flowers – Page 24 – Karla's Cottage

Surprises

Etsy Goodies, fairies, flowers, give away, how to's, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / August 6, 2007

It was hot here in Kansas this weekend. So hot that no one wanted to go out on the boat. We did go to the lake in the evenings, but I spent the daytime in the studio working on some paintings.

While I had paints out, I did a background for an ATCard that

Debra posted a picture to use, as a challenge. I snipped out the angel she posted, glittered it up, added silver paint pen, drew curls in the hair, then added crystals and a vintage posey to my painted background. The angel is on her site if you’d like to do your own.

I got a bit carried away on the wallpaper medallions again! I really enjoy painting those little ovals, and this time I was in fairy mode.

I dooded up some of the borders of the medallions too.

Others, I left simple, but all of them got glittered. (of course)

While I was at it, I did a few more cupcakes with more glitter (of course).

Oh and a few more pink roses. (of course)

And one little ballerina that I added to a large shipping tag with vintage wallpaper, pink tulle, crystals and some posies from old jewelry.

I will list them on myEtsy Shop if you are interested, but it might not be today, so if you want one, feel free to email me. The medallions are $5 for each section, and the ballerina tag is $9.

I will give the angel ATC to the first purchase of two items or more!

My sweet husband did the sweetest thing. He was mowing in the 100 degree heat, and came in to tell me that there was a flower along the mower’s path and wondered if it should be saved. (he didn’t know if it was a weed, or whatever, he doesn’t understand flowers, but cared enough to ask)

I didn’t realize the surprise lilies were up yet, I guess that is why they are called surprise lilies, they come out of nowhere over night!

I’ve heard them called naked ladies too, because of the bare stem. I thought about titling my post "my husband and the naked lady" but thought I’d get all the WRONG hits on it today.

The painting of the house my dad grew up in is finished and I am off to make copies of it for the family reunion.

First I wanted to tell you that I decided what to do for my August give away!!

I will give the winner a choice- if you are an artist and want a Cottage Collage Kit filled with vintage goodness, I’ll send that. If you are not and don’t want the kit, I will make something for you from one of my kits!!! Hows that?

Leave a message to enter, as often as you’d like. I do love me some comments!

More Corners of the Cottage Garden and an abundance of BUTTONS

antiques/junking, Books, Etsy Goodies, flowers, give away, hand painted signs, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / August 3, 2007

The Cottage Yard Tour: part two

I thought I’d show a few more photos of my yard and the exterior of the cottage. This is the back door to my studio, I painted this sign to set out when I had my studio set up as an antique shop once a month. Because of the horrid road construction, I had to stop having my sales, but I liked the sign and keep it by the back door. It is painted on a board I salvaged from the barn we had to take down. I wish I could paint my whole house that pretty blushy pink color!

I bought a stack of these ornate iron pieces at Hobby Lobby’s 90% off garden clearance a few years ago. They make great hose guards, and add interest around the beds. This one is in a raised bed guarding the thyme.

I built all the shutters on the house myself, out of boards I salvaged from an old garage we tore down. I’m also big on hanging "wall art" on the outside of the house, like this round iron piece from an old cook stove.

This large terra cotta piece hangs on the back of the house. It has been up there for about 16 years now and is starting to get a patina on it.

A tiny convex mirror in an ornate frame hangs on the outside of the patio fence.

On the inside of the fence, I hung this ceramic fruit basket over the bench.

I like to tuck little odds and ends into flower pots. This one has an angel made from a table leg (garage sale 75 cents) and an onyx ball nestled into the plants.

A friend of mine makes hand blown glass Christmas ornaments, and I buy a lot of irregulars from him at a very reasonable price. I use them all around the yard in planters.

My bird bath is made out of stacked stones around a metal base. The pots next to it are new and I don’t have them planted yet. I am going on vacation for a few days, so will wait till I get home, so I’ll be able to baby the new plants.

And here is Kitty Boy, the barn cat. But we no longer have a barn, he was heartbroken when we tore it down. I keep a velvet chair in the chicken coop for him to cozy up on now.

And of course, around here NOTHING goes to waste. The barn wood was all saved, we used as much as we could to panel my husband’s office.

