flowers – Page 17 – Karla's Cottage

Plants, Pups, plus the Broccoli Queen, oh, and two winners!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, give away, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / May 6, 2010

Thanks for all of the wonderful birthday wishes! I had a good day, and the garden is planted! My son and Sugarwings, as well as a few pups were there to help.

We had big plans for going out to dinner, but while we were on a roll with the garden, we just kept working. My birthday ends up being the hardest working day of the year, because my family offers to pitch in and help with a big job. I never fail to take them up on the offer, its good to get some manpower put to use out in the landscaping! Since my husband was going to be out of town for the day, he helped me in the flowerbeds over the weekend.

So after days of "help" I am exhausted from all the yard work!! Its good to get the place cleaned up and get flats of flowers and herbs out to enjoy for the rest of the season. There is still more to do, but these last few days really took care of the major chunk of the work.

Sugarwings is a natural gardener, she loves nothing more than being wet and dirty. Her job was to play with and misplace the tools, and spray everything with the hose.

We crowned her the broccoli queen when she decided to wear the garden marker as a necklace and it was too small, so got stuck on her head.

I figured I wouldn't need a marker to recognize a head of cabbage, so made her a necklace to wear from that marker.

I was as wet and dirty as she was, and it was getting late, so my sweet son whipped up one of his great dinners for us while Sugarwings and I got cleaned up. His cooking is better than going out to dinner anytime! He made spinach and red pepper fettuccine with crab. Not bad for something he just whipped up in a few minutes while I showered.

We had a mini birthday party in the afternoon, before my son came by to help. Some friends dropped in to say Happy Birthday and have some carrot cake and blueberry ice tea on the patio and a walk on the Fairy Berry Trail.

They brought their kids, so I enlisted them help feed pups. We made up a bowl of puppy cereal and all the kids got a spoon to feed the babies with.

It was a birthday full of fun, friends, sweet babies, and help. Not to mention all the thoughtful well wishes I got from you. Yep, I'm pretty lucky!

Walmart has never been my favorite store, but it seems like sometimes you just gotta go there. When I do I usually find some spectacular deals. Like these tees. They are pure cotton and soft as if they had been worn for years. And only $4. I treated myself to a stack of them for my birthday and today I am embellishing a few with some of the trims I got from my Great Aunt Caroline's estate.

As much as I dislike sewing, I seem to be doing a lot of it lately, and I have to say, its been kinda fun…

Of course, my sewing is as simple as can be. Straight stitches only! And nothing that has to be perfect. Only decorative things like these pouches made from flocked wallpaper, or embellishing the tees, nothing that is measured, fitted, or complicated.

Speaking of these pouches- I need to announce the April Giveaway winner. The prize goes to:

Holly

She gets the pouch on the right, that is filled with my shard necklace.

Also, I have another 50 sign ups for my Google Friend Connect and need to give away a Peat Pot Pretty for that. I'll give away another at 250.

Please note that if you are already signed up for Friend Connect, you are in the drawing. But if you are a follower else where, I don't have a list for other following sites to draw from. If you want to enter, you have to sign up for Friend Connect.

The winner of a Peat Pot Pretty is:

Rose

Around the May Pole

antiques/junking, celebrations, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, I do tend to run on, don't I?, Sugarwings, We're having a party, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / May 3, 2010

What's the only thing better than scoring over a dozen floral hats at a flea market? Playing with them when you get home! Especially when you have friends who want to play too.

These little guys are starting to get interesting. They all try to come to me (but are still kind of stumbly) when they hear my voice now. It has not been easy to get any work done today, its the first day that the pups really seem to want to spend as much time with me as they do with their mom. Its funny to see how fast they develop and change. Just yesterday, they were mostly sleeping and today they are crying until they get picked up!

Between snuggles, I've been plucking hats. My hat storage is overflowing, so I needed to make space by pulling all the flowers off the newest arrivals. Finding 15 in one day is kind of amazing, even with my hat whispering skills. But I have to admit that I had a little help at the flea mkt, Beth pointed a few out to me and was nice enough to let me at them.

She and I are good shopping partners. I try to point out things I know she'll love. Even if I love them too. We kind of let things go to who ever has the most passion for the item, or take turns with the greatest stuff, or even share. We started a wallpaper pact years ago to prevent jealousy. If one of us scores big on wallpaper, we always share with the other.

(The hat with the brown ribbon only had a few flowers on it, but LOOK at that fabulous dotted Swiss ruffled ribbon that rims it!!)

