how-to projects – Page 6 – Karla's Cottage

Fantasy Photo Editing tips and short cuts with Picnik part two

fairies, family, how to's, how-to projects, photography

By Karla Nathan / August 19, 2011

On this photo, I wanted softer colors and an over all, dreamier, softer look. (at 53 years old, I can use all the soft effects available for my skin!!)

So, I skipped all the fixes on Edit and went straight to Create. I turned the whole picture Black and White, under Effects at about 20%. Before applying it, I erased the black and white from the eyes and jewelry.

Next, I used Eye Bright on all of the jewelry and the eyes.

Then, under Eye Color, I used the full strength gray to take away the yellow in the flowers, applied it, and tinted them to match the other colors with a purple Eye Color, faded.

Under touch up, I used Blush, in a skin tone on the skin, and faded it away, then did the same with a pink Blush on the cheeks and lips. I added a bit of faded blue to the iris with Eye Color.

One of my favorite tools for faces is under Seasonal, Valentines Day. Its "Heart's Desire" and gives the whole photo a pink tint, with blurred edges. I applied it with its largest size at 53%.

Finally, I used Matte (Effects) in two layers, a pale pink full size, but faded a bit, then a darker pink very small and faded over that. To finish, I added a grey drop shadow.

Fantasy Photo Editing tips and short cuts with Picnik

fairies, family, how to's, how-to projects, photography

By Karla Nathan / August 15, 2011

While I was in Indiana, my sisses indulged me and we played Fairy Dress up. Bobbie Sue's husband used my camera to get some photos, and as cute as they were, I thought they could use some added magic. (By the way, my sister lives on a highway and we were in her front yard wearing our fairy gear. Its good to have family that likes to have fun and doesn't get embarrassed when cars drive by and honk when we are being silly)

Here is how I did it, if you are interested. I use only Picnik, which is free. But some of my choices are from the premium selections, so they cost $24 a year. Much cheaper than buying Photo Shop, quick, easy and simple. I can't figure out Photo Shop myself, and Picnik is so self explanatory its easy to learn.

I don't spend much time per photo either, never more than 5 minutes each. I take a lot of pictures, and enjoy editing them, so don't have a lot of time to spend on each, or I'd never get anything else done if I didn't keep it quick.

Click on any photo to see it in a bigger window.

(for the picture of me flying, I tilted it, with Rotate to make it look like I was flying off, the other steps are similar to the ones below)

First, go to "Edit" and auto fix, then slightly sharpen. Next I do auto colors, and then cut the saturation in half.

Go to the "Create" section and in there, find "Touch Up"

I use Wrinkle Remover to get rid of the red car in the background. It took three applications to get enough strength of the blur to cover it. I ran a circle of Wrinkle Remover all around the edges of the photo to make it match too.

I clicked on the gray eye under Eye Color and used that all around where I'd blurred the edges. You can only do one color at a time. Save each and move on to the next.

Eye Color was used again to tint all the magic wands, wings, orbs, and hair embellishments, as well as the wings. After tinting, I faded the colors by sliding the bar till I liked the strength of the color.

Over that, I used Eye Bright, then lightened it a great deal, so the wings and orbs had a bit of a glow.

But that wasn't quite dramatic enough, so I used Eye Bright at full strength on the lightening on the orbs and highlights of the wings one more time.

To make the fairie's skin glow more, I used Dodging, still under the category of Touch Up.

Over the blurred background, I did a faded blue Eye Color, then went to the Featured section and added a solar layer, and faded it down.

Next, I used Ortonish under Editing, and faded it half way. Over that is Bokah Stars from Fourth of July under Seasonal. I like to make the stars tiny, and do two or three layers of them, in different sizes.

To finish, I used Matte under Effects, in blue first, then faded, and over that, pink, faded and smaller.

This picture has nice light coming through over my shoulders, so I decided to accent that.

I made it really colorful, not my typical style, but fun and fairy-ish.

