Books – Page 16 – Karla's Cottage

Bungled baubles, an Alice Obsession, and parading pooches

By Karla Nathan / September 23, 2009

Yesterday, at craft day, Beth brought her embossing supplies for me to try. I've never done that before and was intrigued with the idea of embossing small collages on these medals. So, I thought I'd share some step by step how to's with you.

But, it turns out that I am not very good at embossing. The paper bubbled and burnt, the finish looked thick and gloppy. Maybe you'd appreciate instructions from someone who actually can do it correctly? You certainly could do better asking anyone else but me!

Sorry.

So, no new charms to add to the Boutique. I will probably salvage them to tie onto things, they are cute enough to use that way. Just not good enough to make into a charm bracelet or necklace.

I did finish this old box and add it to the shop, though. It was in pieces when I got it, so it is all repaired and re-glued and covered with pretty vintage papers, then topped with a pale pink rose.

My guess is that it at one time held a manicure set. What do you think?

Also, thanks to everyone who snapped up one of my vintage goods prize ribbons. I made another with a triple row of ruffles, then thought I'd make up a few more till I ran out of crepe paper.

So, there are a few more added to the Boutique, waiting for you to let me know what initial needs to be added. All the initials are hand drawn and glittered, no stencils, or patterns. Also, no two are alike. And now, I'm out of crepe paper, and since it was an old roll from a flea market, that is the end of that.

Now, I am obsessed with making an Alice in Wonderland book. No reason, just because. It really is a bad idea to get started on…. I've got Silver Bella to plan for (those 10 feet vendor booths hold a lot of crap to sell), house guests coming for the rest of the week, and a trip to Florida to help clean out my Great Aunt Caroline's home.

Also, the Sugarwings Grumpy Fairy book needs a tweaking. The website that I had it printed on sucked about as much as my embossing skills…..

So, here I am, fulfilling a whim and playing with this Alice spread instead of acting like a big girl and getting my work done.

But look at how much fun it is!!!! I've had that cat with green eyes postcard on my desk for years. When Mary gave me an old Alice in Wonderland book cover, I knew immediately that I needed to add a Cheshire grin to this picture and turn it into a book.

I drew the grin onto paper from the back of an old greeting card, so it wouldn't look too new and stand out for the wrong reasons. then glued it on. I've made up about 8 pages so far, so hopefully, this obsession with be done and over with soon, so I can get back to business.

Before I get back to work, I want to tell you about a fund raiser to help pets. You can get details at Kelee's.

She is hosting a blog party and every link earns the charity $3.

Hope to see you there, Sept. 30!

I’ll stick to glue

Books, Food and Drink, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 15, 2009

Today is craft day, some friends are coming over for a day of cutting and gluing. I can't imagine a prettier day, the weather is ideal. But most of this summer has been that way. I guess it isn't summer any more, but typically, September in Kansas is still muggy and hot, I guess that is called the "Dog Days" of summer. But not today, it is a glorious fall day. So, we are lunching out doors and taking advantage of the sunshine.

My garden is bursting with tomatoes, and they are the heavy, meaty kind, the ones that are just right for slicing into a salad, so I chopped up 3 kinds of basil and layered them with an olive oil, garlic, sea salt and balsamic vinegar dressing. Since all that was sounding so fresh and wonderful, I thought I'd go all out and make fresh mozzarella to go with it.

I read up about it online and it seemed pretty easy. The tips I gleaned were to use un-chlorinated water (and I have well water, so that was no problem) and to use local milk, as fresh as possible.

Sugarwing's Daddy and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen together, and he was excited about trying to make some cheese too. He's one of those all organic, all the time type of hippy guys and won't even eat anything that goes into the microwave or gets stored in plastic. So homemade cheese was right up his alley. He's hard to cook for, but since he loves cooking so much and is so great at it, he can be as quirky as he wants. Because that means he does most of the cooking and it is always fantastic.

The trouble is, he and I are both the type that cook without recipes. We throw it all together and guesstimate amounts. But for cheese, you have to pretend to care about temperatures and timing and measurements.

