family – Page 58 – Karla's Cottage

The happiest of Thanksgivings to you all!

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

By Karla Nathan / November 24, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Thanksgiving!

Its beginning to look a little bit like Christmas

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

By Karla Nathan / November 22, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And Suzanne Duda.

Great swap, huh???

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sugarwings and Pixie Pie had some dress up fun.

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

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

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

I'll leave you with some new Etsy goods:

A Tulaya tutorial- or how do you say that name???

Books, celebrations, family, give away, holiday decor, Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / November 18, 2010

Just breath taking, aren't they? I'm starting to feel the need for a baby fix, I haven't seen her yet today. Its been almost 20 hours since I got to hold her…

Look at all that dark hair! I just want to kiss the top of her little head.

Everyone has been asking me about her unique name. So, here is the story. Her momma's family has a Hungarian Gypsy background and a tradition of a 2nd middle name. Apparently, you never say all the names out loud at once. No matter how mischevious the child is being!!

A lot of thought and love went into her name.

Here is the pronunciation:

My- R- uh * Two- lay- uh

Mayara means "holy trinity"-

ma= divine mother Mary

ya= universe

ra= divine father

Tulaya is from some ancient city full of fairies. And Zen refers some how to the sign on the Mayan calender that she was born under.

A big name for such a teensy, 7lbs 4 oz, cuddle bundle, huh?

I still don't have a nickname for her… I'm leaning toward TuTu, but after sitting in on listening to the parents find a proper 3rd name, I'm kind of liking Sugar Star. Goes well with Sugar Wings, and she was almost named Star instead of Zen. (I was voting for Starla, kind of half star, half my name but both of them looked at me like it was a joke.) Heck, maybe that is my nick name for her!! Sugarwings and Starla? How does that sound? Oh well, just talking out loud at this point, I need to get to know her.

Any thoughts?

She has no idea that over two thousand people checked online to hear about her birth. What a lucky little girl to have so many people who cared about her. Thanks so much to all of you who came by to wish us well and congratulate us. We're extremely happy!! And after all the worries, its wonderful to hold such a healthy little baby in our arms. (well, except for the little tummy ache she has, that is)

Here are the random names I drew for the angora roses and nest brooches I made while waiting for the baby's birth:

Stephanie who has a brand new baby too!

Debby

Shawn (no blog)

Seven winners for 7 pounds of baby.

The felted flowers are from a class at Silver Bella. This was one I was whining about and was sorry I had signed up for, and almost dropped at the last moment. But, I was so glad I went!! It was outside of my comfort zone and color palette, but I got so much from the teacher, Betz White. She was an interesting woman and since it was a small class, she sat right down with us and told stories about Martha Stewart's show.

Here is what the class project was supposed to look like, but I changed mine up a bit, and found variation on the roses that looked more like my own style.

I can't tell you how to make the roses themselves- they aren't mine to share, but she has a book and I have to tell you that they are so simple, you'd LOVE making them! Buy the book!!! You'll be glad you did.

I can share my variation with you. I cut my sweater strip kind of curvy and scallopy, then pushed in on the center once it was made. After that, I added extra petals to the bottom, for a more full blown rose look.

EDIT: the rosettes are NOT in the book! Betz got them originally from Martha Stewart and from this blog.

Here is what my completed frame looked like. Betz was nice enough to tell me how she did nests too.

(the vintage Christmas card opens up, I'll put a baby photo in it)

I've got plans to make one for each person who signs up for my May Day celebration and classes here at the studio next spring. Won't these be ideal for pinning to the goody bags???

This week has been crazy/exciting. There are still lots of other Silver Bella photos to share, but I've been busy with baby stuff this week. I've been trying to help out with the big kids (oh man, now all of a sudden my little Sugarwings is a big kid????!!!!). I'm giving them rides back and forth to school, and last night had a sleepover with 3 of them. Sugarwings has stayed with me all week too.

