fairies – Page 18 – Karla's Cottage

Angels, fairies, and snow princesses

celebrations, fairies, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, parties, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 16, 2010

We had a Kid's Holiday Party yesterday and the little ones indulged me with a little dress up play and modelling.

I tried to make the photo part quick so they would think it was fun, then got them back to the main event- goodies, and art projects.

We had hot cocoa with all the fixins, eggnog, brownies, pumpkin bars, veggies, and rollups. It was an early out day for school, so the party was from 2-5, so these weren't meant for dinner, just after school snacks.

We had a couple different projects to do too. I picked up a dozen Santa hats from the dollar store, and a bagful of half price holiday floral pics from Hobby Lobby. There really is a lot of fun stuff on those wire picks, jingle bells, flowers, pretend candies, glittered leaves, etc. I just took some wire cutters and separated all the big sprigs into individual pieces, easy for gluing on to the hats and set out a few other fun tid bits for them to have at too. There is always plenty of extra goodies around the studio to share.

They got to make some chip board ornaments too, and all the mommies each made a couple of those for their trees too.

We ended up not getting photos of all the kids. The boys weren't as interested in posing, and my fairy grand girls were busy with playing and artwork. I can catch them later for pictures, though.

A few years back, I painted a Christmas tree mural on plywood and had cup hooks on the tree branches to sell ornaments off of at antique shows. Now, I bring the mural in from the shed and set it in my living room for the holidays. With a few other props in front of it, it made a good backdrop for the pictures.

This morning, I've been doing some editing to the pictures. I LOVE PICNK!!!!!!!!

Playing with hand tinted photos is almost as much fun as painting, but easier and quicker! And way, way too addictive.

I should be out doing some Christmas shopping instead of playing with pictures.

But can you see why I love doing it so much, when I have such gorgeous little models to work with?

I'll get some prints made and maybe these can be some of my Christmas gifts this year.

Its been a hectic, busy, Christmas packed couple of weeks. Before the trip, I had my book club bash, then while we were in Virginia, we were treated to a holiday office party dinner out with my husband's co-workers.

Since I've been back, I have had Sugarwing's school play, craft day, and his little kid party. Plus a couple of Sugarwing Sleepover nights, and those are a party in themselves….

Tomorrow is a party at a friend's and Saturday I'm having another dinner party.

And do I have presents purchased and wrapped? Heck no.

I thought about shopping while in Virginia, but my family is not easy to buy for. I can't just pop into JCPenny and buy a gift for any of them. They like specialty items, dance costumes, art supplies, hand made stuff, or recycled goodies. So, I've put it off.

Those hand made items are going to be biting me on the butt if I don't get moving on them…. I have hopes to do some small paintings for the kid's rooms.

Waiting till the last minute, then throwing one party after another might not have been the smartest holiday plan…

I'm afraid that by the time I get done with all my parties, and its time to do that last minute gift rush, I'll be feeling like Sugarwings was last night after the party!

(no editing can help this little model, I'm afraid- she partied hard)

Did I mention that there was face painting at the party too? I painted the kids' and they reciprocated by painting mine.

My hair is still a bit crisp from the paint.

One of the few gifts that I bought and have ready to give, has to be returned! I bought matching fairy gowns for Pixie Pie and Sugarwings at Tuesday Morning for $10 each, and Pixie Pie showed up wearing the same dress for the party!

She looks so beautiful in it, I just knew it was the perfect dress for her. But now, what do I give her?

While we are talking about gifts, I need to announce the winner of the 1,000,000th visitor giveaway.

Thanks so much for leaving all the kind comments about my milestone! I wish I had a gift for you all (but as you just heard me complaining about- I don't even have gifts for my family for Christmas yet!)

This gift goes to:

Pat Spone (no blog) Pat, please send me your address and I'll get your gift in the mail.

Tea Cup Fairy

fairies, holiday decor, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 26, 2010

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Ours was quiet and laid back, not bad at all. I cooked the turkey the day ahead, and let it warm in the crock pot all day in its juices. What a time saver, and what a moist bird! We had a late meal, and everyone brought side dishes, so it was pretty easy. Lots of free time for baby hugging!

