cottage – Page 14 – Karla's Cottage

The Grandfather Tree is Almost a Table

By Karla Nathan / October 15, 2019

Over a year ago, my husband's favorite tree fell down. He called it the Grandfather Tree because he took the grandfairies for walks in the woods and stopped to tell stories under it.

We found a guy to slice it up, then stored the stack of pieces that weighed hundreds of pounds in our garage where they were very much in the way. When they were starting to dry out a bit, we found a craftsman to haul them off to a kiln and plane them down.

This is Matt, the artist who is creating a table and mantel for us. Here are the final pieces he has to work with. We have a few more, but these were the best.

His shop is full of pieces he is already working on.

And beautiful piles of lumber waiting to be transformed.

I decided to go with the live edges turned inwards, so if I wanted the table to be more traditional looking for a dinner party, I could cover it with a cloth. Matt built a water tight frame, and layed out the wood for me to come by and do a river rock scene down the center. I had lots of semi precious stones, crystals, and polished river stones in neutral tones.

He will pour resin over it all. It will be translucent with a shimmer of pearl. Of course, the black and white material on the back will be gone, so this will be mostly transparent.

The heart is a gemstone and it will be at the head of the table where my husband sits. Under the table, the grandfairies will be woodburning special messages and we will have a list of all the grandfathers who came before us.

Matt is making tapered, square legs from the leftovers of the wood, and I will paint them a distressed white.

This has been over a year in the making, but at this stage, things are moving fast. The resin is poured and the table is ready for the sanding and polishing. I will have it delivered in time for A Snowbird's Song. This will seat about 12, so I will put my existing dining table (that seats 12 also) in to the hearthroom for the party, and will add another table in the living room so everyone will have a place to sit and enjoy their meals.

My watercolor bluebird class for our workshop

bird song art event, cottage, paintings, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / September 14, 2019

Having never taught watercolors before and being extremely overworked, overwrought, and tired, recently- I was worried about this bluebird class.

But I shouldn't have been! The attendees did a wonderful job. I was so proud of them and very impressed. They each got a hand drawn page to paint after we used a big, blank page to get some practice done on.

Everyone's turned out just lovely. And after painting them, they popped the pictures into mini frames to embellish with a rhinestone cluster.

Nora even "branched out" and painted this sweet bluebird.

Honestly, it was one of my favorite classes. I had a wonderful time showing some painting tricks to friends. And it made me wish I had more time to paint. It was a lot of fun.

I'll leave you with some photos of the studio, all spiffed up and ready for company.

By the way, if you would like to see puppy pictures, please check them out here: https://karlascottage.typepad.com/cottage_doodles/

Doing your best and accepting your limits

cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / August 16, 2019

A couple weeks back, I took it upon myself to touch up some peeling paint on the garage. First, I power washed it, and saw that more paint was loose than I had thought….hmm…

No worries, It was still just a small part of the building.

But then I realized the reason it had peeled was that the wrong paint had been used. Not the exterior paint that was on the house itself! Which was a slightly different color and that meant all of the garage and the shed next to it needed redone. Not touched up.

So I power washed and scraped some more, and started priming and painting.

And painting.

Just when I thought I might start crying because it was all so overwhelming, I had a little talking to with myself and changed my attitude.

Painting a building isn’t fun, but life is what you make it, right? This job needed done, and I am dang lucky that I am capable of doing it at my age. I hope I will continue to be doing tough jobs around the farm for as long as possible.

Although, the job would have been easier if I was slightly taller, or less afraid of heights so I could balance on the top of the ladder.

Instead of getting help to finish, I think I will leave this bit at the peak undone as a marker of how strong you can be when you need to be. And how sometimes doing your best is all you can do.

My family is going through some rough patches right now and time up on the ladder was also time to think. And to know that my best and my strength is all I can offer.