I built this bathroom vanity in my husband’s office myself! The frame of it, under the siding looks pretty crooked, but it doesn’t show. I cut the Formica top pretty crooked too, but I covered it with barn wood trim and it doesn’t even show.

This is a painting i did of our yard the year we bought the place. The old barn sat where my garden is now. We left the foundation and put the garden right inside it. Over 100 years of manure and compost make the best tomatoes!!

The other barn painting in Rich’s office is of his grandfather’s barn. I am much more comfortable with a paint brush than I was with the nail gun and power saw while building the vanity!

People ask how my husband can live in my rose strewn home with all the pink everywhere, but he has this man-cave of an office with the barn siding, pool table and gym equipment, so he is pretty happy up there.

I also believe in lots of sitting areas in the yard. I keep chairs and benches everywhere. They used to be for show, but the older I get the more I sit and rest while working in the yard!

Speaking of sitting, I spent the better part of the evening sitting and sorting all these buttons I bought today. Some went into this pretty jar I got from Phyllis at http://shabbyinthecity.blogspot.com/. Others are sorted by color into small lidded dishes.

Why on earth does anyone buy so many buttons that it takes an evening to get just half of the sorted? Who knows?? They were a bargain, and pretty, and I just know I’ll use them for something! I’ll add some to my Cottage Collage Kits for Etsy too.

And why did I buy more old books, a stack of postcards and some jewelry? Well, I paid very little for them and am SURE that I will use them for something pretty, sometime!!!

Look at the colors of these cards, and see the art palette and roses on the one on the top? Had to have it, it was only 50 cents! And look at the font on the sheet music, so delicate. That will make a gorgeous background to some project, and also was under a dollar for the book of music.

I got the sweetest, unexpected mail too. A thank you card from Benny who is 3. I took him for a boat ride on Sunday and he drew a fish for me as a thanks for the trip.

Then, I got a post card from Carole of http://scoundrelsandrogues.blogspot.com/ from her Hawaiian vacation! And if that wasn’t enough kindness in the mail, I got mail art stuffed with goodies from Karen at http://bluemuf.blogspot.com/.

Every one was so nice, it just reminds me that I need to come up with a giveaway for August! Stay tuned, I’ll think of something nice and am open to suggestions. Leave a comment to enter, there will be some sort of prize at the end of the month!

Now, I need to get back to my simmering tomato sauce. I am cooking sauce to freeze. I’m making it from the garden produce. Lots of fresh herbs, tomatoes, peppers and onions, straight from my backyard!

Construciton woes

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers

By Karla Nathan / August 1, 2007

The road in front of our house has been torn up for about 14 months now.

Actually, it looks much better now than it did. For a while, we had a construction trailer and a porta potty at the end of our drive.

Our yappy little dorkies think it is wonderful to have all these guys out in front of the house to bark at. These workers also like to leave their fast food trash laying out, so that a trip up the hill with me to our relocated mail box, means a snack bonanza for the dogs.

Here is the view from the foot of my driveway. My blog buddy, Carlene, http://carlenefederer.blogspot.com/ , was showing the ocean view from her vacation condo, and it got me thinking about my own views.

My views really are improving, although it is hard to tell from these pictures. It has been nasty for the longest time. But we are down to one crew only right now! We did have the county working on the bridge, TMobile putting up a tower, and the city working across the street.

The tower is done and really isn’t as bad we thought it might be from up close. Living through the construction was the hardest part.

I think the view for the neighbors is much worse that it is for us, we don’t even see it, only the fence at the base, the top is way up over the trees. Yes, I know it is ugly, but the checks that come every month pay our mortgage!! Yes,I know it is ugly, but when the mortgage is paid off, the monthly checks will help fund our retirement. I try to see dollar signs when I look at it, instead of shiny metal towering over me.

But after a year of this road torn up and the front of the yard gutted, I have gotten pretty good at ignoring ugliness.

I try to look at how lush our garden is this year and how big the tomatoes are.

And at how pretty the wisteria is and how well it is growing.

Here is a side view of the cottage.

