give away – Page 15 – Karla's Cottage

Waste not want not, and some shameless self promotion and begging, with a bribe thrown in

Etsy Goodies, give away, how to's, magazine pictures or articles, paintings, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 27, 2007

The after party let down hasn’t hit me yet, I am still enjoying all the after party glow!

Maybe since there are no dishes wash or cans to gather up or floors to mop, I won’t experience the crash that usually happens to me after everyone is gone home after a fun little bash!

Do you recognize anything here on these tags?

I simply can’t let anything go to waste!

I cut up my hand painted party invitation and made it into tags with some of my wallpaper stash.

(PS- thanks to all of you who are buying up my Etsy wallpaper Cottage Collage Kits, I know you will LOVE working with these papers!!!)

I was in an aqua mood, but I did use pink velvet for a couple of the ties.

These papers are quite an addiction for me, I found such great colors, the pinks are faded out to just the perfect shade.

I really should be painting, I have a big holiday sale coming up and I don’t even know if my typical crowd cares about wallpaper or tags, or paper doll dresses- they come to my sales expecting jewelry, hand painted things and lots of vintage pretties.

I could end up with a room full of paper goods and puzzled customers who wonder why they came!

I tend to get carried away with new ideas. Like- why did I buy a ton of these albums (with great hand made paper pages inside!!) to doo dad up like this, BEFORE doing one or two to see if anyone would even want one??

I just love them though, and will get alot of joy from covering them in wallpapers and old millinery flowers, jewels, tags, trims, and all the fun goodies I have to play with in my studio!

1-I glued down the full page of wall paper

2-I cut a medallion out of an old page with scalloped scissors

3- drew on the medallion with black gel pen and gold paint pen

4-added a smaller oval of rose themed wallpaper

5-rimmed the oval with gold glitter glue

6-rubbed a crackle glaze over the roses

7-garnished it all off with ribbon, a tiny posy and some vintage rhinestones and tied on a tag with one of my cut up hand painted roses from the invitation on it

The back is plain wallpaper, and the inside will get decked out too, I think I’ll make it into a book that anyone can simply add their own photos to.

How can I not keep playing with this old wallpaper??? It is too beautiful and fun to work with for me to stop even though I am about up to my neck in paper dolls, tags, covered boxes, albums, etc. I am nothing, if not prolific!

My drawing winners yesterday were Paula Kay and Cindy. Now, what are the odds that there are TWO Paulas?? One is Paula K.!

I am sending Paula #2 these cards I made up for her last night. She ends her emails with a cute quote, something about a hand made card is a hug with a fold in it. So, I thought, maybe this girl likes hand made cards!!

Here are a couple of folded up hugs coming her way today. Sorry about the mix up, Paula Kay and Paula K.!

Paula #1 gets this small painting and a magazine.

I think I might have some new readers from this party and wanted to let you know that I have a giveaway once a month, plus some extra goodies here and there too.

All you do is leave a comment and you are entered (every time). This month’s prize is the same as last month, a Cottage Collage Kit or a piece of art I have made from one of the kits.

My new friend, Cindy was the other winner for the magazine drawing from the party. I made a tag for her with some of the roses from the invitation and her name on water color paper I had added a pink wash to. (and my vintage wallpaper of course!!)

She asked me to sign the magazine and that just felt weird to me. People don’t ask me to sign things?!?! I added part of the party invitation to the page my pictures were on. That felt like more of a memento from the party.

I am not sure when my next article is out, either the December issue of Romantic Country or the one after. It is all turned in with the text and photos. I can’t show you the pictures, but can give you a tease with this slice of one.

And I have a big favor to ask. If anyone saw the article I wrote and enjoyed it, could you please let the editor know? A quick little note to her might mean me getting more articles to write, and hey, that means more parties for us!!! Thanks!

address:

Phyllis Goldstein

Romantic Country

c/o Harris Publications

1115 Broadway

NY, NY 10010

Heck, you’ve seen me give presents to receive comments, you know I love to bribe you for your visits here! If anyone gets a letter to the editor published in Romantic Country, just see what present I will send you as a thank you!!!!!!!

And the Party Goes ON!

flowers, give away, holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, parties, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 26, 2007

I want to thank everyone who participated in the "Romantic Country- what do you LOVE about your home?" party!! And everyone who came to visit me and who party hopped around blogland to check in on the party locations too.

I have 2 winners for an issue of a magazine, one will go to a reader, the other to a blogger.

And they are:

Cindy and Paula Kay!!

Please contact me with your address and I’ll get the magazines into the mail (as soon as the editor sends me the bundle of copies, should be soon). Remember I said I would have a surprise for the winner who was a non-blogger? Here is a small autumn leaf watercolor I have done. Hope you like it, Paula!

I do think that this subject is dear to all of our hearts, we all love our homes. Would you like to have a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" party in December? I have another Romantic Country article due out about then—-more celebrating!!!

Don’t forget you can still enter the Sept. drawing for a giveaway choice of a Cottage Collage kit with vintage wallpaper, or a hand made item from one of my kits!

Today I had a real life party, here at the cottage. A few good friends came by for muffins and yogurt and coffee.