Here are the steps:

Auto Fix
Sharpen
tint orbs pink with Eye Color
lighten and brighten orbs and wings with Eye Bright
Eye Bright full strength on all jewelry and again on the orbs
full Saturation (under Effects), before applying, I erased the Saturation from all skin tones
Lomo-ish (under Effects) to darken the edges and make the center glow
Eye Bright on wings and around the orbs
Dodging to lighten the faces
Drop Shadow in pink

For my next post, I'll show you some softer colors and ideas.

How to make a magic mirror

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), how to's, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / August 11, 2011

Sugarwings has a birthday coming up. And the next day, she starts kindergarten.

Oh my.

How did she get to be 5 so fast? I can't believe she will be in school.

I wanted to get her something special for her 5th birthday, so when my friend gave me a mirror that didn't sell in her garage sale, it inspired me to create this magic mirror for the birthday girl.

Now, the evil queen's mirror really was more glam and golden than what I came up with, it was actually more like the way this mirror started out. But I was going for light and cheery, more Snow White than her stepmama.

So, I took the back off, and removed the mirror, and painted the frame.

I used the spray, bonding primer that I love, and always use. It goes on like a dream (shake it well!)

Over that, I used acrylic craft paint to do a base coat of deep pink on the flowers, then dry brushed some lighter pink over that.

It looks a bit messy, but its all about the layers. This is a quick process, you don't have to be an artist to smoosh some colors onto 3D flowers like these.

And messy is good. You don't need to be precise.

Like I said, its all about the layers. I used dark pink, then light pink, then some yellow in the centers, and purple around the centers. On a couple flowers, I did even more purple.

Over all but the yellow, I brushed another coat of light pink.

Each layer is messy and fast.

Then, I got my brush extra wet, and brushed green onto the scrolls and leaves, wiping off a bit here and there with a paper towel.

I did the same with pink on the inner rim, then made polka dots by dipping the wooden end of the paint brush into the paint and spotting it on.

(if I was doing a mirror like this for myself, not for a child, I would distress the raised areas with sand paper, then glaze over it with a brown color and wipe it off)

After that, I tackled the mirror. A glop of paint remover/stripper went right in the center and I let it sit for about 15 minutes, then scraped at it with a razor blade (while wearing gloves)

Then, I scrubbed at it with the stripper on my steel wool pad.

When done, I sprayed it with the garden hose to clean off the stripper.

Then, I downloaded a picture of Snow White from Google Images and tinted it sepia. She is usually wearing red, yellow and blue, which was too bright for this project and Sugarwing's bedroom.

So, I printed it on matt photo paper, and added a touch of blue to the eyes and dark pink to the lips with markers.

After that, I taped it to the back of the mirror so that it peeks through the clear spot on the glass, and replaced the back on the mirror.

Around the top, I wrote, "Mirror, mirror on the wall- who is the fairest of them all?" and at the bottom, wrote, "You Are"

This was done in a waterbased craft paint meant for glass. Read the labels of the bottles at your craft store if you want to paint on glass or a mirror. You want to make sure that it holds up to cleaning. Regular acrylic paint will wash off.

Once I give this to my fairy baby for her special day, I'll get a photo of her looking into it.

But for now, shhhh! Its a surprise!!

How to paint furniture with no sanding and lots of personality

Hand Painted Furniture, how to's, how-to projects, Tutorials

By Karla Nathan / April 11, 2011

This vanity started out dark, and is a new piece from Lowes. I bought it about 6 years ago for only $368 and it came with the marble top, sink, and the faucet already installed.

This is how it began. But the time came to lighten up, and this is how I did it:

The first step was to prime.

I DO NOT SAND. I never do, and I've painted my little heart out for years.

The key is the primer. The label of the can must say "BONDING" or "WILL ADHERE TO GLOSSY SURFACES" Never, ever use dry wall primer. Its not the same thing at all, and your paint will just scratch off.

