family – Page 26 – Karla's Cottage

A road trip through the plains and mountains

By Karla Nathan / March 22, 2018

Our Wyoming trip to see family over St Pat's was just as nice as can be. Sugarwings reunited with her cousin, Sydnee. They "ship" their names, Leandra and Sydnee, to Syd-Lee, and are best buds. I was thrilled to find these green (ish) matching shirts at Target for them to wear-

Together we are better than Unicorns, Sprinkles, and Rainbows.

Perfect!

They cheerleaded on trampoline during a family football game (no, I did NOT play), crafted, treated us to green mani-pedis, and each used their copious make believe skills nonstop.

We also spent some time with Grandma Joan, in the assisted living center. And even better, she felt good enough to come over to the house for a dinner and a brunch!

I was torn over seeing this hanging prominently in her room. I painted it in '87, it is a scene from Arkansas. It was sweet that she'd saved it, but sad that it wasn't a better painting…. I should paint something new for her to replace it, I think my style now has improved. Visiting family can become a stroll down a lane of forgotten artwork, that can be a cringy tour of past ineptitudes.

If you own a painting of mine from ages ago- please, please, please don't feel like you have to display it or you'll hurt my feelings!!! I'm fine (thrilled) with you taking it down, throwing it away, burning it, or disposing it in the best way to prevent me from that gut wrenching feeling of

"OH NO, what was I thinking?"

Green isn't always my color, so I made a bracelet to wear for the holiday and avoiding a pinch. Then brought another for my sister-in-law as a thanks for hosting us. I brought more beads and some child sized memory wire for the Syd-Lees to make their own jewelry too.

The drive across Colorado and Wyoming was breathtaking, and we were extremely lucky that this was old snow, the storm had passed, roads were clear, but the view of remnants was lovely to see. I enjoyed the drive, as we listened to Bridge to Terabithia, and Stardust. A good book can make a trip fly by, and if you have a view like this, sometimes the trip can seem to go too quickly.

Sugarwings is an ideal travelling companion, she was in the car for hours on end and never once asked if we were there yet, or had a single complaint.

Of course, breaking up the drive with an overnight at Great Wolf didn't hurt.

And I had some fun at Great Wolf too. Swimming for a few hours makes up for sitting in the car that long.

Thank you to the Wyoming Nathans for a warm, welcoming, fun filled, visit! It's just too dang bad that our family is so far apart, it would be nice to see them more often.

Oh, and thank you to all who cleared out my wallpaper scrap packs and journals! All were mailed when I got back from our travels, and I hope to have more cut and listed to sell too. But for today, I'm happily knee deep in Easter Eggs with vintage millinery. I came out to the studio with a mindset to work on wallpaper packs, but you know how that goes. All of a sudden, I'm glittering eggs and gluing on ribbons and flowers. instead of cutting papers.

Photos soon!

Sometimes you want to make an art journal, other times you just need to get some pictures into a scrap book

Books, family

By Karla Nathan / February 25, 2018

There are times when I want to create a beautiful book. Other times, I want to display family photos in an arty way, and spend some time being creative.

Then, there are the days that I just have to get some pics slapped into a book and get on with it!

It is important to me to save momentos throughout the year and add them to albums with family photos, but I don't always have the opportunity to spend a lot of time on it. This book, is one of those kinds. It is a "git 'er done" book, that I will enjoy looking through over the years, but didn't take much time to put together.

It is made with a vintage album, some of the pages were fragile, and there weren't enough of them. So, I've added scrapbooking cardstock to most, covering tears and weak spots for reinforcement. Folded pages of cardstock are taped in, randomly to add more space for photos.

Here, I've used the old paper as is, and simply glued down pictures in various sizes. At the bottom, I cut out a grouping of family members for contrast.

I print out pictures on matt photo paper, and don't use standard sizes. Instead of doing wallet, 3 x5, 4×6, I insert the photos I want to use into a document, and fill a page with many shapes and sizes.

The grand fairies love taking photo booth shots, so I save those from places we visit throughout the year, some I glue in as a strip, some I cut up and sprinkle around the page like here.

And when you get tired of gluing things in, a pocket to fill up is a good idea!

Another way to make more space is to adhere cards. They are fun as is, but also open up and have room for photos inside.

This section also has a narrow flap created with folded cardstock, to add more pictures too.

There is a shelf in the studio where I stack up saved bits and pieces throughout the year. One of the things I saved was a bracket a nephew drew up for the big ping pong match at last summer's family reunion. The landscapes are from paintings I'd done about the trip, made into cards, so are filled with more photos.