This is one of my favorite projects from Silver Bella, a tea cup fairy from Beth Quinn's class.She provided a frame for the dress and the head, plus all the silk strips. I added lots of different strips to mine too, I wanted all whites, ivories and lace.

This year, I color coordinated all my projects and made them holiday themed to use in my home, and tonight I am getting the house all decorated, so I'm pulling out the Bella goods and enjoying them.

So far, I've only got a few things out. I want to wait till Sugarwings goes to sleep, then surprise her in the morning with a house all decorated for the holidays! She's snuggled up with Pop Pop and a story right now, after a busy evening of building a gingerbread house. (World Market has some cute kits on sale for $8, chocolate houses with peppermint decor)

Its not quite her bedtime yet, and I am trying to be inconspicuous, but am itching to go. Luckily I have my Silver Bella goods to play with until the fairy baby is tucked in for the night.That hs held me in check for a little while.

I spent the afternoon at a flea market and all the vintage Christmas on display has got me worked up and raring to decorate. Its kind of like chum in the water starting a shark feeding frenzy. Seeing all the faded silver tinsel has set off a holiday frenzy for me.

I was in such a hurry that I broke the teacup fairy!! The cup fell off and smashed, but I glued it all back together like a puzzle, and made bandaids of paper to cover the cracks on the inside and hold it together.

Then, I glued a bunch of millinery petals down the back to cover the repairs, and wrapped a lace "shawl" around her shoulders to cover the rest of the cracks.

I think I like it better now than before I broke it. Although, when it hit the floor, I sure didn't think it would work out better than before.

Isn't she cute? Okay, I off to tuck my little one into bed so I can unleash the frenzy and get decorating!

The happiest of Thanksgivings to you all!

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, flowers, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / November 24, 2010

I probably don't even have to say how thankful I am do I??? You guys all know that there were worries about the baby long before she came, and her poor momma was having a rough time. I couldn't be more thankful that both are happy and well now.

And I'm so thankful to have a new litle fairy to add to my flock!

Not only do I have my own two little grand fairies, and great niece Pixie Pie to play with, I've also grown to love Adam's Beloved's little ones. And no one appreciates a make believe game of dress up more than Miss Clover. What would I do without her in my life?

And this little sprite-let? I can't tell you how much I love her. She is quite the handful, and keeps us hopping, but the moment she leaves to go to back to her parent's home, all we can think about is when we get to see her again, no matter how tired we feel after playing with her. There is so much personality packed into that tiny little body that she wears out anyone near her, but it is a wonderful exhaustion. Kind of like a day of gardening, when the sun is shining, there is a cool breeze, and your flowers are blooming and looking great. The day was a lot of work, and you are ready for a rest, but the feeling is a good, satisfied tiredness, a happy one.

My fingers are crossed that her baby sister will take on some of the qualities of her second middle name, Zen. I don't know if I can chase two kids with the bounciness of Sugarwings….

But I'll do my best. Grand babies have a way of keeping you young, all these little ones are bringing out the kid in me. I love seeing things through Sugarwing's eyes. Today, a lonely leaf blew across the parking lot of the grocery store and she told me a long story about his family that he was trying to get back home to.

Tiny little things that I would walk right by with my own 52 year old sensibilities become magical, beautiful things when I look at them with a 4 year old's perspective. We amble every where we go and are always on the look out for a fuzzy bug, or a twig that might really be a wand with special powers. Simply walking across the back yard can be an adventure when I have this little person with me.

Yes, a lot to be thankful for. A handsome, funny, husband who was told at his checkup today that he was in tip top condition.

Two sons who tried their best break me in their teenage years, but grew into strong, kind hearted men that make me proud.

Sugarwing's smart and sassy Hippy Chic mommy who is my baby girl now. And Adam's Beloved Gypsy who is a kind and gentle soul, with a lovely outlook on life. I hope she considers me her mom too.

Sisters, and neices that I love like the best of friends and best friends that I love like sisters.

And a house full of Dorkies. There is nothing more cheerful than a stampede of tiny little feet running to greet me when I come in the front door.

Oh, and how can I leave out my STUDIO!? Its a dream come true, after a life time of using dining room tables, folding tables, or whatever corner I could find to set up my stuff?

