Sugarwings and I LOVE decorating for the holidays, but we try to hold back and wait til after Thanksgiving. Our reminder to each other is, "We must respect the bird!"
Last year, our home was on the holiday tour plus I was hosting a holiday workshop (A Snowbird's Song) and I had a great excuse to ignore our rule and toss tinsel everywhere on November 1st.
And this season, we started our holiday fun a bit early by attending the play, "Elf" at the KU Lied Center. We decided to throw a mini dinner party before the show, and simply had to have appropriate decor to serve our meal, right???? Heck, it wasn't our fault that the date of the play was before Thanksgiving.
Sugarwings was in charge of the tablescape and made up this Candy Cane Forest, from the story.
Cocoa parties are a big part of our Christmas celebrations, and Buddy the Elf loves cocoa too. Typically, we do not have our first cup until the tree is up and lit. We made an exception, and served hot chocolate with organic candy canes and marshmallows in both vanilla and peppermint. She made a banner from one of Buddy's quotes.
He does have some of the best quotes.
While she crafted a candy cane forest, I hot glued some felt and feathers into elf hats to wear that night.
I was kind of surprised that we were the only group decked out for the theme, but was proud of my girls for rocking the look.
We served finger foods and things we thought elves would like, although we didn't go whole hog with Buddy's list of elves' favorite food groups:
1- Candy
2-Candy Canes
3- Candy Corn
4- Syrup
We decided to compromise on our respecting the bird rules and leave our tablescape set up. I dodged a bullet on breaking the rule even further by being very busy, and having a couple of trips come up to prevent me from pulling more yule goodies out of the closet.
But I'm twitching with the need to tear into the storage closet and fling lights and ornaments from one end of the house to the other!
I'd prepared for another huge harvest, and bought not only our normal sized jars, but also these mini bears to give as gifts.
We only filled one of these, (to save for Dewdrop) and very few larger ones for the family this year.
The set up isn't any easier to get an abysmal number of bottles than it is to have a bountiful harvest. It took a day to get it all ready then cleaned up for this slow trickle. And this year, there were 3 hives instead of just one.
I guess the drought over the summer was hard on these poor little gals.
While Karen, Regina, and Randy were here from Florida, we got together at the Cottage for some flow painting. I showed them how to make an ocean scene.
And we made some book covers.
They all got messy with me, and we poured paints in the garage.
This is a "swipe" technique. The colors go on over black paint, then more black paint is drizzled over it, and swiped across to make a pretty design. The paint needs to dry for a while, when it is done, I'll assemble the books, and show you how it turned out.
Here is Guncle Randy's other painting.
WOW.
I love it.
I wonder if he will notice if it isn't in the box I am mailing to him when the paint dries….
I'd planned a lunch for us and was happy to have a chance to use the fall tablecloth that I found at the flea market we all shopped at.
We had beef pot pie with puff pastry, salad, and rosemary garlic bread fresh from the oven.
With "paint pour" cupcakes for dessert.
But that wasn't it for the day…
Karen started her morning at 4am, dove hunting at the camp we had been visiting.
She brought them along to clean and gifted us with a whole flock.
It is not something I've ever done before, but intriguing. There is definitely a bonus to a meal that you have hand crafted, whether from garden to table or from field to fork.
And well worth it, those doves were tender and delicious! We soaked them in salt water for 24 hours, before marinating in Italian dressing.
While the dove breasts soaked up the flavors, we took a Labor Day spin out on the lake.
After boating, I wrapped the breasts in bacon, and my husband slow cooked them on the grill. We served it with a cauliflower mash, asparagus, fresh made bread, and a salad featuring tomatoes just picked from the garden.
Thanks, for being such a great shot, Karen! And for sharing your bounty!
Sugarwings hosted her 12th birthday party at her family's Kismet Farm. She, her sister, and I set up the cake table, and I brought a few of my things to use, as well as a stack of paper butterflies I'd gotten at an estate sale for a couple of bucks.
(I wish I'd gotten a photo of the cake her mom made, it was really something special! That lady has a magic touch with cake decor)
To go along with the woodland theme, the kids and I walked to the treeline and we gathered grapevine hanging from the trees, to craft fairy crowns and dream catchers from them.
There was a nature walk and scavenger hunt, time to play on a swing, then a picnic.
The kids got to do a circus workshop and learn some tricks.
And of course, we had marshmallows to roast for s'mores!
Our Hippy Chick brought a pile of hula hoops too.
But in my opinion, the best part of a party is to just let the kids play outside and have all the fun they can make for themselves.
There was camping for those who wanted to sleep overnight in tents, so the party favors were LED glow sticks and flashlights to play with after dark.
Walmart has these mini lights for $1 each.
We also gave out necklaces that Sugarwings and I made, using paint pours.
The cake table was outside against the covered patio wall, and we hung odds and ends of fabric remnants and curtains behind it, then layered old tablecloths and burlap onto it. The butterflies were pinned to the fabric and it was a pretty simple set up to create and to take down. I brought serving pieces that I already had, along with the $2 pack of butterflies, so we didn't put any money into the decor at all.
