holiday decor – Page 45 – Karla's Cottage

A whole new Me

give away, holiday decor, parties, Silver Bella, Sugarwings, swaps

By Karla Nathan / November 16, 2007

I am so thrilled with my new little home here! Sadie Olive Designs (Sara) has done such a beautiful job of using my original paintings in her design and making the blog still feel like "me" but be cleaned up and professionally designed.

Did you see how she turned my rose painting vertical and made it look like antique wallpaper???? I LOVE vintage wallpaper!!!

And I have my Sugarwings picture, roses, sparkling old rhinestones jewelry, scalloped old paper— it is all my favorite things!!! I don’t think there can be enough exclamation points to describe how happy I am!!!!!!

Plus, the poor woman was so patient and kind. I don’t think I was an easy job for her…….

I almost hate to write on this, it is so new and clean and pretty. Its a bit sad to start using it.

Kind of the way I felt after cleaning house for the photo shoot yesterday and had the house all perfectly sparkling and TIDY. Then, I heard that my son and Sugarwings were coming over. Now, I love them and loved having them here, but I knew that the small window of time that my house was clean was over.

And I was right. She did her best to wreck the place. And is really good at that. Toys, toys everywhere. Till she was worn out and fell asleep watching the Jay Hawks in her Pop Pop’s arms.

Yep, it looks ‘normal’ again. A big, ugly portable crib with a garage sale sticker on it, puppy chew toys and baby toys all over. The dog’s water dish spilled, ahhh, home sweet home.

My photo shoot went well. Or at least I think it did. I’ll have to see the program to know how much babbling and stuttering I did. This is the hostess, Lori Carson.

And this sweet guy, Neil, the co-producer/cameraman has offered to make a dvd copy for me that I can post on my blog!

I hope to have it pod casted by the "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home" party!

(unless of course, I really sounded like an idiot, which I tend to do when I get on TV or the radio. I am a born babbler)

I still don’t have all my Silver Bella goodies out and unpacked! But here is a special pretty from Carol. She and I did a side swap. Ithink I got the good end of the deal on this one!

Carol made this little snow princess from an old watch box. I have it on my bathroom shelf and use it to put my rhinestone pin into when I unclasp it from my jacket.

This princess banner that is on Sugarwing’s doll house in the fabulous button that Sara made for our upcoming party, is also from Silver Bella.

I bought the banner at vendor night. It was done by Kathy and it is so cute and just perfect for the doll house!!

Speaking of parties, Natasha is having a PROM!!! I’m going.

And one more mystery to solve. A sweet and kind person, named Katherine, sent a goodie box to Sugarwings and I!! It included this pretty floral dish, old trims, ornaments, a cute ATC she made, a book for the baby, and this great doily.

I love it, but I don’t remember winning a giveaway. Isn’t that terrible? I know it isn’t either one of my holiday swaps. I enter every contest I see, they are always so generous and fun. But I don’t remember this one. And I don’t have a last name or a blog name with this gift so I can thank the person for the pretties.

Here is what I did with one of my Silver Bella projects. I hung the tussie mussie from a wall sconce.

I’ll be getting all the gifts, swaps, and purchases out soon, now that my photo shoot is done.

Although, I still have that sale to get ready for and it looks like I will have to clean my house all over again for the holiday tour! (I was smart and rolled up the newly washed rugs before someone could spill on them or twinkle could tinkle them up)

I’m outta here

Etsy Goodies, holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 7, 2007

The Lawrence Magazine is out now. It is local, so I’m sure that doesn’t mean much to most of you.

I had to have 3 rooms of my home decorated for Christmas by Sept 15 so they could shoot this, and what pictures do they use?? Two, both from the same room!!

Oh well, at least I have the upstairs decorated and ready for the Holiday Home Tour and can concentrate on other things. If I hadn’t had this early deadline, I’d be scrambling to get those rooms done now instead.

This year, the tour will feature a Kwanzaa home and a Hanukkah home too.

(I am in the top photo.) I wore jeans, not knowing I’d be in the pictures. Its lucky I don’t have paint smeared all over me!