I made the muffins with applesauce instead of oils and added lots of healthy extras like walnuts, raisins, flax seed, whole wheat flour, etc. They really were good and gooey and moist. (and I had cream cheese icing on the side in case the muffins were too healthy)

We had 3 kinds, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Zucchini, and Blueberry-Cranberry. Wish I could throw a real life party to meet all of you!

But I will be seeing Silver Bellas soon in Omaha.

Remember when I told you that Monday was the Bloglandia Ball? Well, now I am telling you that is TODAY again. And this time I am right!

(I have more gowns posted on the earlier entry fomr two days ago)

You can visit the ball here. Please do, you’ll enjoy it!

Also, I will keep adding links to our What do You LOVE about your Home party for the rest of the day. There seems to still be a lot of interest in it and I’d hate to leave anyone out.

Thanks again for coming to see me and my friends!

What do you LOVE about your Home?? And a kitchen evolution.

antiques/junking, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, I do tend to run on, don't I?, magazine pictures or articles, parties, redos, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 25, 2007

t Welcome to the Romantic Country Party! You are all invited to show or tell us what you LOVE about your home.

If you are a fellow blogger, leave a comment to tell me you have posted pictures or stories about what you LOVE about your own home. I will add links throughout the day Tuesday so we can all visit each of the party sites.

If you are a reader, please share stories of what you LOVE about your home in the comment section too. I will be drawing names of a blogger and of a blog-supporter for prizes to be given out on Wednesday.

What do I LOVE about my home?

It makes me smile to have an eclectic mix and a never ending, always changing menagerie of possessions. To find bargains at thrifts, garage sales, auctions, in dumpsters, places where I can spy a diamond in the rough.

This photo of my gazebo was in Victorian Country a few years ago and you can see from it, that I like to use pieces that go together, but that aren’t matching sets.

Right now, some rooms from my home are in Romantic Country along with a short article I have written.

Here is the kitchen scanned from the magazine.

I like to redecorate, but they have gone even further and completely renovated and given me a mirror image of my actual space! How fun is that?? Perfect for me, I love changes and with this one, I didn’t have to do a thing!!

To give you an idea of some of the changes my kitchen has been through, here are some older magazine shots.These have all been taken by Bill Mathews and styled by Gloria Gale for Harris Publications (Country Victorian and Country Almanac).

This one was taken by Diane Guthrie for a local magazine. She took this after we replaced the original farm house cabinets with new ones my son custom built for us.

I repainted a bit since then, this is the latest incarnation.

And from the other angle.

When we remodeled, I saved money by repainting my old fridge to match the cabinets, in the same paint and glaze I used on them (oil based french vanilla color with a mocha glaze)

One small addition to the kitchen was made this weekend, I found a toy stove/fridge for Sugarwings at a garage sale for $1. Now she can help me fix dinner.

If you are new to my blog, (as I know a lot of the party crowd is), you’ll see I tend to run on and on and my posts can be long winded.

I’m afraid this one will be a record breaker by the time I add all the party invitations to other blogs!

I look forward to visiting each and every one of the listed parties, and hope everyone else enjoys mingling and party hopping too.

I’ll check throughout the day and add links as I receive them. If you don’t see yourself listed, please email me and let me know I have missed you!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR HOME?

PARTY LINKS:

My buddy Beth has already started and is showing some of her art as well as her great junk hunting loot.

Here is a taste of what she has to show. Also, she is my tech adviser, every time I have issues with my lack of computer skills. She is also great with adjectives and lists, so offered some advice on party invitations. Here are some she sent to me:

Take a gander at Beth’s beautiful home
Feast your eyes on Beth’s beautiful home
Ogle Beth’s beautiful home
Behold Beth’s beautiful home
Check out Beth’s beautiful home
Wander on over to Beth’s beautiful home
Follow the path to Beth’s beautiful home
Hop on over to Beth’s beautiful home

Actually, she meant for me to sub other names in, but I couldn’t resist posting it like this, it is cute!!

Jessica of Wild Rose Stamper, has a rosy room to show us and instructions for making a tussie mussie.

Yellow Rose Arbor has a gorgeous swag that she has made for her romantic bedroom, and scroll down to see all the yellow roses!

Becca always has beautiful things to show us and her party pictures are no exception!

Stephanie has a unique green mirror that makes me drool and turn green with envy.

Rachael from the other side of the world has gotten a jump start on us and is opening the champagne!

Katrina is hosting her party from her warm and wonderful kitchen.

Jennifer has some of the sweetest eye candy around! Look at this baby girl’s shadow box- wow!!!

There is a rosy glow in the sky over the party at Betty’s house.

Clarice is sharing Autumn Bliss with us at the Story Book Woods.

Jennifer‘s old painted cottage is on the cover of this issue of Romantic Country!

And Kari‘s artwork can be seen on page 70. This issue has the blogworld well represented!

Our Bejeweld friend is sipping hot cocoa on her new patio and is waiting for you to join her.

Sherri has her guest room done up in the prettiest pink ready for a grandbaby to come and stay over.

Something old, something new is on show at Corinna’s home.

All the way over in Sweden, Linnea-Maria is sharing what she loves about her home. Her blog is in Swedish, but she has left a comment on my blog in English to explain.

