jewelry – Page 7 – Karla's Cottage

Hat Whispering in Texas and scooping up jewels

antiques/junking, collections, family, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2015

At our Texas/British bash, I was lucky enough to win this pretty piece from Cassandra! It was a door prize, and I won by having the closest birthday. Isn't it pretty?

All hand soldered. I love the flecks of silver in some of the pieces.

But that isn't my only special gift! There were treats galore, and our roomies had sweet things for each other too. Then, my sister and I saw two hand made from vintage pieces, matching necklaces. Like the artist had taken apart one necklace, added some bits, and redesigned it into two.

Well, we both liked them, but decided we didn't need them.

So, we continued shopping and poking around. But an hour or so later, I told Sissy that we'd remember those and regret not buying them, and I was going to get them as a gift for us both.

Til my credit card wouldn't work. No cards were accepted. And I didn't have a debit card for the ATM or a checkbook with me.

And I'd been shopping a while, and was low on cash for the rest of the trip. Here is a sampling of some of the hats I snagged in Texas. Yep, about THIRTY floral concoctions! I hat whispered my way across Kansas and Texas, snapping up millinery every where I went.

Which, wasn't cheap, even with the bargains that I was finding. My cash wouldn't support the necklaces. I felt bad because I'd wanted to give her a nice gift, she has always been extra generous with me.

Then, Sissy bought them both for us!

I did want to buy them, and hated that she had to do it, but wasn't it nice of her? I'll treasure my sister necklace and think of her wearing hers when I wear mine.

Kinda like those BFF heart necklaces cut in half.

But I did find something to get her the next day in Waxahachie! She saw this moon full of pink crystals, and said it was like one she had pinned on Pinterest and had been searching for. So, I felt a little better, about the necklace snafu. She was meant to have this moon pendant.

Canton was magnificent. I was enthralled by the variety, prices, and scope of the shopping. I could've used three days to see it all. I hit the dollar tables hard, and found a trove of treasures there, little bits of jewels, boxes to adorn, cute knick knacks. Plus, I was finding millinery in abundance everywhere I went on this trip.

One of my first purchases was this teeny, puppy creamer, for $1. I bought it for the grand fairies, so we could use it for our next tea party. Then, one of my last purchases was the matching sugar bowl, also a dollar, at the other end of the flea market.

Meant to be found for me to reunite it with its mate!

All of the shopping was top notch, great company, great junk, and just as much fun as you could possibly jam into an outing.

I miss Texas

And Whitworth Ranch Retreat.

Serendipi-TEA at The Whitmore Ranch Retreat classes

jewelry, sewing?, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 16, 2015

Classes at our Downton retreat in TX were just as fun as the rest of the weekend. Cassandra offered a velvet purse kit in pink or tan, I chose tan, and packed a lot of old lace to add to my creation. (including the salvage I'd trimmed off my kitchen curtains when they got torn while blowing around on a very windy day)

I was slightly dreading the production, because of- ick!- sewing- but once I got going, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Cassandra had the bag and liner pre-stitched, we embellished the bag, put them together, sewed on the clasp. It was sewing optional in a lot of areas, we could use glue on some parts. But, I dove in with needle and thread, and conquered my fears.

My skill level is not high, and I didn't change that. But, when I dropped a camera and phone into the finished bag, they didn't fall through, so I guess I did okay.

She had great supplies for us to use, but I had an idea about how I wanted it to look.

This is her example. Lovely as can be, isn't it?

And while I tried the embroidery and beading, I knew I'd never master it that fast, so I stuck with what I knew.

My first step was placing different lacy bits on the bag to see what I liked, and then it grew from there.

One trick I did pick up was making a ribbon rose. I want to make more of these!

And I did just a little bit of embroidery, using some vintage metallic thread, and I added a few crystal beads from a necklace I'd bought at Canton Flea Market.

You can see I didn't do much of that. I discovered that embroidery is hard enough, but throwing in old, metallic thread, was crazy. It kinks, twists, and it was trouble. Still, I was pretty dang proud that I actually stitched something.

We had 24 hour access to the craft room, so Guncle Randy and I took advantage of that. We hung out til late every night. I made not only Cassandra's bag and our other pretty project from Molly, but TWO snippet rolls and a little make and take from Waxahachie.

This is a teensy, plastic trophy, and we were given paints to tarnish it up.

Guncle Randy had been wanting to make a steam punk bird like the one in this picture, for quite a while. I made the base of it for him one night after I finished my purse, and he found a cool, old bit of some sort of twisty metal to turn into a base next time we are together.

And that isn't all I got done! We had a second project for the Downton theme. Molly's necklace is a lace collar. Here is her example. Lovely, huh? It was also a glue/stitching optional project.

I chose glue.

