family – Page 41 – Karla's Cottage

Explorations

By Karla Nathan / February 27, 2014

It's been a long, long, coooooold winter. But before the last big blast of unrelenting cold, we had a break, one beautiful day not only above freezing, but NICE. Sunshiny and warm. Springlike! So nice that Sugarwings and I stepped outside to take a peek at the sunshine and never went back in the house. We were still wearing jammies and didn't even care.

We decided to explore the back part of our land, we have about 10 acres, but only use about a third of it. The rest is hard to get to. requiring us to cross a couple of creeks and I don't like battling the weeds and underbrush during the summer growing season. In the winter, the brush has all died back and it's possible to walk through the woods without getting all tangled up but it's usually too cold for me to want to check it out.

But on this warm, winter day we could also walk right across the frozen creeks. It was an odd feeling to be outside on a day toasty enough to not need a jacket, but still walking on solid ice.

In the first photo, you can see the log that makes the bridge over the creek, which is how we usually cross. I'm not a fan of it, so was glad to slip and slide across the ice instead of dangling over the water on that log. As a person with no sense of balance at all, walking on ice isn't easy, but it's easier than clinging to that dead tree and scooting along it an inch at a time.

Sugarwings found lots of club houses out there. Here is a ring of trees on a hill that we are sure that the fairies planted just for us to play in.

Now that we have a John Deere Gator, my husband has major plans to drive across the creek, harvest firewood to bring back, and also clear some trails. I hope that we'll be spending more time back there as the seasons turn, now that we will have better access.

I love that we "reclaimed" part of our land to create our Fairy Berry Trail. Especially as the girls get older. They will enjoy exploring out there.

It would feel good to have use of the whole property. Sometimes there have been years when we haven't even crossed the creek to visit our own land.

The winner of a copy of Where Women Create is

Pallas.

Please send me your address, Pallas, and I'll get it out in the mail. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to enter. I enjoyed your comments.

Sweethearts and some card making tips

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, how to's, Sugarwings, Valentine's Day, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 21, 2014

I hope you had a good Valentines Day? We sure did. Actually, a week of it! My Handsome Husband took me out to dinner one night, then the next, we all got dressed up and went out for a fancy meal with Sugarwings, her mommy and her mommy's sweetheart. And this was all before Valentines ever arrived. On the day of, I had the grand fairies and we decided to play with food coloring out in the snow.

Of course, not all of the artwork can be hearts and love notes when you are creating with a 3 year old, and most of it all got trampled. When Ryan came down his stairs later as it was starting to get dark out, he thought there had been some sort of massacre in the snow from all the red squirted everywhere.

Sugarwings took off for a weekend with her mommy while Dewdrop spent some time with us. We got all dressed up with her and went out on the town again, to do a little dining and dancing while a friend's band played.

Then, and yes there is MORE. My husband and I went out to dinner AGAIN with some friends. I think I might just forget how to cook. I could get used to this life of restaurants and celebrations.

Except it all came to a crashing end when I had more gum surgery on Monday morning. No more dining for me for a while, it's jello time now.

Between galas and bashes and dinners and celebrating, I made up some cards to send out. These are a little different for me, not all elements are pure vintage. I had this rose print paper, and thought it was perfect for the holiday.

To start, I folded a chocolate brown sheet of card stock to make the card, and inked all the edges inside and out. Next, I cut out the rose paper to fit on the card, and with an exacto blade, cut slits in the faux picture frame on the paper, to slide in a Victorian die cut cherub.

To make the frame a bit more 3d, I used a soft brown marker to outline the inside of the frame and create shadows.

Around the card, I doodled with a metallic gold ink pen. The message inside the card is with the same ink.

To finish, I glued two sets of millinery petals, and added a red rhinestone to the center.

This card was made in much the same way, then I added velvet ribbon, a crepe paper ruffle, a painted brass piece and a millinery leaf to the edge.

For the brass, I used Martha Stewart craft paint that is made for metal, painted it on and wiped it off.

This time, the card also features a painted metal piece, that I've tied ribbons to. On top of it, I glued some vintage butterfly wings and on those, a pink cake topper lady, who is now a fairy.

I had another pink lady, and used her over some die cut butterfly wings that my friend, Hope, had given me. I layered her over another painted brass piece and some lace.

This one was made after I ran out of the pretty rose paper but was still in a card making mood. I cut sheet music into a heart, inked the edges and added a crepe paper ruffle to the back.