So I bought a digital thermometer (which brought my total for expenses up to almost 40 bucks). After studying and printing off lots of recipes, we saw that 55 degrees and 105 degrees were both very important numbers in the art of cheese.

Well, we aren't chemists or scientists or even semi good at following recipes. This is the mass that I salvaged from the batch. It was supposed to be kneaded like bread dough, and I thought I did, but I guess, not so much.

Adam is a massage therapist, so he worked his healing magic on the lump I couldn't repair and actually turned it into a series of little cheese balls.

4 hours into making what was called a 30 minute recipe we had a very small series of very little, very rubbery, cheese balls.

$40 worth?

Well, the olive oil with fresh herbs they are marinating in is tasty at least. I poured some over pasta last night. But I've not been brave enough to eat the cheese yet. They were so expensive to make I feel like keeping the little lumps of gold in a lock box.

But I'd probably be better off using them as toys and bouncing them around with Sugarwings.

Somehow, I don't think that I'll be serving today with the tomatoes and basil….

Well, my pot of cheese didn't do so well, but this little witch's cooking pot filled with pretties is much better. Its the giveaway for September and I added a fall colored enameled butterfly pin to go along with the leaf and rhinestone brooches.

Why am I feeling so fallish? I'm a warm weather person and hate the thought of winter approaching. I also love soft, sweet colors, and am not usually so attracted to the fall tones. Maybe its that perfect weather that is winning me over. Any way, I whipped up this Raven's Wreath and enjoyed working with the old millinery in the rich, Halloween colors.

Well, dur, it was still old millinery! I love that stuff in any color!

(the wreath is available in my Boutique)

I kept on using the deep, rich, colors on these book covers from Mary. Each is filled with water color and other art or journal pages, cut to fit. And they are tied up with hand dyed silk ribbons that I tinted to match each cover.

On some, I used inks and markers to embellish the existing pattern on the covers. I'm always happy when I get to play with markers.

Now, I'd better go shove the crap off my craft tables and make room for guests to join me today. But first, I need to run to the grocery store for some fresh mozzarella…

A Fairy Berry and some other goodness

Books, fairies, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 6, 2009

My Blue Mood is behind me now, thanks for all your thoughtful and caring comments about it. Really, it was not a big deal at all. I think everyone has those days, they are just part of life and aren't anything to worry about. Not everyday can be over the rainbow. And you know what, sometimes, even when things are perfect, a mood can be wonky and out of it. It just happens.

I used to be much worse about moodiness, but had a hysterectomy back when I was 40 (the day before my 40th birthday actually!!) Now that I am hollow like a chocolate Easter Bunny, most of my moods are on a pretty even keel. But those cranky days do come around, and when they are passed, the next day seems even better than it really is.

Of course, my day really was pretty special….. We started out with a tea party breakfast.

And yes, I hate to admit it, but I have succumbed to Disney Princess mania around here. We are serving our tea party breakfast from Cinderella's breasts.

This table and chairs was 4 bucks at a garage sale this weekend and I wanted something to replace the highchair in the kitchen, so that Sugarwings had her own space in there. I was hoping to find a cute, vintagey table, but no luck yet. Hopefully, something elegant and beautiful and equally cheap will turn up and I can replace this media frenzy monster that is smack dab in the middle of my kitchen.

But I am kind of afraid that Sugarwings won't let me… She loves this one. Ooops!

Her favorite part of the meal, (well besides the garish table and chairs) was this mini grape that she called a "fairy berry" because it was so tiny.

The last illustration for my Grumpy Fairy bedtime story is done!! Now, I just need to do a cover, and a title page.

Doing this book has taught me a lot about editing software!! I scanned vintage wallpaper, then aged and tinted it as a different color for each page's background. Then, I scanned the painting, edited and sized it on Picassa, but couldn't do a frame there. So, I went to Picnik and made frames, and did a digital collage with the image onto the background in Piccassa, then added text in colors to coordinate with the painting.

