Etsy Goodies – Page 6 – Karla's Cottage

thoughts of Rebelling….

By Karla Nathan / August 22, 2008

My studio had been getting buried in one mess after another. Now, honestly the blame is mostly my own… but also, I have to blame the inconvenient set up, at least a little bit.

I am hoping that by rearranging things a bit, it will be easier to keep organized.

Well, its a hope I have.

Not most clear photos, are they? Sorry.

This big bowl of blooms is now smack dab in the center of my work station, so I can always have the perfect flower within reach when needed.

While I was at it, I even cleaned up the office and filed away the piles of crap spread out on every surface.

Major accomplishment there!!

All of my Etsy shop items are now organized, instead of heaped on that blue desk. I hung a lot of the pieces on the screen door that makes up one of my walls. I like to have the artwork out where I can see and enjoy them until they go to their new homes.

Not the best photo, once again. This is the chandelier over my computer. Originally, it was just multicolored crystals. But as I get cute gifts in the mail, such as the "Ks" and some tags and dolls, I have been hanging them on the light. Now, it is kind of a glowing bulletin board of things I like to keep nearby.

The room itself is a bit odd. My studio is one big space, almost 1,000 sq ft, not quite. But I have broken it up into different areas and "built" walls with old chippy doors, a gazebo, and big pieces of furniture. That makes it flexible, so I can rearrange it all to suit whatever my needs are at the time.

Geez, none of these photos are really very good are they? My camera does much better in close ups. Yet another reason, to moan and complain that I don’t own the Cannon Rebel camera that I have been dreaming about!!

The camera I use really doesn’t do badly when the light is perfect. And like I said, better with close ups.

These two padded hangers decked out with vintage millinery flowers were just listed on Etsy.

My camera did a great job with this picture. (See how I am trying to make myself feel better about not owning the wonderful, life changing, dream come true, Canon Rebel?)

For those of you who were asking for more Halloween colored millinery packs, I was able to list this one

and six of this one.

Thanks for asking, and for snapping up all the previous packs!!

I’m off to get Sugarwings, we are going downtown for a street festival, then she will be having a sleepover. If I had a Canon Rebel, I’ll bet I’d be getting great photos of the jugglers and puppetiers at the festival…

After the shoot

Etsy Goodies, holiday decor, Silver Bella, swaps

By Karla Nathan / August 20, 2008

My bedroom photo shoot went well, Diane and I finished in record time.

My Queen Anne’s Lace was tinted perfectly blue over night and was ready to go into the bottles on the mantel in time for the pictures.

Normally,we count on about one hour per photo, but yesterday, we had sparkling sunlight shining through the windows and that made the whole process go so much easier! We had all 7 photos in 3 1/2 hours, that is a record for us.(although these blog photos were taken at night with a flash, not nearly as pretty as the ones with sunlight for the magazine)

By the way, this trick of using food coloring in the water to dye white flowers works with blossoms other than this weed. Try daisies or carnations too. It is a great teaching tool for kids so they learn how flowers soak up water through their stems, too.

Here is a snippet of my first paragraph:

"A romantic retreat with morning light dancing through lace curtains and reflected from antique mirrors will make you want to linger in bed with a tray full of treats while sinking into plush pillows."

The first time I did a photo shoot, I thought it would be a perfect time to have a party, afterward. I thought that my house was at its most spotless and foofed up best and I should invite people over while it looked good.

But, at the end of an exhausting day of hard work, my house looked like some one had picked it upside down and shook it!

During a shoot, all throughout the day, furniture and knick knacks are shifted here and there, moved out of the way, switched around, taken in and out of the frame, and moved away to make space for the camera.

Kind of a mess, with stuff piled up everywhere to get it out of the sight of the lens!

Not the best day for a party! Since then, I have learned to not plan anything else but sitting down after the shoot ends.

