hand painted signs – Page 4

More Corners of the Cottage Garden and an abundance of BUTTONS

antiques/junking, Books, Etsy Goodies, flowers, give away, hand painted signs, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / August 3, 2007

The Cottage Yard Tour: part two

I thought I’d show a few more photos of my yard and the exterior of the cottage. This is the back door to my studio, I painted this sign to set out when I had my studio set up as an antique shop once a month. Because of the horrid road construction, I had to stop having my sales, but I liked the sign and keep it by the back door. It is painted on a board I salvaged from the barn we had to take down. I wish I could paint my whole house that pretty blushy pink color!

I bought a stack of these ornate iron pieces at Hobby Lobby’s 90% off garden clearance a few years ago. They make great hose guards, and add interest around the beds. This one is in a raised bed guarding the thyme.

I built all the shutters on the house myself, out of boards I salvaged from an old garage we tore down. I’m also big on hanging "wall art" on the outside of the house, like this round iron piece from an old cook stove.

This large terra cotta piece hangs on the back of the house. It has been up there for about 16 years now and is starting to get a patina on it.

A tiny convex mirror in an ornate frame hangs on the outside of the patio fence.

On the inside of the fence, I hung this ceramic fruit basket over the bench.

I like to tuck little odds and ends into flower pots. This one has an angel made from a table leg (garage sale 75 cents) and an onyx ball nestled into the plants.

A friend of mine makes hand blown glass Christmas ornaments, and I buy a lot of irregulars from him at a very reasonable price. I use them all around the yard in planters.

My bird bath is made out of stacked stones around a metal base. The pots next to it are new and I don’t have them planted yet. I am going on vacation for a few days, so will wait till I get home, so I’ll be able to baby the new plants.

And here is Kitty Boy, the barn cat. But we no longer have a barn, he was heartbroken when we tore it down. I keep a velvet chair in the chicken coop for him to cozy up on now.

And of course, around here NOTHING goes to waste. The barn wood was all saved, we used as much as we could to panel my husband’s office.

I built this bathroom vanity in my husband’s office myself! The frame of it, under the siding looks pretty crooked, but it doesn’t show. I cut the Formica top pretty crooked too, but I covered it with barn wood trim and it doesn’t even show.

This is a painting i did of our yard the year we bought the place. The old barn sat where my garden is now. We left the foundation and put the garden right inside it. Over 100 years of manure and compost make the best tomatoes!!

The other barn painting in Rich’s office is of his grandfather’s barn. I am much more comfortable with a paint brush than I was with the nail gun and power saw while building the vanity!

People ask how my husband can live in my rose strewn home with all the pink everywhere, but he has this man-cave of an office with the barn siding, pool table and gym equipment, so he is pretty happy up there.

I also believe in lots of sitting areas in the yard. I keep chairs and benches everywhere. They used to be for show, but the older I get the more I sit and rest while working in the yard!

Speaking of sitting, I spent the better part of the evening sitting and sorting all these buttons I bought today. Some went into this pretty jar I got from Phyllis at http://shabbyinthecity.blogspot.com/. Others are sorted by color into small lidded dishes.

Why on earth does anyone buy so many buttons that it takes an evening to get just half of the sorted? Who knows?? They were a bargain, and pretty, and I just know I’ll use them for something! I’ll add some to my Cottage Collage Kits for Etsy too.

And why did I buy more old books, a stack of postcards and some jewelry? Well, I paid very little for them and am SURE that I will use them for something pretty, sometime!!!

Look at the colors of these cards, and see the art palette and roses on the one on the top? Had to have it, it was only 50 cents! And look at the font on the sheet music, so delicate. That will make a gorgeous background to some project, and also was under a dollar for the book of music.

I got the sweetest, unexpected mail too. A thank you card from Benny who is 3. I took him for a boat ride on Sunday and he drew a fish for me as a thanks for the trip.

Then, I got a post card from Carole of http://scoundrelsandrogues.blogspot.com/ from her Hawaiian vacation! And if that wasn’t enough kindness in the mail, I got mail art stuffed with goodies from Karen at http://bluemuf.blogspot.com/.

