give away – Page 6 – Karla's Cottage

Do you want a copy of Hankie Style by Amy?

antiques/junking, Books, collections, give away, Miss Frenchie's, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 1, 2009

Time for a winner! This bundle of vintage trims, wrapped up in an embroidered doily, and topped with a millinery rose goes to:

SUZY

Which is really cool, because she is a sewer! I'm sure she'll whip up something wonderful with the old lace.

Notice the sweet little white tree I tied onto the ribbon? I just love those. I bleached, dyed, and glittered a bunch of them to sell, but have kept them all to tie onto packages this holiday.

Wrapping up packages in special ways probably has become my main hobby now. I have such fun digging through my goodies to make the things I send out look nice.

This tag goes to a friend, and it was made with little scraps of my Heavenly Papers.

Personally, I prefer using bits and pieces of old papers instead of cutting into a big piece if I am doing a small project. Plus, its all so dear to me that I can't waste an inch of prettiness!!!

So, I wrapped up the trimmings from my wallpaper cutting this week and listed 3 bags full in the boutique.

I HOPE, that I will have time to list more larger pieces, man those went fast!! Thanks again, its good to see that my obsession is shared by so many of you. After Miss Frenchie's I'll try to wrap some more up for the shop, I appreciate all your inquiries.

Packing is going slow for Miss Frenchie's. I might be doing a last minute crunch to be ready. Not my style at all!! I like to be ready a week early so I can relax. But this time, life got in the way.

We had a couple of bonus Sugarwings days (always worth postponing work for!)and Saturday the weather was so beautiful, Sugarwings, my husband, and I just had to clean out the garage and pick up the garden a bit. We had a big bonfire going as I ruthlessly pitched stuff, burning lots of useless crap. What a good feeling, to have an uncluttered garage.

But not such a good feeling today. I only have half a tub ready to take!

Believe it or not, I am ready for the new giveaway and it is only the first day of the month. Usually I have to ponder on the piles I have accumulated to see what I want to put up for the drawing. But this time, a friend offered her newest book.

Its written by a local Kansas City gal,

Amy Barickman

who runs Indygo Junction and Vintage Workshop, and is full of great ideas and style. Just another reason why I'm proud to be in the KC area! Its great to have such talented women around- Amy, Carol, and Debbie, are just a few of the locals whose sense of vintage style I admire.

Amy is also generously giving the winner a $25 gift certificate for vintage image downloads!! Yahoo!

Since the book was about hankies (which I just adore, and hoarde collect) I found a couple that matched the picture on the cover to include, in case you wanted to make that pattern with them. You can also purchase downloads of vintage hankie prints here:

http://www.thevintageworkshop.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=hankies&x=9&y=10

(or use your winning $25 gift certificate!)

If you don't win you can buy a copy of the book here: http://www.indygojunctioninc.com/store/

All comments, all month count.

If you are anywhere close to Kansas City, or can get there, come to see some of the great goods that we have to offer around here this weekend. Its our 3rd Miss Frenchie's sale and it promises to be a good one!

Shameless hawking of wares, Artist Class Ala Carte, a mini Tutorial, and prizes!

Etsy Goodies, family, give away, holiday decor, how-to projects, I do tend to run on, don't I?, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 27, 2009

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, with lots to be thankful for yesterday!

We had a smaller than usual group this year, and WAY too much food. I've already made turkey soup from leftovers for supper tonight. While cleaning up the kitchen and putting away the food, I have a pot simmering on the stove that veggies, turkey, and broth go into. I throw in a few handfuls of rice, and some seasonings and by the time I'm done with the kitchen clean up, the soup is ready to be cooled and put away for the next day.

Family brought side dishes, and we had the meal all under control on auto pilot, so while the guys watched football and played pool, some of us made paper doll dresses for our Christmas trees. We kind of have a family tradition of doing projects together while the turkey roasts. I keep the day low keyed and simple, so we can all enjoy it and not feel pressured or rushed. The meal is all served buffet style right from the stove top, so when its time to eat, all we do is line up. I can play with glitter and glue right up until its chow time!