I wait and put it all back together and write the article the next day when I have recovered. No matter how much fun it is to do, there is a lot involved and it does tend to wreck the place.

But today, all is back to normal, my piles of books and bottles of water are back beside the bed and all the clutter is spread back out where it usually lurks.

I’ve been adding to my etsy shop this afternoon.thanks, this one is sold

Nothing that I have made, but creative pieces for others to use. I keep seeing Halloween projects popping up all over blogland and thought the timing was right to make up some millinery flower packs in these colors. sold

Making up kits and supply packs is almost as much fun as actually creating a piece. I just love picking out items that go together prettily and imagining what they will become when they go to their new homes.

If you have ever ordered anything from me, you’ll notice that I love to wrap and make the package pretty. One thing I don’t do though, is use brand new packing boxes. I do my best to recycle and reuse, and don’t much care if the outside of the envelope has past addresses marked out.

all Halloween packs are sold, but I am listing more. I will have maybe 8 more to list, then am out of black and orange!

It is important to me to make the presentation of the item itself pretty, but the envelope, I’d rather reuse and keep my shipping prices down while helping to save the world in my own little way.

But after receiving this box, that was perfect from the outside, in, I might have to change my practices!

Oh my, it was delightful. Even the outside was pretty, every detail was gorgeous.

The box was from Andrea, and was filled with her goodies for our Pre-Bella swap.

Oh my.

Did I say that already? Well, this gift box was so pretty, I might have said that a few times while gazing at it, trying to decide if I should open it or place it on a shelf and enjoy the box as it was.

Of course, I opened it!! And once again, OH MY! Look at the prettiness involved in this box.

This pile is gifts that Andrea sent to me, as hostess. Oh my, I haven’t even opened my swap box from her yet. I am waiting till all of the packages are in from the rest of the swappers.

I am so lucky to be a part of this talented group of artists who agreed to be in this swap with me. Here is the list, if you’d like to visit any of them, they all have wonderful blogs! I know I have posted this list before, but it is a fun group and definitely worth you going to visit.

A Get Acquainted- Get Inspired

Pre- Silver Bella Swap

1-Heather- http://www.prettypetals.typepad.com/

2-Cheryl Dack- http://roseyposeyconfections.blogspot.com/

3-jennifer Hayslip- http://sweeteyecandycreations.typepad.com/

4-Jessi Nagy- http://www.scrappyjessi.blogspot.com/

5-Kim Caldwell- http://www.artisticbliss.typepad.com/

6-Holly- http://www.hollydoodledesigns.com/shop/

7-Natasha- http://www.natashaburns.blogspot.com/

8-Analisa- http://www.leesiebella.typepad.com/

9-Andrea- http://velvetstrawberries.typepad.com/andreasingarella/

10-Cheryl Stoneham- http://www.insidethebubble.typepad.com/

11- Tiffany- www.shabbyscraps.typepad.com

12- Carol Spinski – http://raisedincotton.typepad.com/

And don’t forget that every comment is entered into my August giveaway. Heck, maybe I’ll even wrap it up in a pretty new envelope to send it out!

Putting together a baby shower while babysitting a grumpy baby

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, flowers, Food and Drink, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 16, 2008

For a while today, I didn’t think I’d be able to pull off tonight’s baby shower!

Sugarwings spent most of yesterday and today with me, and while she was very helpful making birthday cupcakes for her mommy yesterday, today, she was a bit of a challenge.

That is not like her at all, and had me worried. I hope it is just a phase she is going through.

But I kept things very simple for the party and served ready made foods, like a mix of pink jelly beans in a cut glass dish.

And a basket full of mixed nuts with dried fruits.

Then, Beth brought a cheese cake and someone else made brownies and treats. All I had to do was set the table, make some herbal tea/punch and open wine.

Setting the table looks much more complicated than it is. I layered pink flowered table clothes (the baby is a girl!), and borrowed one of Sugarwing’s vintage doll cradles that I had painted roses on to hold the plates and napkins.

