Food and Drink – Page 19 – Karla's Cottage

Altered muffins/ altered dolls

By Karla Nathan / October 14, 2009

Today, I had a mini craft day with my friend, Angie. I'd made some muffins for us, and we talked for hours, while we worked. It sure brightened up our gray, cold, rainy afternoon!

I used a box mix for the treats, but changed it up a bit:

One box of cinnamon muffin mix

2 eggs

1-1/2 cup organic cinnamon applesauce

1 cup of dried mix fruits (blueberry, cranberry, cherry)

1 cup of roasted sunflower seeds

3/4 cup milled flax seed

Angie had brought some old French postcards, that we scanned, printed, and glued to some little wooden plaques that I spray painted cream. They have a touch of glitter to them too, but it doesn't show much in the photo.

And look at the vintage glitter that she gave to me!!! I love the can it comes in, too. She says she also has a giant vat of OLD german silver glitter that she will bring over next week. Can you hear me squealing with joy??

My job today was dollie do-overs.

(Isn't the lamp fab?)

Over the last couple of years, I have been collecting neglected, old, washed up beauties to rejuvenate.

Don't you think that the girl in the back probably resents the one in the front? If they were sisters, she'd be the big boned, "handsome" one who watched her flirty little sis attract all the men.

I really should have gotten a before pic of this bride. She was so spooky looking, that I was tempted to use her as a Halloween decoration as she was.

I did get a before of one of the pink dolls, and wrote up a step by step how to for the makeovers. I'll post that Friday if you are interested.

Also, geez, here it is mid October and I haven't announced the OCTOBER GIVEAWAY yet!!

Don't worry, I thought of something fun for you. Remember, all comments, all month count, there is always a monthly giveaway. I was just so busy with other stuff, I forgot. But I have it figured out, how about one of my GRUMPY FAIRY books?

I've figured out the printing problems and will have some ready to sell soon. As thanks for all your inquiries and interest (and patience!) I'll give one away in October to a commenter.

Dollar Day

Books, Food and Drink, jewelry, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 3, 2009

Yesterday, I had a mini craft day. Beth, Mary, and I all had things to do for Silver Bella, so we decided to hang out and do them together.  I had a few little gifties for them, some ephemera and a chocolate from See's Candys. 
Beth brought a giant tub of jewels, a big box of buttons, and a stack of laces to tag and sort, one of those boring jobs that goes better with company.  Although, the jewels weren't boring to me, I loved looking through and playing with them.  
She even paid me a dollar to sort them out.  She also offered Sugarwings a dollar to sort buttons. Maybe Beth comes to visit for the cheap labor?  
 
It was a day full of finished projects for me, I am thrilled to be getting long neglected things completed!
For a while, I have been buying sewing boxes, jewelry boxes, and other vintage containers to foofify.  And hadn't touched them, they've been piling up and overflowing from the tub I had them in.  I felt like they were going to bury me in an avalanche if I didn't get around to them soon.  So, it was a relief to take an afternoon to whittle down the pile and get a few foofed.
 
There are a couple million dolls waiting for my attention too.  Some things, I just can't pass up while shopping, even though I should… Old dollies can be pretty cheap, and all they need is a bit of love, care, glue, cleaning, millinery and ironing.  Well, that does sound like a bit of work, no wonder I avoid them after I buy a pile of them.
But yesterday, I grabbed a couple of dirty dollies and got to work. And learned a trick from Beth.  She said that ribbons can be ironed on a lightbulb!!!!!!!
I had no idea, but it sure makes sense and really does work.
So, I pulled off a lamp shade and rolled a ribbon across the bulb, and that took all the wrinkles out immediately. I didn't even have to get out the iron and the board.  
So, I figured I'd try it on a doll skirt.  That worked great too, just open the skirt, drape it over the bulb and rub it around.  It looks very, very wrong while doing it (because the doll was stil in the dress), and elicited a few off color remarks, (I'll leave those to your imagination) but hey, it was easy and the wrinkles are gone!
I just hope these poor dolls don't feel too violated.
 
I got a good start on earring making too.  During the summer months, I collect vintage bits and pieces to remake into pierced earrings, necklaces, and bracelets for the fall art shows I do.
 
So, I'm planning on devoting most of this week to getting my jewels made up, tagged and ready to sell.
 
Isn't this a PERFECT display for them!?  I hope to have it all filled up by the end of the week. Then, I'll just close the lid, set it aside and it will be all ready to go when I leave for Silver Bella.
 
