housework – Page 2 – Karla's Cottage

I could use some friends… be my friend and have a chance to win a prize!

By Karla Nathan / March 27, 2010

Have you seen this post of Amy's?

She posted it a couple years ago, and it was so good, I'm glad she recycled it. It gave me an idea for a craft night project that was simple and fast and really cute. I had friends coming over to hang out in the studio and thought I'd offer supplies and a project for anyone who wanted them.

I glued vintage paper on plastic eggs, and my little buddy, Adeline Grace, a friend's daughter, made these. No one else was in a crafting mood. Addie was prolific, and got more and more creative as the night went on. I asked her if I could be her Grandmother, we seemed to have a lot in common.

It was nice of my friends to indulge me and let me make things while we talked, sipped wine and ate treats. And good to catch up too. I've had the most AWFUL week, just a lot of drama going on behind the scenes that you don't want to hear about. An evening to catch up with friends was just what I needed.

And it spurred me to clean up my studio, which I also needed to get done.

Do you ever find yourself starting a project as part of a clean up? I'd got this shelf at a junk store for $3 and wanted to make it over. While I had the spray primer out, I thought I might as well paint this statue too. Someone had added some garish colors to it at one point (so I got it for half price at an antique mall).

Using the steps in my side bar on how to paint furniture (listed under tutorials), I sprayed primer, glazed and top coated them. If you don't count drying time, I'd say that it all took less than 20 minutes to do.

When I first saw the shelf, I knew it would be a great space saver on my desk. It allows me to have more supplies within reach, since I now have two levels.

The desktop is not quite done, I'll rearrange things a bit better when I have more time. I was more concerned about clearing the table tops off for my guests to have a spot to work at.

The big work tables really aren't very attractive and the plan was just to use two smaller tables, then bring in the folding tables when I had company and needed more space. But it has become a habit just to leave all the tables up and keep them covered in clutter. I might rethink that plan after my next two craft days coming up this week.

When there is that much flat, open space, its hard to contain myself. If there is a spot empty, I fill it.

It would be easier to plan craft days if I had the tables stored in the garage and could set them up just when needed. Which is the opposite of what I had been thinking before, that I should just leave them up so they would be ready for guests. Nope, if I leave them up, I have to spend a couple hours unloading them before guests show up!

During clean up, I took a break to blog browse and saw that my friend, Mary, had added Google Friend Connect to her blog. Now, for some reason, I thought those were only on Blogger, not Typepad, so I never added one.

She also is having a bribe gift to readers who sign up. Well, I'm not shy about bribes, so I'll offer one too!

If you sign up to be my Google Buddy, I'll enter you in a drawing to win one of these Peat Pot Pretties with vintage millinery.

Like I said, I've had a VERY rough week. I could use all the friends I can get. Thanks!

A fun little helper

housework, magazine pictures or articles

By Karla Nathan / March 8, 2010

Well, I think I am ready today for Carol to come over and do pictures of the cottage. I had planned it for last Monday, but got the flu instead and had to reschedule. Too bad, because cleaning and redoing was much harder this week, it was our weekend with Sugarwings. She really, really likes to help. She rearranges my flowers, cleans the toilet with a feather duster, and finds much more interesting displays than I had planned myself.

(the "Joy" banner I made for Christmas has been switched out to spell "Fun" for springtime.)

We waited until it was time for her to go to her mommy's before I banished all of the kid stuff to the porch. My kitchen seems twice as big now!

Actually, it was Sugarwings who put the flower vase on her piano. See what I mean? She did come up with some good ideas. Not all were as successful as this one.

I'll have more photos later if you are interested. I'd better get to work now.

360s of a fleeting cleanliness, while getting ready for a little TV segment for Romantic Decorating

flowers, Food and Drink, housework, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / February 4, 2010

Are you tired of this display? What, 3 posts in a row, I've showed you this one… but each time a bit different. This is the final look for the little TV segment I did today. Roses were the finishing touch, I added those, plus more M&Ms, and a floral hanky.