Kitty is throwing some light on the subject of what she loves in her home.

Joy has the welcome mat out for us.

Ginny has invited us over seas to England!

Jennifer has a montage to show us what she loves at her home.

While you are out globe hopping, drop in to visit Aukje.

And who doesn’t LOVE everything about Kim’s Daisy Cottage?

Julie has invited us to visit her too.

Jennalee is ready for guests at her lovely home.

Terri has a family heirloom to share, and if you scroll down, there is some home made bread that I am sure she’ll offer a slice of!

Rosie has a wonderful porch for us to sit and relax on.

Felicia has invited some cute little friends over to enjoy the party with us.

There are Super Heros to visit at Meg’s.

When you visit Louisa‘s party, make sure you scroll down to see her water color roses from a previous post too!

Isabella’s cozy cottage is somewhere you’ll want to linger for a while.

Susan’s home is all decked out in cheerful fall colors for her guests.

suzy has gorgeous pictures of her home ready to share. (this one was re-done later, it had not been a connecting link earlier, please go back to visit her, you’ll love her place!)

Karen has the air filled with the scent of pumpkin spice at her party.

I love Tami’s mantles too, and so will you.

Crystal has stories of what she loves about her old farmhouse. Scroll down to see some tiny little people who are showing off what they love about thier cute cottages too!

Cindy has a fantastic studio (wish mine was that tidy!) with a beautiful faux treatment on the walls.

Karla was one of my first blogging friends. She is always a wonderful person to visit with and she has invited us all over for espresso and home made bread. Check out the gorgeous blue of her walls while you are there.

Natasha has asked us all to come to Australia to see her romantic cottage, and to help her celebrate her 100th post, coming up very soon.

Debra is all decked out for Halloween at her place, and she is the master of that holiday (hence the "boo" in her blog title)

Phyllis has invited us over to enjoy the sunset and sit back in some cool old twig furniture.

Look what came in the mail yesterday from Phyllis- a section of old greeting cards and crafting papers. Thanks, buddy.

My good friend, Heather is making me just way too jealous with the photos of her house. I might not be able to be her friend anymore.

Pattie has been out thrifting and has new finds to show us.

Brenda asks us to join her in her vintage country kitchen.

Julia shows us what she loves about her home in a collage.

A fellow Silver Bella, Natalea, is offering us views of the lake outside and some lush and rich color and textures inside her home. Plus an invitatioin to play the "Name Game". I love to play those silly tag games, and have already done this one at the end of this posting, but my middle name is JO, so it was a short one!!

Catiean has the most amazing wall treatment, you have to see these!

http://violetladyathome.blogspot.com/ has her favorites on display for us.

I have another Silver Bella coming to the party- Jessi has her house decked out for the holidays!

Home is Where the Heart is among the sweet little rose buds at Barbara’s

Blanc and Daisy have invited us over to visit.

Who could resist dipping into the fairy dust over at The Glitter Fairy’s

Studio???

Cathy has a green thumb and a set of kitchen cabinets that are making me turn green with envy again. I swear, all these homes are just making me so jealous.

Another featured home in Romantic Country for this issue belongs to Dawn. This issue is filled with bloggers! (Her photo is on page 71, near Kari’s on page 70)

Bethany has a collage of pictures to show us, and make sure you look through her blog at some of her artwork! I love her sketches, here is one she did of my little sweety, Twinkle.

Mary Allison has given us a peek into "the Kingdom". I just want to steal that name for my studio now too!!!

Angelina has a piece from one of my favorite artists, Holly, on her site. As well as some of her favortie holiday decor.

Elizabeth is up at night dreaming about paint colors. ( I know what that is like! When the paint chip fairy comes to visit, you just give up and start looking through colors, YOU MUST REPAINT)

Michelle has some favorites highlighted in her home for us today.

With a name like Flea Market Queen, you know she’ll have good stuff to show us!

Our friend, Marie Elena has wonderful style and lots of talent that she has put to use remodeling her Chilean home.

June not only invited us to see what she loves about her home, but gives us a list of resources to help find what we need for decorating our own homes!

Stacy has invited us to see the magic in her home.

More globe trotting! Time to experiance autumn in Germany with Regina

Vintage Flair has some romantic and sentimental photos to share, and don’t miss the very last one, with the old wallpaper and trims. She has made a lovely display!

Becky has a beautiful home and I am crazy about the little green dresser she has as part of a table scape. Be sure to read both of her posts today, Blogspot only allows 5 pictures per post so she had to post twice. Stingy Blogspot!

Wanda is bidding a farewell to summer with photos of her swimming pool and lovely garden spots. Plus look at how dramatic the red wall is!

Lolly shares her therory on "more is more" which is mine too!

We have unique aquarium pets and one of my favorite sofas, ever at Vickie’s

Debbie has invited a collection of furry freinds to stay in her cozy room for her grandsons.

Cindy has taken a fantastic photo of her lavender room reflected in the mirror, you have to see it.

Kelley has hired a cherub to serve us crystals as party favors in her newly done dining room.

The lovely Ele is inviting us to her lovely dining room.

Melissa just found out about the party and will be posting some home pictures soon. In the meantime, you can click on "home" on her site to see some of what she loves.

