cottage – Page 6 – Karla's Cottage

Galentines Day

cottage, Food and Drink, friends, holiday decor, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / April 5, 2022

Since it is almost Easter, how about if I show you pictures from…Valentine’s Day?

Right before our never ending trip, I had friends over for a Galentine bruncheon and farewell for my pal, Karla who was moving away.

I made a photo album for her and painted a Kansas Sunflower on it. Beth printed photos of our times together and we worked on book pages while we hung out.

When I saw these iridescent crystal beads at an antique store, I knew they’d be pretty on some copper chains that I had and that I wanted to make them up as Valentine necklaces for my friends.

And while they did end up ideal for that holiday, I think the pretty pastel color makes them nice for any springtime day. I’ve been wearing mine.

I’ll leave you with some photos of our day and in my next post, I’ll show you my lazy, decor transformation from roses to bunnies.

RV Life is Better When Things are Pretty

cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), redos, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / March 11, 2022

When we first got to Florida, the beach was a little chilly, but since then the weather has been ideal.

And I am so happy that I cozied up the little camper with new linens, paint and curtains.

Dorothy likes it too.

The other dogs like their new bunk bed/kennel that we created for them.

My only issue is in trying to hang the artwork I brought along. Command hooks didn’t support them, even though they are lightweight. I did figure out that a binder clip on the ugly valance will hold a picture over the windows, but I can’t get anything to work on the walls.

I’d also like to get rid of those ugly valances, but that’s another day.

New curtains cover the top bunk, and I ordered cushion covers for the top pillows on the bench. Now, they aren’t exactly my first choice in fabric, but they are what I could get and they are better than just plain dark brown.

This is the door we made to turn the bottom bunk bunk bed into a dog crate. My husband had to do some rebuilding and boosting the opening to make the door fit snugly and securely. I am so glad he did, what a helpful addition to camper life.

One change that was important to me, was covering the inside of the glass doors so that I don’t have to look at all of our stored goods. What a simple fix for something that irritated me every time we used the rv. I cut foam core to fit and wrapped it into the curtain fabric, then attached it to the interior of the windows.

I am much happier without the cluttery view of peanut butter, cracker boxes, and stacks of dishes.

The sea glass blue paint in the bathroom has made a world of difference to me. The previous blah brown wall paper was a downer.

So was the icky brown shower curtain. This one is put together (I wouldn’t call what I do real sewing) from curtains my sister gave to me when she redecorated.

We use the campground bath houses instead of our teensy shower, so I made use of the space by transforming it into a closet. If I do ever need to use it as intended, it’s pretty simple just to move the stuff out again, nothing is permanent.

Because in a 19’ trailer with four dogs, you need to make use of every inch!

The pups can fill the space quickly.

But mostly we are out doors as much as we can be.

Going for walks or running on the beach.

The dogs love the beach as much as I do.

A giant jewelry box

cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / February 28, 2022

Recently I had a mini redo of the bedroom. (It felt like a huge redo, that was a lot of painting, and I keep forgetting that I’m a senior citizen now). Some things were moved around and we had a nice, big open space by the door.

hahahahaha

That open space didn’t last long!

But I don’t think it is over crowded now with this new cabinet there. Plus, I really needed it. Really, really!

I might’ve been a bit rude to Rich when he complained, I told him that his office and the hearth room were both filled with nice and open spaces, he should go enjoy those.

It could be that as I get deeper into my senior years, I get crankier. Plus I feel like I know what I am doing, and have a good concept of design. I knew it would fit just fine. He needed to trust me.

But yes, before it was painted it did seem to take up more space than after I lightened it up.

I chose a few neutral wallpapers to line the interior, and used a French vanilla paint on the rest.

The top half holds my jewelry. I have so many pieces that don’t get worn, because they were packed away in a dark chest. Now that they are out in the open, I’ll bet I wear them more.

These jewelry store display boxes started out black.

I dry brushed them white and added lace across the front before filling and stacking them up. I might make pretty labels too.