This year, I had actual patterns ready for the guests to use, thanks to the tutorial I did for Mary's Artist Class. I enjoyed seeing how the "class" went in person, and they seemed to like it.

Artist Class is still available to purchase as a group of 12 projects, with lots of extras (use my Karlascottage code to save $10) and now, Mary is also offering an ala carte menu to pick and chose a few classes here and there too.

Click HERE to order the paper doll tutorial that I did.

You will receive the dress patterns, the hand drawn doll that the dresses fit, directions, and ephemera to down load and print out to make your creations. This class, on its own is $15.

I will be listing some more ephemera kits with extra patterns in my Boutique soon too. Along with that gorgeous wallpaper that I am slowly, but surely getting cut!!

Here are some of the creations that family made yesterday with the patterns. Its great to see the range of styles that some simple patterns can become!

This is one of mine, made from that wallpaper that I'm so far behind on getting packaged to sell! I've got a few rolls of it cut, but have about 10 more to get through. Thanks for your patience. I'd planned on doing it today, but when Sugarwings asked me to take her to a movie, how could I say no? Wallpaper will just have to wait, fairy grand babies take precedence!

If you'd like to make your paper doll dresses into ornaments to hang from the tree, here are some simple steps to do that.

First, punch holes in the shoulders.

Next, select your ribbon.

For holiday sparkle, I chose this vintage tinsel that was a gift from Beth.

Cut about 7-8"

Thread the ribbon through the holes from the front (although, you can tell from the floral dress I made, that I put the knots in the front, that is OK too)

Tie knots on both ends, then trim off any danglies.

To Christmassy-up a couple of these dresses, I added some glitter. Simply brush your finished dress lightly, with white glue, and sprinkle on glitter, then tap off. I used the vintage crystal "Diamond Dust" because it has such a pretty shine. Make sure you don't use something metallic or heavy that covers up your work completely! You want to use a transparent glitter and apply in a fine sheen, not thick or gloppy.

The dresses I've shown are available in my Etsy shop for $6 each, if you are interested.

And now, after what sounds like a lot of hawking of my wares-( but hey, I have to make a living here, don't I??), I have some gifts to announce!

The winner of the original, hand drawn and painted paper doll goes to:

Laurie Jackson

And an ephemera kit for making the dolls goes to:

Sandra Thompson

And of course, everyone who leaves a comment anytime this month is entered into the

November Giveaway.

While up at Silver Bella, there was a discussion among some friends about giveaways. A lot of people don't care for them and think there are too many. I know I have a lot, and yes, some of it is just to bribe you guys to leave comments, but that isn't the only reason I do it.

For one thing, I have so MUCH. And I like to share. I find good deals and I'm able to giveaway pretty things without hurting my pocketbook.

And also, to quote Kurt to Finn on Glee, "I honestly love you". My blog, and blogfriends that I've met through it mean a lot to me. There are billions and billions of blogs out there for you to visit and I just want to say thanks for you to take the time out to come and see me, and bother to leave a comment.

So, yes, there will be more giveaways here. And lots of them. Its appropriate to say at Thanksgiving time that I have a lot to be thankful for. So, I just wanted to let you know that!

Sweet bundles to share

family, give away

By Karla Nathan / November 5, 2009

Your comments on my last post were very moving, I can see that so many of you care about mementos of the past and understand my joy in receiving some of Aunt Caroline's things. My heart feels for those of you who were not allowed a remembrance from a loved one's estate.

I've been on both sides, when my mom passed, my sisters and the rest of the family were giving and caring. We were all careful to make sure that anything with a sense of family history stayed with a family member and wasn't accidentally sent to auction. But when I lost my father, it was a different, and not so pretty story, due to completely different circumstances (nothing to do with my sweet sisses, of course!)

