flowers – Page 20 – Karla's Cottage

What can you get for under $100 in Lawrence, KS on a Saturday morning?

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, Hand Painted Furniture

By Karla Nathan / July 18, 2009

Ahh! That's better. I've had a rough day and a pale pink rose sure helps!

Its not been a bad day, just an exhausting one. Well, I guess the part about my computer refusing to recognize any Excel programs is kind of bad… Mostly it was just a long and tiring day. Sugarwings woke up with the sunrise this morning, so she and I went garage sailing together. (and yes, I have goodies to add to the giveaway, and will take photos soon. You can leave a comment on any post to enter the drawing)

Usually, the baby and I don't try going to garage sales together, she'd rather have a lazy morning telling stories and making pancakes. But when I saw an ad in the paper for an All Shabby Chic estate sale, I packed that kid up fast as I could and headed out. This table and chairs wasn't something I actually needed…. but won't I enjoy having it right outside my studio's back door?

I kind of repainted it, but not totally. I wanted it to still look weathered, just not so shabby it was looking trashy. So I misted some spray paint on lightly and evenly to clean it up, and then sprayed a bit more heavily in other places.

And of course, I didn't NEED this either. But for $35, I sure wanted it for my studio. I can get rid of some cluttery small pieces of furniture and consolidate the stuff in them into this.

It almost didn't make it home, on one corner, the top of the hutch went sliding and tilted out over the bed of the pickup. I drove slow and with my flashers on the rest of the way home, and we made it ok. Ryan helped me to get it out of the truck, and we almost lost it again then, when it came sliding down a little faster than we thought.

When I bought it, I thought it would be a simple slap of paint and I'd be done. Then, I saw to my absolute horror, that the person who painted it before DID NOT PRIME or sand it!!!!!!! Their paint could be peeled off in long strips. Which I did, for about an hour.

Then I finished it with the steps on my side bar, primer spray and glaze. The glaze is cream. I might add vintage wallpaper to the inset panels.

These were at the same house. I think they are meant for hanging on a chandelier. Not a bad sale, huh? And when we got there it was all picked over, I'd love to have seen what was sold before we arrived.

It would have to be a heavy chandy to hold these fruits, they have some heft to them.

Sugarwings spent the day with her Hippy Chick Mommy and is back for tonight, so my little "shadow" and I will have some play time tonight. I hope she is in the mood for something less strenuous than usual. Last night, I was the flying monkey and she was Dorothy and I had to scoop her up and run to lock her in the Wicked Witch's castle. (over and over and over) After hauling and painting furniture all day, I don't think my flying monkey wings will flap tonight.

Scrapbook swapping ettiquette woes

antiques/junking, flowers, Sugarwings, swaps

By Karla Nathan / July 16, 2009

Wouldn't your heart skip a beat if you were invited for a craft day, and when you got there, this is what was waiting for you?

Mine sure did! When I saw this entry, I knew this was going to be a special place.

I was tempted to say, "The heck with crafting, where's my margarita?" and just plop down on the porch without even going into the studio.

But as good as the patio was— the inside was even better!

Laurie rents out her studio for the day, as well as teaches classes. It was a fun place to meet up, and gave our group a break from all having to drive to Lawrence to come to my place. All of them live in KC and Laurie's studio was more convenient for them.

Her home is chocked full of vintagey fun, and I had a hard time concentrating on what I wanted to work on, because I really wanted to explore and look at all the art and fun finds she had on display around the room.

Like this piece that I was really attracted to, even more so, when I saw that it said "Nathan & Co." on the top of the card.

Actually, it wasn't just the surroundings that kept me from getting to work. I'd brought photos from my trip to Jenn's event last May to add to the Flower Fairy Scrapbook that a group of us from there swapped pages on.

The book was gorgeous! So pretty that I was hesitant about using it. But- we all made our pages with the intent of adding photos, so I starting gluing. Plus, all the people at craft day assured me that they had been in swaps like this and swappers understand that the pages get altered a bit when you start adding your own stuff.

So, I got out the markers and pens and added journaling bits and swirls and doodads (according to Beth's last post, Journaling is the New Black). I snipped off bits of the ribbons that Kim tied to the beautiful cover she had made for it and used some of those inside on the pages to trim pictures. I also created pockets on some pages to add the pictures in, while saving the artist's original work and adding it to the top of the pocket, or on a tag to tie into the book later. I also took the liberty of re-distributing some butterflies and adding sparkle marker and details to them when I glued them back to the page around the photos.

