family – Page 69 – Karla's Cottage

Damsels in Distress

antiques/junking, fairies, family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / July 1, 2009

The trip to Florida wasn't all sad stuff. My Aunt's funeral was uplifting, so many people had such good things to say about her. She was gracious and kind and a wonderful role model to live up to.

While down in the Sunshine State (where we were just about guaranteed a big blast of heavy rain every afternoon), my Sissy and I road tripped it from coast to coast and saw family (and antique shops) all the way.

We stayed with baby bro, Randy, and his family in Jacksonville. This mosaic is of my furry little niece and nephews. (Yep, that represents more Picassa fun time there, I learned a few more editing tricks!)

Randy and Kevin's garden is set up as an open invitation for fairies to come and play in the flowers.

Butterflies too! The yard is pesticide free, so the soon to be butterflies will be safe.

The place was so inviting, all I wanted to do was explore all the nooks and crannies, because there were such delightful surprises tucked in under the blooms!

And what did I buy on the trip? Well, I have to say that my hat whispering skills were top notch!

It was heart breaking to see that Mt. Dora is no longer chocked full of antique shops. Even so, we did manage to keep busy and I over filled my suitcase. To the point that it was over the weight limits, and I thought I'd have to stuff my carry on bag full of the heaviest stuff (5 rolls of gorgeous old wallpaper for $2.99!!!) But the Southwest Airlines agent let me leave it as is and didn't charge me for the overweight bag. SW is always the BEST.

These girls were so wrong, they were right. They caught my eye right away, well, with those garishly bright colors how could I miss them? But I saw potential in them, even if they are so unattractive they are too embarrassed to look at the camera as is.

First thing I did was cut those extra long, monkey styled arms in half! Then, on this one, I pulled off the brightest of the trims, and added some pretty pastels. Old crocheted lace, millinery flowers, a new hat (made from velvet flower petals), and of course, some fairy wings!

Now she is feeling self confident in her appearance and is saucily looking right into the eye of the camera.

Her formally red, white, and blue sister (who looked a bit too much like Wonder Woman to start with) really had a beautiful design of sequins, I just couldn't live with the colors. So, a little bit of spray paint with glitter sprinkled on while the paint was still wet gave her a makeover.

She also got a flower petal hat, more flowers on her gown, jewelry and a magic wand made from a hat pin. And of course, no more monkey arms. She has dainty little fairy wings, that don't show in this photo.

Sometimes I wonder about what I spend my time on. I am so far behind from being gone on one trip after another and I know I need to get caught up, get things listed on line and clean up my Etsy and Boutique, but I couldn't help myself. I saw these poor ugly ducklings and had to be their fairy godmother and turn them into swans!

I'm also finishing up the books I promised to list and will add all the new items to the shop at once and have a much needed makeover there too.

For now, it is back to my job as a fairy godmother, there are a few of those girls still waiting for my help!

Oh, and the winner of the June giveaway is:

Becca of Bluebirds and Roses. She was one of my very first blog friends, how nice!

Don't forget, a new contest starts today! All comments, all month are in the drawing for whatever the heck that prize will be.

Ghosts of the past?

family

By Karla Nathan / June 29, 2009

We're back! Great Aunt Caroline's funeral was simple and touching. She chose everything in advance herself. Lots of pinks, whites, and roses, all just as lovely as she was herself.

It wasn't easy, but I got up to speak at the funeral. Because my mother adored her aunt so much, I felt like I needed to say something from my Mom, since she has passed away and wasn't able to tell everyone how much Caroline meant to her. And since I was talking about Mom, and thinking about times with her, it was doubly hard to speak without sobbing. I was facing lots of overwhelming emotions, but it was something I had to do.

Whether anyone in the funeral home could understand what I was saying through the tears or not, at least I said it.

Sissy and I stayed on the beach in Sarasota, taking a memory tour of places I used to go with my grandma years ago. One of my favorite places in the world when I was a kid was Siesta Key Beach and I was glad to see that the sand is every bit as soft and powdery as I remembered!

