flowers – Page 9 – Karla's Cottage

A quiet 4th of July

cottage, family, flowers, Garden, kitties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 8, 2015

We had quite a nice holiday weekend. Not at all typical for us, no parties, no people, no fireworks, no trips.

The weekend started on Friday with a performance at Theatre Lawrence, from the workshop Sugarwings had attended there.

It was very impressive to see how the teachers could corral all of these little ones and get them to understand the workings of being in a play, learning lines, songs, and choreography in just one week. And it is great for the kids to have a chance to be on the fancy stage.

Sugarwings is very serious up on stage, but does sneak looks up to where family is sitting, to make sure we are watching her. And at one point, she broke out in an impromptu, improvised tap routine that had nothing to do with the show.

Maybe tap lessons should be the next class she takes…

Her favorite part seemed to be the way her sparkling cape could swirl with some twirling in the lobby.

The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back. My husband and I did some hiking at the lake each morning, then spent the rest of the days doing yard work around the cottage.

Now, my husband isn't exactly a yard work kind of guy. At least as far as flower beds go. He is more of a chainsaw type, but when I mentioned that my rose bushes had become so overgrown that they weren't blooming the way they should and were more like thorn bushes than flowers, he was right there with a chain to wrap around them and pull them out with the John Deere Gator.

The roses were planted in bad places, that seemed fine when the plants were little. One was by the patio of the studio, and three were along the side walk to the front door. As they grew, they needed major trimming to stop their thorns from snagging unsuspecting people walking by.

I've not got a lot of experience with roses, but it seems to me, that the more you trim them, the woodier they become, and the less they bloom. These were turning into giant thorn trees with woody trunks, not green bushes with flowers. So, out they went, and the one by the studio was replaced with a hydrangea instead.

For the sidewalk area, I purchased 2 azaleas and a topiary. But the topiary wouldn't work, because there is a bedrock of gravel under the bed, and we couldn't dig through it. The base of the topiary was just too large, but the smaller pots of azaleas were just fine. So, the tree is in a temporary basket for now, and I'll set it in a pot when I find one later (it's time for some good 75% off sales at the greenhouses!)

We also dug out mulch and added a row of gravel along the foundation, due to some termite issues we are having. My husband got to fill his Gator with gravel and use the dump truck function to fill the trench he'd dug.

We also worked in the veggie garden, and had to pull some vines down from the walls. A vine covered cottage is a beautiful thing, if you don't care about termites and damage to your siding. If I could let them go, I sure would. Especially since they just start climbing on their own, it looks so charming and natural. But, nope, they had to be ripped away.

Lots of hard work got accomplished, and we had a good time doing it. I really can't remember the last time the two of us were on our own, and hung out together all weekend. We tend to have a lot of separate interests and many other people that take our attention from each other. This was nice.

I hope your weekend was a memorable one too. I thought I'd work in the studio and add some things to the Boutique, but didn't get around to it til Monday.

And I didn't mind at all.

Here are a few things that I listed.

A bounty of blossoms

bird song art event, flowers, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 26, 2015

If Beth and I look slightly delirious with joy, it is because we most certainly were. And Sugarwings was here to capture the moment.

We had a very good reason to be soooooo happy. Our pal, Carol had posted a photo years ago of some beautiful, gorgeous, dreamy, scrumptious, silk flowers and it was one of those pictures that stayed with me. Then, for some crazy reason, but lucky for me, she posted that she was selling them all! In one big, giant lump of unbelievable beauty.

Beth messaged me when she saw it, and I had a little stab of jealousy, but then was happy for my friend. Then, she said she was waffling and I asked it if would help to split it.

Yep! She shared the bounty! And I contacted Carol before the treasures were scooped up and we missed out.

Carol lives just down the road, and dropped it in the mail box, by Priority, that afternoon. The next day, Beth and Sugarwings were here for craft day and the box arrived. Perfect flowers and perfect timing!