Now, I won't make you look at this set up any more. Because it will soon be destroyed anyway, I plan on eating one of those candy bars that are wrapped in scrapbook paper!

The roses were a bargain. Our local Dillons grocery store marks down their flowers to $1.99 a bunch on Mondays, and this week, there was a TON of them to chose from, and late in the week too! I guess the week before Valentine's Day is a slow flower week, everyone is saving up for the big splashy bouquets for the big day instead. So, I got 4 bunches of flowers for 8 bucks.

Yellow isn't usually my color, and probably isn't associated with Valentine's Day, but I liked the cheerful splash of color in the bathroom.

So the holiday tips for this room are:

1- Put fresh flowers in every room!

2- Use a pretty, floral china plate for a soap dish, and set out a nicely scented, special bar of soap. (this one is home made, and was poured into a heart shaped mold)

3- Make a photo copy of a vintage Valentine postcard to wrap around your liquid soap bottle. I glued mine on, and after the holiday, I can just soak the bottle in warm water to remove the label and change to another look.

In the kitchen, I filled my white creamers with pink roses and white mums. One bunch of roses can make a much bigger impact if you spread it around, instead of having one vase filled with all of them.

From this bundle of sweetheart roses, I got 8 arrangements.

While my house was clean, I thought I'd take some full room shots. When TV cameras come over, you can't get away with just cleaning one side of the room, just in case. So, the whole durn downstairs is all picked up and all the floors are mopped throughout!

There are more Valentine Day's decorations to show, but I think I'll save those and just revel in my clean rooms and post those pics. Usually, I have to kick stuff to one side of the room to get a good picture. Today I can do 360s!

This is the view from my dining room into the kitchen/breakfast nook. That white cabinet is Sugarwing's play kitchen. Its big, bulky, and in the way, but we couldn't function without it. Next to that is the wood stove. Not pretty, but it sure can put out heat. And with MORE SNOW coming, I'll be firing it up soon.

You know, this is kind of a blah view. Maybe a 360 isn't a good idea after all? I guess I usually show the room from the best points of view.

This one is from the other side of the toy kitchen, standing in the breakfast nook. See what I mean about Sugarwing's kitchen being in the way? It makes getting into the pantry a pain, but is so worth it. She loves that thing.

For this, I was standing next to the wood stove. The screen around the stove is from Tuesday Morning's clearance aisle. I painted it with high heat paint because it was a dark bronze to start with.

This one is from the bedroom door looking into the kitchen.

No, those aren't dead birds on my chandelier, they are angel wings.

Another view of the woodstove. The mosaic thingy by it is a cement piece of yard art that I covered in china, glass, and old jewelry, then topped with a bird. The thing was actually a lighthouse, I hope that isn't too apparent. For a while, I was on a mosaic craze and everything got covered in broken glass and tile, then grouted. Hmmm, on second thought, this little lighth
ouse/bird/thingy might need to go outside. Do you ever just have stuff around for years because that just happens to be where you set it and it stayed there, not because it looked great, but just kind of out of default?

Taking a photo of your room and looking at that, can make you really SEE the room. I guess I just kind of always over look this and didn't realize how much it didn't fit in. It will be much better in the garden this spring. If spring ever comes- we have snow forecasted again!!!!

One more angle, this is from the stairway. I'm still not done with this room, the table in the corner is too small, I need a buffet type piece for under the mirrors. I could use a rug too, but just hate trying to keep one clean under a dining table where a 3 year old eats. The dogs spend a lot of time sitting under her chair, but even they can't lick up all the mess she creates.

Okay, that's plenty of angles of the same room over and over. Now, I'm going to go let the dogs out of their pen so they can start dragging in leaves across my mopped floor, and soon Sugarwings will be home and start pulling out her toys. All of this unnatural tidiness will soon be gone.

If you are in the Lawrence area, the 5 Romantic Decorating Tips for Valentine's Day will be on channel 6 Monday, for the 6:00 and 10:00 news.