Losing a person you care about is hard enough. Dealing with ugliness at that time is devastating. As crushed as I was to lose my mom, I will always remember the days after she died with joy and deep love for my family. They made those days beautiful, even with the heart ache.

Knowing that you all understand and feel the bitter-sweetness of my trip to Aunt Caroline's home makes me doubly happy to share some of her treasures. So I am keeping the giveaway open, and offering a second bundle of trims to give.

All comments on the previous post, as well as THIS post are entered.

Thanks for caring!

Whisked away

Books, fairies, family, give away, paintings, parties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 17, 2009

My Handsome Husband whisked me away to Chicago for the night to see our favorite musician, Lucinda Williams in concert!

Typically, I'm not a concert goer. Too bad, my husband loves them, and would really appreciate it if I'd go with him to more shows. But Lucinda is such a favorite of ours, and the setting was a more intimate club, not a big convention center or stadium. We had great seats, and she is so real and down to earth, I'd go to a lot more concerts if they were as nice as this. Not too loud, not too crowded, just right. Geez, do I sound like an old fuddy duddy? But, I've always been like this even in high school. I'm just not a concert person.

Even though the hall was all black and set up with typical stage lighting and paraphenelia, I had this pretty view above our table. The building used to be an old theater and they were smart enough to save the intricate plaster work on the ceiling when they remodeled it.

Before the concert, we went out to dinner at Art Smith's cozy little restaurant, Table 52. I'd seen him on Top Chef Masters, and if you've ever read my blog, you know what a tv junkie I am, so I was excited to go to a place I'd heard of on one of my regular programs. I was as excited as Sugarwings would have been if she'd gone to Arial's grotto for dinner.

And not only was it a lovely place to eat, the food was amazing. And I do like good food.

The next day, I flew home just in time to make it over to my friend, Angie's house to be a part of a surprise party for her. She had NO idea that we were all in her home waiting for her, it was so cute to see her reaction and to see all the love and caring that her family put into the planning.

See the painting behind us? She
got it at an estate sale, and took it to Antiques Roadshow. She was
told it is worth $8,000, not bad for a $30 estate sale piece, huh?

Why do I show bad photos of myself? Yes, I was pretty tired, (and look it, too) after two days of travel and being stuck in Chicago traffic, and waiting at the airport for hours on standby, trying to get back a bit early so I could be home for the surprise.

But honestly, NO ONE would look good next to Angie, she is such a beauty.

I guess you could say she is the fairest of them all.

Tonight, Sugarwings and I are having a girl's night. Its just the two of us and we are going to spend it watching Snow White and making caramel apples. She loves to act out her favorite parts of movies, so I bought her this gown to wear and I am prepared to be the wicked witch. I am always assigned the scary parts, the wicked witch, a flying monkey, or the big, bad wolf.

In the meantime, I have a few hours before she gets here for our Snow White Festival and will start assembling the Grumpy Fairy books. I'm extremely happy with the paper quality, and color. But am not so happy with the mountain of work ahead of me, binding them all myself.

Especially since I decided to hand glitter highlights on the pages. Stickles is a wonder product, and the sparkles won't rub or flake off like gluing down regular glitter, so I think this is the answer to getting Sugarwing's wings to look sugary and not having glitter all over the reader's hands.

I'll let you know if I ever get any ready to sell… I hope to have them in the Boutique in time for holiday shopping, and also have some to take to Silver Bella. But I will for sure have one ready to give away for the October Giveaway.

All comments all month count for the prize. (I do appreciate your comments!)

A random rambling and a secret surprise giveaway

family, give away, how to's, how-to projects, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / September 18, 2009

Do you have a favorite children's book author? Mine is Stephen Johnson.  He is a local, Lawrence, KS artist who has done a series of interactive kid's books.  Now he is working on one called "The Princess Purse" and came over to my studio to borrow sparkly things, vintagey boxes, and pretty wallpapers all to use as props.  
Stephen brought this taxi book for Sugarwings as a gift.  She's going to have a whole collection of his books, lucky kid!  His latest is about fire trucks and will be out very soon. You can find it and his others at many major book stores. And they are really cute!