See why we squealed??? This is new, old stock. Never used. Here is how Carol described them on her blog. And she also says she has more goods to sell in the next couple months, so if you are wanting some very special things, keep an eye out for what she'll be offering!!

Over the Summer, I’m going to be offering for sale a select few of my very special and very vintage stash of goods.

To start will be my collection of Vintage Millinery Flowers and Trims that I’ve kept tucked away for several years. This amazing old store stock, is from the Emery, Bird, Thayer Department Store of Kansas City, Missouri. Handmade of vintage fabrics, ribbons and some velvets including many flat appliqués and trims in gorgeous muted shades of color. A few still have the original EBT sale tags. There are over 100 pieces to this collection, some range from very delicate petite to large size flowers and trims. If you’re a collector or crafter of vintage millinery, you know how rare it is to find a grouping of embellishments such as these.

There was bag after bag after bag of these beauties in our box of delights. Plus some cool trims. They were easy to share, too. We opened one bag at a time, and between the, "Oh my gosh, look at this one" and the "Oooh"s and "Oh my goodness"es, we managed to take turns picking out what we wanted, one piece at a time, till the piles were gone.

Then, we found a bag that had slipped off the table and landed on the floor, and the squealing resumed.

Sugarwings took a thousand or so photos, which took her away from her own work, but she was having fun watching the old ladies be silly.

She wasn't allowed to touch our blooms. She was deep into her own Project Runway style creations and had a tad of paint and glitter on her hands.

Earlier, we'd hosted a Birthday Luncheon for Beth and Angie, with Sugarwings as my co-hostess. She decorated all the cupcakes, and set the table using her favorite trick. Here is what she does-

Make an a-okay sign with both hands.

Notice that the left hand looks like a "b"

The right hand looks like a "d"

The "b" stands for bread plate and goes to the left, the "d" stands for drink and goes to the right.

That is a quick way for a kid to learn about where things go at a table setting, and she enjoys doing it so much, she makes the a-okay sign each time she sets the items down, even though, she already knows where to put them.

The day was so much fun. And while I am supposed to be getting caught up after Birdsong, and trying to put the studio and garage back to normal, while also selling leftover kits (first offered to sponsors and past attendees, soon to the rest of our friends), it was nice to have a day just to laugh. All day long. And that is what we did.

Sugarwings was glad I didn't have the studio back to normal yet. I still had the big tables up, her small ones weren't back out yet, and the larger ones were still covered in paper.

Instead of doing a project on the table, she made the paper covered table her actual piece. It was a fashion themed day for her, and she had previously drawn dozens of gowns in chalk on the patio, side walks and breezeway floors, for us to take a walk through her "fashion museum".

Then, the table cover became a full length ball gown, covered in red glitter and embellished with sparkling tape.

Afterwards, she cut it out, and we hung it up in the studio. I love to see her creativity run amok. She was into this for hours.

My project for craft day was working on Lesa's kit. I'd already made one of them, and someone gave me their kit to finish, and I was happy to do it, I love these little birds. And again, perfect timing for the flowers to arrive, just when I needed them to make this special birdie, extra, extra special!

Thank you for parting with the blossoms, Carol, and thank you, Beth for sharing with me.

All of Lesa's kits are sold now. I have a couple of Lori's and I made quite a few extras of my own. I'll be marketing them as soon as all the Birdsong Peeps have had a chance to get first pick at them. So please do check back if you are interested in one. I'll also have some posts about Birdsong coming up soon.

A home for the fairies in the garden

Dew Drop, fairies, flowers, Garden, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / May 28, 2015

We've done a little yard work recently, and the yard is looking happy and bright. Roses are blooming, iris are straight, tall, and majestic, and the peonies put on a great show this spring. It's wonderful to have established gardens and perennials to depend on for color, even if maintenance is still a lot of work, in keeping things slightly tidy… very slightly…. At least there are hard working favorites popping up out of the ground all on their own with no effort from me.

I clean up the beds a bit, and fill the pots with annuals (this year a lot reseeded itself!), and we are set for springtime. This season, Sugarwings has wanted to help, so I gave her a tiny garden of her own to tend.

