Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers) – Page 18

3 years, 700 posts, a swap, some puppies, and a bonus giveaway, all coming up!

Books, celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), give away, paintings, Sugarwings, swaps

By Karla Nathan / February 9, 2010

A year ago this time, I was posting puppy pictures. Here is Twinkle and her one true love, Teddy, with their one year old daughter, Bella (middle). Isn't she a pretty pup? Hopefully, we'll have a few more little dorks running around the house in 60 days or so. I'd better have some puppies, 3 are already spoken for!

Last year this time, I was hosting a Puppy Love Tag Swap. It was such fun, I'm thinking about hosting another, but since I don't have puppies around yet, how about an Alice swap? No, not this little Alice! I mean an Alice in Wonderland tag book swap?

The rules will be very similar to last year's swap. I'll write them up and get back to you for a sign up, I just wanted to plant the idea for now. Anyone interested?

As a Tim Burton and Johnny Depp fan, I'm so excited about the Alice movie coming out soon! The previews have been glorious.

Along with the details, I'll also post some pages from a vintage Alice in Wonderland book that Beth gave me, if anyone wants to print those to use for their tags.

This swap is just what I need to celebrate my 3rd anniversary in blogworld!

3 years and 700 posts are both coming up this week, so I'll have a special gift for you too as a thank you for keeping me company these last 3 years.

If you'd like to win a copy of my book, please leave a comment on any post between now and Valentine's Day. If you'd like to sign up for the swap, I'll have details coming and a separate post coming for that.

All comments all month count toward my regular monthly giveaway, whatever the heck I come up with for this time. I seem to be so short on time in the studio, that I never quite get done what I need, and still haven't got a gift pulled together yet. But I will….

Winter on the Fairy Berry Trail

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / February 6, 2010

Sugarwings and I had some fun in the snow yesterday. After all the snow we've gotten this season, I am surprised to say the words "fun" and "snow" in the same sentence! This winter's snowfalls have been brutal and cold, and mostly made me feel trapped. But this one! This one was just delightful!

Fluffy, fat, flakes, and 33 degrees. This was the kind of snow that just beckoned us outdoors and into the woods. So we bundled up and headed out to the Fairy Berry Trail (Sugarwings is wearing a Calvin Klein ruffled coat on sale from TJMax for only $10, and a scarf knitted by my favorite non-stop knitter, Beth)

We filled our pockets with little vials of glitter to decorate the snow fairies we had planned to make, but the fluffy snow wasn't cooperating, and the ground was so warm, that when we rolled a snow ball, it collected mud and leaves and the white snow didn't stay white for long. Even a full bottle of glitter wouldn't have enhanced those brown lumps we created.

It didn't matter. We had a blast crawling through the fallen trees and making a fort in the piles of wood. In the summer time we stick to the trail to avoid poison ivy and bugs and who knows what else, so it was a treat to step off the trail into the "wilderness" of the woods and do some exploring.

She wanted to explore this old shed too, but its so full of junk, I can't let her in there. Too bad I don't have it fixed up yet, it would have been a good place to use as a cabin on a snowy day. In the past, it was my once a month antique store, and there are piles of unwanted inventory everywhere. It needs a good cleaning, so I can make it into a play house for the little Fairy grand baby. She is sure drawn to the building every time we go out in the yard.

Its nice to know that she likes a lot of the same things I do.

After getting all wet and cold in the snow, I warmed her up with a bubble bath while I wrapped in a robe and sat by the tub to read. I'm in the middle of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Its well done, with using the original text, just adding ninja zombie killing moves.

Anyway, as I sat there with her, I started thinking about repainting the bathroom a robin's egg blue with a sheer gold wash over the top.

Now, why can't I just enjoy a snow day, without thinking about redoing the shed or repainting the bathroom?????

Did you notice anything missing in the snow pictures? No Twinkle! She has a "date" with Teddy. Its quiet around here without her around, but if all goes well, I'll be ankle deep in yorkies soon enough.

I'll leave you with some pics of what is new in the Boutique. I need to go take some more photos and get more listed, before Sugarwings comes back to spend the day with me again.

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.

Its a start!

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

By Karla Nathan / December 31, 2009

You still have the 31st to enter the drawing for my December Giveaway, and the 50% off sale in my shops goes through the 1st.

Thanks to all of you who have shopped with me!

I'm getting a jump on my New Year's resolutions and getting some repairs done. My house has been terribly neglected in 2009. We replaced the closet door months and months ago, and I just NOW, finally, repainted the door and the trim around it, plus the wall that got dinged up in the process of changing the door out.