Some of you were asking about the mudding I had to do for the dry wall. Well, we took out a closet and used the space to enlarge my husband's office.  The new dry wall was smooth and the old walls were textured. I had to fake a texture to blend it in.
After the dry wall guy (my sweet brother-in-law) got the walls done, I used a sponge roller (meant for faux finishes) to roll on joint compound. Then, took a trowel and knocked the points and highest spots off of the rolled on mud.

After painting, I think it looks pretty good. 
What I don't like, is that Home Depot gave me the wrong box of floor covering!  I had picked out a grayer color that blended well with the existing carpet.  But instead I got this dark sienna, that the guys didn't realize was wrong and installed anyway.  I should have looked in the box myself.  It matches the walls ok, and isn't horrid, it just isn't what I wanted.
When we get the room all put back together, I'll show you some more shots. I'm also redoing Ryan's room, it was his walk in closet we stole to make the office bigger. So I owe him…

Just how hodgepodgy can I make this posting?? I'm flitting about from one thing to another even more than usual!
Sweet Zita  offered to mail an old French magazine to me after reading my last post about how I loved working with that kind of paper.  Did I call her sweet Zita? I meant Adorable, Darling, Generous, Magnanimous, Delightful, Kind, Gracious, and Wonderful Zita!!
So, I made her one of the prize ribbon medallions that I was using the French ephemera to make.
 
While I was at it, I made up 3 more for the Boutique.  Each is made of vintage ribbon, French paper, millinery flowers, and old crepe paper.  I added parchment cardstock to the back for stability, and also made a small diamond out of it to add your initial to.
The initials are hand drawn, no patterns or stencils. 
 
No two are exactly alike, but all are the same, if that makes sense. When things are hand made from vintage goods, you get some variation.
I've also added a brooch pin to the back, so the ribbon is ready to pin where ever you'd like to use it.  
 
And maybe you can help me with this? I've listed these in the shop as sports medals, but I really am not sure if they are or not. I wondered if they were military medals? They kind of look like track and field prizes to me, especially since there is silver, gold and bronze. I doubt if the Army gives out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd when they award a medal.
 
The old ribbons with the pins on the back are great! I used a few to make these crown pins. 
 
 I took the medals themselves off to save for another project. Maybe a charm bracelet?
 
One of the medals could be clipped to Twinkle's collar, she is missing the rhinestone piece that she used to wear.  I could award her a gold medal for being such a good dog.  
 
Well, the month of September is more than half over already! You still have plenty of time to ente

r the giveaway for this month.  The change of seasons has inspired me to fill this little sparkled witch's caldron with brooches.  When fall comes around, I am always looking for cute brooches to wear on my jackets.  
One is an enameled butterfly in fine fall colors. Another is a leaf in the same tones.  To that is a flower petal wreath and a rhinestone pin that reminds me of a snowflake.  I'm not exactly a fall person. I can't enjoy the season without dreading snow that comes soon after.
Leave a comment, any post, all month to enter.  I do enjoy hearing from you, but I know that leaving a comment can be a hassle. I had about 1500 hits yesterday, but only 20-some comments on the post!  I certainly don't leave a comment on every post I read either, especially since I started using Google Reader. It is so easy to zip through one blog after another, that I don't pause to go to the site and comment much. Sorry.
 