Every one was so nice, it just reminds me that I need to come up with a giveaway for August! Stay tuned, I’ll think of something nice and am open to suggestions. Leave a comment to enter, there will be some sort of prize at the end of the month!

Now, I need to get back to my simmering tomato sauce. I am cooking sauce to freeze. I’m making it from the garden produce. Lots of fresh herbs, tomatoes, peppers and onions, straight from my backyard!

July’s Winner and News from Somerset!

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, how to's, magazine pictures or articles, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 30, 2007

Forgive me for showing a photo that I have shown before, but I have two bits of news about it-

First, the winner of my July giveaway, the COTTAGE COLLAGE KIT- is

http://raisedincotton.typepad.com/raised_in_cotton/

Thanks everyone for your comments, I love to hear from you. I will have a new bribe, (I mean drawing) for August. Something extra special since it will be my 22nd wedding anniversary that month.

Second– Somerset contacted me to send them my Cottage Collage Kit to feature in a story about kits! How cool. I love that magazine!

I have also been talking to Romantic Country about an article about my bathroom. Another favorite magazine of mine. I do have an article coming out in that one this fall about my home, already. I really like working with them, Harris is a great company.

At Hobby Lobby’s 90% off garden clearance, I found a stack of thin, metal signs for under $1.50 each. I bought ALL of them and have been repainting them in my own style (after sanding and priming)

Here are a couple I did today.

I should be making Christmas decor for my sale in December, but I just simply gravitate toward pink roses, no matter what.

Last week, before accidentally dumping a quart of white paint on my Dorky, I primed and base coated a few pieces of furniture, and today, I finished painting two of these gorgeous chairs I got at a garage sale for $20 each.

I painted flowers on the backs too, because often you see more of the back of a chair than the front, when they are pulled up to a table.

I took photos all along the process so I can post a "how to" this week when www.artsymama.blogspot.com hosts a Artful Blogger Party on Aug. 8th. If you want start to finish steps on how to paint furniture, check back then! Also check back to see what I have to offer for my August giveaway, and thanks again for entering in July!

Teaching a Lesson

antiques/junking, Books, family, Food and Drink, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2007

I had a teaching day today! It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning, painting roses with a fellow rose lover! I had set up some treats in my "dessert wardrobe" but mostly we were too busy with our paints and brushes to indulge in the cookies.

Actually I had 2 students. Gail brought her 10 year old daughter, Deja to learn how to paint a rose sign too.

I was able to get 2 done myself while demonstrating the flowers.

These are on lightweight, metal, pre-made signs. I liked working with them, it was a change from the usual old wood that I use for my signs.

While I had my brushes out, I finished Sugarwing’s purple pony that I am painting for her first birthday. I added a lot of glitter to it, so it will need quite a few more coats of poly, so the glitter won’t be sharp against her baby soft skin.

Last night while cleaning up my studio to get ready for today’s sign painting, I decorated a candle. I used bits and pieces of paper and trim that were left on the craft table from previous projects and fixed up a candle that had been on sale at Michaels for 50 cents.

What caught my eye about this candle, is that the card stock circle on the top of it, is actually a sticker. Once that circle is peeled off, instead of tossing it, it can be re-used onto something else.

So, I thought it was worth the time to glitter and foof up the cover. Then, I added some vintage trim to the jar rim, and polka dotted glitter on the jar itself.

The pretty angel image I used came from the FABULOUS estate sale that Beth and I went to this week.

My friend, Vicky, invited us to her home early to shop before she was open to the public, and she has the best stuff. She is an artist also, but extremely successful- I’m talking about a 4 story house with an elevator!!! Wow, you don’t see those in Lawrence, KS. She does beautiful work and has a similar taste in decor to me (hers is just on a grander scale).

I bought stacks and stacks of lovely old books from her, suitable for all sort of crafts and ideas. Remember the cabinet I mentioned a while back, that I said I didn’t even use for storage? I do now! It is filled with books from Vicky.

She had some pinks and whites for my kitchen. The Hull pitcher with the roses on it, was only $5.