I painted the door white, then added glaze to a paper bag brown color, brushed it on and wiped it down with a damp cloth. Quick and easy and such a difference. Why did I wait months to clean up this area???

My resolution is to not let things slip by me anymore.

(oh, and see the hand weights? They will be getting a lot more use in 2010, that is another resolution!!!)

This corner was never finished when the door was replaced. Yesterday, I called the guy who did the work and he is coming back on Monday to fix this floor. While he is here, I have a list a mile long that he is going to do for me. Little things that have been bugging me around the house, like doors that just don't close right, a cabinet that needs hung. Yes, my son is a carpenter. But between taking care of Sugarwings, work, and school, I'm lucky to get him to do anything at all.

He helps with housework, cooks, and gives me neck massages all the time (he is also a massage therapist), so I am not complaining. Instead, I am calling in a handyman who will get the list knocked off in one day.

I'm starting the new year with a whole new outlook. The fun and chaos of chasing a 3 year old has caused me to neglect my home, and I am not going to let that happen any more. Things I can't do, don't have time to do and can't get the guys who live here to do are going to be done by our friend, Don, the handyman.

Some things, I am facing and conquering on my own, like this. Months ago, the screws crumbled and broke off on the knobs of this old cabinet. Yes, I knew it was coming, they were wonky for a year or two. But I ignored it. I've been living with a knobless cabinet in my bedroom since summer.

I am fixing this little problem right now. Well, this afternoon, at least because there are no screws the right length in my tool kit. There never seems to be the right ones, does there? That is what stopped me every time I thought about fixing it. I had the knobs, just the wrong screws. So, today, I am taking some glass knobs to the hardware store and getting the right ones.

After changing the screws on the cabinet and mailing some packages, my New Year's Eve will be a quiet one. We've filled the wheelbarrows with wood, so we can have a warm and toasty house tonight. I'll probably rent a couple of movies, and curl up with Sugarwings to share some popcorn.

Hope your New Year's Eve is a fun one too, and 2010 brings you the accomplishments you want to achieve as well as lots of joy.

(Maybe one of my resolutions should be to NOT go too crazy with picnik editing??? This photo is a tad bit over the top, huh?)

New neighbors and starchy snowflakes

Books, celebrations, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles

By Karla Nathan / December 17, 2009

What a nice surprise yesterday when I started getting emails congratulating me on my article in Somerset Life! I've been so busy with Sugarwings while her Daddy and my husband were out of town, that I hadn't even got the mail in yet. So when I heard that this was out, I had to trot down to the end of the drive and take a peek in the mailbox. Yep, it was here! Now, I just need some time to curl up by the fire and read through it….

Looks like its a interesting issue, and I've glimpsed through and saw lots of friends in it too, so can't wait to have a good look!

What's keeping me so busy? Well, things like this. While Sugarwings is a school today, I dug out this book that was my sons' favorite when they were little. I'm going to surprise her after school with this sleepy bear in her dolly bed and a few Christmas bears in her doll house.

Years ago, we'd buy a new bear to add to the collection every year. But since my boys have grown up, I kind of stopped getting the bears out. My Christmas palette has changed to pastels, gold, and silver. But with the fairy grand baby 3 now and loving all things Christmas, I think she'll be very excited to see all these furry guys in red and green waiting in her doll house after school today.

My own house has more of a snowy color theme this year. I'm glad the cheery and bright bears are finding a home in Sugarwing's room. I've missed them, and will be happy to see them out and about this year celebrating the season with us.

While the guys have been gone and its just been girl's week around here, (actually, its only on the 3rd day, but it kind of feels like a week. Three year olds need a whole family to help with them, not just one, poor, old, Grammy by herself!!) we've gone to see Princess and the Frog (GREAT!!) and made 6 batches of fudge, plus some glittered snow flakes.

This was an easy project for the two of us. We dipped these hand crocheted circles (made by my Great Aunt Caroline) into starch. Sugarwings dumped most of a bottle We sprinkled glitter into the bowl of starch before dipping the snow flakes in it, and then flattened them out onto a cookie sheet. Now that they have dried over night, I tied ribbons to them to hang some on the tree. The glitter looks better in person, than it does in the photos.

While she has been in school, I've tried to add to the shop, but really haven't got much done. I've got two sets of these place setting markers. You can write the names on with dry erase markers, or with crayons like I did here. I can also see them used in craft projects. Pretty, huh?

I've also made some attempts to do my own Christmas shopping, but all I seem to buy are clothes for you know who. My current obsession is that Gap commercial with all the little girls chanting "I love my comfy sweater, how cute are these boots?" and I just keep finding colorful, comfy, cute clothes for Sugarwings instead of shopping for the stuff I should be buying!