I had a low, wide, cement pot that was just the right size to turn into a fairy garden for my own little fairy to work in. I placed 4 mini plants in it, made a garden arch from wrapped wire and let her figure out the rest. We had this iron fairy, and she debated using it, because this garden was for REAL fairies not pretend ones. She ended up putting it on display there as a "statue" for the young fairies to look up to.

After it was planted, she watered it with a little teacup.

After getting to this point, she decided it needed a bit more. Like some signs, and a swing. So, she dutifully ate up a popsicle, to get a stick she could paint to turn into a swing. Her thoughts were that the youngest fairies would like a swing hung from the arbor more than just a plain old arch to look at.

So a pink, popsicle stick swing now hangs from the arch with blue ribbons. And the iron fairy statue has been removed to make space for a tea party area. I have a feeling that these are the first of many changes. This garden will probably be the focus of quite a few redesigns.

For the tea table, Sugarwings painted a large spool pink, and we glued a playdough can lid to it. The painted spool stools and table all have straws glued inside, so they can be poked into the ground to solve the problem of them toppling over and spilling the tea.

Dewdrop offered to blow bubbles for the fairies.

Earth Day

cottage, flowers, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / April 29, 2015

Around here, school gets out at 1:30 on Wednesdays. And if I'm lucky, that is my day to play hooky from work in the afternoon and pick Sugarwings up. Since this Wednesday was Earth Day, we decided to plant something in honor of our planet. And what better to plant than some poppies along the Yellow Brick Road that we had been fixing up?

Sugarwings was excited to see the Lily of the Valley crowding its way out of the ground, she thought it looked like mini cornstalks and decided that when we got our Scarecrow made, it should go right there in the midst of the lilies.

She also had some ideas about getting yard art gnomes to use as munchkins, which sounds do-able. But when she started in on some sort of idea about big emerald gates, I told her it might be out of our reach. I was answered with, "You are an artist, you can make it work, just think about it."

hmmmmm……

This tutu was $2 at a garage sale recently, it is actually a dance costume for a much older girl, but with a few safety pins, it made a lovely Glenda gown for my little sprite.

I think this was the first time I'd ever seen her give up the role of Dorothy to play another part when she is imagining Oz. It didn't last long, though. Soon, the story became that Glenda (or Ga-linda if you are a Wicked fan) gave Dorothy a magical gown, and Sugarwings was back playing the starring role, just not in blue gingham.

Updates along the Yellow Brick Road

cottage, Dew Drop, flowers

By Karla Nathan / April 22, 2015

You know what I love most about Spring? That the views change daily. Just a bit ago, I posted about repainting the yellow brick road, and the flower bed was dull and gray. Spring popped out some colors and brightened the place up for us in what seemed like overnight.

I also was inspired by my uninspiring, dull photos to do a bit more work in that neglected bed. First of all, by cleaning out the old dead things, like some spireas that were hanging on by a leaf or two, and some overgrown brush that had seen better days. Then, I straightened up the rock border, and added mulch. Dark brown to the raised part of the bed, and regular cyprus to the main part.

After all of that, I still wasn't happy, so made a run to the garden center, and came home with 2 dwarf fruit trees, 2 rose bushes, and a reblooming azalea. I also bought a hydrangea at the grocery store floral department that was on sale for 99 cents because it was done blooming.

I've not had a lot of luck with azaleas in the past, but I have my fingers crossed for this one. And it doesn't really show in the photo, but I"ve got it centered in a shady spot while the roses and fruits are in brighter spots in the bed.

We already have lots of fruit and nut trees in the food forest, but seriously, can you have enough? We added a couple more to the courtyard behind the house too. Home Depot had the small trees for $29. Heck, I think I spend that much a week on fresh fruit already. How wonderful it will be when I can just take a walk in the garden and pick my own fruit instead of having to go shopping for it.

