holiday decor – Page 36 – Karla's Cottage

Redos and repairs

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, flowers, holiday decor, parties, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / November 5, 2010

Wow, thanks SO much for the response to our Romantic White Christmas e-zine! I've been working away on it, and actually wrote 11 posts in 2 days. Whew! Plus making more stuff for it. I have a habit of not being able to stop once I get started….

I've got a couple of "bonus" projects made and a couple of other extras too. Just some simple little pretties for the holidays.

Today, I started cleaning up mystudio to get ready for a dinner party and was able to use some of the Romantic White Christmas things in my decor. These aren't over whelmingly screaming CHRISTMAS, they are just sparkly, vintage and festive.

Well, this one kind of does. At least it screams "NOEL"!

When Beth and I shot photos for the classes, we had all the things we made on display, and I liked the look of this up in the window so much, that I'm leaving it. I already missed the Romantic Gothic Ghosts banner, the window felt naked without it.

I might just be a banner adict now. I'll need one for every season.

We took everything off the top of this buffet and redid it in whites and silver as a back drop for the projects and I liked it so much, its staying this way. It had been a pink explosion before, now there is just a hint of blush here and there.

Sadly, when I started putting the tables together and pulled out my favorite table cloth, this is what it looked like. Its really old, and the fabric is just falling apart. I am too lazy to was afraid to try to sew it, and thought it was a goner. Then, I remembered Kay Ellen's Sealah Tape. The stuff is amazing!

Its a two sided tape that her mom invented and is so easy to use.

A few holes here and there don't bother me, but that was big enough to lose a dinner plate in. So I covered up the bad place with a few bits of lace and some tattered silk.

While I was at it, I covered up a few more rips with lace. (These girls don't realize I am taking a photo of the table cloth. Please don't tell them. They think cameras are only meant to focus on them)

Today I made time to finish up my hat for Silver Bella too. Here is a little bit of it. Its a bit different as far as head wear goes….

Romantic White Christmas is ready to go!

fairies, holiday decor, how to's, how-to projects, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / November 3, 2010

Beth and I worked on photographing our projects for the Romantic White Christmas class yesterday, and I was able to get the site up and running. I was being very flustered and scattered and was feeling the pressure of getting it all pulled together in time, plus getting ready for Silver Bella and a couple of dinner parties. Beth asked if I was OK, and told me that it wasn't like me to be frantic about getting things done. I usually take it all in stride.

But then, she asked me how the baby was doing and I realized I was totally blocking all my grand baby worries and focusing them on the other things. I'm not frantic about projects and parties! I'm really wrecked worrying about the new baby.

Sometimes it takes a good friend to calm you down and help you face your fears.

So far all is well with the baby, the due date is nearing and the new momma is holding up. The closer the date gets, the more relieved I should be, since the little one gets stronger and stronger as she grows. But 6 weeks of labor stopping and starting has left me frazzled. And no pre-natal care terrifies me.

But the momma is calm and cool and I need to follow her lead. Beth reminded me that they are following their beliefs and they are not stupid, if a serious problem comes up, they will go to the hospital.

So, I'm focusing on the good news, and looking forward to the parties and projects, and a new cuddle bundle coming soon. Staying positive can't hurt. Turning into a frazzled wreck will only make it worse.

Sorry, sometimes I use this blog as a daily diary to help me deal with things. Other times, its a kind ear to tell my problems too. But I'm sure you all would rather I just kept it a happy place to share pretty stuff!

So, on with the pretties!

The NOEL Banner is mine, and the patterns are hand drawn. I've also included an ornament and star pattern to use too. Plus, I have edited and sized the patterns to be printed 8 x 10" like the banner, or 4 x 6" to be used as ornaments.

Beth sure made some nice stuff for her side of the classes. This is a details of a white feather wreath she created and embellished.

And how sweet is this?

This one is from me, and I hope everyone likes it, they are a bit different…. but I had fun with them. Can't you picture this on a table top filled with mini silver ornaments and moss?

I have this shoe 2 ways, one has a bit more color to it. We've based the projects on White Christmas of course, but if it was all completely white, the papers would all be blank. We use a lot a of neutrals and a hint of soft colors.