That Gap commercial just sticks in my head…

Hey, don't forget that Amy Barickman has given me this book PLUS a $25 gift certificate to download images at Vintage Workshop as a prize for my December giveaway. I'm also including a two sweet hankies to use when you make a project from the Hankie Style book.

Bookie

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, paintings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / December 11, 2009

Poor Bookie. He just had his 14th birthday and isn't doing so well. See how he lists to the side? That is permanent. I wonder if he's had a stroke? We've bought him a space heater and the guy rarely leaves his pillow by the warm air now. He is only sitting on the couch to please me, and desperately wants to get back to his pillow.

Its so sad to see our pets age. To me, he'll always be a baby, but actually, he's a little old man. And smells pretty bad too. Sometimes I have to poke him two or three times to see if he is still alive, and I am dreading the day when the pokes don't get him to move. On the other hand, I will be relieved to think of him falling asleep on his favorite pillow by the space heater and drifting off to comfort. I can tell he is just not been himself for yeas, but lately, it seems much worse.

I've gotten used to Bookie hiding away, apart from the family and have let him go his own way. But opening up the boxes of hand painted ornaments from years past and seeing his happy little face, in a younger, happier time made me realize just how much he had changed.

You know, this isn't the post I started to write, it was going to be photos of my holidayed up living room. But I think I'll save that one for another day, and go hold my little stinky guy for a bit and tell him I'll always love him while I still can.

A warm pink glow to ward off the freezing weather

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, give away, holiday decor, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / December 9, 2009

Just a note to let you know that my email is being a bit screwy. Its not a Typepad issue, Typepad has been very sweet and cooperative lately. I don't know what the deal is, just that I respond to emails (not just on comments, regular emails too) and they are not getting through.

Its frustrating to answer emails, then get a message from the Postmaster or the Mailer-Daemen saying they are undeliverable. Sorry if you were one of the dozens of people I couldn't respond to! There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason, some (quite a few, actually!) messages just are hitting a dead end.

We've had our first snow and it was a doozy. More cold than deep, but enough to keep me indoors by the roaring fire. Trouble is, my husband is out of town and the stack of wood is getting low. I'm feeling like a wimp, but just DO NOT want to go out there in the single digit weather and fill a wheelbarrow with wood.

On the other hand, a fire in the wood stove sure feels better than just turning up the thermostat. (and is much cheaper too!) I'd better man-up and go load the wheel barrow.

We've been staying indoors decorating and redecorating the tree. I think that Sugarwings will make her pink tree an ongoing project for the season.

Each ornament has been on every single branch of her tree at least once so far. Sometimes all the decorations seem to be on the same branch at the same time.

I filled a basket will all of the unbreakable ones and let her do as she pleased with them. Of course, she had a little bit of help from Twinkle.

Although, after a couple of hours of hard work, even Twinkle was getting tired. And Sugarwings was just getting started.

I don't think this will get old for my fairy grand baby, she's in pink heaven with that glowing tree.

(and I am loving those heavenly curtains!)

As for me, I think I'm done with my share of hall decking. Its a mini explosion of holiday glam this year for me, and I'm kind of liking it kind of laid back.

Well, laid back for ME, that is!

These peacock feather fans go a long way in adding some flair when I tied one to a lamp shade and another to a plain white feather wreath.

Years ago, I used to raise peafowl and these feathers were gathered from Percy. He dropped them all every summer and it was a treasure hunt for me to crawl around the barn and walk out in the woods every day searching for feathers. Some days, I 'd find one or two, other days maybe a couple dozen.

Now, I've taken bundles of the plumes and wrapped them with vintage ribbons, added a millinery flower and a jewel. Plus a touch of glitter.

There are a couple left from Miss Frenchie's and I have them listed in the Boutique, as well as the celluloid box I've posed the fan next to.

Don't forget that you can win this book by Amy Barickman (isn't she a peach to offer it?) Along with the book, you'll get a couple of hankies from me to use in the projects and a gift certificate from Amy to use for downloads from Vintage Workshop.

My December giveaway is open to everyone. No tricks where you have to post about it on your blog, or add yourself as a follower. All comments, all posts in the month count. I just like to say thanks for taking the time to come by to visit!

I just wish you were here in person and could help me heft that wheelbarrow of wood.

Also, if you'd like to see more holiday decor, go visit
Thoughts from Over the Rainbow

for a hall decking party!

Frenchie’s preview pics and shop updates

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, holiday decor, I do tend to run on, don't I?, Miss Frenchie's, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / November 30, 2009

While I've been busy gathering goods up for Miss Frenchie's sale this weekend, I've taken a break to package up some of that great wallpaper I told you about.

