Chandeliers – Karla's Cottage

Not just a new floor, a whole new look and organizational system in the studio

Chandeliers, collections, cottage, studio tour, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / September 22, 2023

I have officially moved back into the finished studio!

And I adore each and every little nook and corner.

Not only is the new wall color calming and serene, the new floor warm and easy on the feet, the area seems so much more spacious.

Mostly, it is the same stuff rearranged into a more peaceful set up. Previously, my computer area was a dark, crowded hole because I wanted it out of sight. Now it is laid out so that everything is attractive and still workable.

Inventory for the antique mall had taken over the room. Now, I’ll be (hopefully) containing it in this corner, behind screens and pretty doors.

The lighting has had some big changes. My workspace is now in front of the window, which helps a lot. I’d had stacked furniture for good juju there and it had completely blocked any sunlight from streaming in, so that stuff is now located in the back corner storage area that doesn’t even have a window to block.

All of the table lamps’ and chadies’ lightbulbs have been switched out to clear, white, daylight LED bulbs. Which means I have an boxful of mismatched off white and soft white bulbs that I won’t be using. At my age, I need all of the clear, clean light I can get.

My son added two chandeliers on hooks above my work zone. I covered the cords in branches and floral vines.

I was able to gather all of the wallpaper cabinets together for a bigger statement. And they are convenient, right behind my rolling chair so I can glide over and grab supplies out of the drawers.

Rolls of wallpaper are no longer in the big cabinet once used for treats and storage. That giant piece is now in my breezeway, filled with outdoor cushions that I used to have to stash here, there, and everywhere.

The wallpaper is divided into five different containers and (sorta, but not quite yet) separated by color or style.

Pretty curtains that had been jammed into drawers, now are folded up behind glass so I can enjoy them.

Mt main goal was to find the very best options for all of the stuff that had taken over, and store it away into an intentional way. Labeled, or plainly in view. Because I tend to lose or forget I had things.

A place for everything and everything in its place!

Most of the cabinets are filled with functional supplies. But I did indulge a bit with just pretties. The one on the left holds my scrapbooks.

And my hutch still has a few collections behind the glass doors.

Although, about a third of the hutch is now used for supplies, not just pretties.

I’ll show you more details in my next post for now, I want to go and play in my new studio.

I spend a lot more time on these things than I probably should

antiques/junking, Chandeliers, Good JuJu, hand painted signs

By Karla Nathan / August 20, 2023

For the September sale at Good Juju’s First Friday weekend, I conjured up some witch’s hats to hang in my entry. They are hung with black chandeliers and the frames I already had up there.

The frames help give the giant, up high slice of my real estate some more “umph”. I think the hats would just disappear with out the frames behind them.

When I plan such things, I need to remind myself just how big this area is. Previously, I hung some teensy birdcages which was a complete waste of time. These witch hats teeter on the edge of time wasting too, I shoulda made them larger.

For the August event, I finally made a sign with my name on it, but once I had the hats dangling, it didn’t look right.

So I replaced it with this fall wreath that I’d picked up for a buck. That seemed to go with the rest of the look much better.

My first inclination was to write the word “haunted” on a piece of paper and tape it above Cottage. I thought it would be funny.

But honestly, I just don’t like the sign itself. My writing is a mess and makes the sign look amateurish. I need to rethink and redo the words before I rehang.

The “KarlaNathan.com” was left up there, the black and white simplicity of it seemed to go well with the rest of the design. But I do want a nicer Karla’s Cottage to add, so back to work.

Sometimes I wonder at my choices for how I spend my time. Does this even matter?

Oops

Chandeliers, collections, Good JuJu, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / March 22, 2023

Maybe you remember a few posts back, where I said I should be slapped for even thinking I might need more space at the mall?

Welp, I went for it anyway.

I keep telling myself it is only 3×3’, not a big deal. And it is only for my jewelry, vintage, handmade, and new silver.

Was it a good idea? Who the heck knows. I might be, well I probably am crazy to take on more.

