't much in the way of drinking going on at craft day.

The cart is a vintage one from my garden that I brought in to use. On the bottom, I set out these glittered letters that were meant to go on a garland that never got made.

Agnes liked it. She thought it was a great place to hide, hoping for food to be dropped down on the floor.

Tomorrow, I'm leaving for a few days in Virginia, and this will be my first time leaving Agnes home alone for long. We have a great system for the dogs, they get penned up in the living room where they can get to a doggie door and a fenced in yard. And my oldest son, Ryan lives here too, so he'll be taking care of all the dogs.

She is just getting used to the set up, and is now an expert at running in and out of the swinging door. But I think we'll miss each other.

I've preposted for the rest of the week while I am away. Each day, there will be Christmas decor from another room of my home, so please check back.

All comments will be entered into December's drawing, but if you want to enter ther 1,000,000th Visitor Giveaway, you need to leave it on THIS POST by the 14th

Sugarwings and I made crustini for the party, by cutting leftover bread slices with her holiday cookie cutters, and brushing them with a little melted butter and olive oil, with garlic. Then, we slow baked them till they were crunchy. I'm going to take the leftovers and smash them up to make bread crumbs for my next turkey meatloaf.

Well, I'll be back this weekend, and will be checking messages on my phone, but its just not that easy to answer everyone that way. so please forgive me if I don't get back to you.

And if you'd like to skip seeing the blog posts and see the holiday decor at my cottage, I've loaded it on HGTV's Rate my Space.

I'd love to get your votes!

Here is the living room

Dining room

Kitchen

Gotta love the KC gals!

antiques/junking, Books, jewelry, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / December 1, 2010

Is swoony a word? If not, it should be. This article is very swoony!

Its in the latest Joan d' Arc. This was a gift from Carol, now, that is a good friend, huh??? I'm lovin this book!

This one too, a gift from the uber talented Amy Barickman.

I'm planning on packing both in my bag when I hit the road next week with my husband to visit Virginia. The trip will be different now that we no longer have a spare apartment or car out there.

It will be more like a vacation, staying at a hotel and not cooking and cleaning. Yippee! I'll be needing this great reading material while I am there.

Of course, its dangerous reading books like these while staying in a hotel room. Both will be inspiring me to create and decorate.

Kansas City gals got it goin on. First, Amy comes out with yet ANOTHER book for us to drool over, then Gwen's Bottom's Up antique show just keeps growing and growing and getting better all the time. Beth will be there with her to die for bargains, and dealers from my favorite mall in the world, Rusty Chandelier are going to be bringing their GREAT stuff this time too!

To top it off, Curious Sofa is having a sale. There is no where prettier at the holidays than at Debbie's.

I've been sprucing up my own store too. This is the new banner I made for my Etsy shop and I'm making an effort to add to it every couple of days.

Today I added these itsy bitsy little trees, they are only about an inch high.

The Boutique has some new, old, books.

I've added The Secret of a Happy Day (full of angels!), Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. There is also The Lord is My Shepard, but I forgot to take a photo of that one somehow, I'll have to add it later.

I think this looks like a shooting star, don't you?

And this brooch is crown shaped.

And there are sparkling buttons along with the books and baubles.

And a sweet little vintage deer on a wallpaper covered box under an archway of millinery.

I'll leave you with some photos of whats new, then I'm getting back to work. Tomorrow I have Sugarwings and what doesn't get done today, just doesn't get done!

A Tulaya tutorial- or how do you say that name???

Books, celebrations, family, give away, holiday decor, Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / November 18, 2010

Just breath taking, aren't they? I'm starting to feel the need for a baby fix, I haven't seen her yet today. Its been almost 20 hours since I got to hold her…

Look at all that dark hair! I just want to kiss the top of her little head.

Everyone has been asking me about her unique name. So, here is the story. Her momma's family has a Hungarian Gypsy background and a tradition of a 2nd middle name. Apparently, you never say all the names out loud at once. No matter how mischevious the child is being!!

A lot of thought and love went into her name.