Onto the card, I added a Victorian die cut lady. Her dress had been baby blue, but I changed that with markers for a more Valentiney look. Her wings are two different butterflies printed onto vellum paper, and slid under her shoulders.

I added some millinery and a touch of sparkle with Stickles glitter.

I just love the way vellum paper looks with images printed on it. This photo is on vellum, and I cut a heart out of sparkly, white scrap book paper to layer underneath, then put both over a tan mat for contrast. It went into a frame, not onto a card.

If you'd like to try the snow painting, it is simple as can be. A small amount of food coloring in a jug of water is all it takes to make the paint. Then, put it into squirt bottles. It is surprising how fast it goes, though, so be prepared for a lot of refilling.

PS- if you'd like to sign up for a chance to win a copy of Where Women Create, please leave a comment on my previous post, or on FB.

Happy Birthday Mom

family, flowers, free images, paintings

By Karla Nathan / February 16, 2014

Today is my mom's birthday. I always miss her, but even more this time of year.

She was creative and funny. Silly and loving. Goofy and full of laughs.

(to use these two postcards yourself, click on the images to open in a larger window and save them to your computer to print)

When I visited my sisters, we looked at some of Bobbie's old family pictures. One was this of my grandma.

You are welcome to save this picture to use in your artwork if you'd like. Grandma was crafty too, as well as most of our family.

She liked to make things, so while she might think it was odd that people would want to use vintage photos of strangers in their artwork, she would probably understand the love of creating.

Mom died a few years back, and Bobbie had some photos from the funeral. I'd painted the casket for Mom, and I know she'd have been so tickled.

When I was a single mother, struggling to get by, mom took me and the boys in to live with her. We both loved seeing the first irises of spring, and bringing them in to put in vases all around her house. Painting the blooms became one of my obsessions. That made the flower become her favorite and she'd pre-ordered a big bouquet of them to be at her funeral.

She was quite the planner, the whole memorial service was lined out, payed for and planned to the tee years before she passed away. Complete with photos of her next to the casket she picked out and next to her grave plot.

The casket wasn't decorated in irises though. I sure wish she could have seen that. She'd have loved it.

There is a factory in our home town that makes caskets and hers had been ordered there. Luckily, they let me come in with my brushes for a couple of hours and embellish the top. They didn't even bat an eye at my request, either.

Bobbie also had this picture at her house, not a photo, but my original drawing of our other grandma, this one on Dad's side.

It was from a high school art class, and had been hanging at my Daddy's house since then. When he died, it stayed there with his wife. She passed away awhile back and recently, Bobbie went to get it for me. I have no way to get it in a suitcase (it's huge) so I asked her if she wanted to keep it.

She also gathered up this watercolor of a barn my dad had helped build. I think it is his brother's barn, not the family homestead. This is hanging in my sister's guest room too. Or "my room" as I call it.

I enjoyed seeing paintings hang in there, and looking through photos too. And the best part was that I was with people who share the same memories that I do.

It's great to reminisce with family.

I think that today, in honor of her birthday, I'll see if I can find some iris at the florist for my dining room. Mom would like that.

Valentine Fairies

antiques/junking, bird song art event, fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / February 10, 2014

Our family day Valentine fairy workshop was very special to me. I simply do not get enough time with my sisters and their kids. Not all of them could be there, a couple of nephews are far flung, like I am. Because of they are not nearby, it was a good day to be together, we found out that my oldest nephew's son was going through a crisis and wasn't expected to live. I was glad to be with family as the story unfolded, and even more glad to be there when we got the news that he was recovering and was going to be fine.

Bobbie's home is the best place to be for a Valentine party, the dining room's color scheme was ideal! And she had plenty of space for all of us to gather. We had kind of an open house seating, with nieces coming and going through out the day to make fairies with us.

I'd brought all the supplies and turned everyone loose with them to see what they'd come up with. The best part of a class is the variety of styles and creative ideas that show up in the end products. Dang, I don't know how I missed getting a picture of Hannah's basketball fairy, it was a cutie!

Bobbie put her own face on her doll. It's fitting, because her last name is Valentine!

Here is the three of us posing with our dolls. The cheery, cherry wall was a good place to pose, and the rose painting was a good match for our Valentine theme too.

Doesn't it look like Sis is wearing a magnificent floral hat tho? So, I had to put a hat on too. Sadly, all that was near me was a skein of yarn. Not a fancy as hers.

Sissy brought some curly wool roving in deep tones that made ideal hair.

