flowers – Page 13 – Karla's Cottage

Kansas Spring

By Karla Nathan / March 27, 2012

Wow, what weather we are having! Dewdrop and I have made the most of it by doing LOTS of yard work while the sun is shining. These delightful days are unpredictable this time of year, so when one comes along, I make the most of it, knowing that it could be a fluke and I won't have a chance to work outside again any time soon.

But, they just keep on a coming. One beautiful day after another, with just enough rainy ones in between to make everything grow and turn green.

I just hope they keep on a comin. I could use this kind of weather for Birdsong at the end of April! I hope the prettiness continues. (Birdsong is full now, thanks!)

So far, just about every spring blooming tree and shrub has prematurely burst into glorious buds all at the same time. Its one of those breath taking Spring times when everywhere you look, there are blasts of pastel color. As much as I love it, I think I'd still prefer the step by step color, where a few bushes start blooming, then more open up a few at a time. Its a head on collision of color this year.

I do love seeing it, but I worry that this way, its all going to be played out early and done by the end of April when my guests arrive!

Its tempting to plant too much too soon, and I've tried to stop myself from getting too carried away. Its entirely possible that we could get a late snow or at least a hard frost yet.

So, I've planted only things that would hold up if the warmth fades. Lots of pansies and snapdragons so far. Plus, I've been cleaning and clearing. Every year when I start my Spring yard work, I'm kicking myself and declaring that NEVER again will I wimp out on clearing all the fall leaves in Autumn. Because every year, I spend a few hours blowing leaves mulitple times in October and September, but we have so many trees, it barely makes a dent in them.

At first, I'm enjoying being outside and in the crisp fall air.

Then, my arm starts to get tired.

Then, the leaf piles seem bigger and bigger.

That is when I start to day dream about moving away to a condo on a beach somewhere. With no elm trees. No walnut trees. No whipping Kansas wind blowing the leaves back in my face as fast as my leaf blower shoos them away.

Then, the resentment begins to build and I start to get ill tempered.

So I quit, thinking I'll get back to them "later".

And usually I end up leaving quite a few of them till Spring.

And every Winter, they pile up, all soggy, wet, and heavy, half decomposed and rotting, waiting for me to brave them in the Springtime.

One phrase I've always preached to my kids is this- "Ignoring your problems only makes them bigger and worse. Fix them while they are still small and easier to deal with" But do I listen to my own advice when it comes to leaves?

Never.

But Spring always comes, and I finally have no choice, I have to face the leaves. I'd like to think that our flower beds are happier with all of the decayed vegetation overwintering in them. And I try to leave as much of it as possible where it lays and just top it with mulch. I've got 20 bags to start with.

The rest of the leaves, I blow into the woods. It always seems like a lot of work, but at least I don't have to bag and haul them. We like it natural around here.

And having a helper out in the yard with me makes the work go faster.

Easter Eggs

flowers, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 22, 2012

Ahhhh, Spring!

The Bridal Wreath Spirea is blooming like crazy in front of my house. Sugarwings and I took advantage of it and picked armfuls to bring in the house.

For most of the year, they are not the prettiest of shrubs, but for a few weeks, these bushes are heart stopping.

We are also getting all Eastery around here.

I've been covering paper mache eggs in vintage papers and old flowers. This paper is over 100 years old and is gold leaf.

This little egg is wrapped in a pearl finish gift wrap, then sugared.

This one really is prettier in person, its wonderfully gaudy with lots of gold trim and tons of flowers over one of my favorite rose pattern wall papers.

I wanted to list it for sale in the Boutique, but I think I need to get better photos first.

Beth found a big bag full of paper mache eggs at an estate sale and gave them to me, knowing that I'd love covering them. Some are egg shaped boxes like this one others are just plain eggs. I've been making some for Birdsong, where I 'll use them for decor and drawing prizes, but a few just shout Easter, so those I'll go ahead and sell now, or as soon as I get better pictures that is.

Some are listed now, if you are interested.

A forgotten drawer of pretties and a not forgotten, but delayed Fairy Swap

bird song art event, fairies, flowers, paintings

By Karla Nathan / February 22, 2012

The other day, I needed some supplies for a quick sketch to determine the style of a mural I am planning, and had to dig through my painting supplies drawer to find the paper I needed.