Here is the pronunciation:

My- R- uh * Two- lay- uh

Mayara means "holy trinity"-

ma= divine mother Mary

ya= universe

ra= divine father

Tulaya is from some ancient city full of fairies. And Zen refers some how to the sign on the Mayan calender that she was born under.

A big name for such a teensy, 7lbs 4 oz, cuddle bundle, huh?

I still don't have a nickname for her… I'm leaning toward TuTu, but after sitting in on listening to the parents find a proper 3rd name, I'm kind of liking Sugar Star. Goes well with Sugar Wings, and she was almost named Star instead of Zen. (I was voting for Starla, kind of half star, half my name but both of them looked at me like it was a joke.) Heck, maybe that is my nick name for her!! Sugarwings and Starla? How does that sound? Oh well, just talking out loud at this point, I need to get to know her.

Any thoughts?

She has no idea that over two thousand people checked online to hear about her birth. What a lucky little girl to have so many people who cared about her. Thanks so much to all of you who came by to wish us well and congratulate us. We're extremely happy!! And after all the worries, its wonderful to hold such a healthy little baby in our arms. (well, except for the little tummy ache she has, that is)

Here are the random names I drew for the angora roses and nest brooches I made while waiting for the baby's birth:

Stephanie who has a brand new baby too!

Debby

Shawn (no blog)

Seven winners for 7 pounds of baby.

The felted flowers are from a class at Silver Bella. This was one I was whining about and was sorry I had signed up for, and almost dropped at the last moment. But, I was so glad I went!! It was outside of my comfort zone and color palette, but I got so much from the teacher, Betz White. She was an interesting woman and since it was a small class, she sat right down with us and told stories about Martha Stewart's show.

Here is what the class project was supposed to look like, but I changed mine up a bit, and found variation on the roses that looked more like my own style.

I can't tell you how to make the roses themselves- they aren't mine to share, but she has a book and I have to tell you that they are so simple, you'd LOVE making them! Buy the book!!! You'll be glad you did.

I can share my variation with you. I cut my sweater strip kind of curvy and scallopy, then pushed in on the center once it was made. After that, I added extra petals to the bottom, for a more full blown rose look.

EDIT: the rosettes are NOT in the book! Betz got them originally from Martha Stewart and from this blog.

Here is what my completed frame looked like. Betz was nice enough to tell me how she did nests too.

(the vintage Christmas card opens up, I'll put a baby photo in it)

I've got plans to make one for each person who signs up for my May Day celebration and classes here at the studio next spring. Won't these be ideal for pinning to the goody bags???

This week has been crazy/exciting. There are still lots of other Silver Bella photos to share, but I've been busy with baby stuff this week. I've been trying to help out with the big kids (oh man, now all of a sudden my little Sugarwings is a big kid????!!!!). I'm giving them rides back and forth to school, and last night had a sleepover with 3 of them. Sugarwings has stayed with me all week too.

Yesterday afternoon, I cooked and baked for the new parents. A good friend is going through chemo, so I fixed her some meals while I was at it. I made vegetarian white lasagna with fresh mozzarella, stuffed manicotti with tomatoes from the garden, black bean burritos with peppers from the garden, and a big fresh spinach salad. Then, some home made granola and muffins for snacking on too.

These last few photos are of new items in the Boutique and Etsy shops. This box is made from the papers available for downloading in the Romantic White Christmas class, using Beth's directions for making her Pretty Pixie. (I changed it up a bit)

Beth and I are doing some videos for the workshop tomorrow, and we are having some goodie bag giveaways on it too.

It was nice to have some "normal" time today to take photos and list things for sale. The last couple of weeks have been quite extraordinary! All wonderful, but still, I enjoyed a having a plain old, boring day today after all the excitement lately.

To Sugarwings- and THANKS swappers- and OOOPS

a lapse of memory again, or am I just careless?, Books, I do tend to run on, don't I?, parties, show and tell, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 11, 2010

Sugarwings and I had a pretend tea party this weekend, and we both opened hostess gifts from the Dorothy tag books swap. I'm so touched by all the thoughtfulness! Anyone who knows me, knows that the way to my heart is to spoil that little fairy grand baby of mine.