The last few years, I've been very happy with Glidden's Gripper. In this case, I bought the gray tinted Gripper primer.

You can see, I don't put it on perfectly. Notice the little skips here and there in the gray where the dark wood peeks out? Not big ones, just little misses.

The key to being a good faux finisher is to be a bad painter. Yep, you gotta be a little messy and non-perfectionistic.

And to use a crappy brush. You can't get much worse than this. I love these little cheapo, 99 cent brushes from Walmart. They give the paint job character with their uneven bristles.

After the primer dries, I pounce the paint (I used Behr glossy white) on with the old brush.

Its a constant dab, dab, dabbing with the brush. First you dip the brush in paint, then dab it off onto a rag, then pounce it onto the piece, over and over and over.

I tell ya, its a lot easier to do a small piece of furniture or a lamp this way than to do a whole wall. If you are doing something big, try a larger brush and take some advil.

This is the look you want. With some of the gray primer peeking through, as well as a bit of the underlying wood.

The paint goes on heavier in some spots than others, but please make sure you don't have blobs and repetitive patterns of brush marks.

To avoid that, turn your brush as you pounce. And go over the same areas more than once to blend as you dab.

After the white dried, I did the same thing, with the same brush, using a coffee with heavy cream colored paint, mixed half and half with glaze to thin it down and make it more translucent as it dries.

With this step, I pounced the creamy color over the white, layering it heavier in corners, and slightly wiping it off on the high points of the embellishments and trim.

If needed, you can add a bit more of the white over the cream to soften it.

Since I used a good primer, and a high gloss paint, the finish is really durable and doesn't need a top coat.

Email me if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.

a little makeover, a little procrastinating, a lot of snow hating

Chandeliers, hand painted candelabras, how to's, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / April 1, 2011

Winter simply must go.

And I mean it.

We've been getting some very nice days, then it all goes wonky and snow comes again. And I just can't take any more cold. I'm done, I quit. Either Kansas warms up and stays that way, or I am leaving.

Before it snowed this week, while the weather was pretending to let Spring come, I picked a handful of the daffodils blooming in my yard so I could have a bright bit of Spring time on my windowsill.

That helps, well a little bit.

I'm so glad that I have my blog friend weekend to cheer me up and make me feel spring-y since the weather isn't doing it for me!

Another thing that helps lighten my mood when I am feeling grey and gloomy, is to lighten up something else. A friend gave me a pair of these lamps, and I liked the lines, but disliked the color. So, to cheer myself up, I made them a bit cheerier.

I followed the short cut steps that I like to use (on my side bar, in the tutorials, "How to paint a chandelier") and gave the lamps a spray coat of (bonding) primer.

Then, I added silver glaze over the primer, using a stiff brush and a stippling technique. That is where you dip the brush in the glaze, then dab the brush against a paper towel to take some off, and then pounce the brush onto the object you are painting. I use a really cheap brush when I do this, since it beats the crap out of it.

This is a technique that you don't want to try to do perfectly. The only thing you really need to watch out for, is that the crevices and cracks and low parts get filled in good. (its also pretty to use two colors, a slightly darker one over the first after it dries, but I was too impatient and didn't do a second color)

When it was dry, I sealed it with a clear coat.

Over the long, candle stick portion of the lamp base, I added a strip of paper taken from a really old sewing magazine. It was simple and quick, I just ran a bead of glue all around the edge of the backside of the paper, and then stuck it on. I didn't even measure just right, I wrapped it around, so that the excess just went halfway around the pole again.

The page I used was a little crumbly on the edge and I liked that, so I left a bit of a ragged edge. You can't really tell from the photos tho, its more to the backside of this image, but you can see just a little bit of the torn edge to the right.

The lampshades got left as is. I thought I wanted something lighter and lacier, but once the lamps were painted, I kind of liked the contrast. Especially after pinning on an old, white velvet flower.