You can see the love that goes into all details of Mary‘s life when you visit her place!

Sharon, another Silver Bella, has some of her pretty mosaic goods on display for us to see.

Mary is joining our party, and has such a warm and welcoming home!

Kim is moving and has shown us what she will be missing when she leaves this home, scroll down past the Sinister crafts to see it!

Jenn has a pretty pink kitchen to share

And The Queen has a lovely wreath on the door to welcome us.

Vanessa Valencia the Fanciest of Them All always has her place filled with fun, magic, and exciting happenings. Have you ever been to see her? If you go once, you’ll never want to leave her fanciful world.

Andie has a blue and white treat for us.

Lisa really does have a thing for roses, just like the title of her blog says!

Katie has whipped up some fall baking for us to snack on.

You’ll have to visit the whimsical delight that is at Cherry’s

Kristi has some lovely textiles in her kitchen.

Romantic Homes, the competitor of Romantic Country magazine (that inspired our party),, has featured this unbelievably beautiful house, not once, but twice! You have to visit Jennifer to see for yourself.

Andrea has not only shown us her own home, but a cute little red house for her birdie friends!

Everyone’s friend, Carole has joined in on the party and has some hula dancing entertainment for us and craft supplies out for us to make some pretty things with her!

the Contessa is inviting us to join her at the tea table she has all set up.

Heidi has gifts from fellow blogger friends to show us. Aren’t the gifts we get from all the generous people out there, so thoughtful???

Watch out, Amy’s decor could put a spell on you!

Barbara, my birthday twinner, has a hand stitched sentiment to share.

Any time you go to visit Jody you see all the love that goes into her life and her family.

Sara has a striking home in black and white you can’t miss.

Michelle has an old farm house that is a work in progress (as most farmhouses are, I know mine is!) That garden and porch are so inviting. After a long day of trying to list all these blogs and not mess up the links (only a couple needed tweaking!!) I’m ready to go and visit Michelle and relax on that wicker seat.

Jen has started a blog and today is her very first post, so this party is a bit of a house warming for her! Please drop in and welcome her to the blog community so she’ll see first hand what a friendly bunch she is joining!

Britt has things sparkling at her place!

Romance is in the air at this romantic cottage of Linda’s

Heather has invited us to visit her home and meet a dainty little witch.

Nature Girl finds joy in spending time in her gardens.

Leelee_and_cake_2

Thank you all so much for joining in this party today! I’ve had a wonderful time mingling, meeting new friends, and seeing the creative and loving touches you have added to your homes.

I think that this subject is a meaningful one for many of us and I have been asked to host more parties like this in the future. How about a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" Mid December?

Sugarwings and I are all partied out at this point and we need to call it a night!

THANKS!!!!!!!

Wednesday morning note- I think I went to bed too early, sorry I missed some of you! but hey, I am a Granny! I can’t stay up all night partying like I used to years ago. I am going to add the rest of the emails I got after I went off to my pillow at 11pm last night:

Lorraine‘s cottage is celebrating its new floors.

Fairies dance across the mantle at Gayla’s

Dana has some amazing flea market deals in her beautiful cottage

Shabby Chic treasure and pretty pastels at on view at Joy’s

And Cerris is one of my very favorite places to go on Etsy, her home is just as wonderful!!

You just have to go across the pond to see Mary!!!! You’ll be glad you visited

Erin has a thing for red and you will see why. Her cottage is such a cheerful place!

Come out into the yard and play at Jeanne’s

Sophie’s home is an absolutely can’t miss!

Check out the painted geraniums on the wall at seeb’s

Joy talks about her love of autumn and her ‘joy’ of preparing for the holidays.

Cindy is shabby-chic-a-riffic!! She is late getting to the party, but sometimes it is good to save some sweets for later, isn’t it?

Cheryl loves the beautiful, Canadian countryside where she lives.

Don’t we all love to visit Holly??

And Lidy has autumn decorating tips for us all.

The party is just getting started at Gayla’s

Kathee doesn’t have a blog but has posted home pictures on Photo Bucket for us.

More updates- a few days later- Dayami has been scouting out pretty white serving pieces to serve goodies by her pool!

Romance and Ballgowns- Time to Party!

Etsy Goodies, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, paintings, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 24, 2007

Today is the Bloglandia Ball and I am all ready for it, with garlands of paper doll dress ball gowns.

Since I am gearing up for a Christmas photo shoot (any minute now, I am writing while I wait for the photographer) I decided to show some Holiday Ball Gowns.

The gowns are all made from vintage wallpapers and trims.

And of course some Glitter for a bit of festive flair!

This one is the one I would chose to wear myself, if I were fairy sized. They say horizontal stripes are not flattering, but if I was that tiny, it shouldn’t matter.

Here is a real fairy who is coming to the ball, all decked out in a rose petal dress, and some pink highlights in her hair for the occasion.

This teeny tiny fairy has a glittering gown of white.

I’ve added glitter to a vintage bride cake topper doll and placed her in a foofed up peat pot to hang on the tree.

I hope to get around and visit all the balls in blogland today after my photographer is done.

And I hope everyone is keeping their party spirits going and will be back tomorrow for our Romantic Country Party here at the cottage.