I didn't get a photo of the table with the cake or punch on it, but the cake was so cute. And the punch was berry juice mixed with lemonade. Sugarwings and I sliced up fruit and froze it into bowls of lemonade to make pretty ice that wouldn't dilute the punch as it melted.
When I'd heard that my Fab, Florida Friend, Karen Hillman, was going to be in Kansas, I thought it would be an ideal time to plan a craft day.
Since my birthday was coming up, I thought I'd combine her visit with a little party to celebrate the occaision.
Karen and I call each other, "Special K", along with our third K, Guncle Kevin. And I wanted to make the day extra special for my K, so I set the table with some of my favorites and we all made some goodies for a ladies' luncheon.
I fixed quiche, bread, and cupcakes. Others brought snacks, treats, and plenty of deliciousness.
While in Florida, I arm wrestled Guncle Randy for the leftovers of the cake Karen had baked, packed it in my carryon and froze it that night, to thaw out for Special K Day and serve to the guests.
It was every bit as mouth watering as it was the day she made it. Wow, I need to try to make one of those.
We had some afternoon goodies in the treat cabinet too.
Can you have enough desserts on craft day? I don't know if I like craft days for the food or the projects.
For birthday party gifties, I provided unfinished wood shadowboxes, with a table full of the supplies to fill them up.
I also found some Crabtree and Evelyn scented cream, in pretty, spring like tubes for everyone.
It always makes me happy to see what variations the artists come up with for the projects.
I didn't have kits as I would for an actual class, just a table full of goodies to chose through, so the styles were even more unique than usual. I also set out wooden bird houses to fix up.
(That dark paper with the birds? A gift from Alice-Anne, it is scented drawer liner that came in a box labeled, "Birdsong"!
Pretty ideas, aren't they?
So sweet.
Tami brought this lovely bouquet and table runner for me.
And Nora crafted this hand made basket! My friends were very generous and thoughtful. It made Special K Day even more special to spend it with some of my dear, Birdsong Peeps!
I'm still relishing rosy thoughts from my party last week.
It was a seriously, lovely day for me.
We had two projects to do and the rest of the day was spent on freestyle crafting with a table full of supplies. Back in November, at my Snowbird's Song event, I provided free time and it seemed really popular, so I thought I'd give it another shot.
When you have creative people together, they simply want to create. Kits are important, and so is learning a few tricks, but it is also good to nurture and explore individual tastes.
Just being in a room with other artsy types and having lots of new (vintage) supplies to play with can spark some great ideas.
Here are a couple of pretties that Alice-Anne made up.
With the kits, I included some variations so my guests could personalize their projects, with a choice of words and photos to use on the pieces, and some options for the ruffles.
I'm always happy to see the different ways my kits become art in the hands of the attendees.
But the best part? The atmosphere in the room, with all the happy gluing, cutting, chatting, and creating.
It did my heart good to see ladies who had just met here in November, back together and hanging out as friends.
There were 8 of us, an ideal size group for getting to know each other while making pretty things.
Thanks to everyone who attended and to those who bought kits to make at home!
I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with love and friendship.
The grandfairies spent the weekend with me before Halloween, and decided to do some treat making. We'd seen a pie that had spooky ghost faces on it, made with marshmallows and chocolate.
For a short cut, I used a premade graham cracker crust, and we whipped up a chocolate pudding to fill it. Then, gathered up some different size choc bits to use on top.
The girls made ghost faces on the marshmallows, then we popped it in the oven to melt them together.
I might have let them get a little too brown to look ghostly.
Suntanned ghosts?
But even though the look wasn't exactly what we were going for, we didn't care, we'd gotten plenty of giggling fun from making it.
I'm already planning a redo with snowmen.
Because I'm always happy to have a reason to eat a s'mores pie!
There is a 50% off sale in the Boutique!!! To access the bargain prices, type in
LABORDAYSALE
at the checkout, and hit "recalculate" and watch the amount drop in half.
I'll be out of town and away from my computer and out of touch for a few days, so shipping will be next week. Please remember that the postage prices will be adjusted when I get the actual total from the USPS as I box the goodies up to send to you and I will refund excesses.
www.karlascottage.com
Aren't these hydrangeas pretty? I am hoping to keep the plant I picked them off of alive, but while hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers, they are not one that like me back that much. Maybe I love them so much because of their elusive, playing hard to get, attitude toward my garden?
Sometimes I think I wouldn't be any worse off if I'd simply planted 20 dollar bills instead of hydrangeas. I sure don't love that aspect of them.
We had some little dinner parties this summer. For all of them, I kept the table simple. In the winter, I love layers of table cloths, but for summer, I preferred the bare table top.
It felt nice at the time, but looking back at the photos, it seems a little stark, doesn't it?
It was important to my husband to have special labels for his honey jars. So he asked the family to make some for him.
