celebrations – Page 34 – Karla's Cottage

A NON-virtual Blogger’s Tea Party in the Garden

By Karla Nathan / June 11, 2008

We had a sweet little Blogger’s Tea Party in my garden yesterday in honor of Becca who was driving across Kansas and stopped to visit.

Since her blog is called "bluebirds and roses" I used that theme in my table decor. See the blue bird nesting in the etched glass compote with chocolate eggs?

I decorated bottles to give out as party favors, and used lots of roses and birds on the labels that I made.

This is Becca, myself, and Marilyn. It is so nice to meet blog friends in person, I have never been disappointed when I do.

Since it was mid afternoon, I kept the refreshments light, mostly snacks and goodies.

Instead of sitting down around the table, we pulled up chairs to the patio table and took our plates outside to enjoy one of the loveliest days of the whole season. What luck, to have a garden party on such a pretty day.

Especially when so many people across the country are battling terrible weather conditions.

My pal, Barb in Wisconsin is really having a stretch of bad luck, with family health problems, and now floods on top of it. I am sending her a package of crafty goods to create with, because her craft room flooded and she lost so much. With all the bad stuff going on, I knew that she could use a break from it all to be creative and rest her mind from her worries a bit.

I don’t like to take my good luck for granted, days like this should be appreciated because not everyone ends up like this. Not only the weather, but the friends who came by to visit, plus the fact that I am lucky enough to have a great life where I am able to take a sunny day and turn it into a porch party.

Becca made a "Twinkle" stuffed dog for Sugarwings, who loves presents more than anything. She is at that age where she thinks that everything is for her anyway.

Isn’t this just the cutest? Thanks, Becca!!

And thanks to Beth, Carla, Marylin, and Shawn for coming out to party on the porch with me and meet Becca.

Carol is also a Kansas City area blogger, but couldn’t make it yesterday to the garden party.

I needed to interview her for the article I am writing for Fifi for Romantic Country. So, we went junking in St. Joe, MO for the day, and then at the very end of the trip, we did a 3 minute interview in the parking lot!

I’ll have to email some more questions to her as they come up, but this was a great excuse to get out and play while pretending to work!

I might have bought a few hats today…….. I don’t know how many. I don’t want to know. But look at these!! Doesn’t the green one look like a mossy nest? It has birds and butterflies in it too.

And that pin cushion doll looks like she might have some fairy wings in her future if she hangs around me for very long.

And see the beautiful blue spread??? Twenty bucks and exactly what I was looking for to redo my bedroom!

It is vintage-ish, kind of older, but not old-old. And in perfect shape, plus the exact blue I wanted. On the way home, I bought two gallons of paint to match it to repaint the walls.

I am going to STOP myself from painting quite yet. It is hard. Very hard. Every cell in my body is telling me to stay up all night and paint the room. I have little elves dancing on my shoulder and whispering in my ear, "open the can, dip in your brush!! It will be sooooo pretty"

But- now that I am 50, maybe I have developed a bit of common sense and discipline??? I need to photograph all the cards for my Great Aunt’s 100th birthday and get that flickr site filled! Plus count them up and draw a prize winner. Or a few prize winners from all the kind people who made a card for her. I also have a mural to do on a business downtown and a commision paint job for a freind. So, no new wall color for me till I get my work done. I have to have my priories straight.

That painting job will be waiting for me as a reward for getting my work done. How is that for a grown up attitude?? Oh, but first, one more junking day, tomorrow is Beth’s birthday party, and we have a day out!

A Fairy Tea Party for some little Friends

celebrations, fairies, Food and Drink, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 21, 2008

Tuesday was Fairy Tea Party Day at my cottage. A little friend came by to visit on my birthday and asked if she could come and stay and play in Sugarwing’s room sometime, she was so cute, I thought she might enjoy coming over for a girly tea party.

Little girls seem to love my house. They are the ones who really "get it" and don’t think it is too much like a lot of people do!

Little girls, like my little buddy, Adeline Grace, definitely don’t think it is too much!

