family – Page 33 – Karla's Cottage

A new look for the little dorks and my teeth

By Karla Nathan / April 14, 2016

Twinkle and Albie have their new spring hairdos.

Albie seemed a little chilly at first, but is getting used to it.

The poor dogs had been a mess. Their hair had gotten pretty shaggy, and I'd been chopping tangles out here and there, instead of brushing it.

I always wait too long to take them in, but am always so happy to see them all tidied up and pretty again when I finally get around to doing it.

Is there anything softer than a freshly trimmed dog? Maybe a horse's nose. Those are purely velvet too.

The pups aren't the only ones with a new look. For the last year, I've been dealing with the after effects of having my tooth knocked out and the root broken when I carelessly slammed my face into a cabinet door that was left open.

Here is how I looked after it happened. My dentist then made a temp flipper thing that helped, but after gum surgery to build up a post to reset a fake tooth, that never fit well and was uncomfortable and funny looking.

And all of this was after I'd gone through having all new crowns just a matter of months earlier, as well as reconstructive gum surgery to fix a receding area above my front teeth. I'd been thrilled with the results that first time, so was doubly upset that all of that expense was wasted by this accident.

There was a lot of healing time after breaking my tooth before I could get it replaced. This caused a few comfort issues and plenty of migraines. Even a bit of vertigo here and there. Really? Odd fitting teeth can make me dizzy? Who knew that would happen.

Also, I had to get the tooth next to it recapped and the two were braced together. Because of the type of injury to the root, I had to have the two made of extra strong materials, not porcelaine. I thought they weren't all that great looking, and I had to train myself to not talk with whistling esses and funny effs. Plus, they still hurt, and were always sensitive.

My dentist didn't like them either and offered to redo them with zirconium, (although I call it adamantium, like what Wolverine is reinforced with) and even redid the teeth on either side of the two front ones, bracing those for even more strength.

Now, nothing hurts at all. And I think it looks much more natural. I'm pretty happy and feel lucky that I had a dentist who went above and beyond to give my smile back to me.

Of course, I have a LOT to smile about! My son married the lovely Miss Tree last week.

I'll have photos to show you soon.

I'm Spring Cleaning in the Boutique, if you'd like to take advantage of my urge to purge the inventory, please use THIS link to access the shop. All items will be 50% off including the tutorials and existing sale prices.

It was meant to be

antiques/junking, celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / April 3, 2016

When I started beading wrap bracelets, out of the blue and obsessively, I had no plan for them, other than I simply wanted to learn how to make them, then couldn't stop.

My dining table (for some odd reason, I wasn't working in the studio, maybe because I kept saying, "just one more, then I'll put this mess away") was filled with beads and supplies. Even all day on Easter, before we set the piles aside to sit down and enjoy our family dinner.

(It was all swept aside and we had dinner with no beads on the table for the first time in two weeks)

I was really into the beading process. It was nothing I'd done before, and I was happy to learn a new skill. But like I said, I had no plans, no rhyme or reason for the new obsession.

Then, my soon to be daughter-in-law asked for help with her bridal headpiece. And from her description of what she wanted, I thought my new beading talents would be ideal. Having the boxes of trinkets and beads on the table in front of us inspired the design of the creation too.

I wonder if any of this would have occurred to me if I hadn't had beading on my mind and in front of me while we talked about it?

Heck, I didn't even own super glue or beading glue until I started doing those bracelets, and then it was right there at my fingertips when I was ready to start on this piece for her.

I had happened to buy some bridal floral picks while in California, because I was in the middle of doing journal pages and hadn't brought enough flowers with me. (is there such a thing as enough flowers????)

While I was able to find a couple of vintage floral hats, I didn't think it was enough (see what I mean, there are never enough flowers!) and I bought some of those white picks with the pearls too, even though they are not my typical style. I coffee dyed them to lose that bright, bright white sheen, and to vintage them up a bit.

Funny, I didn't end up using the bridal picks in CA after all. And they were exactly what I needed to build a base for this. I tied them together with silk ribbons, and used some of that super glue that I had in front of me to secure them.

