how to’s – Page 5 – Karla's Cottage

Some Journalling tips and a day with Jay Pryor Coaching

By Karla Nathan / April 2, 2014

Recently, I attended a Life Coaching seminar with some friends. I wanted to take notes that I knew I'd keep, not lose track of or toss. So I took my journal, a black marker, and a couple of metallic sparkle pens, and used those to write down what I heard that day.

It was an interesting day, and Jay had a lot of good things to say. I'd never been to anything like this, or read a self help book before, and was surprised at how many of these ideas were already a part of me. I mentioned in my previous post how much I'd needed a day to myself, and that mindlessly sewing crepe paper was almost meditative.

Jay suggests meditation, which I don't do, but I think that creative time, or gardening, even a boring task that takes no thought, like endlessly sewing strip after strip of crepe paper, is an excellent time to be alone with yourself and empty your mind.

Another bite of knowledge from Jay was to let go of negative thinking and be grateful. I know this one works too. If I have to call a repairman for a broken appliance, or pay for a replacement of something that fell apart, I find myself starting to grumble about the expense. But then, I stop, reconsider and tell myself that I am damn lucky to be able to afford that repair, or that I even own one of those thingies that broke down.

It does help.

The conversation was full of tidbits of how to refocus your thoughts to put you in a better space. I know I'll be flipping through my pages as a reminder of the day and re-reading the highlights when I need a refresher.

I'm glad I wrote them in a way that will be permanent, and I hope to add more to this journal as I go along.

Do you journal? I guess I kind of have been doing it for a few years now with my blog. World's best way to keep a diary! But, I've never taken an art journaling class. I've played around with pages, and made a few journals myself. Here are some tips I've picked up as I figured it out, in case you'd like to take some notes that are "keepers" or just feel out your thoughts on paper.

Use a variety of pens and markers. Different sized tips, and colors. I didn't want anything distracting, so stuck with gold, silver and black, but the black was fine point, the gold wide tip, and the silver had a nice shimmer.
Start with the main words or phrases, write them larger and spaced out on the page. Fill in with smaller thoughts or background words.
Have your hand drawn fonts fit the words. I wrote "bigger" BIG. Don't write something hopeful and loving in a dark or heavy way.
Between words, doodle. And be repetitive, using the same types of doodling styles around the page to tie it all together. My tie ins on these pages? Slashes and vines are repeated amidst the dots, scrolls, hearts, and other scribblies.
Use a variety of shades or tones. See how I've filled in the leaves, not just drawn them? That gives the page some pop by having darker areas. You will need some light, some medium,and some dark areas.
Use a variety of styles. Some heavy lines, some light lines. Some BIG words and some little words. Curved words, straight words, boxy words, softly flowing words.
Use a variety of angles. Straight across, diagonal, etc.
You can add pictures, drawn or cut from other paper. Since I wasn't in a crafting atmosphere, I had to stick with drawing. No scissors and glue were available.
Write or draw as you feel, don't bother to sketch or plan, let it flow. In the past, if I haven't been happy with something I've added (often to do with bad handwriting) I've glued something over it. On this day, I'd misspelled something. That turned into the black and silver bar all down the right hand side of the page. Yes, there is such a thing as screwing up, but there is always a fix. Be free with your ink and if you find you really messed up an area, just cover it with something else. Keep on going!
Along the lines of "keep going", enjoy your work. Usually a journal is a personal thing, not something you are doing for resale. So, make it your own, pour out your thoughts in doodles, make it mean something to you, and "don't worry if it's not good enough for anyone else" (excuse the Sesamee Street quote there, please, but it did seem to fit).

When I make pages, I wish my handwriting was better. But hey, it's me. That is how I write, even when I try to make it nicer. It just isn't.