Please forgive me for being schmaltzy. But this is a time of year when I get sentimental. I'm still a little teary from watching the touching scene in Glee last night…. New babies do that to you too, its easy to tear up and get emotional when there is a newborn in your life. When my kids were little, I thought it was the hormones that made me cry at TV commercials, but now I know its just the nearness of a little cuddle bundle that does it to me.

I hope all of you get a chance to count your blessings tomorrow. In between all the hectic meal prep and clean up, take a moment just to look around at faces you love and breathe in the happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Its beginning to look a little bit like Christmas

fairies, family, flowers, Silver Bella, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / November 22, 2010

Over the weekend, I spent a little time lightening up the living room. (I was going to say de-flowering, but that just sounds wrong)

For the summer, I'd hung rose pattern curtains, scattered rosey pillows around the room, and set out some floral plates and trays as accents. Since the basics of the room are neutral, its really easy to switch out looks by changing accessories.

I hung my Target Shabby Chic white velvet drapes, duct taped an old velvet duvet cover over the sofa cushion, and took out anything pink or rosey.

No, not all rosey things! Agnes Rosebud stayed, of course.

After covering the couch cushion, I stuffed a crocheted table cloth under it, to peek out a bit, and got out my neutral pillows.

But the best part of the change over is the banner! My side swap from Silver Bella got hung up too. I used bits of lace tied together to hang it from.

And for the Holidays, I think I'll add some glittered letters to spell JOY.

And Suzanne Duda.

Great swap, huh???

And at the Silver Bella Vendor Faire, I was also lucky enough to get one of Lesa Daily's beautiful birds. She sells out FAST at any show she is in. That lady has some skills!

I'm kinda decorating for the holidays, but not quite. Just a hint of whats to come. Its fun to do it gradually.

For now, I've just set out some of my Silver Bella projects and the Romantic White Christmas things that I made for the online EZine (which reminds me- if you are showing any of your work from the class on your blog, please let me know!)

My plan during classes in Omaha was to make all the projects coordinate. I packed lots of white, silver, gold, and neutral and made everyone of my classes into something Christmassy to use in my home.

Usually, I have a vending booth and my free class period is spent in a craze of setting up, and this year I didn't vend. So I spent some of my free period in the hotel room puttering around on finishing stuff up, but I got lonely. So I took a walk downstairs and popped into other classes to visit and see what everyone was making. In Kari Lynn's class, I saw a bunch of friends, so they invited me to pull up a chair and visit. Someone gave me some wire, so I made this little door (with bird) for the cage I had already made in one of Kari Lynn's previous classes.

I was in two of her classes, then crashed this third one. Then, on Sat. she sat next to me in another class and as we were working away and chatting, I turned and introduced myself and said I didn't think we'd met. She said "YOU WERE JUST IN TWO OF MY CLASSES! " Ooops. I told her that her classes were so good that I was concentraiting on the project, not her face!

After that, she started calling me Dory. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming" (from Nemo) At least its not as bad as the year I asked Mary Englebrait to take my picture with someone, not knowing who she was…

Thing is, Kari Lynn's classes were wonderful and I just adored them and her. She is teaching at Kim's next wonderland, and that is one of the reasons I am going. Well, her and Colleen, who I got to know too. I really enjoyed them both.

I'll show the other projects when I finish my Christmas decor. I ran out of time, we had family over to meet the new baby on Saturday night.

Sugarwings and Pixie Pie had some dress up fun.

I can't believe how grownup this girl is getting. But all of a sudden, all my babies look HUGE, since we have added the tiny, newest fairy to the flock.

On Sunday, I got some more trees done and a few are in the Etsy shop now, more to come! Thanks for all the tree love.

These are a little something different, I tried some sepia ones. I like them, they fit well with my neutral living room. I hope people don't think they look like trees left up way too long.

I'll leave you with some new Etsy goods:

Mayara is here!

celebrations, fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / November 16, 2010

Mayara Tulaya is here! After a long, six weeks of her poor tired momma going through almost daily contractions and trying to be on bed rest, the parents had to give up on thier plans to deliver at home.

They checked into the hosptial this morning, and let me spend the day with them. It was such a magical day. Soft music playing, sweet Christee, the momma, being so tough and brave throughout the labor. She managed to nap through a lot of the day.

