family – Page 44 – Karla's Cottage

Piddling away a summer

By Karla Nathan / August 14, 2013

If you are wondering why I haven't refilled my Boutique again, this is the reason. I'm still in the midst of the Summer of Whammy, and spending time with the fairy girls.

(Sugarwings is learning to sew, she cut the old straps off her dress and pinned on new pink velvet ones for me to stitch on with the machine)

We've been bubbling too.

This photo is the one that made me redo my curtains. I've spent a lot of time at the dreadful sewing machine this summer.

Same fabrics, plus a few more swatches of old lace, just reconfigured so that the length was better. It's a bunch of odds and ends, some lace is just swaddled up and tied with ribbon, then clipped on with rhinestone shoe clips. This was a save I figured out after seeing that one side was cut way too short.

While fabrics were strewn around the studio during one sewing project, Sugarwings helped herself to some tulle.

I've also been on a cleaning kick, including de-gooping shower drains. I've scrubbed and scoured, I've removed cobwebs, I've goofed off, and I've played dress up. But I haven't added anything to my Boutique, or really made much of anything arty in the studio either.

We explored the cute, little Topeka zoo, where we found an African bush camp set up between the hyenas and lions. No one else was up there on the hill in the tents, nestled into a bamboo forest, so we took our time playing there.

I'd say we had about 359 cups of delicious pretend tea brewed over an open fire. Taking the summer off has been the most fun I've had in years.

Time has been spent in the Fairy Food Forest too. The Fairy House my son built from vines wrapped around the trees is a perfect spot for reading. I used to love to curl up with a good book on lazy summer days when I was a kid. Still do, I think I've read 10-12 books over this summer too.

Too bad that my lady of liesure days are ending. It's back to work. Soon… Any day… Well, in a couple days….

Happy Times and Whammy Times

Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 4, 2013

The Summer Of Whammy is going well. Although little Dewdrop has taken to calling me Gammy instead of Whammy now. And Twinkle has gone from Schminkle to Winkle. Just this little tidbit of change is enough to remind me that they won't be little for long and I need to cherish this time with them.

Taking most of the summer off to be a Fairy Grandmother was a good choice.

We had both girls for a weekend and decided to pack up and go to Omaha because Dewdrop had never been to that zoo.

And it is a world class, wonderful, place to go. The exhibits are more like adventures than cages and it has all been beautifully done. I can't get enough of the butterfly garden or the bayou swamp.

We had lunch in a cafeteria over looking the rain forest. (I can't say that the food was good, but the fairies didn't seem to mind as long as they could watch monkeys while they ate)

Six and 11/12ths is a bit old for a stroller, but for our sanity and hers, we spent the day pushing both kids in a double wide.

We also didn't try to cram in the whole park. We ambled, we took our time, we stopped to climb on statues or look at fountains.

When we stopped at the playground, I over heard a frustrated mom say to her kids, "I didn't spend all this money for you to hang out on a playground, let's go look at the lions." I know she had a valid point, but for us, it didn't matter what we saw or how many exhibits we made it to, it was about Happy Time.

And when someone (I'm not naming names, here) got cranky, we left early. When Happy Times ended, so did we, it was time to drive around in the car till a nap spontaneously occured.

Even with a good nap, after a couple of hours of hotel splash pad/swimming she was BEAT.

So, it was stories, Netflix on the iPad and hanging out in the room. We weren't trying to "get our money's worth" from the trip, we were all about Happy Time.

And boy, did we get plenty of that.

When I was younger, I would probably have pushed my sons to get through the whole zoo. Thinking I'd drove 3-1/2 hours and spent a fair bit of change on the trip, we needed to see it all.

It's nice to be a mellow, old lady and to enjoy what is right there, right now, and know when enough is enough.

How to make playdough with glitter

fairies, family, how-to projects, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 24, 2013

We recently made some playdough. And it was pretty easy to do, plus for DYI-ers like us, a lot more fun than just opening a can.

