holiday decor – Page 19 – Karla's Cottage

What is on the menu? Grow, greens, grow!!!!

By Karla Nathan / November 25, 2015

This photo was taken a couple of days ago. The greens were still a little puny, but they are growing as fast as they can. I'm hoping to have fresh salad for our big family dinner tomorrow.

The nights are getting colder, and this window box that my son built (4 old wooden windows from the Habit ReStore screwed together with a hinged one top) is getting wobbly from being outdoors for a few years. The glass on the top is loose, so I've had to go out and cover it all with plastic every night, then remove that so the sun can shine it during the day.

So far, so good. But with 22 people to feed, this might end up being a skimpy salad…

It hasn't been that long since it was planted, but maybe I should have started a week earlier. This was a simple project I saw on Pinterest, and it worked well.

All you do is buy a bag of topsoil, slit it open and sprinkle in seeds. The bag sits directly on the ground, and there are a few holes poked in the bottom of the bag before making slits in the top and adding the mixed greens seeds.

I've never watered it. If my window box wasn't old and wonky, it would be even easier, I wouldn't have had to cover it on cold nights.

I might buy another window (they are usually $5 each at the Habitat store) and replace the top one that is falling apart and see if Kansas will allow a lettuce crop for our Christmas dinner too. That might be pushing it.

But worth trying!

Our 2015 pumpkin harvest wasn't all that bountiful.

Mostly because I didn't plant any- a vines sprang up from last year's gourds! Trouble was, they were in a bad spot, sprouting from a flower bed in front of the chicken coop, where the vines wanted to stretch out across the yard. So a lot got ran over with the mower.

But a few little punkins survived. I'll be roasting one today to see if it is big enough to bake a pie. Things that are home grown are even more special for a holiday meal, don't you think?

I hope you have a tasty day surrounded by loved ones too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elf shoes

holiday decor, how to's

By Karla Nathan / November 23, 2015

Beth and Karla came over to visit for a much needed afternoon of laughter and crafters last week. Beth stitched, Karla did some crochet, and I worked on these elfin booties.

They started out as tiny, Made in Japan porcelain shoes. I didn't care for the orange flowers on them, but liked the shoes themselves, so thought I'd cover up the flowers somehow.

That became a whole makeover from sole to top. The toughest part was making them into something that could hang on a tree. While they would be sweet sitting around on a table top, I really wanted them to be tree ornaments.

So, I took a long wire, twisted it to fill the bottom of the inside of the shoe, then flooded it with glue. Over that, I stuffed the shoes with fiberfil, and topped it with mica flakes.

After the structural part was finished, I could get on with fun parts- the foofing!

And the filling. This one has a tiny, wrapped gift.

Each is just a little different.

They are $12 each and you can find them here.

I've also started glittering and dyeing trees. This might be my preferred look for this year. The tree itself is a natural tone and sits on a simple, vintage, wooden spool.

So far, it is the only one I have listed on Etsy in this color. More to come, I hope… there are some whites and pastels and I do have a table full that needs organizing, photographing, and listing.

But for now? I'm off to the grocery store to fill my car with ingredients to fix a feast for our big gathering on Thursday. I've got some helpers chipping in on the cooking, but there are some special tidbits I have in mind to make too.

I hope your planning is going well, too. Have a good holiday week!

Sugarplum Fairy Banners

collections, Etsy Goodies, fairies, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 20, 2015

It is hard to make up my mind, sometimes "JOY" is my favorite word for the season, other times it is "Merry". I can't go wrong either way, both are full of holiday cheer. Of course, with Thanksgiving coming up, "Thankful" is another one that is on my mind.

Well, I'm feeling them all.

I am Thankful that I've had some Merry time in the studio creating these Joyful banners!

There is nothing I enjoy creating more than Christmassy, glittery, foofy, merry, and joyful decorations!

Especially with all of my favorite supplies. Like the soft pink, hand dyed wool roving on this little lady's Santa hat. And velvet. Oh, and MICA flakes! Flocked Wallpaper!! And lace, yes, lots of lace and netting!

