family – Page 60 – Karla's Cottage

Gypsy Wagon Baby Bed

family, flowers, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 18, 2010

On Sunday, I did my part to get ready for the new baby. I painted a bassinette for her.

Its a Fairy Gypsy Wagon basket with lots of colors, flowers, butterflies, with a sun on one end and moon on the other.

While cleaning out the shed, I came across this old bassinette, that I had used for display at shows. My husband was horrified, not only because it wasn't leaving with the rest of the goodies in the shed, but because I said I was keeping it for the baby. He called it a death trap. Mostly, he just doesn't care for old stuff, and doesn't see possibilities in them.

The paint was chipped and peeling and it was full of spiders and dirt. Well, I'm not fond of spiders and those had to go, but I love chippy and peeling. Too bad that's not a safe thing for babies. It all had to be sanded to remove any loose paint, and the base of it needed to be repaired. Some of the brackets were missing and the wood was split out on one leg.

And I couldn't find a mattress for it anywhere in town. Wouldn't you think that Sears, Pennys or Walmart would carry a bassinette mattress? Nope. So, I went to the fabric store ( Hancocks), and got waterproof fabric meant for cribs, and some foam.

The foam was then wrapped up in the fabric and held in place with double stick tape that I get from Kay Ellen. The stuff is magnificent if you are a non-sewer! It sticks to just about anything and is really secure. She says its used for embellishing swim suits, so it must hold up well if it can do that.

I cut the foam to fit nice and snug, so it would be safe for a newborn. I used a firm piece of foam too. You don't want anything loose that a baby can smother in. Or a gap between the mattress and side of the bed where a baby can get trapped.

While these aren't my typical colors, I had a great time using them. Its fun to stretch and try something different. And to do something to make another person happy, and I think I did, the expectant momma is a rainbow gypsy and this was just right for her.

I used metallic and glitter paints here and there as accents, then sprayed it with clear poly and a bit of silver glitter spray too.

The only problem with it now, is that the sheets I found to fit it are white. Which just doesn't go with this colorful creation. So, I'll need to dye them, to complete the look. And I have a special mobile for it too…..

But I can't show that. Its a surprise for the baby shower tomorrow night.

While I had my brushes and paint out, I made a sign for my son's yard. Last week, we were sitting on their porch, watching the kids play on the side walk, and over and over, had to remind the kids that the alley was a ROAD and not safe to run into!

We thought a two sided sign, with this message facing the road might help.

This side faces the sidewalk. Sugarwings and Finn can't read, but Clover can, so I wrote "stop" for her. For the little ones, I made a cartoon that I hoped would catch their eye and be a reminder that a car could come by at any time.

Its not exactly a high quality production, but it was quick, and is colorful and I have my fingers crossed that they'll learn something from it. I spent about an hour on it, but I think its enough to get my point across.

Well, I'd better go and get ready for the baby shower. I've made a pumpkin cheesecake and brownies. Left on the menu is strawberry shortcake, mac and cheese, baked beans, sweet potatoes (that I dug out of my garden today!) olive salad, tossed salad, and crusty bread. We also have bean burgers (for the vegatarians) and my husband has a couple of big turkey breasts in the smoker right now, so I'll be slicing those up and covering them with BBQ sauce.

Its not a Kansas party unless you BBQ something!

My little punkin

family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 14, 2010

One of our favorite things to do this time of year is to visit the pumpkin patch. Right outside our town, the cutest lil patch of pumpkins in the world exisits. Everything is free to do, you aren't even required to buy a pumpkin. There are tractor rides, a hay bale maze, play areas, cows to visit, and lots of pumpkins to meet.

We try to go often and each buy a small pumpkin and a treat each time. They have home made lemonade, and frozen cherry cider too. And I've learned to buy a few jars of local made pumpkin butter early, because towards Halloween, its all gone.

Kansas is beautiful this time of year. And so are these two. I try to get a photo of them like this at the patch every fall.

That's one hot grandpa, huh?

This just seems like yesterday…

She's growing up. No matter how wonderful it is to watch, its still hurts a bit to see it happen so fast.

The end of an era

antiques/junking, family

By Karla Nathan / October 12, 2010

We've done it. The shed is empty. In clearing it out, we came across the sign I used to put bythe road during sale weekends, and someone stuck it in the ground here. Isn't the whole set up cute?? I was surprised that I felt no remorse at all, it was truly a relief to have it all behind me.

I'd stopped having the sales quite a while ago, but always thought that I'd have just one more little one to clear out remnants. But each year, the stuff got dustier and dirtier. There was still some great inventory left, an old iron bed, a mosaic table, doors, colums, dressers, chandeliers…. on and on.