It was complicated, but worth it! When I first started, I was just using the paintings as is, but now, I really like the results of all the extra effort to pretty it up.

I'd like to get the books ordered and delivered by her birthday on August 16th. If I rush, I can do it, but I think I'm going to take my time and make sure it is right. I might order one book to start with to see how it looks. I'd like to order more to sell in the Boutique.

What do you think? Any interest?

In looking around the studio for something to give as the August Giveaway, I realized I still had some of these hand painted charms, and since I was in a painting mood, I figured they would be appropriate.

All comments, all month count. Especially, all those sweet and thoughtful ones that you sent when I was needing a lift! Thanks again!

Sew what?

Books, how to's

By Karla Nathan / March 5, 2009

In my last post, I mentioned that Bethwas having a giveaway. But I didn't tell you what a GOOD one it was!! She is offering a book by Amy Barickman of Vintage Workshop and Indygo Junction as the prize. Amy is another reason to be proud to be from the Kansas City area, she is just one of many of our local girls with talent.

Beth and I came very close to finishing our table clothes on Tuesday. I made 2 and almost completed a third, but ran out of the right fabrics. I could have whipped up something that would work, but Beth says she has two more old embroidered pillow cases I can have as part of the skirt. And that sounds perfect.

Plus, Beth needs time to finish her 2nd cloth. So, instead of my normal way of doing things, which is work on it till its done, then clean up the mess, I decided to LET IT SIT FOR A WEEK!!!!!!!!!!! Not easy, I tell you. But, I'm doing it. All the sewing stuff is set up in the studio along with a nearly finished table skirt that is calling out to me every time I walk by it.

But I am being patient. Which I rarely am. And I took advantage of having the sewing stuff set up and made pillow cases for my bench.

It was a quick stitch thing, since I hate to sew. Instead of tailored pillows, I took the existing (on sale for $4 each at Hobby Lobby 3 years ago) pillows and made little cases to slide them into. I sat the pillow on the fabric, cut out around it, then straight stitched up the sides and sewed fringe onto the open ends.

The cushion on the seat got a similar treatment, but no fringe. It is just left open in the back where no one can see it. If this was a cushion that got more use, I'd sew on ribbons to tie it shut, but it won't be getting butts scooting around on it daily like it would if it was in a dining room or kitchen. People only sit there to eat a few times a year.

All of this was done on a whim, sloppy and quick, (isn't that something Bobby Lee says on MadTV?) but it sure makes me happy, because I never liked the original cushions and pillows. I'd had them on the bench for a design house it was in. But the cushion was made by a professional and seemed to nice too change even though it was dark and not me.

But this is!! ~~Sloppy, quick,~~ Casual and FLOWERED!!

Once I had the bench all flowery, I decided that I needed some in my wallpaper frames. So, I added German die cuts to some of the frames with vintage stick pins.

And while this frame probably would fit in better if I'd taken the time to paint it white instead of pink, its kind of growing on me like this.

For this flocked gold paper, I wanted something really special, but was out of small frames. So, I glued some of the world's prettiest wallpaper (from either Heather or Natasha, we shared scraps of our finds that we bought on our trip to wallpaper heaven with Andrea) to a circle I had cut out of foam core poster board. I edged the edges in gold ink and hung it from a ribbon.

This one is something I had hanging in another part of the studio. Its a vintage rose print (I definitely wanted all the flowers to be roses) on satin, not paper. I had wrapped toile fabric around the mat board and popped it into a white frame. If I was doing it just for this project, I'd have used wallpaper instead of fabric, but this is just fine and sometimes, just fine is enough.

My Mom had a sewing room that I adored, even though I hated sewing (still do). I could play with her ribbons and stacks of fabric for hours. And I am talking about when I was in my 40s, not as a little kid.

She was a gifted seamstress and made her own patterns. But she measured and took pride in her stitches. If I had to do it that way, I'd never thread a needle again. I like to sew the way the mice and blue birds did when they made Cinderella's dress. They didn't take a lot of time with it, used what was laying around and just whipped up something pretty!