I just loved playing with all the pretty papers and making packages for you to use! I package them in a few different ways, one is all coordinated, another is a varied selection. Also, I try to make varied sizes, some jam packed and others a bit smaller, to fit all budgets.

You can find them in my Boutique, and it looks like they are already selling before I've even had a chance to tell you about them! Thanks, guys, its good to see that I'm not alone in my wallpaper love!

Also, just wanted to let you know that there are only a few Crystal Crown Rings left. I'd better slip in and get one for myself before they are all gone!

The trees are re-stocked in my Etsy shop too. Why do I have the trees in a different shop? Laziness. I sold them there last year, so now, I just have to renew the old listing, not take all new photos and relist. Simple and quick.

Well, the bleaching, dying, gluing, glittering, packaging part isn't quick, but the listing is, and I'll take any little bit of help I can get!

Sugarwing's Daddy helped me cut wallpaper. He's the sensitive, artist type and is always happy to help in the studio when I need him. I was freaking out about my major budget blow out on all the paper I'd bought and how little time I had to get it packaged, with Miss Frenchie's sale looming. So, he jumped in and started chopping.

We sliced two sizes, 8 x 10 and 11 x 14. But, I don't have the clear envelopes to fit the larger sizes!! Someday, I'll have a chance to sit at the computer and look up glycine sleeves and get some ordered, then will list the bigger pieces. Sorry! They are sitting here waiting for me to make time.

Twinkle is wondering when I'll have time to spend with her too. As excited as I am to be going to Miss Frenchie's and as lucky as I am to be included on such a FANTASTIC, premier sale, I'm getting tired! I'm ready to kick back with Christmas music on the stereo, a frosty glass of egg nog in my hand, and the Christmas tree twinkling in the dark. Don't you love evenings by the light of a Christmas tree? Especially if there is a fire lit.

And we always have a fire lit, we heat our house mostly with wood. Now, I just need the tree and the time to set it up and enjoy it!

This is why I am slightly exhausted. I'm setting up my "trial run" for Miss Frenchie's, and getting it planned, tagged and packed.

I'll leave you with some scenes of my table. I'm heading over to it to pack it up and get it ready to load in the big red pick up truck on Thursday.

Meet Mr. Wonderful

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, Food and Drink, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / November 21, 2009

We have a new little friend here at the cottage.

Twinks is fascinated by him.

Mr. Wonderful isn't quite as infatuated with her.

He has decided that as long as Twinkle is near by, the best place to be is out of reach.

But they are working on the relationship.

Today was a great day for getting acquainted, its sunny, bright, and beautiful.

While the two new "frenemies" explored each other's boundaries, I harvested tomatoes for the last time, again. This is the 4th time I cleared out late tomatoes, thinking it was the end of the line for the plants. Vine fresh tomatoes aren't a typical side dish for Thanksgiving in Kansas. But it sure will be this year!

I might even be picking flowers from the garden for the table!

(I am out of town a few days, this was pre-posted on Friday)

Pink roses and fall leaves?

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, holiday decor, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / November 8, 2009

We are having amazing weather here. Its been in the 70s and beautiful, good time for raking up some of leaves that are being tracked throughout the house by my dogs. They are little leaf magnets and must bring in a bushel each every day.

We don't bag or burn, instead I push them off into flower beds or into the woods behind the house to naturally decompose.

We'll also scoop up a few trailer loads and throw over the garden fence to enrich the soil there too. But for now, I am still gathering tomatoes from the garden!

We've yet to have a hard enough frost to kill off the flowers and some of the garden plants. I don't think I've ever had a November when I've had pink roses blooming next to the changing leaves before.

The tomatoes I've brought in aren't all that wonderful, but they are good enough for cooking, so I'm planning home made tomato soup tonight. Maybe with a hand full of wild rice and some spinach thrown in the pot.

I appreciated all your comments about Aunt Caroline's treasures and want to announce the two winners for the bundles of trim.

Suz Reaney

and

Joanna

And since the trims are such a popular thing with so many of you hoping to win some, that I'll offer another bundle for my November Giveaway. These won't be from my Aunt, but are just as nice. I think you'll like them!

I rarely decorate much for fall, just because my house is not typical fall colors, and because it seems to be so busy around here, I don't get a chance. Here is the total of all the autumn decor, post Halloween flowers on clearance for $1.99 a bunch at the grocery store this week.

I kind of like the splash of bright color, and it is reminding me of this November's odd weather. Fall colors against the pale shades just like in my garden.