I just have to ignore that it is August in Kansas and unless I want to water the lawn and gardens every day and get nothing else done, I’ll just have to live with some wilty plants and some brown grass. I try to notice how nice the gazebo looks and I concentrate on watering th plants hanging in it. There is only so much one person can do to keep things up in a big yard.

This is the back of our house, as seen from my garden. Yep, I know there are weeds growing in the gravel of the driveway.

But look at how big my forsythia has grown and at all the firewood we have cut and ready for winter!

Another casualty of mid-summer in Kansas, the poor flower beds around my chicken coop are a bit sad and run down. But the greenery and vines are doing great, and I give the flowers enough water to keep them alive to start flourishing again when the summer cools down into fall.

I’ve planted enough hardy native ground covers so that it doesn’t look too bad when I don’t have time to tend to it all. And I try to use vintage finds from garage sales to liven up areas, like this old suitcase I painted white, and filled with dirt to plant in.

And I’d rather think of the peeling paint on this gate in the front of the house as rustic, instead of an eyesore. Eventually, I’ll get out there with the paint brush to spruce it up, but maybe not this season.

Behind the chicken coop, the rose of Sharon is blooming and brightens the area up, even though the aqua paint on the door has a peeling problem too. I found the awning along the road in the trash, brought it home and hung it on the coop.

And thank goodness for old fashioned creeping myrtle! It stays green and happy, all year, making this path way on the side of the house welcoming even on the hottest days. I don’t even bring a hose over here, all the plants on this side of the house are native varieties that take care of themselves.

When I did the landscaping on this old farm house, I tried to keep it easy to maintain. Lots of gravel pathways (I personally hauled 11 tons of gravel with a wheelbarrow over the course of a summer), perennials that don’t take much care, and lots of little vignettes to add character when the flowers aren’t at their peak.

A frog planter with chippy paint (rustic and charming, not messy and needing work, right???) hides in the euonymous.

I found this old arched bridge in a land fill and dug it out to make a path across a flower bed full of day lillies, myrtle, and spirea.

A rusting stove lid hangs on a fence.

My herbs grow in an iron planter that used to be a hot water tank.

I keep my garden chemicals in a metal cabinet that I also found in the trash and repainted with roses. And I hand painted my deck with big green leaves, trying to keep it unobtrusive.

Oh, my I have run on too long. I can show more of the "making the best of what you have" cottage yard tour tomorrow if anyone wants me to. Or should I move back on to some more pretty things?

Also, I have been tagged by http://bethanyjanehissong.blogspot.com/ to come up with 8 random things about me. I think I have run on long enough, tho, I’ll think about it and do that one later.

Sunday Morning Dog Barf

collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, housework

By Karla Nathan / July 29, 2007

Its a beautiful Sunday morning at my Kansas Cottage, no road construction sounds thumping away in front of my house, a light breeze is blowing and the sun is glowing.

I can’t think of a more pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday than scrubbing dog barf out of my rugs.

I love to collect these old hooked rugs, but they are hard to keep clean, they can’t just be thrown into the washer. I live with a houseful of men and three dogs, so these rugs get dirty. Since I had to wash the dog mess out of one, I thought I’d bring all the brown looking kitchen rugs out to liven them back up.

To clean them, I line them along my slanted sidewalk and spray them with a hose.

This might sound weird, but I really enjoy watching the dirt wash away and the rugs slowly turn back to their vibrant colors. It is almost the feeling I get when painting and watching the picture develop under my brush. I know, wierd, but hey, ife is all about the simple pleasures!

Now, back to my Sunday paper and coffee on the porch.

Mini Spa Day at Home for the New Mom

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, family, flowers, Food and Drink, give away, parties, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 20, 2007

What a nice day! We had a fun Mini Spa Day at home for my niece to celebrate her baby’s two week birthday, then I got to work in the studio, and now my husband is back from his business trip. And I was smart enough to make up extra Cordon Bleu for lunch today and don’t have to cook tonight!

I didn’t actually get to make things today, but I did bundle up some Aqua Themed Cottage Collage Kits for Etsy and got them listed ($14).

And I played with my new purchases from my estate sale shopping with Beth. This vintage wallpaper was being used as shelf paper in a cabinet in a basement, I pulled it out and got 3 large pieces for ONE DOLLAR!!