Sorting out Beth's jewels not only earned me a dollar, I found this little girl pin that was perfect to put on the cover of the Alice in Wonderland book I'd been working on.  Beth also brought me the rings to put the book together with.  So I got that finished too. 
Not a bad day of production!
 
When I was done, my son had this meal waiting for me! Roasted red peppers from the garden, rice with cilantro, and grilled tilapia.
Not a bad day at all.  Plus I made a whole DOLLAR. There are lots and lots of days that an artist can't say that!

40 ways to say happy birthday

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Food and Drink, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / September 29, 2009

This morning, we celebrated a friend's birthday with a brunch at my house.  It was a simple meal, organic vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit salad, and Rhodes cinnamon rolls hot out of the the oven, with a birthday candle stuck in them.

Since she was turning 40, a group of her friends came up with 40 charms for me to make into a bracelet for her.  We've done this for a couple of other pals in our circle on their 40th too.

Since 8 different people bought, or made the pieces, it really looked like a charm bracelet full of tidbits collected over a lifetime.  Some had special meaning, like her kid's photos, a coffee pot (to symbolize our regular coffee gatherings), a bowling pin (from bowling dates together), her initials, etc.  But some were just cute little things that were "filler".  

Since she owns two dorkie pups from one of my dog's litters, I really tried to find a Yorky charm for her.  But, one of her dogs is a giant, king sized terrier, that I swear is half golden retriever (we had goldens at the time too, so I really think that is possible…), so I figured that this over-sized blue dog looked enough 
like him to work.

To make the charms with her kid's photos:
 I bought frame charms from the craft store, and cut out at plain bit of green paper to fit them (her favorite color).
Then, I found photos of her kids on my computer, edited them to black and white, and emailed them to the copy store with instructions to reduce them so that the faces were just under 3/4" inches.
Color photo copies seem to work better under paper glaze than the pictures I make with my own printer. The ink never runs with photo copies.
I cut out the faces and glued those to the green paper, and covered it all with a layer of paper glaze. Love that stuff! It is self leveling, so you don't have to be perfect with it. You do need to watch it as it dries, though and pop any bubbles that form. (use a pin)

After it was all assembled, I wrapped the bracelet in a green, vintage hankie and put it into a decorated cone.  The Dollar Tree store was selling packages of these gold or silver cones 6 for a dollar! 
They were pretty as is, and make great favor wraps, or small gift packages.  I added a medallion with her initial, and then pinned some festive ribbons to the bottom with vintage brooch that she can take off and wear on her jacket.

This photo is a bit redundant, since I've already shown you the bracelet, but hey, look at my new lady!!  She is from Rusty Chandelier 
one of the BEST antique malls, EVER.  She isn't named yet, or finished. I am thinking about covering her in old French ephemera like I did the hand that Robin gave to me.

Especially since this gift just came in the mail!  Zita sent these French Canadian books to me and the pages are just perfect for redoing the face of my new lady, huh?

She'll be wonderful for selling hats and necklaces, plus will class up my booth a bit!

Before I get to work on her, I need to go and tidy up after the brunch. I never mind the after party mess, its usually a time to think about who said what and what funny things came up, and to enjoy the pretty dishes and bowls as I am washing them up.

Just like picking up after Sugarwings. Her leavings often give my heart a little tug, like this pile of her favorites set on the stairs waiting to be carried up to her room.

French Ephemera is a handy thing to have around.

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 16, 2009

Craft day was not only fun, but productive, that is just the best. We had a nice lunch (aren't pitch in meals the most fun? I enjoy the variety of what everyone brings) then a walk on the Fairy Berry Trail before getting to work.

When I went to Savannah during Jenn's retreat
I found a French magazine from 1901 that I fell in love with, but felt like it was way to expensive to buy. My pal, Tiffany, got one and reminded me that the price averaged out to only $2.50 per page, so I splurged and bought one. Now that I am doing a swap with these friends from our trip to Georgia, I am so glad I bought the magazine, the cafe au' lait cover was perfect for the center of these medallions I am making with all of their initials.

This side of the swap page is all vintagey goodness. Old crepe paper, and ribbon, wallpaper, and millinery. And of course, the cool, French ephemera. The only new thing on this, is the initial. I cut diamond shapes (thanks for the shape idea, Marilyn!) out of parchment card stock and drew the initials in metallic inks and markers.

I was so enthralled by my new trick of making these, that I used one as a label on this package wrapped up for another Silver Bella swap. (the glue is still wet in this photo)

These medals, or medallions might be cute made into pins too…

Like I don't have anything else to do. Today, I am mudding the new dry wall for a mini remodeling project and tonight I'll be painting the walls as they dry. Tomorrow, I am having a group of friends over for breakfast and we are making a few charms.