Throw in a few Sugarplum Fairies and I'm a happy little elf.

I know, I know, it isn't quite Thanksgiving yet…

But Christmas is coming. And I adore making things for it.

I've been lucky to have a couple of uninterrupted days to play with my favorite supplies and whip all of these up, along with the Sugarplum Fairy Kits I posted about last time.

If you are ready for some festive pretties too, you can find some trees in my Etsy shop. The Sugarplum Fairy Kits and banners are in the Boutique.

If things go as I hope they do… more will be coming too. My heart is all a twitter just thinking about stuffing tiny little stockings with vintage cuteness, and oh, the tart tins! I haven't unpacked the tart tins yet. Those are such fun to fill up with pretties…

Sugarplum Fairy Kits

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

By Karla Nathan / November 19, 2015

Two of my favorite things in the whole world? Fairies and Christmas! (that includes grand fairies, too, of course)

I'd started out making angels, but as I worked on them, they became Sugarplum Fairies. Although, if you look at them right, they make sweet little cherubs too.

Something else that I love- THE GOOD STUFF!

I do not believe in saving my best supplies for something better. As I always say, if a project is worth my time, it is worth the BEST supplies. And I figure you'll agree with me, that these sparkly sprites deserve to don their best for the holiday season, right?

Kits are $18-$22 (Mercy is a bit more, she has a larger tree and the flocked wallpaper)

Each girl gets a very, very vintage silk ribbon flower from my stash of prized pretties.

The pictures I used are all old sepia ones that I edited, sized, and printed on high quality photo paper.

And all of the mercury glass beads for the little trees are authentic.

There will be shiny rhinestones, some of my favorite old wallpapers, and lots of other pretty things to work with, including hand illustrated instructions to follow. I've done a basic set of instructions, then listed each of the girls separate. The sprite that you order will be circled on the instructions, but you can also look through the directions for the other girls in case that gives you some ideas for creating your lil fairy.

Each kit offers the choice of making a magic wand for your Sugarplum Fairy to hold, or a mini tree instead. If you don't want to put the tree into her hand, you can sit it on the little gift that you'll wrap in vintage paper.

The kits come with trees too. You have the option to decorate a spool for the tree to set on, or use it as is with the white base, like here.

I've included a spoonful of mica flakes to add some snowy sparkly too.

(the bottle brush trees are already mica-ed up for you)

The girls all have white feather wings to honor all the Christmas angels watching over us.

(you could add a touch of glitter to them if you'd like)

This girl, Constance Joy, comes in ivory or pink, but on both, I've provided some gorgeous, gold metallic wallpaper to use on her base.

While Mercy stands on plush, pink, flocked paper.

You will back them with card stock that I have printed with Jingle Bells sheet music.

Because it is important for a project to look just as good from all angles, right?

My studio is filled with these darlings right now. I've loved making them, even more that I did the little Witchy Girls I had whipped up for Halloween. I probably enjoyed making them a little too much, by the looks of this room… I might have to list some finished ones to sell too.

Or just keep them and love them.

Sugarplum fairies flitting in, soon

fairies, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 15, 2015

Do you remember my little witch friends, Leitha and Rowena? Well, those girls have twin sisters! This is Merry, she is a Sugarplum fairy, her sis is Leitha the little Witchy Girl.

Rowena has a twin named Constance, who is also a fairy. I'm working on getting these fairies, some angels and other girls gathered together to make kits for the holidays in case you'd like a flock of fairies around your own home for holiday decor.

Luckily, I have a whole troupe of fairies to pitch in and help, I'm pretty far behind for the season.

I've barely even started on the tree dying. No glitter or color has been applied yet. There are a few trees listed on Etsy, but very, very few compared to my regular November schedule.

Now, while October was one of the most fun months I've ever had, with non-stop travel, parties and fun, November has turned into a serious catch up time. Well, at least it should be… I'm afraid that I haven't gotten much catching up done yet and the month is half over…

I feel very much like that irresponsible grasshopper that the ant has to lecture about not being prepared.