7 truckloads total of goodies left here this weekend. All given away. It felt wonderful.

I could have taken it to the Salvation Army and gotten receipts for tax write offs… I could have listed the good stuff on Craigs List…. I could have had a sale… I could have just let it sit and rot… all these things were in my mind for years.

But I didn't do a single one. And it hung over me. Looming as a big chore that I had to face.

Finally, I just decided to let it go. Just let it leave. I knew there were things in there that people would love to have. It certainly wasn't just trash. It was good stuff that I had lovingly scrounged! But it was no longer worth anything to ME.

I'd made my profits from the business. This accumlation was paid for long ago, and I find things so cheap that I had very little cash into it. And if I considered how much I'd made over the years on the stuff I did sell, it certainly covered the small loss on these things.

And now we are ready for chickens!

The building is large, one side long and narrow, the other a big square. I'm thinking the smaller side for birds. If I ever get a pony for Sugarwings someday, it can live on the other side. We used to have 5 horses, but have since taken down the old barn. But I think that a pony would be really happy in my antique shop.

We also cleaned out the garage, to make room for two cars and the tractor. I had a furniture painting business in the past and the 24 x 24 building had been my workshop. So, another collection I had was bits and pieces of trim and hardware and interesting bits of wood.

In other words, stuff that rats love to build nests in if you leave it sitting for a few years unused!

So, everything was pulled from the garage, some was burnt, some went to a junker friend who also hauled off dozens of cans of paint.

We got the saw out and cut up my work bench. Since it had been built of pressure treated lumber, I thought of using it the top of it as a "bridge" or sidewalk in the garden, so we sat it in the creeping myrtle behind the house. The bottom half will be moved to the chicken coop to hold the nests.

And speaking of nests, here is a baby update:

My son's Beloved is still having contractions. She did way too much yard work on Saturday building a compost pile in her yard and had a rough weekend from that. On Sunday, I was really worried about her, she was so weak and pale, from contractions all night.

But she is on bed rest and now they have slowed down.

The newest fairy baby isn't due till November 11th or so. I'm hoping that this girl will be patient and wait till then to arrive, but her folks are hoping otherwise. The momma's other 5 kids were all born early and she feels ready NOW.

I'll let you know as things move along. Keep them in your prayers, please?

Lucky

antiques/junking, family, housework, magazine pictures or articles

By Karla Nathan / October 9, 2010

You guys are all pretty nice to have around, you know it? Thanks!

Its such a beautiful day here in Kansas, what a great October weekend. We are going downtown with good friends to hear some live music in the park, and to enjoy this weather. But before that….

I have to make a stab at cleaning out this.

It used to be my antique shop. Before that it was a chicken coop. And now we are thinking about turning it back into a chicken coop again.

So, I've been trying to get ahold of people who I thought might want some of the junk that is left over. I'd like to have the building empty by tomorrow. What no one takes will be on the curb, feel free to stop and look through my trash if you are driving by!

And this is only half the shed. The other side is just as bad.

I'd thought about turning it into a play house for Sugarwings, but the idea of fresh farm eggs is just too tempting. We already have some fencing we could slap onto the back of the building and we have some shelves that would make good roosting.

No matter what we do with it, I need to get it de-junked. This stuff has sat here for years, unused and unloved. I know there has to be someone who wants it. I thought about doing a rummage sale, but it turns out that I am too lazy. Cleaning it will be bad enough, but sitting out there early in the morning trying to sell stuff for quarters and dimes? Its better just to find homes for it all.

I had to tell myself that I've already made my profits from that business, and now I'm out of the antique shop biz and the rest of the inventory has to go. Do you ever hang on to stuff, knowing that its worth something? Well, this is GOOD junk, that for some reason just didn't sell. Wrong time, wrong place, I guess. But even though it is "worth something" its worthless to me just rotting in the shed.

The stuff deserves a new home. And I deserve a clean shed.

Untill the chickens poo all over the shed, at least. Not so clean then.

Have you seen the newest Somerset Life? Lots of blog friends are in it!

Including these pretty pages by my Texas shopping bud, Lisa.

I was lucky enough to score two articles in it. And that sweet Lisa actually called me to congratulate me on them! I don't think she has any idea how touched I was by her gesture.

See, around here, no one is very impressed by my work.

One article is about my peat pot frozen Charlotte fairies. The photography was really nice on this article, I loved the faded, blurred pastel backgrounds they used for the pics.

And I was excited to see that one of the upcoming challenges for artists is to use a peat pot in their own artwork and send it in. The deadline is Feb. 15th if you are going to make something for it.