See why I can't resist these guys? They are finally starting to look around and observe their world and its so cute when they just stare into my eyes. I don't know if I've ever been more in love with a batch of pups… its going to be hard to say goodbye in just a few weeks!

Its always hard to say good bye to the flowers too… I fall a bit in love with each bloom. I was reading Jenny's blog the other day and drooling over some flowers she used on a May basket, then she mentioned she had bought them from me!

Its never easy to say good bye to Sugarwings when she goes home to her mommy or daddy either, but its easier knowing that her parents are generous with letting us have time with her and with them too. We are so blessed and lucky that our extended family can all "share" her and get along. Even though her parents aren't together, we are all still family. I'm hoping that her Daddy's new family will be able to blend with us all too.

My theory is that you can't have too many people to love.

We celebrated May Day together by going to a carnival at her school, then my handsome husband and I did hours and hours of yardwork.

The school is out in the country, and was a lovely setting for all of the events. The big kids did a May Pole dance, there were arts and crafts, live music, and a hula hoop class. (That's my husband showing his moves)

Our tiny little hooper had a blast.

Especially with the glue and scissors. Sometimes I wonder if she really cares about creating anything, all she cares about is cutting and gluing. That kid is obsessed with scissors and glue.

And when I buy her clothes at Goodwill (this is a $4 dress) I can relax and enjoy watching her go wild with the glue.

I probably shouldn't go so many days without posting, I tend to have too much to say as it is, when I post every day or two! It was such a busy and fun weekend that there is just too much to blather on about. Flats of flowers, working in the garden, redoing a guest room, parties, boating, puppies to play with, May poles and more. No wonder I didn't have a chance to do a post!

I'll leave you with some photos of the flower packs I added to the shop, stop running on and on!

Floral Fantasy Floor

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, paintings

By Karla Nathan / April 27, 2010

We are just falling in love with this little guy. His unique coloring is getting him a lot of attention, especially from Sugarwings. She wanted to snuggled him while we watched movies, I have to remind her that all of the puppies need some cuddle time.

There is nothing in the world better than holding Sugarwings while she holds puppies and we snuggle up to watch a movie together. Its the best! We hold two at a time, for about 15 minutes, until Twinkle gets antsy and wants them back. She will let us trade out two more when we return the two we had. She has some sort of inner stop watch and we aren't allowed to hold them for too long, or she'll start pacing and crying.

As they get bigger, she is spending a bit more time away from them and with me again. I've got my buddy back! She is right back to sneaking into my photos just like she used to.

Last week, I painted the bathroom in what I thought was soothing gray and mushroom with whites and cream accents. I thought I would love simple.

But, the floor just wasn't quite right for me. The soft taupey mushroom color was just too blah. So, I washed it with a sepia glaze. That wasn't quite enough either, so I added a border of flowers. Then, I sanded the whole floor for an aged effect and covered it with a water based clear coat.

Water based products are the only way to go, for me. I change things so much, that I have to use paints that are easy to cover. This floor has been a dozen different styles and colors since we moved in and I like the way I can sand through and pick up colors from under neath the fresh paint. It gives it some dimension.

Now that the floor is more to my taste, I am really liking the simple gray walls. Simple is great, in small doses!

Before painting the floor yesterday, and before running what felt like a million errands, I pulled out the sewing machine for something I wanted to experiment with. You know how nice and thick flocked wallpaper can be? Almost like fabric? I thought it would make a nice pouch, and sewed one up to see if it would work- it did!

Its fastened at the top with ribbon through hole punches and just stitched up the sides, so was really easy to make. I'm always on the look out for interesting presentations for things I send out from my shop, and love the way this looks as a wrapping. This one is going to Somerset Life and my altered book that I showed here is inside! Its always an honor to have something appear on their pages. A selection of my Peat Pot Pretty Fairies is going there too. (by the way there are still a couple of fairy pots in the Boutique as well as 2 kits left to make your own)

While I have the sewing machine out, I want to stitch up a few more bags.

And I have more Charlottes in!! I got a big boxful from Germany in a variety of sizes.

By the way, you still have time to enter the April Giveaway. I think I'll sew up a little flocked wallpaper pouch to send it to you in too…

I'll leave you with a reminder photo of the pansy pendant I am giving away, and also some pictures of what is new in the shop today.

