guncles – Page 8 – Karla's Cottage

A very special surprise

guncles, Travel, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / March 30, 2013

What a great trip I just had. Even with a bad cold that got worse daily (I hope I wasn't sprinkling germs on everyone like fairy dust every place I went) and a trip delayed by weather that left me stranded one night.

The utterly delightful, Karen Hillman, wanted to do something extra nice for her pal, Judy, to celebrate her 50th birthday. So she arranged a surprise arty party for her at the Cozy Cottage in Mt. Dora.

The place is a real life doll house!

It's full of air, and light, and joy, all designed by Karen.

All whites and pastels and filled with embellished sweetness.

It looked like Judy was certainly surprised by Karen's gift. What a hard secret to keep for the months she and Judy's family had been planning this.

We were all touched to see how happy Judy was.

Not only did I get to make some new friends and have a lovely day at the cutest home on the planet, I got to visit my Great Aunt Caroline's former hometown, that had lots of special memories for me, and I was able to spend an entire weekend with Guncle Randy, and go to his home in Jacksonville before flying home.

Karen was kind to include my baby bro in the festivities. I knew he would hit it off with the ladies and fit right in for the classes. He's a lot of fun.

I'll have more pics of the class and the rest of the trip coming up. Every where I turned was one photo op after another. Beautiful backgrounds and smiling faces galore!

Mt. Dora is a town that I used to visit with my sisters to go see our Great Aunt Caroline. So everywhere I looked, something reminded me of them. And even the birthday cake was topped by the same fairy image that Sissy used for our Fairy Book Swap

The adventures of Trapper Tom and the Giant Cat

cottage, guncles, kitties

By Karla Nathan / September 16, 2012

We have been under siege for a while around here. Sandy was sitting on the deck, and saw a Giant Cat of some kind, (bob cat?) step out of the flower bed, scoop up a chicken, and calmly walk away.

In broad daylight!

So, we called Critter Catchers and had some traps set around the property, and have had all the animals and kids on lock down.

The children have to stay in the yard by me, not run around the property to play, and the kitties get locked up in the breezeway every night. The little dogs only get to go out in the fence, or stay by our side if we are out.

The poor chickens have been cooped up in the coop since their sweet little red sister was stolen away.

We've got 3 large traps set, and baited with nasty smelling dead creatures. So, being outside isn't all that pleasant any way. On hot days, nothing smells worse than a 3 day old, skinned weasel.

The trappers say that big cats only need to eat every few days, and that they have a range of territory, it might be a while before it comes back through.

He showed us all the signs and tracks in the woods of where the cat had been. This is a footprint, and is as large as Sandy's hand!

I wanted to make a plaster cast of the print, but didn't get to it in time, and rain ruined the trail. I've checked the woods daily, but have not seen any new tracks. Which, I guess is good, but it doesn't mean the beast is gone, I feel like he is waiting for us to let the ladies back out of the coop so he can stroll by and nab another one!

In the meantime, we have trapped an entire raccoon family. A large male, smaller female and 5 pups. Are they called pups? Cubs, maybe?

Trapper Tom retrieves them, and takes the cage to the river to let them out. If my husband is around, he will dump the coons or possums himself. He and the grands load up the big, red, pick up truck and head to the Kansas River and let them go. There is a caged coon behind the hen house right now, and my husband is out of town, so I'll keep it fed till tomorrow when he can unload it. That's better than us paying the trapper to keep coming up to empty the traps and I don't particularly want to do it myself.

Our count so far:

7 Coons

6 Possums

0 Giant Cats

Almost 3 weeks of checking traps and locking down pets

This is one thing that freaked me out. Trapper Tom showed us this area out in the woods where we had dumped straw from the hen house. On the pile was a selection of toys. Some were decorations taken from the tree house in the fairy trail, the others were dog toys.

I was told that this is where the Giant Cat likes to play. Trapper Tom says that a bobcat will play like a house cat and will collect toys. He was probably attracted to some of the feathers and the chicken scent in the pile of straw, so chose this spot to make a play house. It gives me the creeps to think he might have been attracted to the scent of kids in the tree house when he stole toys from there. Ugh. And where did he get the dog toys? From someones yard? I hope the dog he took it from is ok.

(artwork by Guncle Randy)

Tru-Blood premiere party at the guncles

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

By Karla Nathan / July 2, 2011

Uhm, did I mention that the guncles and I had a good time? With lots of silly fun? The weekend went fast, but we managed to pack in a lot of goofiness, including a Tru Blood mini marathon.

With HBO Go on my Ipad, we were able to watch the second episode of the new season after the premiere. So, of course, we made a PARTY out of it!

Because everything is a party at Randy and Kevin's house!