I'd dyed wool and crepe paper in pinks and reds to use.

Then decided that my wool was too pink and redyed some yellow over it to make it more fleshy. Great for the dolls, but in a pile, it looked like intestines or worms.

I sewed up some strips of sparkly tulle for dresses petticoats too. You should see the drifts of glitter left behind in my sewing machine, when I opened the bobbin compartment.

I'm not sure that is good for it…

The more fairies I made, the more I got the hang of it and came up with tricks and short cuts.

Whenever I do a class or tutorial, I need to make a bazillion prototypes before I figure out the very best way to tackle the project. My studio is going to be knee deep in fairies by the time I'm ready to host the class.

For now, I've got the pretties hanging off my dining room chandelier for the holiday.

These will differ from what we are doing in Birdsong, since for one thing, they are all pink and red Valentines, but for another, I used some new flowers instead of all vintage millinery.

While experimenting with the new petals, I ran into a lot of trouble with my glue. I've always used the Ultimate, and love it. But when it came to these brand new petals, it just wouldn't stick, they were slipping and sliding right off of the skirt. I asked around and Fabric Tack was suggested. It did the trick, worked great on the new materials. My fave, the Ultimate was used on the rest and also on the old flowers.

I've come up with lots of different shoe styles for the fairies, I always like to have a lot of options to show the class attendees.

I even have extra face options. Dogs, cats, cherubs, ladies. No dorkies, though, durn it. I wish I could find some Victorian scrap Yorkshire Terriers!

After making a quite a few red and pink girls, I was ready to try some other colors.

And I ended up with a few witches.

Bobbie's witch had a face from Oz.

Sissy moved onto using her wool for another purpose and felted a scarf. And when my niece, Stacey, saw what we were using, she offered to gather some angora from her friend's goats. I can't wait to felt and dye that soft, fuzzy wool. I'll show you the steps as I do it. Of course, it could be a "don't try it this way yourself" version of instructions, because I've never done it before.

One thing I tried didn't go so well. I thought that maybe the sprites would look better with more rounded bodies. So, we tried wrapping the wool over cotton balls, only to find that the dolls looked like cinched in pillows, not curvy fairies. The one on the left is an example of how NOT to make one.

I'm excited to make more and get my kits made up in soft springtime colors for our Birdsong gathering.

And I'll enjoy memories of our family weekend filled with fairies while I am making kit after kit after kit.

A special surprise

antiques/junking, bird song art event, celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / February 8, 2014

When I got an invitation to my niece's surprise 50th birthday party in Indiana, I couldn't say no. As soon as I finagled the kiddo watching schedule and made sure my turn was covered, I cashed in frequent flyer miles and packed my bag.

My niece, Shelli, has always loved mermaids, so I made this one as a gift for her. It's the same pipe cleaner and wool roving as the fairies we will be making in Birdsong, but with shells and a tail instead of clothes and legs. A little more complicated, but not much. And harder to sit up, so I packed a sea shell in the gift bag too, now the little mermaid has a seat.

This mermaid is holding a heart shaped coral from the Maui beach and her seahorse wand is a cocktail pick from our dinner cruise there. And my family wonders why I fill my pockets with "junk" sometimes, it's not junk, it's supplies!

My flight arrived in time for a lunch out with my sisses and the birthday girl. She didn't realize there was more in-store for her birthday the next day and had no idea I was there just for her. She thought that the lunch was the celebration itself, along with dinner out with her husband and kids that night.

So, the evening after her birthday, when everyone surprised her at the party, she was looking over her shoulder trying to figure out whose shindig this was.

It was cute to see her face when she realized everyone was there just for her.

My sisses and I were able to fit in a little antiquing the first day, just enough to score 3 floral hats and a few other tidbits, not a lot, but it scratched my junking itch.

Mostly I was there for family time, and glad to have it.

Our cousin even drove all the way down from Northern Indiana in the snow to join us for craft day.

Everyone consented to be my guinea pig students for the Birdsong fairies. This is Sissy's Valentine fairy, I'll have more to show later.

**********************

ps- have you seen the Facebook movies that have sprung up over night? At first I wondered what the heck they were, then thought they were hokey, and soon after got sucked in to looking at them all.

Some are off a bit, like showing exes from years ago, or odd pictures. But some are golden. I even got a little teary eyed at a couple, including my own. Yep, I went along like a lemming and posted one.

Here is the page it is on.