I placed a vintage hat by each place setting and told the guests to take a seat by the hat they wanted to wear.

Even the moms were good sports and indulged me by wearing a floral hat.

Sugarwings chose a hat to match her blue, blue eyes.

She had more fun stirring sugar into her (caffeine free) fruit tea than drinking it. So I let her add a LOT of sugar to the teacup.

Isn’t that what Grammies are for?

My niece, Shelli, gave me some pretty little picks with crystals on them that were just perfect for this party. I rolled a tiny ham slice around a sweet pickle and stuck the pick through that, a little tomato, and a black olive (to wear on our fingertips).

I wanted all the food to be fairy sized, so I made the brownies in cupcake papers.

I realized afterward that the reason I never see brownies as cupcakes is because the paper is pretty much permanent. So, I peeled it off , along with half the brownie, flipped the treat over and iced the bottom to cover the mess.

I served them on rose patterned butter pat plates.

I used teapots to hold flowers picked from my garden and layered lots of old tablecloths, runners, and doilies on the table for spring time color.

At each place setting, there was a child’s toy teacup with a single pansy in it and a vintage pixie next to that.

While out garage sailing on Saturday, I got this box of toy tea stuff, along with the 10 butter pats in a box for $2. Perfect timing, I think the tiny tea cups were just right to add to the table!

Sugarwings just woke from her nap, and was surprised by the party. Since the food was ready, she only had time to slip into her wings and a hat, no party dress for her this time.

I put on my favorite floral gauzy dress that I have been wearing for about 20 years now. Luckily, it is a loose dress and ties in the back to give an illusion of still having a waistline all these years later.

The looseness comes in handy, since that ever expanding waistline takes up more space than it did when I bought the dress.

Adeline Grace had me paint a picture of Twinkle as a fairy on her cheek, and I added a pink butterfly to mine.

Painting backwards in a mirror is tricky, so when I paint my own face, I always do something simple, like a butterfly since it looks the same pretty much from back to front.

Don’t forget that I have TWO giveaways going right now, and that every comment enters you in both drawings. Click on the Cottage Charm button in my side bar to go to the list of other cottagey style blogs participating in that giveaway too.

I know I’ll be entering them!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, give away, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / May 6, 2008

Thanks so much for all your birthday well wishes!! I even got cards in the mail from blog readers and friends, how sweet is that???

My pal, Jen, baked this carrot cake and brought it over as a surprise. And by the way, it is even tastier than it looks.

She has a way with baked goods that is not quite human, we think she has some sort of magical powers with butter and sugar. Whenever there is an event of any kind, everyone begs for a "Jen Cake".

The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful for my 50th birthday, and I got to spend the day doing things I love best, working in the garden and flower beds, taking a relaxing nap, playing with Sugarwings, then having a special family dinner topped off by Jen Cake.

Sugarwing’s Daddy slow smoked a prime rib roast all day with cherry and persimmon woods and we had a pot of roasted veggies (including fresh asparagus from my garden) along with it. Luckily I started the first day of my next 50 years by going to the gym in the morning!

My special day was just that, extra special. And the celebration goes on, I have a coffee with friends this week, and a party on Sat. night. Also, my buddy, Beth, is letting me paint her antique mall booth for her (how kind of her).

Actually, we’ll have a fun day hanging out and playing decorator with all of her junk, then meeting up with Amy Barickman of Vintage Workshop about some design ideas.

In the meantime, here are a few necklaces for the winner of my Birthday Giveaway to chose from.

Oops, you want to know who won, don’t you?

Nancy

(Nancy, if you don’t care for a necklace, I can send you a bracelet or earrings instead.)

Thanks to all of you who entered by leaving a comment. All the comments count toward the May Giveaway prize too.

I will be adding to the goodies that go out in May, already there is a white leather Brighton coin purse and a gold band from the flea market in the prize pack. Maybe some millinery flowers?? And more! May is my favorite month of the year and I just have to share my happiness with everyone!! Leave a comment, any post all month to enter.

