Books – Page 6 – Karla's Cottage

Farewell to Downton- an art journal swap to say goodbye to our favorite program

By Karla Nathan / February 15, 2016

Soon, Downton Abby will be airing its last episode.

I thought it would be nice to share art journals on the theme as a memento of the show. So, another swap is in order!

This show has touched many hearts and had us all swooning over the sets and costumes. I've attended two Downton themed weekend art events, myself and have another coming up soon. Lord Grantham and his family's story is one that so many of us love to immerse ourselves in.

This photo of one of the sets is my inspiration for the books. Lush, heavy wallpaper, in a soft green, rose silk damask, gilded, white trim, and overall, ornate elegance.

Here are the details of what I'll be including and making the book from for the swap:

Two chipboard, flocked wallpaper covers, lined with antique silk brocade.

On that, a painted and golden glazed frame filled with my painting of the castle itself printed on high quality matte photo paper.

The bottom of the front cover will be trimmed in lace and hand dyed velvet ribbon.

The book will tie shut with hand dyed silk ribbon, anchored in place with a medallion of vintage wallpaper and a sparkling rhinestone cluster.

Pages will be tied in with ribbon accented with bundles of vintage trims and laces, along with a variety of Victorian style charms and a millinery bloom.

Two coloring pages, hand drawn by myself.

The book will be made up of 3 signatures of 3 pieces of card stock. You will send 6, I will supply 3 pages ready for you to finish as you'd like in your own book. This makes a total of 36 pages.

For this swap, you will get one of your own pages in the book. It will be included in the count of the 6 you send in. So, you will send in 5 folded pieces of card stock, embellished on a minimum of 2 sides to swap, plus 1 more of the same for me to add to your own book. You will get 5 swap pages in return along with 3 plain or background pages from me.

I will ship these Priority Mail in padded envelopes.

I have copied vintage stationary and will include this as one of the pages I provide for each book.

This will be a functional journal, for you to use for notes, pictures, doodling, memorabilia, and adding your own favorite images or ideas from the show. So, up to half of the pages created by swappers will be simply finished to allow you space to use in the book. Such as stationery paper, ledger paper, an envelope, lined paper, plain paper, etc. Borders, headers, or decorations can be added, but the page should still be usable for the new owner to fill in for themselves.

(you can scroll down to the end of the post for photos and links to other swaps for examples)

Of course, I'll be using the Good Stuff to create your book, here are a few of the hats I'll be plucking.

The silk fabric is just gorgeous and is very reminiscent of the Crawley's sitting room furniture. The frames I have found to use are in an assortment of shapes and sizes. I will be painting each one white, then glazing it in a metallic gold, to mimic the sitting room trim.

Ahhh, that fabric is going to make a perfect liner. It is sturdy, yet delicate and beautiful. And here is one of the coloring pages I'll be including- my drawing of the Dowager, and some of her noteworthy quotes.

Here is a closeup, so show you some of the detail. Doesn't it make you want to grab your markers and start coloring? If you haven't embraced the Adult Coloring kick, here are some tips that could help you get started and get a finished, arty look on your pages.

Each book will have charms tied to the ribbons along the spine, and I will have a selection of laces and trims to embellish with too.

No two book covers will be exactly the same, since I am using so many vintage elements.

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Here are the guidelines, if you'd like to join:

1-The theme is "FAREWELL TO DOWNTON", any interpretation you'd like- the family, the rooms, the era, gowns- is wide open to your view of what you love and will miss about the show. And keep in mind that the show does span eras, so you have a choice from Edwardian to Flapper.

2- Size is a full page of 8-1/2 x 11 card stock, folded in half to make two 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 pages with a crease in the middle.

3- Please use card stock. Add anything creative over it, but the base must be card stock. Please keep the fold ONLY card stock and clear of embellishments so I can punch the holes.

4- Make 6 folded sheets of card stock front and back, So that means 6 pieces of paper -24 sides total. This sounds like a lot, but keep in mind that this is a journal/scrapbook. UP TO HALF of those 24 sides, need to be usable for the book's owner. Lined paper, pockets, old stationary, envelopes, etc, something that the new owner can write on, tuck things into, or add to. This is a functional journal. (please check out the examples below) The rest of the pages can be decorated to your heart's content, but do please keep approximately half usable for the book's owner. And please do not just leave a completely blank page with nothing at all on it, do use something pretty as a background to be created upon later.

5- Please add trailing lace, and other pretty trims that peek out from the covers of the book. The more trims, laces, and ribbons, the prettier the over all look of the book will be. And don't just add it from the bottom, it is pretty to have trims peeking out from the side and top also.

6- Sign your work, add your blog name if you have one.

7- One of your pages will be returned to you, in your book.