While she was busy creating the little cuddle bundle, my son and I kept busy, each of us had packed a supply bag were creating too.

He was wrapping crystals in silver wire (talented guy, huh?)

I was making roses from a felted angora sweater. Both were ideal projects to pass the time while we waited for Mayara to come.

It looked like it was going to be a long haul, so in the afternoon, I took a break to pick up the big kids at school, and bring a pizza to the hospital for dinner. When I got back and walked into the hall, I saw the doctor running by, so took off after her.

Both of us arrived after the baby came. So did the nurses! My son and his beloved delivered the baby by themselves, just like they had planned on doing for the home birth they didn't get to have.

We are all thrilled for them. It couldn't have worked out better. I'd say it all happened fast, but it was six weeks of worry and pain leading up to these last few minutes of birthing time, so I won't insult the mom by calling it a quick delivery.

I really don't understand how she did it, but the new mother managed to look completely beautiful and serene through it all. I, on the other hand, look awful. But I posted this photo anyway, because you can see just how happy I am, make up or not.

Thank you all for your concerns and caring during the pregnancy. To let you know just how much all your inquiries and comments and personal emails meant to me, I'll give away a few of these angora roses to celebrate the baby's birth.

Please leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win one. And thanks again so much for caring and being excited for this new baby in our lives!

Redos and repairs

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, flowers, holiday decor, parties, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / November 5, 2010

Wow, thanks SO much for the response to our Romantic White Christmas e-zine! I've been working away on it, and actually wrote 11 posts in 2 days. Whew! Plus making more stuff for it. I have a habit of not being able to stop once I get started….

I've got a couple of "bonus" projects made and a couple of other extras too. Just some simple little pretties for the holidays.

Today, I started cleaning up mystudio to get ready for a dinner party and was able to use some of the Romantic White Christmas things in my decor. These aren't over whelmingly screaming CHRISTMAS, they are just sparkly, vintage and festive.

Well, this one kind of does. At least it screams "NOEL"!

When Beth and I shot photos for the classes, we had all the things we made on display, and I liked the look of this up in the window so much, that I'm leaving it. I already missed the Romantic Gothic Ghosts banner, the window felt naked without it.

I might just be a banner adict now. I'll need one for every season.

We took everything off the top of this buffet and redid it in whites and silver as a back drop for the projects and I liked it so much, its staying this way. It had been a pink explosion before, now there is just a hint of blush here and there.

Sadly, when I started putting the tables together and pulled out my favorite table cloth, this is what it looked like. Its really old, and the fabric is just falling apart. I am too lazy to was afraid to try to sew it, and thought it was a goner. Then, I remembered Kay Ellen's Sealah Tape. The stuff is amazing!

Its a two sided tape that her mom invented and is so easy to use.

A few holes here and there don't bother me, but that was big enough to lose a dinner plate in. So I covered up the bad place with a few bits of lace and some tattered silk.

While I was at it, I covered up a few more rips with lace. (These girls don't realize I am taking a photo of the table cloth. Please don't tell them. They think cameras are only meant to focus on them)

Today I made time to finish up my hat for Silver Bella too. Here is a little bit of it. Its a bit different as far as head wear goes….

Romantic White Christmas is ready to go!

fairies, holiday decor, how to's, how-to projects, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / November 3, 2010

Beth and I worked on photographing our projects for the Romantic White Christmas class yesterday, and I was able to get the site up and running. I was being very flustered and scattered and was feeling the pressure of getting it all pulled together in time, plus getting ready for Silver Bella and a couple of dinner parties. Beth asked if I was OK, and told me that it wasn't like me to be frantic about getting things done. I usually take it all in stride.

But then, she asked me how the baby was doing and I realized I was totally blocking all my grand baby worries and focusing them on the other things. I'm not frantic about projects and parties! I'm really wrecked worrying about the new baby.

Sometimes it takes a good friend to calm you down and help you face your fears.

So far all is well with the baby, the due date is nearing and the new momma is holding up. The closer the date gets, the more relieved I should be, since the little one gets stronger and stronger as she grows. But 6 weeks of labor stopping and starting has left me frazzled. And no pre-natal care terrifies me.