The creamer was a gift from Beth! She gets boxes and boxes of things from auctions and sometimes brings me flowery things that aren’t her style. She brought 2 flats of goodies for me this time.

This scrap book from Vicky was FILLED with vintage images! For TWO DOLLARS! I will add some of the images to my Cottage Collage Kit giveaway that I will be drawing names for at the end of the month, too.(leave a comment to enter)

Let’s, see, what else did I get. hmmm… This cute topiary type pot (that I will glitter up and decorate for Christmas) was $2 too.

3 urns for $18 (great for storing wallpaper!), a wrought iron garden bench, and a ton of interesting terra cotta pots (that she gave to me)

And a box full of these wonderful appliques! Her whole house was trimmed out in these, everywhere, all over, even the turret. Yep, her house had a turret. Wow. My kind of sale!

I’m sure I am leaving some purchases out, I just was overwhelmed by the sale, it was all such great stuff. Check out Beth’s blog to see what she got at the sale too. http://bethleintz.typepad.com/

Bunnies, Ballerinas, and Bears, oh my

antiques/junking, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, how to's, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 23, 2007

That dumpster might have been yucky and smelly, but I am loving the stuff I pulled from it.

I dug out an old, broken magazine rack and almost tossed it back in. But it had a cute shape, so I kept it. When I got home, I gave it a good whack with a hammer and tore it apart.

This section with the bear painted on it is the center of the rack, with the handle on the top.

Wouldn’t this be sweet in a little baby girl’s room? $20 if you are interested.

I have a thing for ballerina bears. I have painted a t-shirt for Sugarwings with this on it, and did a mural for a friend’s daughter of a cute dancing bear in a tutu also.

My matchbox is ready to be mailed for Natasha’s Swap. http://natashaburns.blogspot.com/

My partner is Debra of http://www.hophopjingleboo.blogspot.com/ who is a talented artist and a collector of bunnies (she is hosting a bunny swap, you should check it out).

I was fresh out of vintage bunny paper (or maybe I never had any), so I painted some bunnies on my matchbox.

My first step was to paint the entire thing pink, and add some striping. While the paint was wet, I dumped a bunch of glitter to the inside of the newly pink box.

I painted a white rose on one end and a brown bunny to the other end. Then I wrapped the sleeve part of the box in vintage sheet music and wallpaper and painted a bunny on the top.

I drew some gold swirls on the bottom, and glued chenille ribbon and crystals to the sides, so it is pretty from all angles.

I thought it was missing something, so glued 3 little vintage millinery flowers to the top. I bought the flowers from Deb Dusenberry of Curious Sofa http://curioussofa.blogspot.com/.

When she was moving from her old location to her new (and magnificent) store, I worked at her moving sale. How cool to style her shop and get the sale set up!!!! Ooh, I felt schmancy working there. She had bundles and bundles of these posies

marked from $1.50 to $3.00 each so I bought quite a few.

I also bought a pair of these columns from her. I have them in a nook of my studio.

I might have spent more than I earned that weekend working at her shop.

Back to the matchbox- those things are tiny, but you can jam a lot into them!

I found some old bunny shaped buttons, rhinestones, and some small ephemera goodies. To top it off, I put in another teeny bouquet of those posies from Curious Sofa and tied them up with black velvet ribbon.

Last week while Garage Sailing, I found an old jewelry box, for almost nothing and it had quite a bit of old jewelry in it (included in the price).

There just happened to be a bunny brooch inside!Just what I needed for my swap partner who loves bunnies. Fate?!

It is way too big for the matchbox, plus I wanted to add some copies of my little fairy girls too, so I wrapped them all up together in old silk wallpaper and tied it with a silk ribbon I hand dyed.

But the trouble is, now I am SWAPLESS!! I am all caught up and have no swaps to do. Although, I saw an art-doll hat swap that looks really unique…… take a look at it here: http://craftingbycandlelight.blogspot.com/

I was still up and working at 4am last night, so missed Garage Sailing this morning. I thought about just working till 6am, then going out sailing, but realized that I am way way way too old for those old tricks and went to bed for a few hours. I can’t go with out sleep like I used to when I was in my 20s and could stay out all night, then work the next morning.