They are fun to look at, but it's also creepy to see how fast they spread. In one day, it seemed like every other post was a fb movie. Like a zombie epidemic.

Maui Whale, Rainbow, Dolphin, and Cloud Watching

drawing, family, paintings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 15, 2014

Yes, my eyes are closed, but I still love this photo of us. It was such a special evening. I swear, Hawaii is special, no matter what, but wow. This sail boating dinner cruise was perfection.

My husband's sis, Terry, treated us to a trip on the Allii Nui

I expected a nice evening, but wasn't prepared for the total luxury and deliciousness of the boat. Great food, beautiful and spacious surroundings, whales leaping up a few feet from the boat to surprise us while we ate, frosty foo foo drinks, and of course, the best company. Terry, Dale and Rich are a fine set of companions.

We took another whale watching trip earlier in the week, and saw quite a few blows, fins, waves, and splashes.

But my very favorite part were the Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. They have pink tummies, and leap into the air while doing pirouettes. We were followed by a few of them on our way back from spying on whales. Then, on my last day at the beach, a huge flock (school, pod, bunch?) of the pink bellied cuties, swam along the shore to tell me goodbye, while showing off their jumping skills and twirls.

Both of our trips out to whale peek, were on smaller trips, with few passengers. This boat was only half full, so was the sunset cruise on the catamaran.

Seriously, though, even if we hadn't seen any whales, the scenery is so lush, it's worth the trip out on the water.

Heck, you don't have to take a boat to be surrounded by beauty. This is the land of never ending rainbows.

Here is the view off our balcony one morning. It was a partial rainbow and a gold glow across the mountains. The rainbow seemed to be so colorful that it just couldn't contain itself and had to escape from the confines of its arc.

This is looking the other way from the balcony.

Every day, I did a sketch with my Ipad ap, Hello Watercolor. I was definitely hooked on that plaything. It's such a quick and easy, no muss way to paint. My plan is to print all the images, embellish them and make a travel journal with them.

It was a lucky choice to take two iPads with me. The one I got for Christmas, that was new, fast, and held a good charge, but didn't support the watercolor ap, and the older one with the painting toy on it. My husband left his iPad in the seat pocket of the airplane, and he was able to read books and play Words with Friends on my extra one during the trip.

He also lost his prescription sunglasses in the ocean. Seems like Hawaii is expensive enough without these additional costs. And today we realized that we are missing his brand new workout pants too. Unless they are lurking in one of the suitcases that were put away, they sure aren't in the piles of laundry I finished up after getting home.

My guess is that they are hanging on the back of the bathroom door of the hotel. Oh well, at least they didn't cost as much as sunglasses.

And he is such a hunk, I couldn't be mad at him.

By the way, Lenscrafters shops seem to be anywhere you happen to be when glasses get lost, and they can replace them in an hour. Unless your prescription is more than a year old. Like his was, even though it was only by a few days…. But there are doctors there too. Still a quick fix, just another-gulp- $100 to shell out.

I'd hate for him to have missed any of the beauty around us. I'm glad we were able to replace the glasses.

I'll have more pics from the trip coming up. For now, I'd better start tackling all of those holiday decorations that are still dangling forlornly in my studio. They are ready to go back to their box till next year, they are looking a bit tired.

A Holiday Ornament making party

celebrations, family, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / January 11, 2014

Is it too late to still be talking about Christmas?

I feel like I missed a chunk of the holiday since I got so sick with a 24 hour bug that I was in bed for almost a week. Luckily, the rest of the family didn't get hit so hard. But I was a pure wimp about it.

So, I feel a bit behind with my holiday recaps. Plus, I'm writing this ahead of my trip to Hawaii so my blog will update while I'm away, making this not quite as old of news to me as it is to you….

On the weekend before Christmas, we had an ornament making party. It was a big, pitch in dinner, with lots of tasty treats, about 40 or so people, and I filled a table in the studio with tons of supplies so whoever wanted to make something for their tree could snip and paste and glitter away. Most of the husbands preferred beers in the office to glitter in the studio. The kids and moms were all able to make at least a couple ornies each.

I think Finn set the record, he was a regular Santa's Helper Elf. That kid was cranking them out.

And, I'd say the glitter was certainly used in full force! I will be sweeping up glitter for months. Or not, I kind of like having it sparkling up the floors.

Actually, it was one of many ornament parties I went to. First, the workshop early in the season, then a few friends over the next week to make some of the leftover projects. And my pal, Tami, invited me to a holiday ornament party at her house with some of our Birdsong friends.