If you want to see the rest of the decor tips, I'll post more later on, but for now, I've loaded them on HGTVs

Rate My Space

But I have to warn you, that site is addictive!!

If you are in the Kansas City area, and want to find some of the best shopping ever, you need to get to this sale by some friends of mine! I was invited to be in it, but just couldn't make it happen. I do hope to go, if I don't have Sugarwings all weekend.

Its in an 8,000 sq ft warehouse in the historic West Bottoms.

1200 W 12th St (12th and Sante Fe)

Feb 5th and 6th from 9am-5pm

And if you are not in the Kansas City/Lawrence area, here is another option for you. The lovely Cindy, at the lovely, My Romantic Home, is having a show and tell party.

Extreme Cabin Fever and MORE Zero Dollar Decorating

antiques/junking, collections, fairies, housework, how to's, paintings

By Karla Nathan / January 7, 2010

The weather just keeps getting worse. Luckily, I escaped for an afternoon on Tuesday to go see my pal Carol, of Raised in Cotton. If I hadn't gotten a little break from being housebound, I'd be bouncing off the walls instead of just repainting them!

Its colder and there has been more snow, so even though it was cold on Tuesday, it was the best day to get out. I couldn't go anywhere today no matter how much I might want to. So, I've been working away on my Zero Dollar Decorating to stay sane. I touched up all the paint on the dining room walls, and repainted the base boards with a quick brush of glossy white.

Then, I brightened the room up with a wall of mirrors that I shopped for from the bedroom and studio. The picture in the glorious gold frame went into the bedroom to replace the large mirror.

Next, I tackled the corner cabinet in the kitchen. It had been painted pink inside like the other cabinets that I redid earlier. Plus, I hadn't rearranged anything in it for years. It looked pretty cute when I set it up, ages ago, but over time, it got cluttery and too much as I'd stick treasures in here and there after hitting garage sales.

My kitchen is getting a de-rose-ing. I told Beth I was deflowering it and she said that maybe that wasn't the best term to use.

I still LOVE roses and all my little pretties, so this is more of a shuffle, some went to the dining room, and some to the studio, and some will be listed to sell in the Boutique, if I ever get back to work.

This weather has affected me mentally. I seem to be in some weird limbo, waiting for my real life to get back on track. Extreme cold weather always sets me off like that. Its an odd sort of cabin fever, I start hating staring at the same walls and want to change them and everything inside them. Combine that with the post Christmas let down, and weeks of these horrid temperatures, instead of just days of it, like we are used to in Kansas, and I have gone berserk from it!

(Or berserker,if you are a Kevin Smith fan)

Sorry, didn't mean to run on with my weather complaints. Back to the photos….

Here is the after.

It is still nice and rosy, but is toned down and cleaned up. The sides are covered in the tone on tone silk wallpaper that I had in my stash. Funny, it is the first vintage wallpaper I have ever bought, and I got it 20 years ago to cover the walls of my dining room and never used it. I'd stuck it away in the closet and found it a couple years ago when I realized that old wallpaper was a wonderful art supply. And now, here it is, used on my home after all.

I like to mix my china cabinet shelves up a bit and display more than just china. A framed old print (that I tried to sale at Miss Frenchies and Silverbella, but no one wanted! I'm glad now- sometimes I think that my home is full of nothing but things that I bought to sell and got stuck with), an old Haeger pot filled with silverware, ready to set out for a buffet, a collage I did at Silver Bella, and of course, some fairies and birdies.

For me, fairies and flowers in with the dishes makes for a much more interesting look.

The wallpaper is stapled up, instead of glued. Because I know that I am fickle. It doesn't look perfect, but with so much in the cabinet, who can tell?

Its just background. A nice, neutral, but pretty background!

The plates in the back corner are on a stair shaped stand, which is just what I need for my love of layering. I also like to hang things on the cabinet walls, pictures, cherubs, plates, etc.