After that, I snipped many of the existing pearl strands that were on loops of fishing line stuff, and changed them out for my own sparkling beads instead then glued those in place. We placed more flowers, snips of sik, a few rhinestones, and lots of feathers throughout.

Now, the hard part comes. Miss Tree is an aerialist and will be doing her act right after the ceremony, so will be wearing this hat while being upside down. We have to make it stay on her head, plus she is wanting her hair styled into two buns with trailing tails and tidbits of wildness. We made a few from wool roving and she is working on more.

Since everything for her headpiece just kind of came together for me with stuff on hand, that I just happened to have, but normally would not, I have a feeling that the rest of the piece will work out beautifully too.

It was just meant to be.

Like having Miss Tree and her two girls as family.

Until next time, Dewdrop!

Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / March 23, 2016

Dewdrop, AKA Arabella Cinderella, had a slew of farewell parties before hitting the road and heading back to North Carolina for some much desired momma time.

One of our goodbye parties was a trip to the Topeka Zoo.

And to the park next door where all the concrete animals to climb on had fresh coats of paint.

Over the years, that zoo has just gotten better and better. This time, we saw lots of improvements and remodelling that had occurred over the winter.

After going to that park for well, decades, I noticed for the first time that there was a children's theater in the parking lot. How did I miss that? I love to take the grand fairies to shows, but in Kansas City and Lawrence, they are often sold out and hard to get tickets. For this little playhouse, we called a day ahead and for ten bucks each, got to see a group of kids put on "Aristocats" and Sugarwings was thrilled with it.

The only bad thing about it was that Dewdrop had already left and we didn't get to take her with us. She'd have loved it too.

But I'll take her next time.

At the Hotel Del Coronado and some Sugarwings time at Disney

family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 15, 2016

Before I went to the arty girls weekend on the island, I spent some time with Sugarwings and my handsome husband. She had school conferences a couple of days that week, so we snuck her out a couple more, and flew her off to Cali with us for a little Disney getaway.

Yes, I'm becoming a Disney freak. Mouse addict? Princess stalker? I don't know what you call it, but I caught a serious case of it. And while my husband the rest of the adults in the family are over the place, the girls and I are not. My husband does say he has one more trip in him to take Dewdrop, since she couldn't come this time. Then he is free and never has to go back with me.

But he does have moments there that he loves, like dancing Downton Disney with his grand fairy.

She and I don't get tired of any of it, and we try to soak up as much as we can. We decided that we would never leave the hotel without walking under the wizard's hat, even if going another way was quicker. You just have to walk under a wizard's hat if it is available, don't you?

The highlight of our girl's day at Disney (my husband went to visit friends and the beach, he didn't come to the park) was seeing Ariel.

We rode her ride too. We actually spent our extra "magic hour" before the park opened, trying to break our record of how many times we could go around and around on that. We hit five times in a row without having to get off, since there were no lines.

Sugarwings had her art journal with her and drew a frame on pages for the princesses to sign.

At the lunch in Ariel's Grotto, all the princesses stop to chat and while I didn't hear all of the conversations, a few were pretty involved, and the ladies were very nice about spending time with her. Many of them told me what a great kid she was, and had some laughs.

Sugarwings was very animated while telling Tiana that she admired her because she was a princess who took care of herself and worked hard. Their conversation turned to Rapunzel and Merida after that.

It was all pretty cute.

Sugarwings is about 9-1/2 now. And looks so grown up. I'm hoping this isn't our last visit to the grotto for lunch, I'll be sad if she is ever too cool to hang out with her grammie there. I know I don't outgrow it.

Neither of us got tired of hunting for Hidden Mickeys and we even found a few.

We certainly picked the right day to be there, a Monday in late February. We never even needed a fast pass, there were hardly any lines.

When there was a little wait, we had a system. I'd read a book on my phone, and she would listen to a book on Audible with headphones hooked to my phone. We were a pretty good team, and it was an ideal day. Great weather, no crowds, no rush, we did what we wanted, when we wanted to.

That is pretty much how the whole trip went, we stayed at Disney a couple days, then at the Hotel Del Coronado a few more. Our poor girl came down with a fever and we missed the San Diego Zoo, and even with that, we had a wonderful trip.

She and I had lazy mornings on the balcony watching the water, wrapped up in hotel robes and reading our books.