Yesterday afternoon, I cooked and baked for the new parents. A good friend is going through chemo, so I fixed her some meals while I was at it. I made vegetarian white lasagna with fresh mozzarella, stuffed manicotti with tomatoes from the garden, black bean burritos with peppers from the garden, and a big fresh spinach salad. Then, some home made granola and muffins for snacking on too.

These last few photos are of new items in the Boutique and Etsy shops. This box is made from the papers available for downloading in the Romantic White Christmas class, using Beth's directions for making her Pretty Pixie. (I changed it up a bit)

Beth and I are doing some videos for the workshop tomorrow, and we are having some goodie bag giveaways on it too.

It was nice to have some "normal" time today to take photos and list things for sale. The last couple of weeks have been quite extraordinary! All wonderful, but still, I enjoyed a having a plain old, boring day today after all the excitement lately.

Mayara is here!

celebrations, fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / November 16, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bella and Baby news!

family, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / November 15, 2010

Silver Bella was better than EVER. You can maybe tell just how much I loved my classes? I wanted to give all the projects a big hug! Teresa changed the format of the event a bit so that we had a wrap up party on Saturday night, and it was the most perfect idea. I'm so glad she did it.

We were told to bring one project to show everyone, but I just couldn't chose one, so brought them all. How could I chose one class I liked better than the others when all were so freakin wonderful? Great teachers, great table mates, great projects to make.

I'll have some closeups of the stuff later, some without me draped all over them.

While I was away, the newest grand baby was a good girl and waited patiently for me to return. But her poor momma has had enough. She had a flu bug all weekend and is weak, tired, and losing weight. She looked frail last week, after 6 weeks of off and on contractions and trying to be on bedrest with 5 kids running around. A fever and some all night upchucking sure didn't help.

So, we all went to the Dr.'s office today and got the news that she needs to be induced. Tuesday morning at 6am, it begins.

My son was heartbroken that the home birth is off. The Dr. is letting him be the catcher in the delivery room and they are going to be doing things as natural as possible, with little interference. But still, not what they hoped for. (I hate to admit it to them, but it sure is what I hoped for, I feel at ease now)

Please forgive me if I don't get to answer emails or comments for a few more days. I'll be helping with the existing grand kids while the parents are working on producing the upcoming fairy baby. (Sugarwings says she will name her "Sugarwings Two").

Tonight, I'll get all the orders that were placed while I was away filled and boxed up to drop at the PO tomorrow, then I'll be sitting in the waiting room all day till its time to go and get the little ones at school.

There are a million and a half Silver Bella photos to share too. But hopefully, I'll have to wait until after I share baby pictures with you….

We had a kick off brunch at Carol's farm house before heading up to Omaha, then two carloads of us went to Wallpaper Heaven, so I have pictures from that too. Hannah's Treasures had giant scrap packs on sale for $7 each, so I bought enough to share with each class. When I went down stairs to the work rooms each morning at the hotel, I was carrying my overstuffed supply bag, my purse, camera and a few giant bags of scrap packs of this vintage paper. At least the paper wasn't heavy like the bag was.

Well, I have a ton to do tonight. Its time to tuck in Sugarwings and read some stories, then I've got to do a post for Romantic White Christmas. I think we'll have a giveaway for all of you who have signed up… maybe a bundle of nice old wallpaper?

By the way, thanks for joining the class! When I had a roomful of Bella Buds here visiting we sure enjoyed doing Beth's project. I hope all of you who signed up will enjoy it as much as we did. In these, we mixed and matched the provided images and added some flowers and bottle brush trees to it. I love seeing the variations on the idea!

Please wish us luck tomorrow. Next time I see you, we'll have baby pictures to see!!

Welcome to the Pastel Jungle

family, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / November 8, 2010

They're done! 240 bleached, hand dyed, and glittered trees are ready for the holidays in all of their sparkly festiveness.

Some are in the Etsy shop, more will be listed soon. I have them sorted and photographed into 15 different packages of sizes and colors, so it will take me a while to get them all online for sale.