Adding cake stands helps with layering too. I try for a variety of heights, and make lots of groupings instead of just lining up a matching set of plates. When my mom died, my sister got her set of Wild Rose dishes, and instead of keeping it for herself, she broke up the set and gave each of us a place setting. Mine is on this shelf, with a lot of other pale pink rosey dishes.

I went for an over all sense of "white", even though other colors were used as accents.

The lamp on that shelf was a quick project. I got it for 50% off of $5 at one of my favorite antiquing joints a while back and it was out in my studio waiting to see what it would become. Well, it didn't take much to transform it. In under 5 minutes, it had a whole new look.

1- switched the shade to an older one that I'd picked up at a garage sale a few years back.

2- pinned a rhinestone brooch to the shade

3- cut a page from a vintage French text book to fit the body of the lamp

4- drizzled glue on the book page, then rolled it around the lamp and burnished it down with my fingers

I really doubt that it took more than 2 or 3 minutes to do.

After the corner cabinet, I tacked the cabinet tops. Over the years, I'd collected tea pots, and over the years, as my tastes have changed, I edited the collection. My last redo had mostly rose patterned tea pots lined up on the cabinets. This time, I got rid of most of them, except a few plain white ones (I guess you can't see them in this photo, they are at the other end). I wanted to go very neutral and have much less up above. Now you can see the vines I'd painted on the wall years ago. I'd had so much crap up there, those were hidden.

They were also hidden by filth. Ugh, it was NASTY up there. All pottery got popped into the dishwasher, and I tried to clean the walls, and ceiling (yes, I told you I was going stir crazy with cabin fever- I WAS WASHING CEILINGS!!) but the greasy, dusty coating that was on everything was too awful to come off with my environmentally safe Windex. I had to use elbow grease and baking soda with a pot scrubber. And we are not people who fry much of anything. Where does all that grease come from???

That grease was another reason to put much, much less junk up there!

In this photo you can see a couple of the white pots that made the cut. I redid the narrow shelves between the cabinets too. I'd had decorated bottles, rosy shakers, and green depression glass there before.

Well, I could run on and on and on, telling you about my shuffling and reshuffling. I've been at it nonstop. You know how you take something from one room to another, then you have to redo to cover the hole that you made when you first moved that piece? Yep, that is the vortex that I have fallen into.

I switched the dining room picture with the mirror from the bedroom, and then had to dig around and find a different bedspread that matched better in there. Lots of those kinds of problems came up. But I am getting a new look with the same old stuff from other rooms, closets, or out in the studio, and keeping myself semi-safe from the ravages of cabin fever.

And I am getting lots of little problems solved. Like this ceiling tin that was covering the bad patch job. It has new screws, is up tightly, and now I've got it faux finished to match the ceiling.

At this rate, my New Years's resolution for 2010 will be completed before January is even over. And not in the typical way, where you give up. I'll run out of things to fix or redo around the house!!

There is more I want to do while I am trapped here in the house, but I think I am at the end of what I can do with with I have, and keep it Zero Dollar. I need a gallon of paint and some hardware before I go any further, and both cars and all three trucks are stuck in the driveway.

But today, I have Sugarwings. We've been climbing up and down the ladder that is in the kitchen and sitting in the dark closet playing with flashlights.

Now, its time to go and bake muffins, so I'd better run.

Zero Dollar Decorating

housework, redos, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / January 3, 2010

Only 3 days into the New Year and I am already making good on my resolutions. I've been touching up, cleaning up, and foofing up.

Years ago, we had a leaky skylight. It was repaired badly, you could always see a lump in the ceiling. So, I'd covered it with textured paint.

The lump was still there.

Then, I put this old ceiling tin over it, that did the trick, but the tin panel didn't hit the studs and wasn't secure on one side. It kind of dangled a bit, but not a lot. Still, it bugged me, but I ignored it.

But today, I reattached it with anchor screws! I still need to glaze over it in pink, so the lavender isn't so strong and it matches my faux finished ceiling better.