Tagging along

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), paintings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 13, 2009

How is that for some puppy love? At this point the little princesses are mostly sleeping and eating. They curl up and they cry for mama and that is about it.

Beth came by to help with my website today, and we spent some time cuddling the puppies, although at first she thought they were too tiny to hold. But these little guys enjoy being held and Twinks doesn't seem to mind.

Although, she certainly doesn't take her eyes off of them once we pick them up! I could tell she was a devoted mother, when she went out to potty yesterday and a rabbit ran right in front of her. Instead of taking off like a shot into the woods to get tangled in cockle burrs, thinking that she might just catch the wascal this time, she simply turned around and came to the door to be let back in to her babies. Not even a glance over her shoulder to see where it might have gone to.

Worrying about your kids can sure take precedence over other things, that is for sure.

Luckily, at this point, my kids are doing well, so I can worry about tags! 60 some tags. Now that is a lot of worrying.

As I was blog hopping (instead of making tags) the other day, I saw a pretty hand painted tag by Suzanne Duda and used her idea as inspiration. I added hand painted designs to the vintage papers of the one on the right, and then added a bit of old papers to the painted roses on the tag on the left.

I think this one is my fave, though. I painted a floral heart wreath directly onto an old photo and added the words to the top.

And this one is about half and half, with some flocked wallpaper as a heart. I'm copying them all and then embellishing the copies with millinery blooms, lace, ribbons, glittery ink, etc. That sure helps me toward my goal of 60 plus.

This one is a copy I made of one of the painted tags. I think they copy well. I added lace and glittery ink in accents, then covered the back in wallpaper. By the time they get uber-foofed with charms and ribbons when tied onto the books, I think they will look fine.

Today's mail brought some sweetness from Sugar Sugar.

What a nice surprise from Analise!

Beth spent the day here in the studio with me, we worked on swap pages and website stuff, with a LOT of help emailed to us from Heather. Now, I am getting ready to head out the door and go see a movie with some friends. Looks like "Slumdog Millionaire" did great at the Golden Globes the other night, I am looking forward to seeing it. Last night, I went to see "Benjamin Button" and can't stop thinking about it. Maybe it is too soon to go see another flick, since the one last night was so good, my thought are still lingering on it.

Nah- its never too soon to go to another movie!! My idea of a great afternoon, is to see a double (or Triple!) feature.

So, before I head out, I'll leave you with a few pictures of this beautiful little book I bought in St. Joe the other day. It is signed and dedicated in 1922. I really appreciate those little written introductions in old books that were given as gifts years ago.

Oops, puppies everywhere in this house!!

Should a poor sewer who hates to even try, attempt a Magnolia Pearl inspired slip cover on a RECLINER? While taking muscle relaxers for a strained back??

Books, how to's, how-to projects, redos

By Karla Nathan / January 7, 2009

Have you read the Magnolia Pearl book? Beth gave it to me for Christmas and I have been obsessed with the photos. Now, not all are to my taste exactly (I think old rugs on the walls in the kitchen is just gross and dusty and musty)but I love the idea of it all. But in MY colors. Still, just look at this sofa. I was inspired by the opulence of it all, and have always loved the crazy quilt layering of fabrics when I make slipcovers.

My sofa could use a bit of the embellishments I spied in the book. I have a good start with the mixed fabrics already. If I added a few velvets and trims, I'd be close. Well, close enough for my house. I have to consider that it is climbed on by two year olds and dorkies, plus we use the sofa for real life, not for display!!! All of my fabrics need to be washable.

One element I really enjoyed from the book was the use of old textiles. So, I cut up a tapestry I'd found at an antique mall years ago and added a section to the center pillow of the couch.

Another one, got cut up for ruffles on the chair that I decided to recover in a Magnolia Pearl-ISH way. This tapestry's design wasn't as pretty as the Grecian ladies on the other runner, this one was elephants and guys in turbans. But I loved the over all look of the fabric itself, it really shows its age.