8- LEAVE ONE INCH ALONG THE CENTER FOLD EMPTY, no 3-D items along the fold, so I can punch holes. Decorate the rest of the page as thick as you'd like, but please leave the center 1" for me to bind! hmmm, I think I might have already mentioned that one…

To join, please email:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

Please include:
1-Your first and last name
2-Your Instagram or blog name and URL (if applicable)
3-Your email address

Deadline
Pages should be to me by May 31, 2016

In your package along with the 6 pages, please include:

1- Your first and last name, same as you provided at sign up
2- A slip of paper with your name, and address, if your mailing address name does not match the first and last name you provided, (if you signed up with your nickname, blog name, etc) please alert me so I will know it is you and the book is going to the right address

3- $38 fee for USA, sorry, no overseas swapping this time.

(I am sorry also, but due to the volume of books I'll be making, I am not able to honor special requests, or let you know personally when your box arrives. Once a week, I will post a list of arrivals on Facebook and I will try to get photos of all the pages and feature them on my blog as I build the books.)

If you would like to purchase an assembled book (blank pages ready for you to create yourself) they will be available for the same price. Comes with the coloring pages.

Here is a button you can post on your blog for the swap if you'd like. I look forward to seeing the nature inspired pages winging thier way into my cottage!

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EXAMPLES

Here are some links to a previous shared effort, the Fairie Book, if you'd like to see my style of arranging pages. I put a lot of time into sorting the swap pages together to look like cohesive, pretty books:

1- http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2012/09/knee-deep-in-fairies.html

2- http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2012/09/the-tail-end-of-the-faery-book-swap-ill-miss-it.html

3- http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2012/09/faery-book-swap-page-sets.html

And here is a link to the last swap, the Nature's Blessing Journal. and another here.

And here are some journals that I have bound the same way I will be doing for this Nature's Blessing Journal swap:

1- http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2013/05/a-book-of-enchantments.html

2- http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2013/02/at-the-valentine-journal-workshop-and-some-free-images.html

3- http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2011/01/if-dorothy-was-a-scrap-booker.html

These books shown below are a different theme, but show some ideas on how to finish the pages so that they can be used by the new owner of the book.

Please fully decorate about half the pages you send and the other half,leave simple and pretty for the new owner to decorate themselves. Much like some of the examples below.

a On the left- I've covered the cardstock with pretty paper, and added envelopes.

Left- This page has added note paper.

Left- This one has a pocket for notes.

And here is a big selection of plain papers, with borders. Lots of space to use for the new journal owner, but still decorative and creative from the swapper.

Along those same lines, a simple, lined paper with a pretty header.

And this idea is the simplest of them all. Pretty paper, lace trim, left empty for the new owner to add a photo to.

Similar to this, plain paper to add a photo to, and an envelope with a message on the flap.

And again, the same type of look, room to write on, and an envelope to save special things inside.

This heart is a collage made by Lori Oles, I have added it to a page in one of my books, and by only gluing down the sides, not the top, it has become a pocket to hold tidbits.

These pages were done by a student in one of my classes.

Plain, pretty paper on some pages is nice too.

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Here is a detail from the doodle sheet that is similar to the ones included for you to tint.

And this is an example of how I color mine.

Here is an example of a past doodle sheet I've made. It has a fairy tale theme, as you can see. I draw words and designs on an old book page, and it is copied and ready to be colored in with markers.

A nature themed doodle sheet will be included in your book for you to finish as you'd like.

Here is one with a Love theme for Valentine's Day.

A family painting day, and yes, yet another Art Journal

Books, family, paintings

By Karla Nathan / January 26, 2016

Before I set off for Florida sunshine, the family came over to have a painting day in the studio. Miss Tree has a new nephew and her sister wanted a room full of paintings of trees done by her family. And I took advantage of having the paints out to do a little foxy picture for Guncle Randy.

My paints are typically packed away in the cabinet behind my workspace. Easy to get to, though seldom reached for. The times when I do unpack them, I wonder to myself why they aren't always out and ready.

I really do love to paint.

But somehow that gets away from me. I get involved with other things.

Like making books! I adore that too!!!!!!

Why can't studio days be longer? I could just bury myself out there in supplies and never come out. But, there just isn't enough time in the day to do all I want, or my house would crumble around me, my husband would go hungry, and grand fairies would miss out on snuggles.

So, I enjoy what time I do have, and make the most of it. I was happy to mingle the two genres, mixing making an art journal with a little painting.

And with collage. Another love.

Guncle Randy is a fan of foxes, so that is the theme of the book that I made to bring to him. Hopefully, we will have some craft time in his studio and I can watch him create on the pages inside of this book.

And I hope to have another family painting day in the studio to watch the creations filling the room. This is Kia's

And Miss Tree's tree painting got a palm tree with a lyria hanging from it. Kia drew the acrobat for her.

Avahni added the baby's name in stars.

And my son, who is so talented in so many ways, surprised me with yet another skill.

I had no idea he could paint. Nice, huh?