I drew some Tru Blood labels that we added to some empty bottles, and we drank out of red, crystal goblets, and painted our faces to look like vamps.

Since the guys bought my plane ticket, I wanted to treat them to dinner. We talked about getting dressed up and going out, but decided it was more fun to get dressed as vampires, watch our favorite show and eat in. So, I bought some lobsters and we had the best meal ever.

Crusty bread, still warm when we bought it, a crisp lettuce wedge with Kev's home made dressing topped with a chopped, fresh tomato, and giant, lovely, delectable lobsters.

I was disappointed in fairy land on the show, were you? I've come to terms with the fact that the show doesn't follow the books. And since they do stay true to the actual characters themselves, I don't mind, and actually enjoy the surprises that the show wouldn't offer if it did follow the books.

But man, the fairy land is NOT what I had hoped for at all. And Bill is King?

But that's okay. I still love me some Sookie and am a loyal fan.

I love me some guncles too.

Every night, the suppers were so good. One night was seared scallops in a vermouth and heavy cream redcution.

And another meal was grilled flounder with fresh asparagus and fingerling potatoes roasted in butter and onions. See why I was worried about my zipper still working? Did I mention homemade German chocolate cake?

Oh, and please remember, that there is a giveaway for one of my Mini Dress Form online workshops. If you win, and have already purchased the $15 class, I will send you a kit full of vintage goodies to make the dolled up dress form with.

Angels and pups in the Guncle’s Garden

dogs, fairies, family, guncles

By Karla Nathan / June 30, 2011

While I was down in Jax, we took a break from creating, crafting, and eating delicious seafood, to hang out in the garden with my furry niece and nephews. Yes, those are angel wings on that little white fur ball. And they suit her perfectly, she is a sweet heart. And she wasn't the only one to play dress up….

This is the newest member of the family, Perry the Party Pup. Or Zippy the Circus Poodle. He's got some wild jumping skills and I think he could have a great career in the circus if he decided to join one.

And here is beautiful Bella. She's still just a pup too, so between the two of these guys, its pretty lively around the guncle's house.

I was glad to see that she was no longer "Yella Bella" and that the yellow marker that Sugarwings decorated her with last January didn't leave a permanent stain.

Darling, serious Zackie, who loves to pose.

And here is the whole, handsome family, all together.

Sadly, it happened to be mosquito mayhem in the garden that weekend, so we weren't able to stay out there long and enjoy all the hidden treats and gorgeous blooms.

But we did spritz some bug spray on and play out there a little while.

Randy indulged me in posing as a sweet angel in the paradise of his backyard. He looks every bit as good as Bella did in the wings, huh?

There is nothing like having family that you can be silly with and have endless fun doing silly things with.

Aren't I lucky to have married his brother and have him as part of my family now? And then he married the sweet, Kevin and I have two of the best brothers-in-law that anyone can ask for.

Kevin is the one who bought me a plane ticket to bring me down to visit. What a sweet thing. Thanks guys, it was the best!!

Another redo with the guncles, a mini greenhouse with “aged” pots

guncles, how to's

By Karla Nathan / June 29, 2011

Randy and I worked on a lot of different things while I visited. One thing he wanted to do was arrange his new terrarium, and pot some flowers to put in it.

We had an idea to decorate the terra cotta pots with some old paper and photos. The smaller pots are covered with pages from old books then rubbed with aging inks, and the largest got covered in photos and paint.

After Randy glued vintage pictures all the way around the pot, I dabbed at the terra cotta with three different Tim Holtz crackle paints, in mossy green, white and cream onto the areas between the photos.

It is a haphazard, messy process, where I didn't try to be too precise about where the paint went. Some areas of the pot are left bare, some of the paint is heavier than in other spots, and some of it got on the photos.

When that dried, I rubbed the paint and the pictures with a dark ink pad, a mossy one, and an ivory one, and blotted it with a baby wipe to blend the inks.

Of course, the mini green house was so cool anything would have looked good in it! But I think that the aged pots added a nice touch. (he bought it at Pottery Barn)

When we were done, I thought it needed just a little bit more, so I made this little caged fairy to nestle down in the moss. Its really tiny, about 3" tall.

The little girl in the photo I cut up, is holding a puppy, which was appropriate for Randy and Kevin's house, they are quite the dog lovers.

Gosh, I wish I had one of these, nice, huh? (Randy is pretty cute too) It looks great in their sun-room. I think the plants will thrive in it.

Please leave a comment if you want a chance to win one of my Mini Dress Form online workshops

If you have already purchased the $15 class, and you win, I'll send you a kit of vintage materials to make your dolled up dress form.

A whimsical mantel redo

fairies, family, flowers, guncles, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2011

My Guncle weekend was just wonderful, as I knew it would be. Kevin bought my plane ticket as a birthday gift to Randy, lucky, lucky me!