Those were all such fun, that I threw this big one with the dinner party too. But poor Sugarwings, who was so excited about helping me plan it, got sick and couldn't come. I had a mini party for her where she could craft her own sparkly creations to make it up to her.

I'd bought a bagful of those papermache shapes on strings at Michael's when they were 40% and I had a 25% off everything coupon. These made for some fun concoctions, and I think I should go back and get more if they are still on clearance there . I have a feeling that they are gone by now. They are good to work with for the adults as well as the kids.

I wish I'd had my camera out more. I was elbow deep in sparkly stuff and too busy to take many pictures til things slowed down and all the kids had been helped with the glue gun and basic steps.

Over the years, I've had other seasonal parties with crafts in the studio. I love making things so much, these are my favorite kind of parties. I'm blessed with the space to do this and also have more supplies than I'll ever use. Might as well share, huh?

Speaking of supplies, my friend, Jen, had given me a stack of photo paper she wasn't going to use. Some how, some old photos (copies) of her relatives were left in the envelopes, but I wasn't sure if they were from her or some I had, or what, because it was a year or so later that I opened them and I had lots of pictures and photo paper.

She saw the photos I had out for everyone to cut and play with and recognized her grandma in them. She and her daughter had a great time making family themed ornaments to give away for Christmas. And it was cute to hear her daughter come over and say, "Mom, can I have another relative, please?"

Gosh, I hated to see the holidays come to an end. In my house, all the decor was packed up and stored away on Jan.1st. But there is still a silver and gold explosion of Christmas out in the studio. I have a feeling that when I return from Hawaii, I will be wishing I'd got that all boxed up too. Heck, I didn't even have a chance to clean up the room from the party yet.

That will be one of the first things on my list to do when I get settled. Because the girls and I have new toys to play with, I got these art sets at Michael's for them (those go on sale every year for a couple dollars) and Sugarwings bought one for me too! She had earned money from selling dyed bottle brush trees on Etsy and took that to her school holiday shop where things are donated by the community for kids to buy.

We were so tickled to see that we'd got the same gifts for each other. I can't wait till we get to sit down in the studio, spread out all the colors and give them a whirl.

What a year, wowzers!

cottage, Dew Drop, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, guncles, magazine pictures or articles, Nathan Family Fairy Food Forest, parties, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2014

For 2014's shiny new beginning, I thought I'd look back at 2013's biggest events for me, and show you some of my favorite photos.

Sugarwings starting first grade was major stepping stone in our lives last year.

In my mind, I always picture her like this. Darn the calendar! The pages flip too fast.

I think the biggest event of 2013 for Dewdrop was the day she received this "fincess" dress. She has hardly taken it off since October.

(we love that she calls 'princess' 'fincess', because her brother is named, Fin)

Of course, starting a sustainable food forest with a fairy playground on our land was a HUGE move.

When it was in full bloom, and veggies were popping up everywhere, it was the prettiest garden I've ever seen. And to know that this is only the first year, of a lifetime plan, fills me with excitement.

The year began with a longed for trip to Hawaii with my husband's sister, Terry and her husband. It was the first of many visits with her. I had a GREAT year of trips and visits with family and friends.

Wow, I'd say it was a record setting year for sistering. My sisters came here to see me twice, and I went to Indy to see them.

I got to visit darling Guncles, seeing my little bro, Randy FOUR times.

Starting with the pure fabulousness of going to Karen Hillman's Cozy Cottage to teach a class as a surprise birthday gift for her friend.

I got to introduce Fabulous Karen to Fabulous Randy, and it all led to a Fabulous Black Velvet Christmas party in Jacksonville.

And seriously, I probably didn't say the word fabulous enough, that word was written just for Karen and Randy. It should never be used to describe anything else, it belongs to them.

I saw Terry again in California when I taught at Kim's Enchanted Affaire, where I met up with good friends that I love like family too.

Painting the mural for the event was a biggie, I loved working on it so much, that I really put myself into it, and every day that I painted was like a little trip to a fairy tale forest. After the workshop, Kim mailed it back to me and it is now chopped up and stapled in the fairy girls' room

Before it was sliced up, I also used it at Birdsong 3.

Which was another big highlight of my year. Oh my, sooooo many nice people came to play at the cottage. I can't wait for BS4. Yep, 4, I can't believe it is coming up. I'd better get to planning, huh?