While I was in there, I took a little time to look at some paintings I have stashed away in the drawer. Some I had plans for, some I just did for the heck of it, the others were the basis of cards or something else that was a one time thing.

Recognize the roses? They were used as part of my blog design. I really should frame those, its one of my favorite paintings.

In the last few years, I have not taken the time to paint like I used to.

Finding a drawer full of paintings that I'd forgot about brought back a lot of memories.

Normally, I finish everything I start, whether I'm feeling satisfied with it or not. Its just a quirk of mine, I keep going till its done. So I was surprised to find this half completed fairy in the drawer. Hmmm, while I have my paints out, I might just have to finish her. Looking at all of these has got me in a painting mood.

On the other hand, I have plenty of other things I need to get done and I do my best to not get sidetracked with projects that are intriguing but not on my list. Durn list! Its pretty long at this point. And adding to it won't make marking things off go any easier. I'm even considering writing the list down, its getting so long and I dont' think my brain can take holding any more on this mental list of things I have hovering above me like a storm cloud.

Sometimes I think that seeing things written down makes them easier to tackle and less intimidating.

Writing directions and photographing step by steps for the Twining and Twirling Tutorial, 3 Wire Workshops was NOT on my list. I do tend to get sidetracked and have now spent three days on creating that blog site. Well, at least I got a lot of nests made for Birdsong while I was at it!

Speaking of Birdsong, I got the loveliest gift in the mail from Mercedes!

She had hoped to come to our weekend party in April and couldn't make it after all. She found this box of spun cotton tiny birdies and a vintage date book filled with birdie illustrations, and sent them to me. I will share some of them with the attendees, and add Mercedes to our Sponsor list on the side bar of my blog.

If you'd like to sponsor something for the drawings or goodie bags, please contact me.

Another new sponsor is Gail Schmidt of Shabby Cottage Studios. She has donated two $25 gift certificates to her shop for door prizes at Birdsong. Her shop is filled with things that the winners will be thrilled to shop through! Here are some of her sites:

www.shabbycottagestudio.com

www.shabbycottagestudio.net

www.creativeworkshops.ning.com

www.shabbycottagestudio.etsy.com

Thanks, Mercedes and Gail!

Oh, and the sketch I needed to do for the bigger project, that got me started digging through the drawer of watercolor memories? All done. If I had a list written down, I could cross this off of it! Here is a snippet of the picture, I don't want to give away the whole surprise.

On my mind since before Christmas, was hosting a Fairy Swap. I want to do a book of fairies, and I still plan on doing it. But so many things came up in my family since the holidays, I never got it planned for this winter. Now, here comes spring and I'm on the countdown to Birdsong.

I could probably squeeze in time to do a swap, despite that looming list- but its the space that the packages take up that is stopping me. Could I squeeze those in?

I will be turning my studio into a classroom for 25, and a hundred piles of fairies spread out over it might not fit very well with the students!

As I have done for Alice, Dorothy, and Birdsong swaps in the past, I'll paint a cover for the theme, copy it, and then embellish each cover by hand and add some nice vintagey pieces.

But for this one, I'm planning something Bigger and Better. Details to come, lets plan on May, okay? I think the fae prefer springtime any way, don't you? Their little wings would be frosty now.

So, please bear with me, I do plan on hosting this swap, and am excited to do it, sorry that I have to wait!

On a completely different subject and one that ticks me off almost as much as losing Picnik, have you heard that Google Friend Connect is closing too? I'm wondering, will I lose the followers on that list? What do you know about it?

If you read my blog on Google Reader, but got there by subscribing on my side bar with Google Friend Connect, maybe you should subscribe directly on Google Reader, or I could just vanish from your list. I really am not sure what will happen. But I'd hate to lose you as a "Friend" even though Friend Connect is gone!

The craftless craft day

celebrations, flowers, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / February 6, 2012

Some friends came over for lunch Tuesday, and we almost had a craft day along with it. I'd planned an all day crafting day with lunch in the middle, but plans changed, so we enjoyed what time we had.

And I'll take any excuse to buy some fresh flowers for my kitchen. My local grocery store offers mark down floral bundles on Mondays, but I don't always treat myself to them. Or if I do, I'll buy one or two bundles. But for this special occasion, I splurged and got 7!