Which leads me to one of the things Jay told us, "Let it go". (Which, brought to my mind another kid's song, this time from Frozen. I seem to have a lot of kid's songs in my head on a regular basis)

In art, as well as in life, you just need to Let It Go sometimes. Yep, my hand writing kinda sucks. But overall, the pages look pretty and they mean something to me. A lot of artists focus on perfection and think what they do isn't good enough if it isn't perfect. I say, Let It Go. Nothing is perfect, enjoy what you do, embrace the imperfections and Just Keep Swimming (oops, another kid's show quote there)

If I'd been aiming at perfection, I'd never have got any notes taken.

This page shows making the words I draw fit the feeling they express.

Jay had us write out our issues, then write "I Am" statements that were positive and could help deal with the issues we needed to work on.

I wrote the first in metallic silver ink, that was kind of hard to read because I wanted the negative aspect of it to fade away. I wrote the positive statements in black ink, right over the silver. The positive takes over, and the negative is covered up.

This page isn't as pretty because I wasn't exactly following the guidelines I usually use on a journal page. See how the ink lines are all just about the same size and tone? Not enough variety. If I were to go over it and darken some areas for contrast, it would look nicer, but you know what? I think I'll just let it go. For what it is, it is just fine.

If you ever get a chance to work with Jay, I highly recommend him. He made a lot of good points that day. Another one that I try to use daily is "Be Present". Which to me means to try to notice what is going on around me NOW.

I do believe that planning ahead is completely nesseccary, just like learning from the past is too. But I need to take both of those places and use them in the present, and "be present" not worried about what I'm doing next or fretting about what has already happened.

I believe that you have to own the past and be prepared for the future. My husband thinks I worry, but I'm really just working it out in my head, getting ready for the next thing coming up. But while I'm doing that, I do try to enjoy what the NOW is too.

Always good advice. Thanks, Jay!

Making kits

bird song art event, how to's, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 3, 2014

One down, one to go! I've been slugging away on making Birdsong 4 kits for my first project, this mobile, titled, "Songs and Wings."

When I saw this phrase in an old book, I knew it would be ideal for the mobile.

Strips of vintage lace, soft ribbons, and hemp twine dangle from a hand made wreath and each will feature a little treasure or two.

Making it and coming up with the design was so much fun. Packing up all the elements, was a little more complicated. Have you ever done kits? It is a process that takes a lot of time and care. And when they are made with vintage items, a lot of planning has to go into them, to make sure that all elements are of equal value and style, because these pieces are one of a kind.

Here is how I make up kits. First, as I create the piece, I keep a log of what I am using next to me on the desk. For instance, If I glue on a snip of velvet ribbon, I make sure to add that to the list. So that when the student is making her kit, she will also have some velvet ribbon to use. (don't you hate it when the teacher's finished piece is soooo cool because of all the great supplies she used, and then she gives you second rate knock offs of what she used herself? I've been there, and I've felt ripped off!)

Normally, I eyeball things, not measure. But when making a kit, I have to stop and figure out about how long that strip of lace was, or how much wire did that loop take, so the kit will hold the correct amount. And it is better to error on the side of too much rather than too little.

After the project is done and the list is made, I start working my way through it. I'll begin with one element, prep those, bag 'em up, put 'em in a box, then move on to the next item.

Once my box is full, over the course of a few days or so, I'll start bundling.

Once I have the correct amount of every single item that went into the original, I start "trick or treating". I'll open a kit bag, and go from pile to pile adding one from each stack to my bag.

While the design is still fresh in my mind, I write out instructions. As I type out the how to's, I save space on the paper to doodle some illustrations. Then, these and the collage sheets go to the copy shop, and when ready, get slipped into the bags as I wrap them up and add a label or decoration to the complete kit.

Usually, the bag is decorated with something worth saving and using in the project. A pretty bow, a flower, something along those lines.

I always make an extra kit up for myself. Since I try to be ahead of schedule and get these done months before the event (I get a creepy crawly feeling if I do anything last minute) I often have to open my own kit a couple weeks before the event to re-acquaint myself with what went into it.