These pictures are by Jason Dailey Photography

http://www.daileyimages.com
http://www.blackboook.com/jasondailey and he was kind enough to let me post them.

I took time to list a couple things on Etsy today. I made these boots for an article I wrote for Victorian Decorating. I am keeping a couple and selling the others.

Aren’t the old buttons great?

One already sold too! They are $7 and there is one left in the shop if you are interested.

I had Sugarwings most of yesterday. It was her first peek at our Christmas tree, I was waiting for her with the camera so I could capture her face.

I think the lights and decorations will mean every bit as much to her as they do to me! We walked all around the house and pointed at pretties and talked about the holiday.

This morning, I decorated my tiara. It was a store bought rhinestone one, pretty enough. But I thought that to be worn at Silver Bella, it needed more. I think it might have plenty now.

The scarf it is sitting on will be what I tie around my waist for "Junk Gypsy" night at Silver Bella. I am just wearing jeans and a tee shirt and this scarf (with the tiara of course! I might have that on all weekend!)

I think the scarf might be a Xmas tree skirt when I get home…

I’m not getting decked out like a lot of the attendees. But I also am a lot older than most of them too.

Which reminds me, I should go and pack my bags. My swaps and tools and goodies are ready to go but my clothes aren’t.

When you are about to turn 50, the clothes don’t seem as important. A few t-shirts and some jeans and my tennis shoes and I am set for anywhere. It took a lot longer to figure out which glue, which pretty rhinestone buttons, etc to take than what clothes to pack!!

Good bye, everyone- hope you have a good weekend too. I plan on having a spectacular one.

Why do I have to be “Hex Goblinweb”????

fairies, holiday decor, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 5, 2007

My fairy is called Hex Goblinweb

"She is a bringer of riches and wealth.

She lives in places hexed and tainted by black magic.

She is only seen in the mist of an early morning.

She wears black feathers and rose petals. She has gentle green wings like a butterfly."

You can get your fairy name too, although, I hope yours is prettier than mine. Hex Goblinweb?? Why couldn’t I be "gossamer petals" or "blissful bella" or "glittered sparkle wings"

I saw this fairy name finder on Phyllis’ site, check it out and see if you get a pretty name: http://www.emmadavies.net/fairy/default.aspx

While I was going through the handmade greeting card drawer, I thought I’d show

another old Christmas card. Some years, I’d do a golfing themed card for my husband to send to his colleagues, I’d also do a pretty card with angels or fairies to send to family and friends.

I always loved this angel’s face, just don’t look at her poor hand. Ugh, that is badly done.

(this is the only one I don’t have extras of to sell, they are sold out till I copy more)

I am happy (and relieved) to say that my house is decorated for Christmas and ready for the local TV crew on the 15th!

I still have this mess to deal with before I leave for SILVER BELLA on Thursday.

I’d had the front third of my studio set up for the Holiday Home Tour and gift shop way early, back in Sept. so a local magazine could do photos of it. That was a great head start. Xmas_021

But now, all this mess is in front of the pretty stuff!!

I can’t seem to keep a clean work environment. It clutters up so fast, I am always shoving aside one mess to work on another.

At least I know I am 90% done inside the house, and the studio looks really bad right now, but I’ve seen it worse. I’ll have it whipped into shape in the 3 days I have before I leave.

Well, I will be babysitting Sugarwings over night on one of those days, so between watching her, and the recovery time I need to rest after keeping her out of the Christmas tree, I won’t have a full 3 days.

I’d better get busy.

Feeling the JOY

Etsy Goodies, holiday decor, how to's, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 30, 2007

I had a good studio day yesterday after unpacking from my trip to the Ozarks. Well, I am half unpacked. And the laundry isn’t quite done yet. And the bags of non-refrigerated foodstuffs are still sitting around in the kitchen.

Maybe I am not quite half way unpacked. But I had a great day in the studio avoiding it all!

I made a few banners for Christmas from vintage wallpaper, millinery flowers, sheet music, tulle, and purchased letters.

Here is a close up of this colorful one.