Now, why didn't I do this 20 years ago??? Well, at least it is done now. It's never too late.

We spend a lot of time sitting on the studio's porch and reading, or watching the grand fairies play, so the yellow brick road bed is always right in view. Plus it is one of the first things a visitor sees as they pull into the drive. For some reason, it has always been slightly (some years mostly) neglected.

Not this year! I might even plant some annuals out there, I rarely have, because well, as I said, it hasn't been well cared for. But since I have new trees that will need water, I'll be tending the area better and can keep some flowers watered too.

The shrubs on the outside border of the bed probably need to go. I had hoped they would grow into a hedge to block the view of the highway, but they never get any bigger and just turn brown. Any ideas on what I can plant in their place? We live right on I70 and the turnpike could use a good blocking!

My very favorite thing about this flower bed is how it attracts fairies. This little, curving path is a magnet for sprites, whether they are pretending to be Dorothy Gale, or just skipping along for the fun of it.

All guncle-ed up

flowers, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2015

My trip to see Randy and Kevin was just delightful. Kevin promised they would "guncle me up." And they sure did. I was spoiled all day.

Randy and I had a whole day of hanging in the craft room.

Between eating piles of seafood, that is.

And after I slept in to an unbelievable hour. Due to a late start, and pure stupidity in taking a drastic wrong turn, I got in after 1am the night before, not dinner time like I had planned.

At home that is no big deal, I'm a night owl. But I guess the stress of the drive and being lost, exhausted me. I slept till, well, LATE. I never do that. Not in years. I hated to waste a vacation day snoozing till, well, way, way LATE. But it did feel really good. Although it was embarrassing too.

Back in the craft room, we watched their wedding video while we created. And Randy had a bunch of surprises for me, that Kevin had found while out junking the week before. We pretended that there were prize drawings like we have at Birdsong, but the name that was called over and over was mine.

There was a lot of squealing every time I won a prize. And I got lots of prizes, old lace, die cuts, Victorian scrap books, and more.

We took a break to go outside and pick some fruit. Even though it was cold out, they hadn't had a freeze yet this year and the sight of all that lushness was eye candy to me!

Randy thought his yard looked too messy for photos, but I loved every inch of it. Fresh fruit? Tall bushes of rosemary? FLOWERS??? Oh my.

Blooms in January left me feeling a bit giddy. There were dozens of angel trumpet vine blossoms hanging over head. They were so large and fragrant, I couldn't resist them. I was thrilled to bundle up in a borrowed sweatshirt and coat to check out the gardens. At home, January is grey.

Just grey.

As far as the eye can see.

Especially this year, no pretty snow to liven it up.

Just grey.

But things are lively in the Guncles' garden! This is a double camellia.

The angel trumpet doesn't make a good cut flower to put in a vase, it soon wilted.

But it sure smells sweet and is worth picking to wear on your head like a fairy's hat.

A while back, I painted the floor of the craft room. These mermen were at my feet all day while I worked back there.

Randy and I had done the walls together over the last 18 years or so. I'd visit and we'd add a few more sprites with every trip I made to Florida.

The company is pretty good there too. Doggies every where under foot or on laps.

This little guy, especially is full of sweetness. That could actually be a halo above his tiny head.

No, must not be. From this angle, it is over Randy's head.

And he ain't no angel.

Although it was pretty sweet of him to redo his dining room so I'd get the full Christmas decor effect. Much of it was still up, but some of it had been taken down and he actually re-decked it out for me and set this table back up like he'd had it for Christmas.

Including this cake stand filled with a winter wonderland. Martha Stewart had a similar idea on her magazine cover, but Randy had beat her to it, he arranged his before he saw hers.

It was pretty festive there.

And I was happy to see that the wedding centerpieces we'd made were part of the holiday scheme. They say they will use them year round.

For now, the top box is filled with a winter arrangement of branches.

And the little fairy I made is holding court in the greenhouse box. Or whatever you call that thing. It's from Pottery Barn and I want one. But I'm cheap…

I'll leave you with some pictures around the house. And I wanted to let you know that Birdsong is now open for registration. Please contact me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

if you are interested in attending.