The little girls created piles and piles and piles of dripping, glittery, pink, gloppy painted slips of paper. And smiles. There were plenty of smiles. Too bad I forgot to put a card in my camera that day…

While I was away, my boy started this painting, done with layers of epoxy. It was a nice surprise to see it in the studio, and to know that he is exploring the world of painting. I think he has something going with this. It is a rich, deep shine, between each layer of paint. Hard to photograph, but it is really something pretty cool to see.

And another one…I’m smitten with art journals

Books, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 17, 2016

For such a homebody as I am, I sure travel a lot.

And I do love making art journals. Usually, I take one with me to work on while I'm on my explorations, but this book is a special request for someone else.

I'll just betcha that I start one while away on this trip to Florida…

I'd like to reproduce another page like this one, it is a fave of mine.

And I'd enjoy filling out a page like this. My husband and I love to experience local restaurants and trying new dishes.

While making this book, I came up with a lot of things I'd like to have in a book of my own.

So, don't be surprised to see a somewhat repetitive post coming up someday soon, when I show some replications that I make!

Although, since I use so many one of a kind, unique bits of ephemera, no two pieces that I do will ever be exactly the same. I can recreate the hand written doodly things, though.

And I plan on redoing some of these designs for myself.

A colorful art journal

Books, family

By Karla Nathan / January 14, 2016

Thank you for all of the kind messages about my art journal post. Right now I am away for a bit, spending some time with Guncles, then with Terry. I'll be helping her with a writer's retreat, then exploring Disney with her. She is a long time season ticket holder and knows the parks inside and out. A day with her at the land of the mouse, is a true education in all things Disneyworld. I feel like I get all sorts of insider info on what to and how to explore and do in that magical place so that I know the shortcuts when I take grand fairies there. Plus, Terry is interesting and talented, we never run out of conversation

Since I am gone for a week or so, I thought I'd do some pre-posting. So, please come by to visit here while I am off visiting Florida. If you want to order something from the Boutique or the Etsy shop, it will be mailed on the 23rd.

This is another book that I made. It was for Sugarwing's mamma a while back. She loves sparkly and red, so it is a little different than what I make for myself and I had a good time playing with brighter colors. Although, I did add a pink plastic nurse to the front. It doesn't really match, but she is an RN and I thought it was a nice touch.

She is also a rainbow lover, so I drew a rainbow as background for this photo, and found some colorful trim to embellish the bottom of the page.

This is an all time favorite picture for me. And it was taken on a special day, when we went to the theater together for Xmas '14.

A layout doesn't have to be complicated to look nice. This is just sheet music, two strips of trim, a photo and a ticket stub.

This one is a simple page too. Inked sheet music, a photo, and washi tape.

For this page, I layered wallpaper scraps in colors that went with the sunflower photo, then cut petals from yellow scrapbook paper to create the flower.

The picture is outlined in red, to make it stand out a little bit.

Another, all time favorite photo! Sugarwings twirling her Dorothy skirt in the sunflowers!

Often, I use up little scraps of paper on my desk to make the backgrounds. This is ledger paper, an old page from a fairy tale book, and 2 kinds of washi tape. One photo was cut square, then outlined in the polka dot tape. The other had the person cut out to layer over the first picture.

Nope, I didn't add a silly sticker to her nose, she did that in real life. It was a silly moment.

It is nice to add memories to a page. The quote is from Dewdrop. Ghost and Giggles is a Halloween event we like to attend, and it has stuck in her mind as a fun, but spooky moment. When she wants to tell a dramatic story, it always begins with:

"Once upon ago, Ghost and Giggles ate a child"

There are phrases like that from kids that make up a whole vocabulary for a family, aren't there? And I hate it when they are lost and forgotten, so I like to write them in books to remember years later.

This seems to be an over the top, rainbow explosion of a page, huh? Well, as close as I could get. I think it would have been better to use a colorful ribbon instead of a lace tie on the envelope. Sometimes you look back at what you've made and see things you'd like to change, or do different next time. Oh well, we artists are nothing if not harsh critics of ourselves.

I try not to be. My steps to creating are:

1-use what I love

2-use the GOOD STUFF

3-enjoy what I do

And if I do that, I shouldn't feel too bad about little things that I got wrong, right?

A year in photos through my art journal

Books, celebrations, family, photography, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2016

What better way to look back over the past year than through photos?

I take pictures almost daily, and while many are blogged and I can look back at them that way, I still prefer having books to leaf through and enjoy.

Most of my favorite photos get pasted into one of my art journals. A physical copy of a photo is very meaningful. And I always worry that digital pictures are only a dirty, cruel virus, or a silly mistake away from disappearing forever.

Plus, it just feels good to look through a book of memories.

I include some artwork, and other tidbits. Like the schedule I printed for Birdsong last spring.

And a painting that I'd done years ago and found in the bottom of a drawer. (It is mounted on paper that was dyed when I used it as drainage for some other hand dyed project.)