Celebrating!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, flowers, Food and Drink, We're having a party, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 13, 2010

Time to celebrate! I'm so glad Twinkle and the babies are home safe and settled. She is a happy little mama and won't let them out of her sight. I'm having a party today and will probably keep the babies away from everyone, Twinks is feeling a bit worried since we moved the pups around so much yesterday.

She actually tried to hide them under the porch this morning. So, I am giving her a lot of attention and have her in a quiet spot so she feels like the pups are protected, hopefully she won't run off with them again.

During the all night labor marathon, I stayed up with her and worked in the studio. I don't even know how many of these Peat Pot Pretties with Frozen Charlotte fairies that I made. (as well as 12 kits for you to make your own-6 are spoken for)

Some are going to Somerset Life (yippee!), some to the shop to sell, and a couple I will be giving away as prizes for people who sign up to follow me (Google Friend Connect on my side bar)

But for today, they are centerpieces for a Cup Cake and Tea Party that I am having.

The treat cabinet is filled with everything a kid will need to decorate a mini cupcake (or two).

Since Twinkle is being very nurturing today, I thought I'd try to leave her alone as much as I can, but I knew she wouldn't mind me taking one picture.

cute, huh!?

She is such a pretty girl. I'll have more pictures soon, probably more than you want to see!

A new look for the cost of a quart of paint and a bit of shuffling around

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 10, 2010

Well, I just had to finish the porch redo, and honestly, it was a quickie. I used stuff that was already here and a bit of paint. Sugarwing's blue and pink chippy chair was in the garage, and I'd
already bought the hydrangea to plant. So, of course, it won't stay
here,it has to go into the ground. Too bad, its just right for the spot.

The only purchase I had to make was a quart of "Birds Egg Blue" paint from Ace Hardware. I fell for the name, as well as the soft shade. I added speckles of brown paint over the blue for an even more egg-like look.

To do this, I watered down a squirt of dark brown acrylic craft paint, dipped in a stiff brush, and then flicked my thumb across the brush to splash speckles over the blue paint.

Its a little messy, you need to have a wet paper towel handy to dab up the most rambunctious speckles, they tend to fly everywhere. I don't cover and tape off anything, that seems to take longer than just wiping up the runaway flecks.

No puppies yet! Twinks is resting up and getting bigger by the moment. We'll both be glad when they are here.

I'm still not thrilled with the white wash on the rockers. I might repaint them later on, or else scour garage sales for something better. Like a glider. Or a porch swing. That's the fun part, always planning for a change, or being on the hunt for a better idea.

The flowers on the shutters had been a deep, magenta red like the door used to be. I pinked them up a little and added some blue hydrangeas to tie all the colors in together.

I was going for a rustic, vintagey feel, so after painting, I used sandpaper for some distressing.

The shutters themselves started out as a pair of black, bi-fold doors from a garage sale for a couple bucks. The other half of the set of doors is painted to match these, but I have those inside my breezeway on each side of the entry way door. (which opens onto the kitchen- we don't use the front of the house. You walk straight into our kitchen or the studio when you come here, the two most loved rooms of the house!)

Its a gorgeous, spring day here, and our niece's church group is busy working on the community garden that we loaned them space for. They've decided to put up a fence, which is smart, we have about 3 billion rabbits and almost that many deer watching through the trees eagerly waiting to see what we are planting for their lunch.

Before I forget, the winner of a Peat Pot Pretty is:

Sasha Girl

And if you want to win one, I am drawing names from the list of Google Friend Connect followers, for every 50 followers I get. You name stays in the contest as long as I am doing this.

The next drawing will be at 200.

A so-so redo

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, redos, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 7, 2010

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Our little fairy baby is feeling better, but now we are dealing with trying to convince her that she really needs to take her yucky medicine twice a day for 7 days. I gave her the dropper and a glass of water to play with and that has helped. After giving herself pretend medicine for a while, she is not fighting us as much when we try to squirt the real stuff into her mouth.

My big pile of giveaways from last week are in the mail, hopefully at their new homes by now. The Peat Pot Pretty in the front went to Dawn. The one in the back is listed in the Boutique, and a third one is a giveaway for the first 150 sign ups I get on the Google Friend Connect on the sidebar of my blog. If you want a chance to win one, just add your name. Thanks!

Did you notice that this is not the peat pot pictured in the giveaway post at the top of my blog? I made up a special "nest" pot for Dawn, complete with some fluffy, downy feathers.