The plastic silverware is sitting in her fluffy bunny basket (from Easter) that is lined with a floral napkin.

I snipped a few flowers from my garden and tucked the blooms into child’s tea cups and popped a little ballerina in with the flowers. Since I didn’t have time to go to the store and buy flowers, these little rose buds and a handful of pink baby’s breath from my yard were the only bouquets I had.

I’ve found that, making myself be creative with what I have is much better than going out to buy something ready made. At least it is cheaper!

A few nesting tea cup birds from my Etsy stash of stuff for sale, and some birdies I got from Robin and Lori, and I was done.

I wrapped up a few more packets of bath salts to give as party favors.

Then, placed a doll crib in the living room to fill with presents.

Oh- and I also hung some pink glittered birdies from my Sissy on the chandelier along with a tussie mussie from my friend, Heather. I love the long, dangling ribbons on the cone, and might just leave it there for a bit and enjoy it.

Of course, the fun part was when the doll bed was filled with pretty pink presents for the expecting momma to open! (she was a good sport and wore the party hat I made for her too, even though it was kind of top heavy, but I think that at nine months pregnant, she is used to being off balance by now!)

Sparkle joined the party and spent most of her time on Aunty Beth’s lap.

Beth gave Shanna the cutest gift. She is planning on knitting a blanket for the newborn, but it wasn’t done yet, so she made a tiny one and wrapped it around a dolly as an IOU.

I gave Shanna my all pink version of the Sugarwings and Twinkle book, and added a hand painted cupcake to the teaparty page, along with a teacup that I drew onto rosebud paper and cut out.

I wanted it to have some special touches.

Here are a couple of the names that are being considered for the new little girl due this week:

Lizzelle and Audry– How pretty!! I like them together, Audrey Lizzelle.

Tomorrow is Sugarwing’s 2nd birthday, and I certainly hope she is back to being herself again so she can enjoy her party. It is so sad to see her unhappy and grumpy. I feel like we’ve been given a changling and someone is hiding our sweet little fairy girl!!

Babies, babies, babies

Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, paintings, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 12, 2008

I’ve been ensconced in my studio all day, and although the book is coming along, it is slow going.

So I took a little break from painting my baby to fix up this baby.

I had the perfect bittersweet colored silk dress for her, to match her auburn hair, but as soon as I put it on her, it shredded.

Sometimes, there is such a thing as TOO vintage.

So, I found this little silk number and gaudied it up for her. Here is what I said on Etsy:

"This darling little red head came to me needing some help, wearing nothing but a pony tail and a Made in Japan stamp.

I found a pretty silk dress in my collection of vintage play things, but it was a little boxy and didn’t really flatter her. So, I created an apron with old trims and pale pinkish seam binding ribbon, and it suited her much better. Custom fitted clothes are always so much nicer than "off the rack". (Although, I am sitting here in a ripped tie dye shirt and gym shorts, so I really wouldn’t know what custom fitted clothes are like)

Her long, flowing, pony tail was in good shape, but the hair on her head seemed a little sparse, so I gave her a ringlet of old millinery flowers. She liked them so much, I added some to the hem of her dress.

A few coordinating ribbons in her hair and a vintage, glass, floral button on her dress and she is all ready for her new home.

She is about 5 1/2" tall and her body is a very soft, pliable rubbery material. She’s Made in Japan, so is old, but over all has held up well for her age. Better than I have."

Four paintings are finished for Sugarwing’s birthday book. Two more to go.

Plus the backgrounds for the text.

I’ll take them to a copy shop tomorrow and start making up books, or at least I hope to.

This is my favorite of them all, its number 5. I need to paint it, and then do one more tomorrow morning so I can start working on embellishing the copies. I hope to make another one to give as a gift to a friend. I am throwing her a baby shower on Friday night, she is expecting her first daughter.