As soon as I list a couple pieces of jewelry on Etsy, Sugarwings, Twinkle and I are going to go and plant a few more flowers. I have to get outside and enjoy that gorgeous May weather.

Is it a SMALL world? Or a GIANT blogosphere!?

antiques/junking, celebrations, Food and Drink, Moving to DC, parties, Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / April 26, 2008

How weird is this???

While I am here in Virginia, I spent a free afternoon in Leesburg to shop and check out The Cottage, a store I’d heard about but never been to, its about 30 minutes from our apartment.

While I was chatting with the co-owner, Ann, Pam walked in and she recognized me. Behind her was Debbie Shue who was in town from NY to teach classes at the scrapbook store where Pam works.

Now, what are the odds that we would run into each other? Pam and Debbie both went to Silver Bella last year, and I know them through that and through blogs. (sorry about the blurry picture, but also, what are the odds that we take dozens of photos and none of the ones with all of us are any good?)

I am from Kansas, Debbie is from New York, none of us were staying in Leesburg, we just all decided to go to a store there at the same time.

If I had stopped for lunch first, or if they had gone to Lucketts before The Cottage, we’d never have met up.

Lucky that we did! Not only was this a cute and cottagey shop that I fell in love with and had a great time browsing through (I’ll post my beautiful bargain finds later), Pam, Debbie, and their pal, Kitty, invited me to hang out with them for the day.

We spent quite a while in The Cottage, and all found fun things to purchase. We visited with Ann, who was nice as could be and seemed to enjoy the coincidence of our meeting as much as we did.

Istn’t this store so pretty? I could have just moved into any of these cozy displays she has set up.

After the Cottage, the three gals asked me to go to lunch with them, and on to some other antiquing.

While out shopping, I came across some of the prettiest hats I’d ever seen, with tons of dainty flowers on each. But- they were a LOT more expensive than what I usually buy. ($15- $28, but LOADED with blossoms)

I decided that the rule about not spending more than $7 on a hat doesn’t apply on vacation or during my birthday week.

Not only did I find a new store I absolutely love and 3 flowery hats that I couldn’t resist, I had a fun day full of laughs, shopping, and lunch, PLUS, Debbie was able to squeeze me into the class she was teaching the next day.

And my new pal, Kitty offered to lend me supplies, since I didn’t have any with me.

I thought I was borrowing scissors and glue, but she showed up with the fullest, most professional scrapbboking kit I’d ever seen. It was a joy just to poke through it all.

Shopping, crafting, great food, fun people, romantic dinners with my husband, I may never go back to Kansas! I love it here!!

My husband surprised me with one of the fanciest schmanciest dinners ever at a private dining club. The Tower Club at Tyson’s Corner.

The service there is so outstanding and detailed, they even had our name on the mints at our place settings!

We were greeted with complimentary champagne for my birthday. I had the Maryland crab appetizer (you just have to order that when you are in this part of the country) and as gourmet-licious as the whole dinner was, my favorite part of the meal was the white chocolate and lemon surprise birthday cake.

"Happy Birthday" was written in dark chocolate on a sheet of white chocolate and the whole cake was covered in curled bits of the white.

A tray of tiny desserts came out with the coffee along with a goodie assortment of coffee mix-ins. Orange peels, cinnamon sticks, real whipped cream and shaved cocoa.

I was so impressed, I almost couldn’t eat it, it was just too lovely. But I did.

I have the BEST husband.

Last night, dinner on the 17th floor with a view over looking the capitol, tonight dinner at Piedmont Country Club with this view out the window. Yep, not a bad kickoff to my birthday week.

I don’t think turning 50 years old is looking too bad at all. I have a pretty lucky life! I am looking forward to the next 50, I plan on living as long and as well as my Great Aunt Caroline that you are all making cards for!

Count down to the big birthday bash, but Oh-Oh, what bash?????

antiques/junking, celebrations, Etsy Goodies, parties, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / April 18, 2008

Once again, I got very little done today. Sugarwings and I snuck out for lunch and a trip to the nature center to look at snakes and fishies.