The photo of my two sons and husband wasn't fitting, so I cut our legs off, made the picture into a strip and turned it vertical. At the bottom, I cut out Sugarwings and her mommy. This isn't exactly an arty layout, but it is filled with things that mean something to me and is more interesting than a simple row of photos all the same size and shape.

Well, that is gaudy, isn't it?

But fun, and suits the subject, the grand fairies at Valentines season.

The edges are trimmed out in ruffled crepe paper, and topped with scattered hearts.

I've tried coordinating scrapbook paper to the photos I've chosen, but haven't been too matchy matchy. It is mostly background.

On this page, I added a hand made card from Beth, and cut out a message from another card I'd gotten and added it as a banner. Beth's artwork has a picture added to the backside too. The edges of the page are trimmed in velvet and sparkly ribbons for contrast.

Here is a selection of vacation pics, topped off with a series of sample passport photos. The maillady who took them had trouble getting them right, and I was at the post office, applying for the passport for over an hour. She gave me some of the trashed ones and I kept them, to add to the book.

The background is a map of the city we stayed in, with Puerto Vallarta cut out, made into a banner, and added over the top. I really like to save hotel receipts, maps, brochures, and other larger pieces to use as backdrops to travel pages.

On this one, I've outlined the photos with a blue marker. And not perfectly either.

These two pages are an example of layering lots and lots and lots of memorabilia and photos.

The background is a map from one music festival, and it covers both pages. Over that, I've glued down a booklet from another festival and filled up all of the pages with pictures, including the cover. I saved a couple pairs of eclipse glasses that we'd worn at one of the festivals, one intact, the other with the lenses filled with pictures like a frame.

Then, I started laying out pictures from both events, and lots of them. Some cut into shapes, some with the people cut out, and glued them down overlapping. To make them stand out, I drew around them with metallic marker.

These pages are busy too. And are tied together with a simple background color. Some of the photos are glued to contrasting paper, and then cut out so they are framed. Others are cut out with round or scalloped punches.

In my opinion, a variety of shapes makes an interesting lay out.

There was some bird's nest scrapbook paper that I put a cut out pic of Guncle Randy and I onto, and I added a couple of little feathers to our shoulders.

Last summer, the grand fairies painted with shaving cream and food coloring. I saved some of their artwork to use as a backdrop here too. I thought the colors were ideal for Halloween. Over the painted paper, I drew some scrolls and vines, this page got a little more attention than some of the other ones. I also added some old millinery blooms.

The adjoining page is a simple background, and is layered with two cut out Dewdrops over the other photos.

Here is more of the paper the grand fairies painted. I tore strips of it to make borders, then used a scallop punch to make smaller pictures to paste around the border.

Now, time to start collecting for next year's book!

A Redo for Ryan

cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / February 3, 2018

My son, Ryan turned 40 last weekend. We celebrated by remodeling his apartment on the side of our house. When he moved in, he was younger, and shall we say….less careful… with his surroundings. The combo of not cleaning the bathroom enough and our hard, well water left the shower more than slightly, well, hideous.

He is a different person now, and has taken a lot of pride in the new space, working along with his brother to gut it and helping me repaint it. I have a feeling that this room will stay nice now.

Here is a mid rip out picture, I didn't get a before because those two guys dug right in before I got a chance.

There had been a kitchenette area that Ry never used, and he wanted it out so he could make better use of the space.

For the resale value of our home, I didn't want to eliminate the plumbing. There might be a use of the sink hookups later on. So, Adam figured out a way to cover them up by building an entertainment center for his brother.

Ry got a custom built cabinet to house his electronics!

When we first built the addition, 13 years ago, we went bare bones, cheap as we could. This time around, we gave it an upgrade because we discovered that you get what you paid for. The vanity was in bad shape and the laminate floor was coming apart.

A new floor was put in the living and bedroom areas, and tile was added in the bathroom.

The shower, potty, and vanity were replaced with better quality pieces. I especially love that sink top! Black quartz with a coppery vein through it.

Nice!

I'm so happy with how it all turned out for him, and he can't stop gushing. We are lucky to have a talented handyman, Adam, to do the work for us and in what seemed like no time at all. It took about a week total, which is pretty impressive.

Living through a redo like this isn't easy, but when the family chips in to help, it goes quicker than you'd think. And I loved seeing my boys working together, getting this done. Well, "working together" most of the time. There were a few arguments that reminded me of the good old days when they were much younger.

It was pretty nice to have the two grand fairies staying here all week while their daddy did the job too.

With the work done, it seems too quiet around here with no hammering, and kids playing. I even miss the little spats between the guys.

But I do NOT miss this awful shower. We tried everything under the sun to clean it, but no way. It had to go! Thanks to Adam and all of his skills, the place looks great. And thanks to Ryan for his design choices and good ideas as well as all of the work he did to keep this job rolling.