The next step was to gather up piles of remnants and trims and doilies and whatever else I had lurking in the linen cabinet in my studio. I wasn't exactly sure how and where I'd use it all, and actually didn't end up usingmost of the bits and pieces. But it was good to have a pile to look through, hold up to the chair and pick from. Nothing was planned out, this chair just came together from the inspiration of what I'd seen in the Magnolia Pearl book and what was left over from other projects or laying around the studio.

If a furniture store ever sells you an insurance package for light colored fabrics, please read the fine print. I liked this oyster white velvet, but was worried about dirt showing. So, for an extra $35, I got a guarantee. Any stain or dirt that got on the chair would be cleaned off by the company or else I'd get the chair recovered free.

Sounded good. But it wasn't. The fine print says it covers everything in the world but normal dirt. So, the chair got a bit funky and no matter how I cleaned it, it always looked smudgy. The oyster white slowly became mucky gray. I daydreamed about recovering it.

A local seamstress was going to make a slipcover for me, but she decided not to, she said recliners are too hard to do.

So, of course, I figured I could do it myself. Even though, if you sat near me in the sewing segment of Silver Bella, you would know from the constant complaints I spouted, I HATE to sew. Hate it. And am a novice.

Since I was house bound, while babysitting new puppies and their poor little, over worked mommy, I thought a project that I could do in the newborn's nursery (my dining room) would keep me busy. I'd strained my back at the gym and was on muscle relaxers so wasn't quite in my right mind either.

You know, I kind of thought when I started working on the chair, that it would make a good How-To for the blog. Until I got going on it, then realized, it was just too hard to explain, since I was making it up as I went along.

But here are some helpful tips if you feel like making yourself bonkers by trying to make slipcovers for a recliner from a hodge podge of fabrics:

gather up lots of materials to play with. What you think you are going to use, might not work, you need plenty of odds and ends to choose from
lay out your fabrics right side up to judge where you want them, then flip them over inside out to pin. I pinned mine where I wanted it, then trimmed the fabric around the pins
have all your pin heads face the same direction!
don't sew over any pins, unless you really enjoy changing needles on the machine
keep the sewing machine manual handy in case you need to change needles
those pearl pins are easier than regular straight pins. Especially the bright colored ones, they show up better and you hit less of them with the sewing machine needle
eye balling is easier than measuring. No one will be using a tape measure on your chair when they come to visit, so if you think it looks pretty good, you should trust yourself enough to go with that.
it doesn't have to be perfect. A slouchy look has a lot of room for errors.
throw in some unexpected textiles for fun
fringes and trims can cover up crooked seams pretty good
if you don't have any muscle relaxers, try a glass of wine before starting the project

The "sleeves" of my chair were terribly twisty. But the fringe saved them.

The back side should be interesting too! This is the side that faces the newborn's nursery (my dining room). I gathered up the ruffle with some old taupe velvet ribbon and roses that I pulled off an old hat (I have a few of those around).

If you decide to cover a recliner, you need to remember that it MOVES. The cover has to be done in pieces, not all one throw like a regular chair. I made the "'sleeves" first, then attached them with upholstery screws, to the inside of the arms. Then, the seat is simply a hemmed and trimmed piece of fabric that is tucked in around the sides, not attached to anything. The piece over the back, is made like a pillow case, that slips over it. And the foot rest cover is screwed down too. Buy extra upholstery screws, you will need more than you think!

Well, not exactly Magnolia Pearl, but it is at least Pearl-ish. Of course, the chair itself is the wrong style, not antique and not ornate. But it is comfy and I like a soft recliner for reading in. I call this my Grammy Gypsy Chair.

Hopefully, the busy fabrics won't show dirt the way the original one did. And, I can always take it apart and wash any section that gets dirty, if needed.

While cleaning up the room, I was ready for some more changes, and added this iron piece to the wall. (I'd had it up in the guest room, but now that Sugarwing's Daddy lives up there, he prefers his Hippy Tie Dye to my antique decor, so I took it down). Notice that I still have Christmas lights in the urn in the corner? I am calling it a winter decoration, instead of a Christmas one and keeping them there for a while. I enjoy the glow. And the vintage photo of the WhiteWitch that I had up for Halloween is back as a pretty lady dressed for Mardi Gras instead. That sounds better than "the Clash of the Holidays"!