Did you notice that I blurred out the backgrounds? I just about had to, my studio is the pits right now.

See what I mean? But, it will be all spiffed and ready for my blog friend weekend soon. (this post was written earlier in the week, and scheduled to post over the weekend while I'm off playing with my friends. Lets HOPE the room looks a little better for them!)

But,if I don't stop getting side tracked by little projects like redoing a lamp, the chances of the room getting cleaned up could be slim to none.

Or if I spend time digging through old magazines looking for pictures. Now, that is a real waste of time. But talking about pouncing glaze reminded me of this show house I painted in years ago. It was a Victorian house, and had great textured wallpaper all up the grand staircase and through the hall.

I painted in all the colorful details of birds, flowers, and sunsets on the paper, then stippled over it in bronze and cream glaze. This photo was in Better Homes and Garden Paint Decor. I'd forgotten all about this article, and just had to go and dig it up. Instead of cleaning the studio.

Okay, enough procrastinating. I'm really going to tackle the room now.

ps- Today is Silver Bella sign up. For various reasons, I won't be going this year,(one being sticker shock at the price!! Others I won't go into) That event was always so special to me, but I haven't talked to a single person that I know who will be going this year. Of course, I made all those friends at that event, and would probably meet more wonderful people there if I did go.

Are you going?

Facing challenges, a how to, and a prize

fairies, how to's, how-to projects, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / March 8, 2011

Mary Green hosts a monthly collage challenge on her blog, with a few images from her collections. When I saw it, I had some ideas to change it around. And to banish Winter! NO MORE SNOW, I want Springtime!!

I also wanted to try some beeswax, and thought this would be a good opportunity to experiment.

This is what she had us all start with. The rule is to use every image, but that you can add other papers and stuff too. The last time Mary was here for craft day, she gave all of us pages and pages of printed images from her many collections, so I decided to use only "Mary Papers" in my creation.

To change the Victorian lady into a fairy, I first cut her out like a paper doll, then traced her skirt shape onto some floral paper and then cut it out on glued it over the existing gray skirt. That part was easy, it was a little tougher to piece in the bodice of the dress. After tracing and piecing it in, I had to trim away some extras, and then used a light brown marker over the whole dress to add folds in the fabric.

The French holy card had a pretty border that I cut out and used as a ruffle at the bottom of the skirt.

I didn't care for the winter theme, so snipped off the ice skate blades and the muff, and glued the paper doll onto a tag covered in ledger paper (from Mary's collection), the text from the French holy card, the bank letter head from the challenge, and some green silk ribbon.

Have you ever tried beeswax over your art? I did once, in a Silver Bella class, so knew just a little about it. I had to experiment this time to get it right.

I melted the wax in a mini crock pot that came free with my big crock pot.

Starting with the smaller areas,like the sleeves, I brushed wax on with a small brush, then with a larger, flat brush, filled in the skirt.

I discovered that a blob can be smoothed out with another application of wax over it. And its good to work in one long swoop of a brush stroke.

Adding glitter to the waxed wings sounded like a good idea, but it wasn't. So I discovered that you can scrape away the wax with the flat side of an exacto knife's blade.

This made a really cool texture, the dress is a heavy coat of wax and the wings are a flat, sheen of wax, just the remnants from me scraping off the glittery blob chunks that didn't work so well.

I also found that I could take the exacto knife's point to clean up the edges and any bumps on the dress. After that, I kind of polished it with a paper towel wrapped over my finger. Just a light buffing stroke over the whole waxed area made it look really pretty.

Her hat is a millinery leaf glued on her head, with a white feather and some rhinestones over it. Fast, easy and fit for a fairy queen. I made a belt for her from the same silk ribbon that I used in the background, and then touched up her hair with a brown marker and her lips with a pink one.

SInce I had cut off the muff she was holding, her hands were gone too, they'd been inside the muff. To fix that, I glued a bouquet over the place where her hands should be. We'll just pretend she is holding the flowers.