Velvet ribbons, rick rack, buttons, a sequins all came from the same basement. I added the green ribbon and the mother of pearl button, with a vintage flower to the top of the little jar full of sequins. That is about as creative as I got today, mostly it was unpacking, and packing and finding new homes for everything.

All of these little rhinestone earrings will make pretty snow flakes for Christmas projects and look at these tiny Button Crowns!!!!!!! Oh, I see a Silver Bella project in their future.

And this little clear button is a Scotty, but it is awful close to looking like a Dorky. I never find Dorkies!! The world is filled with Stupid Scotty dogs tho. Oh well, this is cute and like I said, almost a Dorky!

Twinks has claimed the feather pillows as her own. They were only $2 each, that is pretty cheap for a dog bed, but they sure are pretty. Beth http://bethleintz.typepad.com/ says they should go into a hammock. Well, I don’t have one, but it is a good idea.

And look at this rug- I have always wanted one of these. I paid a bit more than I usually spend when out shopping, but it sure is a lot less than buying a new rug at a "real" store or even buying an old one at an antique store. This one is 10′ x 6′ and was $75. Ooh, that makes me cringe to admit I spent that much.

There were 3 of these brass lady-stake things, I only bought 1, for $2. I should have got all three, but was spending like a fool already. Now why did I think that another $4 would break me??

I like it in the flower pot. I don’t know what it is really for, but she seems content in the rose moss.

I found a bunch of ric racs and ribbons for a total of $4.50, quite a few rhinestone buttons for $1, got this cute aqua colored card for only 50 cents, and the trash can was $1.50.

You can’t beat shopping in the basements and garages of estate sales! That is where the sellers put the stuff they think is junk and not worth much.

These leather covered booklet thingys are cute, the one on the right is actually a box, the left one is a note pad, and the middle is a funeral home booklet. All three were $4. I can see all sorts of possibilities with them.

The prettiest pretty of them all today, was Madison Catherine. She is 2 weeks old and seemed to be enjoying her party. We all got to hold her while her mom soaked in the tub.

I lit some candles for the new mom, got out scented lotions and tossed some pink rose petals into the jacuzzi.

I set up a special chair for Brooke to sit in for lunch, and tied up the back of it with a bundle of flowers I got in my first swap from Karin at http://www.creativechaos.typepad.com/

We ate salads with feta, cranberries and almonds, then had cordon bleu with spinach fettuccine and a side of broccoli. (the broccoli got mushy but the rest of the meal was good)

The new grandma brought a Tiramisu, who needs broccoli when you can have that?!! I picked a gladiola from the garden for Grandma Gladys who loved Brooke so much and would have loved to see her baby. She was with us in spirit today.

Brooke wore the crown I received in the tiara swap from Barb at http://www.123lavenderlollipoplane.blogspot.com/.

I have one more thing to list on Etsy, then I am going in to have a plate of leftover cordon bleu. I wish I had leftovers everyday, man I hate to cook dinner.

Please leave a comment if you want to enter the drawing for a Cottage Collage Kit!

A Bounty From Beth, Baubles and Blooms

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, flowers, jewelry, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2007

Beth http://bethleintz.typepad.com/ had so many great things for me today in our swap!!!! Old wallpapers, a cool box full of stuff, pictures, post cards, a how to paint roses book (love it) a scrapbook, old lace rolled up on a clothes pin, cards, Valentines, and three mini bottles to decorate. She suggested I make "purse fairies" to put in them, so I’ll always have a fairy with me.

And look! Old photos of lovely ladies!

I know I tend to go on about being a Lucky Person, but I do think I am lucky to have a friend like Beth. Not only does she have cool stuff (and she shares it)- we can talk for hours about anything or nothing and have a great time together.

When we are old, we’ll still be buddies like these guys.

I’m afraid we didn’t get around to making our Silver Bella projects today, we got caught up in Estate Sales in Kansas City and couldn’t stop.

I bought these two necklaces that are along the lines of what I collect. I rarely find them for such good prices anymore, so don’t buy very often, these were $20 and $25! (they are sitting on a table that I faux finished)

So, we got to talking about jewelry, (along with gossiping about our blog friends and what they are all doing and who said what and who showed what on their site this week).