My books are a little of this, a little of that, and a LOT of grand fairies.

Here, I saved the tiny paintings I made to create the buttons on my blog. Next to it, is Dewdrop, snuggling a kitty both on vintage papers and tied together with ruffled ribbon.

While my books are quite a hodge podge, I do try to have adjoining pages look nice together, either by theme or color.

And I like to have different sized or shaped photos to add.

Sometimes, one photo is all I'll put on a page.

Other times, I'll fill the page up.

Often, I'll add cards that I was given during the year, and have pictures inside the card to see when it is opened up too.

And I'll add danglies, I love danglies. This heart was a "to-from" tag off of a gift given to me by my sissy.

This is the picture inside the card, along with lace and old images.

Sometimes I'll use inks or paints behind the photos. And on this page, is a tag given to me at Birdsong.

On this page, I've cut the people out of the photos.

Here too.

And here.

Doodle pages always add interest.

Throughout the year, I'll toss little items I like into a journal box and save it up for a day when I feel like sitting down to make a page.

Not all pages are elaborate. This is torn pieces of old paper, with two photos on it. I've outlined the pictures with a marker.

But other times, I feel like doing more. Like these branches drawn onto the page and the "hinged" mat. When the mat opens up like a door, the branches are drawn underneath to continue on the full page too.

Some pages are just for fun. But they still hold memories for me.

Not only do I love having these completed books to linger over, and sometimes pass around at family gatherings, I dearly LOVE making them.

And they really are never quite finished. It isn't uncommon to go back and add a little charm or doodad years after the book was supposedly finished!

And they aren't usually chronological, either. This is a picture from the year before that slipped into this book.

The important part of the books I make, is the love that goes into them. Yea, I know very corny. But true. I adore working on them, and have to stop myself from obsessing over making journals.

I thought maybe my New Year's resolution should be to not spend soooo much time doing books, when I should be making things to sell….

Nope.

I'll still have these books to pass down to great grand fairies someday. But if I made something to sell instead, I'd have spent the money on some little token and it would be gone by then.

So, maybe my resolution should be to not beat myself up over the time I take away from work to make books for myself?

These do bring me a lot of joy. And I am such a workaholic, I get plenty of other stuff done too.

Sugarwings has started her own art journal, plus is kind enough to make things for me to add to mine. Maybe I'll resolve to help her get her own journal habit going more this year.

As far as resolutions, those aren't bad. They are probably pretty doable.

I don't take resolutions lightly. The list's improvements for the year ahead are something I think about and try to uphold.

Last year, I worked hard on being more patient, and nicer. I think that helped, and I stayed aware of the issues I had to deal with. By doing that, I think it honestly made a difference in my attitude.

Vowing to enjoy the work in front of me, and not being impatient with myself for making what I want to make instead of what I think I should make, kind of echoes last year's resolutions. It is me being patient with myself, and not annoyed. Last year, I vowed not to get so annoyed with others.

It worked.

And I felt the benefits of it, personally and emotionally. I guess anytime you work on being nicer to others, it comes back to being nicer to yourself too.

I think I'll also resolve not to keep apologizing for other people's perceived notions of what I meant when I said something as opposed to what I really meant.

That is a hard one.

All I can do is explain what I meant, apologize for possibly being misleading, but assure that person that I didn't mean it unkindly.

I can't be sorry for what someone THINKS that I thought if that is NOT what I thought, right?

Sounds simple, but this is a trap I've been caught in.

So, as long as I know my intentions are clear, I can't feel bad about how upset a person gets with me. I will do my best to be a nice guy, if another doesn't see that in me, then….. well, not my problem!

We can only control our own reactions, not other's reactions.

Ooh, that one really is hard.

So, here is my list for 2016:

1- Keep trying to be patient and kind, and be true to my own emotions, do not let others perceived notions effect me if they are not correct. Of course, part two of that means, looking deeply into part one to make sure that I have not been hurtful.

2- Enjoy the work in front of me, whether it is personal, or profitable. This kind of goes along with my life motto of "Use the Good Stuff"- if it is worth my time, it is worth using the best materials. The work is also worth using my best outlook too, right? If I'm going to do it, I'm going to let myself go, and let the guilt go too.

So, 2016 looks like a year with some effort ahead for me.

And some enjoyment.

I hope that your year holds some improvements, surprises, many blessings,and lots of enjoyable, creative moments.

Vacation art journal pages

Books, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 17, 2015

In my last post, I mentioned my journal obsession. I took two with me on my sister trip and worked on them in front of the view of the ocean. One was a family journal, the other was my travel one. I did as much as I could with instant photos, drawings, doodles, and memorabilia while on the trip, and then finished with printed photos of our time there once I got home.

It helps me to do my "doodle pages" while there, for one thing because I like drawing while we sit and talk and watch the waves. For another, it helps me remember funny little things that happen and write them down.