I spent two weeks going through my ephemera stashes and scanned all my favorites, then edited them to sepia or black and white, and some with barely there colors. Then, I included some of the original colored papers in the catalog for you too, so you'd have choices. There are lots of papers and images to chose from, much more than what you will need just for these projects.

These photo album mats are a good example of images that you'll find in the catalogs that will be useful year round, not just for holiday crafts.

The image used on the bell is taken from an old postcard. I have hand painted wings onto her, then scanned and edited the picture to sepia. I wanted to add some touches that were one of a kind and you couldn't find anywhere else.

This little angel is from an old photo that I painted wings for too. She has a hint of some of those barely there colors in the wings and in the patterns I painted on her shirt, but over all, this stocking has a "white" feeling.

And I can't wait to make this little Pretty Pixie box from Beth! Mine might get wings….

And Beth had this idea for a song book. Its filled with all your favorite holiday tunes and simple enough to make that you'll want one for every family member to carry as you go carolling!

Plus, you know, we'll have more. I tend to go on and on and am unstopable. I think its a good thing for me to do two blogs instead of just one, because I do have a habit of saying wayyyyy too much. With two blogs, my blathering will be split in half. Oops, that really isn't a good selling point, is it?

What I meant, is that you should expect lots of extras on the Romantic White Christmas site, beyond just the projects listed. We'll have some projects that you just print and embellish, gift wrap and decorating ideas for Christmas, videos, plus a few presents here and there.

I hope you'll join us!

Today, I'm linking with White Wednesdays over at Faded Charm. I always enjoy her white party, but rarely have a white theme on Wednesday to fit.

Ooooooh, Curious Sofa!!!!!!!!!!!!!

antiques/junking, give away, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / November 2, 2010

There are few things prettier than Curious Sofa at the holidays! And nothing better to inspire me and jump start the transition from Witches to Angels. I know, Halloween barely cold in its grave at this point, but I'm all in gear to move on and start Christmassing it up!

And I just adore her whites. Being there, surrounded by all the shades of ivory and silver was just what I needed as that extra boost for completing my projects for Romantic White Christmas, the online classes that Beth and I are teaching.

She is coming over today so we can get pictures done for our sign up page. Which means, I'll be pulling out some of my Christmas decorations as backdrop for the photos.

Things have been so crazy busy around here, and on top of that, I've had a dreary cold. So, my baby shower decorations are still up, along with the Halloween stuff. Its going to look like quite the holiday mash up when I start adding white Christmas to the mix.

Next week, some Bella Buds are flying in early for Silver Bella and visiting Kansas City for a couple days. I've invited them out to the cottage to dinner, and I sincerely hope that I can tame the run away holiday mess before then.

I have a feeling that I might not. But that won't stop me from enjoying my evening with them. I'll tell them that its extra festive to be celebrating so many things at once, and throw some Silver Bella decorations on the Halloween, Christmas, and baby shower conglomeration to top it all off.

We'll take them all to Curious Sofa, and we'll visit Carol's farmhouse, too. So they won't be under the impression that midwesterners have no sense when it comes to decorating. Carol and Debbie are the queens of understated glam decor.

My favorite thing at Curious Sofa was this set of plates that Debbie embellished. She is so busy with the store, I doubt she gets much time to do artwork, and thats too bad. She creates beautiful things.

My other favorite thing that night? Well, my BFF, Beth, of course! She met me at the open house for the evening. It was nice to get out of the house and do something festive.

I'd better get busy now, and set some things up for pictures today before Beth gets here. Before I go, I have three winners to announce-

The Romantic Gothic Ghost giveaway from me goes to Janet Ghio.

The one from Beth goes to Samantha Miranda

And my October Giveaway is for Laurie

I'll have details about the Romantic White Christmas as well as my November Giveaway in my next post.

Sticky door knobs

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

By Karla Nathan / October 30, 2010

We managed to fit in one trip to the Pumpkin Patch before the season ended. Sugarwings and I spent almost 3 hours there, just talking to pumpkins and meeting new fuzzy friends. She certainly is a nature child and is happier playing with dirt than toys most of the time.

