cottage – Page 8 – Karla's Cottage

Another thing from the flea market dollar table and a $16 mini redo

By Karla Nathan / October 6, 2021

Surprisingly, this oval, floral print was only $1. The frame was beat up, but a coat of paint made it look charmingly beat up instead of just messy.

Sissy had given me her Waverly curtains, and I’d made pillows for the sofa with some, but decided to use those in the breezeway instead and cut up another panel to make curtains in there too.

The oil painting of the girl was a gift from the Guncles, it is vintage and came with a grand frame that I’ll be repurposing.

Aren’t the curtains cozy for fall? Previously, there had been white sheers. These floral ones make the room seem more finished.

The large oval picture is a gift from Sissy too. It had a gold frame, which I changed to white with an umber glaze to fit in more with my stuff. And I am liking the way the new rounded pictures go well with the two smaller ones I already had.

All of the new-to-me pretties in the space made me want to do some fall updates on the exterior too, so I added warmer, autumn tones to my door wreath with about $15 worth of blooms from Michaels.

This wreath gets random, seasonal makeovers by simply switching out flowers. I don’t attach the stems, they are simply poked into the grapevine and stay pretty good. The wreath is in a slightly protected area, and isn’t fully exposed to wind, but some flowers blow a bit loose here and there. No problem, I just tuck them back in again.

My Sissy also gave me this print (the three sisters). I always admired it at her house. She is building a new home and making some changes, and I was lucky to be visiting during the early part of the process and could bring the items home with me.

Very lucky, because I love her style and she has been a major influence on me developing my own sense of design.

You can tell just how pretty the fabric is in this close up. I had enough panels to make curtains around the grand fairies’ bunk beds in the camper too. I am in the middle of a redo of it, and will have more pics when I am done.

A little bit of paint makes for big changes

Corona virus, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture

By Karla Nathan / September 3, 2021

Well, I forgot to get a before photo, but I’m sure you can picture this dresser in brown. Add a scuffed up top to complete the picture and you’ve got it.

Nice lines, solid, and well made, but past its prime.

After using Goo Gone to clean off some mess left behind by stickers, I started with a coat of Michaels’ brand of chalk paint in gray. It dried streaky (one coat is never enough, is it?)

Next, I put white and gray chalk paints together on a plate and dipped a brush in both at once, then started pouncing it on. When dry, I lightly sanded here and there for mild distressing, and topped coated it with Polycrylic satin.

While my paints were out, I covered the old wooden box in the gray, and the hand towel holder in white, and finished both off with the Polycrylic too.

With these pieces, I actually remembered the befores!

This shot is way before, back before I broke off one arm. Dang it. The old metal it is made of, was too pliable. I hope the other arm lasts, this is being used as a mask holder by the door. I feel like hanging up my mask to air it out is better than laying it down.

Well I guess this is a sorta before shot. I caught myself as I started to paint it. This is a perfect little cabinet to keep by the door, the deep drawer holds things that I don’t want cluttering up the top of the dresser.

The two, small containers of paint went a long way, neither is empty. I’m typically not a fan of chalk paint, but it can go quickly for a project since there is no need for a primer and it dries so fast you can rapidly start on your second coat. And if you don’t mess with wax, using a clear coat instead, it is a pretty easy way to go.

And talk about drawers! Wow, this new (old) dresser holds so much, I still have an empty drawer to fill up yet. So far I am using two for dog supplies, leashes, etc, one for clean masks, one for garden gloves, mittens, and winter hats.

Oh, that’s right, I still have TWO to fill.

Yea, I know it isn’t meant to be a kitchen piece, it should be in a bedroom. But it works in this spot so well, that didn’t matter to me. It is exactly what I needed for right here.

A framed stained glass mosaic by Shanna- Thanks, Shan!

cottage, friends, Hearts, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / August 28, 2021

This lovely surprise was created by my good friend and Artist, Shanna Wagner. I love everything she makes, but this one is even more wonderful because it is jam packed with meaning.

I can just picture his reaction, if he’d seen this. He had an appreciation for artwork. And for kind people.

The heart in the center is a fused piece she made in her kiln.

It is surrounded by roses, iris, hydrangeas,

and two bluebirds of happiness!

It was made to fit this antique frame, that is just perfectly wonderful itself.

And it is created to hang either in a window to let the sunlight through, or on a wall, with lights behind it.

Ryan loved red roses and purple iris. Funny, I’d known him forty years before I knew how much he enjoyed flowers. We’d stop to look at them along our walks. There were iris growing by the pond we liked to circle, over and over, and he commented every time when the purple iris were in bloom.

There was so much I learned about my boy in his last few years, I wonder what else I’d have discovered if I had more time with him?

Shan isn’t just generous with her art, she is with her time, home, and materials too. She invites friends into her studio weekly to have a mosaic day. Here is my piece in progress.

I saved the vases that flowers were delivered to us in after Ry Guy died. I hope to cover them all in mosaic glass to use throughout our home and his apartment. And I know that he would have said, “Wow, Mom, that is cool!”

While there is much I will never get to discover about him, I love it that I know enough to hear his voice in my head, picturing what I know he would say to me about something like these mosaics.