Did I mention they were only $1.99 each? And some of the ones available were pink roses, which are favorites of mine. I rarely buy the roses though, because I am a cheapskate, even at two bucks, I figure that the carnations will last 4 times as long, so I go for those.

Plus I feel kind of sorry for carnations, they are often unappreciated.

Sometimes I wonder about myself. Really? Too cheap to buy $2 worth of roses because they will only look good for a few days??

I was thrilled to have a reason to buy enough flowers to put all around the cottage.

Including the treat cabinet in the studio.

And the coffee cart next to it.

We didn't even end up making anything that day, but we did "retire to the studio" after lunch to have treats and spend an hour or so being creative.

We were so busy talking and laughing we never got around to crafting on craft day. I see Carol so rarely, and this was the first time Lesa has been out to visit, so we had a lot of catching up to do. My buddy, Angie was able to come by just for lunch, she had a client to meet with afterward.

I know that everyone is busy, so it means a lot to me when friends can make time to come and hang out for all day or for a short visit, whatever they can squeeze in.

One of the things we talked about was how nice it is to have other women to discuss business or family issues with. Its a topic that Carol has insight with, she has even started a blog that addresses that subject, called Good Stella where she offers encouragement and advice to help women on the road to achieving their dreams.

Carol is always generous with her time and experience. And has good advice to offer.

This bird topped tree is one that I made in another friend's class a few years back. Sheila makes the coolest stuff, and is such a nice person. I always set it out for Valentine's decorating.

This year, I've added an ephemera heart from Ginger Shrader, and liked her sweet idea so much, that I hung a few more similar hearts on the tree too. Its sitting on a vintage candy box, that I picked up cheap because the top wasn't very pretty and I thought I'd foof it up. But when I flipped it over, I saw that the back was much more attractive and I display it as is- upside down.

Hmmm, what was I talking about? Oh yes, friends. And how lucky I am to have time with them.

Working as an artist can be a lonely job. Which is why I love craft days, and classes, and other gatherings of creative pals. Now, I am not knocking being an artist. I can't imagine having to put on real clothes and leave the house to go to a real job every day. Well, sometimes I do day dream about those real pay checks… but heck, anyone who'd hire an uneducated, no skills person like me probably wouldn't pay much anyhow.

Working from home is great. And I have the Dorkies to keep me company, as well as visits online from blog friends.

But there is something extra nice about actually having people come to the house, sit down, and chat.

Gathering the Good Stuff and whispering up a load of hats

bird song art event, flowers, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / January 22, 2012

Maybe I've mentioned that I've been behind a bit? Well, I'm getting caught up. Finally, I think I have all the supplies needed to create the necklace for my Birdsong Two project.

Since I was only using vintage beads, I had to scrounge to find enough old necklaces to take apart before I could make my prototype pendant.

Slowly, but surely, I gathered beads, crystals, and pearls in clear, taupe, cream, white, brown and pale pink.

As I accumulated baubles, I snipped them apart, carefully counted and sorted the treasures, and then made up a chart to keep track of how many of each that I had. For every kit, I needed beads in increments of 25, (Plus some for the examples too) so I divided them up into bags of 25, 50, and so on, then did a little sketch of each one, added a description and a number into my ledger. As I sorted, I started a separate bag of beads to set aside for the example, making sure I had the exact number for myself that I have for the class kits.

Yep, it would have been so much easier to order a package of pearls on-line or at Hobby Lobby. But I wouldn't want a necklace made out of those, why would I think my guests would want one? We are going to Use the Good Stuff.

My jaunts to antique malls have been fast and single minded. I've had Sugarwings, her Daddy, his Gypsy and our little Dewdrop staying with me while we nursed the broken wing of our little fairy. They all tagged along with me to get out of the house and the searches were to the point, no time to meander about.

But, who could blame me for spying a floral hat here and there while I was on a desperate hunt for crystals?

Its been Hat Bonanza Bonus Week around here! And I found a handful of necklaces too, old pearls, lots of aurora borealis crystals, and some mother of pearl.