And speaking of good pictures- my friend, Carol, took the photos of my house that are in the current Somerset Home.

I'm feeling pretty lucky right now. Not just being in two magazines on the stands at the same time, but in having good blog friends who leaped to my defense about the deleted post without even knowing the story behind it. Once everyone knew that it was the mom who didn't like what I said about the photos, everyone understood. Many of us were new moms at one time and knew completely how she felt.

And I'm lucky to have such a good family that pulls my foot out of my mouth for me every once in a while when I get it stuck there. And then they love me anyway, even with toe breath.

A better apology and a clarification

family

By Karla Nathan / October 8, 2010

Me again. Back for a clarification. No one needs to be upset about me removing the post about how awful the sonogram pictures were. I took it down because I offended the child's mother, not a reader.

I didn't mean to be a bad witch.

Honestly, I was talking about how much the sonogram disapointed me. I was hoping for sweet cuddly baby pictures, I'd heard so much about this new technology. I would never in a billion years say that my grand child was funny looking. I said it was a funny picture.

Sometimes, I say things I think are funny and go too far. I usually see humor everywhere and probably would have buried myself in a ditch somewhere years ago if I couldn't find humor in the world. My family has had lots of ups and downs, I know I've mentioned some of it over the years in my posts. I deal with the world by looking for a silver lining and trying to find the happy spots.

I try to enjoy every minute I can. Life is too short to be petty, insecure, unhappy, or teed off. Life can also be a dangerous and messed up place. So when I get a chance to laugh, I take it. I never mean to offend anyone by being irreverant, or flip. I just see fun smeared all over everything. And I mention it.

I rarely, well actually, I never, stop to think if what I am saying is offensive because it simply doesn't occur to me that it is. Maybe I'm self centered. Maybe I'm shallow. I'll need to be double thinking about this for a while. From my point of view, things are fun and silly and cheerful. But I need to be more sensitve and realize that not everyone sees what I see.

*********Good Witch/bad witch tags by my Sissy************ cute vintage scarecrow note from Sue Stoke*********

Over the past 800 plus posts I've shared a lot with you, which is why I am blathering on about this situation. I figure you deserve an explanation for my deletion and my girl deserves a public apology for me hurting her feelings.

I hope that everyone knows that I adore my family. And I also hope that no one would honestly think that I'd accuse anyone of inapropriate behaviour with clowns. Besides, clown noses are not genetic- they are plastic and stuck on, no clown's child is born that way. It was just me being silly. Oh gosh, I should just shut up…I could be making it worse again.

And some of the photos from the 4D ultrasound were a little better than others. But overall, I have to say that I would not reccomend anyone purchasing these just for baby pictures. With an online coupon, the sonogram still cost me over $150 and the photos were not that great. Plus they are not looked at by a doctor. But, I have been so worried about this child, that I would have paid anything to see her wiggling and kicking around. And even though her face was blurry and I don't know what she'll look like, I am relieved to see that she looked healthy.

Thanks for listening.

An apology

family

By Karla Nathan / October 8, 2010

Well, apparenty its offensive to make fun of sonogram pictures. I just want every one to know that I already love the new grandbaby and know that she is beautiful. My whole last post (deleted) was just aimed at the 4-D sonogram, NOT THE BABY herself.

Practical Magic in all of us

Books, fairies, family, Film, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 25, 2010

Do you ever read Alice Hoffman? Its been too long since I've picked up one of her books. They always have a thread of magic woven through them,. Some of her stories are pure magic, some just have hints of it. But the most mystical of them all is Practical Magic.

That book was an all nighter for me. And when the movie came out, I didn't see how it could possibly measure up, but man. I'd watch that movie over and over just to get another glimpse of the house. But the whole thing is worth watching again and again even without the eye candy.

So, when I heard that Justina and Anna were having a Practical Magic party, I had to join in!

(right now, I'm out of town, and pre-posted this- but I will be party hopping and checking out all the garden spells and pointy hats when I get home)

I've always loved the witchy side of life. The hint of magic in all of us. Having Sugarwings around and seeing the world through her eyes has brought out the magic and fun in my life even more.

I've also discovered as I get older that playing dress up is just as much fun as it was when I was little like Sugarwings.(This picture is not doctored! I'm standing in front of a "light birdie" that the sun coming through a prism on the window has made)

At my Sissy's 60th birthday party, we all dressed up as fairies and witches and one of the highlights of the night was to dance around the house to "Put the Lime in the Coconut" like the sisters did in Practical Magic.