But the momma is calm and cool and I need to follow her lead. Beth reminded me that they are following their beliefs and they are not stupid, if a serious problem comes up, they will go to the hospital.

So, I'm focusing on the good news, and looking forward to the parties and projects, and a new cuddle bundle coming soon. Staying positive can't hurt. Turning into a frazzled wreck will only make it worse.

Sorry, sometimes I use this blog as a daily diary to help me deal with things. Other times, its a kind ear to tell my problems too. But I'm sure you all would rather I just kept it a happy place to share pretty stuff!

So, on with the pretties!

The NOEL Banner is mine, and the patterns are hand drawn. I've also included an ornament and star pattern to use too. Plus, I have edited and sized the patterns to be printed 8 x 10" like the banner, or 4 x 6" to be used as ornaments.

Beth sure made some nice stuff for her side of the classes. This is a details of a white feather wreath she created and embellished.

And how sweet is this?

This one is from me, and I hope everyone likes it, they are a bit different…. but I had fun with them. Can't you picture this on a table top filled with mini silver ornaments and moss?

I have this shoe 2 ways, one has a bit more color to it. We've based the projects on White Christmas of course, but if it was all completely white, the papers would all be blank. We use a lot a of neutrals and a hint of soft colors.

I spent two weeks going through my ephemera stashes and scanned all my favorites, then edited them to sepia or black and white, and some with barely there colors. Then, I included some of the original colored papers in the catalog for you too, so you'd have choices. There are lots of papers and images to chose from, much more than what you will need just for these projects.

These photo album mats are a good example of images that you'll find in the catalogs that will be useful year round, not just for holiday crafts.

The image used on the bell is taken from an old postcard. I have hand painted wings onto her, then scanned and edited the picture to sepia. I wanted to add some touches that were one of a kind and you couldn't find anywhere else.

This little angel is from an old photo that I painted wings for too. She has a hint of some of those barely there colors in the wings and in the patterns I painted on her shirt, but over all, this stocking has a "white" feeling.

And I can't wait to make this little Pretty Pixie box from Beth! Mine might get wings….

And Beth had this idea for a song book. Its filled with all your favorite holiday tunes and simple enough to make that you'll want one for every family member to carry as you go carolling!

Plus, you know, we'll have more. I tend to go on and on and am unstopable. I think its a good thing for me to do two blogs instead of just one, because I do have a habit of saying wayyyyy too much. With two blogs, my blathering will be split in half. Oops, that really isn't a good selling point, is it?

What I meant, is that you should expect lots of extras on the Romantic White Christmas site, beyond just the projects listed. We'll have some projects that you just print and embellish, gift wrap and decorating ideas for Christmas, videos, plus a few presents here and there.

I hope you'll join us!

Today, I'm linking with White Wednesdays over at Faded Charm. I always enjoy her white party, but rarely have a white theme on Wednesday to fit.

The pink side of the baby shower and news for next spring

celebrations, fairies, family, flowers, Food and Drink, parties, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / October 27, 2010

No baby yet, but I have more pics of the shower last week. Earlier, I showed you the bright colored dining tables set up in the studio. In the house, I used the dining room to set up a dessert buffet and decorated in there with pink and white.

Not all the treats are set out yet in these photos, I had a pumpkin cheesecake to join the brownies and strawberry shortcake. I'd made home made whipped cream for the first time in my life, and sadly, I fell madly in love with the stuff. I want to make it all the time, and my previous fave, low fat CoolWhip will never be good enough again.

For the centerpiece, I scanned old photos of babies and turned them into shower fairies by giving them wings and parasols.

The are hung from spray painted and glittered branches potted in my pink gum ball machine. I just took the top off of the machine, wrapped a chunk of oasis floral foam in pink shredded paper and slid it in. Then, stuck the branch into the foam and started hanging fairies.

A pink toy trunk from my studio was used to set the fairy tree on. And Sugarwing's doll bed was lined with old doilies and used to hold napkins, plates, and silverware.

Her room got raided again for a doll bed to use for dispay too.

I turned the dining table sideways and pushed it up to the window, then sat the chairs around the room in seating groups. This vintage bedspread was used as a table cloth, but it was too short and both ends of the table were open and naked. So, I draped two lace curtains across the ends of the table.