There are probably enough gems in my treasure chest to start crafting my necklace. My chart might seem a bit of overkill for sorting beads, but by nature I am not an organized person. I have to severely train myself to be careful, double count, and make lists. If not, things go in one ear and out my mouth. I'm not even organized enough for the traditional in one ear and out the other style of doing business.

Song Of Love Wreath workshop for Valentines Day

bird song art event, flowers, holiday decor, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / January 3, 2012

Well, I have had some feedback on the Song Of Love, Valentine wreath class that I am offering. Ladies are worried that the date is too close to Christmas and that they had too little warning to make plans. After the holidays,all of us (and our bank books!) seem to be recovering from the hectic times.

So, I decided to switch the date to later in the month.

Saturday January 28th from 10 till 5.

And to lower the cost a bit. $65 instead of $75.

But I'm not lowering the value! I'll still be providing lots of vintage goodness to embellish the wire wrapped and beaded wreath with two ephemera covered, nesting love birds.

We will spend the day together, creating in my studio with lots of pretties and vintagey supplies.

Lunch, beverages, and dessert are included.

It will be a small group, and seating will be limited.

No two finished projects will be the same, you'll get everything you need to complete a wreath, plus fun piles to dig through to personalize your own piece. If you get finished early, plan on hanging out for the rest of the afternoon and making Valentines with us.

I'll have plenty of supplies out for you to play with.

All you will need to bring is a basic tool kit, everything else will be waiting for you.

And if you are one of the people who were considering coming on January 14th, and that date works out better for you, please let me know, I'd be happy to have you then if your plans are already set.

And if you'd like to come for an entire weekend this spring, Birdsong Two signups are open now for previous guests. This weekend we will open registration to new friends.

Plus, don't forget, there is a sale in the boutique and in my Etsy shop. Thanks to all of you who keep Sugarwings and Dewdrop supplied in fairy wings and glitter by supporting my stores!

Use this link

and type in the code:

2012

then hit recalculate, and save 40% in the boutique!

for Etsy, type in the code:

happy2012

to receive 50% off!

Fumpity Fump Fump

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, flowers, Food and Drink, holiday decor, Sugarwings, videos

By Karla Nathan / December 12, 2011

We were out shopping the other day and Sugarwings saw this sign on a stand and in her mind, it was the perfect microphone, so she started to serenade all the shoppers. The kid seems to have inherited my singing voice. And also the joy of singing out, loudly.

Its a short video if you want to watch it, and my favorite part is where she is distracted by something shiny and walks away just as she sings "look at Frosty go".

This year, the holiday month seems to be racing by faster than I can keep up.

Its happening too fast and will be over before I know it! So, I'm slowing down and making myself take in every minute of it. Sugarwings has been spending a lot of time with me and she agrees that we need to make the most of our days. We've had a hot cocoa party every night that she sleeps over, lit only by the lights of the tree.

We make an event of it, setting the table with our best china, filling our favorite tea pot with hot milk, and passing around tiny bowls of shaved chocolate, mini marshmallows, and peppermint sticks. Not only are we getting a delicious bedtime snack, we are learning about manners, polite conversation, and building memories to treasure.

We are watching all the holiday specials that we can cram into our time together, without losing out on time to create and cook too. As much as I love holiday baking, its even better with her.

There has been a ton of cookies and fudge being whipped up, as well as a gingerbread house we had to put together with hot glue before we could decorate it.

I'm trying to show Dewdrop about the joys of baking too, she held the mixer for us last week. Its a start! Soon, I'll have two little helpers.

With her Daddy being so busy getting the Yurt weather proof and ready to live in for the long, cold winter, and her Hippy Chick Mommy studying hard for her first semester of nursing school finals (I'm proud to say that she is an A student!), I've been lucky enough to have lots of holiday play time with my fairy girl.

Sometimes, we invite guests to the parties too, like Luna Moona, her Raggedy Ann doll.

Last week, Dewdrop came to her first bedtime cocoa party and I have a feeling, she will be a regular at them with us next year. She adores anything that has to do with food.

And for some odd reason, Sugarwings has been setting an extra place at the table for my sisters. She is fascinated by them and talks about them a lot. I guess she knows how much I love and miss them, even though she has only met them a handful of times in her short life and they live far away.

Yes, its been a sweet December!