GEEZER ALERT-I'M GOING TO SOUND CRANKY NOW:

"My Pleasure" was a phrase we all decided we liked. While staying at a fancy hotel, we noticed that employees don't use the annoying term, "no problem" when you say thank you to them. They respond, "my pleasure" or even the good old fashioned, "you're welcome." Which I rarely hear anywhere any more.

We went out for lunch one day, a treat from my husband, and we sent him a text to thank him. He responded "my pleasure" not knowing that was just what we had been talking about.

This silly doodle page is from our Great Flamingo Hunt.

At least that is what it was in my mind.

I saw bright pink birds fly across our beach and Bobbie loves flamingos, so we raced outside to get photos. When we got close we were trying to be sneaky, and I imagined hearing Elmer Fudd singsong "Kill the Wabbitt, Kill the Wabbit".

So, I changed it to "Get the Birwdie" and tromped around like Elmer.

I'm afraid the birds were spoonbills, not flamingos, but it was still a fun hunt.

On every sister trip, I find a photo to turn use as a fairy picture.

This one of Sissy at Venice beach hunting shark teeth looked like a good fairy opportunity too.

I wrote the word, "blessings" under the photo of her handful of teeth, because that was what was inscribed on her gold band, and also the day was filled with the blessings of being with my sisses.

An actual tooth was glued to the banner I added.

More teeth and a small shell were glued to an instant photo of the day, I saved the label from a coke I'd bought (Nathan!), and added a picture of one of our matching shirts.

All of it was done over the text of the book page, that I'd dry brushed paint onto. But none of it was planned and it all looked off balance, so I drew in a shark behind it all to tie it together.

My art journals are a mix. I use photos of the trip, scraps of things I've picked up along the way, (brochures, coasters, hotel soap wrappers, tickets, etc), doo dads, charms, flowers, lace, drawings,and some pages are just for fun, like this one.

The book itself is one of the altered book kits I have in the Boutique, including card stock pages printed with old text scanned from vintage horoscope and fortune telling books. They made an interesting background for an October journal.

This little Witchy Girl was in the kit, but I added the shells and some dragonfly wings from one of the ginormus dragonflies that dwelled in the area. They were as large as helicopters.

You might notice that when I scrapbook, I don't care if things are acid free. I doubt if wings plucked from a dead bug would qualify as being archival quality.

Here is an example of using a hotel room coaster in my book. It is simply attached with washi tape on the outside and again on the inside to make a hinge.

(the picture above is doctored up by Bobbie, she changed three of the hags into the three of us)

The coaster opens up to hold a cartoon of three witches that Bobbie brought, and a picture of the three of us as witches too.

Have you seen the rainbow film available at Michaels for instant cameras? It makes for a nice change from the white framed pictures. I thought these colors were pretty with the vintage Florida postcard I'd picked up on one of our antiquing outings. Above that is some coordinating washi tape as a border and an old, ribbon flower wreath as a frame for a cut out picture of Bobbie.

I rubbed a pink ink pad over the edges of the paper to tie in all the soft colors.

A couple more of the rainbow instant pictures went into the last page of the book. The grand fairies posed for me as I was trying out the film.

And Sugarwings made this "bye bye" card for me as a farewell for the trip, so that is what their pictures went into.

Another item I used from the vacation was the tissue paper from a shopping bag, glued down as a background.

This page features photos Bobbie brought of our grandma's trailer on Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota. The old book that I'd brought with me to tear up and use in the journal, had this little story about a sea shell "home" in it and I thought that went along nicely with the trailer pictures.

More things I saved were the key card holder from the Pink Palace, and the wrist band we were given there to use the resort facilities.

Some pictures, I like to cut out the person, other times I like to save the backgrounds. A nice mix is what I go for.

I'd preferred it if the Pink Palace had more PINK goodies for me to use, but on the other hand, the orange and black were perfectly fine considering I was doing a Halloween inspired album, right?

Since I had turned around and went on another trip as soon as I got home from this one, I included both in the same journal.

Especially since both looked great together with the Halloween theme I had going.

Last year's travel journal was similar, I'd gone from a beach vacation with my sisses straight to Vermont for the the Guncles' wedding. (There was no trip home in between for that one, and I can tell you, that the packing wasn't easy for such varied weather!)

We have already booked our condo on Siesta Sands for next year, looks like this Sister Trip is going to become an annual thing. And it looks like I'll be starting a collection of travel books for our visits!

Books with Beth and poor Dorothy

Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, friends, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 30, 2015

Beth and I had a fun craft day together recently. So much fun that I forgot to get out my camera. We redid her booth at the antique mall, made a run to Costco (where I kept mumbling to myself, "we're gonna need a bigger boat car"), then made a couple of books from some great old albums she'd found at an estate sale.

She gave me a lesson in stitching the signatures into the book. But, I had a hard time with trying to be precise with templates, and poked my own holes with a needle. Her book is going to be lined up much better than mine. I always go with the idea of throwing something together "good enough" then hiding any crookedy spots with plenty of lace.