All of the flowers were from my garden, or a friend's yard, and all of the decor was stuff I found around the house or made in the studio. So it cost me nothing (but the price of the food) to make the room pretty for the party.

And yes, the friend said I could pick her flowers.

The poor tree branch that I used for the fairies is from my dearly departed Weeping Pussy Willow that died this summer. I snapped the top off of the tree to keep, since it was such a pretty shape, and it was ideal for spray painting and filling with fairies. (if you count the $60 tree, I guess my display was not cheap after all!)

Here is a little tip from me:

If you decide to make a banner to hang behind your table for a party, you should probably do it BEFORE you have everything set up.

I was all done with my table and felt like I was missing something, so ran out to the studio to make this banner and had to squeeze behind the table and tippy toe stretch to hang it.

The banner is 4 squares of chipboard covered in old wallpaper, with a crepe paper ruffle across the bottom. I then used a decorative punch to cut out ledger paper shapes, glued those down, and wrote the letters B A B Y in glitter on the centers of the shapes. It still looked bare, so I popped a millinery bloom in the center of the crepe paper. Very fast and simple. Holes got punched in the tops and I hung it from a length of pink tulle.

It was a lot quicker to make than to hang on the window! Of course, if I'd hung it before setting up the table, it would have been a heck of a lot easier.

The tree confused my poor husband who only asked me a couple of times who all the babies were. He seems to think that anytime I use a cabinet card for making something, it must be a relative. Because why on earth would you have pictures of strangers in the house?

Of course, he is the same guy who was showing photos of our house in a magazine to his mom. When I looked over his shoulder, I saw it wasn't even my article, or our house. If it was pink and white, he figured it must be ours.

Its amazing that he can be so good natured about me working in the studio so much, since he really doesn't get what I do at all. In his mind, I must be out here just playing demented paper doll games and painting everything I can get a hold of white.

Luckily, I have my Sugarwings, who thinks that everything I have is the COOLEST. And soon, I'll have Mayara, and I'll start teaching her to have fun in the studio with me. Its nice to have some one who GETS ME. Like my fairy baby and my blog friends do.

Hey, if you'd like to come and play in my studio world,too- I'm planning a workshop out there on May Day weekend of 2011. I've got a couple of great instructors lined up and am still working out the details.

My friend, Lisa and I were chatting back and forth this weekend, and one of those, "wouldn't it be fun if" conversations turned into "Lets do it on May Day and have a Spring party!". I emailed Carol and she is in too. (if you get a chance, go by and tell Carol Happy Birthday, she is celebrating this weekend)

This class will be small, less than 20 people. (if I'm lucky enough to get 20, that is!!) Simple, casual, fun, and laid back. Just the way I like things.

I'd love to see you here in the studio next spring…. I meet the nicest people in blogland. Rachael sent us a doll she made of Sugarwings, inspired by my paintings in the Grumpy Fairy book! Isn't it adorable?

Save the dates and due dates

fairies, family, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / October 25, 2010

Did you notice the new button on the side bar of my blog? I'm so excited to announce that my friend, Jenn Hayslip has asked me to teach a mini workshop during opening night at her fairy filled event next October in North Carolina. I was at the first art party that Jenn ever threw, I so I know just how beautiful her events are. And this one is all about FAIRIES! Right up my alley!

I'm honored to be a part of it all! The instructors are:

Dee Faust, Andrea Singerella, Lori Oles, and Natasha Burns.

You can check out Jenn's blog for details and gorgeous graphics. See how cute the frames for the teacher's pics are. This gives you an idea of what the weekend will be about, romantic, fluttery sprites, magic and make believe.

These babes aren't your childhood fairy tales…. no, these will be lush, lovely, and luxurious, grown up and gorgeous fairies. I hope you'll join us there.

And here is another fabulous fairy, my Gypsy Girl and her tummy ful-o-baby.

She had a rough night, we thought that that our family's newest fairy was about to have her birthday, but the contractions stopped again.

A good, and generous friend, who is a professional photographer gifted my son's Beloved Gypsy Girl with a photo session of her baby to be. I went along to make sure she didn't over do it (she's on bed rest) and to snap a few photos with my own camera too. These are a couple that I got while taking advatage of all the cool lighting my friend had set up.