Or is that odd, to write a book about my own little girl and then give copies to another little girl? My friend has Dorkies too, actually puppies that are children of my oldest dog, Bookie.

I’m impatiently awaiting the day that Twinkle becomes a puppy momma, she should be ready very soon. And although Bookie is no longer capable of being the father, I have a neighbor down the road with the cutest little 4 pound Dorkie you’ve ever met and he has a bit of a crush on Twinks.

Maybe before winter comes, I’ll be a gramma again! I miss having little puppies running around, I just can’t wait!!

OK, back to painting. I’m running out of time, I’d better keep working. I just wanted to take another break and visit blogland a bit.

PS- I’ve had no time to add to the August giveaway, but promise to when I get caught up.

A rare treasure

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, flowers, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / August 11, 2008

You were all so thoughtful in cheering me up, thanks for your well wishes!

I am usually pretty upbeat, but I think I was suffering from vacation overload! I went from weeks of family and friends and travel to an abrupt stop and was feeling it. Isn’t that what makes blog friends so nice to have? They are always there to visit and company is only as far away as the keyboard.

Today’s sketches even went a bit better. Sometimes, sitting at my desk to work on my latest project can cure any worry or ill, but other days, it is just hopeless. And if it isn’t going well, I need to just walk away from the table and give it a break.

Yes, today was a good one, I was happy with the drawings, I heard from Fifi that the story Carol, Diane and I worked on turned out well and is set for the next issue of Romantic Country. Of course, she hadn’t given me any reason to think they wouldn’t use the article, but I am always reassured when the type is set and the magazine is final. Things get shuffled sometimes and it is good to know this didn’t.

Then, I heard from Jo Pakham that she could be interested in my studio for "Where Women Create". Of course, nothing is settled, it was only an inquiry, but I was flattered to be asked. I’ve heard a lot of positive buzz about this new publication, and I am honored to be considered.

I’ll spend part of next week taking a shovel to the room to make way for some sample photos!

I also kept to my deal with myself and listed more on Etsy today, another altered fairy and some flocked paper packs.

As if today wasn’t already a nice day, look what I found when I went out to do some yard work-

Surprise lillies everywhere! I adore these pink blooms that pop up over night sometime mid-August.

The fragrance outside my studio door caught my attention before I even saw the flowers. I picked an armful to bring in and scent my home too.

But there is more- Sugarwing’s Daddy came by to visit, just to hang out and talk. As close as we are, that just doesn’t happen as often as it used to, grown sons hanging out, one on one, just for the fun of it, is a rare treasure!

grumpy

Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, paintings

By Karla Nathan / August 11, 2008

My birthday book for Sugarwings is not going well today. Very little got finished this afternoon.

The tea party page is done as well as the text page to go next to it.

I painted a light background, scanned it, and then printed it with the words on it.

I’m sure that if I knew how to do digital scrapbook techniques, or just plain old, how to add text to a picture, this part would be easier!

The plan is to scan each page, then print and glue and embellish and sparkle them all up after I make them into a book. That way I can make multiple copies, with no two exactly alike.

But on this page she looks way too grown up. It’s not good enough to use. Luckily, not much time went into this picture, that also might explain why it isn’t very good??

Since painting wasn’t going well today, I took a break to add some things to my Etsy shop.

I seem to have piles and piles of crap, I mean finished art, around the studio that needs to be moved out of here!

So, I listed a few, but never seem to get many listings done.

I wondered if it was because I take so long with the photos, but from the looks of this one, that can’t be it, I didn’t even bother to comb this poor fairy baby’s hair before I took her picture!

Two fairies got listed and are ready to go to new homes.

And I dithered on whether or not I wanted to sell this wallpaper journal. It seemed like it should be a keeper, it is made with such pretty, old papers. But, I can make more if I need one later on.

It could be a scrapbook, or a journal, it is all vintage pages (9" x 11") ready to be filled with whatever the new owner feels like doing. It also comes with a scrap pack of coordinating wallpapers to use for further embellishments.