We walked on the beach at night as the sun was setting, then drank wine on the balcony and ate a feast of breads, cheeses and fruits for a picnic. When we left the hotel room in the morning, this outline of my fat little Fred Flintstone shaped foot was on the carpet outside the door.

We also hunted for and found the old trailer that Grandma used to live in! At least we think this is it….

Before the trip, I had my hair colored, trying to get it back to natural. I thought the highlights had gone so far, that they looked more sun damaged than sun kissed. Sugarwings noticed right away and said, "Grammy did you get more hair?"

I'm not sure about the color yet. It might need to be brigther, or darker or redder or something less boring.

One thing I remember about my Grandma's trailer from when I was a kid, is all the lizards in the yard. And this abandoned trailer had plenty of lizards. I thought about trying to break in to see inside, but couldn't get the doors open. And when I saw this guy trapped between the window and the glass, I had 2nd thoughts about going in anyway.

Maybe it was all the talk of the past and people who were long gone that influenced my Sissy when we checked into this gorgeous old hotel in Mt Dora. She was feeling "not right" about it. We checked right back out again and moved to another place.

The place seemed quaint and inviting to me, but I could tell she just was not happy there at all. Maybe it was haunted? That is my theory! I might have enjoyed staying with ghosts.

It all worked out for the best, the hotel we moved to was where my other sister and her hubby were staying. There was a free breakfast, and a little gazebo on the lake right outside our back door, where we could sit and sip wine and watch the sunset again. Of course, that is a big part of vacationing for us, sipping wine and watching the water.

And the hotel was not far from the funeral home where we said goodbye to our Great Aunt. Family had laid out photos of her, including this one taken in her 90s. I hope I take after her at least a little bit! I'd love to look this great in my 90s!!!!!!!!!!!!

We don't know what year this photo is from, only that it captures some of the tranquility and beauty that was such a part of her.

Thanks again for all of your condolences. And once again for all your help last year in making the hundred plus cards that helped mark her 110th birthday!

Farewell

family, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 24, 2009

There's no place like home, there's no place like home….

I'm getting ready for my trip to Florida and have been busy chasing down the details and making reservations. I snuck in some time to make a few little pretties too.

Here are a couple sneak peeks at what I've been doing. There are a few odds and ends left to finish on them yet, and since I leave for the airport at 4am tomorrow and haven't packed yet, well, I guess I won't be finishing up the batch of pretties and listing them in the shop till I get back.

I've pre-written some posts that will pop up while I am away, so please do check back. And when I return, I'll let you know who the winner is for the June Giveaway- which you can still enter, of course.

Thanks for all of your kind words about Great Aunt Caroline. She will be missed.

Blue Birds, Blue Berries, and talking about beautiful gifts till I am Blue in the face!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, show and tell, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 23, 2009

Thank you for all your kind comments about the passing of my Great Aunt Caroline. She was a gracious lady who led an interesting and full life. I hope I can inherit some of her longevity genes! Not only did she live to just a few days short of 101, she did so in excellent health up until the very end. And she passed away quietly in her sleep with no trauma. Not a bad way to go, at all. Lucid and no pain.

My flight to Florida is Thursday, and I am trying to get caught up before I go. I added this pearl collar to my Boutique, and have been making some projects to add too, but most likely, will not be able to till I return.

One thing I needed to be caught up on was showing off the pressies I've been getting! It has been feeling almost like Christmas around here lately and I haven't had a chance to get pictures of the lovely loot till now.

My friend, Jenn Queen of the Garden Fairies sent me this Millinery School book. I wish I could really go! And not to a modern one, I want to go back in time and attend this school and play with all the flowers and trims there.