You can see the wax better in this close up. It creates kind of a dreamy look to the "fabric" of the dress.

A ruffle of crepe, (dipped in coffee to age it), a millinery bloom, and a fairy charm and I was done.

Thanks, Mary!

My studio is full of paper right now. I've been slicing and dicing vintage gift wrap to make up packages to sell in the Boutique. Its not there yet, but I'll let you know when it is.

While I was cutting up the paper, I just had to snip some off for myself, and I made up a couple of banners. This one is done with all baby shower gift wrap and playing cards to spell B A B Y.

The wallpaper chopping is progressing. Slowly but surely. Its so freakin boring to do that it takes me forever. I keep thinking of little errands I should run, or tell myself I need to check on something. I'll make up any little task to get a break from this big one. I'm trying to cut a LOT at once and get the shop stocked up.

At first its fun, because the papers are so pretty and I enjoy playing with them. But after cutting out 5 or 6 of the same pattern I get very burnt out and want to switch to a different roll of paper. Or just leave.

Its almost enough to make me want to work on my taxes. No, not really, no taxes have been done yet. That is even more tedious.

Honestly, a person who is self employed and works at home should have better discipline. I need a boss to make me finish this!

But here is a fun part of my job, I get to announce the winner of my drawing for the package of good stuff-

And the packet goes to:

Clairice at Storybook Woods (one of the first blogs I started reading)

Sugarwing’s Low Sugar Freezer Jam, otherwise known as a strawberry spread type thing

family, Food and Drink, how to's, how-to projects, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / March 3, 2011

For not having a recipe and having never made jam before, we did okay last night when we gave it a try. What we ended up with was a unique strawberry spread type thing, and we really like it. So, I guess that is what counts. Whether anyone would ever call it "jam" when they ate it, doesn't really matter to us.

We were going rogue.

While I've never made jam myself, I knew a bit about it. Like you need a LOT of sugar for it to set up. And if you aren't canning it, you need to make freezer jam instead.

We used very little sugar, because I was making the jam myself so I could purposely cut back on it, since Sugarwings has a little bit of a jelly addiction. Well, with a name like Sugarwings, you might expect her to have a sweet tooth…

Here's how we did it, if you want to make some strawberry spread type thing for yourself:

First you need a good berry scrubber with skills in pulling off the "green parts".
After the green parts are gone, cut off the top, and toss the fruit into a blender. We used 2 quarts of organic berries.
We squeezed half of a lime over the berries in the blender and then purreed them. To get the most juice out of the lime, we played with it a while, and got it good and smashy before I cut it in half.
To the berry/lime mix, we added a 3/4 cup of organic sugar and about three good sized squirts of agave nectar syrup, and blended them all together. Have the lid on the blender before your helper pushes any buttons, or else be ready to wipe berry globs off your forehead.
We opened a packet of pectin (found on the jello isle at the grocery store) and disolved it in a 1/4 cup of boiling water. I have a feeling that the jam might have been thicker if my helper hadn't spilled quite a bit of the pectic powder when she poured it into the bowl. If all your pectin makes it into the hot water, you might have a better end product than we did.
Mix the pectin/water with the berries and sugar, then pour into jars. Leave space at the top of the jar for the jam to expand when it freezes.
Let set at room temperature for a couple hours before cooling in the fridge (or freezer if you want to save it for later)
Make labels while the jars set up.

The whole endeavor might have just been an excuse to make labels. Our yeild was small, only three partial jars, so we decorated the lids, too. We had looked forward to making labels too much to stop at three.

For our labels, we used some fruit rub ons and paint markers on water color paper shapes cut out with our punches.

My kitchen might still be a little sticky, but we sure had fun. And our so called jam really is tasty. And good for you too!

To me, it tastes a bit like a Margarita. Sugarwings thinks it tastes like jelly, but she's never had a margy. This spread has more of a fresh berry flavor than a jelly flavor. And I don't think it ended up costing any more than if I'd bought three jars of All Fruit spread. Sometimes, kitchen experiments can go a bit crazy in the budget department, but this one did okay financially.