Hopefully, I kept the intent of the artists intact and haven't offended anyone. I was so impressed with the care and skill that they all put into the book!

Was I wrong to add my own touches and drawings, and scoot some other artist's work aside and move it to make room for photos? I'm feeling a bit guilty…. What do you think?

I sincerely hope that I haven't offended the other artists and that they know how much I will treasure their work in this lovely book.

Mementos of a trip are important, and I will enjoy that book for a long time! I made up a little something for Sissy as a souvenir and thank you for her help on our trip to Florida to Aunt Caroline's funeral. She loves crows and witchy things, so when I saw this pink hat on a doll while we were shopping together, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it when I got home!

The hat got a foofing with some old flowers and tulle trim, then I glittered up the bird, gave her a necklace and plopped on the hat.

And none of these girls needed the hat, once I was done with their makeovers. I hope to get a few of these little Miss Vintagey gals listed in the shop today, along with more millinery, if the cloudy skies ever clear up so I can take a good photo!

I'm cleaning up the Boutique, deleting all the sold goods ( by the way, THANKS!) so you could shop more easily there and even created a new category- Sale Priced Goods

And don't forget, what ever is left in the Etsy shop is half off the price it is listed at, details in the previous post.

edit- there are sequinned girls, millinery packs, and new (old) jewelry added to the Boutique now.

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.

Better late than never

Chandeliers, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2009

Before leaving to go on my trip to Florida, I pre-posted some pictures of my garden to show while I was away. Now, I am wondering if these are worth showing… I got such a late start in planting that these are not very lush plants yet.

But they were all half price! By being a month (or more) behind, I was able to buy clearance priced plants. I just hope they are going to live till I get back, since they are not well established, I hated going out of town and leaving all the "babies."

The perennials that were planted years ago, will be fine, of course. Especially things like yarrow. The weather could be 100 degrees and no rain the whole time I am away and this plant will thrive.

Just like all the ground cover here. I like to use perennial plants that do well in Kansas with little care, or water. Then, I scatter annuals around in pots to brighten the garden.

Begonias are always a favorite here, because I can depend on them. They aren't fancy, but they grow well in my soil and need very little attention, but provide lots of pink prettiness all summer long.

Well, they don't look like much yet.

I set out about 3 flats of pink begonias, 1 of pink rose moss, 1 of mixed rose moss, and 2 flats of bright pink vinca. Along with that, are some lavender dahlias, two colors of sweet potato vine, and lots of herbs.

This planter used to be the water heater of this old farm cottage. I set out the herbs earlier than the flowers, so most of them are filing out now and looking good. These are right by the back door, so I can snip what I need for meals.

This Rosemary topiary tree was a treat for myself. Since it was a late season purchase, it was half price and I thought $20 was a good price for it. I also got a planter box filled with herbs half price (we can't have too many around here!) and divided them up to plant around the base of this topiary, and added some to a few other pots too.

This basket full of herbs was a birthday gift, and I set it down into a larger pot and planted some begonias around it.

But some pots stayed empty. I kind of like the look of stacked terra cotta pots.

Especially in groupings.

And I love to fill my yard with junk I buy at garage sales. This chandelier was $5, because it's wiring was all cut out. I'll add a candle to it for evening garden parties.

This 1960's wall plaque was multi colored, so I primed and painted it white, then hung it on a garden wall to age, about 5 years ago. I had no idea it would last this long. But I only paid $1 for two of them at a yard sale, so it was worth the gamble. Sometimes, I just use things outdoors knowing that it might only last a season or two, and enjoy them while they last.

This is a cabinet door that I painted on, and hung by the back door to my studio. I know that the weather will rot the wood eventually.

The hot pink watering can came with a pink gerber daisy in it, and was half price too. But Sugarwings immediately claimed it as her own, so I removed the plant and let her have the can. It seemed more important to her than to me.

Plus she lets me use her tools. Last year, we got pick plastic garden tools meant for kids, at Target. But her little shovel is my favorite one to use, so we take turns.

My favorite flower this year, is this Knock Out Rose topiary (also half price). First of all, Knock Outs are miraculous roses, they are the only ones I have ever been able to grow. But I didn't know I could have a topiary one! I was thrilled to find that.