A humming bird moth

flowers

By Karla Nathan / October 18, 2011

My cleome patch is both my best and worst flower bed ever. I love the way it looks when the flowers are tall and in full bloom. But I hate waiting all year for that couple of months of beauty. The rest of the year, it is a patch of dirt. Right in front of the house. I should plant something shrubby and more year round there, but I just love those two months of beauty so much, that I never do.

Plus they attract hummingbird moths. These little pretties are such fun to watch. The first time I saw one, I was sure it was really a hummer. They come out after dark and their wings are in constant motion just like the bird it is named after.

When I saw that I could get inches away from it and not scare it off, I realized it was a bug, not a bird.

Aren't they pretty?

EDIT- This post was written ahead of time, before I left on my trip. I'll have new posts all week while I am away, but might not get to answer all comments or emails, but I will be reading and enjoying them on my Ipad. Thanks for coming by! I hope to add some "Live" posts from the road too.

Sugarwings first flea market

antiques/junking, collections, flowers, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 8, 2011

I want to thank all of you for your concern and caring about Sugarwing's school situation. It broke my heart to see our little fairy so down, she is usually such a sparkling soul. But, I think we are on track now in finding her the right place. She only turned five 2 days before school started, so was the littlest kid there, and frankly, she is not always listening to what people are telling her anyway, so just wasn't ready to listen to a teacher.

It helped to hear all of your stories and advice. It sounds like 5 is often too young to start school, and waiting a year helped a lot of your little ones.

Since she has been out of school for a bit, we've had some good days together. I'd planned on going with Beth to the big Sparks and White Cloud flea that we love so much, but I ended up with this kiddo instead, so had to cancel.

But- I really really really needed a junk day. And not just because it sounded fun, but because I had to scrounge up some more ceiling tins for our kitchen remodel. This was a mission with a purpose!

And I figured that this girl is going to be raised around junk, she needed to learn about how to go about finding and appreciating the stuff. So, I packed her up, rented a movie to put in her Pink Princess Computer (a portable DVD player),filled a bag of snacks, loaded my flea mkt cart, and we hit the road.

Sadly, the snacks and the DVD player didn't mix well. If you spill a box of Chocolate milk into your Pink Princess Computer, its pretty much done for. (this is the same week that our home DVD player bit the dust too. Along with our vacuum cleaner, toilet, modem, home phone, AND our boat has been checked out for the dozenth time by a mechanic, but still died on the lake and had to be towed, then was in a wreck with the towing boat, so I wasn't surprised to see her DVD player break)

When we pulled up to Sparks and got out to shop, she wanted to know where the Bug Store was. I did say, "flea market," right?

She soon found some non-bug and flea related items to enjoy. Like this shopping cart for $1. She insisted that it should be pulled behind her like I pulled my basket.

Then, she found some bugs, and that made her happy too. This time of year, cicadas are plentiful. You don't even have to make a special trip to the market to get them.

This fairy certainly has bargaining skills. She found a disco night light in rainbow colors that was marked $15, held up $3 and the lady smiled and said sure. Another guy gave her 3 plastic ponies for $1, and everywhere else people were giving her stuff. Including free french fries from a food cart, beads to wear, and this great light up butterfly magic wand.

I could get some lessons from her! Now, if only I could train her to find hats and bargain the prices down on them.

We also ran into my friend, Gwen, who runs Bottom's Up, one of the best antique sales around. She gave Sugarwings a pile of flyers to pass out and that kid was determined that anyone within 20 feet of her HAD to take one. She added a quick spin, put her backside in the air and said "bottoms up!" each time, too. I had to convince her that it wasn't necessary to flip up her skirt while doing that after the first time.

This was a trip where I didn't expect to do much shopping. It would be a quick trip down the aisles with my eyes out for tin to redo my kitchen ceiling.

But what to my wandering eyes did appear?? Treasures galore and things I hold dear! (uhm, she and I talk in rhyme sometimes)

I found a few hats, not many, but was glad to glom onto them. They were bonus hats. I didn't expect to have any luck in this department at all.