Both pieces were a nice challenge, not my typical style. I wanted to be able to make them look like I made them, but still be true to the theme, since the projects were so pretty and well thought out.

For this one, I darkened the cameo with markers and paint to age it a bit. And added some sequin trim from a shredding flapper dress, that Sissy shared with me.

Basically, the rest of the layout was the same as Molly's. She had hand dyed the lace for us, and it is the prettiest pink. I might foof mine up a bit more, like hers is, I liked the pink fluffy flowers she had added.

Here is a little bit of one of the snippet rolls I made. I'll have more pictures of it after our swap in June at Birdsong 5. The rest of it is a surprise for its intended owner.

A personal holiday tradition

holiday decor, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / December 6, 2014

Typically, I'm not a red or a green person.

But for the whole month of December, I wear red and green stones for Christmas.

I've had this ring for – aack! a LOT of years! – since my twelfth birthday. It was a gift from my sister, Bobbie Sue.

And these emerald earrings were a gift from my pal, Shanna.

The peridots were my Great Aunt Caroline's. And the ruby was my Mom's. It's a sentimental time of year, so it is extra nice to have Christmas colored jewelry that reminds me of family.

Or fun days out with friends. The garnet and diamond ring in the back is from a flea market buddy trip. the very vintage rose gold one in front was from a garage sailing day with friends, and was only $4.

I think any of the pendants go wonderfully with the pearl necklace Sissy made for me from Great Grandma Nellie's pearls. (Notice that I cropped my wattle out of the photo?)

For the last few years, I've also worn this red velvet coat from Victoria Trading Co. during December, along with this pretty scarf that Jenn Hayslip gave to me for teaching at one of her events.

The coat could be considered a bit much. I either look like I am wandering about in my bath robe, or am Mrs. Claus escaped from the North Pole. I've heard Red Riding Hood too.

But when I put it on, I feel festive. It's warm, it's soft, and I don't think looking like Mrs. Claus is such a bad thing this time of year.

Do you have a personal tradition that makes you feel all Christmassy?

Some sparklies, some pretties, and some not so pretties

jewelry

By Karla Nathan / July 22, 2014

After Birdsong, I went on a jewelry making kick, after being inspired by Lori and Andrea and the wonderful pieces they had brought for vendor night.

I had some pieces around that I kept thinking I was going to use for something, and was happy to finally get around to it.

The two that are blue glass with pearls look good worn together. I hope all that going on around my neck at once deters from my ever growing, saggy, wattle. I kind of go back and forth on how to deal with that issue. Wear a ton of jewels to distract? Or keep it simple to not draw attention?

See what I mean?

Oh man, I just showed a close up of my wattle!!!!!! Oh my gosh, what is wrong with me? I guess, I know that it is there, and can't be hidden or ignored. I am what I am and need to accept it. Unless I want to wear turtle neck sweaters year round. Heck, in a few years, I'll look at this photo and think these were the good ole days, back when my wattle and saggy skin were in the newbie stages of just learning how to sag. I'll probably think this is a great photo.

This is a necklace I made for the Hippy Chick, it is a happy rainbow of semi precious stones. My pal, Queen Regina, gave me some beautiful beads to work with a while back and I'm just now using them all up.

I always wear any necklace a while before selling or giving it away. They have to be proven comfy, and stay together well before they leave.

It had been a long, long time, since I'd been in a jewelry mood. This has been fun.

I've made a few as gifts too. This one is for a friend who loves buttons, my BFF, Beth.

This is an old brooch set with amathyst and mother of pearl. I hung ruby and garnets from it, along with a locket that will hold photos of my girls, and a charm that has my name and birthdate on it. I think it was from my grandma's charm bracelet. Or maybe my mom's?

Interested in the journal swap? Info here.

How to make a champagne cork cage chair

bird song art event, how-to projects, jewelry, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 9, 2014

My good pal, Hope, was a Birdsong newbie this year, and a very welcome addition. She is fond of bubbly, but had never opened a champagne bottle before.

My youth was spent as a single mom who waited tables or bartended to raise my kids. I've opened a few champagne bottles in my time, so I gave her a lesson.

My tip is to cover the cork with a towel, and then wiggle it side to side. The cork slips out and the towel stops it from putting your eye or your light fixture out.

Hope is a skilled and avid journaler. She documents everything, so she took pictures of the lesson.

Since I knew she was sentimental, I saved the cork cage for her. And turned it into a chair.

I had a charm thingie that was part of a necklace I'd made in a class last year, but it was a bit large for me, so I took it off the chain, and wired it to the back of the cage, and the squirted in some glue and clamped it together over night.

Of course, I remade the necklace so I could wear it without the larger charm I stole from it.

I then glued old paper to the "seat" of the chair, and added a bit of ruffled crepe paper as a skirt, and topped that with tatting.