And lastly, this 8" x 4" tag.

Five items, is that all I listed today???? Geez, I am really not getting much done. I have a goal of 100 items, but have trouble keeping it at 50. And even though sales are not bad (thank you very much!!) they are not the reason I can’t keep up.

It is because it would take me a solid week to list another 50 items to get it up to that point! And I get bored doing it.

Its so much more fun to make things than to try to sell things.

Leelee_book_010 Sorry about the whining. Too much time off coupled with not enough time to finish a project that isn’t going well can do that to a person.

And maybe I miss my buddies who were here all week? It is sad to see them fly back to Florida and California. We’ve been friends since we were 11. Here is a picture of Sandy and I in our 20s, looks like we were hanging out in a bar…. probably were.

Plus, today is my 23rd wedding anniversary, and even though we had a wonderful celebration early, I felt a little lonely today, with Rich out East and me here.

Here we are with the kids that day, and my, we look like kids ourselves!

Doesn’t Sugarwings look like her daddy, my youngest son?

Thanks for listening to me be down a bit. Blogging friends are good to have. I’ll cheer myself up by blog hopping around and seeing all the beautiful eye candy out there on my favorite sites!

Before I go, here are a couple things I added to the August giveaway. A pair of pink vintage earrings and a Victorian calling card to go along with the brooch with the blue stone.

More goodies to come, you deserve it after putting up with my wallowing in self pity tonight!

ps- thanks to all of your kind wishes for my fairy baby. She is doing much better now.

I’m just a girl who can’t say no to sparkles!

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, paintings, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 29, 2008

More from Karlapalooza- here is a picture Heather took of me, buying- what else?? Gems! Sparkling gems. I was like a magpie that day, constantly stopping for every sparkle I saw out of the corner of my eye.

This guy had piles of boxes of jewels and I couldn’t leave his booth. No prices were on them, he said they ranged from $1 to $7. I told him I’d make a pile and if anything was over a dollar, he could pull it out.

At first, I was trying to be polite and not hog all the good stuff from my friends, but they made their choices and moved on, so I piled it high!

He actually charged me much less than $1 each, because I bought so much. I ended up spending $35 there, not all of this is from that booth. But I didn’t spend over a dollar on anything here but that crystal stoppered bottle, it was $6.

I bought a few baggies of jewels for $3 a bag, and picked out the ones I wouldn’t use. We went to a friend’s house for a cook out last night and I knew his little girls would love to have some jewelry to play dress up with. I promised to bring them more next time I come too.

Heather Karlawski made the most lovely tussie mussie for me, and I thought that was just another example of how much we had in common, since I brought a tussie to her too!

And Kitty Karla had rolled up and decorated pretty vintage papers for us. I haven’t been able to bring myself to unroll it yet, it is too pretty as it is!

And yes– I found some hats! I pulled the flowers off of them and kept the flowers, leaving a couple of the naked hats behind for Heather to work her magic on and foof up. Have you ever seen how pretty Heather makes her hats?? Wow, they are beautiful.

I also bought old calling cards- notice the "Bella" card? I foresee many Silver Bella projects with that image!! And the two dolly dresses are for Sugarwing’s babies. I think that all of her toys at her Grammie Karkie’s house should vintage.

My favorite find of the day was the cake plate all these pretty purchases are sitting on.

It is a metal cake plate music box. When you wind it up, the plate turns and it plays "Happy Birthday"- plus it has roses on it and was only $4!

Sugarwings calls every cake a "happy" since they are often served with a serenade of "Happy Birthday".

She has her 2nd birthday coming up and I can’t wait to bake a cake with her and set it on this cake plate so we can sing along.

I miss my little fairy grand baby!!

I decided that for her birthday on August 16th, I would make a book to give her.