But this is the one I will keep in my living room to use this season. (it says MERRY)

It is made with all gold and white wallpapers and I added some chandelier drops to the tulle the banner is strung on.

This is similar to the first one, same wallpapers, but instead of the bright colors, I accented it with pages from an old book and vintage buttons with pearls and rhinestones.

This is actually a cleaned up corner of the studio. I might be in trouble- I have a local TV show shooting here in 13 days. 4 of those days, I’ll be at SILVER BELLA!! and a few others,(like today) I’ll have Sugarwings.

But, yet, I let my unpacked weekend getaway things pile up in the house and trash my studio while I string letters on tulle.

Well, actually, here are some not even strung yet.

Aren’t these pearl letters cool? They are at Michaels for $1 each. I bought enough to spell out a few words,

‘Merry’

‘Joy’

‘Snow’

‘Noel’

I fell hard for this wallpaper, wish I had more of it!! It was one page of a 1930s wallpaper sample book.

I could have used a whole roll! The sample book comes with an order form where you can get the paper for 39 cents a roll. But, since the book is more than 70 years old, I doubt if there is much of it available. If wishes were horses, I’d need a really big barn.

Are you seeing a pattern here? JOY is a favorite word of mine. It sums up the holiday season so well. It is short, concise and just says it all.

Plus, I’d say this sign would be pretty in a little girl’s room year round. Or in my kitchen. I love that word and don’t limit it only to Christmas.

I also framed some vintage doll clothes. I’d bought a cute wooden box at an antique shop for $8. Then, I found as a bonus- a bunch of these old clothes.

I sold quite a few of them on Etsy (pictured here), but saved my favorites, knowing I wanted to do something with them eventually.

This little pink dress is hand beaded and has a matching necklace to go with it.

I painted a small frame white, distressed it, then glued down a piece of vintage wallpaper.

The dress is attached with double sided tape.

I glued a bundle of millinery flowers tied up in a faded ribbon to the wallpaper, and then glued the beads to the wallpaper too.

The dress is removable if I ever want to. But then, I wonder, why would I? Maybe I should just glue it down too?

I glued another old, pink ribbon to the back to hang the piece from. It was a very easy project.

This little dress was even easier.

I cut an oval of the old wallpaper to fit this antique pewter frame (hard to believe I didn’t paint over it, huh?), then used double sided tape to lay out this aqua dress, and put it into the frame.

These old doll clothes are art in themselves, but I still needed me some foof.

So I gathered a scrap of vintage lace into a bow, and glued it to the top of the frame and added some old jewelry to it with another dot of glue.

All of these projects will be for sale on Etsy, or contact me here if you are interested. I might not list them, since I have a sale coming up at my house. But if you want one, I’d be happy to sell it from the blog. Heck, I am always happy (and JOYful) to sell anything!!

You can still enter my October drawing by leaving a comment on this post. I’ll annouce the winner on the 1st.

Can there be TOO Many Roses? and a Temporary Hobby comes to an end.

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, holiday decor, how to's, magazine pictures or articles, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 4, 2007

Do you ever do a project that you put some time into, but it was still a wasted effort?

I painted this floral on the back of a linoleum scrap to make a rug. I’ve done this many times, it is a great way to make a cheap rug that is durable. (I have a stone patterned one in my office from a post a few days ago)

For some reason, this linoleum curls up on the edges, and will not lay flat, no matter what I try to do to flatten it. Guess I should have made sure it was going to be flat before I painted it, huh? Well there goes $10 in supplies and an hour of my time!

On a happier note, look at my new frying pan!!!

I got it for $1 at an estate sale last Saturday! It is a good, well made and well loved pan, and has a lot of use left in it- and it is PINK!!!

Carole sent little Sugarwings this book for her first birthday, and I promptly fell in love with Tasha Tudor. How can I have gone almost 50 years without noticing her work before?

I love her style and thought I would "adopt" it for a series of Christmas ornaments.

Generous Carole, is having back surgery tomorrow, please drop by to wish her well if you can. As a person with a bad back, I know how emotionally and physically draining that can be. I’ve had my share of back surgeries!