No pups yet! Look at that belly. She must have about 20 packed away in there. (not really, she had 6 last time and that was a lot for a dog her size)

You know, I have never claimed to be a math whiz, but you'd think that even I could count 62 days from Feb. 6th to figure out when the babies are due. I was a week off, she isn't due yet. I feel a bit foolish about it, but Twinks is really disapointed, that dog is worn out and ready.

Have you ever done a makeover and then wondered why the heck you bothered? I got an itch to repaint these chairs, but am not happy with the white now. I just dry brushed the white on, for a rustic feel, but I wonder if I'd like them better if I'd spray painted them nice and solid. And green. But- I've been thinking about repainting the French doors blue, that would be better than the red. Nothing seems to go together anymore, when the chairs were black, it all tied in just fine. What I'd really like, is a porch swing… But I wonder if we'd break the window in the door with one?

This Spring weather got me antsy to make a change, and adding a few pansies to the planters in front of my studio was not enough, but painting the chairs didn't do it either. Doing that just makes the porch look like it really, really needs some redoing now. Durn it. And I don't feel like I have the time to complete it right now.

In the past, I've been called a Serial Painter. I couldn't leave my
house alone, was constantly repainting rooms. But since we've had
Sugarwings, and I discovered blog surfing… well, I've slowed down on
the redos, my days seem full already. I'm sure that I could find the time to repaint the French doors blue and add some blue hydrangeas to the shutters so it would match, and now, I'll just have to squeeze it in somehow.

I did find time to add a few little things to Etsy as well as to the Boutique.

This is a note paper holder that I foofed with some of my favorite old wallpaper. Its made like a book, and comes with a stack of paper and a tiny pencil. Its not old-old, but its not new either. I'd say late 60s. I've made it look older with the coverings and velvet ribbons.

Wouldn't it be a cute storage box once the note paper was used up? I could see keeping a little art journal or diary in it… Speaking of which, I told you about Hope's journaling classes the other day, but since it was Easter weekend, I was worried no one saw it. She is GOOD, I love her work, if you are interested in learning about keeping an art journal, she's the person to learn from.

Shadowboxes, buddies, and tagging along plus 4- count ’em FOUR giveaways at once!

fairies, flowers, give away, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 31, 2010

This week is craft-o-licious! Beth came by all day Sunday and we had so much fun chatting and gluing and cutting that we forgot to even have lunch till 4pm. Then, on Tuesday, the regular crowd of snippers and gluers came by to hang out and have an Italian themed pitch in lunch. No way we'd forget to eat that meal, it was excellent.

Usually we all bring whatever we feel like making that day, but we tried a little something different this time and had a group project. Vicki has designed these shadow boxes and sent some for us to play with.

At the end of the day, there was plenty of oohing and awing. Vicki had also included collage sheets to use, and most of us used those plus a mix of vintage goodies we already had.

Clockwise these are done by:

all of us, Shawn (who made the lasagna!), me, Mary, Beth. I'm sad that I didn't get a good photo of Marilyn's hers was impressive. There are photos on her blog of all of them, you can see her masterpiece there.

Shawn's daughter, Bethany, bonded with Sugarwings over the jelly bean dispenser in the treat cabinet. Little Bethany has been part of the craft group since we started, but Sugarwings is a wild crafter and I get nothing done after she joins us in the afternoon, so she isn't there for the whole day.

Beth left her Cuttlebug with me on Sunday and I might have gotten a bit carried away making tags from old papers with it….

But what a great use of scraps! Plus, these will be wonderful to make into tag books, and to tie to packages I send out with orders from the Boutique.

One tag book is already done, and ready to list in the shop.

Its not listed yet, but if someone wants it before then, please contact me, its $20.

And here are all the giveaways I tantalized you with in the title:

1- Today is the last day to enter for the March Giveaway, a rose quartz and china shard pendant. All comments all month, any post are entered.

2 & 3- If you sign up to be my Google Friend, you are entered to win a prize, I am giving away two Peat Pot Pretties with vintage flowers. (details in the sticky post at the top)

4- We have one extra shadowbox from Vicki that I will offer to someone who leaves a comment on THIS post. Thanks, Vicki!! These things are really cute.

5- And hey, is this #5?? Yep, Officially, the April Giveaway starts at midnight tonight. And I'll do my best to announce what it will be soon, instead of forgetting till the 20th or so…

Poison Kisses

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / March 3, 2010

Thanks for your well wishes! It was nice of Beth to ask you to send me get well messages. I sure appreciated them, this has been a rough week.

