guncles – Page 5 – Karla's Cottage

A card for the guncles

By Karla Nathan / March 28, 2017

Guncle Randy aways sends the best hand made cards. For every holiday, and sometimes, just because. So, I wanted to make one to send to the guys for Valentine's Day.

And I had this funny picture of Randy, jumping up (holding his cell phone over his head), and I wanted to change it into him holding own of his dogs.

The cover is one of myhand colored Valentine pages, it is glued to floral card stock. I cut hearts out of more floral paper and scattered them around the inside of the card, then I attempted to make a pop up of Randy holding Perry Clayton over his head in place of the cell phone in the photo.

I'd offer a step by step how-to on making a pop up card, but you do NOT want directions from me.

I just went for it and had no idea what I was doing. The back of the photo looks like Frankenstein's monster, there are so many trusses, and mistakes, and covered up bits attached to it. Seriously, if you want to make a pop up card, google it first. If you follow directions, they aren't hard. But if you can't remember how to do it, don't try to wing it yourself!!!

The guys love their dogs. Or should I say, their babies? So, I know that they will forgive the messy attempt I made at creating this, since it features their tiniest boy. They will look at the poodle and smile.

Recently, Randy has started his own business, and it is in pet care. It is called "Randy the Pet Butler" and he will be giving his loving care to Jacksonville, FL area animals whose humans need helping out. You can hire him for pet sitting, walking, feeding, and other care.

Check out his website here.

(I drew the butler at the top of the page for him)

Much needed vacation craft days

fairies, guncles, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 21, 2017

When Guncle Randy and I get together, there is usually some pretty paper and glue around. We always make time for a craft day and on my last visit, we even fit in more than that.

We had a full day with our pal, Regina plus a lot more time back in the stuffed to the brim (with delights) art room he has.

Regina gifted me with some gemstones, and I'm looking forward to getting them turned into jewelry.

During our play date, I made some cards, my sis had a birthday coming up.

And a nephew had just gotten married.

Randy had this awesome, old, ballerina photo that he copied for me to use, so I made this Valentine from the picture. I also created a Valentine banner with some red felt triangles he gave to me.

After I finished my sweetheart banner filled with ballerina girls, Randy and I collaborated on a banner with hunks for his mantel.

The left hand piece is by me, the right by Randy.

Here is another that I made for him. The red felt pieces are from Target's Dollar Spot. They always have good supplies, don't they?

I never get out of there with spending just ONE dollar….

When I left Kansas, I threw a few supplies in my suitcase, but not enough. No problem, at the Guncles' house, there are lotsa goodies to play with. Randy shared with me and we worked for hours back in his room of wonders.

Yep, it was a fun brother/sister/best friend week. Thanks, Baby Bro!

It’s a very guncle-y Christmas!

guncles, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2017

For a few years in a row, something has come up where I happen to have a shot at getting to Florida in January and make it to the Guncles' house to see their festive Christmas decor still on display and making the place even more sparkly than usual. This year, my husband had a business trip and I was luckily able to to tag along.

The guys have a marvelous collection of shiny brites, enough to fill an old, tinsel tree.

That tree is loaded to the brim, and has a fantastic selection of ornies.

Little Perry Clayton likes it too.

It is touching to see them use some gifts I've made for them over the years in the midst of their abundant cheeriness. Like this banner that I created last year.

Every inch of their home is transformed for the holiday, with the tiniest detail not over looked.

The home is already spectacular, filled with all of the vintage finds, Kevin, the antiques expert, scavanges from garage sales around the city.

Adding a layer of Christmas splendor makes it even more special. Thanks for the hospitality and the beautiful visit, Randy and Kevin!!

A Sea Shell Fairy Controversy and some disappointing shell searches

guncles, sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 15, 2017

Over the years I've developed some vacation traditions. One is that I wear this necklace with charms and a moonstone from my sisses every time I go to Florida. (I also wear it when I'm feeling homesick for family too)

Another is making a sea shell fairy for every beach I visit. This trip was bi-coastal with a tour of Clearwater before driving to spend the night in St. Augustine, driving up to Jacksonville for guncle time then a trek up to Charleston for a mini family reunion on Sullivan Island.

It was also a quick trip. We arrived from the airport in time for lunch with a view of the sea, but then didn't get to the hotel til after dark, because my husband had some visits to make. After breakfast the next morning, we quickly strolled along the beach at Clearwater, but didn't have enough time to gather shells. I wish now that I'd made the time, because that was the most perfect weather I'd had that week.

And there was a plethora of shells to be found.

I shoulda, coulda, woulda stopped and snagged some if I'd known how the next few beaches would go….