It all went by too fast, we played all weekend, and got sillier as the days passed by.

Jacksonville is great, but we were having too much fun to get out and explore. We stayed in the craft room, garden or kitchen except for a quick run to pick up more seafood to cook or craft supplies to work with.

We got a bunch of these little wooden birds at Michaels and foofed them up for part of a redecorating project we wanted to do. This one is perched on a grapevine wreath that we turned into a nest for the display.

When I arrived, the guys mentioned that they were ready for a mantel makeover. Here is a Before shot of that corner.

And Ta-da! Here is the whimsical after. We turned the fireplace into a magical fairy land, by shopping around the house, arranging some silk flowers, and making a few little tidbits to add here and there.

After taking everything down, so we could start from scratch, we decided to remove the fireplace screen too. The logs are wrapped in mini lights, and we perched fairies with red glass wings, and some other fun creatures inside, then tucked lots of greenery all around.

Out in the garage, I found a couple of large, metal bread racks, one in this great red, the other with chippy white paint. We leaned these up against the ornate mirror that was hanging over the mantel, then started tucking things behind the racks and hanging other stuff on them.

Kevin just happened to find a big bagful of marble eggs at a garage sale that morning, and we nestled them all around, in mossy nests. (we were pretending they were fairy eggs)

He also found two of these old bird books, one we used for display, the other we greedily tore apart and made things out of in the craft room.

The guys had lots of fairies, elves, and sparkly creatures around the house and in the garden for us to add.

I'd brought them a Nest banner that I'd made, and we hung it right in the center.

At Christmas, Randy had made a glittering nest in this top hat, and for summer, we redid it with the little Fairy Frog Prince that I'd brought to him for his birthday.

And this magnicficent art deco piece is a light fixture that Kevin found along the road in the trash!! Randy arranged some flowers in it, since it neede rewiring before we could turn it on.

Yes, we know that its busy, and there is a lot going on. But to us, that just made it all that much more fun. More treasures to discover each time you looked through the display, more magic to enjoy.

Neither one of us really get "editing".

For me, it was such a blast to get to shop his house for all the goodies we used. And to do something so bright and playful, since my house is all pastels and creams. Plus, I got to play with my baby bro, and there isn't much better than that!

Frog Princes and Guncles

fairies, family, guncles, how to's

By Karla Nathan / June 27, 2011

Have you seen the little papermache creatures at Michael's in the dollar bins?

That is where I picked up this frog. All he needed was a kiss to be turned into a Froggy Fairy Prince! (well that, and some ephemera, glitter, glue, and a crown)

The best part about him, though, is his eyes. I had a vintage Easter bunny that Agnes Rosebud thought was hers to play with, so it was missing a couple of its not-so-lucky rabbit's feet. I popped the eyes out of it and added them to this frog after decoupaging it in old text. (I'll be watching out for trashed dolls at flea markets and garage sales just to harvest the eyes from. Kind of creepy, but worth it, these eyeballs really made the whole project)

Next, I used pink chalk to make blush for his cheeks, and rosy up his tummy, and drew his grin with a brown marker.

Over that, he got a generous helping of clear glitter.

I made his wings with the patterns I drew for the Mini Dress Form tutorial. (see, there are LOTS of things in the class that you will use for other stuff too, not just the dress forms!!)

To get the wings shaped the way I wanted them, I made two pair, back to back and sandwiched wire in between. That way, I could bend them around like this. I inked the edges of them and added glitter to the rims. For dimension, I cut the top half of the set of wings off of the bottom half, then layered them on top of each other.

I also used a brown ink pad to accent the frog's body. Probably should have thought of that before the glitter instead of after, but it was still ok.

His crown is a snip of screen that I cut to fit, and added sparklies and millinery to, then glued on.

This lil froggy guy will be winging his way to the Guncle's house with me. I'm off to Florida to celebrate Guncle Randy's birthday. Sugarwings wanted to go too, but I told her I didn't have a plane ticket for her.

She said, that we could go to the movie theater, they sell tickets! Then she could come too. She loves visiting her Guncles (gay uncles) and the beautiful beach they live near. Plus, she knows how fun those guys are. I'll miss her, but this weekend is all planned for grown ups. I promised to take her to the beach and to see the Guncles another time.

I'll be in heaven this weekend-

great food (they are the BEST cooks, and always have fresh seafood)
a weekend long craft-a-thon
champagne!
show tunes to sing along with
non-stop laughter
and the most beautiful fairy garden to sit in

(this was pre-posted, I am away from my computer right now, and all orders from my Boutique will be shipped out on Wed. the 29th. I'll be reading comments, but might not get to answer them all. )