Farmhouse style inspired fresh paint- but with glitter!

cottage, redos

By Karla Nathan / July 22, 2019

On my drive to Indiana to see my family, then on to get Dewdrop with a visit at Lori's on the way, I did a little antiquing. It felt good to break up the trip with some stops along the way.

In the middle of Missouri, I saw these curtains but didn't buy them.

On the rest of the trek, they lingered in my mind. I have a thing for barkcloth with roses!

At my pal, Lori's house, I fell in love with her vintage, farmhouse-ish color palette. And I wanted some gray in my home after admiring her use of the color.

So, fingers were crossed that the curtains would still be waiting for me in Missouri, and yep, there they were.

When I got home, I slapped up some of the coveted gray paint (with glitter added), spread some fresh white paint on the ceiling to brighten up the room, and hung the curtains. I thought I would do a major rearranging of the things on the wall, but except for changing out a couple of paintings for some that had roses to match the curtains, I left the configuration of mirrors on the wall as is. They are too handy and useful the way they are. I could have changed it for the sake of changing, but then, the grand fairies wouldn't have mirrors just their heights and I wouldn't be able to tilt the mirrors to see the back of my head.

So, even though these had been hung like this for years, I left them where they were. Why move them if I was enjoying them there?

The glitter is much more prominent in person. I wish it showed up more in the photos. I am loving the soft, subtle shade of gray and its flash of sparkle.

More from our cottage gardens

cottage, dogs, flowers

By Karla Nathan / June 19, 2019

I tend to junk up my yard and home with old stuff.

And that makes me happy!

May Showers Bring June Flowers?

cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers

By Karla Nathan / June 16, 2019

Quite a bit of May and into June, it rained.

And rained.

Then rained some more.

I dug some trenches to have the water run away from the house in a few places, but this river was created by the dogs running back and forth to bark at people walking on the other side of the fence. I needed to dig out a tunnel under the fence for it to drain, and then, this raging river became ideal for redirecting the water away from our home.

But just imagine the mud we have had to deal with from all of the dog’s hard work in crafting this trail!

We are so lucky it has only been mud. So many places are flooded or damaged by the tornados.

I hate to even admit this, but the rain hasn’t been all bad at the cottage. We seem to have decent run off, and haven’t had problems with it, once the torrents streaming across the yard subside and drain away.

We have been gifted with lush, overflowing flower beds as an after effect.

Our yard has never been better.

We have also put a ton of work into trimming, planting, and cleaning up too.

And my studio redo made me so happy that I wanted some changes outside too. This swing got a fresh coat of paint, and moved from the big yard that has been taken over by Honey and Sugar, to a cozy spot where it is getting used again.

This corner got a big refresh, I added two rose bushes, a viburnum, some other shrub (whose name I have forgotten), and ten bags of mulch.

I also planted this little perennial that will bloom in pink. My husband said that we should support a local farm/nursery that had tornado damage. He loaded up his chainsaw and gator to spend an afternoon cleaning up there, then picked me up to go shop at their garden center.

We have always loved that farm, in the fall it is a pumpkin patch and we have had many happy memories of tiny grand fairies playing there.

If buying a few pots and flats of plants could help them out, I was in. We even bought a few for our son’s home.

I am very proud of my handsome husband for volunteering his time. He is a nice guy to not only go to help but to also suggest supporting their business.

Around the cottage

cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / May 4, 2019

It seems like I take a lot of pictures.

I simply cannot resist capturing special moments.

This person seems to show up in many of them….

See what I mean?

There are also many, many, random photos from around the cottage.

Family pictures make it to the art journals, and many pics end up on FB or Instagram. Sometimes they fall through the cracks and never hit the blog.

But here they are now, with a made up theme to put them all together in one post.

The Last Foof of February

cottage, paintings

By Karla Nathan / March 3, 2019

Well, it’s almost Spring, and in the meantime, while waiting for flowers to bloom and save me from the horrors of winter, I’ve surrounded myself with flowers indoors.