Here she is in a quickie little video of her naming her newest buddy.

We found a few little pumpkins to adopt, and it was hard to convince her that the caterpillar couldn't come home with us too. She was satisfied when I told her that next time we went there, she could visit him again and he would be a butterfly.

We did a little shopping at the local Salvation Army too, where I got her a big bagful of new clothes for 20 bucks. Isn't this little outfit cute? It was a pale blue, but I dyed the shirt and floral overalls in a fuchsia dye to brighten them up. The whole outfit cost $2.00. (I'm not counting the cost of the dye, because I bought it to dye the sheets for the Gypsy Fairy Wagon Bassinette and just threw these in with them)

Kids clothes are so expensive, and fit for such a short period of time, that I am always on the lookout at thrift stores and am thrilled to get hand me downs for her too. Plus, since she is such a dirt aficionado, its nice to not worry about what she is wearing. I might not be as quick to let her wallow around, happy as a pig in mud if I'd spent $20 on one outfit instead of on a whole bag of outfits. Plus, have you looked at the price tag on kid's clothes? $20 wouldn't get me very far!

This has been a particuarly fun Halloween season, with Sugarwings big enough to really get into it all. She loves the Monster Mash as much as I do, we've been singing and dancing to it all week.

For our party, I set up a caramel apple making station in the treat cabinet, and I think that the adults enjoyed making their treats as much as the kids did.

My fairy grand baby was as happy to make a caramel apple as she was to do her very own witchy face makeup.

Pixie Pie liked them too. Seems like anytime you give kids an oportunity to do something themselves, they are pretty happy. We do a lot of "make your own" parties- mini pizzas, cupcakes and tacos are all fun for kids to put together. And with 4 little dorkies in the house, the floor doesn't get too bad while kids are creating their plates. The dogs hang out under the table and are enjoying the party more than anyone else.

We set up a pumpkin decorating station outside the kids were given paints and brushes. I had big plans to clean off all the seeds and roast them, but there was just too much going on and a bit too much paint mixed in with the pumpkin guts to do it.

When Sugarwings and I carved our own pumpkin earlier, she helped me pick out all the seeds. I'd never roasted them before, but there wasn't much to it, here is how we did it:

First, we washed the seeds and got all the strings off.

Then, tossed them with sea salt and a splash of olive oil, then spread them out on a cookie sheet to bake at 350 until they started to look about half way done.

I melted a 1/4 stick of butter, added just a little cinnamon and sugar and a cup of pecans, Sugarwings stirred them altogether and we both spread the mix back out on the pan again. I cooked them till they were crunchy.

I wasn't sure how long they needed to bake, so just checked on it every few minutes. When the seeds started to explode and pop, I figured they'd gone long enough! I wasn't expecting that.

We've been eating them on salad all week. They are only lightly sugared, and its pretty tasty that way. They'd be good on ice cream too.

It started to turn cold later, but was still pretty nice for this part of the evening.

We still haven't had our first frost yet! I'm thinking about hauling my potted topiary rosebush into the studio while it is still blooming.

My aqua eyeshadow as face paint was popular, lots of us ended up with an unearthly blue glow.

The kids painted mini pumpkins and made ghosts too. Its always funny to me, how serious the kid's faces are while they are working.

Yep, it was a fun Halloween week for us here at the cottage. Now, if only I could whip up a magic spell that took away all the sticky hand prints from my door knobs… I've been finding remnants of the caramel apple extravaganza everywhere!

Today, I'm still scanning and printing images for the Romantic White Christmas, and Beth and I are working on a banner for the class. Its still in progress, but here is a peek.

While I was scanning images for Christmas, I found these pumpkins for you. Just right click, save the larger image in the window to your computer and print.

A fine, feathered friend and a few goblins that need a friend too

celebrations, family, flowers, Food and Drink, holiday decor, parties, Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / October 28, 2010

I am just glowing with happiness! You know why? Dawn of the Feathered Nest has agreed to join Lisa of Tarnished and Tattered and Carol of Raised in Cotton to come and teach at my May Day art gathering at the Cottage!!