And at our Blogger's Shopping Day in Leesburg, VA, there was a flurry of gifts being exchanged. Amy Powers created the sugared and framed bluebird, that is so cute next to the minuscule flowers that Robin crafted from coffee filters and sticker dots. Can you tell what she has used for a vase? The lid to a spice bottle!

Andrea gifted us with gift tags, all sparkly and pretty and packed in a tin.

Please excuse Twinkle's vanity, but she insisted that I pay attention to her instead taking photos of everything else…

Most of these gifties have been used already, so I can't show you how cute Heather and Stephenie's little straw basket was when it was filled with blooms, or the hand knit wash cloth that Bethmade. I saved the packaging she made for it, (the tube covered in ephemera) but the wash cloth has been hard at work already. She has given me a few of these over the years and I just love to use them. I keep one in the kitchen to wipe the fairy grand baby's face after meals, because the cotton yarn is just right for a baby's soft skin.

In a previous post, I mentioned the great idea that Pamela had for the travel folders, filled with tags to tie to our packages, room for receipts and business cards, etc. And Hope gave us post cards from her shop, that I just can't use, I will save in the folder Pamela made along with other mementos of the day.

You are probably thinking that is all I have to show you???? No way!! It has been a gift-a-thon around here!!!

In today's mail, these wonderful Blue Bird plates arrived from Jenny!! I quickly filled them with fresh, hot blueberry muffins. Don't things taste even better off of pretty plates? It was so thoughtful of her to send these to me, after she saw the post about my mini collection of this china.

Jenny has an antique shop in Raleigh, and I just found out that my husband has that city in his region now. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to travel with him there and check out her store and thank her in person.

And there is more…..

Andrea sent a voluminous bundle of beauty my way! Full of vintagey tidbits and treasures. Including a hand made frame, for a photo of Sugarwings. And out of old pastel wallpapers and glitter. Now that even more yummy than a fresh muffin!

But wait, I am still going- yes there is MORE. How lucky am I?

First of all, pretty lucky to have a friend like Beth, who sent me this wallpaper pack from Holly's shop after I mentioned how much I loved the chocolate brown paper. I am beyond lucky, don't you think?

And so lucky that Sugarwings is fine, no problems from her episode of mushroom munching in the grass. The poison control center thought that the mushrooms were dangerous and sent us to the ER, but a specialist in mushrooms happened to live in the area and came in to inspect them and told us that they were a safe variety.

Thank you all for your concern about her. And now, she has a fairy guardian on the shelf above her bed, a gift from Lori,that is just about as precious as little Sugarwings is!

Thanks, everyone for the fantastic gifts! And don't forget that I have one for you, this month's gift drawing will be on the 30th and is one of my tag journals.

Remembering

family

By Karla Nathan / June 21, 2009

This time last year, I was gathering up the 100 plus cards made for my Great Aunt Caroline's 100th birthday and heading down to Florida for the birthday bash. She was to turn 101 on the 26th, this week. I have my plane tickets ready to go, so I could be there for the big day.

Sadly, I got a call today, saying that she passed away last night. I'm still traveling to Florida this week, but now it is for a funeral instead.

She was a gracious and classy lady who could really tell a story and had a lot of stories to tell. I'm so sorry that I won't get to hear another one from her.

Thanks again to all of you who sent cards last year. They were a huge hit at her party! If you'd like to see the cards that generous readers made for Caroline, click here.

Today, I am also remembering my dad. I love this old photo of him from my scrapbook. He sent it to me years ago, with a note on the back telling me how many crappies he'd caught at his favorite fishing hole.

Its been an up and down Father's Day weekend for us. Lots of fun times, out on the lake, but also the sadness of losing Caroline and remembering Dad. But we had a frightening moment too, when Sugarwing's mom told us she had been snacking on mushrooms growing in the yard! After calling poison control, we were told to bring in a sample of the mushrooms to the ER (and the baby led us directly to them in her mommy's yard).

A mushroom expert examined them and said they weren't poisonous, but the Dr. had Sugarwings drink charcoal in chocolate milk.