What to do? Post a photo of What you LOVE about your own home. Then leave me a comment and I will add you to our list of links to all the party goers.

If you don’t have a blog, please leave us a comment about what you LOVE at your home and you’ll be entered for a drawing for a copy of this issue of Romantic Country (plus a surprise little present from me)

And what do I LOVE about my home today?

I am thrilled to have entertainment centers to put the TVs in! I used to have them sitting out and hated it. It is so nice to shut the doors on those ugly things.(ugly but beloved – I AM A TV ADDICT AND WILL ADMIT IT TO ANYONE!! I can’t get enough of it)

This one was tan, I lightly sanded it, white washed it, then added some little rose buds and changed the knobs, all the day it was delivered from the furniture store.

I couldn’t stand to have anything so brand new looking and generic in my house!!

This one was painted white and distressed the day it was delivered too. I don’t buy much in the way of "new" stuff from furniture stores, but it is really hard to find antiques sturdy enough to hold a heavy TV and also be the right size and shape.

Another thing in my house that was "new" is this bathroom vanity. It was a cheapo builder’s grade one that we put in when we remodeled the first time, 17 years ago. When we added granite counter tops to our kitchen 4 years ago, the contractor cut them wrong and I got to keep the mistakes, and had part of it made into a top for this vanity, for the cost of having it re-cut only.

I doctored up the cabinet to look older with glazes and paint, added embellishments and painted those to match.

The mirrored handles are from the clearance basket at Anthropology. They have the coolest hardware and the best prices, if you wait for the sales.

Enjoy the ball today! Hope to see you (and photos or stories of your homes) tomorrow.

EDIT- I am wrong!!!!!!!!The ball is Wednesday. What is wrong with me?? I hope I have the right day for the photographer today. I could be sitting and waiting all day and he’ll come next Monday.

Tranquility

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, give away, magazine pictures or articles, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 21, 2007

Christmas is still under construction here at the cottage. Almost there….

Today, I made a few hand painted ornaments while the baby played with her Aunt Sandy and her Pop Pop.

I didn’t do as many as I would’ve liked, maybe a dozen.

I’ll do a few more before Monday, then I have until November to get more done to sell. I usually do a few dozen every Christmas. I give tons away, and sell a few here and there.

When I was a single mother working as a waitress, I financed all my little boy’s Christmas gifts by painting ornaments and selling them. Back then, they went for $3 a piece. Now I sell them from $12.

I do take special orders, by the way………

This morning I gave my $8 garage sale mirror a tan glaze so it will look better above my mantel/headboard.

I am keeping the holiday decor simple in the bedroom, 2 white trees, and 2 feather wreaths.

Here is a dilemma I sure could use help with-

Where do I find a PRETTY electric alarm clock??? I’d love to have one and have searched online, estate sales, department stores, all over!!! What does your alarm clock look like??

Today’s "What I LOVE about my home" is my tranquil bedroom. The colors are so peaceful and the room is a quiet retreat in a household that can get a bit crazed at times.

Reminders:

Romantic country party on Tues. the 25th!!

Leave a comment/enter the drawing for a Romantic Country magazine, and for my Sept. giveaway prize.

Beths’s Button and what I love (besides loving Beth for bailing me out)

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, magazine pictures or articles, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 14, 2007

URGGHG!!

That sums it up. I struggled over and over trying to make a button for the Romantic Country Party on the 25th, I must have loaded it (incorrectly) 20 times or more. Then I gave up, and posted my blog for the day, those long rambly, take my time, things that I do, and as I hit save, Twinkle (or shall I call her STINKLE) stepped on the power strip and turned off the computer.

I have forgiven Stinkle and Beth created the button for me, so I am off to re-do my post for the day.

If you want to put the party invitation button on your sidebar so people will know you are showing photos of what you love in your home on the 25th, please do. If you need help, you can try to ask me, but I might have to send you to Beth!

I thought I’d start showing some things that I love about my house, maybe a few with each post till the party (I love everything about my house!!)

This pitcher is from one of my first trips to the annual flea market Beth and I go to. It was only $5 and I use it to keep my remote controls in.

This little side table that I painted is another favorite thing. It was part of a set of 2 night stands, 2 twin beds (gorgeous with curved foot boards) and a dresser with big mirror that I got at an auction for $140 all together. I painted them up and sold them one at a time, but kept this as a living room table, its narrow shape makes a perfect fit in a small room.

Sometimes, it is the little things that can make a room. I LOVE my curtains and tie backs. I usually change my curtains with the seasons, but these Shabby Chic (Target) drapes have been up for over a year and I am not tired of them at all.

I tied them back with white velvet ribbon edged in pearls and held that in place with a vintage buckle.

The interior of my home is done in soft and calming colors, but the breezeway rocks! I love to walk in the doors and be welcomed by this cheerful green color.

The azalea pink and black accents really make the colors pop. I doubt if I’d be comfortable with these shades to live in, but as an entry way, it always makes me smile walking through.

And there is big LOVE for this piece. My son took this old table I had in the shed (garage sale $10) and made it into a sink for me.