I'm pretty happy to have these boxed up and ready to roll. If my arm wasn't aching from repetitive movents, I'd be patting myself on the back right now!

Sweethearts and some card making tips

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, holiday decor, how to's, Sugarwings, Valentine's Day, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 21, 2014

I hope you had a good Valentines Day? We sure did. Actually, a week of it! My Handsome Husband took me out to dinner one night, then the next, we all got dressed up and went out for a fancy meal with Sugarwings, her mommy and her mommy's sweetheart. And this was all before Valentines ever arrived. On the day of, I had the grand fairies and we decided to play with food coloring out in the snow.

Of course, not all of the artwork can be hearts and love notes when you are creating with a 3 year old, and most of it all got trampled. When Ryan came down his stairs later as it was starting to get dark out, he thought there had been some sort of massacre in the snow from all the red squirted everywhere.

Sugarwings took off for a weekend with her mommy while Dewdrop spent some time with us. We got all dressed up with her and went out on the town again, to do a little dining and dancing while a friend's band played.

Then, and yes there is MORE. My husband and I went out to dinner AGAIN with some friends. I think I might just forget how to cook. I could get used to this life of restaurants and celebrations.

Except it all came to a crashing end when I had more gum surgery on Monday morning. No more dining for me for a while, it's jello time now.

Between galas and bashes and dinners and celebrating, I made up some cards to send out. These are a little different for me, not all elements are pure vintage. I had this rose print paper, and thought it was perfect for the holiday.

To start, I folded a chocolate brown sheet of card stock to make the card, and inked all the edges inside and out. Next, I cut out the rose paper to fit on the card, and with an exacto blade, cut slits in the faux picture frame on the paper, to slide in a Victorian die cut cherub.

To make the frame a bit more 3d, I used a soft brown marker to outline the inside of the frame and create shadows.

Around the card, I doodled with a metallic gold ink pen. The message inside the card is with the same ink.

To finish, I glued two sets of millinery petals, and added a red rhinestone to the center.

This card was made in much the same way, then I added velvet ribbon, a crepe paper ruffle, a painted brass piece and a millinery leaf to the edge.

For the brass, I used Martha Stewart craft paint that is made for metal, painted it on and wiped it off.

This time, the card also features a painted metal piece, that I've tied ribbons to. On top of it, I glued some vintage butterfly wings and on those, a pink cake topper lady, who is now a fairy.

I had another pink lady, and used her over some die cut butterfly wings that my friend, Hope, had given me. I layered her over another painted brass piece and some lace.

This one was made after I ran out of the pretty rose paper but was still in a card making mood. I cut sheet music into a heart, inked the edges and added a crepe paper ruffle to the back.

Onto the card, I added a Victorian die cut lady. Her dress had been baby blue, but I changed that with markers for a more Valentiney look. Her wings are two different butterflies printed onto vellum paper, and slid under her shoulders.

I added some millinery and a touch of sparkle with Stickles glitter.

I just love the way vellum paper looks with images printed on it. This photo is on vellum, and I cut a heart out of sparkly, white scrap book paper to layer underneath, then put both over a tan mat for contrast. It went into a frame, not onto a card.

If you'd like to try the snow painting, it is simple as can be. A small amount of food coloring in a jug of water is all it takes to make the paint. Then, put it into squirt bottles. It is surprising how fast it goes, though, so be prepared for a lot of refilling.

PS- if you'd like to sign up for a chance to win a copy of Where Women Create, please leave a comment on my previous post, or on FB.

Domed glass frame ornaments

antiques/junking, Dew Drop, family, guncles, holiday decor, how to's, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 15, 2013

While out junking, I found three of these domed glass ornaments for $1 each. (I wish there had been more!!) They were pretty as is, but I had other ideas for them. First step was to find just the right picture of my little fairy princesses, then back it with heavy paper, and cut out the images.

After that, I pried off the the back of the frame. That was harder than I thought it would be, but it ended up coming off okay.