And of course, it is the hey day of the garden season. Last night, we picked a couple sinks full of tomatoes, so I made up a LOT of sauce to freeze.

Its Sugarwing's job to pick the littlest tomatoes and put them in her bucket. They seem to get dumped in and out a lot, but if a few get stepped on here and there, it doesn't really matter. I'm being over run with tomatoes anyway, I kind of feel like stepping on a few myself. It would be that many less to clean, cook, and freeze.

One of our plans was to make and can salsa. Somehow, it just is not happening. We have the ingredients, just not the time to learn how to can.

Ah, aren't gardens wonderful? I might complain about how much work it is, but I am loving the results!

But now, I have something to really complain about, I have to go and do dry wall mud. ugh.

I’ll stick to glue

Books, Food and Drink, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 15, 2009

Today is craft day, some friends are coming over for a day of cutting and gluing. I can't imagine a prettier day, the weather is ideal. But most of this summer has been that way. I guess it isn't summer any more, but typically, September in Kansas is still muggy and hot, I guess that is called the "Dog Days" of summer. But not today, it is a glorious fall day. So, we are lunching out doors and taking advantage of the sunshine.

My garden is bursting with tomatoes, and they are the heavy, meaty kind, the ones that are just right for slicing into a salad, so I chopped up 3 kinds of basil and layered them with an olive oil, garlic, sea salt and balsamic vinegar dressing. Since all that was sounding so fresh and wonderful, I thought I'd go all out and make fresh mozzarella to go with it.

I read up about it online and it seemed pretty easy. The tips I gleaned were to use un-chlorinated water (and I have well water, so that was no problem) and to use local milk, as fresh as possible.

Sugarwing's Daddy and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen together, and he was excited about trying to make some cheese too. He's one of those all organic, all the time type of hippy guys and won't even eat anything that goes into the microwave or gets stored in plastic. So homemade cheese was right up his alley. He's hard to cook for, but since he loves cooking so much and is so great at it, he can be as quirky as he wants. Because that means he does most of the cooking and it is always fantastic.

The trouble is, he and I are both the type that cook without recipes. We throw it all together and guesstimate amounts. But for cheese, you have to pretend to care about temperatures and timing and measurements.

So I bought a digital thermometer (which brought my total for expenses up to almost 40 bucks). After studying and printing off lots of recipes, we saw that 55 degrees and 105 degrees were both very important numbers in the art of cheese.

Well, we aren't chemists or scientists or even semi good at following recipes. This is the mass that I salvaged from the batch. It was supposed to be kneaded like bread dough, and I thought I did, but I guess, not so much.

Adam is a massage therapist, so he worked his healing magic on the lump I couldn't repair and actually turned it into a series of little cheese balls.

4 hours into making what was called a 30 minute recipe we had a very small series of very little, very rubbery, cheese balls.

$40 worth?

Well, the olive oil with fresh herbs they are marinating in is tasty at least. I poured some over pasta last night. But I've not been brave enough to eat the cheese yet. They were so expensive to make I feel like keeping the little lumps of gold in a lock box.

But I'd probably be better off using them as toys and bouncing them around with Sugarwings.

Somehow, I don't think that I'll be serving today with the tomatoes and basil….

Well, my pot of cheese didn't do so well, but this little witch's cooking pot filled with pretties is much better. Its the giveaway for September and I added a fall colored enameled butterfly pin to go along with the leaf and rhinestone brooches.

Why am I feeling so fallish? I'm a warm weather person and hate the thought of winter approaching. I also love soft, sweet colors, and am not usually so attracted to the fall tones. Maybe its that perfect weather that is winning me over. Any way, I whipped up this Raven's Wreath and enjoyed working with the old millinery in the rich, Halloween colors.

Well, dur, it was still old millinery! I love that stuff in any color!

(the wreath is available in my Boutique)

I kept on using the deep, rich, colors on these book covers from Mary. Each is filled with water color and other art or journal pages, cut to fit. And they are tied up with hand dyed silk ribbons that I tinted to match each cover.

On some, I used inks and markers to embellish the existing pattern on the covers. I'm always happy when I get to play with markers.