I only got a couple more ornaments painted yesterday,but they are not Tasha Tudor inspired, just my regular roses.

I also used two of my hand painted rose medallions (available on Etsy) to make a folder from one of my favorite vintage wallpapers. I’ll stuff it with Cottage Collage Kit vintage goodness and have it offered on Etsy too. (This is the same pattern as the ones that will be featured in Somerset Living – yippee- love that magazine!!)

I purchased these unfinished wood frames at Hobby Lobby after the 4th of July for under 50 cents each. I thought they could be Shabby Chic Christmas style instead of Independence Day with a few changes.

This one has a simple and sweet border of barely-there glitter and the roses are painted onto green sheet music, then coated with paper glaze, for a sheen.

the second one got a gloriously gaudy border with a heavier application of glitter, and a small silver star with a vintage rose bit of jewelry added to it at the top.

These roses are painted onto gold and white old wallpaper, but I got carried away and the paper doesn’t even show.

Are you all rosed-out at this point? I did have quite the rose painting day, yesterday between running errands (20 minutes to wait for a prescription at Wal-Mart????).

My Sissy gave me this print as part of the Swap we did in August. See the little Dorkie in it at the girl’s feet??

I decided to make the little girl in the picture into a fairy, by painting on some wings and antennas. (Although,if she wants to put her pretty bonnet back on now, the antenna might get in the way.)

To make the paint look like it belonged to the print, I used a crackle glaze over the whole picture after the paint dried, then when that dried well, I wiped a dark umber glaze into the cracks.

I used old ribbon and a fairy charm to hang it.

I covered the mat in the same vintage wallpaper I had happened to have laying on the craft table from making the folder (some decisions are best left to chance, I move quicker that way!) I used my stardust Gelly pen to outline the roses in the paper and give it some sparkle.

The inside edge of the mat is covered with seam binding ribbon and the old pink velvet is glued down then old earring are glued over that. I tore a chunk of flowers and velvet off a lovley old hat and added that at the bottom for extra foof.

Can you see the bottom of the painted wreath it is hanging from? I painted that on my closet door and hang little pretties from it sometimes. Others, I just leave it as a plain grapevine wreath.

And speaking of grapevine wreaths- I have finished my "temporary hobby" of making wreaths.

This is my 4th and final wreath. The rest of the 25 cent silk flowers will just go into vases. I did enjoy doing these few wreaths, but decided it just isn’t for me.

I was just making wreaths to get them done and over with, life is too short to make things because you feel like you have to.

By the way, in case you don’t know, if you leave a comment you are entered into October’s Giveaway Drawing.

Also, I am at 190 posts! I’ll have a special drawing for #200 and giveaway a gift then too!

Making more space and making money stretch

antiques/junking, Chandeliers, fairies, flowers, give away, holiday decor, I do tend to run on, don't I?, magazine pictures or articles, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 2, 2007

I have been hearing that Romantic Country has been hard to find for a lot of people. I’ve seen that with these Harris Publications before. They have great magazines and people love them, but it takes some searching to find them sometimes.

So, today, I am mailing a copy to my sweet and tiny little mother-in-law out in Utah and my genteel and gracious great aunt down in Florida (who is turning 100!!). I made them each a book mark with their initials. I used some pretty scrap booking paper and brass charms but didn’t delve into my stash of vintage wallpapers and old ribbons. I knew they would just think it was old stuff and would probably appreciate the new papers more.

I redid the little corner of my studio that I call my office this week.

The rug is a linoleum remnant I painted for a magazine article "how to" story a couple of years ago. I switched from a larger table to this petite one and now the rug shows more. I’d almost forgotten it was there.

I use doors that are hinged together to make the partition that creates the space, and even though the doors have windows, the spot is dark. So I repainted the big hutch from black to pale, icy blue, and added another chandelier.

The table lamp is from last weekend’s garage sailing, $2.50- with the shade!!

Its hard for me to make an office a pretty spot, too many functional things, electronics, papers, BILLS, that I need to keep out.

Of course, the piles of Etsy stuff on the little blue desk doesn’t help the clutter, does it?