She's fine now, just a few tummy rumbles here and there. It could have been much worse, I shiver just thinking about anything bad happening to my fairy grand baby! She doesn't even LIKE mushrooms, and will not eat them on her plate. What goes through kid's heads when they put stuff like that in their mouths? Or noses for that matter, she had a big marble up her nose yesterday too.

I told her to never, ever, ever eat mushrooms out of the grass, because then the fairies will not have any place to sit.

I hope all of you are having a good Father's Day, and hopefully one less eventful than ours.

Flower bed visitors

fairies, family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / June 19, 2009

Finally! I was able to do some yard work. Normally, I am way too early with my plants because I just can't wait to get the blooms started. This is the latest I have ever been in setting out annuals. But I discovered if you wait till this late in the season, all the plants are half price! That made me feel a bit better about it being so far behind.

Sugarwings was quite the helper. She discovered how easily the plants popped out of the ground and right back into the divided plastic trays they came in. So, we had to elaborately tuck the new flowers into their "beds" and pat the soil around them to distract her from replanting them right back into their previous containers. After giving them plant food and a drink, I think she got the picture.

Did you notice this unusual planting in the first photo? My first reaction, was, "oh no, the Lamb's Ear will be smashed!". Then I realized just how prolific this flower is, and how hard to kill. Plus, who could blame her for wanting to pull off her dress and sink down into soft, fluffy leaves of Lamb's Ear?

In the past, I've been quite a flower lover, but for now, I think I'd rather spend my time growing fairies.

It was the day for soft and fluffy.

This little guy was hopping around in the flowers too. We held him for a while, then sat him down to hop on home to his family. That wasn't easy to do, Sugarwings was pretty fond of him. When I asked her what his name was, she said it was "Mine".

Sweet Sioux

family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 28, 2009

We're back from Sioux City, and it was an emotional trip, as well as being filled with all sorts of Sugarwings Fun.

When I was a young, divorced, and penniless, mom with two rambunctious sons, my Mom took us in. She had been transferred to Sioux City, so my sisters packed us up in Indiana, and drove the boys out to her home in Iowa, since I didn't even own a car at the time.

My Mom has been gone a few years now, but I will be grateful all of my life for the help she was to us when I really really needed her. She not only took us in, she helped take care of my wild and crazy boys while I worked and got back on my feet. To do that, she sold her cozy little one bedroom cottage, that was just perfect for her, and bought this beautiful, old brick palace with space for a family.

That house was so stately and special. Going back to see it again was heart wrenching, but was the first thing I had to do when we got to town. The house meant a lot to Mom too, she'd been through some rough times, and not so nice men in her life, so owning a house like this and being able to support us when we were desperate for help, was a boost of confidence for her. She was so proud of how hard she had worked and this house was kind of a symbol of all she had done for herself to get to that point. And was she was even prouder to be able to say that she did it "without a man".

Dear Abby and Ann Landers had been raised in this house. (I'm sure I could have used some of their advice at times while I was a single mom) And it had once been a fantastic neighborhood. But the area seems to be going down hill, now. It made me very happy to see "our" house so well cared for and tended to. It looked like a huge, and multi-generational family lived there now, with a grampa in the garden and babies on the porch. That seemed fitting.

While in Sioux City, we visited Palmer Candy. Sugarwings was pretty happy with that part of the trip….

We bought a case of their Cherry Twin Bings, as souvenirs to give to family and friends here at home.

Down along the river, a monument to Lewis and Clark has been built in the years since we lived in that town. The fairy grand baby figured it was part of the playground equipment.

Since we were doing a lot of driving around and sightseeing, we promised to stop at all the parks we passed for Sugarwings to get out and stretch. My husband's mom is a kid at heart too and she was happy to do more than just stretch when we made park stops.