Sorry, no details yet, besides a Save the Date, and a theme. Springtime, May Day, and Birdsongs all wrapped up into a back to nature crafting weekend in my studio for about 20 guests. Expect more info after Silver Bella.

Right now, I'm trying to get ready for this big event and a houseful of guests coming to visit and play before the Omaha wonderland begins. Teresa is selling these tees ahead of time, which is a good idea. Mine has already arrived and I've got it all glittered up and ready to wear.

And I'm also in the middle of pulling together another online class with Beth. She and I are working on A Romantic White Christmas, and I've been scanning and editing images to fit the bill.

My stash of vintage goodness is filled with holiday ephemera. But, not all is appropriate. LIke this page, really cute, but "cute" isn't the theme. I'm picking out the gorgeousness that is lurking in my old book pages and cards and photos.

You can click on the calander to enlarge, then save it to your own computer to print. Its a good one, just not the style I'm going for.

Romantic, soft colors, lots of neutrals is what I'm scanning for the classes. I've edited 50 so far and still have a stack to go through. Beth will also be adding images, so you'll receive quite a selection of backgrounds, photos, flowers, and text. More than you'll need for the projects, there will be plenty left to play with and make into more than just what we have lessons planned for.

We'll have the class ready in plenty of time for you to make things for the holidays!

I hope you'll join us, our last class was a lot of fun. I've enjoyed my Romantic Gothic Ghost banner, and it was a part of my decor for the Kid's Halloween Bash and Pumpkin Gala last night in the studio.

But so much for my goal of an orange-free Halloween, huh? Well, inside the house, its all Romantic and Gothic, but for the kid's party, I oranged it up. My mother-in-law sent us this floral display and I decided to take advantage of its cheery colors and decorate the table top to match it for the party.

The little guy sitting in the flowers, is made from paper clay, painted and glittered, then glued to a bit of old trim.

For all the kids, I made up craft packs for them to work on that night. For all the moms, I made up these goblin face pumpkins.

The kids each got plain pumpkins to paint, since I knew they'd like to paint their own faces on them. These are made of paper clay too.

There are a few extras, when I make things, I get carried away and make a LOT. The guy on the left is for sale, $10 if you are interested. His name is Boris.

The fellow on the left in this one is Edgar. He's also needing a home – $10

"Peek" is the little cutey on the left in this photo. He's $8.

Please leave a comment if you want to purchase one of these guys, and tell me which one by his name.

They were so fun to make, I think I'll be whipping up some snow ladies soon. NO WAIT! I need to focus. I have a long list of priorities that I need to stick to.

Don't you wish you could just sit and make things and not worry about the rest of your obligations?

Sometimes I just drive myself batty trying to do too much. I want to do it ALL!

Usually I fit a lot into my life, so I shouldn't complain. This afternoon, I'll be going to the gym, picking the last of the garden veggies before the frost forecasted for tonight, and tackling the mess left behind from the party!

None of it is very fun or productive, just stuff I need to get done. But afterwards? I'm heading to the Curious Sofa for Debbie's Holiday Open House. Now, that is quite a big carrot to dangle in front of me to stay focused while getting all my tasks finished this afternoon!

And tomorrow? Maybe a bit more Sugarwings time, if I'm lucky. See why my online class isn't ready to go and I don't have details for the spring fling up yet??

A Family of Fairies to watch over the new gypsy fairy baby

celebrations, fairies, family, holiday decor, how to's, parties

By Karla Nathan / October 21, 2010

The baby shower was such fun! It was more of a dinner party with presents. I'd thought we'd eat outdoors, but the evenings are getting cooler, so I had to quickly scoop all the mess out of the way in the studio and pull some tables together so we could eat indoors.

My studio is ideal for parties, even though its always a bit of a hodge podge. I just grab things from around the room that are destined for sale, or stuff I made, or supplies waiting to be made into something else and create a tablescape with whatever is handy.

(the cute little girl with the umbrella is going into the Boutique today, there are 6 total, never used before until I opened the vintage package for the baby shower. Yea, I know they were probably worth more in an unopened package, but thats not how I roll. I believe everything should be used and enjoyed!!)