We spent most of the afternoon cutting paper, and sewing it in. She had to help me so much, she didn't get hers put together that day.

It was also a play date for our dogs. Dorothy Rosebud has been in hell since the kittens were born. She never liked the cats at all, but when Pumpkin became a Protective Mama Cat with a Temper, Dorothy's life fell apart. Then, along comes Honey, the big galoot of a puppy who thinks Dorothy makes the most interesting squeaky noises when squeezed.

I've been keeping Dorothy away from Honey, but honestly, I don't even have to try. She keeps herself tucked into hidey holes and darts furtively from one secret spot to another, always on the lookout for attack by kittens, their mom, or the giant dog who adores playing with her.

I thought I'd get her out of the house for the day, and it wasn't until I saw how happy she was at Beth's that I fully realized how terrible she felt at home. All day at Beth's, she was full of energy, happiness, and wiggles. Typical Yorkie behaviour. I'd forgotten just how happy she used to be, because her mood changes were so gradual, I didn't realize how drastic they were.

Now, I'm determined to do something to make her life better. I've seen how she can thrive and have fun again.

It kills me to think of giving her away. Because she is my baby. She is such a snuggler. But with all of the dogs, chickens, cats, and kids, life is too overwhelming for her here. I have to think of what is best for her, and not be selfish about wanting to keep her myself so she can be my teddy bear at night (she likes to be held under my chin when I sleep).

But I think I'd sleep even better knowing that she wasn't living her life in terror when I wasn't holding her. I don't know that I am ready to give up yet, I started to write an ad to find the perfect home for her, but I couldn't go through with it.

Still, I have to think about her, not me. She was injured as a baby, and has a bad leg. Honey grabs it and has re-injured her. Luckily, my son is a massage therapist and can repair the damage (he is MAGIC). That doesn't mean it isn't going to keep happening, though. Being in fear is bad enough, but getting hurt is even worse. Plus, that makes the terror even greater.

It is breaking my heart to see her fade away to a shadow of herself. Seeing her jump with joy and play at Beth's house with her brother, Button, gave me hope that she can have a good life again.

Yes, I know it is all my own fault. I do LOVE animals and wish I could have dozens of them. But it is irresponsible to take on more than I can properly care for. This is a problem I caused myself by filling my house up too much. Dorothy is suffering from my mistakes.

I've let her down, and I have to fix it.

Honey is going to be a great dog, I can see the intelligence and the calm in her eyes. But for now she is a big oaf of a bouncy pup. It will be a while (years???) before that stage has passed.

But in the meantime, Beth and her sweet husband, have offered to let Dorothy stay with them for the month of October. That will give the giant Golden some time to mature, at least a little. Then, I've made an appointment with a dog trainer for private sessions for the two combatants. I'm also keeping Dorothy on a leash or carrying her around, to keep her near me.

This little dog is not going to be allowed to spend her life hiding away. Things have got to change for the better for her! Spending some time with her foster family and her bro is a start.

Book of Mystery and Spells KIT

Books, holiday decor, Tutorials

By Karla Nathan / September 21, 2015

I've made up a few kits for the book class I am doing. I know Halloween is not quite here, but it isn't too early to be getting your punkins in a row and being ready to create for the holiday!

Available on Etsy or in the Boutique

This kit comes with full, hand illustrated instructions, lots of vintagey goodness, and pretties to make your own Book of Mysteries and Spells. I always believe in using the "Good Stuff" and with this book you get some of the "Best Stuff"! Velvet, silk, old millinery, vintage rhinestones. And the tiny crystal gems on the witch's shoes and dress are not the type of crystal you get at a craft store, these are vintage new stock from the 1930s

The Kit Includes:

Complete, illustrated instructions
A hand drawn coloring page over a collage of vintage text
A book cover, painted, reinforced and ready to use
Vintage wallpaper to line the interior covers
Textured, paintable wallpaper for the back of the book
Vintage lace, paper clay, and a spooky eye with clay to make the eye socket, for you to create the front cover (with your own modelling paste)
Photo of two witchy sisters and all of the embellishments you need to foof them up to add to the front of the book, including the elements to make a magic wand and broom
Hand dyed silk ribbon for the closure, and a vintage rhinestone button to add to it
Vintage velvet ribbon and hand dyed velvet ribbon trim for the cover
Hand dyed silk ribbon to tie in the pages
A beautiful, old, millinery rose in white to tie onto the silk along with key and fleur de lis charms, and lace
1 piece of parchment cardstock, 1 black and white, 1 plain, and 7 pages of cardstock printed with scanned pages of an early 1900s fortune telling book
A scrap pack of vintage papers, images, lace, and old millinery to get started on finishing your interior pages

Supplies needed:

Hole punch or cropodile
Modelling paste and something to spread it
Scissors- regular and small for details
Glue (I prefer Crafter’s Pick, the Ultimate, stored upside down in a cup on my desk. Always leave this glue upside down)
Ink pads, brown or black
Brown marker
White opaque ink pen and a metallic pen
Sanding block
Acrylic craft paint (I used white and cream for the book and green for the eye)
Glaze (or you can water down the paint, if you don’t have glaze)
Clear glitter (I like clear, crystal, fine glitter)
Paint brush
Water based clear coat

There are two little witchy sisters on the front, the way I have made the book. You can of course, play around with the kit and change things up, there are plenty of "Good Stuff" supplies to work with.