Plus, its SILVER BELLA WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So far, I've not got much done to be ready. Packed? nope. Supply list looked? nope. I'll throw some stuff in a bag Wednesday morning and just hope I didn't forget anything.

I did sit down and make this necklace to wear. It was a bracelet that I made during the French General class at Silver Bella in the past. But, I never wore it. So, I redid the piece to make it a necklace.

It only took a little tweaking, and adding the chain. I slipped on a few more charms and rearranged the ones there. Because on a bracelet, you want them all evenly spaced, with the big ones spread out. With a necklace, it hangs differently and you need the heaviest and longest at the center.

Every charm on here has a special meaning. Well, so-so special. Some are slightly generic, but still chosen for a reason. It reminds me of someone or someplace, or was from the original French General class.

And I have some very good baby update news! My Guru son's Gypsy Beloved was in labor all night AGAIN, with no baby appearing for all the effort and pain. So, today they went to the doctor. She and the newest little gypsy fairy are in good health, all is well. This on and off labor is not distressing the child. They are still planning a home birth with just the two of them. I'm much more relaxed about the event now than I was before.

Please forgive me for not answering comments or emails. I'm a bit swamped right now, have been babysitting the fairy grand baby instead of getting ready for the trip!

But do leave a comment, you'll be entered into the November Giveaway. And I love to read them, too!

Cinderella at work

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / November 7, 2010

We had the best kind of weekend, one filled with a Sugarwings visit! I had a ton going on, with two dinner parties coming up before I head up to Omaha for Silver Bella this week, and all that entails for getting ready.

Plus, I wanted to get some bottle brush trees bleached, dyed, glittered, and listed for sale before I went out of town.

Luckily, Sugarwings likes to play princess. So, I told her that she was Cinderella and I was the wicked step mother and I was going to make her work ALL weekend.

She got busy unwrapping bottle brush trees right away. The whole time, she was singing, "We are Santa's Elves" from the Rudolf TV special that is on every year.

That is better than when she dresses as Snow White to help me clean house. "Whistle While You Work" is fine, but when she starts muttering about "Dirty, Dirty Dwarfs" its always a bit disturbing.

Every fall, I throw a couple packages of trees into the sink to soak, then dye and glitter them. And then go to the store for more and do it again. And then do it again. And again.

Today I had a better plan.

After filling the sink with two packages of little trees, we hopped in the car and went to buy more.

And came home with 240 of them to throw into the tub! (Just watch, this will be the year that no one buys trees, and I am stuck with all of them!) Well, at least we had plenty of fun working on them today.

I'll let you know when they are in the shop.

After all the hard work indoors, I took Cinderella outside to enjoy this unusually perfect fall weather and do some work outdoors too. We blew leaves (and maybe jumped in a few), cleaned out my car (with the leaf blower, that is such a handy alternative to vacuuming!), and then tidied up the Fairy Berry Trail.

Agnes Rosebud helped.

Sparkle just sat and observed. Twinkle chased off after a critter in the woods and was gone THREE heartbreaking hours. She came back so covered in filth she looked like she'd been digging the whole time. And of course, my tub is full of trees. She's sleeping in a kennel tonight.

After picking up sticks in the yard, Cinderella's work still wasn't done. We had to unload the sticks onto the bonfire berfore we could sit donw and enjoy the blaze.

There is nothing like a crisp fall afternoon by the bonfire. Especially when your marhsmallows are PINK.

And when I have my Sugarwings with me.

Her Pop Pop kind of likes having her around too.

Baby Update:

We are waiting impatiently for the new gypsy fairy grandbaby. Her momma was having serious contractions last night and we thought the time had come.

Once again, the contractions stopped. I think I might start calling this baby Peek-a-boo, since she has been playing this game with us for over a month and a half now!

Oh, and THANKS so much for all the sign ups to Romantic White Christmas!! I think we'll have fun working on it together. If you'd like to sign up too, click on the button at the top of the right hand side of the blog for more info.