I was excited about the whole decorating aspect of it and happy to have a reason to steal the awning from our chicken coop. But did I really need a second spot at the mall?

As if that generous dollop of insanity wasn’t enough, lookee here. I’m also making bath products to sell there.

A Gnats and Brats Wicked Weekend

Chandeliers, cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / October 27, 2013

While my sisses were visiting, we had a couple of big days out. We saw Gravity in the 3D Imax (wow), shopped, shopped, and shopped a bit more…

…had a last minute idea to go see Wicked, and were able to get three of the last seats available for opening night. (not the best seats, but we enjoyed the play. Bobbie was the only one who hadn't seen it before, too bad we were so high up, she still hasn't really seen it)…

Sissy brought us all matching bittersweet orange scarves to wear and we were proud to look like triplets all weekend.

…and we ate way, way too much good food. I think the best meal was at the Nicklaus Golf Club. My husband was working there that day and we met him for lunch. Their food is always yummerific.

For the rest of the time Bobbie Sue and Sissy were here, I had the little grand fairies to care for, so our adventures had to include the girls.

Beth came by and joined us for a craft day.

Which was nice, because I hardly ever get to spend time with her any more.

And we had a Renfest day with both girls and our Hippy Chick.

But a lot of the time, was just hanging out around the kitchen table. Drinking coffee, talking, and swatting gnats. I had a trap made for the gnats, by filling a glass with an orange segment, covered in vinegar, with Saran Wrap over it. Then, I used a toothpick to punch holes in the wrap, so that gnats could get into the cup. They are attracted to the scents, and get in through the holes, but can't smell their way back out again. It works pretty well, but we had way too many flying beasts for this to catch them all.

With little girls running around under foot and bugs buzzing our heads, I started calling this our Gnats and Brats Weekend.

I finally told my sisters that I wasn't going to treat them like company any more and I hung up a fly strip from the chandelier. (classy)

And the fly strip wasn't getting all the pests either. I put the vinegar trap under the fly strip, so the smell would draw them in, and then the ones that didn't go into the cup would get caught on the strip. To get them closer to the strip, I had to stack a kid's chair on the island with a salad spinner on top of it.

I'd thought about using a crystal bowl upside down instead of a salad spinner, thinking that would look nicer, then I realized that nothing would make this look nicer.

This was a nasty, bug encrusted fly trap in the middle of my kitchen.

It reminded me of the time I was reminiscing with two very dear, old friends. We were talking about how far we'd come in our lives from our Trailer Trash roots. (my sister hates it when I say I'm trailer trash, because she thinks Mom and Dad would spin in their graves to hear it, both worked hard to provide a good home for us. But the truth is, long after Sissy grew up and moved out, I lived in a trailer with Mom, and after that, I kind of lived in a succession of one trailer after another for a few years)

But back to my friends….

We had grown up together, and supported each other through our parents' divorces, and had all had some rough times that we faced together.

So, we were congratulating ourselves on leaving the land of trailer parks behind, and being proud of each other for living in homes without wheels now. (I've lived in a total of 5 mobile homes myself, and was lucky to have a roof over my head and wheels under my feet at the time)

And then, Sandy said, "Wait, Debbie lived in a really nice double wide, does that still count?" (Sandy and I had some crappy trailers to our name)

And we all burst out laughing, remembering how much nicer Debbie's trailer was than ours, but still knowing that yes, a trailer is a trailer.

As I was planning my gnat entrapment, and trying to dress it up, I figured you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. A fly trap is every bit as ucky hanging from a chandy as it is from a bare bulb. A double wide is a trailer, even if it is a nice trailer.

And you can take the girl out of the trailer, but you can't take the trailer out of the girl. I'm glad I had years of poverty in my past, years that taught me to appreciate what I have, years that taught me to scrounge, save, and be creative, look for deals, do it myself. Years that make me a practical person who knows that gnats are better stuck to goo than dive bombing your company.