I am working on kits for standing witchy girls now.

I do have the names picked out for them, that is a great start, right? Rowena, Agatha, Elmira, Leitha, Hazle, and Luna will soon be available as kits for you to make for your own home.

If you think you might want a little witch as well as a book, please go ahead and purchase the book kit, and let me know that you might be interested in the girls too. I'll hold your kit and combine postage after you decide.

Each kit comes with some images to use on the inside pages. Which means, that you can also switch up the witch on the front. Here is an example of the book with Rowena on the front instead. She is holding her magic wand, but I still wanted to add a broom, so I put it across the bottom of the cover.

I also left off the eye this time for a different look. The supplies in the kits can be used in many ways, but I loved the ties and charms on the first book that I did, and repeated them the same way on this 2nd book. Although, with vintage items, usually the end results never look exactly the same

Here are a few of the pages I've added in my own book. Your kit will include scrap packs of goodies for you to work with so that you can start working on the inside of the book too.

As well as softly faded old flowers and plenty of lace to dangle from the pages.

I have one kit available with green eyes, all the rest have clear eyes that you can leave as is, or add paint of any color to the back of.

Art Journalling tips on using markers, metallic ink, and opaque white for coloring pages, doodling, and drawing

Books, drawing, how-to projects, paintings

By Karla Nathan / September 3, 2015

I've been working on a coloring page to add to the Book of Mysteries journal that I'm starting to build kits for (will let you know when those book kits are ready).

When I finish a coloring page, I can't wait to start coloring it in! And it is a good idea to do that, because I find some oddities here and there that might need fixed before sharing it. I also like to have some examples of how the pages look when completed with color, to give other artists an idea of what to do with the blank pages.

Of course, who could stop at just one? These are ADDICTING. I spent all day yesterday drawing, cutting and pasting, then tinting the pages. Here is one in more traditional Halloween colors.

And this one is fall toned.

I thought I'd break down the steps to show you how I layer the markers and pens in case you'd like to make one.

First step? Light colors as an undercoat.

The more layers the better. I used a soft blue with pale purple over the letters on 'Spells'.

Around the word, I painted in a silver glitter, with my favorite new tools, the Stella Wink glitter pen.

Over that, I used a metallic ink in orchid to do a border of dots. Then, I redrew all the black lines, and used an opaque white pen to add some highlights to the letters.

Using the white pen to highlight makes a big difference, see how I've used it on the broom too? Over the pale yellow, I drew some brown lines as shadows, then went over the whole straw area with a darker yellow, and added white highlights over that.

The orchid metallic pen dots on the frame for 'Spells' are repeated on the word 'Hex'. I like to repeat colors or patterns throughout the piece.

The Wink pens have a thin, brush point and pack a lot of sparkle. I did a layer of the copper over the previously laid down bright green on the word 'Dreams'.

A darker green went over the leaves, and the soft blue was lightly used in the background.

With a variety of metallic pens, I accented the word 'Dream' , the yellow banner/swirl/thingy, and the stars.

All of these were re-outlined in black afterwards.

It is smarter to redo the black outlining at the end, so you don't smear it, but I have a bad habit of using it on each area as I work on it, then I have to be really careful with the next step. I'd say do the black last!

I have gone over the soft blue with pale yellow. Here and there, not everywhere, I used a blending pen. The blending pen was used much more heavily over the orange, where I added it along the yellow under 'Signs and Omens.'

Notice that there are some skips, where I don't completely cover the background? Some of the paper shows through. This is an old, watercolor trick, and it adds sparkle to the page. If you cover the page 100%, it can look flat. Those little skips give the page some life.

Over the yellow banner, I then drew on some Gelly Roll Stardust in clear, and rubbed it with my fingertip. I adore that look, it is something my Sissy showed me years ago and I've used it a billion times since then. The Stella Wink pens have a similar look, but don't blend as well, they go on more like paint. I love them both, but if you want just a hint of glimmery shimmer in small spots, you can't beat the Stardust in clear.

Also, using a mix of distress markers, opaque markers, and metallic pens, gives the picture a lot of depth.