Before I left, I did make a few tags, I wanted to try something new, I kind of made a big collage sheet, glued tags to the back of it and cut them out, so that they were parts of a crazy quilt type pattern.

The first step was to print my Vintage Workshop images for the swap Beth and I are co-hosting, after editing them in sepia tones.

Since I use an ink jet printer, I always spray my copies with matt finish clear coat before I work with them, so the ink doesn’t run.

I made multiple copies of the same images in various sizes and cut off the white edges so they wouldn’t show in the collage.

Here is my collage sheet, everything is glued to one of the wallpaper patterns printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

And if you think my odd collection of tags that I glued to the back is kind of unusual, you are right.

I save all tags that come on stuff I buy, and cover them in paper. Yep, there is a tag from a garden trowel, a file box, and a pair of jeans, among typical shipping tags.

After they are glued into place, I cut around them with an exacto knife.

This was a pretty quick process, I did a whole passel of tags in one swoop!

After cutting them out, I darkened the edges with a walnut ink pad, and started to embellish the tags with millinery flowers, crystals, velvet ribbons, jewels, and some complimentary wallpaper.

Beth had shown me some brown and blue things she was working on and I loved it so much, I wanted to try to keep my palette simple, with just these colors too.

This one is done with the same collections of images, but printed in color instead of sepia. I’ve really had a good time with the printer and changing settings to try new tricks.

If you want to play with Vintage Workshop images too, you can join our swap. Everyone gets the pictures from the 3 collections we are working with for the Birds and Bonnets screes, plus one free download of your choice for signing up!

Did I mention there were also lots of prizes? I’ll be giving out some of these tags, there are purses, and gift certificates, and who knows what all we’ll be giving away. We like presents!

Join up fast, the clock is ticking!!

Here is what the backs of the tags look like. Some were done with the left over patch work pieces cut to fit, others are of a single pattern. Mostly, I was using what ever scraps were on the table.

The blue velvet is from the bow on an old hat.

I stopped to visit a friend’s shop today after taking the fairy grand baby home, and look at the goodies I found! For $24 I bought these photos, 4 rolls of old ribbon, and a bagful of blooms!

And these are perfect blossoms, I love working with the tiny ones.

Since I had way too much ribbon (well, honestly I have to admit that it does happen, I keep buying more than I will ever use!)- I made up some packets of it to sell on Etsy.

I listed 5 of them, if you are interested.

I made one more stop at an antique shop where I had a fascinating discussion about flocked wallpaper with the store owner. He thinks he knows where he can score some for me.

I feel like an addict with a new dealer.

He sold me this grab bag of jewels for $12, as a "taste". I’ll be going back, I can’t stop myself.

Yesterday’s post was my 300th and I didn’t even realize it! Blogging has become such an everyday part of my life, I don’t even notice the landmarks anymore.

Another landmark coming up for me is my 50th birthday. I am throwing myself a party, but have no details yet. I should have planned it sooner.

It will be a hectic week, I have to pick my husband up at the airport, go to the best flea market in the area, participate in an art show, have a family birthday celebration and throw a big party for myself too.

I’ve been making calls to various places to figure out where I want to have the party, because I just don’t think I want to try to fit in cleaning my house to the rest of that schedule.

I’d like to do something special and unique, but the fact that I forgot to plan anything till 2 weeks before, kind of puts a dent into that idea.

Here are some suggestions from Beth for the event. Do you have any ideas?

Ps- most of these are private jokes, that probably won’t even make any sense to you, but hey, it is my birthday and they entertained me, so I am showing them!!!