We couldn't use the dining room in the house for the party, because I had the table in there all set up with cakes and decorations for the shower. (Pink and white fairy baby decor pictures of the dining room to come later)

It was a couples and kids party, not a typical baby shower. No games, just a glass of wine and a buffet dinner with lots of laughter and chatter.

The weather really was nice, and all the older kids ran around and played outside. They sat in the garden to eat, but the adults were happier indoors, some of the dads ate up in my husband's office so they could play pool. I didn't try to get the table set for everyone, I knew people would roam and sit where they were comfortable. I put a few chairs around the 3 tables in the studio and figured I could pull up more chairs as needed.

My parties are casual, not perfect. The food is usually a buffet in the kitchen where everyone serves themselves then finds a seat wherever they'd like.

Since this new grandbaby's momma loves all things gypsy and fairy, I went with very bright colors for the dinner table. I also made up a mobile for the baby with her family as colorful fairies on it.

We are having what feels like a long, lovely extended September around here. My flower beds are looking better than ever, so I was albe to pick some blooms to bring in, then I scattered millinery flowers around the centerpieces too.

(there are now LOTS of red carnations and roses for sale in my Etsy and my Boutique, ready for Christmas crafting or decorating)

To make the Fairy Family members for the mobile, first I cut a branch down and spray painted it green and added some glitter to the wet paint.

Then, I went through all my files to find pictures of everyone and printed two of each, one regular, one mirror image.

With the mirror image done, both were cut out and glued back to back, so that when they hang, they can spin around and look good from both sides.

(Her crown is a bit of lace trim, colored with markers)

Some of the pictures got a little extra editing, like tinting Dimitri green like an elf.

I loved this picture of Sugarwings, but her dress was pink, so I edited it to fit in better with the other images too.

These two guys were such fun poses! Perfect for this project!

Now, how this mobile will hang over the bassinette is another issue altogether. I think it needs to be in a vase on a table near the bassinette, not attached. Or hung from the ceiling. But, I'm leaving that up to her parents on how to display it. Won't they look pretty together?

One more bit of marketing before I go- also new in the Boutique is this "Whispers in the Dark" crown made from vintage copper screening, old trims, millinery, and vintage jewels. The image is from our Romantic Gothic Ghost class, which you still have time to join. We've had new students joining reguarly. There are some pretty quick projects, plus most can be slightly altered to be used year round, not just at Halloween. The emphasis is more on Romantic and Gothic than ghostly.

We've provided lots of images, backgrounds, and extras to print out and use in other projects too.

Plus, we have two giveaways going now for the class. Anyone signed up by October 31st is entered to win one of two packages of vintage goodies to use as embellishments in your work.

And as my October Giveaway for my blog, one completed project will be gifted to the person whose name I draw from all of October's comments.

Gee, I need to just stop talking, don't I? Sometimes my posts can just go on forever.

Boo! (free scary images for you to use)

free images, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 17, 2010

This morning, I was scanning old photos of cute kids to make decorations for the baby shower I'm having for the newest fairy baby coming my way.

update:(Adam's Beloved is doing well, the contractions have stopped, so the baby is resting and growing and waiting to be born! Yay!)

No, this is not how I am decorating for the baby shower!

While editing these in Picnik, I started to play with the cool Halloween tools they have, and made up some ghostly pictures too.

Creepy, huh?

To use these in your own art, or just to print and display for Halloween, double click to open in a larger window, save, then print from your files.

And if you are interested in making some romantic and moody Halloween decor, you still have time to join in our Romantic Gothic Ghost class. Its $25, includes tons of images, step by step directions, videos, and decorating tips.

Of course, I had to zomby myself up a bit while I was at it. I promise, nothing like this last one will be in the Gothic Ghost class!

Practical Magic in all of us

Books, fairies, family, Film, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 25, 2010

Do you ever read Alice Hoffman? Its been too long since I've picked up one of her books. They always have a thread of magic woven through them,. Some of her stories are pure magic, some just have hints of it. But the most mystical of them all is Practical Magic.

That book was an all nighter for me. And when the movie came out, I didn't see how it could possibly measure up, but man. I'd watch that movie over and over just to get another glimpse of the house. But the whole thing is worth watching again and again even without the eye candy.

