holiday decor – Page 13 – Karla's Cottage

Quick, cute, and easy ways to decorate with vintage Valentines

By Karla Nathan / February 5, 2018

After Christmas, I decided to leave my lace angel wings up through Valentine's Day, and wanted another little sumpthin that would add to the lovin theme for the mantel. But it had to be quick and easy because I was…. well, I guess I was lazy.

After all of the taking up and putting away of the Christmas foofery, I might have been slightly burnt out on decorating.

Previously, I'd cut up some holiday heart and polka dot drinking straws and slid them onto a string as an example for a banner class years ago. I tucked the ends of this pre-made banner string under stuff sitting on the mantel, and clipped vintage cards to the string with curtain hooks.

(You could use any pretty cards, or wouldn't it be adorable with cards that kids had made? And wooden clothes pins, or other clips would work as well. I used those old, metal German ones)

Of course, special, old Valentine cards are always lovely as can be. This only took a few moments, and as a bonus, will take even less time to take down again later.

I thought about adding some roses to the white vases on the mantel, but remember, I was feeling lazy. It would have looked nice, thou.

I took the rest of the stack of Victorian Valentines and stuck pins through inconspicuous spots to add them onto my dress form. She was still wearing her Christmas angel wings and layered aprons. A couple cards went into her pocket and the others were stuck on in a semi pattern.

Not much time, very little trouble and (I think) pretty dang cute.

(The wings are from Victorian Trading Company's outlet store, and I spritzed them with blue Glimmer Mist)

Valentine Kits Available

By Karla Nathan / January 31, 2018

I've been working away on cleaning up the studio, and getting kits ready for myparty on Saturday to make some Valentine projects.

Pulling together the supplies for a kit is a joy for me. I love compiling the pretties needed to create with. A couple of years ago, I found this box at a garage sale, and it has been ideal for sorting my goodies and packing up kits. And it sure makes getting one of everything into the bags.

Plus, doesn't it all look yummy pulled together like that?

After setting aside a package for each guest, I've got a few extras if you'd like to make one.

The kits can be found in the Boutique.

And here is a sample of what is included:

a painted candy box ready to decorate
vintage, silk brocade wallpaper in cream and tan to cover the lid
a selection of tiny millinery blooms
a snippet of rhinestones
5 images from vintage photos printed onto high quality matte photo paper for you to chose from
various tidings of sweet phrases and words printed in different fonts and sizes
hand dyed crepe paper sewn into a ruffle for you to trim the box (the box I created does not have the ruffle on it, but the instructions show how to add one)
two strands of lace
one wide, one narrow velvet ribbon
vintage French text
hand illustrated instructions

The box is approximately 4×4" and the kit includes all you need to finish it as pictured, including the option of using different pictures or phrases in place of the one that I used on mine.

Since i have used many vintage pieces, some kits will vary, although all are of equal style and value.

Around the Cottage in Janurary

dogs, family, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / January 15, 2018

This Christmas season, I had my halls decked extremely early, and when the holiday passed, I was ready to say toodle-doo to what all of a sudden felt like clutter. So, on the 26th, the marathon pack up began. Surprisingly, the tear down goes pretty fast. I have to be very organized to make soooooo many things fit into one closet under the stairs.

And it did fit! I had my doubts because I had added some decor to my previous years' stash.

As glad as I am to streamline in January, I can't bear to put it all away at once, and always leave a bit out. Like the angel wings mounted on burlap over my bluebird and roses paintings. They will stay up through Valentines. And over the windows in the grand fairies' craft nook, I have frosted branches and white lights. To me, those are considered "winter decorations."

And it has been TOO COLD to put away the outdoor stuff.

This girl doesn't seem to feel the cold. It has been hard to convince her to come in when it snows. Although, right now, it seems hard to convince her of anything. She has developed a stubborn streak. Sugar has been the most perfect pup I've ever had the joy to work with. So, I think I took her good behavior for granted and stopped working with her. She got into some bad habits and we are back on a training schedule again.

She is only 8 months old, and I have to remember she will be a puppy for at least another year, even tho she is such a big girl now.

This big girl isn't ready to complete give up on our Christmas cocoa parties in front of the tree. I miss them too, but have to limit them to December while the tree is up and sparkling, to keep them special. But they are hard to give up on cold turkey! So we have been having some tea parties with our favorite dolls as a transition into January.

The girls, as well as I, have a very hard time going from so many fun holiday activities to "real life." We are already on the countdown to December 2018!

Having a special Valentine party to look forward to helps. If you'd like to come too, please check out the details on my previous post.

Girlfriends’ Craft Day- the holiday edition, glitz and sparkle time!

friends, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 9, 2018

Tami and I got to be friends through Birdsong, and a group of local-ish Peeps who met through our crafty weekends got to be close. Tami has coordinated many get togethers for us to gather together and have some girlfriend time.

She sets up space in her basement studio and offers up a generous and (eye popping) array of supplies as well as some ideas for projects.

This is a lid to a chewing gum tin I've spiffed up with one of the little angels she had out for us to use.

I used another one in this little mint box.

I'd brought supplies of my own to use too, and got quite a few ornies made. This one is sold, the others were for gifts. The glass dome on this is from an old clock, I had a few, but not as many as I'd like! It would be nice to find a big pile of those to play with.

One I used to make a gift for Guncle Kevin, the other I put together as a kit for Guncle Randy to make one for himself.