All of this snow and cold has made me feel like a prisoner in my home and I'm starting to get sick of the view. So, I decided to do a little Zero Dollar Decorating by moving stuff around in the house. This cabinet was in the dining room before, I moved it into the bathroom and brought some vintage tins in from the studio to store Q-tips, band-aids, etc. in. There is an old tin trash can lined with a doily in the bottom, that now holds TP.

After moving the cabinet in to the bathroom, I had to rearrange the wall grouping. And I even filled all the old nail holes after moving the pictures around!

Then, I went around the house and filled other neglected nail holes. And squirted lots and lots of calk (always use the paintable kind!) into any crevice that felt drafty. I went through 4 tubes of the stuff. We have an old and drafty house.

The right length screw was found for the knobs on the cabinet in the bedroom.

And I found a screw to fit a knob to go onto this corner cabinet door in the kitchen. For some reason, My home has been a Bermuda Triangle for knobs this year. They have fallen off in my hand, the screws have rusted and broken, or just plain cracked in half.

The corner cabinet used to have two matching door knobs like this, now it is this one and the glass one in the previous photo. I don't mind a mis-match, actually, I think I prefer it.

Here is a before and after of more Zero Dollar Decorating. (The left side is the before, and still has my Christmas garland of berries up) With the new, (old) French netting curtains, I thought my pink iron corner bits were a bit too much. I took some old iron fence posts (that were used elsewhere) and hung them up as curtain rods.

Isn't that an improvement? I'd like to change the chairs too. These will go in my studio, and I'll bring in some garden chairs to rustic it up a bit. I love pretty, and always will, but too much pretty all together gets to be a bit overly sweet. So a few rougher elements will tone it all down.

(The pink urn holds gloves and hats, and this table is near the front door)

But with this ice and cold, I'm going to take my time on getting those chairs inside! Bbbrrrrrhhh! I've got some other shuffled decor going on too, that will keep me busy. Since I took a cabinet out of the dining room, I need to look around the house for something to replace it with. I think there is a broken table in the garage I could fix up. And I am thinking about de-rose-ing my kitchen a bit. Not completely, but enough to take away that overly sweet look that I mentioned.

I've also repainted Ryan's bathroom and bought the paint to redo a door in Sugarwing's room. I'm going at this resolution with gusto and determination. All the Christmas decorations are put away and I'm ready for a new look. But on a budget. So far, I've only bought a couple of screws and a quart of paint.

Before I forget, the winner of my December Giveaway and the gift certificate from Vintage Workshop is

Rhea

Since I'm in a tizzy of home repair, (Handyman Don comes tomorrow!!) I don't have time to list new things in the Boutique. So far the 50% off sale has been wonderful, thanks to all of you who have shopped there. I'm extending the sale until I can get caught up and have new goodies to share with you.

Details are: Go ahead and make your purchase and pay by paypal. I will refund 50% of the total plus any excess postage (the site over charges on multiple purchases sometimes, its hard to judge).

If you are paying by check, please email me for a total and I will mark things sold.

As of tonight, I've "cleaned up" the site and have all the sold items deleted so it is easier to shop in.

Thanks again!

There is a fun Before and After party at

http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2010/01/before-and-after-party.html

Check it out for some great ideas for your next redo!

Its a start!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, housework, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 31, 2009

You still have the 31st to enter the drawing for my December Giveaway, and the 50% off sale in my shops goes through the 1st.

Thanks to all of you who have shopped with me!

I'm getting a jump on my New Year's resolutions and getting some repairs done. My house has been terribly neglected in 2009. We replaced the closet door months and months ago, and I just NOW, finally, repainted the door and the trim around it, plus the wall that got dinged up in the process of changing the door out.

I painted the door white, then added glaze to a paper bag brown color, brushed it on and wiped it down with a damp cloth. Quick and easy and such a difference. Why did I wait months to clean up this area???

My resolution is to not let things slip by me anymore.

(oh, and see the hand weights? They will be getting a lot more use in 2010, that is another resolution!!!)