But you know what? I kinda liked being the grasshopper, for a change! Bouncing around from trip to trip and having fun with people I love. It was very hard for me to get back into worker ant mode when I returned. I played with grand fairies, did yard work to take advantage of the brilliant and uncommon November weather we have had, and then worked in my souvenir style art journals.

I love making mementos of my trips while the memories are still fresh, and once I get going on a journal it is hard to stop, and I also created a whole album for the rest of the year. I filled the vintage photo album journal that Beth taught me how to make, leaving just a few pages for the holiday season to be added later.

(I'll have some journal pages to show you too)

Both journals are done for now, even though I'm tempted to keep adding and adding little tidbits (are art journals ever really done?) They are still nearby on my desk and if I find something interesting in my stash, or an idea pops into my head, the journals get fiddled with again and I take a break from my belated Christmas crafts.

But lookee here! I got some wings made. These are now in the Boutique. I also whipped up a few banners and am designing that flock of fairies that I'd mentioned.

Soooo, I'm trying to get in gear. Now that I've got most of the journal compulsion under control, I've enjoyed sliding into my mica flake/glitter obsession. The things that I make this time of year are usually a few of my favorite things. (and in my Christmas loving mind, that was sung to the tune of, well, you know the song).

I'm not going to beat myself up about being behind, I'm going to throw myself into making those things that I adore and let the carols blast away in the background as I work.

Also, I want to thank all of you who buy my sparkly pretties each year, and let you know how much I love making them all. November is a time for gratitude (well, every month should be, but at Thanksgiving, the thoughts are more prevalent, aren't they?) And I want to express gratitude for the ability to travel, and for the flexibility of being able work on journals and get caught up with family activities when I return even if it puts me behind in my sales for the season. And that I have someone who will buy my pretties when I do get them made.

I know I'm lucky.

Thanks!

Happy Halloween! And some zombies

family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 31, 2015

My Darling lil Sugarwings has caught the zombie bug. She is still enamoured with princesses, but for this Halloween, she wants to be a Zombie Elsa. And her mom was pretty good with the makeup for the annual Lawrence Zombie Walk.

The kiddo was kind of creepy, she had the act down. She stayed in character and is a good little actress.

As usual, the town turned out for the show, with what seemed like half the population as walkers, the other half watching downtown as the undead paraded by.

It was very much like the herds on the Walking Dead.

ugh

Double ugh

Maybe some day, I'll join in, now that I don't have my trusty side kick to watch it with, she is one of the herd now.

Although, I'm pretty happy with my routine of getting a table at cafe that offers sidewalk dining and watching the event from the comfort of my seat. This time, I sat at the Roost and ate coconut cake with a decaf latte as the goriness tromped by. My husband was out of town, and the rest of the family was occupied (the girl's dad stayed home with Dewdrop, she is a bit sensitive for the scary parts) so I was on my own.

I almost didn't go, but when I found out that Sugarwings and her mommy were shuffling through town, drenched in blood, how could I stay home and miss that?

And it was a nice, fall evening, crisp but not cool. Those days are going to be getting fewer and fewer as winter approaches.

Plus, ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!!! Why was I even thinking about missing that???

I'm glad I went. And I am already looking forward to next year!

Romantic Gothic Ghosts at the cottage, a spooky studio tour

Food and Drink, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 18, 2015

Having my home all spookied up has been fun. Maybe that is why I'm so into all of the witches and haunted house projects?

The haunting decor was set out for my Romantic Gothic Ghosts gathering earlier in the month. I have such a hectic October this year, with three trips and other fun things, that I almost didn't do much decorating.

But I'm glad I did, it has been inspiring for me. I don't think I've ever gotten into so much Halloween themed creating as I have this year. It has been one witch, haunted house, and banner after another.

Well, at least, not since Beth and I did the online zine with how tos and printables titled Romantic Gothic Ghosts back in 2009 or so. That was such fun to do and I just recently reread it. It has some good tips and is pretty cool. And still for sale, here, if you'd like to check it out too.