Or to make something for me, I Iove hand made things! Or to give me ephemera and supplies to use in my own work. Or to to make a thoughtful gesture. I guess there are lots of ways to get to me, I so appreciate an act of kindness!

Before the party started, we opened a gift from Barbara, that she sent, "just because". I swear, don't you meet the nicest people in the blog world?

We called it the Yellow Brick Road Dress. It's a colorful concoction featuring a road, appliqued ruby slippers down the front, and poppies stitched to the shoulder.

Sugarwings has both red glittered slippers from the Oz movie and silver glittered slippers that were in the Oz book. I found them at garage sales, and she loves them so much, that she insists they are on her bed at night when I tuck her in. Not exactly cuddly, but they make her happy. And I know how women can be about their shoes. Personally, I have Fred Flinstone feet and am always happy to find a non-Birkenstock that fits me. So, I can't be a shoe person like she is. Wish I could.

Agnes Rosebud was invited to the party, and I dressed her up in the poppy headband that Barb had made to go with the dress. But the little pup wasn't all that interested in our presents.

Until this one came out of the box! Even the dogs were remembered with a hostess gift of tasty treats.

And oh my! Do you see that flying monkey on the altered blocks?? Sorry its not facing the camera completely, the two blocks spell OZ in green glittered letters and its cuter than a bug! Its from Amy Bauer.

The monkey was all wrapped up as a gift to me, but Sugarwings can't quite believe it is not for her. If we have to arm wrestle for it, I think I can take her.

The ribbon in her hair was part of the wrapping that I saved from the packages filled with tags. I salvage every little bit of tissue, bubble wrap, and ribbon that comes along with the avalanche of artwork. When you order goods from my shop, I try to use as much recycled packaging as I can, and the outside of the envelopes often are covered with black sharpie scribbles marking out the old addresses. But I really take time and care to make the purchases look good when you get the package open.

And so many of the swappers did too. I did some oohing and awing over the way some of the tags were wrapped up. Then, I scooped up the stuff to save and use again! Thanks, swappers!

The Good Witch/Bad Witch buttons that are pinned to her Yellow Brick Road dress were gifts from my Sissy to Sugarwing's Hippie Chick Mommy. This kid gets her love of all things Oz from her mom and her dear departed Nanny, who were both huge Oz fans.

As much as I enjoy the Dorothy story, I don't come close to those girls. They are fanatics.

I've become more of an Oz afficionado since being around them. I can definately quote the movie, act it out, and sing the songs when called for.

Toto is my favorite character, so I really enjoyed this cute zipper pull and will add it to my little fairie's winter coat.

Many of the swappers included extra tags for my own book, or hand made thank you cards that were so cute, I had to add them to my tag book.

This one features little Agnes Rosebud as a tiny baby.

When I host a swap, I'm lucky to get lots of extra tags to fatten my books up. I have them all on display in the studio hanging from this metal shelf. And everyonce in a while I'll take them down to flip through. Its wonderful to have a mini collection of so many artist's work.

To receive hand made, personal gifts from the artists too, is just amazing! Cheryl made this box and book and I was floored when I opened it. Do you ever feel like a dweeb compared to other artists? I was overwhelmed by so many of the really extrordinary art that arrived at my doorstep for this swap. Its impressive to see the talent out there, and even more impressive to see all the tags spread out on my table tops to drool over.

So, if your book is a little curled up on the edges, that is just drool from my admirations.

Okay, now here comes the embarrassing part. I hate to admit this to you, but I might have screwed up. After finishing all the mailing, there is still a book on my desk….

I never said I was good at this. I just said I tried really, really hard to stay organized.

All the names are marked off the list. So, I have no idea who didn't get one.

On the other hand, so many people sent in extra tags, and I made so many myself, and of course, that will really throw off the numbers.

So, if you don't have your book by the end of the week, please let me know. So Sorry. Very Sorry.

Also, someone didn't get a Toto tag in their basket on the cover of the book. If your basket is empty let me know. There is a Toto on my desk waiting to be reunited with his Dorothy. ooops again.

Thank you, to all who were part of the swap and thanks also for all of the thoughtful gifts! Totally unessacary, but greatly enjoyed by us both!