I’m looking forward to seeing all the things my blogger friends love about their homes too, during our Romantic Country Party. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave comments and tell us what makes you smile in your home!

What have I been up to today besides pulling my hair out over computer woes?

Glitter up to my eyebrows.

Hobby Lobby has theirs on sale half price this week and I bought a bagful.

I’ve been making all of my vintage cake toppers into Christmas decor and at my cottage, that requires a bagful of glitter!

Did I mention I have to have part of my house decorated for Xmas by Sept. 24th for a photo shoot???? And that I have a sweet house guest this week? I think I’ll put her to work stringing lights!

Today I turned little peat pots into ornaments by filling them with vintage yarn nests, little angels, millinery flowers, buttons and GLITTER, GLITTER, GLITTER.

My flock of red flocked birds are now sugar coated and ready to grace holiday decor.

I feel even more like it is Christmas, because not only have I made a few dozen decorations today, I have a gift! These are from Michelle, I won her give away and she geared the gifts towards what she knew I would like- yep, she was right, I LOVE them!

Don’t forget I am having a few giveaways that you can enter by leaving a comment:
One is my regular monthly giveaway and the prize is your choice of a Cottage Collage Kit or a piece I have made from my vintagey stash of goodies.

.The second is a copy of Romantic Country magazine to a blogger who participates in the party and a copy to a non-blogging reader

And now for a mini parade of tussie mussies that I made today from my new toys- vintage wallpapers I ordered!

Seconds, anyone? Plus another Party Announcement, a Giveaway Announcement, and a parade of tussie mussies in honor of my wallpaper addiction

Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, give away, I do tend to run on, don't I?, magazine pictures or articles, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 12, 2007

Thanks for coming to my tea party on Monday- ready for another cup?

Also, I’d like to throw a celebration of another kind and am inviting you to join in. The issue of Romantic Country with my home in it will be out soon,and I’d like to invite my fellow blogging friends to show everyone what they LOVE about their own home. I will design a button to use as an invitation, and you can link to me on that date with pictures posted of your own lovely homes.

The date will be TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25th.

I will give away one magazine to a participating blogger and one to a non-blogging party goer.

Make Mine Pink is hosting a tea party all week, so I thought I’d play along and have another day of tea sipping. Its better than finishing my book for book club tonight, I really am not into it and have given up. I’d rather have a party!

(The Power and the Glory by Grahm Green- not my cuppa tea)

Thanks for all of your kind comments, out of the 39 that were left for Monday’s party, I drew Maria Ellena’s name for the present. Maria, please send me your address and I will mail you this refrigerator magnet.

Many people were asking about the embellishments on these cabinets my son built for my kitchen. They are from a company called "Elements" and can be ordered online, the company is in Chicago. They are made of glue, and you simply steam them and stick them on to the surface. I’ve also seen these type of things advertised in the backs of many home decor magazines.

Today’s party is in my breakfast nook, in the sunny corner of my kitchen.

Of course, I had to invite some pixies!

These guys are sitting on a wooden tray I found at a garage sale for 50 cents and painted with roses and stripes.

And I made a trip to the $1.99 clearance floral area of my grocery store for some posies. I was delighted to see they were selling dyed Queen Anne’s Lace! I used to pick these as a kid and put the stems in glasses of water tinted with food coloring. Shasta Daisies were fun to do that way too.

A friend gave me a zucchini the size of a baseball bat, and I sauteed some of it for supper last night, and the rest I chopped up to freeze and to make muffins. I didn’t have a recipe for that, so here is what I made up:

2 1/2 cups zucchini
1/2 stick butter (melted)
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1 t Cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup flax seed
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 buttermilk powder
whole bag of milk chocolate chips to counteract the healthy stuff I added

Mix it up together and pour it into paper muffin cups and bake it at 375 till the tops crack. Place on a dainty plate and garnish with a china flower.

For something a little different and totally impractical, but still cute, I used tussie mussies to hold the napkins and silverware.

I spent yesterday making the tussies from my new wallpaper stash. So far I have made tags and tussies from each type of paper, but I still have 6 new rolls that I ordered that aren’t here yet! And tomorrow, Beth is coming over to share some of her new (old) wallpapers, and we will do a swap.

OK, now time for the parade of cones.

Most have a Christmas theme, but not all.

I love adding special little details to them.

Everything on them is vintage, except of course, the glue and the glitter.

No two are ever alike, or I would be bored making them!

Aren’t these some of the prettiest wallpapers you have ever seen???

Especially this paper, how lovely!! I am crazy about this flocked green vintage paper, and not only is it pretty, it was a gift! From Sandy , plus she added some other cute goodies to the box.

Now that the month is half over, I have decided what my giveaway for Sept. should be. Not too original, but how about the same as last month?? Your choice of a Cottage Collage Kit, or a hand made something or other that I have made with the vintage paper kits.

To enter, just leave a comment. All comments left this month are already entered.

I will be listing cones on my Etsy Shop for $20-$25 each, depending on how elaborate they are. I won’t have all listed, but if you see one of these that you like, you can order them directly from me, through comment or email.