Here is what was in it:

2 cups flour

2 cups warm water

1 cup salt

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)

Mix all in a saucepan and cook. At first I was dubious, it looked like crumbly pie crust gone bad. But all of a sudden, as it cooked, it turned into playdough. One minute, I was ready to toss it out, the next, it looked and felt like the real stuff.

At that point, we added scent. Sugarwings chose mint extract. I voted for orange or vanilla, but she won.

That is usually how it goes around here.

Once it cooled, we mixed in food coloring. I heard you could use Kool-Aide, but that isn't something we keep on hand and this was a spur of a moment idea. So we tried the expensive, paste kind of food coloring that comes in so many pretty colors.

A couple were okay, but most turned it odd tones. The plum shade made a yucky shade of brown. Well, yucky till we decided it looked like gingerbread, it's all in how you look at it.

After that, we tried the cheapo, 4 pack of liquid colors. It was quite messy, but the color was truer.

(all the liquid food coloring washed out of her clothes, wore off her skin, but some of the paste coloring stained the white table. I've not made much of an effort to get it off, bleach will probably do it. Or another coat of white paint?)

After we worked the color throughout the dough, we piled on the glitter. And LOTs of it. This was a fine one, not too heavy, so it didn't feel gritty when you played with it.

(Make sure you don't use the glass stuff, sorry, I know that is obvious, but I felt like I had to say it, I've seen that dangerous stuff used in some stupid places)

The sparkles are very pretty in it. And the texture was really nice. The smell was wonderful, but between the talk of gingerbread and smell of mint, we had to whip up a batch of real gingerbread and throw ourselves a Christmas in July party.

The darker the color, the better the glitter showed up. And Sugarwings likes adding color, so we had some pretty dark ones.

We've had the stuff wrapped up in zip lock bags and everything is as nice this week as it was last. I don't know if I'd store it too long, with no preservatives in it. It could go moldy. At least, that is my guess.

Hoppity Hearts and Whammy Time

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Hens, Nathan Family Fairy Food Forest, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 15, 2013

We've been spending a lot of time outdoors this summer. Breakfast in the fairy play yard, bubbles in the Food Forest, swimming at the lake, and just plain soaking up some daylight and goofing off.

There has been a lot of side walk chalk involved in our summer fun too. We have always liked hopscotch, but around here, everything needs to be cranked up a notch. So, we came up with Hoppity Hearts. It's like hopscotch, but with heart shaped steps. That go on and on and on across the drive way.

And leave it to Sugarwings to add yet another element to a game. If she isn't making up guidelines, she isn't happy. So, soon a dress code was added. Although Dewdrop refused to submit to the dress code, which is why there are no photos of her. All she was wearing was mud. And lots of it. While that was pretty cute, I didn't think a totally naked baby was blog material.

Boxes full of blueberry plants had arrived for the Food Forest, and Sugarwings gloms onto any empty box to transform it into part of her games. And these seemed to be a perfect fit.

The weather has been perfect too. The forest and the work my son and our Gypsy have done is just blowing me away.

There is something tasty to add to our dinner every night, as well as a garden so pretty that I just want to go out and stand there and daydream instead of work.

I love the mix of wildflower seeds in with the veggies. We have done pretty well bugwise, with the good bugs to eat the bad, and with flowers that keep the nasties away. It seems to work much better than I'd thought, but we are having trouble now with some squash vine borers. But pesticides don't work on those anyway, you have to do surgery on the joints of the vine to cut the varmits out.

I've decided that I'm soaking up the fun, the beauty, and the opportunities around me this summer. I'm taking some time off and saying YES to adventure. Even if it is as simple as laying on our backs and seeing fluffy shapes in clouds. I'm also planning on taking the girls out at least once a week for a field trip. And I'm going to try to travel with my husband more too.

I swear, that little break from work while my wireless was wonky and my hard drive died, has given me a new outlook. I'm all in for summer now! A little taste of leisure and I'm hooked. I tend to be a bit of a work-a-holic, but that is on hold for a while.