Beth showed me these pieces that she got from her Grandma. Even better, hers are sentimental. But, I have never seen her wear them, she isn’t a jewel person.

I, on the other hand, AM a jewel person! Love the old stuff, or hand made things from old pieces. Here are some I pieced together myself with old bits that I collect.

I really like this green one, but I never wear green. Sometimes I wear the necklace with a black tee shirt and jeans since I don’t own green clothes.

The pink Chzeck glass necklace is the first I bought, and it is just as I found it, didn’t need any redoing at all. It is my favorite and started the whole obsession with these glass stones. I wear this one all the time, it seems to match everything I have!! When I bought it, I was worried that I had spent too much, and felt bad about buying something so expensive for myself for no reason, and 20 years later, I am still wearing it, and am so glad I got it! And it wasn’t that much, only $45, but at the time, that was quite extravagant and I almost didn’t get it. All of the others cost under $30.

Sissy gave me the round purple pieces that I used to make the chain for this one. She made earrings for me from them too, and they are my one of my favorite things. I don’t own purple clothes either, but I do wear this color jewelry a lot with white or black tee shirts (I have boring clothes).

These two I bought at a flea mkt this spring, and will probably clean up and sell instead of keep. I have plenty! And I work at home, and usually wear paint clothes, so don’t always have a place to go to wear jewelry.

Although I did have somewhere to go tonight! I was invited to a Lawrence Art Guild party at a friend’s house.

She had the most beautiful, wild, rambling gardens!

I spent some time chasing down this butterfly.

Pam has a funky old wooden ladder that she uses to brace her holly hocks.

I loved the chaos of the garden, it all seemed so natural and unplanned, but she has a degree in horticulture, so I do think that she spent time planning it!

We had a nice evening of sipping wine, exploring the gardens (oh there are lots more than these!) and talking art with friends.

Sister Swaps, Buddy Swaps, and some Freebies for you

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, family, flowers, Food and Drink, give away, how to's, paintings, parties, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 18, 2007

I have had the best day! I missed having time on my own in the studio in the last couple of weeks. Now, I loved the guests and I loved the trip and babysitting the fairy grand baby is a beautiful way to spend time, but man, I missed my studio!!

I worked all day (well, since noon at least, I had errands to run this morning) and my husband is out of town, if I want to, I can power up with a power bar and work all night too.

I am in the Art Doll Hat swap hosted by http://craftingbycandlelight.blogspot.com/ and have been making plans for that, but also, my sis and I decided to swap art doll hats, both using the same picture.

So, here is what I made for her. Sissy loves to collect, wear, hoarde, and buy tons of jewelry, so I decked out my doll in jewels.

She likes holographic papers too, so I used a gold holographic party hat for a base. The over skirt is my favorite scrap booking paper, a blue with roses. Over that is a bit torn off of an old curtain I found in a dumpster, I thought it tied in with the upper part of the dress in the picture.

I added some gold glitter to compliment the holographic base.

The crown/hat on the doll’s head is also scrapbook paper that is glittered up with a rhinestone button added. The button was given to me by my great aunt Caroline who just turned 99 this week.

I gave the doll some vintage flowers to hold and wrapped them up in ribbons to match her dress. I hope that Sissy likes the hat better than the Dorkies did. Twinks refused to wear it and Sparkle wore it grudgingly.

Here is the doll that Sissy made for me, look at that great skirt! And the magic wand!! I love it!!

Lets see, what else did I get done today? I made mailable art for Michelle Wards challenge this month. http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/ I wasn’t going to participate this month, because it isn’t my style, but I saw envelopes I really liked at http://pennyrabbitart.typepad.com/penny_rabbit_art/2007/07/gpp-crusade-mai.html and thought I’d try the spray paint technique.

Here is the front, (and I bought pretty stamps to use too). Beth http://bethleintz.typepad.com/gathering_dust/2007/07/beginner-mail-a.html is also doing this challenge, and she is offering to give hers away. Part of the challenge is to actually use them in the mail.