So, when I heard that Justina and Anna were having a Practical Magic party, I had to join in!

(right now, I'm out of town, and pre-posted this- but I will be party hopping and checking out all the garden spells and pointy hats when I get home)

I've always loved the witchy side of life. The hint of magic in all of us. Having Sugarwings around and seeing the world through her eyes has brought out the magic and fun in my life even more.

I've also discovered as I get older that playing dress up is just as much fun as it was when I was little like Sugarwings.(This picture is not doctored! I'm standing in front of a "light birdie" that the sun coming through a prism on the window has made)

At my Sissy's 60th birthday party, we all dressed up as fairies and witches and one of the highlights of the night was to dance around the house to "Put the Lime in the Coconut" like the sisters did in Practical Magic.

Maybe what I love about the book and movie so much is the sisters. Mine are my best friends, and I miss them every day. There is power in the love of sisters.

Magic is all around you, just waiting for you to find it.

Life is too short to not be hunting the magic that is waiting for you.

No matter how silly you might look while doing it.

You don't need a crystal ball to find the kind of magic I'm talking about.

All you need to do is pay attention, open your eyes to the beauty around you.

Be light hearted. Let yourself fly.

Show love, give love, be loved. That is the greatest magic.

Being creative is a way to find the magic inside yourself too. Lose yourself in making something.

Create something to decorate your own home, as a gift, or just for the pure sparkling joy of making it.

These crowns, that I made are all from images and some techniques we provided in Romantic Gothic Ghosts. (although the crowns themselves were not taught in the classes)

I've enjoyed doing the class so much. To me, Halloween isn't about the scary stuff, its the mysterious that I find intriguing. Practical Magic probably should have been on our list of Gothic Romances in the review Beth did in our tutorial. That luscious house, the gorgeous gardens, the teaser of the unknown, all evoke the feeling we wanted to purvey, and what the class is about!

Yet another reason why this blog party drew me in. I've been knee deep in Gothic witchiness for the last few weeks!Its not too late to join us if you'd like to create some moody Halloween decor for your home too.

And please remember, that for my September giveaway, I'll be drawing a name to win one of the projects that I made for the class. All comments count.

Thanks again to Justina and Anna for coming up with a great theme and for hosting the party.

***********************************************************************************

I
will be away from my desk and unable to answer comments or mail
packages until Wed. But please do leave a comment if you'd like to be
entered in the September giveaway of one of my completed projects for Romantic Gothic Ghosts.

PS- I know I'll be spending too much in Texas, so I'm having a sale in the Boutique to replenish my funds. Type in this code:

Roundtop

and you'll get 20% off of every purchase!

What’s scarier than ghosts?

celebrations, holiday decor, parties, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 16, 2010

I need to thank everyone who has signed up to join us in our Romantic Gothic Ghost classes. A few people were calling it an EZine and you know, I do think that is what it evolved into. When Beth and I began, we were just doing some simple projects. But it was so much fun, and the ideas just kept coming and coming and the tutorials grew into more than we had planned!
We threw in some extras, like completed collages that you could print as is. Quick videos with tips, and Beth even gave a book review of some Gothic novels.

After finishing all the blog posts and instructions, I found a few more images I loved and had to go back and add those, plus instructions for this bonus project.If you'd like to join, you still have plenty of time to make some sepia decor for Halloween. (plus the site stays up as long as I have a Typepad account, so you can refer back to the posts next year too!

We've included every image you'll need for our projects, plus lots of extras for you to chose from, or to save and use for other creations.We have had giveaways through out the "real time" class, and I think there is still one coming. I think that if we still are getting newbies joining in, it would only be fair to add a couple more giveaways too. We've been mailing out some tidbits of our favorite supplies like lace and millinery for the winners.

After watching Hoarders for the first time, I'm happy to clear my studio out a bit and share my own stash.I always thought that Criminal Minds was the scariest show on TV. Now, I know its Hoarders.

The studio cleaning is for a party I am hosting on Saturday. I've invited all Bellas who are close enough to attend to come play in my studio and meet up for a craft day and pitch in lunch. So, I've tried to get some yard work done, as well as spiffing up my art space.