There is a hole at the top, that was once used to suspend it from the chain. I left it as is, in case Hope wants to hang the chair from her journal.

If you wanted to make one, you could use a brooch as the chair back, fabric or paper to cover the seat, and lace or ribbon for the skirt. I should drink more champagne, it would be fun to have a collection of these chairs!

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ps- I'm having a Summer Clearance sale in the Boutique. I've neglected that poor little shoppette too long, I need to clean up, clear out, and refresh it all. You are welcome to soak up some summertime savings and help me get a fresh start, by using this link and getting 50% off everything in the store:

http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=Summersale

(You must use that address to get the special price. Going to the regular address does NOT take you to the 50% discount)

Meanwhile back at Birdsong- yep, here comes MORE

bird song art event, Food and Drink, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2014

Yes, I know, I'm still blathering on about our party. It is a huge deal for me, and I love every minute of it. Plus,( just ask my family), it takes over my world for quite a while, so it is hard to let it go when it ends.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend is the party night. We drink some wine, eat dinner, shop in the garage, and hang out. I try to keep it all pretty laid back, and fun for me too. So I cook ahead of time, making up huge pans of food in advance, to have frozen and waiting to go into the oven that night, and have the other vendors in charge of shopping.

This year was just a little more complicated when I started to set up the vendor space, because I forgot to use plastic on the walls when I hung a canvas up to paint a banner there this spring. (the wall was a tad bit, uhmm, colorful) I had to repaint before I could fix the garage up and turn it into a store.

I painted the wall a pretty sky blue (leftover from that banner), and wrote "peeps" in Xmas lights on it, then covered it all in a huge piece of lace. After carrying out typical garage junk, and bringing in some rugs, I set up tables with white cloths on them and we filled the room up with vintage goodness.

I'm afraid I didn't get any photos during the sale! These are from set up before the room is done.

But here is a picture of what I bought there. This is a necklace from Lori.

And here are the necklaces that Lori and Andrea gave to me. I've always adored cameos. And when Andrea told me to chose a necklace from her vendor table, I had to go for the one with the large bird that matched the bracelet kits she had.

I've been very inspired by both of them, and have been on a jewelry binge since they left. Here is a necklace I made from Andrea's kit.

She included some very nice pieces, and I had some beads that matched nicely, and was able to add a bit more chain and doo dads to make it longer.

Weeks before our weekend kicks off, I start baking and filling the freezer with treats. I try to be very prepped in advance, so I can have fun once the party starts.

Do you know how hard it is to live in a home that has a freezer full to the brim with treats???? Sometimes, when my husband would be out of town, and I'd still be up late in an empty home, watching TV or reading, I could hear the sound of those cookies calling my name from the freezer in the garage.

Cookies can be very loud after midnight. They never shut up, when they know you are home alone and it is late at night.

Believe it or not, there were still cookies left in the freezer when the guests arrived. I don't know how they survived, but some did.

These were made with alphabet stamps I found at TJ Max. I didn't notice till I was half done making them that I'd loaded "PEFPS" instead of "PEEPS" into the cookie cutters. I was able to transform that F into an E with a knife point for some cookies, but many were already baked, so got served as "pefps".

We ended up with way too much food. Besides the misspelled cookies, I made what Suzanne called a "bird bath full of apple deliciousness". I had kind of a huge bowl of it to serve. Part of the problem, was that there was a storm right before I went grocery shopping, and the power was out! I had to push an over loaded 500lb cart in the darkness and browse by the light of my cell phone flashlight ap.

I wasn't as careful of a shopper as I could have been. But I think it's better to have extra than not enough.

And boy did we have extra.

One thing that people seemed to like was the corn. I'd fixed chicken pasta, and needed a side dish. And I wanted something fresh, easy to make, and kind of Italian.

Here is what I did:

I cut the corn off of two dozen ears the day before, and stored it in ziplock bags in the fridge to save space. When you are feeding 35 plus people for multiple meals, fridge space is a big issue.

My son chopped a bag of carrots in the food processor while my sis sauteed 3 diced red peppers in olive oil. Then the carrots were sauteed. All of that went into a bag in the fridge too.

The next day, I emptied all the bags into a giant pot (I made way too much, thinking that 24 ears of corn for 35 people was okay, but I probably only needed half that much), added butter, sea salt, white pepper, and fresh thyme.

Then, I had anyone who walked through the kitchen taste it. We all kept thinking, more thyme, more thyme, more thyme, maybe more salt? By the time we all added thyme, it was pretty durn tasty.

And wasn't I lucky that making something up on the fly worked out? I'd never tried carrots with corn and thyme, but we all loved it. If it had sucked, I'd have been in trouble, since I had a vat of it and a bunch of hungry crafters!!