A Fall Wedding in New Hampshire

celebrations, family, flowers, Food and Drink, guncles, holiday decor, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / November 8, 2014

What a perfect place for a wedding! The guncles have been together for a long time and had a commitment ceremony 17 years ago, but now that they can be legally married, we gathered in NH to celebrate with them.

We had a rehearsal dinner the night before the event at Ipswich Country Club. And oh my! It was something!

Great appetisers.

Exceptional food.

Wonderful company. (this is just some of us, I don't have a group shot)

And a serenade from Carol Swarbrick Dries (Aunt Carol). She sang a song that had tears in all of our eyes. We begged for an encore the next day at the wedding.

The air was crisp, the leaves were colorful, and the site for the wedding luncheon and ceremony was ideal for the occasion.

And did I mention that there was carrot cake? My fave! And so pretty with the fall colors. There wasn't a cake stand, but I slipped a couple of box lids from our centerpieces under it and that made a quick but cute, make shift stand.

I was so pleased that the boxes we worked on together to make centerpieces looked so festive in the room.

We also glittered and sponge painted some packages of tissue paper leaves from the dollar bin at Target to sprinkle around the table. And Randy framed a picture of each guest to create name cards for the seating.

17 years ago, we had to take apart two bride and groom cake toppers to get two grooms. Now, the guncles had plenty of toppers to choose from with two grooms. All this one needed was some highlights in one groom's hair and it was ready to adorn the carrot cake.

I was honored to be in the ceremony. The whole time I was up there, I watched Kevin's face and was moved by the emotions he showed.

That man is a treasure and we are lucky to have him in our family, and seeing the love and happiness in his eyes that day, moved me to my core.

I spent the entire day with red, weepy eyes, but a huge grin on my face at the same time.

Autumn in Kansas, with two free pumpkin patches to visit

Dew Drop, flowers

By Karla Nathan / October 6, 2014

Dewdrop and I had a day out together and visited the two pumpkin patches here in Lawrence.

One has a butterfly sanctuary. You are given a flyer with info and pictures of the different species living there, and instructions on using a "one finger touch" when approaching the little flutter-ers.

Then, the hunt begins.

Of course, it doesn't take long to spot the butterflies, they are everywhere.

Dewdrop tried holding very, very still, hoping one would land on her.

And decided that the butterflies on the pink flowers were ideal for one finger petting.

But the best part was watching them fly away after the petting.

The butterfly sanctuary was the highlight of her day.

While both pumpkin patches are free and have lots of things for kids to do, Pendleton's Country Market was the only one that had a batch of kittens to hold.

She much preferred the kittens and butterflies to the pumpkins. The gourds aren't nearly as cuddly. This one had a crack and she felt very sad about that.

I love the vastness of the fields, and the open views off into the horizon.

Yet, if you turn and look the other direction, there is Kansas University off in the distance, up on the hill.

Schaake's Pumpkin Patch has a lot of cute, kiddie elements like the hay bale minion in the previous picture and this witch on the silo.

There is also a hay bale maze, multiple play grounds, and cows to watch. Pendleton's is also a garden center, both are working farms. Pendleton's also has a lot for kids to do, a tricycle track, a corn bin filled with dried kernels to play in, and a scenic tower to climb. There is also a pretty bonfire pit for cooler days.

Both have free hay rack rides and nice stores. I left with 4 big mums, a bag of sweet potatoes, a jar of pumpkin butter, a bag of gourds, a large green pumpkin, a large white pumpkin, 3 smaller white pumpkins, 2 mini orange pumpkins, and a couple of bottles of water for the two of us, FOR ONLY $45!

You really can't beat Kansas for free fun.

Of course, with Dewdrop around, any where we go is fun!

Kansas Sunflowers

family, flowers, photography, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 15, 2014

Outside of Lawrence, halfway to Tonganoxie, there is a sea of gold, stretching out as far as the eye can see.