The lower shelves have my lacy sweaters, scarves, and tops. I’m thinking that having them where they can be seen will also remind me to wear them more often.

And it might remind me not to buy any more cream colored lace pieces of clothing because apparently I have quite a few.

Genuine gemstone mosaic

cottage, flowers, how to's

By Karla Nathan / February 22, 2022

This mosaic backsplash felt like a huge job, but actually was completed in bits and spurts over the course of a week.

The boards were set out on my table like a jigsaw puzzle that I pieced together whenever I had a spare hour of time.

First, I measured the spot, then I had Masonite cut to fit the area. I drilled holes where I wanted to screw it into the wall, and left those spots blank while adding stones.

Then, I used a sharpie to draw a design that I promptly ignored and started placing stones in posy shapes.

I started with the largest flowers, working out from the center of the board, where the faucet of the sink would be. Then spaced large flowers throughout the Masonite.

Next came medium flowers, then small ones, and finally the darker pearls, petals, and leaves.

The stones are glued down with silicone. After the adhesive dried I brought the mosaic in to see how it was going to look and decide on grout color. I had been proud of myself for having a continuous design in the corner from piece to piece, but didn’t allow for the thickness of the beads.

oops

When I first measured the materials, the boards butted up against each other, now with grout and beads, they don’t. Oh well, caulking fixed the crack, and it doesn’t really bother me too much that the backsplash is about a 1/2” longer than the vanity top.

Grouting was HARD. Really hard, because of the different heights of the stones.

I worked on 6” sections at a time so I could get each bit polished up nice before it dried too hard.

The grout is Bone, and I used a matching caulk to seal the Masonite, trim out the edges, and cover the screw holes. Honestly, I think the flowers would’ve stood out better with a darker grout, more like the color of the board they were on, but I needed it lighter to flow with the rest of the room. And that was important.

Grout can be such a mystery to me. I don’t do enough mosaics to know exactly how the added background color will affect the piece. No matter what color though, it sure makes it look finished and professional. Adding grout to a mosaic is the equivalent of adding mulch to a flower bed. It just makes it look more pulled together.

My sis, Terry, has recently moved and cleared out her craft supplies before going. She gifted me with an amazing stack of jewel filled boxes, that inspired this creation. I had many of the beads myself, but getting her largesse gave me the idea to make a project with it instead of necklaces.

I thought I’d feature a few flowers and use mosaic glass as a background. But once I got going, I loved the gemstones so much, that I made the entire piece with just those. I found bags of real pearls and some other extras at an antique store nearby, and that was just what I needed to complete it. I would hate to know what these gems would cost retail! Terry and I had both shopped wholesale markets and catalogs for the ones we had. Still, this would’ve cost me a pretty penny if I hadn’t been gifted with such pretty beads. Thanks, Terry!

Here is a list of what I used:

labradorite
opal
moonstone
mother of pearl
pearl
larimar
herkimer diamond
quartz
agate
amazonite
topaz
aquamarine
shell
flourite
abilone

A seashell framed mirror

cottage, how to's, redos, Sacred Circus, sea shell fairies

By Karla Nathan / February 5, 2022

After repainting my bedroom, I also moved artwork and mirrors around. This was a mirror that hung in the studio, and it had a carved shell at the top, so it fit in nicely with my beach paintings.

But it was a little blah and a dull tan color.

So I gaudied it up a bit!

I used shells collected on our last vacation, mother of pearl and pearl beads, and Beth gave me a huge box of seashells she’d gotten from an estate sale.

My first move was to lay them out in a pattern to accentuate the carving at the top.

Then removed a few shells and I spread tile adhesive in about 6” areas. Kind of like icing a cake, not the way you’d lay tile on the floor.

It went on nice and thick, so I could smoosh the shells down into it. While it was still wet, I pushed pearls and smaller shells into the adhesive that wasn’t covered by the main shells.

I worked my way around the frame, in those 6” patches at a time.

After it dried, I filled in bare looking spots with the Diamond Glaze and sprinkled crystal quarts chips into it.