Next, I covered the existing cardboard circle with very old, gold wallpaper on the front/sheet music on the back, and added the girls to it. Dewdrop is layered over Sugarwings, with a wadded up piece of paper under her to make her image a little higher than her sister's image.

Since the glass was domed, I wanted to take advantage of the space inside and have the pictures at different levels.

Next, I added millinery flowers to their hair, and glitter pen sparkles to their dresses.

On Sugarwing's hair posy, I added a rhinestone. And then slid the word, "joy" under Dewdrop's head.

Bunched up lace and ribbon were glued over Sugarwing's skirt, and a silver pipe cleaner tree was put into Dewdrop's hand.

I took a snip from the pipe cleaner, and bent it into a V shape, and trimmed the fringe, so that it was all shaped up neatly. Then, I cut another snip off of a pipe cleaner, and trimmed almost all the fringe off of it right down to the wire, and glued that into a hole poked into the picture of Dewdrop's fist. Over that, I glued the V shape, faux tree, so that the piece glued into her hand looked like the trunk of the tree.

Next, I ran a bead of glue around the circle, dumped a bunch of sparkly glitter on the center of the circle, and rammed the piece back into the metal frame, under the glass. It wasn't much easier to put back in that it was to take out. But it went in, and the glue will hold it.

The glitter is loose, and makes me think this looks like a snow globe.

The other two that I bought were turned into gifts for Guncle Randy and Guncle Kevin. I made up a couple of pretty boy angels on black velvet for them.

Our trip to visit them in Florida involved a fancy dress up dinner party that was themed, "A Black Velvet Christmas."

I had some gorgeous, old black velvet to cut up, and used it for the background plus cut some up as ribbons.

The old watch face is ringed by tinsel, to make it Christmassy.

Foil leaves and sparkly snowflakes were tied to the ribbons.

The angels in both are vintage, and the feathers are from my hen, Sophia. She had such pretty, silver colored feathers, that were just perfect for the angel wings. This handsome guy got his suit foofed up with silver stripes, and a boutonniere with a rhinestone center on his lapel.

When I get back, I'll have some pictures to show of the guncle's FAB holiday home. They always do it up right. I'll probably come home about 10lbs heavier too, they cook every bit as good as they decorate, and these guys love to spoil their guests!

How to make a 3-D collaged charm

fairies, how to's, how-to projects, jewelry, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 16, 2013

After Birdsong, I had a few of the pendant charms left and had a good time playing with them. So much so, that I bought a few more.

Quite a few more! Actually, a couple hundred… I tend to over do when I get interested in something. But, I figure that if I find it so much fun, then others might too. So, I get plenty to stock my Boutique with.

Yep, I did it! I added some stuff to my shop. Finally. Did you even remember I had one? Except for my whining here and there about ignoring it, you probably forgot it even exists.

But now, it is filled up with plenty of primed and antiqued tray pendants in a couple sizes and in multiple colors.

I have a few more to put in there too.

While I was at it, I primed, painted and glazed some fairy charms too to put in the shop.

And added lengths of rhinestone chain in lots of colors.

And lots of rhinestone clusters.

And in case you were wondering how to use all these components, I thought I'd do a little tutorial with some ideas.

I've used the Mod Podge glaze on all of mine, though in the past have liked the Paper Glaze too. It tends to dry slower and can be milky if you use it too thickly. Mod Podge is shiny and clear, and dries fast.

To create a pattern to fit the interior oval of the pendants, I simply place a thin piece of paper over it, and trace with my fingernail.

For me, this is better than the charm coming with a pattern. Because you can create your own pattern for any size charm quickly and easily if you learn this trick.

I cut out the pattern and use it to trace onto my pretty paper, and then cut out that. For mine, I prefer using a tan marker, because it makes the edges look aged.

Next, glue it into the pendant.

Over this, you can create your collage, anyway you'd like. If you are going to add a 3D piece, use a drop of Ultimate Glue under it.