Traveling with a two year old meant lunches at places like Chuck E Cheese instead of quaint roadside diners my husband usually prefers. Usually, we tryto eat local cuisine, like Iowa loose meats, but for this trip, it was a lot of hotel food and kid friendly restaurants.

Honestly, we didn't care what the meal was, just spending all that time with our little one and doing things she loved to do made this trip one of the best of our lives. Finding a hotel with a water park was the best part of the trip for her, we stayed at a Holiday Inn downtown Omaha that seemed to be empty except for us. We had the whole pool area to ourselves.

And right now, Holiday Inn has a special. Stay 3 nights at any hotel they own, and get a 4th free in August. We plan on going back to Omaha in August for Sugarwings birthday to stay at this one again. I threw my back out on this trip, and didn't get to play in the water park. I sure enjoyed the hot tub, though. When we go back in August, I look forward to splashing around on all the slides.

Since I hurt my back, I won't be going to see Aunt Caroline this week. Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers for her health, it sounds like she is doing well. I hope that I can go to Florida to see her for her 101st birthday in June instead.

The Blue Bird of Happiness has moved in with us at the Cottage

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / May 21, 2009

Today felt more like Summer than Springtime, and while I was hit with guilt about not having my bedding plants out yet, I was sure enjoying the perennials and so glad that we have such well established beds that can be completely and totally ignored and still look good (well, that is if you look away from the grass growing in the iris)

It was such a pretty day, we took lunch outside to eat.

Doesn't everything taste even better outside? Especially when served off of a princess plate.

The day was too nice to stay sitting at the table, Sugarwings wanted to explore.

And of course, she had to make sure that Grammy was following her. This is a wooden bridge that I found in a dump 15 years ago (don't ask how I drug it out and got it home myself). I always liked the little bridge, but this fairy grand baby just adores crossing it. She always stops to check underneath of it for trolls.

If only iris bloomed all summer…. I just love this time of year, I'll miss these when they are done, they bloom and fade too fast.

Sugarwings is learning the names of the flowers, she calls quite a few of them iris or snowball bushes, though. She thinks that the peonies are snowballs like the viburnums. I have to agree with her, they do look like big white snowballs.

But the peonies smell better.

The best part of summer coming? We can paint outside! (yes, she is still a paint taster, although it looks like she has moved on from blue to black paint now) Last year, there was a photo of her printed in "Where Women Create" all covered in blue paint.

But now, it is MY turn to be a model!

Yep, I am gracing the pages of a trade magazine that showcases New Holland Tractors, along with my niece, Shelli. Hmm, should I add this to my list of publications that I've been in? Probably not…

As if things weren't happy enough around here, most days, at least- look at this! The blue bird of happiness has come to live with us. Its a gift from Cindy and I just love it. Thanks, Cindy!!

A Barrell of Monkeys

family

By Karla Nathan / May 13, 2009

What do you think my roomie will say when I unpack and THIS comes popping out of my suitcase?

Believe it or not, I did finish packing. Now, don't ask me what exactly is in the bag, because, with this one's help, the goal was just to finish, not to be fashionable. My craft supplies, clothes and gifts for Jenn are all crammed in there, somehow. I don't even know what I have in the way of craft supplies, I just grabbed what was handy. Plus some tees and jeans. Well, at least I hope I remembered jeans.

One time, I was planning to go on a cruise with a friend, and was working out of town before the trip. I caught the flu and stayed an extra few days at the hotel, then called my son to pack my bags for the cruise so my friend could get my bag from him and meet me at the airport for our flight, since I was still out of town and had been too sick to come home and pack before I left.

My son was 13at the time and not comfortable packing underwear for mom, apparently, so I got none of that. He did manage to get me a swim suit, but it was the worn out, stained top that I did yard work in and bottoms that didn't match. He also put in my gardening clothes for day trips in the Bahamas, and for some reason, a dozen disposable razors (for a 5 day cruise). Luckily, he added a sundress and Birkenstocks- for the Captain's Dinner. Did I mention that the sundress had seen better days and was more appropriate for covering a swimsuit?