It may look like a jumble, but there was a plan. Big shells at the top, then black and gray ones down the sides, starting with darker at the top and going lighter towards the bottom. The very bottom is all cream and white.

I go back and forth, wondering if it is glorious or just too gaudy. But since I do enjoy some over the top foof, I think I like it.

Being cheap but not looking cheap with a redo

cottage, dogs, redos

By Karla Nathan / February 2, 2022

This isn’t exactly a beautiful corner of my home, but it sure is better than it was before!

The ceiling here is two stories, to repaint the walls, I’d need to hire someone with scaffolding- I don’t do heights.

It’s a dark area, so I wanted to keep the paint light but the lower walls were constantly a mess because we stupidly used flat paint on the original job and every mark showed. And I was out of the original paint. It was something I’d mixed myself to save money, I’d bought multiple gallons of oops paint and other clearance paints from the Habitat store, dumped them all into a giant bucket together and sprayed the ceiling and walls with the conglomerated color. So, touching up was a gamble, I tried so many shades of white and never got close.

And to add to the screw up? Yep, it was flat paint and every mark made by every hand that touched the wall waved at me for years.

NEVER USE FLAT PAINT ON STAIRWAY WALLS IF HUMANS (or dogs) GO UP THOSE STAIRS!

Saving money is wonderful. My mistake was in not saving any of that mix to match up later on. And in using a flat sheen. Big oops.

The compromise was to add trim about 4-1/2 feet up, and paint the lower portion to match the room upstairs. This color and sheen will be easier to care for. If I get marks that don’t wipe off, I can open the leftover paint and touch up. And I can easily reach to do the touch up, no ladders would be needed on the stairs.

(Eeeek, a horrid thought! I’m dizzy just contemplating ladders on stairs!)

I am so relieved to have an inexpensive solution to this problem. After doing a big redo, I was ready for a budget friendly fix!

Here is another do it yourself, easy on the wallet fix from when we first built the addition. To save money, I decided to tile the entryway myself. The area was concrete, so no backing was needed.

My issue was that I couldn’t use a saw, or didn’t even have the right kind of saw. So, I bought different sizes of tiles plus those little flat rocks that coordinate with them and put the floor together like a puzzle.

No cutting needed!

We had discussed changing the stairs when laying the new floor upstairs, but the carpet was in good shape and seemed safer than slippery steps. It’s an industrial carpet and held up pretty good on the stairs.

And along the lines of trying to be budget prudent, if it is okay, you do not have to change it.

For now, the wall and door colors in the entry way are from a previous redo and also seem fine. For now. But I’d like to repaint the walls to match the freshly done ones and give that door a pop of color. Maybe like a deep, but grayed down turquoise?

A new look for the office

cottage, dogs, family, paintings, redos

By Karla Nathan / January 24, 2022

We finished the transformation of Rich’s office. Well, almost. We need a different sofa.

And for right now, the little nook that he is using as a computer area is just a board screwed to the wall, not a desk or table.

The rest of the room is all done, and everyone is enjoying the pool/ping pong table.

Most of the workout equipment is in the spot where all of the file cabinets and desks used to be.

The treadmill is behind the seating area, facing the tv, and there is room for an exercise bike next to it.

The walls are freshly painted and patched.

I filled the knotholes in the barn wood window sills with turquoise chips and clear coated the wood. After years of sunshine pouring in, they were cracking and dull.

We added new blinds and lighting, my son replaced the flooring.

The newly framed “ancestor” pictures hang below a sign pulled from the wreckage of the gas station Rich’s grandfather owned.

Some of these family photos were updated and reframed. I still need to get a few others up there. I think I have room for four more, a smaller one on each side of the bottom and top rows.

I have wanted that carpet gone for years, and am very pleased with the new, cleaned up version of the room! All of the hard parts are done, now I get to go furniture shopping for a new couch.

Light and bright white

cottage, dogs, redos

By Karla Nathan / January 22, 2022

While I had all of my painting paraphilia out for redoing my husband’s office, I thought it would be a good time to repaint my bedroom and master bath.