Maybe what I love about the book and movie so much is the sisters. Mine are my best friends, and I miss them every day. There is power in the love of sisters.

Magic is all around you, just waiting for you to find it.

Life is too short to not be hunting the magic that is waiting for you.

No matter how silly you might look while doing it.

You don't need a crystal ball to find the kind of magic I'm talking about.

All you need to do is pay attention, open your eyes to the beauty around you.

Be light hearted. Let yourself fly.

Show love, give love, be loved. That is the greatest magic.

Being creative is a way to find the magic inside yourself too. Lose yourself in making something.

Create something to decorate your own home, as a gift, or just for the pure sparkling joy of making it.

These crowns, that I made are all from images and some techniques we provided in Romantic Gothic Ghosts. (although the crowns themselves were not taught in the classes)

I've enjoyed doing the class so much. To me, Halloween isn't about the scary stuff, its the mysterious that I find intriguing. Practical Magic probably should have been on our list of Gothic Romances in the review Beth did in our tutorial. That luscious house, the gorgeous gardens, the teaser of the unknown, all evoke the feeling we wanted to purvey, and what the class is about!

Yet another reason why this blog party drew me in. I've been knee deep in Gothic witchiness for the last few weeks!Its not too late to join us if you'd like to create some moody Halloween decor for your home too.

And please remember, that for my September giveaway, I'll be drawing a name to win one of the projects that I made for the class. All comments count.

Thanks again to Justina and Anna for coming up with a great theme and for hosting the party.

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

I
will be away from my desk and unable to answer comments or mail
packages until Wed. But please do leave a comment if you'd like to be
entered in the September giveaway of one of my completed projects for Romantic Gothic Ghosts.

PS- I know I'll be spending too much in Texas, so I'm having a sale in the Boutique to replenish my funds. Type in this code:

Roundtop

and you'll get 20% off of every purchase!

A FairyTaking flight

fairies, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2010

We had such a blast last week at the Kansas City Renfest that we went back again for another day! And as I was going through the photos on my camera, I noticed that Sugarwings was so happy there with her own kind (fairies) that her feet barely touched the ground most of the day.

A pack of wandering fairies swooped her up and invited her to join their flock. She was thrilled to go off with them to dance around the Maypole.

So, she flew off with her new friends and we trailed along behind, walking on the ground like humans.

She fluttered over the ground as she danced with joy.

Another day filled with magic.

Like all my days spent with this little sprite.

Not a bad way to celebrate Grand Parent's Day!

A mini Cinderella

celebrations, family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / September 5, 2010

I hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend! Ours is jam packed with lots of Sugarwings time. Her poor Hippy Chick Mommy has strep throat, so she is staying with us. It works out well, because we have my sweet little mother-in-law here for a few days and these two have become buddies.

Yesterday, we spent the day at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. That place is beyond charming. Its tucked away into a hilly, shaded area that is a permanent location for the event, so lots of time and money have gone into the quaint little buildings. You really feel like you are in a fairy tale village when you go there.

And where else do you get to mingle with royalty?

There are stages all over the park with silly plays going on throughout the day. Sugarwings was picked from the audience to participate in one, and after that, she seemed to think that she was meant to be a star. That kid has some ham in her.

But at the end of the day, when I asked her what her favorite part of the festival was, she said, the play ground. There is a kid's area set up with a pirate ship, jungle gym, and lots of crafts. She would have sat and made magic wands all day if that had been an option.

Another favorite for both us us was this tent. It was such a simple thing, a floaty, diaphanous tent that hung from a tree. When you darted in and out of it, the whole thing would sway.

In past years, we have gone with big groups to the Ren Fest. This year, it was just my husband, his mom, our fairy baby, and me. We mostly followed the little one around and let her explore as she pleased. So, we were happy to sit and talk while she made friends with kids playing in the tent. She spent at about a half hour just hanging out there.

We've been to the park numerous times, so didn't feel the need to press on and fit the whole thing into the after noon. We paused to enjoy the little things and took our time watching a dragon fountain splashing against the rocks and contemplating some eggs that might just hatch into baby dragons.

The gown that she wore was just beautiful. It was a gift from a friend who shops estate and garage sales and found it for a couple dollars. The dress is vintage, and very nicely hand made, but since there wasn't a huge investment in it, I was comfortable in letting her run and play and get as dirty as she wanted.

Plus, why have nice things if you can't use and enjoy them?? "Use the good stuff" is my motto in life as well as in the studio with my supplies.

The festival has a different theme each year, this year it is Cinderella, so that is who Sugarwings pretended to be all day. And this gown was just perfect for it! Tiny girls all wanted to stop her and meet her, I think she made them think she was a real princess. She was Queen of the Toddlers that day.