Varieties of pretties

Dew Drop, jewelry, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / November 18, 2013

My son has been making these "alchemy" pendants with semi precious stones and other properties, and hopes to get an Etsy shop going soon for himself. They sold very well at the Renaissance Festival and have a lot of meaning behind them. He's versed in what crystal combos do, although I don't exactly understand, I enjoy seeing him being creative and leading his Zen lifestyle.

Plus, they are pretty. I do understand that aspect of them!

I do love me some pretty!

At Victorian Trading Company's outlet store in KC, I loaded up on it last week with Beth.

This velvet coat came home with me for less than half of the catalog price, plus came with a $20 gift certificate that I spent on a whole big pile of clearance items along with that apothecary jar in the previous picture.

See the skirt under the coat? It's not a skirt, it's a ruffle at the bottom. Kind of like a skirt dickie for a coat. I can feel dressed up even when I'm not. And I rarely am. I'm the type that wears slippers outside. But hey, don't these slippers look like boots? They are warm, cute and were only eight bucks at the outlet store.

Do you watch Big Bang Theory? I love those guys. And Wallowitz's colorful outfits, each with a dickie under his shirt. So I have been calling this my Wallowitz coat.

Part of my $20 gift rebate haul was a $3 card making kit, that Sugarwings went bonkers over. She made cards, slipped them into envelopes, and gave them to everyone. She was a regular, one person, Hallmark machine.

I also got a free, crystal wreath brooch, cup cake wrappers, a cute coffee mug, and way too much candy.

And all of it, pretty as can be, piled up on my dining table.

But the prettiest thing on the table?

Sugarwings decided to act out some sort of play going on in her imagination by crawling up on the table and swooning away till her prince charming came along. Of course, a Grammie will indulge such funny, foolishness instead of shooing her off the table.

Then again, Grammies are the type that like to indulge little fairy girls a lot. We bought some Crayola window markers that dry in a crystallized design and I let them draw all over my windows with them.

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.

Birdsong Eve

bird song art event, jewelry, magazine pictures or articles, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 6, 2013

We've gotten the nicest gifts for Birdsong! Hope made these felted nests with sparkling, sugared birds and even included bags of mica flakes for everyone too.

Karen sent this lushly embellished train case for a door prize.

Not only is it made with sweet birdie details, she has also filled it up with "tweets" too.

In the box were some birdie beverage napkins to use for our weekend, and a big ass bag of candy.
Sadly, it came a week before the party, so the bag isn't quite as full
as it was when it arrived, and my ass is the big one now.

Terri has sent these ephemera packs, and I spy a bird theme in the packages.

Look at the sweet details she added to the label! A touch of glitter is an elegant touch.

I've
been whipping up more samples for my class, because these three were
shipped off to Jewelry Affaire. I was very pleased to share our
Birdsong weekend project with Somerset.When the magazine comes out in
October, it will be fun to reminisce while looking at the photos.

Our
party starts soon, I'm all tingly just thinking about it. This year,
I've promised myself to be done and ready plenty early. I want to relax
and enjoy my family and friend's visits. We are doing a dinner party on
Thursday night and calling it "Birdsong Eve". There are 26 of us
meeting at a restaurant downtown to kick off the weekend.

I'll
be preposting to my blog, but will not be checking emails much, so
please forgive me for not answering comments. I'll be back next week
with pictures of our gathering.

Bird collage pendants

bird song art event, fairies, family, jewelry, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / May 10, 2013

I did it! Not only did I finally figure out what my second class was going to be for Birdsong, I got lots of samples made and packed every single kit up and have them tucked away ready to go when my peeps arrive!

Beth, Mary, and Karla came over on Tuesday to participate in a practice class, here are a couple of their pieces. The book they are lying on is filled with little bird images and was published in the 1800s. I've used these old birdies in the kits, so of course, no two will be alike. In case someone gets a bird they don't care for, there are plenty of extras to chose from so the artist can find just the right little creature to put on her collage.

This is the actual pendant we will be working on, it's a large one, so we have space to play with the collage.

Now, I just need to get the bird cage kits packed up for my other class. All of the elements are prepped and ready, I just need to get them wrapped up.

If you would like to make a bird cage/wire cloche, I have spent weeks working out the best way to make them and have made a tutorial with step by step illustrated instructions, along with downloadable images to make fairies to keep in the cages once you get them made.

I've come up with a way to make the cages that I've not seen anywhere else. My son helped me come up with some great ideas that simplifies the process and keeps the wires from springing out every which way and driving you crazy.

He really deserves a lot of the credit, the boy is great with wire, and is a talented jewelry maker. This bracelet that we collaborated on will be featured in Jewelry Affaire. I'm thrilled to be doing an article with my son!

And greatly appreciate his input on the birdcage problems I was having.