Now, I'd better go shove the crap off my craft tables and make room for guests to join me today. But first, I need to run to the grocery store for some fresh mozzarella…

Sisterhood Magic

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 25, 2009

My sister's birthday party and sleepover was even more fun than I had hoped.  The invitation said to come as a fairy, or dress witchy and magical, or be comfy cozy.  I made myself a witch hat, but couldn't resist being a fairy.  Sissy, who is about as wide as a stick of gum, had this skirt for me to borrow (she wears it with LOTS of safety pins).  

Cousin Paula fair-ied it up too. She found the hair extensions at her local dollar store on clearance for 11 cents!!!  We added some wings to her from Sissy's collection. I thought Sugarwings had a lot of sparkly wings and dress up clothes, but my sister has her beat.
 

Everything is magical at Sissy's house.  Everywhere you look, there is something that sparkles.  
 

Her home was the perfect location for  a magical birthday party. We only had to gather up pretties that were already in the house to decorate with. 
 

There were enough crystal balls to start her own magic shop…
  

Of course, we had to add some edible glitter to the pink cupcakes!
 

Plus confetti on the counter tops. And on the table tops. And on the floor. And on each other….  Sissy will be vacuuming those up for weeks.
 

We each lit a candle and made a wish for Bobbie for the upcoming year.
  

The weekend didn't last nearly long enough, but was one big slumber party the whole time. We stayed at Sissy's, had the big event for Bobbie on Friday, then on Saturday, we honored our Mother on the anniversary of her death.  
We decided to do things she loved to do with us. We went to Goodwill to shop, saw a scary movie and at popcorn at the theater, then went out to a restaurant she enjoyed (and one that we had a coupon for, to save money!)
Mom would have loved it.  And the fairy party too, you are never too old to enjoy laughing and being silly with people you love.

Fairies for all ages

celebrations, fairies, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 23, 2009

Fairy parties aren't just for kids!  When my Sissy turned 60, she threw herself a fairy themed slumber party.  Now, my sister, Bobbie Sue is turning 60 this week and Sissy is having us all to her home for another sleepover, BYOFW (bring your own fairy wings)
While I am in Indiana for Bobbie's celebration, I thought I'd leave you with some pictures from the earlier event.

Sissy's home is a perfect location for a fairy gathering, she collects sparkling objects, glittery trinkets, and crystal balls. Things like that are everywhere, like the ones hanging in the window behind this year's birthday girl, Bobbie Sue.
(yes, I am wearing Tinker Bell jammies, with a sparkly tuxedo jacket)
 
I had some stick on crystals on my nose, but after seeing this, that might have been a mistake, they look more like growths…
My husband's brother came to the sleep over, he's pretty close to Sissy.  Having a gay brother is almost like having a 3rd sister. Plus, he lets me draw on his face.
 
And he knows how to dress up for the occasion, too!
 

Connie is a life long friend of Sissy's and is also practically one of the sisters. She conducted a ceremony in honor of the birthday.
 

Candles and fresh flowers were just as important in the decor as all the glitter and crystal balls.

Each of us had something to say about the honoree, then about a woman in our lives who had been meaningful to us.

I convinced Bobbie Sue to let me teach her how to belly dance. Of course, I had no idea how to myself, and I dance about as graceful as a hippo. But there is something to be said for not caring how the dance looks and just going for it anyway!
 
Did I ever mention that I used to raise peafowl?  I have a lot of peacock feathers from Percy (our papa bird) and have been making fans from them with vintage millinery and ribbon added.  I thought one of the feathers would be just right to make a magic wand for Bobbie's Birthday.  
It has hot pink, curly feathers from an old hat, some silk ribbon, and a millinery bloom topped off with a jewel pried from a broken vintage brooch.
Now, for a dash of fairy dust to get the magic kicked in gear, and its ready to wrap up and give to her at the party. I can't wait!! (maybe there will be more dancing..)

A flock of Fairies

celebrations, fairies, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 20, 2009

 
We flew my husband's mother from Wyoming to North Carolina for the wedding last week, and then brought her home with us for a few days after.  So, in honor of Grandma Joan's visit to Kansas, I threw her a fairy tea party with her great grand daughters.
 
Sugarwings was still in the party mood, after all the birthday celebrations this week.  She and little Pixie Pie have had a wonderful time together with so many family gatherings going on all week while Grandma Joan was here.
 
Even the big girls got into dressing up as fairies, although we couldn't convince their boyfriends to wear wings….
 
Our little ones were patient while we took some pictures before the party started. But not for too long.  At 2 and 3, waiting times are limited when there is something exciting scheduled to happen.
 
We served blueberry and cranberry herb teas, but the tiniest fairies were more interested in the spoonfuls of sugar they could add to their cups.
 Sugarwings drank cup after cup, just so she could pour more. 
 