But my over all favorite of the yard? The veggie garden! I'm hoping to have some tomatos soon, the plants are looking great so far. It shouldn't be too much longer. Can't wait!

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".

Daisy Fresh

flowers, housework

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2009

It was such a joy to get home from Virginia to see that the floor in Sugarwing's room was finished! My Handyman brother-in-law, ripped up the nasty carpet that had been in that room since her daddy lived in it years ago, and replaced it with laminate.

The clean fresh feeling of a shiny new floor threw me into an over-drive mode of Spring Cleaning. All of the bedding and curtains had to be sparkling clean to go along with the glistening floor, of course. And after washing the quilt on the day bed, I flipped it over to the opposite side I usually display. This side was whiter and brighter, perfect for my mood.

The frenzy continued through out the house. Freshly washed slipcovers now grace the sofa. And I bagged up about half the throw pillows and put them in the closet for the summer.

The bathrooms got lots of shining up too, and the rug in my bathroom is all fluffy and clean.

And to top it all off, I picked some flowers from the garden. "Fresh as a daisy" suited me just fine today.

So, the floors and surfaces around the house are clutter and dust free. Seems like I normally pick up here and there, but it is hard to find a big block of time to really get into the corners and clean the whole house all at once. I have about 2 more hours to enjoy the triumph of having everything all spiffy, then Miss Sugarwings arrives. She is a master at re-cluttering! In no time flat, the house will be knee deep in magic wands, books, and giggles.

I just can't wait!!

By the way, you still have about 10 days to enter the June Giveaway drawing for this tag journal. All comments, all month, are entered!

Happy Memorial Weekend!

flowers

By Karla Nathan / May 23, 2009

We couldn't ask for better weather for Memorial Day weekend!

My yard is probably at its peak for the season right now, I am just loving all the blooms. I really do hope to fill my planters and pots with annuals, eventually, but for right now, they aren't missed at all. The perennials are the star of the show! This is the first year, that they have really all come together as I have hoped.They are well established and blooming like crazy.

As far back as I can remember, I've wanted rose bushes, but I've never been able to grow them until I discovered Knock Outs.

Yep, I'm loving these! (and my new camera!)

Has this ever happened to you? At the end of the day, I noticed that I'd been out and about with mismatched shoes all afternoon. And I'd been so proud of myself for wearing nice clothes instead of gym pants or work clothes! My trip to En Le Jardin had me re-thinking my wardrobe. I am a slob. So I am trying to make an effort. But his is how it turns out.

I guess you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, huh?

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!!

More En Le Jardin with Jenn

celebrations, Etsy Goodies, flowers, parties, show and tell, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / May 20, 2009

Everyone is asking what we made at En Le Jardin. Here is my flower pot, I didn't exactly follow directions…. They are supposed to be covered in chicken wire and then the embellishments added to that, but I left off the wire. I also went a little crazy with the foofs, its about as gaudy as can be, huh?

I'd brought lots of goodies to embellish with, plus we were given loads of treats to use in our swap bags. But when I saw this vintage gift wrap paper that Jenn had out for us to use, I had to go for it. Its actually two different papers, the little ladies were cut out and glued onto the floral paper. All the glue is still wet in this photo, so it looks a bit murky.

The day started out blistery, smelty hot. But then, the sprinkles came, not bad, just a little steamy. We were all having so much fun we didn't even notice, really. But, then the skies let loose! There was something about being under the tent, all together working away while the rain poured down around us that was kind of intimate and cozy.

But not so cozy, that I didn't want to get out and splash around in the "water slide" with Tiffany!

I think that if Tiffany and I were neighbors, we could get into some trouble. That girl is a blast.

Our other project was a fairy ball. Cheryl had the idea of adding the streamers, so Kim and I both used it. Mine is the one in the middle, the left is Kim's and the right is Cheryl's.

Mine is a little different. Instead of a little girl's photo made into a fairy, I used a fairy ballerina perched on top of a faux cupcake. Then, I drenched it in rhinestones and jewels and millinery.

Just like the photo of the planter, this one still has wet glue. The rain might have been fun, but it made the air so humid that my creations were still slightly damp when I packed them up the next day.

Since this was the fairy's nest, I added some pastel eggs to the top of the cupcake too.

Although, what do fairy eggs really look like? These might be pretty pastel colors, but they are a bit blah to have been laid by a little sprite. I should have tied little ribbons onto them and added millinery flowers. (Ouch-that might be a bit painful for the fairy to lay, huh?)