We had company all day (family BBQ) and all I could think about was a nap.

This little nightstand used to be the right half of a desk. I got it cheap-cheap-cheap because it was butchered up a bit in the deconstruction.

Some wood putty, sand paper, primer and paint is all it needed to be a decent little hunk of furniture.

I was going to do more to it, but thought the hardware was so nice, I didn’t want to distract from it. Plus, it was about 3am.

Well, it is about midnight now, and if I want to go Garage Sailing tomorrow, I’d better get some rest. I cannot miss it two days in a row!! Its already near the end of June and my shopping days are slipping by. The season is just too short around here!!

Ps- the wierd mask is spoken for now.

ppss- don’t forget, only SEVEN DAYS till the drawing for the handpainted charm. leave a comment if you want to enter!

Vacationing

fairies, hand painted signs, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 25, 2007

Hello, from Indiana! I am at my sister’s house, enjoying the last couple days of my trip. Part of the fun, is wandering around her house and looking at all the pretties she has collected. As much as I enjoyed the mountains of N. Carolina, the views here in Sissy’s house are every bit as pretty to me!

Sissy’s house is filled with winged creatures and sparkles and glitter.

These angels, birds and orchids are the view while washing dishes at her kitchen sink. Makes cleaning up after one of our many family feasts this weekend, a pleasant chore.

She has added extra crystals to the chandelier she had installed in the kitchen to make it doubley sparkly.

And I was touched to see that she has a sign I had painted for her hung up in the kitchen too.

I also spied a hand painted box I had made for her years ago, with two teddy bear sisters on it.

I LOVE the wall color she has used throughout the house, such a peaceful blue. A perfect backdrop to all the fairies and angels that live in her home.

Everywhere I look, she has added sparkles. Whether it is a bowl of gems, a vial of fairy dust sprinkled across her sidewalks, or crystals hanging in the windows to catch the sun and make light birdies that dance across the room.

And if anyone loves fairies more than I do, it is Sis.

Staying here is magical. Everywhere I look, a fairy or angel is smiling back at me.

So far, not much in the junking department. My husband talks big about letting me stop wherever I want while driving across country, but never seems to see the places I point out in time to turn. Then he says "Do you actually want me to TURN AROUND????" And he says it in the same tone he might say "Do you actually want me to jab a fork in my eye????" Or "do you actually want me to drive off that cliff????" So, we missed all the cute roadside places in N. Carolina. I get my junk day tomorrow with my sisters and niece while he plays golf. Wish me luck!!

Accomplishments

Film, flowers, hand painted signs, paintings

By Karla Nathan / May 16, 2007

I got done all the things I needed to today!

1-My partner in faux finishing and I worked on the bid for the HUGE job that starts after my trip.

2-I painted this baby shirt for my niece’s baby shower, since I will miss the party while on my trip. The tiny shirt is painted with an "N" for Nebraska, but with flowers added since she is expecting a girl.

3- I painted this "simplify" sign for a reader, Kathy, who saw another one I had done and asked me to paint one for her.

Notice, the sock on the table? I didn’t have a rag handy and had to pull a sock off my foot real quick for a wipe up. It happens in art sometimes.

4- I wrote a submission for an article with the photos we worked on this week.

5- I made a cute package to send the submission in to the editor.

6- I got all the water sprinklers in place for my son to water our new plantings while we are out of town.

7- I bought a bunch of groceries for my son to eat while we’re gone. But he doesn’t eat much, he has lost 100 pounds in the last year. The guy lives on turkey sandwiches.

8- I had a BBQ with Sugarwings and her parents, and got lots of good cuddles, even though she was making green snot bubbles most of the time. I think I might be guaranteed to have a runny nose about half way through my vacation.

9-I worked on my art journal to take with me so I would have pictures of Sugarwings that I could stare at while I was missing her. This photo uses a tag I bought from Beth’s Etsy shop.http://bethleintz.typepad.com/

10- I mailed my May Bucket prizes and took care of some Ebay stuff.

11- I planted all my veggies and got my garden ready for the season. The sun was going down as I finished in the garden, and the wild flowers I planted earlier at the edge of the woods were looking so pretty against the darkness of the trees behind them.