January always makes me want to redo a bit. I guess it is being cooped up indoors, and staring at the same stuff over and over and getting tired of it. Also, taking down all the glitz of the Christmas decorations, makes the home seem dull with out them.

Or maybe it is just the muscle relaxers.

A second sneak peek at the December Giveaway and some tussie mussies to unload. (I mean offer to you at a special price.)

Books, Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, holiday decor, I do tend to run on, don't I?, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 13, 2008

This is sneak peek number 2 of the December Giveaway– it will stay a surprise until it is sent off in the mail to it's new home on Jan. 1. If you want to enter the drawing, every comment counts, all month long.

Louisa is hosting a Home Sweet Home blog party today, please go to her site and see some of the linked blogs and thier holiday decor!

I've been extremely good about returning comments this month (I hope Santa is watching!) but they are not all going through!! I get about 20% of them bounced back to me as non-deliverable. ( I just made up that percentage, I don't really do math much, this is a guess).

Sugarwings got the sweetest gift in the mail from our pal, Robin in VA. If you'd like to see a couple second video of her hanging it on the tree, click HERE.

The present itself was the cutest Glinda the Good Witch ornament, she is inside the clear ball like it is the bubble she rides down into Munchkindland. And of course, since Sugarwings loves to make things, we saved the box and cut out Glinda's picture to make another ornament from that.

I did the cutting, she did the glue and glitter, then we tied a ribbon and bell to the piece so that the fairy grand baby could hang it on her little pink tree.

You know how kids always loved playing with the box a gift comes in? We have discovered that the boxes always make good project materials. If I cut out the logos, or characters, Sugarwings is happy to get out the glue stick and glitter to turn the packaging into one of her smeary, yet sparkly creations. We even cut the pictures out of cute paper plates we use to eat snacks off of in the studio. Nothing goes to waste around here. (and peanut butter does hold glitter) And as prolific as she is, creating one thing after another and flinging the finished pieces over her head, then calling out "more", we need all the supplies we can get!

Her Grammy tends to be prolific too. Of course, getting the items I make photographed and listed on Etsy, I am maybe NOT so good at. I can crank out the goods, but I can't seem to get them uploaded to sell. You should see the backlog in my studio.

Yesterday, when maybe I should have been trying to clear out some of the junk, I mean trying to sell some things, I took a day off for a fun crafting afternoon with some blog friends. We all worked on books like the project Teresa McFayden had in one of her classes at Silver Bella.

For this, we decorated the covers of old books in pretty papers, then hollowed out the book with an exacto knife, clamped and glued the pages together and filled the scooped out portion with a pretty scene.

I tinted this old sepia toned photo with some pink to go along with my vintage pink wallpaper and this perfectly aged, old Christmas sheet music that is printed with BROWN ink! how pretty is that? I had been using some of this paper as the packaging for the mini dyed trees I was selling on Etsy, then realized it was way too cool to not keep and use a couple pages for myself. I'm glad I did, I think that it was just what I needed for this book.

If you are interested in purchasing this book it is $35 includes shipping (in the US). sold, thanks!

The guests brought goodies and we ate fresh baked Christmas treats all afternoon.(Sugarwing's Daddy was a bit irritated at me for letting her have a chocolate and candy cane free for all in the treat cabinet)

By the way, my treat cabinet is featured in the latest edition of Romantic Country magazine, I'll let you know when I see some copies on the stands. A friend told me she has received hers in the mail already.

Of course, here is just one more thing I didn't get listed on Etsy for this season. Tussie Mussies are so pretty on the tree, or can be filled with treats or small presents and given as gifts.