The Del gives each kid a backpack with scavenger hunt tools and hints, so we played that game for a while.

We explored the hotel, ate fancy dinners, and watched the Sandcastle Man with his masterpiece. Yes, quite a trip, and all building up to my artful girls getaway. I really felt lucky and blessed.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the week. And here is a favorite song from my youth, so dreamy and sweet. And about Disney, too.

Keep Shining

family

By Karla Nathan / February 4, 2016

While walking from Disney Springs to our hotel last week, I spotted what looked like my name in the sidewalk. It was dark out, so I turned on my phone flashlight.

Yep, Karla, and spelled correctly.

The next day, in the daylight, I went back out and saw "Caitlin" next to my name. That is Sugarwings' Hippy Chick momma's name.

What are the odds of randomly finding your own name and a family member's name next to each other in cement while on vacation?

(There were NO other sidewalks written in along there, just this area. So, it is not like there are hundreds of names spread out and I picked through and found ours. The only other word was "Poppa" which is very close to title of "Pop Pop" the grand fairies use for my husband, but not quite close enough.)

After taking photos of the two names, I noticed the word, "Shine" next to them. I don't know how I'd missed it before.

"Shine" is one of the two words that my girls chose for 2016. Here is what Caitlin had to say about it on FB around New Year's day:

"Let your light SHINE with JOY this year.
Leandra and I chose these words for the year (shine and joy) and are looking forward to active creations to achieve them throughout 2016 and beyond 💜"

A sea shell fairy on Jax beach

fairies, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 1, 2016

In the last few years, I've started a tradition of making a sea shell fairy to leave behind as a thank you to every beach that I visit.

Usually,in the days I that I spend along the water, I keep my eyes out for the exact pieces to make the sprite just right. Every stroll in the tides is a chance to gather up the ideal shells. I have a rule that I can't manipulate them. I'm happy to find broken ones in the right shapes, but I never snap off bits myself.

And I like them to be from the shore that I am leaving them on if possible. Sometimes I'll slip a perfectly shaped curl of shell up into my pocket while walking on a nearby beach and save it for the fairy, but that rarely happens.

On this trip, guncle Randy and I only had a short time at the beach (craft day was waiting!!). I wasn't sure if I'd be able to collect what I needed to make a little shell girl that fast, but Randy had a good eye for what we needed and brought me the best wing, ever.

While I was finishing up brushing the sand nice and smooth around our elfin creation, a tiny dog ran up and gave me a kiss. It was a Papillion, so we named the girl after her. You can still see some of the itty bitty dog foot prints she left in the heart shaped ring around the fairy.

Disney time, family time, and lots of books

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 29, 2016

My Florida trip was not only a much appreciated break from the cold, Kansas winter, it was a family get together, a chance to explore all the theme parks with two life time experts in all things Disney, and I also attended a "writer and reader retreat"

This was something new for me, the event and the genre of novels. My pal, Terry was helping coordinate the workshop, and I offered to tag along and help her out. Her friend, S. E. Smith is the author of fantasy romance and was quite a sweet person to get to know.

I offered to make name tags from white card stock with book covers taken from the author's book jackets.

We clipped them to lanyards and I wrote the names on the blank backs of the mini books. Attendees could use the books to gather autographs from the writers and messages from their friends.

Gifts given out were non-stop, and I was lucky enough to win a couple myself, even though I was just there as a helper, I was treated so kindly, and like one of the group.You won't find a nicer bunch of ladies, anywhere.

There were games too. This is "Hero Bingo" done with the names of the hunks in the novels instead of numbers. I leafed through a lot of books during the writer's signing night, and "hunk" is a very mild term for the magnificent men described in those pages.

STEAMY STUFF!

All of us had gathered at Disney Springs, and when it ended, Terry, her daughter, Holly, and I moved on to stay at Animal Kingdom and a couple of other resorts there at the parks. They had gone in together to join the Disney Vacation Club and were hotel hopping to check out the various places.

How nice of them to invite me along on their mother/daughter trip!! I didn't want to intrude for long, so spent three nights with them, then let them have their own time together for the rest of of the week, while they visited a few more hotels. My three days were ideal from my point of view, and I hope I didn't wear out my welcome.