Prairie fairyland classes and pretty scenery

celebrations, Chandeliers, Once upon a dream, parties, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 2, 2011

I wish I could teach more often. Its a blast. Of course, I am a bit of a ham, and I talk too much, so its wonderful to have a trapped crowd listening to me…Actually, its just plain old FUN to do. When I make something, my brain works in How-To Steps as I go. Its natural for me to break down the process of creating something.

I find myself telling people steps of something when they give me a compliment, which is silly, most people don't care, they are just saying something nice about it. I can see their eyes glaze over when I go into too much detail, so its nice to have people who really do want to know how something is made.

The class I taught for Jenn was a mini "workshopette" for opening night, so I only had an hour. I needed to package it up so that it was easy to assemble. It seemed to be just the right timing, the ladies had time to finish and come up to the supply table to embellish with glitters and mica flakes too.

I had felt like it was so simple I didn't need written instructions, but then started to freak out and worry that maybe I was wrong. And yes I was. So, I'm glad I scribbled out some in the bar the night before. The front desk printed them out for me and I was glad to have them for the class.

One of my favorite things about the class was seeing all the variations people made on the prize ribbon. Individuality is important to me and I made sure no two kits were exactly alike, but the fairy ladies took them even a step further to make each unique.

Amy mentioned that she would love to make hers into a magic wand and wished she had a stick. I suggested gluing two glue sticks together and wrapping them with paper. It turned out really cute!

If you'd like to make your own, I had some materials left over to make a limited amount of extra kits. They can be found for $11 each in the Boutique

The projects at the event were all such fun! This is Dee's and she provided cool images to use.

Mine ended up a bit different. I wanted to use one of my mushrooms that I made for the centerpieces. It still needs a little sumthin sumthin… maybe small prize ribbon rosettes on each side, in neutral colors?

This is my chandy from Natasha's class. There were a few changes on mine too, I had strands of rhinestones with me and wanted to use those instead of the beading she gave us in the kit. I also wrapped the wire in tulle and lace.

Then, I added a few dangles.

Well, durn, I don't have a photo of Andrea's lovely necklace kit. She packed up the best stuff to make the bracelet/necklace. Lots of semi precious beads, that really made it special. If you know Andrea, you know she has exquisite taste. (Plus she is sensitive, sweet, kind hearted, and beautiful)

My pal, Tiffany, taught about taking better photos, and I learned a LOT from her. She fixed the settings on my camera and I didn't even know they were wrong.

My roomie, Lori, had a fun class too. I didn't get to sit down and make it yet, because I was walking around and helping with it. Her kits were packaged really special, and I do have mine to make later.

On our welcome night classes, the acoustics were a bit off, so all the teachers pitched in and walked around to help, since we couldn't be heard as easily as we'd hoped. Their help made the classes a success. I was sure glad to see them all come to my aid!

Suzanne was another roomie, and is always a delight to spend time with. We also got to share a table on work day.

Our buddie, Kana was at our table too. She was our 4th roommate. I've never shared a room 4 ways for an event like this, but it does make it even more fun. Twice the giggles late at night than you get with just one roomie.

And three people to tell me to stop snoring. They said I was a polite snore-er and would stop when told. Suzanne taught everyone that if they snap their fingers I roll over and shut up. Its a good trick. I felt like I should have gotten treats for it, though.

I've heard that if you pin a tennis ball to the back of your jammies, you won't roll onto your back, and I snore only on my back. But I didn't have a tennis ball, we had raquet balls, and golf balls. One was too soft, one was too small, but I tried putting both into a sock and pinning it to the back of my sleep shirt.

The trouble was, the sock was too long and it swung around and whacked me in the face, and did no good at keeping me off my back. I was actually more comfortable on my back, with the sock-o-balls on my shoulder, and I would dream it was little Agnes Rosebud nestled up on my shoulder as I slept.

The details at each place setting were as wonderful as everything else Jenn does.

She didn't miss any opportunity to make even the smallest detail into something special. This is the seating chart!