They are made with vintage materials and decked out with loads of pretties. Maybe I should sell them from the blog instead, because who knows if I will get them onto Etsy?? So, here they are, if you'd like one, I can send you a pay pal invoice for $8 each (half price from what I usually sell Tussie Mussies for) plus postage. They aren't heavy, but require a box. I will ship them Priority Mail for $4.80, as many as you'd like to fit into one box.

Also, thanks so much to those of you who asked about the bird ornament from yesterday, it has been sold and was one of a kind, I can't make another. I appreciate your inquiries, though.

Two Tasha Tudor Tags

Books, celebrations, paintings, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / August 28, 2008

Isn’t Tasha Tudor an amazing woman? Her work is so sweet and simple, but her lines say so much. She certainly had a way with a brush and a pencil!

To check out other bloggers who are posting about Miss Tudor on her birthday, visit Clarice for more info.

In Tasha’s honor, I did a couple of quick little drawings in her style.

I’m not trying to be a copy cat, just doing an homage to sweet characters in my favorite book of hers.

I’ve made the drawings into tags, and decked them out in my own style.

The book that I love so much is "1 is One" and a blogger friend mailed it to Sugarwings last year on her 1st birthday.

I keep it stored out of her grabby, little, rippy hands for now. I only take it down to read it to the fairy grandbaby when I can hold onto it, so it stays in one piece.

Two year olds and cherished books don’t mix well.

This is the back of my tags, they are covered in pink flocked wallpaper.

I didn’t copy the pictures exactly, just used elements of the pages to make my own picture.

One tag is a gift for a friend’s daughter. The other one is for sale.

I’ll be out of town, so won’t have a chance to list it on Etsy tomorrow. If you are interested in my little tag painting, it is $18.

Please leave a comment or email me if you want to buy it.

While I was making the two Tasha Tudor tags today to treat…..OK, sorry, that was going a bit far with the alliteration.

Anyway, I made more tags from the same materials. These have a Silver glaze on the front, and lots of silver accents, and are pink flocked on the back.

I’ll add some silver glitter later on. It wouldn’t be Silver Bella without Glitter! But I’m out of time tonight.

These hand painted cupcakes on a silver background will each be tied to a Silver Bella Pre Swap package.

Notice that my friend, Carol has a chocolate cupcake? She isn’t a pink girl like most of the swappers.

Silver Bella has been a great way to meet new friends. Carol and I got to know each other there last year and this year, we did a magazine article together.

Jen Hayslip is another Bella, that I have gotten to know. She is having her home photographed for Romantic Country and I will be writing the article about it for Fifi. I’m excited, this will be a fun one to do! Gee, I am lucky to have this article lined up, along with all of the others I have coming out. I certainly don’t take them for granted. And I seem to be on a roll lately!

Babies, babies, babies

Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, paintings, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 12, 2008

I’ve been ensconced in my studio all day, and although the book is coming along, it is slow going.

So I took a little break from painting my baby to fix up this baby.

I had the perfect bittersweet colored silk dress for her, to match her auburn hair, but as soon as I put it on her, it shredded.

Sometimes, there is such a thing as TOO vintage.

So, I found this little silk number and gaudied it up for her. Here is what I said on Etsy:

"This darling little red head came to me needing some help, wearing nothing but a pony tail and a Made in Japan stamp.

I found a pretty silk dress in my collection of vintage play things, but it was a little boxy and didn’t really flatter her. So, I created an apron with old trims and pale pinkish seam binding ribbon, and it suited her much better. Custom fitted clothes are always so much nicer than "off the rack". (Although, I am sitting here in a ripped tie dye shirt and gym shorts, so I really wouldn’t know what custom fitted clothes are like)

Her long, flowing, pony tail was in good shape, but the hair on her head seemed a little sparse, so I gave her a ringlet of old millinery flowers. She liked them so much, I added some to the hem of her dress.

A few coordinating ribbons in her hair and a vintage, glass, floral button on her dress and she is all ready for her new home.

She is about 5 1/2" tall and her body is a very soft, pliable rubbery material. She’s Made in Japan, so is old, but over all has held up well for her age. Better than I have."

Four paintings are finished for Sugarwing’s birthday book. Two more to go.