This corner was never finished when the door was replaced. Yesterday, I called the guy who did the work and he is coming back on Monday to fix this floor. While he is here, I have a list a mile long that he is going to do for me. Little things that have been bugging me around the house, like doors that just don't close right, a cabinet that needs hung. Yes, my son is a carpenter. But between taking care of Sugarwings, work, and school, I'm lucky to get him to do anything at all.

He helps with housework, cooks, and gives me neck massages all the time (he is also a massage therapist), so I am not complaining. Instead, I am calling in a handyman who will get the list knocked off in one day.

I'm starting the new year with a whole new outlook. The fun and chaos of chasing a 3 year old has caused me to neglect my home, and I am not going to let that happen any more. Things I can't do, don't have time to do and can't get the guys who live here to do are going to be done by our friend, Don, the handyman.

Some things, I am facing and conquering on my own, like this. Months ago, the screws crumbled and broke off on the knobs of this old cabinet. Yes, I knew it was coming, they were wonky for a year or two. But I ignored it. I've been living with a knobless cabinet in my bedroom since summer.

I am fixing this little problem right now. Well, this afternoon, at least because there are no screws the right length in my tool kit. There never seems to be the right ones, does there? That is what stopped me every time I thought about fixing it. I had the knobs, just the wrong screws. So, today, I am taking some glass knobs to the hardware store and getting the right ones.

After changing the screws on the cabinet and mailing some packages, my New Year's Eve will be a quiet one. We've filled the wheelbarrows with wood, so we can have a warm and toasty house tonight. I'll probably rent a couple of movies, and curl up with Sugarwings to share some popcorn.

Hope your New Year's Eve is a fun one too, and 2010 brings you the accomplishments you want to achieve as well as lots of joy.

(Maybe one of my resolutions should be to NOT go too crazy with picnik editing??? This photo is a tad bit over the top, huh?)

Daisy Fresh

flowers, housework

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2009

It was such a joy to get home from Virginia to see that the floor in Sugarwing's room was finished! My Handyman brother-in-law, ripped up the nasty carpet that had been in that room since her daddy lived in it years ago, and replaced it with laminate.

The clean fresh feeling of a shiny new floor threw me into an over-drive mode of Spring Cleaning. All of the bedding and curtains had to be sparkling clean to go along with the glistening floor, of course. And after washing the quilt on the day bed, I flipped it over to the opposite side I usually display. This side was whiter and brighter, perfect for my mood.

The frenzy continued through out the house. Freshly washed slipcovers now grace the sofa. And I bagged up about half the throw pillows and put them in the closet for the summer.

The bathrooms got lots of shining up too, and the rug in my bathroom is all fluffy and clean.

And to top it all off, I picked some flowers from the garden. "Fresh as a daisy" suited me just fine today.

So, the floors and surfaces around the house are clutter and dust free. Seems like I normally pick up here and there, but it is hard to find a big block of time to really get into the corners and clean the whole house all at once. I have about 2 more hours to enjoy the triumph of having everything all spiffy, then Miss Sugarwings arrives. She is a master at re-cluttering! In no time flat, the house will be knee deep in magic wands, books, and giggles.

I just can't wait!!

By the way, you still have about 10 days to enter the June Giveaway drawing for this tag journal. All comments, all month, are entered!

Ahhh, that’s better!

housework, how to's, magazine pictures or articles, Miss Frenchie's, paintings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / April 27, 2009

Today, I made time for a little more sprucing in the studio. I repainted Sugarwing's old milk box seat and her little vanity.

Both were done in my short cut style. I use spray bonding primer in white, then brush on/wipe off glaze (pink for the fairy grand baby), let dry and spray varnish. How simple and quick is that? No sanding and not much time involved.

Spray primer (Zinzer Bulls-eye, bonding primer) adheres to anything. And, is meant to be under paint, so you can't leave it as is. But I skip the whole painting step and go straight to glaze, then top coat it and it really does well that way, plus saves time. Which I never have enough of!

To me, this is a big improvement in the room. There is so much going on in here anyway, that having the furniture more tone on tone is much more soothing.