Here is my first sketch and this is the text that will be on the page:

"Sugarwings has a best friend, named Twinkle. Twinks is actually a dog, and Sugarwings is a little fairy girl, but these two think they are sisters. Isn’t it nice when your sister is your best friend?

Of course the two do fuss and argue sometimes. Often they want the same cookie or toy, but they have learned to share."

I have plans for paintings of them at a tea party, with Twink’s head cocked at an angle because she doesn’t understand why the baby is eating pretend cookies and is wondering where the real cookie is. And another page of the the puppy getting Sugarwing’s toes. A total of 6 illustrations and 6 pages of text. Not a big book, but just right for a two year old.

I didn’t take as many photos at the flea market as I should have. We were enjoying the day too much and didn’t stop for photo ops often. Here is Heather and Lori admiring some cute dolls.

I did take LOTS of

pictures of Heather’s home- and by the way, it is even prettier in person. When you walk in, you just feel tranquil, with all the soft colors and pretty things around.

I’ll show more next time!

And remember my TWO giveaways end in a few days, and it is not too late to enter. I will add a piece of the jewelry I bought at Karlapalooza to the prize pack of summertime bright color jewels I have wrapped up for the August giveaway.

And if you are interested in any of the little watercolor sketches from the previous post, the two pink cupcakes and the dove are spoken for. Thanks, Amy, Ruby, and Bobbi!

Sweet as Pie

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, parties

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2008

Well, this photo kind of sums up my trip so far- Yummy!

This pie is actually a special recipe by Jack Nickolaus, that is only served a couple weeks at year at Firestone Country Club, when the PGA tournament is playing there.

Of course, I had to order some! And yes, it is as good as it looks, creamy, with a coconut crunch.

I don’t and NEVER will play golf, but I can certainly enjoy the beauty of the courses and the gourmet food and pampering service you find at a private club! Firestone was particularly interesting because they were getting ready for the PGA event. There was not a blade of grass out of place anywhere.

We have had a lovely time so far, but one of the best parts was when my husband surprised me with a bouquet of my favorite flowers.

We’d seen Queen Anne’s Lace growing in the ditch beside a restaurant we were stopping at (no, not at a golf course NO WEEDS there!!!)

He snuck back out side and picked some, then had the waitress set them on the table without me knowing.

As much as I adore roses, this lacey weed, will always be the prettiest flower to me. And now even more so.

But I am simply not cut out for a life of luxury and hanging out at country clubs or shopping while my husband works. By day 3 of my trip, I was ready for something to do, and stopped at Michaels to pick up some art supplies for in the hotel room.

The trouble was, I didn’t have my work glasses with me. So, the paintings I did had to be VERY simple, since I couldn’t see the details well.

But, you know, simple is fine, and not every painting needs to be a "serious" one. Watercolors can be quick and cute.

These are all about 4"x 6" and I think will trim down to fit into a 3"x5" matt nicely.

When I get home from my trip, I might list them on Etsy for, what, maybe $10 each?

If you’d like one, feel free to leave a comment or email and I will save it for you, $10, no postage. the dove, long pink gown, teacup with the dark background, and the two pink cupcakes are sold, thanks!

I can’t mail them till I get back though.

The whole trip has just been the best, and Karlapalooza was such fun! In case you were worried, you’ll be happy to hear that Lori found her hat full of flowers and it is a beautiful one, lots of old velvet blooms!

And isn’t she cute as a little pixie, herself?

I’ll have more flea market photos later, and pictures of Sweet Heather’s sweet house. By the way, Heather has to be about one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. She was a joy to talk to.

We had a fun day of chatting and shopping, with Heather’s mom, Kitty, and her friend, Stephanie, then Heather fixed a tasty lunch at her home for us. There will be photos, I promise. Her home is as warm and welcoming as she is.

And if you are looking for a macaroni salad recipe, I’d say ask Heather! Hers was really good.

Like I said before, a YUMMY TRIP!