Chuck E Cheese
Skateland
Cruise the Kaw
Rent Saturday Night Fever
Build a Bear party at the mall
Dairy Queen
Rent a red convertible
BBQ party catered by Vermont St BBQ
kegger & a bonfire
grown up sophisticated cocktail party
party with ballon animal man
rent a stretch hummer and party while cruising the Flint Hills
antiquing in Texas
OK, antiquing in Sparks
all you can eat desserts at Andres
call yourself queen for a day and make everyone curtsy before you
glamour shots
paint ball party
Outward Bound experience (don’t invite me!)
ask Padma and Tom if the Top Chef crew can cater your party
fly to Paris on the Concorde
change your name to Karkie
ok, just change your blog name to Karkie
rent an inflatable bounce house for a party
do whatever Oprah did- I think she devoted a whole magazine to it
have a party and make everyone wear bunny ears
put you business card in 500 helium balloons with a message that tells the finders that if they comment on your blog, you’ll enter there name in a drawing
start training for a triathlon
rent a chocolate fountain
paint your house pink
OK, just help your friend paint her booth
square dancing party in your barn—oops, too late
snipe all the good wallpaper auctions ending about 10 days before your birthday, so you get a butt load of wallpaper on your birthday
Weiner roast with marshmallows

I Heart Lawrence, KS

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / April 5, 2008

Sunshine! Wow, I had almost forgotten what it felt like. What a long and rough winter we’ve had. I don’t think it is quite done with us yet, but I am taking advantage of today’s nice weather and planting some pansies.

There was no way I was going to wait any longer. The grocery store has their pansies out on the sidewalk and I can’t pass by them to go in for a gallon of milk and a case of Coke Vanilla Zero without stopping to daydream about warm weather.

Then, Target had garden tools with pink handles in thier Dollar Spot. How could I resist?

Pansies are pretty hardy, they should do well. And their little faces sure do brighten my own every time I walk by them planted by my front door.

Yesterday was delightful also. I went downtown (Lawrence, KS has a lively, active and entertaining downtown area with lots going on) and we went to visit one of the big Jayhawks that I painted and mosaic-ed with another artist a couple years back.

I could possibly be the only person in this entire town who isn’t planning on watching the big KU game tonight. The downtown atmosphere was pulsing with excitement.

I may not be a basketball fan, but I do love my town and know how important the game is to it.

My husband is a HUGE fan, and is in DC right now, so I bought Sugarwings a KU shirt (pink, of course) and took some photos to send to him before the game.

When I got the pictures back, she was so cute, I had to make some scrap book pages.

As a non-typical fan, I couldn’t just do a sporty page. I used vintage wallpaper, some old sheet music (one song about basketball, the other about the state flower of Kansas, the sunflower).

And since I am a lazy scrap booker, I made a pocket on one page to put multiple photos into, instead of trying to think up ideas for using all of them on the pages.

I used KU colors, of red, blue and yellow, but had to do it in flowers and ribbon.

When I make scrapbook pages, I tend to not worry too much about making it perfect. Edges are a bit crooked and things aren’t lined up exact. Mostly, I just want to get the photos into the book and get something attractive on the pages with them.

If I worried too much about it, I’d never get them in the books, and having fun memories in the albums is the main goal.

And anyway, that baby is so cute, no one notices what I do to the page, people who look at albums are more interested in the pictures of her, and the backgrounds are just that- backgrounds.

I’m off to enjoy more of this pretty day and walk out in our woods with the dogs. Of course, that means I will probably be picking cockle burrs off of them this evening but hey, I wasn’t planning on watching the big game on TV tonight anyway!

Bling your Birdhouse Day, or “What do your LOVE about your Birdie’s home?”

celebrations, Etsy Goodies, how-to projects, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 11, 2008

The dates are set for our upcoming party! It will be self-linking and self swapping.

Beth and I will co-hostess the day and hope you can all join us. If you aren’t a crafter and don’t have a hand decorated birdhouse to share, feel free to show pictures of a favorite birdhouse in your home or gardens.

The mini birdhouses I have used are 99 cents at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Wooden, or paper, or chipboard, they have a lot to chose from for under $3.

I’ve enjoyed hosting "What do you LOVE about your home?" and "What do you love about your Holiday Home?". Now for spring, I thought that "What do you love about your Birdie’s Home?" would be a welcome party.