Last week, Sugarwings had a little tummy ache and didn't eat for a couple of days. So, of course, I cuddled, coddled, and kissed her better. Friday night, her little bug bit me and by then, it was like one of those bugs from 1950s horror movies. Remember the attack of the giant mutant bugs that had been zapped with radiation?

Since we've had a grand baby around, the whole family has had one thing after another. We say that her poison kisses are so sweet, we just can't resist, even when she drags home one germ after another. Seems like she catches everything going around (then gives it to us!). Probably because she is one of those kids who are always putting everything in their mouths.

Please forgive me if I don't return comments right now, I'm still feeling a bit droopy.

But I am much better than I was a few days ago, when that mutant bug sent me to the ER all dehydrated and weak. They pumped a few bags of IV fluid into me, and filled me with anti nausea medication and sent me home to recover.

Yes, I'm a mom, so I know that fluids are important when someone is ill, and I never let my kid's cups go empty when they were laid out with a fever. But somehow, I forgot about doing that for myself. I just didn't care, all I wanted to do was sleep and have everyone stay far away from me.

So much for my much anticipated weekend all alone with nothing to do but play in the studio and get my house ready for the photo shoot that Carol and I were doing! A weekend all alone is not quite the same when you get to the point that every time you force yourself to face getting out of bed to lurch to the bathroom, you fall flat on your face.

My sweet boys came by to check on me, but of course, I just kept telling them that I just wanted to sleep. Adam made herbal tea and rented a movie for me then sat to keep me company while watching it. Ryan fed the dogs and brought in the mail and kept asking if I needed anything. My sister-in-law and niece came by to bring me a bottle of vitamin water. I should have opened it and drank it, but just couldn't stand the thought. Then, my husband flew home early from his business trip and brought rose and made broth. He wouldn't take no for an answer when I refused the broth.

Twinkle never once left my side. If I didn't already love that dog to pieces, she sure won my heart this week. Every time that I landed on the floor, she was right there licking my face and crying. Not that I like to have my face licked by a dog, but I knew she was doing it out of love.

I don't know how anyone can get through any kind of flu or cold without a warm, furry friend by your side. Of course, we have a fenced in yard and a doggy door, so she didn't need to be walked or taken out, that might have not been so pleasant otherwise.

Anyway, today I woke up feeling bright and shiny and raring to go. I had plans a mile long, packages to send, emails to get caught up on, projects to make for the photo shoot that I rescheduled for tomorrow.

But, after taking a look at my house and realizing just how much work it would take to make it picture perfect, and cooking breakfast for Sugarwings, I felt like I hit a brick wall. Sweet Carol and I will reschedule again for next week and Sugarwings and I will curl up with some movies. Its her turn to cuddle and coddle me back to health!

Too bad, these roses would have been wonderful for the shoot.

Tomorrow will be my day to be in the pink again! Everything else can wait till then.

360s of a fleeting cleanliness, while getting ready for a little TV segment for Romantic Decorating

flowers, Food and Drink, housework, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / February 4, 2010

Are you tired of this display? What, 3 posts in a row, I've showed you this one… but each time a bit different. This is the final look for the little TV segment I did today. Roses were the finishing touch, I added those, plus more M&Ms, and a floral hanky.

Now, I won't make you look at this set up any more. Because it will soon be destroyed anyway, I plan on eating one of those candy bars that are wrapped in scrapbook paper!

The roses were a bargain. Our local Dillons grocery store marks down their flowers to $1.99 a bunch on Mondays, and this week, there was a TON of them to chose from, and late in the week too! I guess the week before Valentine's Day is a slow flower week, everyone is saving up for the big splashy bouquets for the big day instead. So, I got 4 bunches of flowers for 8 bucks.

Yellow isn't usually my color, and probably isn't associated with Valentine's Day, but I liked the cheerful splash of color in the bathroom.

So the holiday tips for this room are:

1- Put fresh flowers in every room!

2- Use a pretty, floral china plate for a soap dish, and set out a nicely scented, special bar of soap. (this one is home made, and was poured into a heart shaped mold)

3- Make a photo copy of a vintage Valentine postcard to wrap around your liquid soap bottle. I glued mine on, and after the holiday, I can just soak the bottle in warm water to remove the label and change to another look.

In the kitchen, I filled my white creamers with pink roses and white mums. One bunch of roses can make a much bigger impact if you spread it around, instead of having one vase filled with all of them.

From this bundle of sweetheart roses, I got 8 arrangements.