After the CA trip, I went to Disneyland with Terry. Then, for the Hippy Chick's college graduation, we took her and Sugarwings to Disneyworld in Florida. It was a Disney-rific year.

But I have to say that one of the best things I did all year, or maybe in the last ten years, was to take a summer off to be with the kids.

We went to zoos, parks, carnivals, boating, beaches, all sort of things.

We played dress up.

We blew bubbles.

We had craft days. Lots of craft days.

We invented a new game, called "Hoppity Hearts". It is a bit like Hopscotch without the boring squares.

Summer spilled over into fall, and we kept on playing. We saw the Renfest twice.

Even Uncle Ryan came along, just two weeks after his heart attack. His illness was the bad spot of the year, but I have to say, it brought us closer together.

I also got to see good friends again in October on a trip to Georgia. (and yes, that same shirt I'm wearing has been in three other of these photos,I'm surprised it isn't in more. Looks like I got as much use from that shirt as I did from the Enchanted Forest mural)

It was also a year of parties and more classes. I had a small, Valentine workshop in the studio.

And then another group of friends came by for a Christmas ornament making workshop.

I was in a few publications too. My Tiffany's mural from Kim's Affaire at Tiffany's the year before was in Mingle. I wasn't named as the artist, but I still think it counts, don't you?

And it was so special to me to see my Birdsong projects in Jewelry Affaire. I was in that one earlier in the year for another project too.

Fifi came out to shoot my cottage for Romantic Country.

And my pal, Carol was here to shoot the studio for Where Women Create.

I must have made hundreds of little birdcages prepping for two classes and an online class I have offered.

And I even did some redos on the house this year. I made new slip covers for the sofa and pillows for the bedroom. Spiffed up, repainted, rearranged rooms, and recovered a wall.

Yep, 2013 was one for the record books.

No wonder I'm tired…

Sometimes holidays aren’t what you planned, are they?

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 30, 2013

Oh, we pulled Christmas off wonderfully, after all, but it was a bit of a bumpy ride.

First, Sugarwings came down with an upper respiratory bug and fever that made her miss the last day of school, with its big holiday bash, and then our annual ornament making party too. As she started to get better, her mommy got a stomach bug, and Ryan got the head cold thing and high fever. Then, shifts at work started shifting for the other parents, and all of our plans were topsy turvy.

We were back and forth on what day, what time, when to celebrate, but it all worked out with all of us feeling healthy on the same day and off work at the same time. For one, beautiful, sparkly evening Christmas night, no one was sick. We had a lovely party, with lots of happy giggles.

And Santa was able to find the girls at our house on the morning after Christmas.

But then, people started to trade bugs back and forth and before you know it, we had all succumbed to one or the other.

Lucky me, I had both at once. I can't even remember how long I was in bed, it felt like years. And my selfish family refused to put a pillow over my head and smother me to put me out of my snotty, nauseating misery. Even when I assured them that I was too weak to struggle and would go quickly.

Our littlest fairy has the feverish bug now, along with both of her parents. Hopefully, her brothers and sisters won't get it too, because we are still trying to find a day when we can bring them an armload of gifts.

On Christmas Eve, when the parents were at work or sick, Sugarwings was feeling better, so we took the girls to the restaurant her Daddy was working at. I almost felt guilty about enjoying it so much with most of the family either sick or at work on the holiday, but man, it was a beautiful thing to have someone else cook a great meal on Christmas Eve.

Years ago. before we had the Fairy Granddaughters, we used to eat Christmas dinner with Ryan at a bar and grill where he was employed as a cook. There are few things as sad as bar food and listening to drunks cry into their beers over not seeing their kids on Christmas while we ate chicken strips and buffalo wings. But hey, you do your best to be with family and keep them company on the holidays. And we did our best to make it fun.

It was a whole different thing to get fancied up really nice and put red, velvety dresses on the girls to go out for an Italian meal at my favorite restaurant.

We have aimed at traditions over the years and sometimes succeed. But, we've discovered that it doesn't always matter if you have a certain meal on a certain night.

As long as we can find a day to be together, we are pretty happy.

Grammie’s house at Christmas, photographed by Sugarwings

Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 24, 2013

When I downloaded the photos from my Florida trip to the Guncles' home, I found a series of pictures that I hadn't taken. I saw Dewdrop as a model, and quickly figured out who might have been the photographer.

Sugarwings must have come across my camera sitting on the table waiting to be slipped into my purse for the trip and decided to take some pictures around the living room.