Rhinestones, charms, many things make a pretty addition over your paper collage.

To transform this teensy, weensy Charlotte doll into a fairy, I laid her onto sheet music, drew wings to cut out and color with markers.

Then, glued down the wings to the pretty paper in the pendant, and glued the doll onto them.

I found a word I liked, Joyful, and slipped it underneath.

Have you ever watched Martha Stewart ice cookies? You do the glaze the same way she does her icing. You outline the area (make a "dam"), and "flood" the interior after. (The rim of the oval tray holds the flow of glaze in place. The Mod Podge brand is pretty fluid and almost requires a contained area, but the Paper Glaze is thicker and can be used on a flat surface with no rim)

If you end up with bubbles, pop them with a pin. If those bubbles roll away and won't pop, your pin isn't sharp enough. I like those tiny, thin, quilter's pins if I have trouble with a regular one. And wipe off the tip every single time. The glaze builds up on the end of the pin and it won't penetrate the bubble.

Then, set it aside to dry. Between the glue under your chosen 3D element and the hardened glaze around it, the piece is secure.

I've worn many necklaces with rhinestones, charms, etc. added to a pendant this way and all have held up well.

These fairies come with a ring at the top to hang them, and look nice this way too. If you decide to use them in a pendant instead of hanging off of one, you should snip that ring off. I use the Tim Holtz red handled magic scissors that cut through anything, but you could also use wire cutters.

Of course, the pendants look cute with simple paper collages in them also. (oops, missed some bubbles under the word there)

And they don't have to be used as jewelry. I glued one into my journal too. I'm picturing some Christmas tree ornies too. Hung from ribbons? Maybe with dangly crystals?

Please note that when adding metal pieces, like the rhinestones, a patina forms from the chemical reaction between the glaze and the metal. I like it it, myself.

ps- After looking at my photos and seeing how messy my nails look, I think my next project will probably involve this.

gawdy photo editing tips

family, how to's, photography

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2013

Although the reason for my trip to Indy was a sad one, I'm always glad for a chance to see my family there. Since I've been home, I've been playing with some of the photos from the visit. Picmonkey has some great tools to use. For this one, I used Bokah to blow out the back ground to white by making the sparkles as large as they'll go, erased it from the figures, then added more bokah stars here and there, and a starry background from the selection of textures.

I also turned it black and white, then erased that from the skin tones. To warm up the skin tones, I colored them with sepia, then faded it.

Over that, I added Orton.

Here it is undoctored.

(I loved my new dress! Pima cotton, comfy as wearing jammies. And only $20 from the Tonganoxie thrift store that carries brand new clothes from the Peruvian Connection.)

In this one, we were standing in front of a gray wall, that had distracting piece of trim head level, and it looked choppy. So I bokah-ed it away. I'm sure that people who know how to use Photo Shop are much better at this and can cut images out in a more professional manner. But this is so easy and quick, I'm sticking with the (mostly) free online editing!

After that, I added Orton for glow, and more sparkles from Bokah. And a lens flare at the bottom.

These girls were standing in a big family group shot, so I used bokah and wrinkle remover to blur out the other people after cropping, and then made it all glowy with orton.

Wrinkle remover is found under the lipstick icon, for facial touch ups, but I use it to get rid of backgrounds I don't like. It probably took about 4 times to blur out the wall enough to add the colorful bokah sparkles. Shelli didn't need any wrinkles erased from her pretty face! I really think that when you use that feature on faces, it looks plastic and fake.

This is the original, untouched up.

This closeup is from the same photo I showed first. Instead of stars, I used the cloud texture. And then softened the picture, and tinted it with sepia (faded).

This photo is a bokah explosion. Hearts, pink and white done in lots of sizes, some stars, and lots of sparkles. Then, Orton for over all glow.

If you thought I went a little over the top on the other ones, get a load of this one. I don't even know what I did to it, lots of sparkles, tints, glows, and some drawing.The gawdier and brighter the better!