Trouble is, I threw out my back and that has slowed my progress. I broke my back in '92, falling from a horse and will always have trouble with it a couple times a year or so. But I don't mind a few days of pain, because years ago, when I had chronic pain and saw no end in sight, I'd have given anything on the planet for a day of no pain at all.

Luckily, I'm pain free most of the time and I will never take that for granted. Now, when I have issues, they are always temporary and the episodes are far between. I don't let the recurrences get me down, because I can compare them to what I suffered in the past and know that nothing is as bad as that was!

Plus, I have a son who is a massage therapist and does energy work. That helps.

I have a feeling that my guests will forgive me if I don't repaint the breezeway like I had hoped to do before company arrived. And they might not even care if I only planted 4 of the 5 hydrangeas that I'd planned to set out.

The tables are cleared, the Bellas have a space to work in and we'll have a fun day. I'm not the type to get crazy about details. I like things pretty, but I like things FUN even more. No stress entertaining is the only way to go. Right now, I'll call it all "good enough" and go rest my back, do some stretches and be ready to have a great time when my Bella Buds arrive!

A furry transformation

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 10, 2010

Little Agnes Rosebud got her first hair cut this week. All Yorkies are born black and as they grow, their puppy hair gets fuzzy and matted over the new silky, adult hair underneath. And I mean matted. Her hair was so bad, that when I tried to just snip off a bit, I realized it was all one big, connected mass. Ugh. So, I slid my tiny scissors beneath the knots and started to snip.

It all came off in one hunk. Like a pelt. Or like a little old lady's wiglet. You know the ones that you see in every closet at an estate sale?

Yea, gross. I'd rather think of it as her cocoon. She emerged from it as a beautiful butterfly. It certainly is a transformation. Her brother, Button and sister, Lili Bella, got theirs cut this week too. Teresea has cute before and after pictures of Lilli, I didn't since my hair cutting was unplanned. I just snipped a bit away and realized I was trapped and couldn't stop.

I don't think this poor dog has two hairs the same length on her entire body. Maybe I should stick to using my scissors on old paper…. but she still manages to be pretty durn cute.

We spent some time doing yard work over the 3 day weekend, and I planted some late summer to fall blooming hydrangeas. For about a decade, I couldn't get a hydrangea to grow for anything. I could have just as easily been planting dollars in the ground instead, it had the same result.

But I seemed to have found the secret to keeping them alive and now can't get enough of them.

And of course, I can never get enough of old jewelry. Beth and I spent last Friday at one of my favorite places in the world, Sparks Flea Market. Its always good for a big bag of jewels!

I've yet to go through my pile of goodies to sort and see what I bought. Hopefully, later today, I'll get a chance. I'm making cuff bracelets today, and will need to at least pull some blingers out of the pile for those, even if I don't get to sort them completely.

When I buy piles of jewelry, I sort it into these categories:

Too Nice- add to Boutique
needs minor repair
broken, missing stones, not worth repair but great for crafting (some to keep, some to sale)
single earrings
suitable for making jewelry

Then there are sub-categories:

clear rhinestones
colored rhinestones
flowers
shapes/figures
cameos
buckles
lockets
pearls

See why it takes a while? Plus, its so fun, I feel like the King in his counting house while I play with it all. So, I don't like to be rushed.

One of the new brooches from the flea has already found a home on this wall hanging that I made for Romantic Gothic Ghosts. I thought this would be nice on a door, in place of a wreath. Its a quickie, and simple to make.

Its a BONUS tutorial! I've added it to the end of the class. I've had so much fun with the class, that its hard to stop, I had to make another piece for it! We've included lots of extras in the class, videos, giveaways, lots of images, and decor tips.

The tutorial blog will be up for as long as I have a Typepad account, and many of the ideas can be used for more than just Halloween. But, if you want to enter the giveaways, you need to play along in "real time", because they will end this Sept.

If you'd like to see what some of our artists have made with their take on the class, you can look here.

And if you'd like to win one of the projects I've made, please leave a comment. Sandy at Quill Cottage is giving away one of hers too!