Our table was the "Water Sprites" which of course reminded me of my little Sugarwings who thinks she is a mermaid.

Jenn had wonderful photo ops set up for us, this wall of frames was sooooo pretty. And so is Valerie (wearing one of the crowns I made)

This vintage angel was a great spot to pose too. Doesn't Natasha look like an angel herself too? Well, while she is nice as can be, she is also far from angelic, that girl is full of fire, is stunningly funny, and always ready with a great story. But she sure pulls off the angel look!

It was great to see old friends, make new ones, and play dress up while surrounded by such stunning scenery. I'm honored that Jenn asked me to teach, it meant a great deal to me to be part of this one of a kind event.

Thanks, Jenn for everything you did to make us all feel like pampered princesses right out of a fairy tale for this enchanted weekend

When the heck is Easter anyway?

celebrations, Chandeliers, collections, flowers, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / April 19, 2011

My Easter decor has been up way too long, already. And when is Easter even coming? Its late this year, and I got all geared up for it way too early, back in March.

Mid March even.

Every year, I'm excited to pull out the fluffy bunnies and pastel pretties to welcome Spring. Its kind of a spring cleaning ritual for me, and I like to decorate my chandelier for the season, as I wipe down the crystals on it.

Its always a fresh, clean, exciting feeling to have all the decorations out, but this year, I think it was a bit soon for all this fluff and I'm tired of it before the bunny has even come to hide his eggs.

Most of it is stuff I love, and more springlike than Easterish.

Usually I use my springy decor for the whole season, and just add the vintage bunnies, lambs, chicks, etc to it for the holiday itself. But I guess I didn't realize I was more than a month early for all the bunnies and their pals, and added the pastel guys way too soon.

Why is it that I adore having Christmas decorations up for as long as possible but not Easter? And last fall I had pumpkins (white glittered ones) every where for months and loved it. I never got tired of either.

But I'm ready to rip the ears right off the rabbits by now.

Yet, at this point, I need to just ride it out. Easter is finally just around the corner.

Plus, Sugarwings loves it all so much. She wouldn't like seeing Grammie go postal on the holiday decor.

One thing I really am enjoying is Picnik's "bunny tone" editing tool. Pretty, huh? I loved this photo of Sugarwings and my handsome husband, but it was blurry and dark. Using Picnik turned it into a keeper.

I have a feeling that when I get to fill Sugarwing's basket and hide her eggs, that my Easter Joy will return. But for right now, its a struggle to not gag when I see a china lamb.

Maybe I need some Cadbury eggs therapy. Nothing like an infusion of that elusive, annual treat to make a person appreciate Easter time!

Please pardon me for not visiting with you. I'm busy as an early bird chasing worms trying to get ready for my Birdsong art workshop coming up.

a little makeover, a little procrastinating, a lot of snow hating

Chandeliers, hand painted candelabras, how to's, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / April 1, 2011

Winter simply must go.

And I mean it.

We've been getting some very nice days, then it all goes wonky and snow comes again. And I just can't take any more cold. I'm done, I quit. Either Kansas warms up and stays that way, or I am leaving.

Before it snowed this week, while the weather was pretending to let Spring come, I picked a handful of the daffodils blooming in my yard so I could have a bright bit of Spring time on my windowsill.

That helps, well a little bit.

I'm so glad that I have my blog friend weekend to cheer me up and make me feel spring-y since the weather isn't doing it for me!

Another thing that helps lighten my mood when I am feeling grey and gloomy, is to lighten up something else. A friend gave me a pair of these lamps, and I liked the lines, but disliked the color. So, to cheer myself up, I made them a bit cheerier.

I followed the short cut steps that I like to use (on my side bar, in the tutorials, "How to paint a chandelier") and gave the lamps a spray coat of (bonding) primer.

Then, I added silver glaze over the primer, using a stiff brush and a stippling technique. That is where you dip the brush in the glaze, then dab the brush against a paper towel to take some off, and then pounce the brush onto the object you are painting. I use a really cheap brush when I do this, since it beats the crap out of it.