While my house was clean, I thought I'd take some full room shots. When TV cameras come over, you can't get away with just cleaning one side of the room, just in case. So, the whole durn downstairs is all picked up and all the floors are mopped throughout!

There are more Valentine Day's decorations to show, but I think I'll save those and just revel in my clean rooms and post those pics. Usually, I have to kick stuff to one side of the room to get a good picture. Today I can do 360s!

This is the view from my dining room into the kitchen/breakfast nook. That white cabinet is Sugarwing's play kitchen. Its big, bulky, and in the way, but we couldn't function without it. Next to that is the wood stove. Not pretty, but it sure can put out heat. And with MORE SNOW coming, I'll be firing it up soon.

You know, this is kind of a blah view. Maybe a 360 isn't a good idea after all? I guess I usually show the room from the best points of view.

This one is from the other side of the toy kitchen, standing in the breakfast nook. See what I mean about Sugarwing's kitchen being in the way? It makes getting into the pantry a pain, but is so worth it. She loves that thing.

For this, I was standing next to the wood stove. The screen around the stove is from Tuesday Morning's clearance aisle. I painted it with high heat paint because it was a dark bronze to start with.

This one is from the bedroom door looking into the kitchen.

No, those aren't dead birds on my chandelier, they are angel wings.

Another view of the woodstove. The mosaic thingy by it is a cement piece of yard art that I covered in china, glass, and old jewelry, then topped with a bird. The thing was actually a lighthouse, I hope that isn't too apparent. For a while, I was on a mosaic craze and everything got covered in broken glass and tile, then grouted. Hmmm, on second thought, this little lighth
ouse/bird/thingy might need to go outside. Do you ever just have stuff around for years because that just happens to be where you set it and it stayed there, not because it looked great, but just kind of out of default?

Taking a photo of your room and looking at that, can make you really SEE the room. I guess I just kind of always over look this and didn't realize how much it didn't fit in. It will be much better in the garden this spring. If spring ever comes- we have snow forecasted again!!!!

One more angle, this is from the stairway. I'm still not done with this room, the table in the corner is too small, I need a buffet type piece for under the mirrors. I could use a rug too, but just hate trying to keep one clean under a dining table where a 3 year old eats. The dogs spend a lot of time sitting under her chair, but even they can't lick up all the mess she creates.

Okay, that's plenty of angles of the same room over and over. Now, I'm going to go let the dogs out of their pen so they can start dragging in leaves across my mopped floor, and soon Sugarwings will be home and start pulling out her toys. All of this unnatural tidiness will soon be gone.

If you are in the Lawrence area, the 5 Romantic Decorating Tips for Valentine's Day will be on channel 6 Monday, for the 6:00 and 10:00 news.

If you want to see the rest of the decor tips, I'll post more later on, but for now, I've loaded them on HGTVs

Rate My Space

But I have to warn you, that site is addictive!!

If you are in the Kansas City area, and want to find some of the best shopping ever, you need to get to this sale by some friends of mine! I was invited to be in it, but just couldn't make it happen. I do hope to go, if I don't have Sugarwings all weekend.

Its in an 8,000 sq ft warehouse in the historic West Bottoms.

1200 W 12th St (12th and Sante Fe)

Feb 5th and 6th from 9am-5pm

And if you are not in the Kansas City/Lawrence area, here is another option for you. The lovely Cindy, at the lovely, My Romantic Home, is having a show and tell party.

New in the Shop and a super sweet Sunday

Etsy Goodies, flowers, holiday decor, Moving to DC, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 24, 2009

In case you hadn't heard, Mary is extending Artist Class by selling the classes individually. If you'd like to order one or more classes, check here.

Our trip to Virginia was a nice break, that included a lazy Sunday where we just took off for a long drive to see what there was to see.

We ended up in Annapolis, and in this adorable neighborhood. It was late in the day by the time we got there, so I didn't do much shopping, but that wasn't the purpose anyway. We were just out looking around, enjoying the sunshine and each other.

And of course, lunch! We found buttery crab that we could eat while enjoying this view. As delicious as the seafood was, any meal is improved with a view of the water!

Since we got home, I've tried to get caught up with the Boutique and Etsy.

I know, I know, you are waiting for floral wallpapers! I promise, they will be ironed, cut and packed up soon, but that is such a big job, I need an afternoon to devote to it, and today, I was only able to snag a bit of time here and there, so I listed a few little things in both shops.

Thank you so much for your interest in the gorgeous old papers! I love hearing that you understand and share my fascination with beautiful wallpaper!