Summertime, LOOK OUT! Here comes Whammy!! (Dewdrop can't say Grammie, she calls me Whammy, and I kind of like it, it sounds much more adventuresome than Grams)

A fairy play room

cottage, Dew Drop, fairies, family, Hand painted, paintings, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 7, 2013

Remember the canvas mural I painted for Kim's Enchanted Affaire? Instead of trying to sell it, we cut it up and are using it in the fairy grand daughter's room. I still need to touch up the vent so that it doesn't have that ghostly glow and stand out so much from the painted trees.

Sugarwings had not used her bedroom since we bought her this big girl bed. So, I never bothered to repaint it like I had originally planned. Now that the enchanted forest is part of her room, she has been happy to stay up there, so I'd better get busy and paint something in the ovals of her head and footboards.

Previously, there was a shelf all the way around the top of the room, and a sky painted above the shelf. The rest of the bedroom was left that way, my son only took the shelf down in the space where we added the canvas.

Since we lost a big section of shelf, it was a good excuse to dust and redo the rest of the shelves.

While I was at it, I tidied up the fairies hanging above the windows from sparkly white branches.

There are fairies peeking out from all sorts of vantage points around the room.

And of course, real live fairies running around the room too.

Little girls seem to like a newly redone room as much as big girls do. As soon as I finished getting it all put back together in it's new configuration, they set to tearing into every corner and exploring toys they'd over looked or forgotten about.

The canvas is stapled all the way around, but hangs a little loose. If I ever have more time….(yeah, right) I hope to tighten it up a bit, or at least steam out some wrinkles if they don't straighten out with time. I'd like to add some fairies too. Maybe portraits of the girls as fairies?

I'm not so sure I still like the closet doors painted as a fairy garden any more since it doesn't match the new scene. I'll have to do something about it.

On the other hand, the kids like it as is and it is their room. So that probably means more than my sense of continuity.

At least the ceiling was ideal for the new look, it blended in perfectly!

Of course, the room is not this tidy any more. Instead of two little fairies flitting about, it looks like it had a couple of ogres tramping through it. For dainty little cuties, they sure can trash a place. It is now knee deep in dress up clothes and who knows what else.

(the magic mirror on the wall is one that I made for Sugarwings. Here are the directions if you are interested)

Here are some pictures of the room in it's various looks over the last few years.

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!

I just discovered that all my older photos are GONE. I'd thought I'd found most of everything from before my hard drive died, but just now realized that I don't have any photos from before 2009.

Thank goodness my life is on my blog. I can retrieve all my favorites from there. I only started taking digital photos in '07, when I began my blog, so I'm missing two years of pictures. All of my previous pictures are in print. And I'm sure that most of my faves from the missing years are printed and in albums. But still, it's disconcerting to look for a file to reuse a pic and not find it. At least I know that it's only the file that is gone, I have the photos in albums or on my blog.

durn

But look at how fast I found a couple from my blog archives.

I'll seach out some more later, after I talk to the Best Buy Geek Squad and see if they can find any other old files. This whole hard drive/wireless debacle has taken it's toll on me. Stress, stress, stress.

While my computer was down, shoppers waited so kindly and patiently for me to mail their 30% sale packages from the Boutique, that I gave them another 10% off when I finally got things mailed.

I've decided to extend the 40% off sale before I start to restock the shop. Since I haven't really kept up the poor little store since the holidays, months ago, I thought a Christmas in July Sale was fitting.

Use this link for an automatic 40% off at check out:
http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=sale

And please note that I do refunds of shipping overages after I box up the package and figure the actual cost to mail it. Sometimes, buying lots of little things make the shipping price go sky high according to the way the website calculates it, so I adjust and refund as needed.

A Fairy Tea Breakfast

celebrations, Dew Drop, fairies, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 5, 2013

When someone wanders down the stairs first thing in the morning wearing a vintage nightgown and wings, there is only one thing you can do.

Have a breakfast tea party!