For Sugarwing's birthday, I let her help me decorate the dining room with Dollar Store garlands.  Yes, gaudy and over the top, but she is in love with them, so we left them up for this party too.
 
We just added some fairies here and there. I happened to have a few around to use….
 
We served:
 cherry tomatoes from the garden on toothpicks with grilled chicken breast
 cherries and grapes with mandarin oranges
 crust-less cucumber sandwiches
 red cabbage with cream cheese rolled up in green tortilla shells
  peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the littlest ones.  
 
These are my fairy shoes, saved for special occasions like this.  
 
Luckily you can't really tell here, but my makeup job was a bit like Baby Jane.  Remember that scary Betty Davis movie?  I got carried away with the eyeshadow, not a pretty sight after 50… 
I'm on my way now to Indiana for my sister's 60th birthday party.  I'd better pack my fairy wings and hit the road.  The parties never end around here, huh?

Painting roses and a balloon hunt

celebrations, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 17, 2009

Thanks for all the happy birthday wishes for Sugarwings! I think she had a fun day, at least I know that I did!!

She and her daddy picked us up at the airport, and that was the best homecoming ever, to see her face light up as she ran to us. Well worth getting up at 4 am to fly home to spend the day with her.

When we got back to the cottage, she and I baked some cakes. I used a regular brownie mix, but added a can of pears in light syrup (whirred in the blender) and a cup of applesauce, and 2 eggs, no fat or water. She got to push all the buttons and do all the mixing herself, so she didn't care if I was trying to healthy it up a bit.

We also "painted" roses. We used some clear corn syrup and food coloring, then she got to dip away, and add colored sugar sprinkles to each one.

These are the white icing roses that I saw Andrea show on her site, and had her take me to find some for myself when we were out shopping one day, the are really pretty and I just love using them!

.
When her little cousin, Pixie Pie came by to help decorate, they got pretty serious with getting the cakes just right.

But it is hard to stay serious when there are sprinkles to shake! Most photos are a blur of hands whirring through the air and sprinkles flying everywhere.

And so much for adding healthier ingredients to the cake itself, the tops were so goobered up with colored sugars, three kinds of sprinkles, marshmallows, squeeze tube icing, and painted roses that you could explode in a burst of sugary happiness just looking at them!

Sugarwings took her cousin on a walk along the Yellow Brick Road, but most kids her age aren't as informed obsessed about Oz as our fairy baby, so Pixie Pie wasn't too impressed with that after all the icing fun.

She did enjoy the Fairy Berry Trail, though. There was a butterfly balloon for each of them tied to branches out in the woods.

But first, they had to search for them.

The balloons were from the Dollar Store and I don't think there could be a better bang for the buck than the joy we got for $2 out on the Fairy Berry Trail with these balloons.

It was certainly a fun way for me to spend my fairy grand baby's birthday. I can't imagine a better party. Not big, not flashy, just some simple sugary pleasures and a walk in the woods. I think I want to spend my next birthday on the Fairy Berry Trail too….

Varmits

Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / August 13, 2009

Since we have company coming to stay soon, Sugarwing's Daddy has been helping me clean up the place. We've got a yard full of family coming to visit and camp out here with us.

My son filled the truck with branches he removed and has them over by the bonfire pit, ready to burn.

Even though I've severely neglected the yard this year, all the rain we've had has kept it decent. With enough bushes and perrenials, staying green, its passable. So all those years that I did spend working on it have paid off. Of course, it would be better with lots of flowering annuals tucked in here and there, but that just didn't happen.

Sometimes, good enough just has to be good enough.

The veggie garden has been on auto pilot for the season too. We spread recycled brown paper and grass clippings down and have been about 99% weed free!

Its a summertime miracle. I haven't had to hoe, dig, or pull weeds out there at all. Or get desperate and invest in vats of Roundup either.

But we didn't count on this development. Mice live under the paper and eat our
tomatoes just as they start to turn color!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we have to trap the varmits to protect our crop.

Next year, I think I'll do the same thing anyway. Weed free is the only way to go. I might plant some grape vines on the fence, too, we are all crazy about grapes.

I doubt if these adorable, little champagne grapes will grow around here, I wish they would. Sugarwings just loves them. I serve them on butter pat plates because mini grapes deserve mini plates, don't you think?

There are a few new things in the Boutique, that I listed before I went out of town. I'm afraid I can't mail them until Tuesday the 18th after I get back. (This post was written before my trip to the East Coast)