Teaparties, A Gift for YOU, Fairies and a sprinkling of Dust to top it off

a lapse of memory again, or am I just careless?, antiques/junking, collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, give away, I do tend to run on, don't I?, I've been tagged, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 10, 2007

Welcome to the Tea Party! It is being hosted by those pretty pink people who make everything so nice and everyone is invited to join. The teaparty will go on all week, so you can return for seconds on scones and tea!

Tomorrow is my day to have Sugarwings, so she can’t be here for this party today. She’s still a bit young, but I can see that very soon, she and Grandmama will be playing fairy tea party together.

And Twinkle is up for any party, any time.

These are the hand painted doors to the closet in Sugarwing’s room here at her grandparent’s cottage. Inside, are all the dress up clothes I am starting to collect for her from garage sales for her to wear at future tea parties.

And of course, I have started to collect some fairies to invite as guests to our upcoming events.

The itty bitty ballerina fairy was a gift from Holly, who always has the cutest stuff.

This pretty cobalt teapot was my mom’s. The blue framed photo in front is of her, wasn’t she pretty too?

The little rose covered book was made by Beth.

Yes, I see the dust too. Don’t you know that a person who owns this much junk also owns a lot of dust???

I used to have a larger collection of teapots, but edited it down to rose-themed, matte white or tarnished silver and threw in some tea cups to match.

My son built these kitchen cabinets for me, and I had him make sure there was plenty of teapot space on top.

The little pot in front, is my Grandma Smith’s. She would pack it up in her suitcase and bring it every time she came up to Indiana to visit us from Florida.

Grandma Smith’s is what got me started on the collection.

Here is a watercolor I did of her silver teapot years ago when I was into quilts and dried flowers. Now, I just have the painting in the closet of my studio. I should ask my family if anyone wants it.

Nieces? Sisters? Any of you read this? If you want this painting, let me know.

There is a teeny little self portrait in the reflection of the silver

Here is another sentimental thing for me, my mom’s tea cup (it is under the cake plate and has china roses in it.)

When mom died 5 years ago (it still feels like just yesterday sometimes) Sissy was sweet and divided up mom’s beautiful rose dishes so that we each had 2 place settings to display. I have built up a collection of matching dishes, well in color and style, if not in pattern, and keep them all on this shelf in my kitchen with fairies, angels and elves. And probably more dust.

Did I mention that I love teapots? I’ve tied mini ones from my kitchen chandelier too.

I bought new vintage wallpaper this week and had a wonderful time making tags, tons and tons of tags. Here is a sample.

And since you have been such nice guests at my tea party today, and no one complained about the dust on their teacups, I have a present for you.

I made this refrigerator magnet with some of my new-old wallpaper and brass charms I bought at the flea market last week.

I will give it away today as a gift to a commenter. And remember, I have a giveaway for the month of September, you just have to leave a comment. The comments to win the magnent will count toward that too.

I was tagged by MJ and a couple other people (sorry I lost the emails) for the Thoughtful bloggers award, back when I was coming home from my vacation and never got around to posting about it, I was so behind on everything. I want to thank them and apologize for not noting it. I was also tagged for the name game by Priscilla and by —- oh my— I lost that email too. I’m sorry. I’ll find it later so I can thank them.

Anyway, my middle name is JO so, this will be short (even from me, the QUEEN OF RAMBLING)

J– Junk!! I Just love Junk!

O– Oh my gosh, I Just love Junk!

A Romantic Country Article and then a bug that I wished would just KILL me and get it over with

Etsy Goodies, give away, hand painted candelabras, Hand Painted Furniture, I do tend to run on, don't I?, magazine pictures or articles, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 7, 2007

First of all I wanted to let you know that for some reason, my answers to comments are not all going through. About 1 out of 5 gets sent back to me with a failure notice. I really am answering them, I don’t know what the deal with Typepad is. Anyone else having this problem???

Karlascottage2 Tuesday night after the fairy grand baby went home to her parents, I finished an article I am writing for Romantic Country. Here is a teeny peek at one of the pictures.

The story is about tips to create a romantic style bathroom. I don’t know when it is to be published, I’ll let you know when I hear. Sometimes, I just check the stands when the new magazines come out and am surprised to find photos of my house inside! Barbara Jacksier used to be the editor there and she was so helpful, she used to always send advanced copies. Editors don’t always have a chance to do that, but she always made time to. She would even send a reprint of a photo from one story into a different magazine, not even an article I had written.

She has a new cottage book coming out, check out her blog for lovely details!

I enjoyed making the paper doll wedding dress for Stephanie as part of her August Give Away prize so much, I made a few more. Eventually, I will list them on Etsy for $6 each, plus shipping, but if you want one now, please email or comment and you can buy it directly from me.

And thanks to the nice purchasers of my hand painted buckets. The two rosy ones have been sold. The angel bucket is still available.

LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU WANT TO ENTER SEPTEMBER’S GIVEAWAY!

You all know I tend to be a tad bit productive,(which is why I can keep my prices so low for what I do- I do a LOT) but the article and dresses are all I managed all week. I was hit hard with a BUG of some kind and spent the last two days wishing I would just die. I doubt if you need anymore details than that.

I had my old mural and painted furniture photo album out the other day, so I thought I’d show some pictures from that.

The quality might not be as good as it should be, since I have simply taken photos of photos in an album. Sorry.