How to find the fairies that are living in your garden, without them knowing that you are spying on them

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, fairies, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 21, 2008

Thanks again to everyone who gave me suggestions on gift basket goodies.

I am sending out 12 one ounce packs of my home made milk bath salts in tomorrow’s mail.

The labels are done on this lush, ‘new’, OLD flocked wallpaper that I just scored! I have the pile of packets laying on a piece of the wallpaper, isn’t it the best???

The fairy on my "Fairy’s Bliss" Milk Bath Salts is from an image I got in a trade with Andrea who sent me a big bundle of great old papers to play with.

You know how I feel about fairies. (I’m a believer).

Well, I just got some very interesting news on how to spot a fairy in your garden, from a reliable source.

I’m going to copy what I wrote for Etsy, instead of typing it twice, pardon my laziness, but there is only so much time in one day!!

"I recently was told by a 7th generation Hungarian gypsy how to find fairies. Honest, I am not making this up, she was very serious when she told me about this, and I can see how it might work.

It requires a blue mirror, and you have to carefully look into it, over your shoulder, not letting the little ones know you are looking for them.

I have always had an interest in blue vintage mirrors and collect them, now I know why!

Here is a good one for sneaking up on the tiny people. It is a small mirror, one in a frame that has been made into a piece of art, so that the fairies will just think you are enjoying the artwork, not peering into the mirror to seek them.

The glittered, horseshoe shaped frame is OLD. The picture inside, the blue posy necklace around the frame, the bow shaped brooch, and lovely white velvet flowers are old too.

Four tiny mirrored squares line the edges of the frame, with a single blue one at the top, to which I have added a rose bud shaped button with a blue rhinestone center (old too, of course!).

The young lady in the picture has been delicately glittered with sparkly gold ink on her dress and a touch of fine glitter on her 3-D wings.

Its all tied up and ready to hang by some gorgeous silver ribbon with blue roses, that I simply can’t believe I found to match this frame so perfectly!! (the fairies must have left it on my desk just for this)

To the silver ribbon, I have added a tag explaining how to use the mirror, and accented it with a vintage, pearl white ballerina, meant to top a cup cake. Now she is a fairy, with the sheer white wings I have added to her."

I’ve had a good day in the studio, and accomplished a lot. I have photos taken and hope to list a bunch on Etsy tonight, then tomorrow, I have to run errands and get ready for my trip.

I am going to Karlapalooza! (details to come tomorrow)

All of my packages are going out in tomorrow’s mail, and then I am afraid I will be away till the 30th, no more packages will be sent until August 1st.

I’ll try to write up a few extra posts for you to read while I am gone, but I am afraid I won’t be able to answer your comments.

But please do continue to leave comments if you want to enter my TWO GIVEAWAYS. for the month of July.

I’ll announce the winner when I get back from my trip to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

I am filling up the baskets for my friends, using the ideas you all gave to me.

Debbie and Sandy arrive soon after I get home from my vacation, but in between, a brother-in-law and his family will be here. I’ll be in a frenzy of preparing for guests when I get home!

But that is what my cottage is all about, I love to entertain, and can’t wait for them all to arrive!

12 presents for you for 10,000 comments!

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, give away, how to's, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 20, 2008

Wow! Thanks for the helpful ideas for filling up gift baskets for my childhood friends coming to celebrate our 50th birthdays together.

I’ve taken the picture frame idea, and made a couple of frames (photos later, after the glue dries and I can stand them up), and today, my family and I made bath salts to add to the baskets.

Oh- plus I got these two white baskets FREE at a garage sale this weekend, along with the chalk ware lady ($1)

And the mini dresser tray and two perfume bottles. ($1 also).

I wasn’t going to go shopping at all this weekend, after my big buys last week.

But…. I was driving by one… and saw a yard full of OLD things. How could I not stop??

This vintage ruffled slip was hanging on a clothes line in that yard, along with some of these antique lace panels.