Bubble Art Fun and not so fun

family, games, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2013

Sugarwings came to spend three days with me, just the two of us. My husband and son were both out of town and her mommy was working. So, we were on our own and decided to plan lots of activities, wear lots of princess dresses, do some baking, and go to a movie. It was a weekend plan jam packed full of things we love. She is here a lot, but it's rare that just the two of us are on our own for such a stretch and we decided to make the most of it.

Plus, I'd been feeling awful from an infection that set in after gum surgery and I was hoping to have enough things planned ahead of time, so I'd get some downtime to rest (during movies, mostly). To start our 3 day weekend, we saw Monsters University in 3 D, then grabbed some supplies and went to play outside.

On Pinterest, I'd seen some bubble ideas.

You add dish soap to a half cup of water, blow bubbles with a straw, then drizzle food coloring over the top, and place paper into the bubbles.

The effect was so cool, I made enough pages to do a journal. Won't they make good backgrounds?

After a sparkling lemonade break, we decided to use up the colorful bubble mixture we'd made.

We cut the end off a water bottle, and covered it with a sock. Then dipped it into our sudsy, food colored waters, which by then had all been dumped together, mixed and played with till they were all the color of the bottom of a creek.

So, we squirted the little bits of food coloring that were actually left over after the painting, onto the end of the sock, and got some really colorful bubble snakes.

And even a bubble heart!!!!

That flew away in the wind.

And splatted up against the side of the house. Too bad it didn't leave a heart shaped mark.

The food coloring all came out of the princess dress when I washed it that night, so there is hope for the siding of the house. At least, I figure the sun will fade it over time.

Bright green bubbles were taking over our courtyard.

More floated over to land in the flower beds. I'm hoping the dish soap helped with the aphids on my mini roses.

At this point, I figured maybe we should move away from the house before our home started to look like something that the Cat in the Hat made when he had Thing 1 and Thing 2 try to clean up while Mother was away.

We were laughing and running and blowing, while covered in soapy, colorful fluff. Then, it turned ugly. Sugarwings, inhaled instead of blowing and that hit her pretty hard, she choked, got sick, and soon I was covered in barf instead of foam. (you're welcome, about me not having photos of that part of the adventure)

She was pretty upset and so was I, it really scared us. She was fine, but shaken. Not as shaken as me, it was terrifying to see her choke like that, and we spent a lot of time, cuddling with me patting her on the back.

Day 2 of our adventure wasn't quite as exciting. She woke up with an earache and wasn't up for doing much.

We wanted a toned down activity that was still fun, so picked up Mr. Fin and Clover and took them to see Monsters University with us again. The rest of the day was laid back, and mostly consisted of movies, luckily there was a Cinderella double header on TV. Even though my grand fairy wasn't up to her usual self, she was healthy enough to insist upon wearing her Cinderella gown while watching the shows.

I was kind of ready for a down day myself, I'd been feeling pretty rough all week after the post gum surgery infection. But when she woke up on our third day together, asking about Bubble Art, I knew she was feeling better, over the earache and the choking scare.

We were both ready for more fun.

Game on!

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or
your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it
will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very,
very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on
FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on
my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

Hugelkultur food forest update

dogs, family, flowers, Food and Drink, Nathan Family Fairy Food Forest, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 23, 2013

When my son and our Gypsy started the landscaping, we trusted them to grow some tasty, organic meals for us. We provided the land and the financing, and turned them loose.

What I didn't expect was the pure beauty that was created out there.

I have to admit, I didn't really get the concept of sustainable gardening. Well, I knew what they meant and it sounded great, but when it came to grass or weeds popping up in the middle of the veggies, I really didn't get the need to leave them as is.

Or the vast mix of plants together. I was raised by an avid gardner, and my dad was concise on his measured rows and spaced plants. Of course, he also used lots of Sevin Dust, Miracle Gro, and weed preventer.

This way of gardening by passes all of that. There are flowers scattered throughout that repel bad bugs or draw good ones.