I used to paint furniture on just about a daily basis. I kind of miss it, and I just drool over cheap, beat up bargain pieces at garage sales that are calling out to be saved. But I restrain myself and no longer have a double car garage, an antique mall booth, a garden shed and a showroom full of this stuff.

This cabinet was in my kitchen for a while. I used to constantly change out furniture, find something new, take the old piece out to sell. It drove my family crazy.

Here is my garden shed before a sale. The table cloth on the drop leaf is actually hand painted.

These palm trees were painted at the Tampa Country Club. That is the best job I ever had, I stayed at their private hotel for 2 weeks, with free room service (great food) and hung out by the pool or drove to a really cool movie theater nearby when I wasn’t working on murals.

I did research on palm trees before I went down there, to know what they looked like, but then, I realized once I got to Florida, all I had to do was look out a window for ideas!!

(Molding was added to the walls right under where the paintings stop)

This photo was in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine and was taken by Bill Mathews.

It is of a ceiling I painted to camouflage a missing piece of curved molding that the designer didn’t want to try to replace.

And this gloriously gaudy fruit picture is from my friend, Kari’s, kitchen. She is a hair dresser and I get my hair done for free when I paint for her.

My client for this mural wanted her whole dining room – every inch of the walls- painted in a scene she found in a book. She had me add the family pets to it too.

That sweet little white dog hung out next to me the entire week I painted at her house.

Looks like even when I don’t have anything new to say, I can still run on and on, can’t I?

****EDIT****

-ADD ON-

There is a Spring Party going on at this blog site on the other side of the globe. After feeling so sick and run down all week,I have been gloomy, thinking about fall and winter coming in- being cooped up, having colds, BEING cold. I think I will just pretend it is Springtime and go enjoy this party! Want to join me?

Painted angels, my little fairy angel, and an angel from the past

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, give away, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 4, 2007

My little fairy grand baby is with me today, and supposedly taking a nap. She doesn’t nap much at Grandmama’s house, we seem to keep pretty busy playing.

Before Sugarwings came over, I did get a little work done. I painted the 3rd (and last) bucket from Goodwill. Wish I could’ve gotten more, but that is the story at thrift shops- just be glad you found what you did, you never know if there will be anything there or not!

This bucket has not been glazed in umber yet. I might do a metallic bronze instead.

All three of these buckets are available for $12 each plus shipping if you want one. Shipping is probably around $5.00.

I won’t be listing them on Etsy, so if you want one, just email or leave a comment.

I also made up my give away gifts for Stephanie. She is planning her daughter’s wedding, plus has a pretty wedding themed collection in her bedroom.
(Isn’t it funny how we all know things about each other’s homes?)

I had this teeny little June bride that I thought she might like.

Stephanie was the 1st place winner for August’s giveaway. Since she isn’t a crafter, she had the option of a custom made gift for her, instead of the Cottage Collage Kit.

(I just got three of my kits off in the mail this morning to the editor of Somerset Living! Feels good to knock a project off my list)

I decorated a box for the bride figurine by adding old papers, tons of glitter, and this hand painted rose medallion. It is covered in diamond glaze and isn’t dry yet, that is why the roses look a bit milky.

I added a teensy millinery flower and a heart charm to the top of the box.

I also found this English die cut of a bridal party in my stash of never ending vintagey goodies. I know Stephanie says she isn’t a crafter, but it just looks like something that could come in handy for a person who collects wedding themed things!

And of course, I am still hooked on paper doll dresses, I just can’t stop making them. It is like trying to just eat one peanut. I can’t do it. A better analogy for me, might be cookies.

I can never stop at one or even a couple cookies.

I plan on making tiny dresses to use as Christmas ornaments next.

The glue is still wet on the pearls on the dress too. I never can wait to take my photos until the pieces are dry, can I? I listed something on Etsy that had sanding dust all over the piece. I should have wiped it off before photos, but I just get too impatient, when something is done, I am ready to move on!!

Elaine is my 2nd place winner. She loves ROSES. So I made a tag for her with one of my hand painted rose medallions.

I put it on a tag that Beth gave to me. She had covered a few in some of her pretty wallpapers and generously handed me a stack of them.

By the way, she has a bunch of paper doll dresses on her site too, but they come with a story about the girls who own the dresses.

I decided I am a "Gina". Read the story and see which sister you would be!

After getting the prizes done (don’t forget, you can enter this month’s drawing just by leaving a comment)I whipped up a couple of tags.

The blue bird is from the swap I did with my sis. It is covered with a crackle glaze and the crazing looks good in person, those just never show up on these posts though.

Then the fun began- Sugarwings came over to play with her Grandmama.

We watered flowers.

And we watered Twinkle.

And we played with some of the most fun toys ever, empty boxes.

She is reminding me so much of her daddy at that age, I had to get out the old album. (I wish I’d been a scrap booker then, I have very few photos from that period!)

See the similarities???

Stephanie, and Elaine, I have your addresses and will mail your presents as soon as the glue dries. I might take photos while the glue is wet, but I am smart enough to let it dry before I pack things!

September’s giveaway drawing has already begun, I just don’t know what the prize is yet. Leave me a comment if you want to enter!