Wild roses grow up the trees and the air was filled with their scent. Geez, now I am homesick again. It is hard to leave my flowers behind for ten days.

Tomorrow I pack, mail Ebay stuff, rent a ton of books on tape, suds up the 3 dogs and throw them all in the car once they are clean. Even the puppy who gets carsick. Nothing makes a trip go faster than a good book on tape and the smell of dog barf coming from the back seat. I think I’ll need a few rolls of paper towels for the trip too.

Caring Bloggers Rose Day

hand painted signs

By Karla Nathan / April 30, 2007

I was browsing through the many beautiful blogs out there- instead of working like I should be. I need to get things ready for the art show I am in on Sunday. Someday, I’ll make time to get ready for it, Yea, right- I seem to be too easily sidetracked lately! Between babysitting for the fairy grandbaby, digging in the garden, browsing blogs, and painting things for the heck of it, instead of for sale, I’ll have an empty booth!

I came across a blog: http://brittarnhildshouseinthewoods.typepad.com/brittarnhilds_house_in_th/

that is asking us to participate in Caring Blogger’s Rose Day on May 10th. Well, count me in! What do I like more than roses? Maybe blogging?

Here are some of my roses on a sign I painted and have hanging in my breezeway.

I think that for this challenge, I will post a rose a day till the tenth. I should have enough hand painted ones to share, if not, I’ll get to painting some!

Simplify

hand painted signs

By Karla Nathan / April 26, 2007

I got a present!! Vickie at http://vickichrisman.blogspot.com/ sent me this Spring mix as a prize in her drawing. Lucky, lucky me! Now, I really just want to sit down and glue stuff. But- I have an art show to get ready for and need to finish some portraits.

I spent so much time on the banner yesterday, before being bailed out by Beth, who zipped in and got it fixed, that I got nothing else done. Plus, my husband (who I really do love and I really do miss when he is out of town) came back a day early from his business trip! I just don’t get accomplished what I need to when he is home. But, I am glad he is back and I know how lucky I am to have a handsome husband who wants to hang out with me. So, I won’t complain, I know I am lucky. Heck, I have a prize from Vickie to prove it, too!!

Here is a sign I painted on a piece of old wood from a drawer. I think it is a worthwhile message. I do tend to make things complicated. I never think that a little bit is enough, I go all out with everything I do. Having SugarWings, my fairy grand baby, in my life has helped with that. Sometimes, all you need to do is simply "be". Just relax and enjoy the minute. Watching her grow is my favorite pastime now. when she is here, I don’t feel the need to constantly be working and pretty-fy-ing junk.

Heck, I have a TON of inventory I can take to the art show next week.I shouldn’t let myself get worked up about getting more work done. I’m going to go and glue something pretty with the Spring gift pack from Vickie. Thanks, again, Vickie!

ooops

hand painted signs

By Karla Nathan / April 24, 2007

Well, it is a start. I tried to load my new banner and all I have is a corner of it! I also changed some colors and fonts and will try those out and see if I like them. Might be a bit before I can get the banner repaired and made to fit, this will require HELP!!!

So, in the mean time, all you get is a peak at the new look!

I’m Just Taking a Break to get a Little Work Done- I am not hiding out from my guests!!!!!!! seriously)

hand painted signs

By Karla Nathan / April 8, 2007

While the guests are gathered around the veggie trays and deviled eggs, I have taken a little break to list a couple new ebay items before I have to get the turkey out of the oven, because we are going out of town tomorrow. I am sticking with the schedule that Ebay Guru Beth-http://bethleintz.typepad.com/gathering_dust/ – has set me on, she is giving me assignments to follow and I am doing my best. She has been the biggest help to me, and really isn’t at all bossy, just nicely encouraging to me. If she would be a little bossier, I might have gotten listing sooner! Well, procrastinating, or not marketing are both artist issues. It is so much more fun to create than to try to sell.

I decided to list some more signs that I painted. Here is one. I love to make them, and never do 2 alike, even if it is the same phrase or colors, they all come out differently. I also take requests….. that is, if you are interested?