But- you never know when I'll have a double secret giveaway prize waiting for you!  Ta- da! Here is a little tag book ready to embellish that is going out to my 20,000th comment. 
And guess who the 20,000th commenter was??  Remember when I had a prize for 12,000 and my husband was the commenter? Well this time, since Typepad was doing that wierd comment response thing and my replies were going into the comment log, the winner is:
ME
Yep, I win.  So, I went to number 20,001 and the real winner is my pal from Macon, Angela

 This is a tag I made from a French game card to send out to a shopper in the boutique, Melissa. She bought this jewelry from me and I knew this little matching rose needed to go to her.
The thing is, why did I spend extra for FRENCH EPHEMERA, when it is a single letter?? Not a word, no one actually knows it is French, now do they?
Well, I need to go back upstairs to the torture chamber my husband's office and finish painting the walls.  Its a BIG room.  
 

A bonus giveaway to share the joy

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers, give away, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 2, 2009

Yesterday was such a good day! One for the record books.

* Lovely weather

* Family helping with yard work, getting things trimmed and tidied, and enjoying being outside together

* A bonus of a few extra, unexpected hours to play with Sugarwings

* The look of joy on my fairy grand baby's face when she saw the new additions to the Fairy Berry Trail

* A thoughtful, surprise gift in the mail from a reader (thank you, Susan!!)

* Giant mums in bloom, on sale for only $5.99 (I bought 6!)

* A delicious meal whipped up from our garden, by my son

* The happy anticipation of getting ready for the big family reunion this weekend

* A furry friend, who is always happy even when I have to pick tons of burrs from her silky hair.

* Time to spend in the studio making up some pretties

It was one of those days that make me happy and grateful for my life.

It was such a good day, that I wanted to share some of my good luck, and draw two names for the August giveaway instead of just one. Plus, I realized it was my SIX HUNDREDTH post.

So, here are the two winners, each get one of these hand painted charms.

And the second winner is:

Gabrielle

Bur dog 115

Yep, yesterday was a beautiful day, and you know, today is starting off pretty good too. Hope yours is also!

Sillies and snippets and the July Garage Sale Giveaway Prize Pack list

antiques/junking, fairies, give away, paintings

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2009

As I was laying down the bits of sparkle that I bought at a garage sale this weekend, it started to remind me of a face, so of course, this is what I HAD to do with them all…. I guess, I should have added millinery flower hair, that would have been cute. And I wonder why I never get anything done, I spend my time on this kind of activity instead of working.

My days never seem long enough. But today, I did manage to focus and get packages sent out, and two of these little brooches listed in the Boutique.

I also got three paintings finished for the Grumpy Fairy story I am illustrating. Thanks for all of your encouragement about the story, I decided to go ahead and make a book from it. This picture is of the Blue Bird of Happiness.

Here is a snippet of the Fairy Grandmother flying off to find the soft things to make a nest from.

I did 3 paintings today and 3 yesterday. That just doesn't seem like much to me, I am pretty fast. But I really want these to be special, so I am not rushing through them.

Tomorrow we are heading back up to Omaha to take Sugarwings to the zoo again, so not much more will get done on the book till next week. Its hard to tear myself away from it now that I have started. I don't have my paints out nearly enough, its been great to play with watercolors again! I'd take them along on the trip if I had any chance of getting any thing done without Sugarwings ~~demanding~~ offering to help. She likes to paint even more than I do.

Well, July is coming to a close, Friday is the 31st. I might get to garage sales one more day before my JULY GARAGE SALE GIVEAWAY PRIZE PACK is ready to send out.

From last weekend, I added the sterling bar pin with the little girl on it. Isn't she a cutie? Leave a comment if you want to be entered in the drawing.

Lets see, what's in the giveaway?

the bar pin
bag o' buttons
buttons on a cute card
floral hankie
dainty doily
vintage postcard
sprig of flowers
an eensy English bone china plate
a small, round, framed print
pair of pink seashell clip on earrings

No matter how much you spend on cupcake decor, if you can’t get the icing right, the cupcake still looks homemade

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, give away

By Karla Nathan / July 15, 2009

Today is craft day, but with a twist, I am not cleaning up my studio and inviting friends over, we are using a rental studio in KC. ( I'll have details when I get back, I lost the blog address and am rushing right now).