Besides a tiny bit of online shopping for the quilt and shams in previous posts, most of my “rosy-up the house” make overs have been switcheroos from one area to another. Or digging things from cabinets to bring out and reuse.

These roses are some that I painted years ago, and the tiny framed pieces had been on a shelf in another room.

There is a new piece here. My BFF, Beth, gifted me with a folding mirror for Christmas. It has a gorgeous picture on the front, and I’ve sat it up on the cabinet top, nestled behind some greenery.

This cabinet top got shuffled around and I added some projects made in classes over the years. They are sat in front of a watercolor I’d done ages upon ages ago, but will never be tired of.

There are always happy memories tied up in the decor when I can incorporate pieces from past art events!

Ps- These are all paintings that I have done myself. The watercolor marker tricks I will be sharing at A Song of Spring are meant for art journaling, or smaller projects. But the techniques behind them are universal. Learning the basics for cute doodles can be the start to learning how to paint something to hang over your mantel.

details for the class are here:

https://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/2019/03/a-song-of-spring-sign-ups-are-open.html

Another February Foof, small change to beat mid-winter drearies

cottage

By Karla Nathan / February 25, 2019

A while back, one of my old, wallpaper covered cabinets apart. This one was meant for shoes, it had slanted shelves with a bar on them that held the heels in place. The outer shell became a case to stack paper in, out in the studio. And I saved the shelf pieces, knowing they were too pretty to toss.

Now, they are picture holders.

I’d hoped that bar would be enough to lean a small frame on, but it wasn’t. I had to add a nail above it to hang to pictures on for stability. But they still rest on the little bar.

This picture is a vintage metal coaster with a circle of wallpaper and a diecut centered in it. I glued the ribbon onto the back.

This frame has been stashed away forever, waiting for me to find just the right place for it. It is wonderfully gaudy, isn’t it?

While the wallpaper is a different tone than the sofa pillows, I’m still happy with the rosy-ness of it all. The Euro shams are from Pottery Barn, and meant to be used as bedding. They were on deep clearance, and I thought they were just what I needed to spruce up the couch.

I like to have an assortment of pillow cases and shams to change the look of my room. The couch has a loose pillow back, and one large seat cushion. Sometimes I slip the seat into a duvet cover and tuck the excess underneath. Sometimes, I sew (blech!) covers.

I purchased the matching duvet in king size, on sale for $58. (Pretty cheap for that much material!) It’s too much to use the duvet with all of the pillows on the sofa at the same time. But there is so much fabric to it, that I can cut it up to make seat covers for the recliners and still have plenty for the seat of the couch.

Then, I’ll spread the pillows around the room and break up the pattern with some plain pillows.

But that involved more work than I was interested in doing for a quick changeover. Slipping on some fresh shams and hanging pictures was plenty for this February!

The bargain fabric is packed away til I get the nagging need for another change up.

More February Foofing, another small change

cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers)

By Karla Nathan / February 22, 2019

When I bought new recliners for the living room, I opened a Pottery Barn charge card that gave me cash back to spend in the store.

Pottery Barn isn’t my typical shopping venue. I’m pretty cheap on the frugal side, and usually go for second hand or discount stores. But those chairs, were the exact perfect pieces, because I do not care for recliners, but they are all my husband wants.

These were ideal, cottage seats that secretly reclined.

So, I splurged.

And happily poured through the online catalog, planning my bonus purchase.

When isaw this quilt, in colors that would warm up a drab February, I knew it was just right for my room.

First of all- roses and birds?

With old fashioned, faded looking squares?

Yep, perfect! I’m a sucker for cottage quilts, my mom was a quilter, and I’ve got a soft spot for them. Plus, I like the way they feel, layered on my bed.

It came in the mail the same day that my Sissy sent this robe to me as a gift. I felt like I was meant to be wrapped in those warm, rich, flowery tones when I found both boxes on the front step in the middle of that awful, polar vortex of cold that had settled over much of the Midwest.

They both made me feel pretty happy, and knocked the mid-winter blues away.