But the best surprise was that she was having so much fun sitting in the dirt next to me, playing with her bug buddies and new toys, that I had plenty of time to sift through old jewels. There are wonderous treasures to be found there, if you have the patience to look through the ucky stuff too. Beth always gets tired of waiting for me, I could park myself in front of a jewel bucket for an hour, and she is ready to move on. Sugarwings was happy to let the bugs ride on her plastic ponies while I sifted jewels. Next time I go, I'll pack a bag of bugs for Beth. I'm sure that will make her happy.

And later, I ran into a friend who is an ex-kindergarten teacher and she took my little one for a walk while I shopped in her booth and made a ceiling tin deal with her husband.

We didn't stay long, and we probably spent more time sitting down and playing than walking around and shopping, but I'd call her first flea market a big success. She was wheeling and dealing with the best of them, we both found some beloved items, and we had lots and lots of time for rhyming all the way home since the DVD player broke.

ps-Please leave a comment on the previous post if you want a chance to win this Craft Day Giveaway pack from me, Beth, and Mary!

Some of the flowers in the pack are from this flea market day.

Please forgive me for not answering comments this week, our construction is beginning! I guess this phase is more de-construction, the kitchen gets ripped out before it gets put back.

PS again- a photo of my living room was featured on the HGTV site! how nice!

http://www.hgtv.com/living-rooms/charming-shabby-chic-living-room-designs/pictures/index.html?soc=share

Craft Day Giveaway

flowers, give away, swaps

By Karla Nathan / September 6, 2011

A while back, at Craft Day, Beth mentioned a round robin swap she planned with Lisa and asked if I'd be interested in joining. I said I didn't have time, but couldn't stop myself from joining anyway. Its a year long adventure, and only involves making one page a month and sending it on. That isn't too big of a commitment unless you consider the postage. By the time the books are near the end, they could get pretty heavy, and we are sending it around a lot. Only four people are in it, Beth, Lisa, and Sandra, so it goes back and forth a lot.

But worth it. Even though I am cheap, and know that the postage will end up being at least 50 bucks for me by the time I am done. It won't seem that bad, because it will be a little bit at a time! Not $50 at once.

The first month, we do our own cover and one page to get our book started. It goes to the next person who adds a page and then… it confuses me, but Beth is good at keeping me on track and made up an intricate schedule for us to all follow.

The theme is "Her Life In Stitches" Well, I don't sew much, all the rest of the group are good with textiles. I thought, maybe I could make a joke book, and have everyone in stitches, laughing…

But then, I thought, no, I'll dedicate it to my mom and honor all that she taught me. She was an excellent seamstress and while I did not inherit those skills, she taught me a way of looking at things and knowing how to figure out how something is made, step by step. And to have a creative mind while doing it.

I cut the title "Home Arts" out of an 1890s magazine and glued it onto my cover, since I think that suits the topic. My book is beyond sewing, and stitches, but is about the love of home, making stuff, and the art of making a house a creative home.

Beth, Mary, the other Karla and I have been trying to get together more regularly for craft days. We each have our own projects to do, and it just seems like the work goes so smoothly when you can chat and be with friends. Its always ultra casual, some days, I barely kick stuff out of the way so they can get to the table. I know they don't expect a red carpet from me, they are coming to share ideas, gossip and our latest projects, not judge my housekeeping,(or lack of).

Sometimes we share more. Mary brought a stack of old images the other day and let us chose a few. While going through them, I thought about how much fun the whole craft day experience is, and how much it meant to me to have such low maintenance friends, with so much in common. We all drool over the old supplies and half the fun of the day is looking at each others stuff. Everyone likes to share tidbits here and there also. Tips, tools, and actual bits of scrap get passed around.

I thought you might enjoy being a part of it too, and would like involved with the sharing. So, I asked Mary if I could have a stack of her images to pass along. She was generous with them and gave me a good pile. I wrapped up a selection of them with velvet ribbon and added a few millinery blossoms from myself. Beth says she'll throw in a treat from her supply stash too. I'll let you know what it is when I get it from her. But you know she has good stuff!

(oh, and in case you didn't know it, Mary Queen of Glue Books, is hosting a glue book swap)

Here is one of the images from Mary's ephemera stash, and you don't have to do anything at all to get it. Just click on it, open in a larger window and save it to your computer. It will be all pixely if you try to print it as is, so please do open the larger version.