Our first night was spent at Animal Kingdom, a resort I've always wanted to stay at, and it was even better than I'd thought it would be. We woke up to the sight of an ostrich wandering around outside our balcony, then as the morning went by, all sorts of wildlife sauntered along on the grass below us. Feeding stations are set up in the courtyard to encourage visits, but we noticed that there isn't a lot going on very early in the morning.

If you are going to splurge on the cost of staying there, my advice is to make sure you aren't trying to get to one of the theme parks when it opens, or you'll miss the herds of hungry critters who happen by as the morning develops. We were lingering and leisurely, or we wouldn't have spotted so many creatures throughout the 9-11am period. This is the kind of hotel that is a vacation in itself, and if you stay there, you'll want to make sure you have plenty of time to take advantage of it.

Leisurely was the name of the game, we took our time and didn't feel rushed anywhere we went. Both of these Disney Pros know the ins and outs of where to be and when, what to see and what not to, short cuts, secrets, and were the perfect guides for seeing the parks.

Terry is a season ticket holder for Florida AND California parks. And she lives in Utah. That right there is true Disney love.

I felt as if I'd hired two expert tour guides to show me around. Not to mention, they are both a lot of fun, and we had a wonderful visit.

But the best bonus was having a chance to get to know a far away niece.

As a Vacation Club member, Terry got a lot of perks. Free photo passes, discounts, etc. And she was generous in sharing them. I rarely had my camera out, since there were professional photo stations at every landmark. Plus, I was a little chilly, and kept my gloves on. So it was extra nice to get photos that I didn't have to take myself.

Of course, cold temps are all relative…

In Orlando, I was loving the blooming flowers, while back home in Kansas, there was an ice storm.

I'm certainly NOT complaining about keeping my gloves on!

And who doesn't need an excuse to pick up a pretty, pink, Minnie Mouse hoody? I didn't pack as good as I should have, layers were the key. I ended up with a few wearable souvenirs to pile on.

We found some hidden Mickeys that I can point out to Sugarwings next time we go, too.

I now have so many things to show the grand fairies when we go back.

This trip was so much fun, that coming back again was on my mind the whole time I was there.

Thanks, Holly and Terry for such a perfect vacation! And thank you, Susan for letting me be a part of your workshop.

A family painting day, and yes, yet another Art Journal

Books, family, paintings

By Karla Nathan / January 26, 2016

Before I set off for Florida sunshine, the family came over to have a painting day in the studio. Miss Tree has a new nephew and her sister wanted a room full of paintings of trees done by her family. And I took advantage of having the paints out to do a little foxy picture for Guncle Randy.

My paints are typically packed away in the cabinet behind my workspace. Easy to get to, though seldom reached for. The times when I do unpack them, I wonder to myself why they aren't always out and ready.

I really do love to paint.

But somehow that gets away from me. I get involved with other things.

Like making books! I adore that too!!!!!!

Why can't studio days be longer? I could just bury myself out there in supplies and never come out. But, there just isn't enough time in the day to do all I want, or my house would crumble around me, my husband would go hungry, and grand fairies would miss out on snuggles.

So, I enjoy what time I do have, and make the most of it. I was happy to mingle the two genres, mixing making an art journal with a little painting.

And with collage. Another love.

Guncle Randy is a fan of foxes, so that is the theme of the book that I made to bring to him. Hopefully, we will have some craft time in his studio and I can watch him create on the pages inside of this book.

And I hope to have another family painting day in the studio to watch the creations filling the room. This is Kia's

And Miss Tree's tree painting got a palm tree with a lyria hanging from it. Kia drew the acrobat for her.

Avahni added the baby's name in stars.

And my son, who is so talented in so many ways, surprised me with yet another skill.

I had no idea he could paint. Nice, huh?

The little girls created piles and piles and piles of dripping, glittery, pink, gloppy painted slips of paper. And smiles. There were plenty of smiles. Too bad I forgot to put a card in my camera that day…

While I was away, my boy started this painting, done with layers of epoxy. It was a nice surprise to see it in the studio, and to know that he is exploring the world of painting. I think he has something going with this. It is a rich, deep shine, between each layer of paint. Hard to photograph, but it is really something pretty cool to see.