I'd been out of town on a job painting murals, and it was midwinter. All I had in the van with me, was painting clothes, tennis shoes covered in paint, and snow gear. I might not have been the best dressed person on the ship, but I sure had fun anyway.

I have a sinking feeling that I am about as well prepared for this trip to Georgia as I was for that trip to the Bahamas! Life has been hectic around here lately, so no matter what I end up with in my bag when I open it at Jenn's, I am going to be thrilled just to be away.

Even if the papers and ribbons I threw in the bag don't go well together, I can't wait to start creating things with this talented group of ladies.

See you when I get back!

The right way to get the day you really want!

antiques/junking, celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, give away, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / May 6, 2009

Thanks for all your happy birthday wishes! It was a fun day, I invited some pals over for a tee shirt embellishment day and for birthday cake. There were some issues with the transfer paper, we never did figure it out. But I had bought a bunch of different types of printable fabrics to try too, and those worked out well. For this brown tee, I added a copy of one of my favorite vintage paintings, then some velvet and lace trim under it. To finish off, it got old seam binding around the neck. The shirt is Lycra, so I stretched it as far as I could and straight stitched the ribbon to the neckline. When I let go of the pulled fabric, the ribbon ruffled just like I hoped that it would!

Everyone brought their own shirts or bags to work on, and then I had an assortment of goodies for them to go through and add to them, as well as a bunch of pictures I had downloaded and printed onto fabric. Of course, nothing was exactly right for what they needed, and we spent most of the day going through my supplies and my folders of images to see what they wanted to use for their pieces. Isn't that how it always goes? The stuff set aside for a project is never quite what you want, something buried or squirreled away is much more intriguing.

The crystals and glitter pens were popular though. Well, dur! Of course crystals are great to use!!

After the group left for the day, I sat down and worked on a couple shirts for myself, it had been hectic earlier with so much going on and I wanted to wear a new shirt when my boys and I went out for dinner. Ryan and Sugarwing's Daddy took me to my favorite Italian place, then we went to see Wolverine. Hugh was my favorite Xman before, but after this movie, I love him even more! And Ryan Reynolds is a fave of mine too, so it was fun to see Van Helsing take on Van Wilder.

Thanks also for your get well wishes for poor little Twinkle's toes. She is no longer whining and whimpering, and is back to running around, so I'd say she is feeling better.

Especially after a visit from one of her puppies, Bella.

Sugarwings (who by the way, is an excellent helper when it is time to blow out birthday candles) was glad to see Bella too.

Are you noticing anything different about my blog today?

Guess what came as my birthday gift! The CANNON REBEL!!!!!!!!! yep, that one. The one I've whined about and wished for. And you know who gave it to me? I did.

The best way to have a wonderful birthday is to throw it for yourself. I bought a cake, invited friends over for a craft day, supplied the crafts, picked out the restaurant and movie to to take my sons to, and bought the gift I wanted for the last year. The perfect birthday, perfectly orchestrated by me. Everyone was happy to have the burden of what to do for mom lifted from them and I had exactly what I wanted. Now, why did it take me 51 birthdays to figure that out? I guess wisdom comes with age.

Good camera, huh? What a nice gift!!!

I realized that I never showed you the goods that I bought last week at the flea mkt, so I'll leave you with a few photos from my OLD camera of my finds.

Can you see the difference?

Now, that wasn't a horrid camera, and I will still be using it quite a bit. It fits so nicely into my jeans pocket. But I love my new Rebel XSi!!!

Well, that photo sure isn't very good. I wonder what makes me show them any way, when I know they are bad?

Last week's shopping trip was a day for figurines and babies, as well as millinery and jewels. Lots of small things, I liked not having much to carry in at the end of the day.

Before I go, I need to announce the hand painted Birthday Cupcake Charm-

Claudia

And to say thanks again for helping make my day special with all of your kind comments!