Just the same way that she believed all the royalty that she met there was real.

This woman is my favorite, every year she has the most elaborate costume, and is so good natured and friendly to the little kids. For the Cinderella theme, she is playing Fairy Godmother this year, and is ideal for the part.

There are lots of games to play, too, including putting for unicorns. My husband works for a golf course company, but I'm afraid that Sugarwings and I just are not the Country Club types. I've never played a round in my life. But if we could find some courses that had horned Pan creatures as caddies and everyone dressed up like princesses, I might be able to get into the game.

And especially if country clubs awarded good putts with unicorns!

If you have a little princess or pirate in your life and live anywhere near KC, you really need to take them to this place. It goes on for 8 weekends every fall, and is $18.99 for adults, $9.99 for kids. But if you bring 5 canned goods to donate to a homeless shelter, you can buy one get one free.

The place is just too charming for words. Of course, you wouldn't know by these pictures, all I've shown you is my little obsession grandchild. The site is picturesque, and there is a lot to do besides follow a 4 year old around with a camera. There is jousting, games, elephant and camel rides, great food (beer and wine too), parades, fairy dances, shows, plays, comedians and magicians. You can be as silly as you want and dress up, or just go as yourself and enjoy seeing all the other people's crazy costumes. (wear comfy shoes, no matter how dressed up you get!!)

The hat whisperer doesn’t even need any skills in PA,OH, and IN!!!

celebrations, family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 29, 2010

What a wonderful trip! Its good to be home and we're exhausted from cramming so much into less than a week, but wow. It was the best. And not just because I return home with a bounty of blooms, it was all around, just a nice experience. We flew out to DC to pick up the car that my husband has had out there for a couple of years and drove it back, visiting friends and family along the way while my husband did some business here and there.

The states between Kansas and Virginia are so durned packed with pink and white hat bargains, that I had to be really picky about what I was buying or there wouldn't have been space in the car. There are BILLIONS of floral hat deals in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.

By the time I stopped in Missouri at an antique mall along I70, I was plain old burnt out and not even looking at hats any more.

At one little shop in Akron, I found boxes full of corsages. They were marked more per piece than I sell flowers for myself. So, I politely asked the store owner what her best price on a dozen would be and I was flabbergasted when she quoted me a little over a dollar each. I picked out some of the prettiest pink and white roses, some that still have the original tags on them.

While my husband worked a bit in each state we visited, I killed time at nearby antique malls, unless we were already checked into a hotel. If so, I sat in the room and glittered my Dorothy tags.

I also got in a lot of high quality nap time, plus got to visit my buddy, Heather while in the Pittsburgh area.

Since I had a few days to shop, I had to be really cheap to make my $150 last all week. And that part of the country seems to be THE place for stretching a dollar, I found some lovely things beyond the hats too.

For me, there is no better vacation than one where I get to visit people I care about, score deals on beautiful things, take naps, eat gourmet foods, PLUS get a load of work done. Ideal! Of course, I didn't get to turn on the TV at all this week and am wondering what happened on Top Chef and Runway, but hey, life was pretty close to perfect, so I am not complaining.

The highlight of the trip was our romantic dinner on Lake Eerie at the Shoreby Club. This Victorian stone mansion has been renovated and is now a dinner club with a spectacular view of the lake at sunset.

While sipping our wine and watching the sun sink into the lake, we misquoted Gordon Lightfoot and sang the Edmund Fitzgerald song. We didn't realize until afterward that the song was about Lake Superior, not Eerie.

We also discussed how much we missed Sugarwings. That is one of the reasons why we cut our trip short a day. No matter how great time away is, its still time away from Sugarwings too.

We are pathetic. We are so smitten by this little one, we couldn't stand to be away any longer.

So, bright and early on Sunday morning we scooped her up, and had a boating picnic on the lake.

There's no place like home….

Work was a secondary reason for getting back. Romantic Gothic Ghosts starts at midnight Sunday! I wanted to tweak some things and make it just right for you.

The first lesson is for 2 collages of my banner. The finish on this lady's portrait is one of the tips I'll be giving out on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday will be finishing the banner, and then Beth does one of her projects later in the week.

She and I are planning some extras too. A few giveaways of vintage supplies, some videos, etc.

We'll be working on some unique Halloween decor ideas, and ways to display some of the art you'll be making in our class.

The classes are $25 and will be left up as long as I have a Typepad blog. And I don't see an end to blogging anytime soon…

And don't forget- you can still enter the August Giveaway for one of my completed Romantic Ghost projects.