Lately, I've not felt like I've really had much time to do artwork, or to photograph and list things for my shop. But I've been able to satisfy some creative yearnings by playing with these pictures. Each only takes a few minutes and is a no muss, no fuss way to play.

Plus, I kind of get to spend a little more time with my family when they are far away.

PS- thanks so much for your concern about Ryan. He is doing rehab now and getting stronger. He has a date to be released to work and called the warehouse that had hired him before all this happened. No word back from them yet, but our fingers are crossed that they still have a job for him.

Seriously, you painted your shoes?

how to's, paintings, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / August 2, 2013

I love pretty shoes, I long for and dream of pretty shoes. But my feet don't cooperate. I have what is known as "Freds". Something more suited for stopping a prehistoric car than slipping into high heels.

Buying shoes is traumatic for me. I can shop for 6-12 months, try on hundreds, and not find a pair that fits. Or I think maybe a pair will do, bring them home and only be able to wear them once or twice before giving up. Not only are these feet hard to fit, I'm a bit picky on comfort.

Actually a LOT picky.

My feet have to feel good if I plan on feeling good myself.

My closet is full of brand new shoes only worn once. Goodwill loves me for all the new shoes I donate after purchasing them with a heart full of hope, thinking that THIS will be the pair that not only fits, but looks pretty too!

So, when these extremely comfy, 6 year old Danskos started looking too ratty to wear, I was sad. They weren't torn up, or stretched out, just stained and scuffed. I'd worn a vintage shoe clip on them that tarnished the leather and wouldn't clean off. The shoe clips kept sliding around and not staying in place, and had to go.

Plus, the sides were kind of discolored. Overall, not a good look. But they were shoes that I could walk around an amusement park for hours and still felt good!

That is a shoe worth trying to salvage.

I got out some acrylic craft paints.

The shoes were not a glossy finish, so I figured it would hold well. They are a brushed suede, which took the paint nicely. The trick was to go with colors that would blend with the original leather if scraped. Also, to go lightly, not to use a thick glob that might peel.

First step, was to clean them with an old toothbrush, including the suede sole.

After that, I painted a slightly heavy coat over the black marks with a color to match the leather. But only heavy there, not on the rest of the shoes. Then, I left it to dry.

Next, I used the same base color in a light, watered down wash, on all the leather, making sure to get around the buckle and under the straps. This was done with a small, rough, brush to work the paint down into the leather.

Over that, I did a metallic faux finish with copper and pearl.

I've been wearing them, and so far so good.

Not a pretty picture, huh? See why I call them Freds? Mr. Flintstone and I have a lot in common.

If I were to buy perfectly fitting shoes, I'd need to go to the little boys department and try on size 3 triple wides. If you've ever done that, you know there aren't many pretty choices. When I was a kid, Mom bought me "corrective" shoes. Which is a code word for Butt Ugly.

As close as I can find to corrective shoes in the adult world is Easy Spirit. Sometimes an extra wide, pretty one turns up. And some European (code word, expensive) shoes fit pretty good, like the Danskos I redid. They are often wide, always well made and hold up for years.

But I have never, ever, found a lovely pair of delicate heels that my feet would enjoy. I guess that I'll be treasuring whatever fits and keeping them as good as I can for as long as I can.

A fairy play room part 3, a hand painted mermaid bed, with no sanding

cottage, fairies, Hand painted, Hand Painted Furniture, how to's

By Karla Nathan / July 31, 2013

As I was telling you last time, we did a few changes in the fairy grand daughters' room. And of course, one change leads to another. A fixed up area makes its surrounding areas look left out and forgotten.

Sugarwings loved that we were redoing her room, but as she looked around, she said, it would be nice to have a pink bed. And pink curtains.

Well, I think I have some sheer pink curtains packed aways somewhere, I'll need to dig those out. But for now, I've been redoing her bed.