Of course, I had completely forgotten that I am a senior citizen. And that after painting a huge room, stairway, and bathroom, maybe I needed a break?

Less than halfway through the bedroom, I remembered.

Yep, I was exhausted. So, I only repainted the doors, trim, wall, and sink area bathroom cabinet. I didn’t make it around the corner to the master bath.

I am taking a little break from the physical labor!

And enjoying the tranquility I created in that room.

One of the reasons it was so hard, was that I used a very pure white. If I’d softened the color, I’d have gotten better coverage. The pure white wore me down to a nub, it took sooo many touch ups. Plus I had snow blindness from staring at the glaring, blank, white walls, trying to see where skips showed through and guessing if that area needed a touch up or was actually a shadow.

The color isn’t a huge change from the soft gray/blue that was previously on the walls, but it feels like it because everything is so fresh, bright and clean. I think that painting the doors and trim the exact color of the walls (with a different sheen) makes the ceiling stand out, while also giving the room a feeling of being bigger.

The old curtains were tan, as were the doors. Changing those made the biggest difference. And were an inexpensive purchase on Amazon. Man, they have cheap curtains, and it was so easy to get 108” ones, unlike shopping in person!).

With four dogs and ten acres for them to run on, maybe I should’ve painted the entire room the tan color instead of getting rid of it. Soon, there will be muddy marks all around the room from happy, wagging tails slapping everything.

I’ll enjoy the pure white I tried so hard to apply as long as I can.

Keeping the winter woes at bay

cottage

By Karla Nathan / January 19, 2022

After repainting my bedroom and redoing the sink area in it, I decided to switch out bathroom mirrors.

Mostly because midwinter sucks and I needed some entertainment.

I can endlessly entertain myself by moving stuff around to different rooms. Of course, it would probably be even more fun I was buying new things to add instead of recycling my existing junk.

This mirror switcheroo is a good one. My redone sink area is all white now, the doors used to be darker and there were red roses on the vanity. I like the clean lines and pure whites.

This big mirror was fetched from the studio and with it right behind me as I stand at the sink, I can see the back of my head with the folding sides of the white mirror.

The one in the guest bath now, never really went well with the granite countertop in my bedroom. I think it looks better with the white, wooden vanity in the other room.

Little things like fresh flowers and mixing up the crap in the house from one room to another are going to help get me through these cold days.

I am such a winter whimp!

A little dinner party

cottage, friends, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / January 16, 2022

After all of the holiday entertaining, January was feeling a little flat without any. Plus, while we had some gorgeous days here and there, I was busy repainting a couple of rooms and missed going for walks. When it got cold again, I was done with the big jobs, and I really needed to get moving, the city’s activity center was closed due to the shortages of staff that everyone is suffering from now. I couldn’t go for an indoor walk when I was ready to.

So, I was feeling a tad down.

A party was just what I needed to beat the January doldrums!

To be extra festive, I made place cards . Not that I cared where anyone sat, I just thought it would be fun to do.

Rich and Jim are both beekeepers, so theirs got honeybees.

I made a peach pie and marinated grouper fillets that Rich caught in Key West in some Caesar yogurt and breaded them with panko, flour, salt and pepper. Then sautéed the fish in avocado oil and butter.

As I was cooking them, I thought it looked like it needed something more, so I whipped up a lemon, white wine and caper sauce to go over it. My first taste of it puckered my throat, it was so lemony, so I quickly added some chicken broth and milk.

It turned out okay, but for a few minutes I thought my typical, making stuff up on the fly way of cooking might backfire on me, as my friends were eating their salads and waiting for the fish to be ready.

I did screw up the pie. My glass pie pan broke, and I had to use a metal one. I don’t typically time things, I cook til they look done. But I was used to being able to peek through the glass to see if the crust was browned.

It was a bit doughy since I couldn’t visually check it. I might need to become a cookbook/timer person if I keep making mistakes. But I don’t take cooking very seriously, so maybe not.

The evening really was just what I needed, it is hard to feel gloomy with a roomful of best buds!