Plus the backgrounds for the text.

I’ll take them to a copy shop tomorrow and start making up books, or at least I hope to.

This is my favorite of them all, its number 5. I need to paint it, and then do one more tomorrow morning so I can start working on embellishing the copies. I hope to make another one to give as a gift to a friend. I am throwing her a baby shower on Friday night, she is expecting her first daughter.

Or is that odd, to write a book about my own little girl and then give copies to another little girl? My friend has Dorkies too, actually puppies that are children of my oldest dog, Bookie.

I’m impatiently awaiting the day that Twinkle becomes a puppy momma, she should be ready very soon. And although Bookie is no longer capable of being the father, I have a neighbor down the road with the cutest little 4 pound Dorkie you’ve ever met and he has a bit of a crush on Twinks.

Maybe before winter comes, I’ll be a gramma again! I miss having little puppies running around, I just can’t wait!!

OK, back to painting. I’m running out of time, I’d better keep working. I just wanted to take another break and visit blogland a bit.

PS- I’ve had no time to add to the August giveaway, but promise to when I get caught up.

grumpy

Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, paintings

By Karla Nathan / August 11, 2008

My birthday book for Sugarwings is not going well today. Very little got finished this afternoon.

The tea party page is done as well as the text page to go next to it.

I painted a light background, scanned it, and then printed it with the words on it.

I’m sure that if I knew how to do digital scrapbook techniques, or just plain old, how to add text to a picture, this part would be easier!

The plan is to scan each page, then print and glue and embellish and sparkle them all up after I make them into a book. That way I can make multiple copies, with no two exactly alike.

But on this page she looks way too grown up. It’s not good enough to use. Luckily, not much time went into this picture, that also might explain why it isn’t very good??

Since painting wasn’t going well today, I took a break to add some things to my Etsy shop.

I seem to have piles and piles of crap, I mean finished art, around the studio that needs to be moved out of here!

So, I listed a few, but never seem to get many listings done.

I wondered if it was because I take so long with the photos, but from the looks of this one, that can’t be it, I didn’t even bother to comb this poor fairy baby’s hair before I took her picture!

Two fairies got listed and are ready to go to new homes.

And I dithered on whether or not I wanted to sell this wallpaper journal. It seemed like it should be a keeper, it is made with such pretty, old papers. But, I can make more if I need one later on.

It could be a scrapbook, or a journal, it is all vintage pages (9" x 11") ready to be filled with whatever the new owner feels like doing. It also comes with a scrap pack of coordinating wallpapers to use for further embellishments.

And lastly, this 8" x 4" tag.

Five items, is that all I listed today???? Geez, I am really not getting much done. I have a goal of 100 items, but have trouble keeping it at 50. And even though sales are not bad (thank you very much!!) they are not the reason I can’t keep up.

It is because it would take me a solid week to list another 50 items to get it up to that point! And I get bored doing it.

Its so much more fun to make things than to try to sell things.

Leelee_book_010 Sorry about the whining. Too much time off coupled with not enough time to finish a project that isn’t going well can do that to a person.

And maybe I miss my buddies who were here all week? It is sad to see them fly back to Florida and California. We’ve been friends since we were 11. Here is a picture of Sandy and I in our 20s, looks like we were hanging out in a bar…. probably were.

Plus, today is my 23rd wedding anniversary, and even though we had a wonderful celebration early, I felt a little lonely today, with Rich out East and me here.

Here we are with the kids that day, and my, we look like kids ourselves!

Doesn’t Sugarwings look like her daddy, my youngest son?

Thanks for listening to me be down a bit. Blogging friends are good to have. I’ll cheer myself up by blog hopping around and seeing all the beautiful eye candy out there on my favorite sites!

Before I go, here are a couple things I added to the August giveaway. A pair of pink vintage earrings and a Victorian calling card to go along with the brooch with the blue stone.

More goodies to come, you deserve it after putting up with my wallowing in self pity tonight!

ps- thanks to all of your kind wishes for my fairy baby. She is doing much better now.