I might have mentioned a couple (or a thousand) times that I like fairies. I make my own from old dolls, or paint them, or transform vintage photographs into little fairy kids, but I also buy store bought ones.

TJ Maxx has these sparkly babes in with their Christmas decor for $5 each. I added these warm colored ones to my fall centerpiece in the dining room.

The velvet rose is from a bundle of the quarter ones I got at a garage sale, I glued it and some moss into a creamer from another garage sale that was only 15 cents because it was chipped.

My house doesn’t usually have fall colors. but I wanted to do something to celebrate the season and still be true to my own palette and style.

Fresh flowers are always welcome here. These are from last MONDAY at my local grocery store’s $1.99 clearance bin.

A vintage table cloth with roses in autumn colors, that Beth was selling for $3, and just gave to me instead, a basket from garage sales last week for 50cents, some of the vines and flowers (with lots of sparkle to them) from garage sales for a quarter a stem, and an 80% off after Christmas spray of glittered fruits from Hobby Lobby are part of the display.

I also added a gold carnival glass dish that was my husband’s grandmother’s and filled it with china roses that I collect for mosaic projects. Oh, and a bag of white pumpkins for $2, and a beaded pumpkin for $1. All of this, for what it normally costs to buy a flower arrangement!

Even though the flowers from last week’s sale bin are still thriving, I bought a dozen roses for $1.99 yesterday. Look at the deep reds and the wonderful striping of greens and yellows!!

The grocery store had a pot of white hydrangeas for $1.99 too. I hope to plant it outside as soon as we get a good break in the weather.

But for now, the pot looks good on my studio porch with the fall display there.

I might have saved a ton on flowers, but I went slightly overboard at TJMaxx on the fairies.

I bought one in every color they had for the baby’s room.

Even though I am decorating for the Christmas Parade of Homes, I don’t think these will come down after the holidays, they look like fairies that should live here year round to me.

One more bargain, before I go make things. I’d hate to only have 2 book marks and a rearranged room to be all I accomplish today.

My friend was having a yard sale and I bought this desk from her for $30. If I had bought it from a stranger, I would have offered $25, but very politely, I am never pushy or rude when I wheel and deal!

This attic room is in its beginning stages, you don’t want to see the rest of it yet.

And one more "one more thing" this is what I sent to Priscilla, who won the Sept. giveaway.

The tag is one that I made by cutting up my Romantic Country party invitation. I thought it looked fitting for her, as a Flea Market Queen.

I added her initial and a charm that I had made with old papers.

The charm can be worn as a pendant if she’d like.

I hope she enjoys her throne.

Please leave a comment to enter the Oct. giveaway. Maybe I will keep it as the Sept. one was, custom fit to the winner?

A Royal September Giveaway Winner, and some winning combos

Etsy Goodies, give away, holiday decor, how to's, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 1, 2007

I now have a no- fail calender! Back in August, I thought the month was over at the 28th because of a screwy calender so, Beth gave me this perpetual one to keep me organized.

And beautiful words to live by. I kind of have this motto in my head any way, but not said so eloquently

Now I know what date it is and that is it the correct time to draw a name for my September giveaway.

The winner for Sept. is

*The Flea Market Queen* !!

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments, please keep them coming, and I will keep bribing you with presents for leaving them!

A new give away begins today.

Sunday was a good day for me, and not just because it was the season premiere of Dexter on Showtime (have I mentioned that I am the biggest TV junkie EVER?)

I worked in the studio most of the day, combining two of my favorite mediums, collage and paint.

I painted, blue birds and branches on this old wallpaper, then made a tag out of it with 2 other vintage wallpapers and some millinery flowers .

This cool old earring was in my stash too, and seemed to fit the design of the wallpaper, same style of posies.

Another combo project was this old tin box covered in 3 different vintage wallpapers, with its edges trimmed in old seam binding.

I added hand drawn gold paint swirls, a flash of jewelry, some millinery leaves and a hand painted anaglypta wall paper medallion.

I traced some details of the paper with glitter, then sprayed the whole piece with clear poly to give it some durability.