Jax proved to be barren of shells for the day, and it was COLD. Too cold to try to get enough together to make a sprite, because it might have taken hours to find what I needed. And for some silly reason, I'd packed sandals and Ugg boots only. No shoes to wear, so my tootsies weren't happy with a beach stroll.

(yep, my eyes are closed)

There was time before breakfast to make a shell fairy on St. Augustine Beach, and I was soooo happy to be playing in the sand and day dreaming about happy little fairies. Till I posted the picture online of the little gal that I'd created, that is.

Soon, I got messages saying that my fairy looked a little "too happy."

When I realized what they were seeing, I deleted the Facebook and Instagram pics. Ooops! I showed it to a few more people and they agreed. Do you see the problem? If not, I won't mention it.

By the way, THAT IS AN ARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh well, I had a chance of vindication at Charleston, right? Nope! It was beyond cold there. Too cold to even stand on the balcony and look at the beach, let alone walk down to it.

Well durn- 4 beaches, 1 fairy.

One that was accidentally R rated.

Luckily, I did have a picture on my camera of this version of my little fae.

And here is an edited version that I hope takes away the optical illusion??

Or should I just write her (him?) off and delete all the photos? It all made me feel sad, I adore making little sea shell girls and this time it just didn't go well. Although, everyone I showed the photos too, got a huge laugh out of it.

Sugarwings earns tickets for good behavior in her class and can use them for purchases at the end of the day. She'd over heard me saying that I was sad about the shell fairy that I'd made and that I couldn't make another one.

So, she used her tickets to buy some shells for me, and we made these three in the dining room at breakfast. There wasn't a shell for the wings, so I cut up the tissue paper they came wrapped in.

I've made quite a few water sprites over the last few years, but none that were as sweet as the ones that I made with real life, grand fairy.

Recipes and memories

Food and Drink, guncles

By Karla Nathan / January 13, 2017

Last week while visiting the Guncles, I was given some Florida lemons fresh off the tree to bring home to my grand fairies. The girlies and I love lemon meringue pie, lemonade, and working in the kitchen together. So a bag of lemons was the souvenir I brought back from my vacation to them.

Most kids might be disappointed with a gift of fruit instead of a toy or cute tee shirt with an alligator on it, but what did these two do when given lemons??

We made LEMON PIE!!!!!

Normally, I make things up as I cook and rarely reference recipes. But when it is time for lemon pie, Sugarwings and I make a ceremony of carefully opening up the old tin box of note cards I made as a 13 year old and we make the dessert just the way my mom would've done. My mom passed before the girls were born, but in small ways like this they can have a connection with her too.

My mom made the best pies, dumplings, well, just about anything. And when I close my eyes to take a bite of this lemony delight, I remember her in the kitchen making something special for me.

Mom's pies were great, but with this combo of fresh citrus from the guncles, smiles from the grand fairies, and memories of my mom, I think we've made some improvements on her originals!

Poodle Portrait

dogs, guncles, paintings

By Karla Nathan / January 7, 2017

As you read this, I am visiting the GUNCLES!!!!

Yay, me!

Since I knew I'd be seeing them right after the holidays, I didn't mail their gift, instead I'm packing it in my carry on to bring down. They are fantastic, loving, doggie dads, so I painted one of their babies for them. This is Oliver, and he is pretty dang sweet.

Murals of the past

guncles, paintings

By Karla Nathan / August 6, 2016

When Guncle Randy was here, he spent some time with his life long buddy, Susie. I dropped him off at her Kansas City home and she gave us a tour of some of the murals I had painted for her what seemed like eons ago. We figured out it was back in 2002, not as long ago as I had guessed. This is the master suite, and at the time, Randy helped me do the rag rolling technique on the walls, then I added the palm trees.

The kitchen was also painted with a ragged on glaze over the gold color they had applied, and I added faux bricks along with a window onto a French countryside.

It was a pleasant surprise to see them still there.

I'd forgotten about the bricks, those were something I used to do a lot of years ago.

Yet another blast from the past was this little kitty.

Back in the day, even before I was a muralist, I painted tee shirts.

Garfield was a mascot for Embassy Suites, where Susie was head of sales, and she commissioned me to make up some painted tees for her staff.

She dredged this one up to answer the door in when I came to visit.

Funny thing, I had just met one of my son's friends the day before and got to talking about her dad who used to make wooden toys for Sliver Dollar City. I told her that the amusement park used to send me boxes of toys and dolls to do portraits of onto tee shirts to sell there. And she said that as a child, she had a hand painted teddy bear shirt from there. That must've been one that I had done.

So, after not thinking about those shirt paintings for ages, all of a sudden, two thoughtful remembrances came up within days. I found it very touching to know that artwork I'd long moved on from was a fond memory for another person.