We came in under budget too!

Surviving winter, sort of.

family

By Karla Nathan / January 28, 2018

I've officially decided.

I hate winter.

I've always known it wasn't a good time for me, but this year, mere dislike has become a pure, burning hatred.

Maybe the accelerated loathing was from being cooped up in the house with 5 dogs, some who don't like each other, two that need to be seperated due to a hot spot that won't heal and the other wanting to "help" with it, and one who sheds buckets and buckets of hair.

There hasn't been that much snow, just a few dustings, but there were a lot of days with single digit and below temps. Not good when your art studio has cement floors. I felt like that cold had invaded my bones, right up through the soles of my feet, and I spent a some time just shivering and feeling sorry for myself. Then, I decided, to heck with trying to work and flung myself deeply into Netflix and a couple of good books, and so much hot tea that my brain was zinging with caffeine.

Just when I thought I wouldn't make it, or that I'd turn into a jittery couch potato with no interest in leaving my cozy blanket and TV, the weather broke.

And in a spectacular way. We had bountiful sunshine, warmer days, but still, oddly, kept a covering of snow for a bit.

We were able to shoo the herd of dogs and girls outside to get some fresh air, and exercise. The kids used leftover tie dye colors that I'd saved from coloring bottle brush trees, to draw pictures in the lingering snow.

There is nothing like some sunshine to perk me up. End of funk.

Not the end of the season, but I feel the will to go on.

I CAN MAKE IT TIL SPRING. I think I can, I think I can. I think I can.

Around the Cottage in Janurary

dogs, family, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / January 15, 2018

This Christmas season, I had my halls decked extremely early, and when the holiday passed, I was ready to say toodle-doo to what all of a sudden felt like clutter. So, on the 26th, the marathon pack up began. Surprisingly, the tear down goes pretty fast. I have to be very organized to make soooooo many things fit into one closet under the stairs.

And it did fit! I had my doubts because I had added some decor to my previous years' stash.

As glad as I am to streamline in January, I can't bear to put it all away at once, and always leave a bit out. Like the angel wings mounted on burlap over my bluebird and roses paintings. They will stay up through Valentines. And over the windows in the grand fairies' craft nook, I have frosted branches and white lights. To me, those are considered "winter decorations."

And it has been TOO COLD to put away the outdoor stuff.

This girl doesn't seem to feel the cold. It has been hard to convince her to come in when it snows. Although, right now, it seems hard to convince her of anything. She has developed a stubborn streak. Sugar has been the most perfect pup I've ever had the joy to work with. So, I think I took her good behavior for granted and stopped working with her. She got into some bad habits and we are back on a training schedule again.

She is only 8 months old, and I have to remember she will be a puppy for at least another year, even tho she is such a big girl now.

This big girl isn't ready to complete give up on our Christmas cocoa parties in front of the tree. I miss them too, but have to limit them to December while the tree is up and sparkling, to keep them special. But they are hard to give up on cold turkey! So we have been having some tea parties with our favorite dolls as a transition into January.

The girls, as well as I, have a very hard time going from so many fun holiday activities to "real life." We are already on the countdown to December 2018!

Having a special Valentine party to look forward to helps. If you'd like to come too, please check out the details on my previous post.

Our Zombie family

family

By Karla Nathan / December 28, 2017

Ryan and I are Walking Dead superfans. So, when he wanted a new wallet for Christmas, I decided to special it up by filling the empty photo slots with family pictures.

As zombies of course.

This is my fave. Dorothy adores Ryan, he could be her favorite human, of course she had to be included in his wallet.

None of the pictures are monster poses, I just used some previous pics that I had handy and edited them on Picmonkey.

To me, that made them even creepier than if they'd been staged.

HIs other gifts were a Walking Dead book and a coffee table, that he caught me working on in the studio. I'd found it at a thrift store, but the inlaid wood top had pink nail polish spilled on it.

I sanded down the top only, leaving the legs as is.Then painted the trim grey, coated it all with a dark wax and buffed it out. He loved the table and was telling me how perfect one like it would be for his room, after I told him that I was fixing it up for someone. Which he believed, because I used to do painted furniture for my job. But those pieces were usually white and hand painted with roses. Still, my story worked on him and he was surprised when he realized the gift was for him on Christmas Eve.

Ry was such fun to surprise. He doesn't' expect much, but appreciates everything. What a sweetheart!

He loved the wallet filled with edited creatures too.

While these photos might not exactly be, uhm, tasteful, they are from the heart and he was thrilled that I refinished a table for him and turned our family into monsters for his wallet.

Aren't those the best kind of gifts? The ones that don't take much money, just some time, creativity, and knowledge of what will make someone you love surprised and smiling?