The grand fairies did some drawings, I painted our dog, Honey, and we used a mix of the designs on the bottles, front and back.
That man LOVES his dog, and our anniversary was this week (32 years!), I figured I could combine label making with creating a gift for him all in one dog portrait.
This is the photo Honey posed for. I held up a treat to get her to look up to the point where a bee would fly above her in the painting.
She seemed disappointed when her modeling session was over, she was enjoying the treats.
First, I did a value sketch over the pencil drawing.
Then I started on the eye.
The layers started to build up next and the eye got more detail.
At this point, it was almost done, all that it needed was fine tuning, the little hairs that gave it depth and texture. I chose my background color to compliment the blue that the girls used in their own art.
The final step makes a big difference, doesn't it?
After scanning the designs, I sized them and printed pages of the pictures onto matt photo paper, cut them out and glued them to the bottles.
oh no!!!
How could I have spent about 8 hours staring at the dog photo and painting her from it and not notice that her tags are missing??? As I was editing this post, it popped out at me that she has no tags. Dang, I just bought new ones for her before we went on vacation last month. Looks like I need to make another one. She is not going to get a sparkly, rhinestone one this time. She gets the cheapo, plain style if she isn't going to appreciate the nice one and take care of it.
This spring, my husband started a new hobby. He is now a beekeeper. It made me a bit nervous due to the investment to set it up and our total lack of knowledge and skills. I might have been less than enthusiastic, as a matter of fact… But soon, he'd read up on it, asked other beekeepers for hints and seemed to know everything he needed to know.
I should not have doubted him, because he sure came through with a ton of honey (which we didn't expect for the first year, but these busy bees worked overtime, and with this wetter than average summer we have had a lot of beautiful blooms to feed the bees and create a bounty of sweetness!). And he loved every minute of it. He keeps a chair out by the hive so he can sit and watch them come and go, and visits them throughout the day. It has become a very entertaining thing for him.
The lure of watching the bugs fly around eludes me, but there is something mesmerizing about it for him, so I am happy that he is happy. And very glad that he loves it so much, that he does all of the work. I can safely say, "Not my hobby" and step away while he happily scrapes stuff off, or blows smoke at the insects to make them drowsy, or any of the other beyond my understanding tasks that have to be done.
Also, I was lucky that the family came together to help with the harvest, and everyone had jobs that they did enthusiastically, even with zeal. It is a huge and sticky undertaking, if my husband and I had to do it alone, it could have been rough. Instead, it was a blast with this group helping.
The grandfairies offered to make labels for all of the jars, as well as stirring the pots as needed and helping drain honey from the wax. Later on, we will make beauty products with the wax. (any tips are appreciated!)
Looking at the growing level of honey in the bottom of the pot was endlessly fascinating.
All of us had our moments of honey gazing at some point or another.
While there were a lot of steps involved, the whole process was surprisingly easy to do. I was dreading getting started, but once we were rolling, all went well. My kitchen might never be back to its nonsticky self again, but some tacky spots here and there were well worth it. We ended up with the equivalent of about 4 dozen bear bottles. Plus, there is still a giant chunk of wax sitting in a cheesecloth draining, I think we will get at least a couple more bottles out of that.
Along the way, I figured out some tips to make things easier next summer when we (hopefully) have a larger batch from this hive and some honey also from a second hive we will be starting. One thing I didn't expect, was that the wax was almost impossible to get off of the pans I'd used for setting down knives in, holding piles of wax, draining the wax, and stacking the frames in.
Oh my!
I tried washing it off, then worried about the sink drain, or if it made it past that, the septic tank.
So, the big girls took them outside to spray off with a power washer.
That helped, but there were still bits of wax that needed scraped off before the pans and bowls could go into the dishwasher. Next time? I'll use disposable aluminum foil pans. Hopefully I can wipe them down and reuse them for future honey harvests and not worry about a little wax here and there.
As everyone was busy as a bee draining, spinning, and bottling the golden goodness, I baked fresh bread to eat it on. Next time, I'll think of that ahead of time, so I'm not trying to bake while the extraction is going on. Because we decided that having a fresh loaf of bread hot out of the oven is a very important part of gathering honey! Next time, I'll be letting the dough rise while my husband is brushing the bees off the frames and bringing them in to scrape and extract.
He learned that heavy, leather gloves are important, because this is as angry as his bees have ever been, and he was stung through his regular gloves.
The table should probably be covered in a disposable table cloth too. I have washed and washed it, with soap and vinegar, but am still finding sticky spots.
The doorknobs aren't any better….even though I was smart enough to have a sink full of soapy water in the kitchen for hand washing throughout the day so people wouldn't have to touch the faucet or go into the bathroom and touch that doorknob.
Another thing we will do next time is have a wet towel on the floor for foot wiping. That might help with the sticky footprints. I'd laid out cardboard to catch drips, which helped, but still got walked through and spread throughout the house.
But hey, like I said, a little sticky ickiness is worth it! Look at this waterfall of honey!!!!