I need to dress in a vintage prom style for Silver Bella, and am thinking that this slip could come in handy that night, and it was only $10 for all of the lace and the slip. But that was all the shopping I did, my total for the weekend was $12. I was proud of myself for holding back.

Have you ever made bath salts? I made up a recipe, using:

sea salt (two containers)

half of a box of powdered milk

about a 1/4 cup of baking soda

and approximately a third of a bottle of glycerin

We mixed in a handful of ground lavender fresh from my herb bed, and some vanilla/citrus essential oils I had made up a while back. I’m hoping it will be soothing and refreshing, it smells delightful.

Sugarwing’s Daddy did the mixing, he is much more thorough than I am, I would have just stirred it a bit with a spoon and been done.

He put on gloves and mixed each and every granule by hand for at least a half hour.

Of course, no project in the kitchen gets done around here without my expert helper. She likes to be in the center of everything we do.

I’d like to make some pretty labels up for the bags of bath salts we made up, probably will do that tomorrow.

And as a thank you, for the people who were so kind to leave comments with ideas for filling baskets- I want to give away 12 of my one ounce bags of the mixture to the first 12 people who say they’d like some.

So, here is what you need to do- if you sent me some advice about the basket, and you’d like to have a small pack (enough for one good, relaxing soak in the tub), leave a comment and let me know you’d like some.

This is to celebrate going over 10,000 comments on my blog during the last post! Thanks again for taking the time to stop and visit and leave comments, I love to hear from you. edit-thanks, I have 12 people who would like a sample of bath salts. I wish I could send some to everyone else too!

Here is my 12:

1-Cheryl

2-Karen

3-Robin

4-Heather

5-Donna

6-Connie

7-Joanne

8-Terri

9-Caitlin

10-Jodi

11-Beverly

12-Betty Lou

(still need addresses for the last 3)

This tag that I just finished is too big to use for the gift baskets, it is 8"x4". If you are interested in buying it for $9, (includes postage-US) just email me.

I loved all of the ideas, and will make use of quite a few, these free baskets will hold a LOT.

Here is what I think I’ll add:

*personalized tags tied to the handles

*the match boxes I already made, with mini candles

* CHOCOLATE!! (that was a popular suggestion)

* a magazine (rolled up and tied with a bow)

* decorated frames so they can display a photo of the trip when they get home

*snacks, like granola bars

* a water bottle with a pretty label

*bath salts (homemade)

*Bath and Bodywork’s lotion

I’ll line the basket with some of the vintage linens I bought last week.

Now, I have to think about the 50th birthday gifts I want to give them!!!!!

I haven’t had more than a few minutes to make stuff this weekend, Sugarwings has been staying with us quite a bit, and today FIVE of her friends came to play.

They were all calling me Grammy Karkie and wanting to paint, or play dolls or in the garden hose at the same time. It was hectic but fun. So hectic, I didn’t get a camera out!

The lake was beautiful this weekend. If you’d like to see a VERY short clip of Sugarwings making up a song while hopping on her PopPop who is laying back and relaxing on a raft, click here.

One of the strangest things happened to us at the lake!

About 6 weeks ago, we caught our anchor on something on the bottom and had to cut it loose, and buy a new anchor.

Yesterday, as we drove across the cove, our motor shut off, due to a rope wrapped around the prop. It must have been floating around, and we just happened to drive across it as it bobbed around the water.

As we untangled it, we thought it looked a lot like our half of a blue rope that was attached to our new anchor, and the we had some trouble getting the mess untangled because it seemed to be stuck to something. Well, we tugged, and found out it was attached to something- our OLD anchor that we had cut loose earlier this summer!

What do you think the odds are that it just happened to be US who got caught on the rope of our own anchor lost weeks ago??? That rope could have hooked any boat on the lake. What odd timing that it was us!!!

I wonder if that ladder we lost will be coming back soon???