The prettiest rock, ever

celebrations, cottage, family, Hearts

By Karla Nathan / August 19, 2021

My last post was about this lazy Susan crafted from sliced geodes, that I felt was an extravagant, but happy purchase. Well, my husband topped that gift that I gave to myself, with a beautiful surprise for our anniversary.

It is the ultimate in heart shaped rocks! A blue crystal geode that seems to have a natural shape that has been enhanced with polishing.

That makes my own heart pitter.

I promptly displayed it with some other special rocks and think it is an ideal addition to my lazy Susan.

This is a quartz crystal heart that I have had for years, but had never noticed the shape until the puppies flipped it over in a flower pot. When they showed me that it was a heart, I brought it in the house where it belongs.

One edge is a little sharp, not softly rounded as it should be, but since it was pointed out to me by dogs, you have to give it some leeway, right? It might not be perfect, but I thanked them for it and forgave them for decimating my flower pot.

And do you see the broken heart outlined with a dark vein in the tall geode? Top right. That one is from an estate sale earlier this summer.

I only gave Rich an Apple Watch for our anniversary and he gave me the prettiest rock I have ever seen. Poor guy, he didn’t get nearly the personal gift that I did.

An indulgence

cottage

By Karla Nathan / August 16, 2021

Not too long ago, I saw this stone lazy Susan at Homegoods and passed it up due to price and the fact that I didn’t really need it.

Well, you can see how that turned out!

It is made of quartz geodes!

After an evening of wishing I’d snapped it up, I rushed back to the store the next morning to find it waiting for me.

Doesn’t it look like it is made for my dining table?

While I might be a thrifty shopper, I am not a stupid one. And for 50 bucks, this was a no brainer, I should not have squabbled with myself over it, that really isn’t so much. Heck, I’ve blown more than that at the renfest, letting the granfairies split geodes.

I’m very happy that I went back for it.

It’s Just Some stuff

Corona virus, cottage, Current Affairs, family

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2021

Having the puppies leave for their new families is rewarding.

No matter how many times I tell myself this, it doesn’t make it any easier, I miss my puppies! A few days after they went off on their new paths, we had family come to visit. That was a welcome distraction.

Especially when they brought their own cute doggies along.

And of course, I still have this pup.

Who looks all grown up with her new haircut.

We have had one problem after another. So many that they are blending into one another, to form one big blob of problematic messiness. But none too big, just an ongoing onslaught.

I tripped and cracked a rib, one puppy got sick, another got slightly injured, but all are okay. I had a three year old washer break, replaced it with a brand new one that didn’t work, was lucky enough to get that one replaced and the newest one floods my laundry room. I wasn’t shopping for the best deal, or certain options on the machines, I was just taking what the store could get and was glad to get one. But man, none of them were working?

Of course during the pandemic, we are used to shortages and I figure that if my biggest issue is having trouble replacing appliances (I am looking at you, 8 month back order on a dishwasher), I am doing okay.

Our hot tub died on us last year, and one turned up to buy last week. It was not the one we wanted, but it was the one we could get. It worked and we were glad to get it.
I started to climb in the other day for a relaxing soak on my achey rib after pulling weeds in the garden, had my shirt half off when I looked up to see a workman in the tower.

He had a bird’s eye view of a grandma starting to strip. Poor guy.

Our hot tub area is typically private, but a couple times a year, some brave soul climbs the tower to work on it. I am not complaining about that either, that tower has been lucrative to us.

Our desk top Mac needed replaced, I was able to get one, not the one I wanted, but one I needed. iPads were in stock, Rich could replace his along with his broken Rigid drill (whose ID number was blurred and the warranty wasn’t honored). We needed a new microwave, tires for my car, three new outdoor and two indoor faucets replaced. Our camper has developed a weird electrical thing and hundreds of dollars later, is still not right. There are more little broken issues, big issues, sad things, annoying things, but I am trying to look at it from the point of view that somehow it works out and we are lucky to afford the repairs, replacements, and to find something in stock somehow to get that done, even with shortages.

Then, our 7 month old truck broke down in Southern Missouri while Rich was camping. The pandemic shortages became hard to ignore when we discovered it could be up to six months to get the part to fix it. And I spent hours on the phone with rental companies trying to find a way to get a truck to the Ozarks to pick up Rich, Honey, and the RV.

Our local dealership came through and loaned us this shiny, blue savior and I drove 6-1/2 hours to fetch them and scoop them up to bring home.

So far, the GM dealer is treating us very well and we hope to get this solved in a way that we don’t miss the rest of boating and camping season by not having a truck for months.

Except for a sick puppy, who is better, and a sore rib which is getting better, it’s all just stuff right? (Expensive stuff, but just stuff) I know that and have been rolling with it as good as I can.

Believe me, I know that I am speaking from privilege and that my life is good, these are minor things. I’m quick to thank and commiserate with the salesmen, clerks, repairmen, and parts people who are dealing with the brunt of not being able to get the things that are needed. My problems are small.

After losing a son, losing a truck doesn’t seem like much.