This is a technique that you don't want to try to do perfectly. The only thing you really need to watch out for, is that the crevices and cracks and low parts get filled in good. (its also pretty to use two colors, a slightly darker one over the first after it dries, but I was too impatient and didn't do a second color)

When it was dry, I sealed it with a clear coat.

Over the long, candle stick portion of the lamp base, I added a strip of paper taken from a really old sewing magazine. It was simple and quick, I just ran a bead of glue all around the edge of the backside of the paper, and then stuck it on. I didn't even measure just right, I wrapped it around, so that the excess just went halfway around the pole again.

The page I used was a little crumbly on the edge and I liked that, so I left a bit of a ragged edge. You can't really tell from the photos tho, its more to the backside of this image, but you can see just a little bit of the torn edge to the right.

The lampshades got left as is. I thought I wanted something lighter and lacier, but once the lamps were painted, I kind of liked the contrast. Especially after pinning on an old, white velvet flower.

Did you notice that I blurred out the backgrounds? I just about had to, my studio is the pits right now.

See what I mean? But, it will be all spiffed and ready for my blog friend weekend soon. (this post was written earlier in the week, and scheduled to post over the weekend while I'm off playing with my friends. Lets HOPE the room looks a little better for them!)

But,if I don't stop getting side tracked by little projects like redoing a lamp, the chances of the room getting cleaned up could be slim to none.

Or if I spend time digging through old magazines looking for pictures. Now, that is a real waste of time. But talking about pouncing glaze reminded me of this show house I painted in years ago. It was a Victorian house, and had great textured wallpaper all up the grand staircase and through the hall.

I painted in all the colorful details of birds, flowers, and sunsets on the paper, then stippled over it in bronze and cream glaze. This photo was in Better Homes and Garden Paint Decor. I'd forgotten all about this article, and just had to go and dig it up. Instead of cleaning the studio.

Okay, enough procrastinating. I'm really going to tackle the room now.

ps- Today is Silver Bella sign up. For various reasons, I won't be going this year,(one being sticker shock at the price!! Others I won't go into) That event was always so special to me, but I haven't talked to a single person that I know who will be going this year. Of course, I made all those friends at that event, and would probably meet more wonderful people there if I did go.

Are you going?

Lighting

Chandeliers, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), paintings, parties, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / January 17, 2010

Remember the rugs I want from Curious Sofa? I am still jone-sing for those, but right now, they aren't available in the size I need for the kitchen. My house is big, but my rooms are small, in the old part of the house. And this is AFTER removing some walls!

I found these plain bamboo mats at Old Time Pottery for under $25 each. They are far, far, far from the quality of the ones at Curious Sofa. Those have wider, more solid planks of bamboo, more floor like than this. These are pretty light weight, and are a temporary solution for me.

To foof them up a bit, I drew on them with a brown Sharpie marker. It was an easy, quick project to do, I just sat on the floor and doodled away while Sugarwings and Twinkle played with toys next to me.

The reason I love the bamboo rugs for my kitchen to start with, is that they are low maintenance. If something spills, or mud gets tracked in, just sweep and mop them, and its a speedy clean up. But, I don't have to worry about as much filth showing (and with 3 dogs, a 3 year old, and a lot of grown men in living in this country house, there is plenty of filth!) because they are darker than the horrid light colored tiles we have.

By the way, if you are ever tempted to install cream colored flooring, just whack yourself over the head with one of the tiles instead. DO NOT give in to impulse!! I regret it daily. No matter how clean my house is, those floors always look bad.

(please don't tell Twinkle that the photo is of the rug, not of her, it would break her heart.)

I'm wishing we'd gone for darker tile, or even a really dark stained pine plank…

Soft lighting helps, though! Last night we had a dinner party, and I made use of all my lamps.

The overhead lights got turned off and I switched on all the smaller lamps and lit candles instead. (this rug still needs some Sharpie doodling) There is something about the soft glow coming from the corners of the room that makes me fall in love with my home all over again.