Some holiday fun

celebrations, Dew Drop, dogs, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 24, 2017

My goal for December is to round up all of the Christmas fun I can find, wrangle, or create. I do not say no to an invitation, and I try to do a lot of inviting to others too.

Luckily, I have a couple of partners in my quest for holly jolly joy.

We gathered up all the sisses and a buddy for a night out to see Beauty and the Beast at Theatre Lawrence.

And we have non stop craft-a-thons by the Christmas tree or in the cardboard cottage.

And of course, delicious cocoa parties that come afterwards.

The rule around here is "First one up turns on all of the tree lights", so the house always feels festive.

After the holidays end, and the decor comes down, I think it is the lights that I miss the most of all the decorations. Sometimes, I leave some white lights over the windows thru January as a transition to help me survive the end the celebrating.

For now, I'm still revelling in the joy of it all.
And in the cookies. Maybe the only thing better than white twinkle lights throughout the house is decorating and eating sugar cookies.

Especially in good company!

Hi there, Mr. Claus!

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 22, 2017

We love to visit Santa and have a fabulous brunch at The Nicklaus Club at Lionsgate.

And not just because the napkins are folded like trees.

It is a fun excuse to get dressed up and spend some time with family and that jolly old elf, himself.

This year, the grand fairies made gifts for him, and he liked them so much, he offered the kiddos jobs at the North Pole as elves. I told them that I'd miss them a lot, but it sounded like a good opportunity.

We've been visiting him for years.

Since Dewdrop was just tiny.

Oh, they grow sooooooo fast, don't they?

And the holiday season is gone in a flash.

I'm enjoying every single blessed moment of it! And I hope that you are too.

A s’mores pie Pinterest Fail that was actually a Success

family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / November 8, 2017

The grandfairies spent the weekend with me before Halloween, and decided to do some treat making. We'd seen a pie that had spooky ghost faces on it, made with marshmallows and chocolate.

For a short cut, I used a premade graham cracker crust, and we whipped up a chocolate pudding to fill it. Then, gathered up some different size choc bits to use on top.

The girls made ghost faces on the marshmallows, then we popped it in the oven to melt them together.

I might have let them get a little too brown to look ghostly.

Suntanned ghosts?

But even though the look wasn't exactly what we were going for, we didn't care, we'd gotten plenty of giggling fun from making it.

I'm already planning a redo with snowmen.

Because I'm always happy to have a reason to eat a s'mores pie!

Ghosts and Giggles

Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / November 1, 2017

The company my husband works for owns a club in KC, which hosts an annual Halloween party for kids, that I love even more than the kiddos do.

Corny and cute, and full of Halloween fun, it's just adorable.

We decorated pumpkins, watched a magic show, ate ghoulish food, got some balloon animals, and went through a haunted house in the locker room. Well, through most of the haunted house, we backed out about half way through when we encountered a WEREWOLF!

Although, I did try to explain to the little ones that the employees of the club dressed up as the characters, and the werewolf was probably someone who drove the beverage cart and was actually a BEERWOLF.

But that was still a little too spooky, so we backed out and headed to the buffet to dine on fa-boo-lous foods.

I was a green haired witch, (the only adult not working there who was in costume, but hey, does that really matter?) and when I took a bite of the "witch's fingers" (french fries), I was accused of cannibalism by my tablemates.

There was a ton of candy to trick or treat from too. And little goodie bags filled with puzzles and coloring books.

I had the grandfairies for the weekend, so we made a day of the event by designing and making our own costumes from things found in the dress up closet. This vintage prom dress had some holes in it, which got flowers hot glued onto as patches, and we added straps with colorful ribbons and safety pins. A few more flowers were added to the wreath for her crown, it used to be a fairy garland that she'd worn to the Renfest..

I didn't think about the Day of the Dead theme being "cultural appropriation." That is a real problem in the world, but from all the people I've spoken to and the reading I've done, it can be a gray area in many cases.

My Hispanic buddy, Romeo, told me that he finds other ethnicities using Sugar Skulls offensive if it is done in a belittling or cartoonish manner. But if created in an appreciation of the beauty and heritage, he approves. And I can promise this wasn't chosen as a joke. As an artist, I was excited about producing my own version. And as a daughter who lost her mother, I was comforted by the culture of honoring the dead. A friend spoke to me about that after my mom died and I don't know if she ever realized how much her conversation meant to me.

Hopefully, I haven't offended anyone out there? If so, please know that wasn't my intention.

I hope you had a lovely Halloween, I know we did, although it was too cold to attend the annual Zombie Walk for me (and that was heartbreaking, but not so much that I'd brave the bad weather for it).

Now, time to deck the halls!!!!!!!!!!!

The ghouls are gone, bring on the bling!