A colorful art journal

Books, family

By Karla Nathan / January 14, 2016

Thank you for all of the kind messages about my art journal post. Right now I am away for a bit, spending some time with Guncles, then with Terry. I'll be helping her with a writer's retreat, then exploring Disney with her. She is a long time season ticket holder and knows the parks inside and out. A day with her at the land of the mouse, is a true education in all things Disneyworld. I feel like I get all sorts of insider info on what to and how to explore and do in that magical place so that I know the shortcuts when I take grand fairies there. Plus, Terry is interesting and talented, we never run out of conversation

Since I am gone for a week or so, I thought I'd do some pre-posting. So, please come by to visit here while I am off visiting Florida. If you want to order something from the Boutique or the Etsy shop, it will be mailed on the 23rd.

This is another book that I made. It was for Sugarwing's mamma a while back. She loves sparkly and red, so it is a little different than what I make for myself and I had a good time playing with brighter colors. Although, I did add a pink plastic nurse to the front. It doesn't really match, but she is an RN and I thought it was a nice touch.

She is also a rainbow lover, so I drew a rainbow as background for this photo, and found some colorful trim to embellish the bottom of the page.

This is an all time favorite picture for me. And it was taken on a special day, when we went to the theater together for Xmas '14.

A layout doesn't have to be complicated to look nice. This is just sheet music, two strips of trim, a photo and a ticket stub.

This one is a simple page too. Inked sheet music, a photo, and washi tape.

For this page, I layered wallpaper scraps in colors that went with the sunflower photo, then cut petals from yellow scrapbook paper to create the flower.

The picture is outlined in red, to make it stand out a little bit.

Another, all time favorite photo! Sugarwings twirling her Dorothy skirt in the sunflowers!

Often, I use up little scraps of paper on my desk to make the backgrounds. This is ledger paper, an old page from a fairy tale book, and 2 kinds of washi tape. One photo was cut square, then outlined in the polka dot tape. The other had the person cut out to layer over the first picture.

Nope, I didn't add a silly sticker to her nose, she did that in real life. It was a silly moment.

It is nice to add memories to a page. The quote is from Dewdrop. Ghost and Giggles is a Halloween event we like to attend, and it has stuck in her mind as a fun, but spooky moment. When she wants to tell a dramatic story, it always begins with:

"Once upon ago, Ghost and Giggles ate a child"

There are phrases like that from kids that make up a whole vocabulary for a family, aren't there? And I hate it when they are lost and forgotten, so I like to write them in books to remember years later.

This seems to be an over the top, rainbow explosion of a page, huh? Well, as close as I could get. I think it would have been better to use a colorful ribbon instead of a lace tie on the envelope. Sometimes you look back at what you've made and see things you'd like to change, or do different next time. Oh well, we artists are nothing if not harsh critics of ourselves.

I try not to be. My steps to creating are:

1-use what I love

2-use the GOOD STUFF

3-enjoy what I do

And if I do that, I shouldn't feel too bad about little things that I got wrong, right?

Cirque de Lawrence

family

By Karla Nathan / January 8, 2016

Our small town has a circus school, and our Miss Tree teaches there. Her girls are star pupils and when there is a student performance, we are first in line to get tickets.

I've enjoyed every one that I've been to, but this latest was even better than before. It was such a professional production, and the costumes were gorgeous. I invited my pal, Beth to join me there, and told her that this wasn't like being drug to someone's kid's recital, this was a real SHOW. And it was.

My boy was the DJ and had some swinging, vintage style mixed music to keep the energy pumping.

There was contortion…

Lyra…

LED hoops…

Trapeze…

Silks…

And so much talent!

See what I mean? There were two nights of performances, and I could have used a few more nights of it, all were so good. Some of the contortion makes me turn my head, the drops from the silks make me gasp with fear, and there is never a dull moment. These performers were sharp, entertaining, and exciting.

And not just the ones that I happen to love…

The whole troupe was fun to watch. The theater that holds the event will be hosting it three times a year, if all works out as planned. Let me know if you want ticket info.

And maybe in the future, we will have more family members in the show?

I'll leave you with some highlights of the performances.