Beth will makde up this button, feel free to post it on your site if you want to participate.

And, as promised, here are the dates and the information about the events. Hope to see you and all your feathered friends there!

Celebrate Spring with Beth and Karla for their

“Bling your Birdhouse” Challenge!

(Other wise known as “What do you LOVE about your birdie’s home?”)

This is a SELF-linking and SELF-swapping challenge.

Show photos on your blog of a birdhouse you have embellished, in any way your artistic heart desires. If you aren’t an artist, you can share pictures of your favorite bird’s happy home.

Leave a comment with Beth or Karla (or both) on THURSDAY MARCH 27TH. Both artists will be showing their own blingy birdhouses that day. This is where the “self linking” comes in. Make sure that your URL is in the comment so everyone can come to visit and admire your birdie’s home after reading your comment.

If you want to buy/sell/or trade your creation with another artist, make sure you include that info in your post. This is where the “self swapping” comes in. If you are up for a swap, want to sell the house, or simply want to keep and enjoy it yourself, let everyone know.

Want some help with ideas for birdhouse décor? Bling kits will be for sale at Karla’s Etsy Shop and at Beth’s too. They will be filled with fun vintage touches to make your bird’s abode something really special.

And for a tutorial before the big day, join Karla on her blog Monday February 25TH. She’ll take you through the steps on a couple of different birdhouse styles. Also check out Beth’s blog posting HERE for photos of a Shabby Chic neighborhood she has designed for her feathered friends.

Sweet Treats and Roses plus a Sweet Invitation

celebrations, fairies, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 14, 2008

Have you ever had a project that almost defeats you? Beth was asking on a post the other day, if you :

1-gave up on a piece that was going badly

2-set it aside and got back to it later with a fresh eye

3-do as Tim Gun says and "make it work"

I am a "make it work" type. I don’t give up, but on the other hand, I also normally work pretty fast and don’t dwell on any one piece too much.

This one, my recipe page for our Sweet Treats and Roses Recipe Swap just about did me in today!

The problem was trying to copy it. Since I used 3D items it wouldn’t scan well and most photos I took of it made huge shadows.

I must have photographed it 200 times or more, trying to get a copy where you could actually read the recipe! This is as good as I’ll get it, I guess. I should have used a larger font, that might have helped.

I’ve emailed this image of it to the UPS Store, they have a 19 cent color copy special right now. Which helps if you are making 42! (actually 21, with two per page)

I got a few covers for the recipe books done today, but not as many as I would have liked, since my recipe ate up most of the day and I refused to let it beat me down!

One of our swappers, Sarah Huckman, included some pretty scraps and bits and pieces for Beth and I to play with when she sent in her pages. I used some of them on this one, over the back ground of vintage wallpaper.

This one includes a great old, floral playing card that Beth gave me to use (sorry about the glare, but after hours of trying to get a good picture of the recipe, I was willing to let this one go as is!).

The Victorian scrap art bird was from Beth too. The bird is wearing a crystal heart necklace attached with a millinery flower.

There is another of those pretty playing cards on this one. Beth left a few for me and I plan on using them all, I love the way they work on these covers.

The pink rhinestones are actually a pair of earrings, that I cut the back off of. My darling niece, JoRenda (yes, that is really her name, it was taken from a fairy tale about JoRenda and JoRingle. We are glad our JoJo wasn’t a twin, because you know what her twin would be named! Which might be a bit much, if there were two of them, but JoRenda is the perfect name for this girl and it suits her.)

Where was I? Oh, yes, JoRenda gave me a big bag of prom style crystal and rhinestone jewelry that had been on clearance at Claires. I have been chopping it up and gluing it like crazy. Sparkly things to glue on stuff?? How sweet of her, I am thrilled with it.

This is my favorite cover so far, I am in love with this pink and brown flocked wallpaper. I only had a little piece of it, and it was just enough to make two covers. I hope the person who gets this appreciates old wallpapers as much as I do and understands the sacrifice of using this stuff instead of hoarding it!