Everything is glued down with "the Ultimate", so I know it will stay in place. That is a good glue.

I painted quite a few more medallions to list on Etsy. they seem to sell well. I did rose, cupcakes, and tea cups filled with roses.

The sugared frosting is German Glass Glitter from Heather. She says she is out of the genuine silver glitter (used on the blue birds tag) but has more ordered. If I were you, I’d get on a waiting list for it, it is that good to work with. I think one thing I like about it, is that it goes where you put it, not everywhere like glitter. It also has a unique look and sheen to it.

I painted a few Christmas ornaments. These are mini ones, that I will sell as pairs, I think.

I used the German Glass Glitter on them too. I DID NOT want to get hooked on that stuff, but it is really a pretty addition to a painting or collage.

I just worry about the dangers, I don’t want to be inhaling it, or getting it in my eyes. I don’t keep a tidy desk and I think you need to be careful when working with this glass.

Snowmen in October? I am getting ahead with my Christmas crafts, but I do need to get them done ahead of time.

I’ve been making wreaths this weekend too. I am working my way through the giant stash of 25 cent (brand new) garage sale flowers.

This is a new thing for me. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Time for me to go pick up Sugarwings to babysit and cuddle for the day. I’d hoped to stop at the gym on the way, but am running out of time. If I get fat, it is your fault. I am sitting in front of this computer way to much.

And the Party Goes ON!

flowers, give away, holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, parties, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 26, 2007

I want to thank everyone who participated in the "Romantic Country- what do you LOVE about your home?" party!! And everyone who came to visit me and who party hopped around blogland to check in on the party locations too.

I have 2 winners for an issue of a magazine, one will go to a reader, the other to a blogger.

And they are:

Cindy and Paula Kay!!

Please contact me with your address and I’ll get the magazines into the mail (as soon as the editor sends me the bundle of copies, should be soon). Remember I said I would have a surprise for the winner who was a non-blogger? Here is a small autumn leaf watercolor I have done. Hope you like it, Paula!

I do think that this subject is dear to all of our hearts, we all love our homes. Would you like to have a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" party in December? I have another Romantic Country article due out about then—-more celebrating!!!

Don’t forget you can still enter the Sept. drawing for a giveaway choice of a Cottage Collage kit with vintage wallpaper, or a hand made item from one of my kits!

Today I had a real life party, here at the cottage. A few good friends came by for muffins and yogurt and coffee.

I made the muffins with applesauce instead of oils and added lots of healthy extras like walnuts, raisins, flax seed, whole wheat flour, etc. They really were good and gooey and moist. (and I had cream cheese icing on the side in case the muffins were too healthy)

We had 3 kinds, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Zucchini, and Blueberry-Cranberry. Wish I could throw a real life party to meet all of you!

But I will be seeing Silver Bellas soon in Omaha.

Remember when I told you that Monday was the Bloglandia Ball? Well, now I am telling you that is TODAY again. And this time I am right!

(I have more gowns posted on the earlier entry fomr two days ago)

You can visit the ball here. Please do, you’ll enjoy it!

Also, I will keep adding links to our What do You LOVE about your Home party for the rest of the day. There seems to still be a lot of interest in it and I’d hate to leave anyone out.

Thanks again for coming to see me and my friends!

Romance and Ballgowns- Time to Party!

Etsy Goodies, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, paintings, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 24, 2007

Today is the Bloglandia Ball and I am all ready for it, with garlands of paper doll dress ball gowns.

Since I am gearing up for a Christmas photo shoot (any minute now, I am writing while I wait for the photographer) I decided to show some Holiday Ball Gowns.

The gowns are all made from vintage wallpapers and trims.

And of course some Glitter for a bit of festive flair!

This one is the one I would chose to wear myself, if I were fairy sized. They say horizontal stripes are not flattering, but if I was that tiny, it shouldn’t matter.

Here is a real fairy who is coming to the ball, all decked out in a rose petal dress, and some pink highlights in her hair for the occasion.

This teeny tiny fairy has a glittering gown of white.

I’ve added glitter to a vintage bride cake topper doll and placed her in a foofed up peat pot to hang on the tree.