She is a beautiful lady, isn't she? Hard to believe she is the mother of SIX. I'm so worried about her own health with the off and on labor that has been going on for weeks. During this pregnancy we've grown close and I love her like my own now. I've been lucky with the girls my son has brought home. Sugarwing's Hippy Chick Mommy will always be my little girl too, and we've found a way to make our unusual family all work together. You can't have too many people to love.

Please keep my baby girl and her expected baby girl in your thoughts. Its not been an easy time for her, she's been in a lot of pain. We are all waiting impatiently for our fairy tale happy ending when Mayara is finally in our arms.

A Family of Fairies to watch over the new gypsy fairy baby

celebrations, fairies, family, holiday decor, how to's, parties

By Karla Nathan / October 21, 2010

The baby shower was such fun! It was more of a dinner party with presents. I'd thought we'd eat outdoors, but the evenings are getting cooler, so I had to quickly scoop all the mess out of the way in the studio and pull some tables together so we could eat indoors.

My studio is ideal for parties, even though its always a bit of a hodge podge. I just grab things from around the room that are destined for sale, or stuff I made, or supplies waiting to be made into something else and create a tablescape with whatever is handy.

(the cute little girl with the umbrella is going into the Boutique today, there are 6 total, never used before until I opened the vintage package for the baby shower. Yea, I know they were probably worth more in an unopened package, but thats not how I roll. I believe everything should be used and enjoyed!!)

We couldn't use the dining room in the house for the party, because I had the table in there all set up with cakes and decorations for the shower. (Pink and white fairy baby decor pictures of the dining room to come later)

It was a couples and kids party, not a typical baby shower. No games, just a glass of wine and a buffet dinner with lots of laughter and chatter.

The weather really was nice, and all the older kids ran around and played outside. They sat in the garden to eat, but the adults were happier indoors, some of the dads ate up in my husband's office so they could play pool. I didn't try to get the table set for everyone, I knew people would roam and sit where they were comfortable. I put a few chairs around the 3 tables in the studio and figured I could pull up more chairs as needed.

My parties are casual, not perfect. The food is usually a buffet in the kitchen where everyone serves themselves then finds a seat wherever they'd like.

Since this new grandbaby's momma loves all things gypsy and fairy, I went with very bright colors for the dinner table. I also made up a mobile for the baby with her family as colorful fairies on it.

We are having what feels like a long, lovely extended September around here. My flower beds are looking better than ever, so I was albe to pick some blooms to bring in, then I scattered millinery flowers around the centerpieces too.

(there are now LOTS of red carnations and roses for sale in my Etsy and my Boutique, ready for Christmas crafting or decorating)

To make the Fairy Family members for the mobile, first I cut a branch down and spray painted it green and added some glitter to the wet paint.

Then, I went through all my files to find pictures of everyone and printed two of each, one regular, one mirror image.

With the mirror image done, both were cut out and glued back to back, so that when they hang, they can spin around and look good from both sides.

(Her crown is a bit of lace trim, colored with markers)

Some of the pictures got a little extra editing, like tinting Dimitri green like an elf.

I loved this picture of Sugarwings, but her dress was pink, so I edited it to fit in better with the other images too.

These two guys were such fun poses! Perfect for this project!

Now, how this mobile will hang over the bassinette is another issue altogether. I think it needs to be in a vase on a table near the bassinette, not attached. Or hung from the ceiling. But, I'm leaving that up to her parents on how to display it. Won't they look pretty together?

One more bit of marketing before I go- also new in the Boutique is this "Whispers in the Dark" crown made from vintage copper screening, old trims, millinery, and vintage jewels. The image is from our Romantic Gothic Ghost class, which you still have time to join. We've had new students joining reguarly. There are some pretty quick projects, plus most can be slightly altered to be used year round, not just at Halloween. The emphasis is more on Romantic and Gothic than ghostly.

We've provided lots of images, backgrounds, and extras to print out and use in other projects too.

Plus, we have two giveaways going now for the class. Anyone signed up by October 31st is entered to win one of two packages of vintage goodies to use as embellishments in your work.

And as my October Giveaway for my blog, one completed project will be gifted to the person whose name I draw from all of October's comments.

Gee, I need to just stop talking, don't I? Sometimes my posts can just go on forever.