Oh, I've always enjoyed making witchy things, this pink witch is from a few years ago. But I don't think I've had quite as many to sell in the past. It has been rewarding to see how well they sell and to see that others like the witchy goods too.

At the craft day, after our main project, the ladies stayed late and I got them making banners too. here is Tami's, in progress.

This is the main project for the day, an apothecary jar filled with ghosts and witches.

I'm afraid I don't have any kits for this, but I do still have some little witchy girl kits, if you'd like to make a free standing witch of your own.

The other kits available are the "Book of Mysteries" journals.

Some of my decor for the party was pretty simple. I have this large, spring time mural with blue birds that was too cheerful for this season. So, I printed some bat and witch images and taped them over the birds. Here it is halfway done.

And here it is all batty. I probably should've added some cobwebs to the pink tree…

This was Sugarwings favorite bit of decorating. She is a big, Wizard of Oz fan, so loved this idea.

The tablescape was set up for the party, but the little girls liked it too, so I've left it up for the month. But without my Great Grandma Nellie's hand made table cloth underneath.

I'm a big believer in using the special things I own, not leaving them stashed away in drawers to save for another day. But I'm not stupid and I know that if I left it out for everyday, it would soon be a ketchupy mess.

I'll leave you with more photos from the day and of my studio.

Ghost party 027

Another Halloween Banner

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

By Karla Nathan / October 16, 2015

Thanks for all of the banner and witchy love! I've enjoyed making these and have kept on making more as all of them sell.

Sometimes I sell so many kits for others to create with that I don't think about selling my own pieces. It is a good feeling to be encouraged to keep making these, I've loved doing each one.

The haunted houses too.

No two of any of my witches, banners, or haunted houses have been the same, but all are made from the luscious pile of goodies on my table that never quite gets put away.

Maybe when I run out of wonderful, old, black flowers, I'll be done?

It's time to switch focus to (yes seriously, it really is time for this) CHRISTMAS. Wow, already? Well, yep. If I want to sell hand dyed trees and little angel kits, and vintagey tree decorations, it is getting late for me to get them all made and ready to go.

But can you blame me for still being in a spooky mode? Heck, it is only mid October!

We are still knee deep in zombies and gore around here. Last night was the annual Zombie Walk, and my darling, little princess got infected with zombie fever. I'll have more pics from the parade later on. For now, I guess I'd better be starting in on some angels.

I hope I don't accidentally add a pumpkin or some cobwebs to them…

More Halloween Goodies-“Trouble”

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

By Karla Nathan / October 15, 2015

Oh my, when I say I like to use the "good stuff", this is an excellent example of that! Vintage lace, old cabinet cards, millinery, silk ribbon flowers, rhinestones, old text, and more.

This banner consists of 5, 5" traingles of chipboard covered with vintage paper, front and back. The witches are cut directly from cabinet cards, glittered up with details, and each person has been witch-i-fied.

From the center piece, hangs a collaged charm that I made, with a little witch, a rhinestone, and the word "trouble" under a clear glaze.

Available here.

Witchy Girl Banners- BOO

collections, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 3, 2015

Today is the day of the Romantic Gothic Ghost class, and I was having sooooo much fun with witchy girls that I almost didn't get ready on time!

My house has had a population explosion of tiny witches all over the place.

I've even given the girls a brother, this is Newt.

And a dad- here is Lucious.

Some of the little wizards have found their way to banners.

This has to be my very favorite. I delved into some hoarded, ooooooold metallic thread lace….

Beaded trim from a flapper dress…..

And my collection of vintage, silk blooms to create this threesome of sorceresses.

There are a couple of banners for sale in the boutique, and some of the witchy girl kits left too. Some are sold out, I think little Fern and her kitty were pretty popular. The girl I think makes up the prettiest is this one, Rowena.

This banner is sold (thank you, Mary!)-

But Boo and the other trio are available.

I'll leave you with some details, then I need to go work on some last minute details before my guests arrive. I'm so excited to be having a party today!

edit- all banners are sold out! There are still some kits for the girls to do yourself, and there are book kits available here and here. Both kits feature these cute witchy girls.