I've lived in this town for over 20 years and this was my first visit there. How could I have been missing out on walking through the rows of sunflowers? What was I thinking?

While I always thought it sounded pretty and that I'd like to go and see the flowers in bloom, I had no idea that the field would have such an enchanted feel to it.

Lots of families were there, all taking photos, probably a dozen cars full of people. But, the moment you step into the rows of flowers and are swallowed up by the blossoms, you are alone in a world of yellow and green, lost in the rows of looming giants.

How strange, to be ten minutes outside of the city, and amidst at least 50 other people, but feel so isolated and hidden.

But not in a scary way, it is a magical feel. No, an enchanted feeling. That is the only way to describe it.

I grew up in the middle of an Indiana corn field. Walking into the corn, and into the sunflower field is similar, but the flowers are so much prettier and special. I loved playing the corn when I was young, and could lose myself in the stalks, or find a hiding place to lay back reading a book for a few hours with my Irish Setter as a pillow.

The sunflowers had me reminiscing about those days in the Hoosier corn fields, but as much as I enjoyed those times out in my brother-in-law's crop, this was something different. At some points, we were completely hidden away, with flowers topping 8-9'. Other spots, they where shorter, or there was a slight hill to stand on and we could see acres of yellow off into the horizon.

I think my girls shared my excitement. I don't know how you could walk out into the vastness of the field and not feel the magic.

In some spots, there are clearings, that beckoned me to grab a dog for a pillow and bring a good book to hide out with for a while. I could have easily spent hours in one of those little rooms with green walls.

And then, there would be places so dense, we had to back track and find a new route through, and we'd wonder just how far we'd wondered from the car, just to find out that we were actually only ten feet from the road.

And woven all about the stems, were blue morning glories, the color of our Dorothy's gown.

We discovered that sunflowers weren't just to admire, you could also play with them.

By plucking out a few seeds, you can make happy faces, we wanted them to look like they were laughing, so they would feel as happy as we did.

I hope that others walking through the field see our sunny faces and smile back at them.

Sugarwings made a happy face too.

The fields are free to visit, anyone is welcome. The farmers ask that you leave them as you found them, take out your trash, and pay a dollar each for any flowers that you pick. There is a donation box to help the land owner defray the costs of the field.

We paid for the ones we defaced (well, really we "faced" them) and we picked a couple too.

I hope to take Dewdrop there for a few pictures too. I think she'd look cute in a fairy gown. Being dwarfed by the towering blooms makes a perfect backdrop for a fairy photo shoot.

Plus, I just can't wait to get back there myself.

Hat Whispering in Kansas

antiques/junking, flowers

By Karla Nathan / September 4, 2014

At last week's flea mkt, I hit the jackpot on millinery blooms.

At a booth of mostly linens and doilies, Beth found a pile of flowers, and picked a few out. I nervously stood by, hoping there were be some left when she was done.

She had a handful, and I looked at her in disbelief and asked if that was all she wanted.

Yep, she was done.

You're sure, really sure?

Yep. She had enough.

Then, I dove in.

I don't have the control she does. I bought them ALL.

For THREE DOLLARS.

Yep, $3.

Seriously.

All were still in the original packages, so I had to hire a helper to get them all unwrapped. It was her idea to sort them by color too.

I found a few hats on our junkin trip, all under $5 each. Before I came across them, there was only two other floral hats I'd seen all day, and both were over $25, so I'd been worried that I'd lost my touch and wasn't going to score on millinery that day.

It was a relief to know that I had not yet bought out the last of the cheap hats in Kansas.

There was lots of shiny stuff there too. I bought a few giant bags of jewels to sort through, here are some of the keepers. There is another whole different kind of keeper pile, that my assistant found. She was happy to sort jewels with me and got some plastic beads and Easter bunny brooches to wear with her dress up clothes.

She also tried on a hat or two to see how they looked with a twirly skirt.

Pretty dang cute, if you ask me.