So, if you want one (ask Beth for hers, she might still have some) or ask me. I’ll mail them to the first 4 people who ask for one. Who knows, maybe there will be a little something tucked inside them??? Also, leave a comment if you want to enter July’s drawing for a Cottage Collage Kit.

Speaking of Beth, she and I are doing a crafting day tomorrow in her new studio. We are also swapping bags of paper goods.

Trouble is, SHE HAS EVERYTHING. What do you trade to someone who has the best selection of craft goods on the planet???

A letter from the School for the Feebleminded written in 1931. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she already has one.

I also got two rolls of this textured, paint-able wallpaper border at Goodwill today for 99 cents each. I cut off a length with 3 medallions, glazed it in umber, and added roses to the middle oval. I included a couple single ovals too, she can add a picture, or who knows what, these are COOL for collage work!

Ipacked up some odds and ends of old papers for Beth and while I was at it, I made up more Cottage Collage Kits for Etsy. These four are all neutral colors.

I included some of the glazed wallpaper pieces, papers from 1913-1930, a millinery flower, old buttons, pictures, lace, quite a bit actually. I haven’t listed them yet, if you want one they are $14 plus shipping. Oh, I made up 3 aqua themed packs too. It is surprising how long and involved that process is.

Then, I set the table for Friday’s Mini Spa Day at Home for the new mom. Yes, I know I am early, but I won’t be using the table and setting it up is so fun.

People have mentioned to me that maybe the new mother shouldn’t soak in the tub. But, she and her mother are both RNs, so I am not worried about it, they know what is safe to do. I have an assortment of bath enhancers, she can decide for herself if she wants to use one or not, or just enjoy the jacuzzi as it is. I like to use the Vaseline Intensive Care Bath beads. I think it is pretty gentle, but I’ll leave it up to my guest. Thanks for caring about her and warning me.

Well, I need to pack up a bag of stuff to take to Beth’s to work on tomorrow. We are doing Silver Bella stuff!! Yay, Bellas!! Can’t wait.

There’s No Place Like Home, but Okoboji isn’t bad

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, give away, Sugarwings, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 16, 2007

It feels good to be back in Kansas!

We are back from our family reunion at Fellenwarth Beach, Lake Okoboji, Iowa. I felt like I took a trip back in time, or was on the set of Dirty Dancing at the Kellerman Lodge! This place was built in that era and has been updated, but still had that old fashioned feel. (but no Patrick Swayse, drat)

There was the cutest little amusement park next door, called Arnold’s Park. Sugarwings rode on her first carousel horsey and her Uncle Ryan won a prize for her in the bottle toss.

She had her first taste of ice cream.

At first she wasn’t sure what to think, and the cold didn’t make her very happy.

But once the flavor hit her taste buds, she decided Ice Cream is the best!!!

It wasn’t the cheapest place to stay, and I’m afraid that we made it even worse by pulling our boat up there, along with my BIL bringing his boat. If the nation experiences a huge gas shortage this week, it is because we used it all up in those two trucks. We could have spent a week in Florida at the beach for what we spent on a long weekend in Iowa.

But seeing relatives from all over the country made it worth it. It was great to be there for Little Joan’s 75th birthday (oh, and she liked the photo album I put together for her.)

I snuck away with baby brother, Randy and his husband, Kevin for a bit and we did some junking. Both of them are avid antiquers and that Kevin has a great eye and so much knowledge about what he sees. I just look for what is pretty, he knows values, and the history of what we come across.

I only had an hour or so to shop and there were SO MANY antique places up there. I was hoping to take more time junking, but just couldn’t be selfish during family time. But I did find lots of cool old papers, this album full of anniversary cards was $8, the kids books were $2, the kitten post card with glass eyes (how cool is that??) was $1.

I found a few other little pretties,

the white dog salt shaker- $2
shell vase $1
an oval frame with a German die cut cherub – $4 (and I seem to have packed that away somewhere in the vast luggage that isn’t unpacked yet)
But my best find, was these two cardboard courthouse record keepers, from 1917-1930.

They were jammed packed with correspondence, typewritten, and hand written!!