But first, I wanted to take the time to thank you for your purchases and to remind you that the sale is still on at the Etsy shop . Details are in the previous post, but I also want to remind you that you need to purchase the items from Etsy, go to the check out, but do NOT pay with check out. Email me and I will send you an invoice for half off whatever is left.

I'm fine with you just emailing me the info and I go to the shop and delete the items, but I doubt if Etsy would like it, and I might get booted from there, because they don't get their percentage that way. I've done this for a few people, because it was quicker and easier than explaining and no problem to do, but I really don't want to make the big ole Etsy goliath mad at me.

I've made up cup cakes to take today, because crafting in packs is hungry work. We all get nibbly while we are cutting and gluing.

And you know, I really, really, sincerely tried to make pretty cupcakes. These are okay, but not what I wanted. I saw some on Andrea's blog once that made me sigh they were so lovely. So, when I spent a day with her, I asked her secret and she took me to her cupcake decor source, where I bought a big bagful of icing roses.

But, its not the same. Oh, yes, they are the same roses. They just don't look as good without her magic cupcake touch. She has that touch with everything. Heck, she could probably have a cupcake hanging out of her nose, and everyone would think it was the most beautiful cupcake they ever saw. She's that good with making things pretty.

I even tried the edible Glitter that I was introduced to at Debbie's party. The glitter and the roses look good, but with my sloppy icing job and skimpy crooked cupcakes, it just isn't the same.

Well, they might not look like they came from a classy bakery, but they are tasty. Pillsbury strawberry cake mix and a can of cream cheese icing, yum!

See the stack of books? I can't believe it, but I found more of these at a sale yesterday! I listed a couple, the last ones went fast. They are in the Boutique. There are some sale prices here and there in the Boutique, but the Etsy sale is Etsy only.

These teensy framed prints were at the sale too, so I bought a bagful. This one is being added to theJULY GARAGE SALE GIVEAWAY PRIZE PACK, a couple others went into the Boutique, and I kept a few for myself to deconstruct and use in projects.

But what is the most special thing in the photo?? Ahh, aren't these just the best?? Aunt Caroline had her pink pearls sent to me. Sorry for the bad picture, these deserve better than that. But I need to throw some supplies and crap in a box and get my butt to craft day, gotta run! (that butt that is a bit bigger after making sure the cupcakes were tasty even though they only looked average)

A fine feathered mess and some mosaic madness

antiques/junking, family, Food and Drink, give away, parties, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / July 11, 2009

Sugarwing's Princess bed is coming along… but there have been a few hold ups. Its painted and pretty, that part was easy. But- a regular crib mattress wouldn't quite fit, so I am custom making one. Now, I might have mentioned that I hate to sew- but I seem to get stuck doing it a lot. Well, as long as it is a straight stitch and there are no zippers or buttons involved, I can do it. But I complain a lot!

Add in two bags of feathers and 3 bags of poly-fill fluff, and I have to tell you, it does become any more fun. I am sewing a giant, fluffy pillow for her out of waterproof, flannel backed fabric and trying to get more feathers in it than on the floor. (I bought two down filled pillows on clearance for $7.99 at Tuesday Morning and am using that for part of the stuffing. The pillow cases that came on them are going to be cut up into ribbons, they are silk!)

After that, I'll need to custom make the sheets! I think I'll go with giant size pillow cases.

Oh, but she is worth it!

Before our trip to the zoo, we threw a fairy tea party for Sugarwing's little cousin, Pixie Pie, who just turned two this week.

Then, all the grandparents took the cousins to the zoo. Because the heat was so bad and there had been storms earlier in the day, the place was deserted, like a private playground for these little fairy babies.

I don't know why this was set up at the zoo, but we came around a corner and there sat a jump house. Like I said, the park was our own private play ground, so we wriggled in under the flaps and jumped away. Mostly we just fell down and laughed till our sides hurt.

There is nothing more fun than being a grandma.