Hope to see you there!

Sticky door knobs

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

By Karla Nathan / October 30, 2010

We managed to fit in one trip to the Pumpkin Patch before the season ended. Sugarwings and I spent almost 3 hours there, just talking to pumpkins and meeting new fuzzy friends. She certainly is a nature child and is happier playing with dirt than toys most of the time.

Here she is in a quickie little video of her naming her newest buddy.

We found a few little pumpkins to adopt, and it was hard to convince her that the caterpillar couldn't come home with us too. She was satisfied when I told her that next time we went there, she could visit him again and he would be a butterfly.

We did a little shopping at the local Salvation Army too, where I got her a big bagful of new clothes for 20 bucks. Isn't this little outfit cute? It was a pale blue, but I dyed the shirt and floral overalls in a fuchsia dye to brighten them up. The whole outfit cost $2.00. (I'm not counting the cost of the dye, because I bought it to dye the sheets for the Gypsy Fairy Wagon Bassinette and just threw these in with them)

Kids clothes are so expensive, and fit for such a short period of time, that I am always on the lookout at thrift stores and am thrilled to get hand me downs for her too. Plus, since she is such a dirt aficionado, its nice to not worry about what she is wearing. I might not be as quick to let her wallow around, happy as a pig in mud if I'd spent $20 on one outfit instead of on a whole bag of outfits. Plus, have you looked at the price tag on kid's clothes? $20 wouldn't get me very far!

This has been a particuarly fun Halloween season, with Sugarwings big enough to really get into it all. She loves the Monster Mash as much as I do, we've been singing and dancing to it all week.

For our party, I set up a caramel apple making station in the treat cabinet, and I think that the adults enjoyed making their treats as much as the kids did.

My fairy grand baby was as happy to make a caramel apple as she was to do her very own witchy face makeup.

Pixie Pie liked them too. Seems like anytime you give kids an oportunity to do something themselves, they are pretty happy. We do a lot of "make your own" parties- mini pizzas, cupcakes and tacos are all fun for kids to put together. And with 4 little dorkies in the house, the floor doesn't get too bad while kids are creating their plates. The dogs hang out under the table and are enjoying the party more than anyone else.

We set up a pumpkin decorating station outside the kids were given paints and brushes. I had big plans to clean off all the seeds and roast them, but there was just too much going on and a bit too much paint mixed in with the pumpkin guts to do it.

When Sugarwings and I carved our own pumpkin earlier, she helped me pick out all the seeds. I'd never roasted them before, but there wasn't much to it, here is how we did it:

First, we washed the seeds and got all the strings off.

Then, tossed them with sea salt and a splash of olive oil, then spread them out on a cookie sheet to bake at 350 until they started to look about half way done.

I melted a 1/4 stick of butter, added just a little cinnamon and sugar and a cup of pecans, Sugarwings stirred them altogether and we both spread the mix back out on the pan again. I cooked them till they were crunchy.

I wasn't sure how long they needed to bake, so just checked on it every few minutes. When the seeds started to explode and pop, I figured they'd gone long enough! I wasn't expecting that.

We've been eating them on salad all week. They are only lightly sugared, and its pretty tasty that way. They'd be good on ice cream too.

It started to turn cold later, but was still pretty nice for this part of the evening.

We still haven't had our first frost yet! I'm thinking about hauling my potted topiary rosebush into the studio while it is still blooming.

My aqua eyeshadow as face paint was popular, lots of us ended up with an unearthly blue glow.

The kids painted mini pumpkins and made ghosts too. Its always funny to me, how serious the kid's faces are while they are working.

Yep, it was a fun Halloween week for us here at the cottage. Now, if only I could whip up a magic spell that took away all the sticky hand prints from my door knobs… I've been finding remnants of the caramel apple extravaganza everywhere!