Food, flowers, herbs, all sorts of plants are grouped in "guilds" of related vegetation and the ground is completely covered to prevent erosion and to attract the right bugs, and lots of other jobs that they are busy doing.

It would never have occurred to me to plant a ton of clover around the baby perennials to feed the soil and keep the ground covered.

Or to add Borage to the melon patch. It does something or another. But mostly is plain old pretty.

My son has collected exotic and heirloom varieties of plants, including this curly stick tree that will produce magic wands. And the whole thing is irrigated by swales and trenches that are filled with gravel and look like trails.

They are lined with the daintiest little wildflowers I have ever seen. As well as some grass that apparently should be left to protect the earth there until the trees grow more and create shade, then the grass will naturally die out, along with the other ground covers he has added to keep the dirt safe till things start to take off.

Until the trees get big enough to block some sun and the area truly becomes a forest, we are using the beds for our regular garden too. Tomatoes, peas, beans, heck, just about everything, is growing among the perennials.

In a few years, we won't be able to use this space for our annual plantings, because by then, it will be all fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vines and other food producing vegetation.

This archway of branches will soon be covered in kiwi vines and grapes, but for now, I'm enjoying the stark beauty of it as it is. And at night it is lit with twinkling solar lights.

The produce is beginning to come in, this year, just a few handfuls of berries, but next year, and the year after there will be more and more.

This is a garden that will grow over time, bigger and better. It will not need to be tilled in the spring like my Dad would have, it will develop and change, but once established will take care of itself, with plantings that cooperate and take care of each other.

The mounds are known as hugelkultur, and make for a beautiful layout, as well as a healthy growing space.

Our regular garden is a masterpiece this year too.

It's lush, full, and delicious.

Daily, we have been eating every variety of lettuce you can grow, plus kale, chard, spinach, herbs, and other things that my son sneaks into salads. He is quite a cook and also has been foraging in fields for wild thistle to saute as a side dish. It is every bit as good as asparagus (which we also have growing).

My Dad would be fascinated, I wish he was here to see it. He'd wonder about the lack of rows, but I know he'd love the vast harvest we've been picking! I do too.

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or
your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it
will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very,
very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on
FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on
my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

More gratefulness

bird song art event, family, guncles, Sugarwings, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2013

More Birdsong photos are on their way. I'm kind of taking my time and enjoying the editing process, reliving the moments. And wishing I'd taken more. Luckily, there are pretty pics from friends too. It's always interesting to see the same event through different lenses. Tami, Mercedes, and Beth have all posted some that I've shared on Facebook.

When Picnic closed last year, I was frantic about what to do to edit my pictures. It has been replaced by many sites just as easy to use. My favorite is Picmonkey. Not free, but well worth the little bit that they charge. It's self explanatory and simple to adjust photos with. And boy, does it make a difference in a picture to take the time to edit it.

On Birdsong Eve, we had a little gathering at a restaurant downtown. All of my pictures were off color and too dark due to the lighting there. Once again, I wished I'd taken more, but I did make time to snap a few. But when I opened them, they all looked like this. Here is a before of Angie and Sugarwings.

With Picmonkey, here is the same photo. It has been cropped, lightened, sharpened, and then I used Orton Effect, and faded that.

This was a bonus gathering for our group, I asked if anyone was going to be in town the night before and wanted to meet up, and we filled the front of one of my favorite restaurants with a flock of 26 Peeps.

This photo is a bit beyond repair, but I liked it so much, I salvaged what I could of it.The evening happened to be my lovely friend, Angie's birthday and she baked cupcakes to bring. She was a vendor at our little shopping extravaganza and is always a welcome addition to any gathering. I hope she can attend classes next time.

Sugarwings passed out cupcakes to everyone, after not taking her eyes off of the beautiful display throughout her dinner. When she finally was allowed to have one, she didn't eat it, she politely asked Angie to take a bite of her own first, because the birthday girl always needs to go first.