Plus, its something we will really enjoy eating, and it wasn't hard to make. We also whipped up some home made yogurt, and for breakfast today, we swirled some of our "jam" into the plain yogurt, and it was heavenly.

How to paint a cement floor

collections, how to's, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / February 25, 2011

The other day, I drove into Kansas City to spend the day with Beth. Whenever I go to her house, I always start peeking around to explore her latest finds. I had some time to kill while she finished something up, so I entertained myself by poking through her stuff. You know you have a good friend when you don't think twice about wandering around her house and making yourself at home.

I could poke around for days and not see it all.

And this isn't even in her craft room. This is a small portion of the stuff piled in the guest room, waiting to be tagged and sold or photographed for Ebay and Etsy.

I'm always attracted to doggie brooches and at first really liked this one. Then I took a closer look, what is going on with the poor creature's mouth? No wonder his eyes are popping! But still cute.

I like the blue fur. I think this dog has been flocked.

This is a pile I could really delve into. Can't you picture a collage in that old watch? It could be like a mini shadow box.

Recently she hit pay dirt at an auction and got a lot of watch bits and pieces. Hmmm…. if I invited myself over for a craft day, I wonder if she'd let me play with some of them?

Beth and I are driving to Texas together for Paper Cowgirls in June and are trying to figure out if we have enough space in the car to take along stuff to sell on vendor night. We'd share a table, so wouldn't need a lot of inventory each. Heck, if she just threw a couple of these boxes from her guest room into the back of the car, the shoppers would be thrilled.

We both drive Scions and they are shaped like a little box on wheels, so have lots of space in them for a small car. But by the time you pack suitcases, tools for the classes, my class kits, etc., things do start to fill up.

I think that we can make a couple of tubs of vendor goods each fit into the car though. I'd want to take some millinery flowers and wallpaper packs. Not anything that takes up much space.

Guess what!? My class at Paper Cowgirls is filling! The site has it marked as full, but there is actually a space or two left due to some sort of paypal button error. So, if you tried to sign up for my class but didn't get in, let me know and I'll see if there is a spot still there.

The reason why I went to Beth's in the first place was to help her with her booth at Mission Road Antique Mall. Years ago, that is where we met- we were neighbors with booths across from each other. Then, we started to share spots as well as each having a place of our own there too.

I was pleased to see that my old booth still had the hand painted floor that I did.

The mall owner let me pull up the carpet in my space and paint over the concrete below. I've done this in homes too, back when I was a full time painter. I've also tried this look on wooden floors and used the same steps. One area that did NOT work was an outdoor patio. And that was because of the temperature fluxuation here in Kansas. The winter freezing and summer heat, caused contracting and expanding that ruined the paint job.

Here is how I do it:

Cut the carpet in strips with a box cutter. Change the blade often, a dull blade makes the job much harder. Pull up the carpet.
After the carpet was gone, I cleaned the space well, getting up any fuzzies left behind from the rug. I didn't bother to sand down the glue marks, I just painted right over them. I kind of like the texture it gives the floor.
Before painting, always use a good bonding primer. Bonding is the key! Not just Kilz. You have to always read the labels, there are a lot of primers out there and they are made for different uses. A bonding primer lets you paint right over any surface without sanding and allows your paint to adhere and grip where you want it to. Look for the words "bonding" or "will stick to glossy surfaces". I prefer water based primers such as Glidden Gripper.
I painted the cleaned floor with a base coat of latex house paint, over the primer, and then did the art work with acrylic craft paints. I used a dark brown for the base, and a sponge roller to create the stone texture in lighter colors over it. Then splatter painted over the rocks before adding the details.
Top it with polyurethane. For the top coat, make sure you have plenty of ventillation, and stay off of the floor for a couple days.