I’ll be adding some of these pages to the July Cottage Collage Kit giveaway. There are some wonderful pieces in the boxes, I can’t wait to have time to sift through them all. (the boxes were $15 each, but I was only going to buy one and then my BILs surprised me with a second one, how sweet)

Back to normal life, houseguests are gone, the vacation is over. I have so much unpacking to do and errands to run.

I went to the store to get soap to do up the mountain of laundry I brought back from Iowa, returned our books on tape that we listened to on the drive, and of course had to get some of the $1.99 bunches of flowers that are on sale every Monday. And Peaches were on sale for 88 cents lb. If they are good, I’ll go get more and make a pie or two.

Then, I swung by the Vet’s office to get my pile of Dorkies, and all of us worked outside, watering the garden and flowers. The little dorkies are all as happy to be home as I am!!

Temporary Studio Makeover and a Dog full of Glitter

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, family, flowers, Food and Drink, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 11, 2007

Entertaining at the cottage is going well this week. We had 21 for dinner tonight and my studio was set up as a dining room, all the kids craft projects and my work was hidden away.

I have discovered that when you are feeding a bunch of people, it doesn’t pay to plan too exactly, you need to go with the flow. Tonight I made the mistake of setting a big table up for all the adults, and a couple smaller tables for the kids. But of course, people just sat wherever they wanted and adults had kid silverware and kids had white table clothes under their BBQ! Oh well, you do what you can, but the most important part of a dinner is making everyone comfy and not bossing them around, so they can sit where ever they want. It is casual here at my cottage. People fix thier plates at the stove and carry them to the table. I keep it as simple as possible so I can enjoy the day too.

Flowers from the gardens, along with some china flowers from a flea market are on the table in a variety of vases, with votive lights in teacups for atmosphere. Very few of the chairs match each other, and neither do the salt and pepper shakers. The room itself is a bit of a hodge podge of stuff.

Here are a couple of my guests, Emma (who is so dainty and tiny, I call her a Mini M & M) and her baby sister, Rosebud, who seems to have glitter all over her somehow.

Speaking of glitter, if you look carefully, you can see just how much glitter Twinkle and her "trainer", Luke, have on them too. Click on the photo to enlarge it to see better.

Don’t forget to enter the drawing for a Cottage Collage Kit! Just leave a comment to enter.

Rose Moss, Red Birds, Cleomes and Rosebud

family, flowers, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / July 8, 2007

Most of our houseguests are here and the visit is in full swing. My brother-in-law and his family, including a 5 year old who has decided to be Twinkle’s trainer (they have met their match in each other, both are constantly in motion) and a 5 week old baby. Life is exciting around here right now!

I did get all the cleaning done in my studio and transformed it into a dining room before they arrived. But barely! I was up til 4:30am, and they showed up at 7:30, after having decided to drive all night instead of stopping at a hotel. At least we were all equally tired!

While our cottage guests are out doing a bit of visiting, I took a calming, quiet breather in the garden and watered some plants. I was happy to see how big the rose moss in the bird cage was getting.

The rose moss has some filling in to do yet, but is getting a good start. I chose that to plant because I knew it could tolerate heat and didn’t need a lot of moisture, since this was a shallow planter. I always plant rose moss in my vintage cement swans for the same reason.

To make a bird cage into a planter, all I did was line the bottom with coconut fiber and fill it in with dirt. I dug up some good compost from the garden, added quite a few plants, maybe 10? and then put in a couple of old cement red birds, one is missing a beak, but I still love him. I could easily become the crazy old lady with too much yard art and more junk in the flower beds than flowers if I am not careful!

And look, my cleomes have started to bloom! Definitely one of my favorite garden flowers. They are so sturdy and easy to grow, and always reseed themselves. Yet, they have such a dainty look about them.

Here is a photo that Sissy sent to me of her cleome garden. Doesn’t it look like a fairy land??

Well, I hear the sound of 4 small children and a baby getting out of the car, the guests must be back. I get to go and hold the little 5 week old girl now. Her name is Sydney, but she has such a sweet little rosebud mouth, that of course, I have to call her Rosebud. She still has that little old man look about her, but with that mouth, I can tell she’ll grow up to be beauty. And she is a cuddly girl. With 4 older sibs, she gets passed around a lot!