Since I had some specific gifts to get done, I didn't participate in a mini class Tami offered for the morning.

But I sure enjoyed watching the others make theirs.

Cute, huh?

Beth numbered hers in sections to use as a journal/calendar.

The day goes by way too fast, and I usually have to rush back to Lawrence for family something or others, and am jealous when some of the rest of the group turns it into a sleepover!

Some weekend, I'll just have to make that work somehow. Because there is never enough time to treasure with good friends!

Hi there, Mr. Claus!

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 22, 2017

We love to visit Santa and have a fabulous brunch at The Nicklaus Club at Lionsgate.

And not just because the napkins are folded like trees.

It is a fun excuse to get dressed up and spend some time with family and that jolly old elf, himself.

This year, the grand fairies made gifts for him, and he liked them so much, he offered the kiddos jobs at the North Pole as elves. I told them that I'd miss them a lot, but it sounded like a good opportunity.

We've been visiting him for years.

Since Dewdrop was just tiny.

Oh, they grow sooooooo fast, don't they?

And the holiday season is gone in a flash.

I'm enjoying every single blessed moment of it! And I hope that you are too.

The master bedroom and the hearth room from the holiday home tour, a couple more videos

cottage, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 20, 2017

These pillows are $5 each at Walmart! And had a nice sparkle to them.

My rose and bluebird paintings get covered up with foam core board and burlap, then I add angel wings for the holidays. The foam core is held in place with a couple of small nails into the frames.

Everything looks better under glass! I added a couple of cloches to this display, and used books for different levels.

This is a pre-lit garland from Kohls that I ended up getting free with good ole Kohls' Cash. I added dried hydrangeas then rounded up all of my angels.

The stained glass piece that my friend made fits this lace heart so well that I might leave it up all year. Heck, I've already got a start on holiday mishmash by leaving out the Valentine heart. I should slap an Easter egg on it and go for it.

Scenes from the Holiday Home Tour (a ton of photos)

cottage, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 17, 2017

I'd been a little worried about having enough volunteers for the tour, but my friends dropped by to help out. We also ended up with some Americore kids that needed some public service hours (the tour benefitted the non-profit, Healthcare Access). So, all bases were covered and there were plenty of helpers. Instead of them helping an hour then leaving, they stayed all day and we turned it into a party! There was crafting, visiting, and just hanging out going on.

Having my pals there sure made the day extra special for me.

Any day that you get to laugh with your friends is the best kind of day.

Twinkle decided to be the greeter. She is always a good helper too.

Having my entire house clean at the same time was the hardest part of the event.

Especially with a husband and kids around. I had the kids' rooms cleaned and ready ahead of time, then the girls asked to come over to stay. I told Sugarwings she could sleep overnight before the tour if she promised to be invisible like a fairy and not leave a trace behind. She took that as a challenge and slept on top of her bed with a blanket so I didn't have to remake the bed. She took a lot of pride in being an invisible fairy and keeping her room perfect.

Both girls were pretty cute about helping with their rooms. They fixed up their doll house and decorated a bottle brush tree to put in it and added a Santa and sleigh to the rooftop.

My whole family went through some displacement and discomfort getting ready and I appreciate their efforts. None of us could find anything, since I'd hidden every day objects in cabinets and closets.

Usually, a cup of pens, a notepad, and reading glasses sit on this piece of furniture, but things like that were tucked out of sight for a couple of days.

And I had the table set for a pretend dinner party, which made morning coffee time not quite as comfy as usual. The grand fairies had breakfast at their craft table, my husband and I shoved plates out of the way at the dining table. And we went out for dinner on Saturday night!!

It was the perfect excuse not to cook.

But this was only for two days, and while it might not have been as convenient as normal to live in the cottage, that wasn't a big deal and was worth the effort. My family deserves a big thank you for putting up with all of the hoo-ha.

As do my friends for spending the day with me and helping with the guests.

A friend came by to take photos to shop around to magazines while everything was cleaned up, and I hope that they turned out okay, because home tour set up is different than a magazine shoot. Having a bare floor and no coffee table is ideal with 400 people walking through the home, but for a magazine article, I'd have cluttered it up a bit. But I'm sure that the photographer understood angles and got shots that made it feel less bare. I wasn't able to help her, and she was grabbing shots when the light was good and between rushes of guests.

I might have already posted some of these pics, but thought I'd just throw them all in here. So, I'll leave you with the rest of the shots I got that day-

(ps- A $5 poinsettia plant and some evergreens picked from the yard make great cut flower arrangements! I was able to make quite a few for that $5 investment)

Pink Powder Room with roses and Master Bath at the holidays- another couple of videos and some photos too

cottage, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 14, 2017

This tin box is covered in old wallpaper and a postcard, then filled with shiny brites.

I snipped a branch off of an evergreen and added some to two vases with a couple of roses in them for a budget minded floral display.

A snowman soap dispenser gets used all winter, then packed away til the next Christmas season.

New Christmas goodies in the Boutique

fairies, holiday decor, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 9, 2017

I've had quite a few samples of holiday decor made up for A Snowbird's Song and some extra decorations for the Holiday Home Tour.

Now that both have passed, I'm trying to get photos of the pretties to add to the Boutique.

Here are some Sugar Plum fairies as individual ornaments (the banners have sold, there might be a kit left, please contact me if you'd like one, karlanathan@sbcglobal.net).