Oh-oh, more glare on this one too. I used up my entire quotient of editing patience today on the recipe page. Sorry.

This one is pretty simple, I used the old, pretty paper with just the added heart made of German text and another wallpaper. Then, I drew vines and leaves all over the background in gold ink.

I might add some rhinestones and crystals. But I do like the simplicity of this one.

I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked, due to the copy problems and the fact that I had to go shoe shopping.

And not only just regular shoes, I need SANDALS for a trip I am going on. That isn’t easy to find in Kansas in January. Especially when my feet are shaped like Fred Flintstone’s. That limits my choices.

I don’t enjoy shoe shopping and tend to wear shoes until they fall apart, because they are so hard to replace. I can usually find something in the little girl’s department, my feet are short and fat. But I am going to a ritzy place and think that child’s shoes won’t be appropriate. I need glamor! I need big girl shoes!! I need -oh no- high heels!! I have to wear a dress too. This will be hard for me too. Did I mention that I had Barney Rubble legs to go with the Fred feet?

We are going to Palm Springs and it is with the new company my husband works for, so I can’t show up with kid’s sneakers on with jeans.

Ironically, I was invited to a Romantic Homes launch party for their new book, Vintage Vavoom, next week in California! How often does a Midwesterner just happen to be in CA?? I was really tempted to go to this, since I will (hopefully) own a new pair of shoes and a DRESS. But, the timing wasn’t quite right, plus, going to a country club and spa will be enough of a stretch for me for one week.

It would be interesting though, wouldn’t it??

Oh, Fudge!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, give away, holiday decor, Moving to DC, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 10, 2007

It’s almost time for our "What do you LOVE about your holiday home?" party!

I’ll do my post later Tuesday evening and start linking up as comments come in.

Please remember that you have to leave a comment on THAT post, the Holiday Home party, or I will miss you and won’t link.

And what have I decided to send as a prize? Well here is one of them, this great book, Crowns & Tiaras. I’ll have more party door prizes for guests that day too.

I will have separate drawings for bloggers who participate and for readers who leave comments about what they love about their holiday homes too. I just want to make sure some one from each group gets a prize.

Here is one little tidbit I love about my own holiday home. This welcoming pink glow in the breezeway, where I have wrapped pink lights around an iron garden topiary frame and set it into a wicker plant stand. People get an idea of what to expect from the rest of my house when they are greeted by this!

And there is more to love around here, my dorkies of course. All cozied up by the wood stove on a fluffy pillow staying warm while an ice storm rages outside.

The weather makes it a perfect night to stay in and make holiday candy. I am a fudge creator. I make tons of fudge each year to give away. Beth claims that my fudge is the reason she had to join the gym

I make the short cut, simple to do, nothing to it variety, always perfect, and quick. All it consists of is melting a bag of chips into a can of sweetened condensed milk and then beating it till it is fluffy and pouring it into a pan. Best, creamiest fudge ever. And everyone thinks you slaved over it. Oops, my friends won’t think that anymore, will they? My secret is out. I’m bad with secrets, you can tell by the way I run on and on, I tend to blabber about everything.

I bought these ceramic pans at a garage sale this summer for 25 cents each, never used, still in packages from the store! They are oven and freezer safe, and I will fill them with fudge and wrap them up pretty and give them to friends this year.

So, tonight, I make 14 batches of fudge. I have to have plenty to give away and to feed the family when I host lots of holiday get togethers! I have a 6’4" nephew who is a size 28 waist and can really pack away the peanut butter chocolate fudge. He’ll get a batch all of his own.

Yesterday I showed the 3 slate tables I bought for our Eastern apartment, but didn’t show why I got them.

The tables are to remind my husband of our home here, they match this floor in our entry way.

I laid this tile myself. I don’t know how to use a wet saw (and am afraid of those anyway, I nicked a knuckle on a power saw once and still get the heebie jeebies thinking that I could have lost my right hand!)