Very few things in my home are brand new. But sometimes when you need something, you need it now, and don't have a few months to find the perfect vintage piece. So, we bought this bed for our little fairy when she outgrew her tiny bed, and had declared herself too big to sleep there anymore.

Little did I know, she was just making a play to sleep downstairs on the sofa… and didn't sleep in her new bed for a year after I got it. I guess I could have searched for the perfect vintage piece after all.

Anyway, it was creamy white and was fine, but not to the taste of Sugarwings, who thinks the entire world should be pink and has taught Dewdrop to ask for pink in everything too.

First step, NO sanding. I hate to sand. I use Glidden Gripper bonding primer under my interior wall paint and never have a problem with peeling.

There are multiple posts about how I paint furniture, you can get step by step instructions here.

I chose Ballerina Pink from Glidden to paint the whole thing.

After the base coat, I added a blue background in the oval and color to the trim, plus some roses on the sides. I was too lazy to paint the foot board, it is just base coat pink, no flowers on it.

This little girl loves mermaids and has been a huge fan for almost her entire life. If I had it to do over again, her whole room would be an under the sea theme. But then, Dewdrop would feel left out because she loves fairies and "honies" (My Little Pony, or unicorns). And I like the fairies that are already there.

Since the room is such a jumble of choppiness and different things going on anyway, I went with mermaids in the woods with the fairies for her. We'll just call it a fairy tale theme and not worry about the details.

I painted a mermaid in the center of the oval. She adores Ariel, but I went anti-disney. Plus, I wanted a sweet little girl, not a teen.

And I know, I should have added a crown, but didn't feel like going back to do it later when I thought of it. At that point, my paint plate had dried out over night and I wasn't up to mixing up the colors again. You can't just slap a crown on, you have to blend it in with the right shadows and make it look like it is actually sitting in her hair.

When she (sob!) gets too old for mermaids, it will be easy to paint over this oval and change up the bed for a more grown up look.

Over everything but the portrait and the flowers, I painted on and wiped off white glaze. I mixed one cup of clear glaze with one 2oz. bottle of white craft paint. I made sure I got it down in the cracks and crevices really good, and wiped it off the high points.

Now, where are those pink curtains at? I'd better go look through the closets, I know they are hiding somewhere.

Tagging along, some stuff for sale, and a BIG Summer Sale too

bird song art event, how to's, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / June 27, 2013

Lori had some great vintage images and pretty papers in her kits for Birdsong. Her project was a wreath wrapped in frothy fabrics with tricked out tags tucked in it (how's that for alliteration?). Since I didn't add tags to my own wreath, I made some tags up separate because I wanted to play with the images she had included.

I'd also wanted to try using the Dimensional Magic by ModPodge with crystal glitter over it. I outlined the image (not the background) with the D. Magic, then slowly filled in, and the stuff did a good job of staying where I'd put it.

While it was wet, I coated it with clear glass glitter, and then tapped away the extra after the glaze dried and it was safe to pick it up.

I've got about 6 bottles of that stuff, because we used it on the knotted ribbon necklaces class that I did, and I had a bottle of it out on each table for the students, and a little bit goes a looooong way.

This tag is all from Lori's kits too. I tore the label off her kit and left the edges rough, glued it onto a tag, then inked the edges. I scrunched up some pattern paper, and added some of the twine trim Lori provided and a rhinestone from my stash. Then, I did the same glaze and glitter trick as on the other tag, this time over the whole thing.

She had a playing card in the kit too, and I used it as a tag. I made a ruffle from some of the text she provided, and cut the bottom off of another playing card to go over that, and topped it with a millinery flower.

The center is a piece of pattern paper layered with text, and an oval image from Lori's stash. I did the Dimensional Magic and glitter over the torn out oval, and I think I got too much glitter, because it dried a gloppy mess and you couldn't see the image at all. So, i cut a rose out of something else and glued it over the top and added another pretty bit of sparkle and some millinery buds. It's also tied with the twine from the kit.