As you can see, this floor has held up great, and it has been there for years, surviving shoppers and lots of furniture being moved around over it.

Here is a link to one of my very early posts, with another cement floor tutorial in it, complete with the arty steps:

Pond Scene on Guncle Randy's floor

Registration is open for Paper Cowgirls!

antiques/junking, bird song art event, how-to projects, magazine pictures or articles, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / February 23, 2011

Paper Cowgirls is open for registration!

I've already signed up to take a couple classes and am really looking forward to the event. Over the last couple years, I have heard so many good things about it and have wanted to get down to Texas to give it a try.

And I am thrilled to be one of the teachers this year. Well, that is IF ten people sign up for my class…. If ten don't sign up, it gets cancelled.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Personally, its a class that I would sign up for, if it wasn't my class, I mean. I really like the piece we'll be creating. I spend lots of time working on the prototypes and figuring out the steps on how to make these mini dress forms.

An idea can be the easy part. Making it work isn't always as easy! It took me a while to fine tune the process and get it down good enough to show others how to do it. I had a practice class with some friends before I submitted the project to Paper Cowgirls. And I'll do a couple more practice classes with two other groups of friends before I head to Texas to actually get paid for showing people how to make them.

As I've visited my favorite antique stores, I've been keeping my eye out for great pieces to add to my kits. Last week, I came across a few bags full of these insulators. Won't they make cool toppers for these dress forms?

Here's another pile of toppers I've assembled. My plan is to have a wide variety for the students to chose from, so that all the end products are unique.

When I go to a class, I always take my extras. And usually from the Bestie pile I've been talking about lately. Because I like my own piece of art to look like MY OWN piece of art, not just like the teacher's.

Oh, I get a lot from the classes and enjoy and use the kits. And I seem to learn a lot from everyone sitting at the table with me. But- I do like my creation to look like I was the one creating it, so I bring supplemental goodies to add to the kit the teacher provided.

So, for Paper Cowgirls, just like I am with Bird Song, I am giving the students the opportunity to make their own choices. There will be kits of course, and they will be filled with lots of vintagey goodness. And since most of the stuff is vintage, not all will be just the same in each kit.

For some of the supplies, I want to have piles on the tables for everyone to pick through.

I'd rather they didn't have to bring their own unique things unless they really want to. I'd like to provide enough to make sure that while we all follow the same steps and instructions, everyone has the chance to veer off the beaten path a bit and art the piece up in the way that calls out to them.

And with all my classes, the students will be Using the Good Stuff! Look at these great laces I bought yesterday from Beth. She gave me a deal so wonderful that I can afford to treat all the students to nice, old lace.

We spent the day together, she let me help her redo her antique mall booth, and I'll have some photos of that for the next post. And she bought me lunch, then hauled me to Costco so I could mooch off of her membership and buy plates/cups/etc for Bird Song and for another gathering I have coming up.

Over all, this has been a great week. Well besides the awful cold that settled into a sinus infection. But now, I have myself heavily medicated for that and the pounding in my sinuses is just about gone. I had Sugarwings a few nights, which makes any week wonderful. Even though, at my age with a sinus infection, chasing a 4 year old and getting up with her in the middle of the night isn't as easy to do as it used to be. Its worth it.

Besides lots of Fairy Grand Baby time, and getting to spend a day with Beth to play decorator in her booth, and signing up for classes at Paper Cowgirls, I also got this copy of Somerset Apprentice in the mail.

I've never been in it before, and honestly had never seen it, I wonder if it is new? But it is GOOD. I read the whole thing cover to cover while I was in the Dr.'s office waiting room and was impressed with the photos and the layout, not to mention the directions.

The whole magazine is step-by-step directions from many artists. It was well done, easy to read and follow. I got some good tips from it! And it made an unpleasant visit to the Dr. go much better.

Hey, thanks for all the comments and emails about Using the Good Stuff. I think the subject was close to the hoader's heart in all of us!

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.