Today, I'm still scanning and printing images for the Romantic White Christmas, and Beth and I are working on a banner for the class. Its still in progress, but here is a peek.

While I was scanning images for Christmas, I found these pumpkins for you. Just right click, save the larger image in the window to your computer and print.

A fine, feathered friend and a few goblins that need a friend too

celebrations, family, flowers, Food and Drink, holiday decor, parties, Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / October 28, 2010

I am just glowing with happiness! You know why? Dawn of the Feathered Nest has agreed to join Lisa of Tarnished and Tattered and Carol of Raised in Cotton to come and teach at my May Day art gathering at the Cottage!!

Sorry, no details yet, besides a Save the Date, and a theme. Springtime, May Day, and Birdsongs all wrapped up into a back to nature crafting weekend in my studio for about 20 guests. Expect more info after Silver Bella.

Right now, I'm trying to get ready for this big event and a houseful of guests coming to visit and play before the Omaha wonderland begins. Teresa is selling these tees ahead of time, which is a good idea. Mine has already arrived and I've got it all glittered up and ready to wear.

And I'm also in the middle of pulling together another online class with Beth. She and I are working on A Romantic White Christmas, and I've been scanning and editing images to fit the bill.

My stash of vintage goodness is filled with holiday ephemera. But, not all is appropriate. LIke this page, really cute, but "cute" isn't the theme. I'm picking out the gorgeousness that is lurking in my old book pages and cards and photos.

You can click on the calander to enlarge, then save it to your own computer to print. Its a good one, just not the style I'm going for.

Romantic, soft colors, lots of neutrals is what I'm scanning for the classes. I've edited 50 so far and still have a stack to go through. Beth will also be adding images, so you'll receive quite a selection of backgrounds, photos, flowers, and text. More than you'll need for the projects, there will be plenty left to play with and make into more than just what we have lessons planned for.

We'll have the class ready in plenty of time for you to make things for the holidays!

I hope you'll join us, our last class was a lot of fun. I've enjoyed my Romantic Gothic Ghost banner, and it was a part of my decor for the Kid's Halloween Bash and Pumpkin Gala last night in the studio.

But so much for my goal of an orange-free Halloween, huh? Well, inside the house, its all Romantic and Gothic, but for the kid's party, I oranged it up. My mother-in-law sent us this floral display and I decided to take advantage of its cheery colors and decorate the table top to match it for the party.

The little guy sitting in the flowers, is made from paper clay, painted and glittered, then glued to a bit of old trim.

For all the kids, I made up craft packs for them to work on that night. For all the moms, I made up these goblin face pumpkins.

The kids each got plain pumpkins to paint, since I knew they'd like to paint their own faces on them. These are made of paper clay too.

There are a few extras, when I make things, I get carried away and make a LOT. The guy on the left is for sale, $10 if you are interested. His name is Boris.

The fellow on the left in this one is Edgar. He's also needing a home – $10

"Peek" is the little cutey on the left in this photo. He's $8.

Please leave a comment if you want to purchase one of these guys, and tell me which one by his name.

They were so fun to make, I think I'll be whipping up some snow ladies soon. NO WAIT! I need to focus. I have a long list of priorities that I need to stick to.

Don't you wish you could just sit and make things and not worry about the rest of your obligations?

Sometimes I just drive myself batty trying to do too much. I want to do it ALL!

Usually I fit a lot into my life, so I shouldn't complain. This afternoon, I'll be going to the gym, picking the last of the garden veggies before the frost forecasted for tonight, and tackling the mess left behind from the party!

None of it is very fun or productive, just stuff I need to get done. But afterwards? I'm heading to the Curious Sofa for Debbie's Holiday Open House. Now, that is quite a big carrot to dangle in front of me to stay focused while getting all my tasks finished this afternoon!

And tomorrow? Maybe a bit more Sugarwings time, if I'm lucky. See why my online class isn't ready to go and I don't have details for the spring fling up yet??

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

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

By Karla Nathan / October 27, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is a little tip from me:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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