Well, garage sailing is pretty fun too.

I had sugarwings till almost noon today, so could only get to a couple sales. But I found some goods, and at one estate sale, I had a long conversation with the family after seeing a billion old patterns. Now, I am not a pattern person myself, but I love old trims. I figured if there were patterns, there were sewing supplies, and they said yes there was. They just didn't think anyone would want them! They said they would give me a call and get a box to me.

For the July Garage Sale Giveaway Prize Pack, I found a little bit, not much. A doily, a bag of buttons, and a pretty button card. I also bought a bunch of ribbon roses, not new, but still nice to use. I tied up a bouquet of them to add to the giveaway. All comments, all month are entered, and I will add more to the package each week.

See, these ribbon roses aren't the same as the vintage millinery that I love so much, but they aren't bad at all. I'm just a bit spoiled by finding old ones so often.

There was a big bag of buttons at a small sale that didn't even look like it was worth stopping at. But since I hadn't been to many at all and it was late in the day, I wasn't being picky, and I stopped anyway. I was glad I did, not because I particularly need more buttons, but because they are always nice to find anyway.

I listed this bunch in the Boutique. There are some sweet ones in the group.

These miniature farm animals too. Aren't they cute? I kept part of the set, some little wooden houses. I want to paint them up and glitter them to use in Christmas decor. I think they are pretty old from the looks of the other things at that sale, but can't say for sure. The person selling them said they were her Mom's and she played with them as a kid.

OK, gotta go. stupid Typepad keeps locking up my screen! Plus, I can't ignore that giant pillowcase waiting to be made so that Sugarwings will have a new Princess bed waiting for her. (I found floral king sized sheets for 15 cents each today too, and am using those to make the sheets for the new bed).

In the land of never ending cupcakes

celebrations, fairies, Food and Drink, give away, paintings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2009

My weekend at Jenn's retreat was such fun, I'm still running it over and over in my head today. So, I gave in to the daydreams and did a little cartoon of the event. Here are a few highlights, hmmm, maybe you needed to be there to get it?

Maybe this one will explain the cupcakes all over the drawing? It was a weekend full of never ending cupcakes!

Jenn was the Queen Flower Fairy, so she is the one flying in the center of the painting, wearing a crown.

The luncheon and craft tables were set so beautifully with pastel colors, lots of flowers, and each had a concrete cherub.

The crowns that Jenn made for the lil angels inspired the one I drew on her fairy portrait.

Jessi and Kim were across from me at my table. I also got to sit with Carol, Suzanne, and Analise.

Poor, sweet, Carol had a painful black eye. That explains the big purple smudge on her face in the drawing. She and I were roomies, and I am afraid that in the middle of the night when she had a leg cramp and fell face first onto the floor, I laughed way too much.

Honestly, I didn't realize she was hurt! But it might just be one of the reasons why Angela said that she was so surprised when she met some of the people whose blogs she read. She says we aren't at all what she expected. I asked her what she meant and she said, "I thought Karla would be NICE!"

That has to be my favorite quote from the whole weekend. And there were lots of good ones!

I'm afraid that Typepad is giving me fits, and I can't do links to the people I am mentioning. If you'd like to visit them, all of their links can be found on the En Le Jardin site, here.

We had such a lovely luncheon! Jenn had set up the room ahead of time and kept it under lock and key till the surprise unveiling at lunch time.

Definitely worth waiting for!

Carol is a pro with her camera, so we got in early to get some good shots. Don't tell anyone, but while we were getting a sneak preview of the room, I also got a sneak taste of some of the treats.

Tonight, Typepad is being extra unkind to me, I need to finish before my screen locks up again. There are plenty more photos of En Le Jardin and I'll be back with more later on. But I wanted to remind you that all comments all month of May are entered into the drawing for this hand painted charm, and vintage paper tag.

Also, I added some tags to the Boutique. I'll leave you with a few photos of the newly listed pretties.