When we built the cabinets, I had electrical outlets added above them. There is one in the corner cabinet too. In that one, I drilled holes to run an extension cord up through, so I could have a little 25 watt lamp on each shelf.

And of course, you can't beat candle light either. I use this old chandelier with no wiring ($4 at a flea market) and the sockets perfectly fit tea lights. Previously, I used candelabras, till I realized that they are always in the way and block the view of the person across the table.

Tea lights don't drip, and burn for just over 2 hours or so, just right for a relaxed dinner with friends.

The snow still has not melted around here, and I have decided to give up on waiting. So I trudged through it to claim these garden chairs I wanted for the breakfast nook. Much better! The hand painted Victorian chairs are now in the studio, and I think this corner is much less sweet. I loved the chairs, and I loved the curtains, but when I got those great new lace panels, I realized that I needed some juxtaposition, or my house would look like a little old lady lived in it.

Well, I might be getting old, but I hope to not let my house reflect it… Some contrast, and some junk help keep a home whimsical and not fussy.

Inspirations

antiques/junking, Chandeliers, collections

By Karla Nathan / January 14, 2010

When I finally escaped from being trapped at home by the cold spell, I got really lucky on my shopping trips. I'm always looking for millinery flowers, and my hat whispering skills were in fine form this week. Not only did I find old hats, look at this sweet little parasol purse that I found!

Too bad I can't go to Jenn's event in April, it would be the perfect purse to carry there.

And did I mention the hats??? FOURTEEN hats this week, all flowery and vintagey, some nice and velvety.

There were bargains out there waiting for me, the prices ranged from $1- $17, and some are just loaded to the brim (pun) with flowers. I'll be making up some pink, red, and white packs for Valentine's Day. Unless of course, I am too late. I might have missed out on getting supplies to you for Valentine's. I feel like I am never quite caught up… so much that I want to do, no time to do it.

While I was in Kansas City, my pal, Carol, gave me a sneak peek of her farm house, dream house. It was hard to be happy for her, when I was turning so green with envy that I was about to froth at the mouth.

Her new home will be amazing. It already is, but when she adds her special Spinski touches, it will be amazing-er.

And I had mentioned going to Curious Sofa to look for rugs, here is a picture of Debbie's stunning decor. See why I felt like I needed to de-flower my kitchen? Hanging around with Carol and Debbie has made me bump up my style to a more sophisticated palette. These two ladies were certainly an inspiration for my kitchen redo.

Beth too. She has that sepia thing going on too.

This chandelier is in her booth. Notice the NFS tag??? Durn. I'm wanting it.

The whole drive into KC yesterday, was a wet and muddy one from melting snow. But everywhere I went, there were rainbows! (Yes, I was driving and taking photos at the same time, but hey, I was not about to pass up a rainbow photo op!)

On my way to the antique mall, I came across this. Notice the "Income TAX" sign? This place inspires trust, doesn't it? Makes you want to bring your shoe box full of receipts right in and dump it on the plywood desk.

Forget Zero Dollar Decorating, I’m going shopping!!!!!!!!!!!

antiques/junking, Chandeliers, how to's, redos

By Karla Nathan / January 12, 2010

I got out of the house!!! We had quite the heat wave, temps roared up into the low 20s. So, of course, I had to go outside into the world and soak up some of that great weather.

And shop!

My Zero Dollar Decorating is done, I went out spending! First stop? Curious Sofa. Debbie had emailed 20% off coupons with an announcement of big sales. I had been coveting some bamboo rugs she carries, with vintage style script on them. Sadly, there weren't any in the size I needed, but I HAD to spend my coupon, right? You can't let 20% off at Curious Sofa just slip by.

So, I bought the clock in the first photo. It seemed to be just right for the new look in the kitchen. While I was in the neighborhood, I swung by Beth's booth at Mission Road Antique Mall and picked up the clock face (2nd photo). Hmm, looks like the beginning of a theme, to me.