Lightening up these two chests with wallpaper on the drawers helps too.

Who am I kidding? This room is crazy busy no matter what I do!!

But, its fun for me to have all the things I love around. Some people make inspiration boards to hang over their workspace, I use the whole room as one.

The canvas mural I painted for my booth at Miss Frenchie's was bothering me too. I had hung it in the closet area behind the folding screen, but I prefer the plain white wall there. With just a bit of the mural peeking over the doors, it seemed kind of messy. And I get plenty of messiness with projects strewn all over, I didn't need any faux messes.

But I was able to find a space for it that fit better. Here it is hanging in my computer gazebo area. The studio is one big room, and I have it divided up with doors, screens, large pieces of furniture, and yes, a gazebo.

My son and I made it really simply with 4 porch columns, decorative iron brackets, and two by fours.

We built the structure as a display area when I used to have antique sales at my home and used my studio as a showroom. This photo was taken by Diane Guthrie for Romantic Country magazine.

I loved the twinkle lights and tulle, but the lights burnt out and the tulle got all dusty and full of spiders, so it is gone now.

Having the French market scene above my computer will be a fun memento of a great weekend at Miss Frenchie's.

Unless it drives me crazy staring at my own work and I do nothing but pick out the flaws in it…. Of course, there used to be a mirror there before the mural. And I have to tell you, there were plenty more flaws to pick out there.

Ahh, yes, I think I'm going to like it here. Spring cleaning and a fresh start has made me excited to get back to work.

Too bad I am such a pig when I work, or I could wear this new tee from Robin and match my studio!

And isn't this just the sweetest thing? A guest at Miss Frenchie's sent this lovely note to my friend, Angie, for telling her about our sale!

First of all, what a thoughtful thing to do, and second- I want to write like that! I wish I could do calligraphy!!!!!!!!!!! Especially this pretty.

Remember these? When I was prepping for the sale, I made up LOTS of extra inventory to list in my Boutique. Slowly but surely, I hope to get stuff listed there. I did add a few of these knobs and some of my watch necklaces.

A few odds and ends of craft supplies have been added too. Not many yet, I really need to get myself back to working instead of playing dress up with my studio.

EDIT- Tour more redos at this Make Over Open House:

http://sanctuaryart.blogspot.com/2009/04/welcome-to-make-over-open-house.html

In the eye of the storm

housework, jewelry, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / April 25, 2009

Its getting dark here, we've had a nasty storm. I knew I had been working too hard on cleaning up my studio when the tornado sirens went off and I was thinking how angry I'd be if my studio had a branch come through the window and everything got all wet or blown after slaving over the redo for days!

This redo has been very detailed. I started by getting a new tall, storage cabinet and that turned into shuffling everything around. I took my time and went through all my supplies, made them easier to get to, got reacquainted with things I forgot I had, and even pulled the jewelry I had from one end of the room to the other, all into one area.

These are the kind of jobs that eat up the hours. It took me the length of three "America's Next Top Model" reruns to find, and separate all my sparklies.

The case I have them in is from TJMaxx, I'd bought it years ago to use for display at art shows for my hand made jewelry. 99% of its life was spent in the back of the closet, taking up space. Then, it dawned on me, that this table with its display case and glass top would be ideal to have at my desk. Kind of like a kid's school room desk, with the top that opens up, but there certainly aren't any math books in here!

School would have been a lot more fun if this was what was inside the desks there.

All these gems and pretties on display, but under glass and not getting dusty, will certainly be handy and inspirational!

And maybe it will remind me to stop buying more. And more. And more.

But, I get such good deals! I have to buy glitzy pieces when they are a couple dollars or less, I'd be crazy not to!

But, I do seem to have a lifetime supply!

But, my favorite flea market is this week, and they always have rhinestones!

Sugarwing's part of the studio got some redoing too. I found this antique, toy vanity for her at a garage sale today. I think I'll paint it white, if the rain ever stops. I thought about painting her table to match, but I really enjoy the blue. Maybe I'll paint the old milk box that she uses as a chair and stores her coloring books in.