On this one, the D. Magic and glitter once again obliverated the image. I guess you have be careful to have a light hand with the glitter when doing this. Or to use a very simple, clear, graphic image. I think it turned out really pretty over the first one, the lady's black and white face.

Around the screwed up image, I glued odds and ends that were in the kit, in a free form frame. And I liked that part, it was too bad the rest was a mish mosh mess.

After it dried, I tried to fix it by gluing a snippet of text and a bird out of a book from the 1800s. I'd used this same text and some birds from it for each of the kits I'd made up for the necklace class. These were the birds that we put in the pendants, although this bird is a little more colorful than the ones I used for the class.

I know, it was only a little tag, but I hate to leave anything badly done, so I did what I could to salvage it. I finish all my projects, and save the bad ones as much as I can. I figure that I've already invested time and materials into a failed piece, why let it go to waste if a little more time will fix it?

If you are interested in one of Lori's lovely kits, I found two of them left here when I cleaned up. I offered to sell them for her, and ship them out. Her wreath kit comes with the form, the fabric,images, papers, trims, and tags.

It's self explanatory, and a simple, pretty project.

The kits are $35 plus postage.

When I sold my own leftover kits, I counted wrong and sold more than I actually had, so had to whip up a few more real quick. Well, I made up some extras and have one knotted ribbon and one captured fairy birdcage (that comes with a free online course) left for $30 plus postage, each.

Please email me if you are interested in any of these, with your zip code and the email address you use for PayPal and I'll send you a invoice with the postage figured.

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

As well as one completed necklace that I used as a sample. The one that says "nest" with the brown antiquing is available for $65.

The white one that says "nest" in this photo too. I think I'll keep the blue one myself. The rest of my samples are at Somerset right now, for an article in Jewelry Affaire. I might have some of those for sale later, but it could be months before they are returned.

And if that isn't enough shameless huckstering and trying to sell stuff to you, here is a little more.

I've got a ton of new things to add to my Boutique. But I'd like to clear it out a little bit first, and start fresh. So, I'm offering a 30% discount till July 1st. You'll need to use this link:

http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=30%

And type in this code at check out:

30%

Altered candy boxes for Valentines Day

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

By Karla Nathan / February 11, 2013

Last week, I played hooky from stuff that needed done and did some fun things. Actually, I did that more than once… Sugarwings and I had a couple of afternoons together and another day, I snuck out to see the matinee of Les Mis.

Nose to the grindstone this week, for sure!

I enjoyed having a day to make something just because it was pretty and i wanted to do it. Some of these are in the Boutique now, but I've waited so long to get them there, that Valentine's Day is fast approaching!

These two are both topped with chalk board paint and decked out in my best Vintage Pretties. Each is a new wooden box, made to look old.

But this one is an old box, foofed up to look better.

You can see, it started with a lot of what I call "fussy" decor on it. And a plastic rose??? No thank you.

My first step in the redo was to pull off the plastic rose, then some of the lace and ribbon that I didn't care for.

I added a bead of glue all around the newly naked edge to replace the cheapo lace with something much better. The Good Stuff.

Ahhhh, feeling better already, with some deep, dark, old velvet.

Next, a layer of good lace, and a row of ruffled chocolate ribbon over that.

Instead of taking the whole box apart in pieces, to get the lace rimmed existing red ruffle out, I simply trimmed off the cheap looking lace and left the rough edges of the red ribbon to show. Next, I took a dark brown ink pad and rubbed it along the outside lip of the bottom edge.

Some netting from an old crinoline, and more chocolate ruffles were added to the top. Then a whole bouquet of tiny velvet sprigs and leaves, topped with a wonderful old rose. To that, I tied some espresso velvet ribbon and more of the soft lace.

At the top, some milk chocolate velvet ribbon.

Layers and layers of loveliness. All my favorite things piled on top of each other!