To the top, I added a vintage chenille bee, and one of my plant markers, this one says "Fleurs" in honor of the event.

The day in the tent was remarkable and the craft projects were really interesting. But, my favorite part of the trip was in our downtime, when we chatted for hours. Evenings went on way into the morning hours, and the sharing never slowed.

Lots of the attendees have been posting photos, if you'd like to see more, Jenn has a really good sampling on her blog. She has complied photos from our Flickr site and used some from different photographers. From her blog you can follow links to other people who have posted pictures, if you'd enjoy seeing more. I gotta tell you, the details that went into the weekend were pure perfection!

And while talking about details, I have to tell you how much I am loving my new camera!!!!!!!! Tiffany and Carol both gave me priceless tips on how to use it better.

They convinced me to be brave enough to venture on from the point and shoot options, which I figured would be all I could handle and since I refuse to read how to manuals, thought I'd be stuck with just doing that. I learn much better from Show and Tells, and these two always took time to show me.

Look at the center of this partial roll of vintage crepe paper! yep, I LOVE that camera!!!!

I've been adding a few odds and ends to Etsy and to the Boutique. I'm plugging away at it. I have a goal, to get 50 items back in Etsy, mostly craft supplies. As far as the Boutique goes, I really don't know what works well for it. I'll experiment with inventory levels and see what works best. I know I prefer fuller to emptier myself, but I'll see.

Look what I saw today, on the Vintage Workshop newsletter- a project I did for Amy last year:

NEW DOWNLOAD COLLECTION –
Garden Collage

The Vintage Workshop would like to introduce a new type of multi-image collection called Elements . These collections will contain a series of coordinating elements including single images along with background images. The number of images in an elements collection will vary. Elements collections will still come in two versions – the resizable Designer's Choice and the pre-sized Click-n-Cut (all backgrounds in click-n-cut version are sized 8.5” x 11”).

The first collection in this series is Garden Collage – emt100. This collection contains four vintage seed packet images, two sheet music backgrounds, and four different vintage wallpaper backgrounds.

The sample note cards shown here use images from our new Garden Collage collection. Use these as inspiration to create your own projects.

Click here to view more garden imagery.

April Showers and a May Flower Giveaway

antiques/junking, flowers, give away

By Karla Nathan / May 2, 2009

Yesterday, Beth and I headed to Sparks and White Cloud to the flea market we never miss twice a year. There have been times when it has been chilly, other times when we feel like we have heat stroke. We've gone when it was drizzling a bit too.

But yesterday, when we left, the forecast was for a 60% possibility of thunderstorms all day and it was raining so hard I could barely see the road.

And I kept driving anyway. And I decided I will never again tease my husband when he gets all bundled up to go to an outdoor sporting event in blizzardy weather. I had always thought he was crazy. But now, I get it. The pluses out weigh the minuses, and it was worth it to me to brave the weather, just in case there was a break in it and we could do some fun shopping.

Luckily, the weather cleared! We had some minor drizzle here and there, and our shoes were muddy from walking in the fields, but the day was GREAT. We always have a blast there, and say that it isn't just shopping, it is an event. So we figured it was worth the risk of getting a little wet.

And if the only thing I bought all day was these posies, it would have been worth getting really muddy. (but of course I bought more. Much more.)

These were marked $4 each. I asked (very nicely) how much it would be if I bought all of them, and was thrilled to hear that they could go for 50 cents each if I bought the bowlful. I always say, it never hurts to ask.

Since, I was at Sparks all day yesterday, I wasn't able to list more wallpaper yet. I did add a few packs to my Boutique the night before and many have already sold out. Today, I had Sugarwings to keep me busy, and tomorrow I am helping at a fund raising garage sale for some friends. I hope to add more packs and will let you know when I do.

Isn't this vintage greeting card beautiful? It is actually on a flocked paper background! I had 3 of them, one I kept for myself and two I made up wallpaper packs to coordinate with.

Well, that garage sale is going to come pretty early tomorrow, I'd better get to bed, now that I finally have Sugarwings tucked in. She is at a stage when she thinks she'd rather stay up and play, not go to bed, and sees no reason why she shouldn't just do what ever she wants. So, tucking in has become a marathon event around here.

Before I go, I want to announce the April Giveaway winner:

Marilyn

And don't forget that I have a gift for you for my birthday, May the 5th. Any comment between May 1st and 5th is entered.