But, a series of stresses does add up and I felt pretty dang sorry for myself yesterday. My rib hurt, I’d been in the truck for 13 hours, and I just didn’t want to think about the deeper reasons that there were so many empty shelves and so few choices when shopping. Driving through parts of Missouri where the virus is spreading like wildfire and hospitals are over filled, and seeing that no one is wearing masks was the final straw.

While I work on being grateful for what I have, it is painful to know that the virus is still spreading and the healing our world needs has slowed down and instead things are getting worse again, not better.

A happy ending

cottage, dogs

By Karla Nathan / July 24, 2021

When the pups were living in our breezeway, a bird came through the window whose screen I’d removed to provide access for Sugar. We kept a bench under the window so she could hop in and out of it to spend time with her babies as she chose to while still being able to shut the door to keep the pups inside.

A nest was built on top of a flower pot shaped like a bird house (seems fitting!). I would climb up on Sugar’s bench each day to peek in and check on the progress of the two little eggs inside. One hatched and I was excitedly awaiting the second’s arrival.

But then tragedy struck the little family, the mama bird got caught in a fly strip. I cannot, (and will not to save you the vision) tell you what a horrific experience that was.

Just awful.

I expected the baby to die on its own. But no! It grew and thrived, with a tuff of fluffy down poofing up on its head and a sweet little chirpy song coming from the nest. The papa bird must’ve raised it alone. The other egg never hatched, I guess because the mom wasn’t around to sit on it.

Once I discovered that it was still living, I left it alone, knowing how fragile its existence was. Then, I stopped hearing its chirpyness and looked inside, yep, she’d grown up and left.

I brought the nest indoors and put it under glass to remind me of the hope that came after the hideous moments of trying to get that mama out of the fly strip and watching it die.

Plus, nests are just cool.
I might decorate it or Foof it up somehow later on. But for now, I am enjoying the simplicity of the nest in the white pottery under glass.

Summer Style

cottage, paintings

By Karla Nathan / July 14, 2021

We may live far from the ocean here in the middle of Kansas, but I still need some beachy-ness in my surroundings.

This carnival glass bowl was picked up for $3 on an antiquing jaunt with pals. It felt very oceany to me, so I filled it with shells and a matching candle. Everything sat a bit too wonky, so I removed it all and added moss inside before arranging the shells again.

That helped.

Of course, I didn’t do a before photo of this junky, old tray I had. It had been used to hold kid’s supplies in the studio and was splattered a lot of different colors. So, I painted it white, then drizzled on some beach tones and swirled them about. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled in some sand and a little hint of glitter.

Typically, I can’t keep anything displayed on this coffee table because Sugarwings takes over that area in the living room and she fills the space up with her own assortment of doodads and accessories. But she is visiting her dad for a few weeks, so I went for it and sat out my tray of pretties.

There are multiple layers of varnish over my swirly paint, so later on when the teen returns and I lose my window of decorating time, the tray can actually be functional to use in the kitchen.

Fresh paint

cottage, dogs, family

By Karla Nathan / June 27, 2021

We have had some cheerful, fun relatives visiting for a few days, just what we needed after the loss of Twinkle and Albert.

I thought I’d spruce the place up a bit before they arrived and get a much needed coat of paint on this swing.

While I was at it, I spray painted the old, metal chairs white and used some of the blue paint on a few flower pots around the yard. Those rusty chairs have so many coats of paint on them, I’d say they were more paint than metal. But that wouldn’t be true, because they flake off so much.

Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to be a person with brand new stuff instead of junk…

But new stuff wears out too, right? It needs painted after years of wear. IF it holds up that long. These chairs are probably from the 50s. So, I guess I’ll stick with them.

I guess the swing has been painted a lot too. This is the first time it’s been blue.

It has had many incarnations in white and one in cream. Blue is a pleasant change.

(Little Buddy, on the left has become available again, if you are looking for a mellow ball of fuzzy love to snuggle)

Our family just left this morning, and we missed them already. We went boating, out for a run, did some paint pours, belted out some karaoke, but mostly played with puppies.

It was relaxing to hang out in the courtyard after dinner and watch the pups wear themselves out.

Every family reunion should feature puppies!

Pretty stones

Corona virus, cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / June 19, 2021

When Twinkle passed, I brought her home from the vet’s office to show her to the other dogs. I knew they would look for her if I didn’t. You might think it’s odd, but we showed Ryan’s body to our pets too. They were overly excited about a room filled with paramedics and other professionals during a pandemic when they hadn’t been around many people, so it wasn’t exactly a moving moment.

But at least they knew why Uncle Ryan wasn’t around for ear scratches and walks any more.

It would’ve been easier to have Twinkle cremated, my husband was out of town and it was 100 degrees that day. But I hated to think of the other dogs always looking for her and not knowing where she was.

I buried her next to Ryan’s memorial tree.

A dear friend and her daughter had engraved and painted rocks for me and I’d been planning on placing them by this oak. I am glad I hadn’t done it yet, they were just what I needed to top Twinkle’s grave.

I used some of the rocks in planters too.

Ryan is never out of my thoughts, but I still like to have little trinkets and mementos of him around me.