Birdsong had ended up being a family reunion for me as well as an art gathering. Guncle Randy, Sissy, Bobbie, and Terry all came to be a part of it. For me, it was an opportunity for my family to see just what it is that I do. (I don't know if my husband has ever quite figured that out yet) It was wonderful to have them here and to meet my friends and be a part of my world.

And on the other side, it was very special to have so many friends come to see me and be a part of my family for the weekend. Birdsong is a homey, comfy event where all guests are family while they are here, not clients. I hope that they can feel that while they are here.

My family were all soooo helpful. Terry baked and baked and baked, her treats were the highlights of our meals. (and brought her husband to keep my own guy entertained on the golf course all weekend) Guncle Randy nominated himself "Parking B**ch" and directed cars, plus spread his charm around and welcomed everyone. Bobbie and Sissy were hauling trash to the curb and unloading the dishwasher non stop.

My son, Mr. Zen, cleaned up the yard and helped with a lot of prep for the weekend. Then, walked around the room to do some head and neck massage for those who were getting kinks from leaning over the tables and working on projects (and dealing with some of my not-so-great chairs).

Sugarwings had been as excited about the upcoming party as I was, and was constantly wanting to help get ready for it. She was very busy making plans for "Our Birdsong" and wondering what the "Birdsong Ladies" would be like. She was hoping they would show up in beautiful gowns, but we are a bit more casual than that.

When I took down the table that Sugarwings and Dewdrop had been working at all week to make room for the big tables for Birdsong, her little heart was broken. She'd been so sure that there was a place for her to be there and craft along with everyone else.

But, all the ladies made her feel welcome and Auntie Beth did some work with her out on the porch. She forgave me for taking her work table down.

I hope that our friends didn't mind all the family being included. It probably wasn't all that professional of me, but if anyone who knows me or reads my blog, they probably don't expect me to be all that professional.

Once again, I'll have to say how lucky I am that I was able to have the people I love here with me, along with so many kind and generous friends. I can't imagine a better weekend.

Royalty

celebrations, family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 3, 2013

Pure bliss. Sugarwings has loved Ariel since she was barely two.

While she is enamoured of all the Disney royalty, and can insert herself into any of their stories, she has always been loyal to her first and best favorite, Ariel.

During the princess luncheon at Cinderella's castle, she was pretty much in heaven and happy to meet these people whose stories she can't get enough of.

Each princess is announced as they walk into the room, and then they make their way around to each table for photo ops and chats. As Sugarwings spoke to Snow White, Ariel's visit was announced, and poor Snow was dissed mid-sentence for a view of the most wonderful princess of them all.

Snow White was set aside like a pile of dirty socks the minute Ariel walked into the room.

As she waited nervously for her special princess to come around to our table, she clutched her chest and told me, "I just don't know what I'm going to say to her when she comes here!!". Which is completely unlike our little chatterbox who is never at a loss for words.

This is a little girl who lives more in her imagination than in the real world around her, to her, this was all 100% real. So, after meeting Jasmine at lunch, she was not surprised to see a look alike of her, in a waitress uniform at a different restaurant that evening.

Our supper waitress was named Jasmine and Sugarwings was as happy to meet her that night as she had been earlier in the day. Jasmine told us that most little girls dismiss her when they don't see a fancy gown, but Sugarwings is a girl who knows that princesses don't always have to wear a dress to be royal through and through. (My husband preferred the lunchtime Jasmine's costume)
It was all quite special, but anytime we can watch our little grand fairy indulge her imagination is wonderful to us. And it was fun to be able to give her mommy a first time visit here and to watch her become a little girl again too.

PS- If you are going to Disneyworld, I highy reccommend the food and everything about the meal at the castle. And any food at all you get at the California park.

The Florida one, on the other hand, seems to have a lower standard for Food and Beverage, at least on the few trips I've been to it. And it is hard to get into a restaurant without reservations. Unless you want to eat hot dogs or other fast food, make a reservation or pack a picnic. Next time I go, I'm taking a cooler and a picnic lunch. We rented a double stroller to haul our stuff and to keep Sugarwings where we could find her, so it would have been easy to put a cooler in there too.