Farm to Table centerpieces and a little bit of craft time is better than none at all.

guncles

By Karla Nathan / August 4, 2016

During our mini reunion, I whipped up some centerpieces for a dinner party my husband was going to host in Chicago. Sadly, I had to cancel attending and helping with the decor, but I still wanted to do at least a little bit for it.

The theme for the dinner was "farm to table". I had big plans for the look, and had started a Pinterest board with all sorts of ideas and daydreams. It was disappointing to miss out on it all.

Well, I couldn't do it all from long distance, but I could send a boxful of things they could possibly use. So, I filled burlap wrapped peat pots with oasis foam, covered that in moss and topped it all off with one of our own eggs (blown out) and some feathers from our ladies our in the coop.

They are finished with twine and an acorn charm.

From "our farm" to their table.

While hanging out in the studio with Guncle Randy and Terry, I also made a bracelet for my daughter-in-law. With labradorite, amethyst, moonstone, ruby, and fluorite beads.

For this one, I added some dangled beads.

Typically, I'm rather prolific out in the studio, but I'm not quite up to speed right now. Randy made up for it, by whipping out one page after another in a book he was making.

As well as doing pages in a couple of other books that he brought.

This was the cover of the journal he finished while here.

It was a garden theme, and I made a little sign for him to color and add to the book.

I'll leave you with more pics from his pretty book.

Custom Downton Abbey Journal for Guncle Randy

guncles

By Karla Nathan / June 13, 2016

The Farewell to Downton Art Journals were very feminine, so I wanted to do a special one for Guncle Randy. I went with dark olive velvet and vintage gold trim. The tie is brown velvet ribbon, and the book still feels lux without being girly.

Here is one of the layouts I made for him. The flowers are cut out of a painting I did of Highcleire Castle. I had already cut it up and thought it would be a good idea to save the scraps for book pages. I framed it out in black velvet ribbon.

The two old photos on the other side are made into a pocket.

In the pocket, I put some more old pictures, like this great one of two guys and their dog.

This is a folded, old letter, with the stationery rimmed in black on the back. I added a medallion with an R for Randy and glued one side down. It ties shut.

When it opens up, there is another vintage photo. The paper is old and fragile, so I reinforced the fold with washi tape.

This whole swap was a fun theme for me, I certainly enjoyed the show for the seasons it was on, and it will linger in my mind for a long time.

Magic- under the sea with the guncles, a trip to Jacksonville

guncles

By Karla Nathan / January 24, 2016

There were sooooo many highlights of my trip, but one of the most lovely was the special treatment that the guncles always offer to their guests. When you visit them, you feel treasured.

Randy set up his garden tent with an Under the Sea theme for a delicious crab leg dinner that was as beautiful as it was tasty. (I picked the fresh lemon from the tree growing near the tent in the garden-feeling very Floridian as I did it)

The tablescape featured oversized clam shells and a giant coral, sprinkled liberally with glitter and smaller shells, strings of pearls, and lots of candles.

But the best part? Well, dur-

those hosts!

Oh, and- that moss and "bubble" filled chandy, of course.

Terry, who I was meeting up with in Orlando, is in the process of moving and is making some major changes in her studio. She has been busy doing some destashing, and had sent a couple of boxes of delight my way earlier.

When I got to Randy's there was a pile of large,flat rate boxes there, and he saved them for us to go through together.

Geez, Louise, those were some fun boxes to delve into! I'd already had the squealing, oohing and ahhing good time of opening the ones at my house, and now I got a double treat by helping him open his.

On craft day, I made a thank you card for Terry, done only with things that she had sent.

We also played with metal sheets, dyes, spritzes, and embossing plates that she'd packed up for him.

Here is a card that Randy made.

I spent some time on a drawing, here it is in an early stage. It is for a coloring page, to go in a book I'm making. Anyone up for a "Farewell to Downton" book swap? Details to come. I need to design the cover and get the rules together. I'll have a blog post up about it before too long, but feel free to contact me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

to get on a list for me to contact you when I have the info together, so you don't miss it.

Or leave a comment and I'll get back to you when it is ready.

We had a good day in the studio, and had plenty of company while working there. Our friend, Regina, came by and we had a constant parade of pups under our legs and in our laps.

The food and company are always wonderful, (I loved the fresh shrimp whipped up in a New Orleans style sauce), lots of wine, laughs, and snuggle pups.

Even better, their eclectic home filled with antiques was still decked out for the holidays, yay! Kevin is a master of junking and is one the best hunters around. His vintage Christmas finds and bargains are the BEST. Whole villages of putzes. Silver trees with over 500 shiny brites. Comfort and Joy in every corner, on every table top, every where you look.

Ahhh, that fireplace…..

And that cabinet, full of collections….

All done with an eye to hospitality.

And love.