When I saw this Cinderella's carriage, I knew that clocks were the right choice! It was found at my favorite antique mall, the Rusty Chandelier in St. Joe. My friend and I were both needing a good girlfriend day out and we made the most of it. Talking non-stop for about 10 hours, shopping, dining, and shopping some more. There was no one home at either of our houses, and no reason to get back, so we just made a day and an evening out of it.

After being cooped up for so long, it was exactly what I needed to myself back to normal. Sometimes you just need a day out, to talk to another adult who you are not related to, but just love like a sister and have a lot in common with. What would we do without our friends??? Including blogfriends- thank you all, for keeping my company while I was snowbound. If I didn't have your email conversations during this last cold snap, I'd have really gone insane.

Its nice to know that friends are only a keystroke away!

Since I had found my clock theme while out shopping, I decided to add a watch face to a piece of art I made today for the kitchen.

I started with a French ad from an old magazine, and glued a butter pat plate to it, added a millinery bloom and the watch face to the center of that. To the middle, I glued a rhinestone.

Then, I cut a tiny oval of old text and glued it to a charm, and glued a mini cameo to it, and hung it from a crystal. With a punch, I made two holes under the word "Paris" to put a ribbon through, then tied that to the crystal to dangle it.

At the bottom of the page, I pasted a German die cut rose.

It didn't quite look done, so I drew some scrolls and swirls in metallic inks. If I'd planned better, I'd have drawn it first, instead of trying to work around the things I'd already glued down.

After that, I rubbed dark brown ink along the inside of the mat, and popped it all back together. Now, I want to go buy some more shadow boxes and make more! I loved doing a 3-D collage, or is it called an assemblage?

Another purchase yesterday was this crystal ball, bubble night light. While I had the old French papers and glue out, I covered the wooden base of this, and inked the edges.

This frame was from our trip yesterday too. I wanted new accent pieces for the kitchen redo, but just couldn't find what I wanted, so decided to make something.

In this, I used more French text from an old book, that I'd embossed one day when Beth brought over her Cuttlebug.

To make the embossing stand out, I rubbed over it with a bronze ink pad.

In the center, I added a circle punched from the cover of the French magazine, which was a nice brown, then glued velvet petals and a white millinery rose to the circle.

After putting it back together, I fashioned a hanger from ribbons. I tightly tied two ribbons around the frame, then looped another one through them, and hung that one over a hook on the wall.

Here is a view from the far side of the kitchen. A great view of just how crooked the old house is…

After dropping my friend off after our day of shopping, I stopped and got a can of creamy taupe paint to change the walls behind the cabinets by the sink. The inset had been chocolate brown (like the rugs) but it seemed way too dark after my other changes. So, I was painting at midnight last night. It was a quick job though, because Behr now makes a primer/paint combo and it covers like a dream.

(that is a pot of chicken rice soup on the stove, yum, I'm hungry just thinking about it in the kitchen waiting for me!)

Here is the kitchen from the other direction. The wooden piece over the window is also from yesterday's expedition. I got it at Rusty Chandelier's sister store, Jesse James. (Or would Jesse be a brother store? They share a parking lot)

After painting the inset creamy taupe, I had to add some of that color to the faux finish around the other walls. I think I'm done. Well, maybe…. I really would love to find some non-princess chairs for Sugarwing's table.

And I am still planning on bringing in some metal garden chairs for the breakfast nook

if the snow ever melts.

I've got some old alarm clocks that I might take apart to get the faces from, and add some of those to the china cabinet, too.

And I really, really, really want those rugs from Curious Sofa! Either this one, or this one?

Well, maybe I am not done, after all.

Are we ever done? That is what makes it fun!

Here are my totals for what I spent, after I escaped from the house and the Zero Dollar Decorating:

paint- $36

trim over window- $19

frame for flower collage- $2

clock faces- $6

Cinderella's carriage- $29 (big splurge, but SO cool!!)

Clock from Curious Sofa- $48

bubble night light- $15

Fleur de Lis hook for flower collage- $6