I sorted more than jewelry. I went through wallpaper scraps, ephemera, and ribbons and got those all tidy and put in useful places.

To celebrate having the place all spiffed up, I put the table cloth onto my work table. Not practical at all, but since I am not sitting there and working right now, and won't have time to for a few days, I thought I'd enjoy seeing it there like that.

And I do.

In the back is the culprit that started all this fuss. Who would have thought that one new piece of furniture would turn into 4 days (and counting) of sorting and cleaning?

There are still things I want to do, like cover the drawers of those two old cardboard/wallpaper chests in prettier paper. I'll leave the outside of the chest, but the drawer fronts would look better in lighter colors.

Of course, it has taken me 4 days so far, because I play with stuff too much. If I was just dusting, mopping and tidying up, one day would have been plenty.

The storm outside is still pretty bad, but at least the sirens have stopped going off. That must mean that the possible tornado blew elsewhere.

Storms don't bother me, I kind of liked my day of sorting and playing with my goodies as the sky grew darker and darker. Both of my sons called to make sure I was ok, since I was home alone. That made my day even better. There is no one more loving than a grown up son. I'm lucky to have two of them. Plus it was good to hear that Sugarwing's Daddy had her safely tucked into a basement (with shoes on, we always put on shoes if there is a storm, you never know when there might be broken glass) and away from the Kansas wind.

Finally photos of the April Giveaway, before May comes!

give away, housework, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / April 24, 2009

Finally, I have a photo of the April Giveaway. And how far am I into April by now? Just about May?

If you have left a comment, you entered the drawing for this two sided charm. One side says "Inspire" the other is a rose that I painted. I used metallic paints, so it is kind of a unique effect. You can add it to a charm bracelet, use it as a pendant, or tie it onto a craft project. Like an altered bottle or tag.

While I am at it, I'll show you a teeny tiny cupcake charm too. These are less than an inch long and are painted onto paper added to an existing charm, then coated with Paper Glaze for a durable finish.

The cupcake will be part of a giveaway for my 51st birthday on May 5th. 51 doesn't seem as fun and exciting as 50 did, so I'm going to have to create some fun for myself. And you know I enjoy wrapping and sending gifts!

All comments between May 1st and May 5th will go into a drawing for the cupcake. The rose is open to all comments the entire month of April.

And why was I too busy to take a simple photo of a gift all month? Well, Miss Frenchie's was sure taking up some time. And after that I decided to treat myself to a new cabinet for the studio with some of the loot I made at the sale. This great storage piece is over 8 feet tall and has sooooo much space in it!

Of course, it inspired a full studio redo. I'm still in the middle of that, but did take some time today to get photos of things I'll be listing soon, as well as getting purchases packed and shipped. Usually I am more on the ball than that, and get them out faster. But this week, I've mostly been on a cleaning binge. First, the house, then a bit of the yard, and now the studio.

Uhm, it might have needed a bit of cleaning….

This is the after for the sink area in my storage corner of the studio. I am taking all those half cans of paint to the Habitat for Humanity store for reuse and I rearranged the rest so I could get to the sink without scaling a junk pile.

The other end of the room was just as bad.

But is so much better now! Not exactly gorgeous, but hey, it is storage. The best I can go for is functional. I'd let it really get away with me, and hadn't taken the time to put anything back in its place.

One cute thing that I have in my closet (which really isn't a closet, it is just a corner of the room, that I blocked off with doors and furniture) is this old postal cart. I store my shipping supplies in it, seems fitting for that purpose.

The studio is coming along. I really didn't think I'd spend so much time on it, but you move one thing, that starts an avalanche of other things that need moved too. So, day three of the big clean up and I am close to done, but not quite.

Of course, I've had this little person helping off and on. Right now, she is sound asleep, napping on the floor of the studio, but I hear her stirring. I'd better run, its probably just about time for a play dough break.