Since I couldn’t cut the pieces, I made a mosaic with small stones and 4" tiles throughout the 12" tiles. It really was pretty easy to do, except for the kink in my back from crouching on the floor so long.

I also did some of the trim in this area- it is barn wood we tore out of our 100 year old barn that couldn’t be saved. (That is how I caught my knuckle on the power saw. ) I sure prefer less dangerous projects like painting, or gluing wallpaper!

Twinkle just can’t understand why she shouldn’t be in every photo, so I just humor her.

This snowman tree is from Paula Kay’s home. She was a door prize winner at our last party and sent me a photo of the tree she created this year.

I am really looking forward to our party tomorrow. If you’d like to take a peek at the last one we had, it is here: http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2007/09/what-do-you-lov.html

Here is a photo of something my neice loves about her holiday home- Baby, her cat peeking out of the tree. Twinkle just wishes she could do that with ours.

Hope to see you all Wednesday!

Big changes

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, jewelry, paintings

By Karla Nathan / December 5, 2007

I think I am done. I might not be, but I think I have all my hand made Christmas items listed on Etsy. I don’t even know how many I listed!

All I know, is that I took a LOT of photos and did a ton of editing and wrote and wrote and wrote descriptions.

I’m afraid most of my backgrounds are all the same, not as interesting as I usually try to make them, but this was a 3 day marathon event!!

I wanted to get all these up on the Etsy site before we went to DC tomorrow, so people could have time to shop for holiday items. Anything sold this week will go into the mail on Monday after I get back.

In between the listing today, I took time to look at apartments online.

Yep, we aren’t just going to DC to visit, we are apartment hunting! Rich has taken a new job that will have him based there, for at least a year.

I was so afraid we’d have to move!!! We are really lucky that it worked out so that we can live there part time and Kansas part time. Actually, my husband will go back and forth a lot more than I will.

How on Earth could we have sold our cottage and left Sugarwings to go live in some big city???? I would have just died to have to leave our wonderful, happy life here behind.

So it is my sweet husband who is making the sacrifice and living way out there, far from Sugarwings. And you can tell how he dotes on her from this photo, it won’t be easy for him to be away for a week or so at a time.

The new company will let him have an office at home for part of the month, and he will spend a lot of time racking up frequent flyer miles.

I think I have mentioned over and over in this blog, how lucky I am. I should spend time in casinos, I really do have a good luck streak going these last few years.

It won’t be easy to have two homes and to be apart that much, but it is a great job that he deserves and we will make it all work.

I’ll still get to have my studio so I can make all of these fun things to list on Etsy. And we’ll still be around for our kids, friends, nieces, nephews, and fairy grand baby. Oh and the garden and Dorkies!!

I’ve been promised a laptop so I can write my blog from way out East and I also plan to take along water colors so I can paint there, at the dining table.

Knowing me, I’ll probably get ten times as much work done in my Kansas studio than I do now, since he will be away so much!

People ask me how I can manage to get so much done- well, I am just really, really fast. And I don’t have a day job, this is it. I get to make pretties all the time!

Didn’t I say I was lucky???

I’ve never liked the name I chose for my blog, I should change it to "lucky me" or something like that. Of course, that could be cursing myself and about then, I’d break a leg or something.

I haven’t always been lucky. There have been major tragedies in my life, lots of ups and downs. That just makes these good times even better.

I’ve been really poor, I’ve broken my back and had years of chronic pain, I almost lost my sweet son to meth addiction and had to fight to get him back.

So, I don’t mean to sound like a Pollyanna, I honestly have many reasons to be thrilled with my life right now and to enjoy every moment to the fullest.

Sometimes you have to wrangle all the happiness you can get out of the world and hold onto it tightly.

I’ll be away until Sunday, and will come back with photos from the trip. See you then!

In the meantime, don’t forget about the party coming up on Wednesday next week. Invite all your readers and any other bloggers you think would enjoy it.

I will have drawings and prizes and will be sure to set some goodies aside for non-bloggers who leave us comments about their own holiday decor as well as other bloggers who link up for the party.