For the moon face, I first washed soft blue over the shadow areas with a Tim Holtz distress marker, basically following the drawn lines. I colored in the irises with it too. Then used a dark blue over the top half of the irises. Over the entire face,(avoiding the eyeballs, but covering the eyelids) I used the opaque, white marker. I made a dot with that over the bottom right hand corner of each iris (same spot, both eyes). All of the black was re-outlined, and the pupils were blackened, then with the white opaque pen, I added two little dots to them.

Re-outlining with the black marker makes a giant difference in the completed piece. I usually work with an art marker, but found that going over metallic pens kills an expensive fine point marker, and the best tool is a uniball or plain, old, ink pen.

Little details can give you big pay off. I like the way the black and white check really pops of the the page, but one more step…

Of drawing a line through the center of the checks with the opaque white pen on this page, adds dimension. I did the same with the purple letters.

On this one, I drew the banner/swirl/thingy white and accented it with the clear Stardust pen. The same white opaque marker was used over the purple letters in 'Dream' and over the background colors of soft blue and light blue.

For this raven, I used grey marker, and the Wink marker in silver, outlined it again in black. The beak is two layered yellows, with white highlights. The black,beady eye gets a double dot of white too.

(Notice that I'm not all that careful with my edges? Once the piece is done, I cut it out, that cleans the border up)

These are formatted to print out to fit into the journal I'm designing. One blank page, ready to color, will be in each kit.They will also be available as a digital download so that you can print out and color as many as you'd like. You'll be able to find them in my Etsy shop.

They start like this. I used pages from a 1930s fortune telling book to make the collage underneath the drawing.

You can also find this Snow White coloring page in the Etsy shop too.

I colored this one the same way as the Spells page, using lotsa layers, and a mix of markers, metallic inks, opaque markers and pens, as well as a blending marker. I've recently discovered those and really like them.

For this tree, I used gray distress marker, with brown over it, in most spots, then blended it and added white pen.

Notice that the trees behind it are just light gray? When doing a landscape, please keep in mind that the further away something is, the lighter it looks.

The trees along the horizon are done with very soft pastels, and the foreground is done in brighter colors.

I used the blending marker very heavily on the grass. With big areas, it is important to not have lots of scratchy looking marker lines.

Her eyemakeup is done with the Stella Wink marker, but I think I liked her better without it.

For the black hair, I first colored the waves in blue and purple, then layered with gray. That way, it still has depth and isn't a flat color.

And you can still see the hand drawn lines that make up the waves. The lace is light gray near the neck, with opaque white marker over it, then outlined in black again. The little bird is blue on top, pink on the bottom, white opaque marker over the pink and the line where the two colors meet. That opaque marker is a wonderful way to blend.

These tips are great for any coloring pages, or also for your own doodling or drawing project.

Remember, layer, layer, layer, for a more arty look.

Birdsong FIVE kits for sale

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

By Karla Nathan / June 30, 2015

This is the project led by Lori Oles for Birdsong 5. Delightful, isn't it? And after she left, I found it in my studio, left behind as a surprise gift! All of the teachers trade kits too, so I also have one to make, which I am looking forward to doing. I was a bit busy during her class and didn't get a chance to sit down and work on my own.

I asked Lori and Lesa to make up a few extra kits just in case we needed them, and also to offer to our past Birdsong Peeps and sponsors who couldn't make it for the weekend. Lesa had a few personal orders to fill too, so her kits went really fast.

I have a few more of Lori's if you'd like one for $40, please email me at::

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

While I was kitting up packages, I made ton of extras of my own kits. For one thing, I really love pulling together coordinating elements and packing up pretties for someone to open and enjoy. And I did a LOT of kits for my two classes.

Only one is sold out, I have the others still available.

You can find the Doodling Tips and ideas here.

And everything you need to make this collage page is found here in neutrals.

Here for pinks and here for blues. Please keep in mind that all are going to be unique, since I've filled them with vintage papers and materials.

There are also journal making kits available. With aqua , moss, or chocolate velvet ribbon. Every kit comes with instructions. The journal kits have hand illustrated ones so you have diagrams to look at.

While getting ready for the class, I made lots of examples too. I've got two of the books listed for sale, this one comes with an ephemera pack to finish the pages.

Both are fully constructed and ready for you to finish and fill.

And believe it or not, I ACTUALLY ADDED SOME THINGS TO THE BOUTIQUE!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I had to use all caps, because that was my equivalent of shouting it from the rooftops. I'm so impressed with myself for finally getting around to cleaning up my little online shop. (I'd much rather be impressed with myself for getting this done, than ashamed of myself for the long term neglect up til now, that is better for the soul)

Now, I'm not saying the store is fully stocked, as of yet…

But it is a start!

And you know what? It was fun to do. I'd forgotten how much I liked filling up the pages of goods. So, I've planned to set aside some time every day this week to add a few more things here and there.

I've got a lot of things to market, so I hope I can keep up this momentum. Please check back to see.

Edit- Lori's kits are now sold, but Lesa does have a couple, please contact her here: https://www.facebook.com/lesa.dailey?pnref=story