I hope to get around and visit all the balls in blogland today after my photographer is done.

And I hope everyone is keeping their party spirits going and will be back tomorrow for our Romantic Country Party here at the cottage.

What to do? Post a photo of What you LOVE about your own home. Then leave me a comment and I will add you to our list of links to all the party goers.

If you don’t have a blog, please leave us a comment about what you LOVE at your home and you’ll be entered for a drawing for a copy of this issue of Romantic Country (plus a surprise little present from me)

And what do I LOVE about my home today?

I am thrilled to have entertainment centers to put the TVs in! I used to have them sitting out and hated it. It is so nice to shut the doors on those ugly things.(ugly but beloved – I AM A TV ADDICT AND WILL ADMIT IT TO ANYONE!! I can’t get enough of it)

This one was tan, I lightly sanded it, white washed it, then added some little rose buds and changed the knobs, all the day it was delivered from the furniture store.

I couldn’t stand to have anything so brand new looking and generic in my house!!

This one was painted white and distressed the day it was delivered too. I don’t buy much in the way of "new" stuff from furniture stores, but it is really hard to find antiques sturdy enough to hold a heavy TV and also be the right size and shape.

Another thing in my house that was "new" is this bathroom vanity. It was a cheapo builder’s grade one that we put in when we remodeled the first time, 17 years ago. When we added granite counter tops to our kitchen 4 years ago, the contractor cut them wrong and I got to keep the mistakes, and had part of it made into a top for this vanity, for the cost of having it re-cut only.

I doctored up the cabinet to look older with glazes and paint, added embellishments and painted those to match.

The mirrored handles are from the clearance basket at Anthropology. They have the coolest hardware and the best prices, if you wait for the sales.

Enjoy the ball today! Hope to see you (and photos or stories of your homes) tomorrow.

EDIT- I am wrong!!!!!!!!The ball is Wednesday. What is wrong with me?? I hope I have the right day for the photographer today. I could be sitting and waiting all day and he’ll come next Monday.

Some Captured Spirits and a Rockin Date

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 23, 2007

Aren’t these guys cute? They are part of my Garage Sailing treasures from Saturday. Adorable little vintage clothes pin people (and pets)!

I tried to list some on Etsy today and I kept getting booted off the site, mid-listing. Sometimes that happens to me on Etsy, I don’t know why. It certainly is irritating.

But can’t you just see these little clothes pin people used in all sorts of craft projects?

What do I love about my home today? My best deal from Garage Sailing — this new set up for my studio porch.

Two vintage black wicker rockers (with fall colored pillows) for $50.

My husband and I like to sit on the porch with coffee and newspapers in the morning (we both work at home and can take our time relaxing when we get up, how lucky is that???). Now we have romantic matching rockers for our 8am dates on the porch.

This ghost cage was at the same garage sale for $2.50. I filled it with spirits as a little break from all the Christmas decor I am in the middle of right now for the magazine pictures tomorrow.

The ghosts are cut from that soft foamy type kid-craft paper, simple, quick to do and 79 cents.

I am thinking about painting my front doors Robins Egg Blue and adding some hydrangeas to the roses I have painted on the shutters. (Like I have nothing else to do.) Wouldn’t that be a pretty update for my white cottage with black trim?

Here is the ‘Wheres Waldo’ Wreath that was hidden in last night’s photo in case you couldn’t find it in the middle of the pile of 25 cent garage sale flowers!

Well, durn, this is a bit blurry, isn’t it? I think that my camera does better in the day light than in in the evening.

I painted another dozen ornaments today,then had a mini family reunion and made a big pot of chicken tortellini soup for dinner.

Tomorrow is the Bloglandia Ball, and I have ball gowns made up and am ready to celebrate.

Then, Tuesday is our Romantic Country Party, here at the Cottage.

With all the family get togethers this week, and all the blog parties, I am feeling like quite the social butterfly! Hope you all come by to join in the party on Tuesday, and remember I will be giving away 2 copies of Romantic Country, plus each comment is an entry to my Sept. Giveaway Drawing.